Tim Bradley Proving He Still Belongs Among Boxing's Best
Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley answered a good many questions with his dominant stoppage win over rugged former lightweight champion Brandon Rios on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
None was more important than whether or not Bradley, 32 years old and just 1-1-1 over his prior three bouts, could still be considered the type of elite operator who belongs in the conversation among boxing’s pound-for-pound best.
It’s important not to overreact based on one performance, yes, but if you operate under the belief (which I do) that Bradley never belonged outside that conversation in the first place, then you can put his performance into the proper context.
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Desert Storm’s stoppage of Rios, who had never been knocked out before in a career filled with wars both inside and outside the ring, shows that he remains among the top fighters in the loaded welterweight division and in all of boxing.
He looked better than he has in any fight since taking a clear (or what should’ve been) decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez in 2013, and it was all the more impressive since it was his first fight under a new trainer.
When Bradley ended a decade-plus-long relationship with Joel Diaz, under acrimonious circumstances with accusations and bad vibes flowing in both directions, and replaced him with veteran firebrand Teddy Atlas, plenty of head-scratching went around.
Atlas, a disciple of legendary New York trainer Cus D’Amato, hadn’t trained a fighter since 2011 and didn’t seem to have much desire to return to the duties of running a camp and a corner.
He’s a passionate guy who is known for his animated rants in the corner and as a commentator for ESPN’s iconic Friday Night Fights series, but his style can be abrasive and not work for all fighters.
Bradley had nothing but praise for Atlas (and correspondingly not-so-subtle digs for Diaz) throughout training camp for the Rios fight, and the relationship between the two got off to about as impressive a start as one could hope.
You could see Atlas’ imprint immediately at the opening bell.
Bradley utilized his footwork more to create angles and avoid languishing on the inside, a locale that made him more exciting but also more vulnerable in recent fights. The few times he hung around too long, he got a tongue-lashing in the corner and quickly made the adjustment.
He set up his punches well, using his speed and movement to maximize the force. The ending of the fight came on a succession of ripping body shots, followed by an uppercut that caused the knockdown that set the end in motion just a few seconds later.
Naysayers will say that Rios was an out-of-shape fighter who finally saw a career of in-ring wars and struggles with making weight finally catch up to him. He weighed 170 pounds on HBO’s unofficial scale on fight night—evidence of a fighter who struggled to cut weight.
Monday morning quarterbacking is a wonderful thing.
Rios was clearly not the fighter who established himself as an exciting must-see attraction at 135 pounds, but he looked revitalized in January when he stopped Mike Alvarado to put a stamp on their trilogy.
Chalking up that sort of win, in that fashion (it was Bradley’s first knockout win since stopping a badly faded Joel Casamayor in 2011) is just the latest icing on the cake of an already impressive resume.
Bradley is in his fifth title reign (three at 140 and two at 147 pounds) and might have jumped to the front of the line for a significant showcase fight his next time out.
He already holds wins over Marquez, Ruslan Provodnikov, Devon Alexander and Manny Pacquiao (officially), and he could be in line to get another crack at the Filipino icon in light of Saturday’s performance.
Andreas Hale of the Ring Magazine reported Saturday that Bob Arum, who promotes both Bradley and Pacquiao, was impressed with the Palm Springs fighter for doing something Pac-Man couldn’t.
“Manny Pacquiao will review the tape of this fight, the tape of Terence Crawford’s fight and Amir Khan and he’ll make a decision,” Arum said. “With such a remarkable performance against a fighter that Pacquiao was unable to stop, Bradley could very well be the front-runner for the fight.”
If you asked most boxing observers and media members which of that trio of potential opponents had the best chance of landing the Pacquiao fight, you could probably assume that most would tab Bradley as the least likely, given their two previous encounters.
But if you’re thinking this is the same Bradley who took a controversial (and widely discredited) decision from Pacquiao in 2012 and then lost a clear decision last year in the rematch, then you’re kidding yourself.
All he needs is the opportunity to prove it.
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