A Win Without Fighting

bradley13 Timothy Bradley was not the only fighter to receive a boost from his victory of the great Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night. In an indirect, but very real way, Manny Pacquiao also benefited from the outcome of the fight.

Marquez is Pacquiao’s biggest rival, and the man against whom he shall be most often judged. Fighters are measured against their greatest opponents. But the analysis does not end with a simple stat listing what the two men have done against each other. Evander Holyfield lost his trilogy to Riddick Bowe. When their careers are seen in the bigger picture, however, Holyfield is a clear Hall-of-Famer, while Bowe is thought of as a very good fighter who had held the title.

Timothy Bradley Shakes off the Demons and Wins Impressively

The narrative for Timothy Bradley’s career before last night was that of negativity and spoiled success. Bradley has been a fighter more criticized than praised on his rise to prominence and his time in the limelight has been one of turmoil. Boxing fans and pundits alike have had a slow transition to giving credit to Bradley after his ugly technical decision win over Devon Alexander in 2011 and his controversial decision over pound for pound boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

In a fight that was supposed to propel Bradley into stardom and millions of dollars he got his hand raised but it did little to advance him to the public and media. In a comeback defense of his World Boxing Organization Welterweight Title he was matched against an “easy” opponent that he was supposed to win and look good against in order to make people forget about the Pacquiao controversy.

Bradley Wins, Marquez Loses Twice

HBO PPV viewers and the live crowd at the MGM Grand saw Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley out-box and out-fox Juan Manuel “Diaminta” Marquez twelve championship rounds for the welterweight championship. Marquez was forced into a fight where he needed to be the aggressor. As most fans know, Marquez’ strong suit is counter punching. He is at his best when he can draw his opponents into traps. He welcomes their aggression, and generally makes them pay for mistakenly thinking they made a good move.

His problem Saturday night was he waited and waited, while Bradley kept sticking him and sticking him with a good jab and quick combinations. He darted in and out, or ducked under most of Marquez’ attempts to counter. When Marquez did land anything, Bradley would roll with it,, and then counter Marquez’ counter. Bradley controlled the pace and the distance. However, Marquez did manage to connect a few times, but Bradley once again proved he can take it both to the head and body. He is in superb physical condition.

It’s been a bad spell for Mexican fight fans, Juan Manuel Marquez the latest Mexican warrior to fall

Let’s not even start about the latest slice of poor officiating witnessed last night in Las Vegas. Tim Bradley, a worthy and clear winner over an always-game but suddenly old-looking Juan Manuel Marquez, had to listen to how one judge had somehow scored the fight against him. Still, the right man won via split decision and Bradley – a fighter I learnt never to bet against some time ago – can now go on to even bigger fights (maybe even one with Floyd Mayweather Junior?)

As for Marquez, it’s tough to see where he goes from here, although he may well demand a return with Bradley, feeling as he does that he deserved the win. But whatever happens next for both great fighters, it must be agreed how it’s been a tough time for Mexican fighters and their fans just lately.

We’ve seen Rafael Marquez, Juan Manuel’s brother, lose by stoppage and decide the hang ’em up, we’ve seen new superstar in the making Saul Canelo Alvarez comprehensively schooled by Mayweather, we’ve seen Julio Cesar Chavez Junior receive an undeserving win over Bryan Vera and now we may have seen the last of “Dinamita.”

Bradley decisions Marquez; Salido defeats Cruz

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) won an incredibly dull 12 round split decision on Saturday night over 40-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KO’s) by the scores of 115-113 Marquez, 116-112, 115-113 Bradley at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Bradley did a great job of staying on the outside to keep Marquez from landing his power shots, but unfortunately it kept Bradley from landing punches as well. Bradley ended up moving too much and that really took away the excitement in the fight. The only round where Bradley actually exchanged was the 12th, and he clearly lost that round.

Richie Commey begins Alive & Kicking Ambassadorial role

Ghana’s IBF Continental Africa Lightweight titlist, Richie Commey has began his new position as the Ambassador for social charity, Alive & Kicking after he was officially unveiled on Thursday October 10, 2013 in Accra to champion the cause of the NGO which produces balls to create employment in Kenya, Zambia and of course, Ghana.

Commey who has vowed to use the new role to encourage young potential sportsmen to attach equal importance to education as they will to their sports persuasions, has quickly stepped into the job by immediately touring two schools within the James Town suburbs where he grew up.

“It’s simply a great opportunity and I feel humbled and privileged to be appointed to this role. There are a lot of boxers and sportsmen in this country so for me to be chosen, is fantastic and feels great,” Commey told East Side Boxing exclusively after his unveiling.

Thrill-a-Minute slugger James Kirkland close to ring return, likely to face unbeaten Glen Tapia on Dec. 7th on HBO

Fight fans who love a slugfest are likely to be in luck. According to Bob Arum, who spoke to Ring Magazine’s website, once-beaten southpaw slugger James Kirkland is thisclose to getting the all clear to return to the ring. The word is Kirkland – inactive since March of 2012 and having been fighting a number of legal issues with his former promoters – will face unbeaten contender Glen Tapia on December 7th, probably on the Gulliermo Rigondeaux-Joseph Agbeko super-bantamweight clash set for Atlantic City.

Some fans have been turned off by classy Cuban Rigondeaux, even to the point of being bored when the former amateur superstar does his stuff. Rest assured, even if Rigondeaux-Agbeko is somewhat dull to those fans who love a barnburner, the planned co-main event will make up for it. His lacklustre (shoulder injury) showing against Carlos Molina side, Kirkland has never been in a dull fight. Wickedly powerful, naturally aggressive and also vulnerable, Kirkland is the ultimate ‘don’t blink’ fighter.

Roman Morales remains undefeated in main event at the Chumash Casino Resort

1864 SANTA YNEZ, CA (June 14, 2013) – Tonight Gary Shaw Productions presented another great night of boxing at the Chumash Casino Resort. In the main event, Roman Morales (17-0, 10 KOs) defeated Robert Castaneda (20-4-1, 15 KOs) by way of unanimous decision to retain his “Central Coast Championship”.

In the early rounds Morales was using his superior boxing skills to get in position to land his shots. Castaneda was confused as Morales was switching stances throughout the fight. Morales dropped Castaneda in round five and everything was going his way. Things changed in round seven when Morales got caught with a left hook to the head. Morales gained his composure, but Castaneda gained confidence going into the final rounds. But Morales got back in control and finished off the fight landing hard blows to the head and body. Scorecards read 97-91 across the board for Morales.