Co-promoter: Bradley stung by criticism of his performance

Timothy Bradley has been stung by criticism of his performance against Devon Alexander even though he won a unanimous technical decision on Jan. 29, according to longtime promoter Alex Camponovo.

Some members of the media and fans took shots at Bradley because he is prone to head clashes and suggested he didn’t look particularly good in victory.

“Tim is pretty overwhelmed by the reaction of the media, what they’re saying about head butts and everything,” Camponovo said. “Listen, the guy clearly won the fight. One wanted to fight and the other didn’t do anything.

“To me, he quit, I’ve seen worse cuts that that.”

Camponovo was referring to a cut above Alexander’s right eye, which was caused by a clash of heads.

Bradley now has a reputation for using his head as a weapon, which Camponovo believes is unfair.

“I said before the fight that these are two billy goats,” he said. “I knew they would end up shredded. That’s the way they both fight. Tim got butted too, remember. Not on purpose. It’s just the styles

“Tim had two cuts that needed stitches, one on his cheek and one to the left his eyebrow.”

Could Bradley change his style in any way to prevent head clashes?

“Not unless he grows four inches in the next few months,” said Camponovo, meaning short fighters are more prone to head clashes because they must bull their way inside.

Camponovo’s message to Bradley, who was unavailable for comment, was to leave everything in the past.

“I told him, ‘The fight’s over. You won. You just gotta move on,’” Camponovo said.

Meanwhile, Bradley must decide whether to stay with his co-promoters – Gary Shaw and Thompson Boxing – when their contract expires in June.

Bradley has been with Thompson since he turned professional in 2004 and added Shaw in 2007. They guided Bradley to a number of big fights and two major titles, although he certainly isn’t a multimillionaire.

Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions  have both said they like the idea of signing Bradley and, obviously, both organizations have a lot to offer him.

Top Rank and Golden Boy promote almost all the big-name junior welterweights and welterweights. Top Rank has Manny Pacquiao, who Arum sees as a potential opponent for Bradley, and Golden Boy has Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz and another money-generating prize, Floyd Mayweather Jr. That means it would be easier to get Bradley into the ring with other top fighters for high-profile and lucrative events.

Camponovo didn’t want to speak in detail about that aspect of the future.

“I’ll just say we trust in Timothy Bradley,” he said. “We’ve been together since 2004. We’ve tried to do our job so he can do his. I don’t want to speculate what might happen, though.”

Camponovo said he and the rest of Bradley’s handlers are in the early stages of determining what comes next in terms of an opponent, Khan apparently being the main focus.

Khan has a scheduled fight date of April 16 in the UK, although he has yet to secure an opponent. If wins and he emerges unscathed physically, then a showdown with Bradley to determine the top 140-pounder could take place on a reported target date of July 30.

Camponovo said he and Shaw are focusing on the next fight and not on whether Bradley will re-sign with them.

“Everything is a little premature,” Camponovo said, referring to the Bradley-Khan talk. “… Khan has to resolve the issues with his fight in April. And there’s the possibility that he won’t win or will get cut.

“We talking about that, though. It definitely would be a huge fight.”