“It Just Needs To Be Banned” | Boxing HOFer Timothy Bradley Believes Father-Son Duos Are “Horrible” But He Is The Product Of One
Timothy Bradley (Image Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Father-son duos in boxing have been legendary over the years. From Floyd Mayweather, Sr and Jr.'s historic run to Kenny and Shawn Porter and Bozy and Jaron "Boots" Ennis today, the father-trainer dynamic has yielded multiple world champions.
Ironically, one product of that tandem, Hall of Fame former world boxing champion Timothy Bradley, Jr., feels they should be "banned" from the sport.
Banned?
"It just needs to be banned," Bradley said on The 3 Knockdown Rule. "I think boxing needs to ban father-son [partnerships]. Ban it. Your father cannot be your trainer. Your father, he can be in your corner, whatever, but he cannot be your trainer.
“I think it should be banned, honestly, man. You just said it right there, man. The relationship between a father and son is horrible.
"And when they get into these tough matches, you see these fathers not stepping in and stopping fights, letting the fights go on too late, and then you know, financially, I mean. I don't even want to go down that road.
“I'll go down that road another time with you guys as far as fighters being in possession of their fathers and so on and so forth. That sucks, man."
Ironically, Bradley was trained by his father Timothy Bradley, Sr., although he was never the main trainer for his son.
The Takeover Perspective
Bradley was doubling down on the criticisms he has lobbed at the father-son duo of Teofimo Lopez, Sr., and Jr. in the wake of Lopez, Jr.'s sudden retirement after defeating Josh Taylor in his hometown of New York City at Madison Square Garden.
Leading up to that fight, “The Takeover” and his father were seen on video during an interview with ESPN having vicious arguments. Lopez has repeatedly admitted that the pressure of supporting his family weighed on him heavily.
During the interview, Teofimo's dad and trainer, Teofimo Lopez Sr., tried to intervene when his son was questioned about a controversial statement he made about Black fighters receiving preferential treatment, "if they want the Black fighters, they can keep them."
When the father tried to stop him from doubling down on the controversy, the two had an emotional argument. The boxer would later admit that he's been dealing with a ton of stuff outside of the ring.
"This is something that I've been dealing with for awhile, my family is in fear of everything I speak out, you know how frustrating that is," Lopez Jr. said. "You have not a clue of what I've seen, what I've gone through, and I'm continuing to walk through, none of ya'll."
Now Bradley believes the dynamic could be healthier and wants the fathers to exit the coaching or management position.