‘Too old’ talk fires up Bradley for showdown against Vargas

It’s not like Timothy Bradley to lash out at his opponents before a fight. He usually keeps things professional, and certainly not personal.

But when Erik Morales called the 31-year-old Bradley old, that crossed the line in Bradley’s mind. Civility went out the window. Bradley went on a viral rant Tuesday about Morales, spicing things up for his vacant World Boxing Organization welterweight title showdown against Jessie Vargas of Las Vegas on Saturday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

Morales was hired by Vargas (26-0, nine knockouts) a month ago to train him for the fight against Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs) after Vargas parted ways with Roy Jones Jr. days after the fight was announced on May 18. Morales said Bradley was too old and has had too many hard fights over the years and that his younger, stronger boxer will prevail on the HBO-televised bout.

Those comments set off Bradley.

“Jessie Vargas, I’m gonna whup his butt on Saturday, and if Morales got a problem and he wants some, he can get some at the end of the year too, ’cause I got two fights this year,” Bradley said in the video that Top Rank, which promotes both fighters, posted on its website. “This is my first fight. I’m gonna beat his boy, then I’ll come back and beat his behind.

“He can come out of retirement. We can fight at a catch-weight. It don’t really matter, 154, whatever. You want to fight at 200? We could fight there, and I’m gonna whup your butt next.”

Morales retired in 2012 after losing a one-sided fight to Danny Garcia.

Bradley said it’s out of character for him to go off the way he did. But he said Morales and Vargas started it by talking trash and disrespecting him.

“As a trainer, you need to show respect,” Bradley said. “Just stay behind your guy and be neutral.

“I was already looking forward to this fight. But now I’m really fired up. I’m gonna beat this guy bad.”

Bradley said Vargas, 26, has many flaws, but he didn’t want to expose his game plan to exploit those flaws. He does believe that conditioning will play a role in the outcome and said Vargas can’t hang with him when it comes to endurance.

“Vargas always gets tired,” Bradley said. “I’ve seen a lot of his fights, and he tends to fade in the second half of his fights. That’s something I will definitely take advantage of.”

To prepare for the fight, Bradley and longtime trainer Joel Diaz went back to the basics, training in almost Spartan-like fashion, hitting tires with 50-pound sledgehammers and using an 18-pound medicine ball to build his strength. A photo from one of Bradley’s workouts made him look like a bodybuilder. His muscles were ripped, and he had a chiseled look about him.

“It was a throwback to the old days when me and Joel first started, and it was great,” Bradley said. “I’ve got a lot of size and definition. My power and my strength is greater. I can feel it when I train and when I spar. I’m hitting a lot harder, and Jessie Vargas is going to find that out on Saturday when I knock him out.

This is the best I’ve prepared for a fight since I fought Junior Witter (in 2008). I am so ready for this fight.”

The knockout has been his motivation since he left the ring at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Dec. 13 unfulfilled after a draw with Diego Chaves. Bradley thought he won the fight easily, as did most ringside observers.

“I don’t want to leave anything to chance,” he said. “You knock a guy out, there’s nothing the judges can do about it.”

Bradley hasn’t won since Oct. 12, 2013, when he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez. He lost his rematch and his WBO title to Manny Pacquiao on April 12, 2014, then had the draw with Chaves.

Bradley said he needs to remember how to win again and is confident he will hand Vargas his first loss.

“I want to win this fight for a lot of reasons,” he said. “I know I beat Chaves. But there’s big fights out there to be made, and I want to be part of that.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.