Timothy Bradley: Brain was swollen, speech slurred, but confident he'll come back 100 percent

WBO welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley took a pounding despite winning over Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16, and says that he had some immediate physical damage from the bout, but that he's getting better and expects he'll be back as strong as ever.

"It was great for the fans. It was great for my career. Will I come back the same as before, absolutely? I'm getting clearer and clearer. My brain was swollen. I'm not slurring as much. I have no doubt I will come back 100% as good as I was before," Bradley stated.

Bradley (30-0, 12 KO) took by far the worst beating of his pro career, perhaps in a misguided attempt to win fans over after his robbery win last year over Manny Pacquiao, which saw Bradley criticized heavily for something that wasn't his fault at all, but rather an issue with judging.

Will he be back 100 percent? Time will tell, which sounds like a cop-out, but that's all there is. Until we see him back in a fight, it's impossible for anyone not in his camp to know just how much this fight may have damaged the rest of his career. There's no question it was the type of fight that could have long-term effects, but we won't know until we know.