Timothy Bradley Jr is adept at using his hands in the boxing ring. Now, the man who beat Manny Pacquiao in 2012 is teaching others how to use them in a different manner.
The Los Angeles Times reports Bradley is the defensive backs coach at La Quinta High School, a program that has 10 league titles and three consecutive semifinal playoff berths in coach Dan Armstrong’s 22-year reign.
Bradley, who still is an active fighter, made the decision after he lost to Pacquiao in a rematch in April.
Per the Times, he told Armstrong:
“Coach, I’d like to help out. I’ll be a water boy, I’ll carry equipment. I just want to get involved because when I’m not training for a fight, I’m bored to death.”
Bradley, 33, has a stepson on the team. Robert is a junior backup linebacker.
“I didn’t play football,” Bradley said he tells the high school players. “[But] I’ve got insight from the highest level — what it takes to be prepared.
This week, when La Quinta seeks to even its record at 2-2 against Eastvale Roosevelt, the game will be played near a lumber yard where Bradley won a fight in 2007.
Coach Bradley and Boxer Bradley sometimes cross.
“I use boxing terms all the time, and they be looking at me like, huh?” Bradley told The Times. “I told the quarterback, ‘You’ve got to learn how to feint.’ He’s like, ‘Feint?’ I showed him, ‘Look him off, then run up field. You’ve got to do it right every time.’ Now, he feints.”
