It’s seldom seen in boxing where an undefeated fighter with 30 wins needs to validate himself as a champion, but that is what’s lying ahead for Timothy Bradley as he faces Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
While no one will question Bradley’s heart, many question him as a legitimate welterweight champion after his last two fights.
In June 2012, Bradley challenged Manny Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight championship.
After 12 rounds, whether in attendance for the fight or watching on pay per view, most everyone thought Pacquiao had won a clear and decisive victory.
But inexplicitly, Judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford scored the fight for Bradley, and the fighter dubbed ‘Desert Storm’ was awarded a gift split decision as a result.
The decision was one of the worst in boxing history as Pacquiao outlanded Bradley 253 to 159 based on CompuBox. The verdict was so controversial that the WBO ordered a video review of the fight in which all five judges on the review committee scored the bout in Pacquiao’s favor.
Following his win over Pacquiao, Bradley took on Ruslan Provodnikov in March of this year. It was an action-packed fight from the opening bell.
In Round 1, Provodnikov would stagger Bradley with a hard right hand and moments later Tim would hit the canvas, but the referee ruled it a slip instead of a knockdown.
Over the next 10 rounds the two men traded hard, clean shots in one of the best fights of the year. Courtesy of Top Rank
Then, in the final round, Provodnikov knocked down Bradley with only a few seconds remaining in the fight. Since the fight was competitive throughout, some felt the 12th Round, which yielded a 10-8 score for the Russian due to the knockdown, would tip the balance in Provodnikov’s favor but the judges saw it differently and handed Bradley a close but unanimous decision.
So now, after winning two fights that most believe he should have lost, Bradley has a chance to silence his critics as he takes on Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez has faced the best boxing has to offer and is coming off the biggest win of his illustrious career, a knockout of Manny Pacquiao last December.
Courtesy of Top Rank In fighting Marquez, Bradley is presented with an opportunity to defeat a future Hall of Famer and erase any doubts that he is not a legitimate champion.
Bradley has the hand speed and footwork to give Marquez difficulties. As he stated in his Faceoff with Marquez that was hosted by Max Kellerman, he intends to box Marquez rather than engaging in a brawl as he did with Provodnikov. The WBO Champion knows he must fight smart against an exceptional counter puncher in Marquez and realizes one mistake could cost him everything.
So Saturday is almost a crossroads fight for Bradley despite the fact that he’s undefeated. If he wins, he can go onto bigger fights against some of the other top welterweights. Butif he loses, he may find it difficult to get back on another pay per view main event due to his small fan base and lack of punching power.
One way or another, Saturday night will go a long way in defining the career of Timothy Bradley.
