Can Luis Carlos Abregu Compete Against Timothy Bradley?
When Timothy Bradley takes on Luis Carlos Abregu on July 17 at the Agua Caliente Casino in Southern California, there will be many things on the line. However, Bradley’s WBO junior welterweight title won’t be one of them. This will be a non-title fight as Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs) is moving up to welterweight to square off against the hard-hitting Argentine brawler Abregu (29-0, 23 KOs).
Both men have undefeated records coming into the fight but they are at different places in their career. For Bradley, this bout is a stopgap measure necessitated by original opponent Marcos Maidana dropping out in curious circumstances. Maidana originally claimed that he needed to drop out of the fight because of a back injury, which was later revealed by Maidana to be a lie; the real reason he withdrew from the fight stemmed from a dispute with his manager.
So Bradley swapped out one Argentine fighter for another on the bill. The bout will also be a chance for Bradley to prove himself at the welterweight division, which is a possible destination for him in the near future. Beating a hard puncher like Abregu would prove that he can step up in weight class and make him a potential opponent in a big money fight against a high profile foe like Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather in the near future.
But Abregu has as much at stake in the bout as Bradley. Although it’s a non-title bout, beating Bradley would be a signature win in a career largely marked by easy knockouts over inferior competition. To date, Abregu’s best win is arguably his fourth round knockout of Irving Garcia last May. However, Garcia was stopped in the fifth round this past weekend by Mike Jones in Atlantic City, taking much of the validity out of the win. Abregu’s last bout was a 10-round unanimous decision over Colombian journeyman Richard Gutierrez in February.
Abregu is a fan favourite for one reason: his raw power. Some boxing experts consider him to be the most powerful puncher (pound for pound) in the fight game. His knockout record of almost 80 per cent speaks to his power. Many of these knockouts were set up by one huge punch, making him the type of fighter that fans want to see in the ring. When Abregu is in the ring, any punch could be the turning point of the fight.
However, many boxing experts don’t think that Abregu is a legitimate force in the welterweight division. It’s ironic that he was a replacement for Maidana: not only are the two fighters from Argentina but many experts feel that they have similar strengths and weaknesses. While they are both incredibly hard-hitting knockout artists, there is a consensus that they are both wild brawlers with little interest in defence who would have trouble beating a highly skilled and polished champion.
Bradley is exactly the type of fighter who is supposed to have little trouble avoiding Abregu’s power. This is why this fight is so important for Abregu’s career – a solid performance against Bradley (perhaps even short of a win) would silence the critics who claim that he is too wild and out of control to be a legitimate title contender.
At the end of the day, this will be a battle of speed (Bradley) versus power (Abregu). If Abregu is going to have any chance of winning the fight, he’s likely going to need to commit to eating several punches from the faster Bradley in order to land one of his own. Abregu is the naturally larger fighter but his jab has never been a primary weapon. His best shot at victory will be to try and outmuscle Bradley and hope he can trap him on the ropes or in the corner.
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