Timothy Bradley Impresses in Welterweight Debut
When WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley decided to move up to welterweight for his next fight earlier this year, many people questioned whether now was the time for Bradley to be trying his luck at a higher weight class. These questions were magnified when he signed on to fight Luis Carlos Abregu, an undefeated slugger and one of the hardest hitters in all of boxing. Since Bradley had never been hit with a true welterweight punch, it didn’t seem wise to throw him in against one of the biggest punchers for his first taste of the division.
Saturday night gave Bradley the chance to answer the questions about his move to welterweight. Fighting in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd at the Agua Caliente Casino near Palm Springs, California, Bradley dominated his Argentine opponent with overwhelming speed. While Abregu tagged Bradley with a few good shots over the course of the fight, Bradley was able to absorb the shots without getting hurt. Although Abregu was still standing at the end of the fight, the result was a clear unanimous decision victory for Bradley in the 12-round bout.
If there were a lot of questions about Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs) coming into the fight, his performance left only one major question left to be answered: what would he be doing for an encore? By handily beating Abregu (29-1, 23 KOs) he opened up the possibility for him to get several major fights at the welterweight level along with already existing fight possibilities at the junior welterweight level.
Some people felt that Abregu was nothing but a wild brawler coming into the fight, but he was more controlled and focused than he had been in past bouts and put in a credible performance. In the end, Bradley was just too fast and elusive, although the fact that he took some good shots without getting hurt probably helped his credibility as a legitimate opponent for leading welterweights than if he had avoided getting hit at all.
After beating Abregu, Bradley mentioned several fights that he would like to have in the future. Not surprisingly, the two bouts that he most frequently mentioned are the two that would be against the highest profile opponents: Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Fights against either of these boxers are likely more pipe dreams than reality for Bradley, even with negotiations for a fight in November between the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world apparently breaking down; Pacquiao appears likely to either fight Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto while Mayweather likely won’t fight again until next year.
It’s more likely that Bradley’s next big fight will be back at junior welterweight in defence of his WBO crown. HBO Sports director of programming Luis Barragan was at Bradley’s victory over Abregu and specifically mentioned a bout between Bradley and WBC and IBF junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander. The two boxers have similar styles, executing smart game plans and being aggressive without being wild. A bout between the two would unify three of the four junior welterweight world titles and could be part of a mini-tournament to crown an undisputed junior welterweight champion (also involving Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana).
One interesting new possibility came about in the aftermath of Bradley’s win over Abregu. Before the fight, boxing promoter Lou DiBella said that the winner of the fight between Bradley and Abregu could become a possible contender for a bout against WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) this fall. Like Bradley, Berto is an undefeated champion who has had trouble getting big name opponents to commit to fights. Whether it’s against Berto or someone else, Bradley looks to have big fights in his future after his impressive victory over Abregu.
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