Bradley moves on after stunning win

LOS ANGELES — Timothy Bradley no longer cares whether anyone thinks he won his fight with Manny Pacquiao last year at the MGM Grand Garden. At least that’s what he’s telling everyone who asks about it.

Bradley, 29, knows what he thought in the ring when the split decision stunningly went his way. He hasn’t changed his mind after receiving criticism, ridicule and death threats for ending up on the right side of two judges’ scorecards.

“It was like I stole something from somebody,” Bradley said. “A lot of people were affected by it. That was a really low point in my life. It just spread like wildfire: ‘You didn’t win! Give the belt back!’ ”

Bradley still believes he beat Pacquiao in one of the biggest upsets in recent boxing history, even if he gained almost nothing from it. He couldn’t land a rematch with Pacquiao, and he turned down other fights while struggling to entice the world’s best welterweights to face him.

Nine months after that shocker in a Las Vegas ring, Bradley (29-0, 12 knockouts) returns tonight under the softer lights of Carson, Calif., defending his WBO 147-pound title against Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KOs).

“I worked my butt off for 18 years to get to this point, and then it hit me: I didn’t gain anything from the Pacquiao fight except experience,” he said. “I didn’t get any credit for beating him. It wasn’t what I expected at all.”

The decision left Bradley and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum in an uncomfortable position. Although Arum signed Bradley in late 2011 and promised him the career he always imagined, Pacquiao has been Top Rank’s most important fighter for several years.

What’s more, Arum vehemently disagreed with the decision in public, saying “everyone in boxing should be ashamed” and even demanding a government probe into the judging.

While Bradley is an athletic, accomplished technical boxer, his lack of knockout power — one stoppage win in his past 11 fights since April 2007 — limits his appeal to casual fight fans.

But Provodnikov, 29, is an intriguing opponent for Bradley. The powerful Russian has been a difficult sparring partner for Pacquiao at the Wild Card gym under the guidance of their mutual trainer, Freddie Roach.

While Bradley isn’t taking Provodnikov lightly, the champion gave the shot to Provodnikov only after Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa turned it down in January. Bradley is confident he’ll take care of Provodnikov and move on to bigger challenges, saying he wants to fight several times in 2013.