Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr., 32-1-1 (12KO) the favorite, did what was expected. He pounded out a unanimous decision over the until then unbeaten Jessie Vargas 26-1-0 (9KO). All too often the 5′ 10″ Vargas gave up his four inch height advantage. He allowed Bradley to control the distance and land his own jab and just out work him. Neither man is a big puncher, so neither man was in serious trouble until the last round. That is when the fun started Saturday night at the StubHub Center, Carson, CA.

With under twenty-seconds left in the fight, Bradley got careless and in the middle of an exchange, he dropped his guard. At just about that precise moment Vargas was uncorking a big right hand.

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Boxing is littered with bizarre incidents and controversy, from in-ring riots to Parachutist’s landing in the ring – yet last night’s welterweight clash between Tim Bradley and Jessie Vargas introduced us to a slightly different kind of strange when referee Pat Russell initially appeared to wave the fight off in favour of Vargas – who behind on all 3 cards – rocked Bradley badly in the dying seconds of the final round.

This prompted wild celebration from the WBA 140 lb champion, when in actual fact, Russell was signaling the end of the action after mistaking the 10-second clacker for the final bell – and after much confusion, order was restored and the rightful winner announced – with Bradley getting the unanimous decision by scores of (115-112, 116-112 AND 117-111).

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