By Terence Dooley
Tim Bradley’s bruising tenth-round technical decision win over Devon Alexander has gone a long way towards setting up a further unification clash with WBA boss Amir Khan should the Bolton-born fighter successfully defend his title on April 16. Bradley, 27-0 (11), annexed the WBC and WBO light-welterweight titles in Michigan on Saturday night scalping Devon, now 21-1 (13), in the process after a rare collision of undefeated title-holders ended via an accidental head clash.
Tim has also held the IBF title only to be deposed due to his insistence on unifying the titles against the best possible opponent, consequently the IBF strap is an irrelevance. Devon, it would seem, is also out of the equation, he performed tepidly on the night and, rightly-or-wrongly, was perceived as a quitter in some quarters after telling the ringside physician that his right eye was stinging and he was unable to see properly.
Harsh? Perhaps, but fans expect fighters to ignore physical pain. They argue that Rocky Marciano fought with half his nose hanging off in the second Ezzard Charles fight. This chilling act of stoicism was rewarded with a stoppage win and The Ring’s FOTY award. Many feel that there is no reason why Devon shouldn’t have given it two more rounds.
Either way, it is unlikely that the Saint Louis resident will be given an immediate rematch. Bradley’s previous fight – a decision win over Luis Carlos Abregu – saw him campaign at 147lb, it is hard to envisage the 27-year-old sticking around specifically for a return against Alexander.
Amir is red-hot after December’s thrilling twelve-round war with Rene Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. Khan-Maidana was exciting; a choice between Bradley-Khan and Bradley-Alexander II is a no-brainer. US TV will push for the Khan fight, a fitting reward for Bradley’s stubborn refusal to allow Alexander to gain a foothold in their meeting.
Style-wise, Saturday’s fight was a disaster, especially after Devon suffered a cut to the right eye in round three. Khan, fast, agile and flawed, versus Bradley, composed, bullish and fundamentally sound, ticks all the right boxes.
Tim has been written off as a one-dimensional brawler, easy meat for Amir’s championship aspirations. ‘Desert Storm’ is anything but flashy, his footwork is frugal – he uses it to get himself into range rather than as a form of defence. Indeed, the Californian cut the ring down well against Alexander, forcing the southpaw to move to the beat of Tim’s drum during the early going, much to the detriment of Devon’s own jab and straight left, those shots only came into play when Devon started to spin his man.
The main criticism is that Tim did not do enough damage with his own right when he forced Devon onto the ropes. During his rise to the top, Bradley would cut down the ring, jab to the body and head and then throw over-hand rights. Sure, he can still get into range and puts out the jab but his right hand has not been as effective in recent times. Similar to David Haye, the 27- (11) fighter has started to telegraph the shot and needs to get back to the methodical, stalking style that served him so well on during the points win over then-WBC holder Junior Witter in 2008.
Bradley’s head is another bugbear, opponents claim that he uses it too frequently yet fighters generally complain about something in the wake of a defeat, few admit that the better man won. Tim does lean in with his shots, many fighters do, all it takes is for the other guy to lean in, as Devon did, and you have a recipe for disaster. Tim is not an excessively dirty fighter. ‘Commander’ Evander Holyfield faced the same criticism only for opponents to drop the subject if they grabbed a W over him.
Tim reminds me of Holyfield circa-1993. People criticised Evander after his bitty win over Alex Stewart but he worked out a solid, hard-to-solve style and these changes led to his remarkable rematch triumph over Riddick Bowe. Bradley, although a title-holder, is still a work in progress; if he can get his left hook going consistently then we may see a return of that solid, accurate right hand.
There is one worry when it comes to Bradley’s chances against Khan – could Tim have reached the point where the scales defeat him? Bradley will be far more effective when he makes a permanent move to 147lbs, his engine is great down at light-welter but I worry about his clutch. We could see a far more balanced fighter once he makes the permanent jump to welterweight.
Khan’s tendency to fight tall would be huge factor in making this an attractive meeting. Bradley’s recent opponents have all fallen into the trap of expecting a butt and then bracing themselves when Tim comes in, leading to the very thing they hope to avoid.
Still, a smart fighter should be able to figure out a means of ensuring that heads do not rub. Amir, although not the smartest fighter during the course of a fight, is coached by Freddie Roach, who is intelligent enough to teach his charge how to avoid potentially dangerous head-clashes.
As mentioned, Amir is riding high on the excitement of his win over Maidana yet the performance was a flawed one. Khan’s jab went AWOL at crucial periods; he used excessive movement as a means of defence, tiring himself in the process, and was defensively inept on the inside.
Ironically, Khan has tweeted that he would use uppercuts when Bradley moves forward; it is a pity that he did not employ this shot more often against Maidana, opting instead to tuck his gloves around his ears, allowing the Argentine to bring his own shots through the middle.
Bradley-Alexander and Khan-Maidana showed us that both Bradley and Amir still have some way to go, they are still tweaking their styles yet early signs indicate that a match between the two would be evenly-fought, tough and entertaining. Their flaws will make this fight one to look out for.
Indeed, Ray Leonard’s 1981 fourteenth-round welterweight unification win over Tommy Hearns was defined by the mistakes both men made and how they adapted as the fight progressed. Both boxers improved during the contest, it resulted in a bout that many still rate as the greatest-ever and which was rated Fight of the Year by Ring magazine.
Many UK boxing pundits have written Bradley off. They cannot see past the mercurial speed of Amir and believe that he will expose Tim’s technical deficiencies en route to a decisive win. There are a few dissenting voices, most notably Danny Flexen of Boxing News and boxingnewsonline.net.
‘People seem to have viewed Bradley’s performance against Alexander from a glass-half empty perspective,’ writes Flexen. ‘The bout certainly was not scintillating but Bradley did his job thoroughly against a man many pundits, pre-fight, felt would defeat him or was the No. 2 in the division.
‘Alexander’s disappointing showing should not discount from Bradley’s dominance against his rival, and indeed I believe it was more a case of the Californian not allowing his opponent to employ his strategy, rather than Devon simply underperforming. Bradley showed a lot of things in that fight to impress me – he may not throw flashy combinations like Khan, but his hands are certainly fast, his footwork is a touch limited but he cuts the ring off expertly, sets a good pace, can whack a bit and, most importantly, has an intelligent composed manner in the squared circle – that rare quality often termed ‘ring generalship’.
‘Khan went through hell against a Marcos Maidana who was slow and advanced in straight lines. Bradley has the ability to vary his angles, pick his shots and possesses a far tighter – and vastly underrated – defence. Even when Alexander was throwing fast bursts of five or six shots, almost all would be evaded by Bradley’s intelligent head movement and compact posture. Khan’s output would be diminished and it is yet to be seen how well he can operate off the back foot against a smart, patient pressure-fighter like Bradley. This is, at best, a 50-50 fight for Khan.’
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