Timothy Bradley to bring Teddy Atlas’ approach to Brandon Rios bout

No more than five years ago, Timothy Bradley Jr. believed that he needed to become a more entertaining fighter to create the kind of toe-to-toe action that would promote him from Coachella Valley casinos to big money arenas.

Now that he’s pocketed those riches and taken the lumps, Bradley is revisiting the benefits of his original style.

After getting rocked by Manny Pacquiao in their two bouts, and pounded in others by the lesser likes of Ruslan Provodnikov, Diego Chaves and Jessie Vargas, Bradley ditched his longtime trainer Joel Diaz in favor of Teddy Atlas, the former Mike Tyson cornerman and current ESPN analyst.

After a disciplined training camp, Bradley steps into the ring Saturday night at Thomas & Mack Center against Oxnard’s aggressive puncher Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 23 knockouts) in the HBO-televised bout.

The 32-year-old Bradley (32-1-1, 12 knockouts) said he’s aiming to put on a boxing display that will win him all 12 rounds on the judges’ scorecards.

Both fighters made weight Friday in the bout for Bradley’s World Boxing Organization welterweight belt.

“Everyone who watches is going to be amazed … this is an entirely different animal,” Bradley told reporters this week. “They’re going to see one fighter in there fighting [and] the other fighter is going to be playing catchup. I’m ready for everything Rios brings.”

Such a performance would strengthen Bradley’s candidacy to land a third shot at Pacquiao, who is also mulling former junior-welterweight world champion Amir Khan of England and unbeaten junior-welterweight champion Terence Crawford for a spring fight.

Rios, a 5-1 betting underdog, is also counting on a back-to-the-future type of fight plan.

The 29-year-old former lightweight world champion said he’s rediscovered the hunger that led him to a belt after Rios suffered a lopsided loss to Pacquiao in 2013.

For this fight, Rios spent 10 weeks training without his family at his longtime trainer Robert Garcia’s ranch in Riverside.

Given Bradley’s proven ability to win over judges — his dubious 2012 split-decision victory over Pacquiao standing as proof — Rios’ best path to victory is a knockout.

“I needed to get back the love I had for the sport,” Rios said. “Everyone knows the way I fight … to the wall. And when I catch you, I finish you. I hurt you, I jump right on you. I’ve done what I needed [in training] to win the fight. I’m not done yet. I’ve got a lot of gas in my tank.

“Bradley’s a good boxer. He’s not excellent. He’s more of a brawler-boxer. My thing is just don’t be overwhelmed. Be grounded, be ready.”

Rios has some extra motivation given that he’s dedicated the bout to his friend and manager, Cameron Dunkin, who was fired by Bradley in favor of Bradley’s wife, Monica.

Stability matters, said Rios’ trainer Garcia. As the tension heightens during the bout, the comfort in the challenger’s corner is an asset, Garcia said.

Atlas said Bradley’s committed to the lessons gained in a strict camp where Atlas banned cell phone use, music and any other voice than his.

He warned Bradley, “You’ve been taking some punches that take you to the cliff … the only reason you haven’t fallen over is that great heart and determination. You can’t keep committing that.”

The sessions created a strong bond, both men insist.

“You worry about if you can teach an old dog new tricks, but if somebody’s smart and they want to learn, they can make adjustments,” Atlas said. “He’s picked it up, accepted it and implemented it into his sparring. Now we have to go execute it.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimespugmire