My whole life has been one big fight.? ? Albert King, Born Under A Bad Sign
Timothy Bradley scored a unanimous decision over Jessie Vargas at StubHub Center in Carson, California, last night, winning the first of his now biannual cathartic events in typical fashion: dramatically and controversially.
That Bradley won by unanimous decision is also typical of a fighter who rarely has a short night, despite his best, and, in this case, added, efforts to produce one. Twelve rounds, and a particularly harrowing twelfth, were not in the plans for the Palm, Springs, California, fighter, who in the weeks leading up to the fight spoke openly about improving his power and pursuing a knockout. Bradley has issued similar threats before without making good on his word, yet there he was in the HBO pre-fight vignette, swinging a sledgehammer at a tire, adding muscle to his already cartoonish torso. Punchers are born, so the adage goes, while Bradley, 146 1/2, was born under a bad sign. If his power can in any way be improved, the solution is not to be found in added upper-body strength.
However futile all that swinging may be, Bradley no doubt brought the same indomitable will to the hammer and tire as he did to the other parts of his training, and, in all likelihood, to any of his competitive endeavors. But his body simply does not respond to his efforts to improve his punch the way it does to his demands to, say, stay on his feet.
The demand to stay on his feet is one Bradley?s body is still able to fulfill. But for how much longer? HBO commentator Max Kellerman, in one of his go-to defenses of mismatches, suggested earlier in the fight that Vargas could end anyone should he ?hit them right.? The point seemed laughable when Vargas, Las Vegas, Nevada, was catching Bradley clean with hooks and long right hands to little effect; when Vargas, pelted with overhand rights and lead left hooks, began to wilt in the middle rounds. And yet, with precious seconds left in the twelfth, Vargas nearly made a prophet of Kellerman with a monster right hand that, if only for an instant, severed Bradley from his senses. Seeing Bradley on the brink, Vargas attacked, and while Bradley weathered that onslaught as someone who has endured worse might, he was aided in his efforts by referee Pat Russell, who incorrectly stopped the fight at the sound of the ten-second mark. Thinking he had forced a stoppage, Vargas, 146 1/2, leaped onto the turnbuckle, his arms thrust in the air. He would remain in this jubilant state while Russell admitted his blunder and clarified that the fight went the distance. With order finally restored, Bradley was named the victor by scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 115-112.
Was Vargas denied the remaining seconds of the fight, and any improbable victory they might hold? Yes. But was he likely to accomplish what Kendall Holt and Ruslan Provodnikov, two bonafide punchers who had Bradley on his knees, could not? No. Replays showed a staggering Bradley not only raise his right hand to block a hook, but use what remained of his added strength to clamp onto Vargas as the fight drew to its premature close. If this is selling the finishing powers of a fighter with nine stoppages in 27 fights short, so be it.
It was a win Bradley needed, having not had his hand raised since he decisioned Juan Manuel Marquez in October 2013. A loss to Manny Pacquiao followed, as did a disputed draw with Diego Chaves, and while his strength of schedule suffered not at all, questions about Bradley?s membership among the elite were cautiously put. Perhaps it was his bitterness?bitterness with the boxing, with being underappreciated?that prompted Bradley to throw a near disastrous tantrum against Provodnikov, and another even less effective one in the rematch with Pacquiao. But at age 31, and with his share of wars, it was fair to wonder whether the formerly sharp volume puncher was becoming a brawler not because he chose to, but because he was slipping physically.
A better opponent than Vargas is needed to answer that question. Vargas had his moments against Bradley, whom he touched up in a number of rounds and almost spilled in the twelfth. And while Vargas, 26-1 (9), was pulped midway through the fight, Bradley cooled in the closing rounds. Against elite competition, however (and Bradley remains that until someone proves otherwise), Vargas lacked the dimensions and determination needed for the upset. Still, a controversial loss to Bradley?no matter how dubious that controversy?should do more for Vargas? standing among aficionados than any of his derided decision victories.
If gauging Bradley requires a stiffer challenge, one was present last night. Gennady Golovkin sat ringside, apparently scouting Bradley, who earlier in the week expressed a willingness to fight the middleweight who has knocked out his last 20 opponents. Bradley, 32-1-1 (12), would be the most decorated and respected name on Golovkin?s ledger by a laughable distance. Despite Bob Arum using Bradley?s comments as a promoter will, the only threat Bradley poses in a fight with Golovkin is to himself, which is why both Bradley?s trainer and father will force ?Desert Storm? to reconsider if this becomes more than talk.
Should giving serious consideration to fighting a feather-fisted welterweight constitute part of the ?big drama show? someone should provide Golovkin and his handlers with a dictionary and a new plot.
