Timothy Bradley vs. Juan Manuel Marquez Results: Desert Storm Was Clear Victor

In a sport rife with controversy, it shouldn't come as a shock that there's some debate as to who won last night's bout between Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez.

However, any arguing about the winner is a fruitless exercise. Bradley was the clear victor on the night.

The fight was very close. You can see that reflected in the judges' scorecards, via ESPN's Dan Rafael.

Both guys brought it, and neither could gain a sustained advantage. At the end of the night, though, Bradley had set himself apart.

Marquez didn't agree, via Top Rank Boxing.

You can understand his frustration at the end of such a hard fight. But it's a little harder to figure how he won the fight.

Bradley had the advantage in the major statistical categories, via ESPN Stats and Info.

Stats don't tell the entire story, though. Marquez generally doesn't throw a lot of punches, at least in relation to his opponent. He always looks to land fewer, yet harder punches than the other guy in the ring. That way Dinamita can end the fight with one punch, as he did with Manny Pacquiao.

That didn't happen. Desert Storm took Marquez's best blows and stayed on his feet.

He had a game plan going into the fight and executed it to perfection. He also adjusted during the fight and adapted his style in order to ensure that he'd stay on top of the judges' scorecards. Bradley knew the best way to approach the fight was to stay on the back foot and let Marquez come at him.

Had Desert Storm tried to take the fight to Dinamita, it would have been suicide. Instead, he was smart enough to know that he'd have to win this one ugly. While it's not necessarily going to make the fans happy, Bradley was willing to sacrifice beauty for success.

It's not as if the fight was a walk for him. He was tested in a big way and ended up winning only two or three more rounds than his opponent.

The fact of the matter is that Bradley was able to do enough to demonstrate he was the better fighter on the night, especially as the bout entered the later rounds..

Following that disputed win over Pacquiao, Bradley needed a victory like this. He fought a top-class opponent in Marquez and didn't have to rely on a judging error to pull through for the win.

Bryan Armen Graham thought Desert Storm got one of the best wins of his career.

If this is the Timothy Bradley we continue to see going forward, a fight with Floyd Mayweather may not be all that one-sided.