Tim Bradley to retire from boxing

According to a report by RingTV, Timothy Bradley Jr. is done with boxing. The former two-weight world champion will make a formal announcement of his decision soon and announce his plans for the future.

If in fact true, the end is a little bittersweet for me. I’d never tell any fighter it’s not a good time to walk away if they are inclined to do so, but Bradley was easily one of my favorite people in all of boxing. There aren’t many who are as direct, plainly honest, and likable as Bradley.

He took a lot of shit from fans for his controversial win over Manny Pacquiao in 2012 — something entirely undeserved as he’s just a fighter, not a judge. But that aside, Bradley showed more heart in one fight against Ruslan Provodnikov than most show during their entire careers.

That brutal fight in 2013 took a serious physical toll on Bradley, and he readily admitted that he suffered some neurological damage that took a little while to recover from.

“A few weeks after the fight, I was still affected by the damage that was done,” Bradley said at the time. “My speech was a little bit off. I was slurring a little bit. But after about two months, I cleared up and I have my wits about me now.”

Since that grueling win Bradley went on to beat future Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez, lose a rematch with Pacquiao, draw with Diego Chaves, win a UD over Jessie Vargas, put a tremendous beating on Brandon Rios, and finally lose again to Pacquiao in a rubber match. Bradley hasn’t fought since last losing to Pacquiao in April 2016.

Bradley, who will turn 34 next month, has been serving as a boxing analyst for ESPN in recent years, and has done a good job in that role, so his prospects after boxing should be pretty good. Bradley will be finishing his career inside the ropes with a record of 33-2-1, 13 KOs, and having won world titles at both junior welterweight and welterweight.

So although this may be the end of Bradley as a fighter, a fighter who has always brought it, I’m certain that this won’t be the last we see of him, which is a good thing. The sport needs more people like Bradley in it.

But tell me, fans, how will you best remember Bradley as a fighter?