Timothy Bradley Jr. vs. Diego Chaves: Winner, Scorecard and Analysis

Timothy Bradley landed more punches than Diego Chaves on Saturday night. He showed excellent control, connected on a number of clean right hooks and did well to avoid some of Chaves' biggest punches through 12 rounds of boxing. And yet, in spite of Bradley's fine professional display, the judges called the fight a split draw.

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael passed along the scorecard from the bout:

UCNLive.com's Steve Kim was appalled by the result:

Boxing promoter Bob Arum was decidedly unhappy with the scorecard, via RingTV.com's Francisco A. Salazar:

Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs), a bowling ball of a boxer capable of trading well in close-range combat and dazzling with inside-out movement, performed very well in an entertaining bout against Chaves (23-2-1, 19 KOs).

HBO Boxing provided the final punching stats after the match:

Both fighters dished out some serious damage in the bout. Bradley's hammer of a right hand and excellent foot speed were readily apparent in the brutal welterweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The rugged Chaves clearly isn't as multi-faceted as the likes of Bradley, but he did show that he can absorb plenty of punishment to both the chin and body and dive right back into the fray without fear. He also landed several crunching blows to Bradley's face in the middle rounds that caused a great deal of swelling.

The fight got off to a rousing start. Bradley worked the ring and relied on his quickness early on, seemingly aware of Chaves' reputation as a powerful slugger and a practitioner of dirty tactics in the ring, which got him disqualified in his last bout against Brandon Rios. HBO Boxing provided a look at the early exchanges:

Bradley and Chaves traded blows early in the second round, but they had to break apart twice after two accidental headbutts left marks on both fighters' foreheads. Bradley drew a visceral reaction from the crowd with a thundering over-the-top right on Chaves midway through the second round. Chaves appeared to struggle with Bradley's movement and longer reach early on.

After three rounds of smartly moving around the ring, Bradley's atavistic brawler mentality won out. He and Chaves engaged in some highly entertaining close-quarters combat, digging at each other's flesh with powerful hooks and uppercuts. Bradley did fairly well in these exchanges and showed that he was unafraid of Chaves and his 19 knockouts.

Still, Bradley paid a price for changing his style. Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole wondered if the 31-year-old was injured midway through the fight:

Chaves had some notable facial damage of his own, but he moved forward well and kept trading with Bradley despite the latter clearly gaining the upper hand with his quick-striking combinations. Midway through the bout, Kim felt Bradley was in complete control of the match:

HBO Boxing showed another example of Bradley's ability to connect with his strong right hand:

Bradley peppered Chaves' head and body in nearly equal amounts, although his best shots came at the expense of the Argentinian's skull.

The fight opened up a bit in the final third, which should have favored the agile Bradley. However, it gave Chaves the opportunity to set up his jab a bit more and follow with blows to Bradley's body. HBO Boxing provided the stats after nine rounds:

It was a ferocious display from both pugilists, one that enlivened the Las Vegas crowd and made for an incredibly intense atmosphere, even though Bradley seemed to have the upper hand the majority of the time.

ESPN.com's Rafael finally gave Chavez a round late in the bout:

There seemed to be little of note late in the match. Bradley kept his distance, came forward when Chaves opened up and looked sprightly despite a badly swollen face. A game Chaves kept working hard and won the few exchanges that took place over the last six minutes.

Bradley raised his arms in triumph just seconds before the final bell, confident that his performance could not be ignored by the ringside judges. However, the match was announced as a draw, which unleashed a chorus of jeers from those in attendance.

David Becker/Getty Images

Iole noted a near consensus on the result from those sitting ringside:

The perplexing result doesn't do Bradley many favors. He needed a win to bounce-back from a loss to Manny Pacquiao back in April, but this result could send his career into a bit of a holding pattern in a welterweight division chock full of young, talented boxers who are more willing to dance and move about the ring at times than Bradley. 

Chaves' opportunities are still open after earning the draw, but his recent record is spotty. He was disqualified in his previous bout and a loss to Keith Thurman in July 2013 doesn't help his chances of becoming a consistent draw in the United States.

A rematch might be the best course of action for Bradley, as he could very well put on a similar display of boxing acumen to the one on Saturday night and come away with a more favorable result.