Bradley back in USA!

May 14, 2008

Photo: Colin Messom

Newly crowned WBC super lightweight champion Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley (22-0, 11 KOs) and girlfriend Monica Smoot were all smiles when they arrived back from Nottingham, England to LAX airport in Los Angeles on Sunday. The couple was greeted by a massive crowd including Bradley's stepdaughter Alaysia Smoot.

"All I want to do right now is enjoy the moment with my family but I will tell you that one huge goal of mine is to be more than just a champion," he said. "I want to unify the titles. I want to be remembered as an all time great, which will take continued hard work to achieve such a goal."

Thought by many in the media to be an undeserving mandatory challenger before upsetting WBC titleholder Junior Witter over the weekend, the new champion, who came into the fight as a 6:1 underdog, takes it all in stride.

"I proved a lot of critics wrong," said Bradley. "No hard feelings though. That's their job."

WBC president Jose Sulaiman sees Bradley's win is a validation of the WBC rankings. "It was funny to listen to the Showtime commentators saying that Bradley had no reason to be the official challenger when, according to them, he was not rated in the top ten, which was not the first time that this has happened," stated Sulaiman. "They are the experts in commentating on TV, but the WBC is the expert in ratings by having a worldwide committee formed of historians and statistical experts with integrity and love for the sport."

Just days after winning the world title, manager Lee Bates says Bradley is already in great demand. "I told him that when he became champion he had my word I would secure his future financially. Many fighters have left the game without a penny to their name. I will not let that happen to Timothy, whose immediate future is very bright. For one he is very smart with his money to begin with, young at 24 years old, an excellent speaker, college educated from Northern Michigan, and very marketable. On the boxing end, I will make sure that he gets more than his fair share of compensation as a world champion beginning with his next fight and I'm already entertaining endorsement and sponsorship offers."

Whatever the future holds, Bradley says the best is yet to come. "I'm only 24 and I'm still hungry," he said. "This is just the beginning."