In his rise through the ranks, he won the WBC youth world welterweight and super lightweight crowns.
He also beat future IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez by a unanimous ten-round decision.
He then won the WBC super lightweight title by defeating British fighter Junior Witter on May 10, 2008, in Nottingham, England.
[7] Several days after his unification bout with Holt, Bradley was stripped of his WBC junior welterweight title, because of failure to fight Devon Alexander, his mandatory challenger.
The rules state that if a fight is stopped by a cut caused by an accidental headbutt before the end of round four, it should be called a no contest.
In April 2009, Lamont Peterson defeated French boxer Willy Blain for the vacant WBO Interim title, making him mandatory to full titleholder Bradley.
After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 120-107, 119-108 and 118-110 in favour of Bradley, retaining his title and handing Peterson his first professional loss.
"[10][11] In his HBO Debut, Bradley was scheduled to face Luis Abregu in a non-title bout at welterweight.
However, Bradley's promoter told ESPN.com that he had made a deal with Golden Boy Promotions to fight Interim title holder and knockout artist: Marcos "El Chino" Maidana, at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California, only a few miles from Bradley's hometown of Palm Springs.
[12][13] Although clearly out-sized, Bradley proved too quick and too skilled for the hard-hitting Abregu winning by unanimous decision, with the judges' scorecards reading 119–111, 118–112 and 117–113.
[14] At the end of the fight, Bradley openly made a challenge to pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao, calling for him to "Come break down this wall."
Timothy Bradley was stripped of his title as he refused to fight then World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan.
[17] Timothy Bradley joined Top Rank and made his debut for them on November 12, 2011, defending his WBO junior welterweight title against former lightweight titlist Joel Casamayor, 40, on the undercard of Pacquiao vs. Marquez III.
As a result of the controversial scoring, a special five-judge panel was created by World Boxing WBO President Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel to review the fight.
Bradley won a close unanimous decision against Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16, 2013, for the WBO welterweight championship.
He was easily able to beat the count (which finished only seconds before the final bell) as a result and hung on to win the fight on points.
"[20]Bradley's bout with Ring #3 ranked pound for pound, Ring #5 ranked junior lightweight and WBO junior welterweight champion Juan Manuel Márquez was held on October 12, 2013, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao pulled away on the scorecards in the second half of the fight winning with a unanimous decision (118–110, 116–112, 116–112), ending Bradley's undefeated streak.
The official scorecards led to a controversial split-draw (Julie Lederman 112–116 for Chaves, Burt A. Clements 115–113 for Bradley, while Craig Metcalfe 114–114 for an even).
[23] Bradley fought and beat the undefeated boxer Jessie Vargas on June 27, 2015, at StubHub Center, California, US on HBO World Championship Boxing to capture the WBO Welterweight Interim title.
[25] ESPN reported on September 8, 2015, that Bradley would make the first defence of his WBO title against 29 year old former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Ríos (33-2-1, 24 KOs) on November 7 at the newly refurbished Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
[28][29] In front of 14,665, Pacquiao knocked Bradley down twice and outpointed him throughout the fight, winning by unanimous decision after all three judges scored the bout 116-110 in his favor.
But after about two months, I cleared up and I have my wits about me now.”[32] On August 6, 2017, he officially announced his retirement from professional boxing after nearly 12 years in the sport.
The announcement came when he posted the following on his Instagram page:[33] I hope to continue to allow boxing in my world through teaching, commentating and being a fan of a sport I love so dearly.
He went to Cathedral City High School,[35] along with future mixed martial artist and current UFC contender Cub Swanson.
He added that when he was on the vegan diet, he felt superior over any athlete who gets in the ring because it gave him energy, helped with his reflexes and balance.