LAS VEGAS ? Cathedral City boxer Timothy Bradley showed what he can do when he doesn?t have a concussion and two injured ankles.
Defensively, Bradley eluded or blocked a large number of Juan Manuel Marquez?s punches to pull out a split decision victory and retain his WBO welterweight title Saturday night at the Thomas and Mack Center.
VIDEO: Tim Bradley retains title, defeats Juan Manuel Marquez
Two judges scored the fight for Bradley, 115-113 on one card and 116-112 on the other. The third judge had it 115-113 for Marquez.
Marquez, one of the top boxers to ever come out of tradition-rich Mexico, is a future Hall of Fame. As far as Bradley is concerned, he just joined him.
?That?s my ticket to the boxing hall of fame,? Bradley said after the fight. ?He couldn?t touch me. I gave him a boxing lesson.
?I?ll fight anyone, including a bull.?
Bradley ended the show in spectacular fashion as he engaged in a furious exchange in the middle of the ring. At the very end, Marquez was staggered and nearly went down.
After the final bell rang, trainer Joel Diaz came into the ring celebrating and raised Bradley on his shoulders.
Soon after the decision was read, Marquez left the ring and didn?t take part in the post-fight interviews with HBO, which televised the pay-per-view event.
While the Hall of Fame is a long way in the future for Bradley, in the immediate future might be a rise into the top three of boxing?s best pound-for-pound fighters.
Marquez was ranked No. 3 in The Ring magazine?s pound-for-pound rankings behind Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward. But in the last 16 months, Bradley also has beaten Manny Pacquiao, the boxer of the decade.
Bradley thought that if he won Saturday night, he should take over the No. 3 spot. He currently stands at No. 8.
However, don?t expect much traction for a Bradley-Mayweather fight. Bradley is represented by Top Rank, and Mayweather is promoted by himself in conjunction with Golden Boy Promotions.
Neither Top Rank nor Golden Boy has made fights together for several years. The most famous of which was failing to stage a fight of the century battle between Mayweather and Pacquiao, where purses could have gotten in the $60 million range for each fighter.
But for the time being, Bradley will enjoy his victory.
?No one can outbox Tim Bradley,? Diaz said. ?He followed the game plan perfectly. I told him no one can beat Tim if Tim boxes. And he didn?t even have a mark.?
