by Cliff Rold
There is something to be said for a working man’s fighter.
Timothy Bradley fits the bill. He works his tail off in camp and comes with a lunch pail mentality every time out. He knows knockouts for him are a rare commodity so he shows up looking to win over the long haul. Sometimes he boxes, sometimes he brawls, sometimes there’s a butt.
No one ever leaves thinking they saw someone half ass it.
This weekend, fighting for an interim WBO Welterweight belt that may ultimately be the whole title before the year is out, Bradley will face a Jessie Vargas who enters with plenty of question marks. We will have answers soon.
Let’s go the report card.
The Ledgers
Timothy Bradley
Age: 31
Titles: None
Previous Titles: WBC Super Lightweight (2008-09, 2 Defenses; 2011); WBO Super Lightweight (2009-11, 4 Defenses); WBO Welterweight (2012-14, 2 Defenses)
Height: 5’6
Weight: 146.4 lbs.
Hails from: Palm Springs, California
Record: 31-1, 12 KO
Rankings: #2 (BoxingScene, TBRB), #3 (ESPN), #4 (Ring), #8 (BoxRec)
Record in Major Title Fights: 9-1, 1 KO, 1 No Contest
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 10 (Miguel Vazquez UD10; Junior Witter UD12; Kendall Holt UD12; Nate Campbell NC3; Lamont Peterson UD12; Devon Alexander TD10; Joel Casamayor TKO8; Manny Pacquiao SD12, L12; Ruslan Provodnikov UD12; Juan Manuel Marquez SD12)
Vs.
Jessie Vargas
Age: 26
Title: WBA Super Lightweight (2014-Present, 2 Defenses); non-Super title
Previous Titles: None
Height: 5’10
Weight: 146.4 lbs.
Hails from: Las Vegas, Nevada
Record: 26-0, 9 KO
Rankings: At 140 - #4 (BoxRec), #6 (BoxingScene, Ring), #7 (TBRB, ESPN)
Record in Major Title Fights: 3-0
Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 4 (Vivian Harris RTD1; Steve Forbes UD10; Khabib Allahkverdiev UD12; Antonio DeMarco UD12)
Grades
Pre-Fight: Speed – Bradley B+; Vargas B
Pre-Fight: Power – Bradley B-; Vargas C
Pre-Fight: Defense – Bradley B; Vargas B
Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Bradley A; Vargas B
Vargas enters the fight never having officially lost. This fight isn’t in his hometown of Las Vegas. Vegas has been very good to Vargas. It’s not just that he’s won some toss-ups there. Vargas has benefited from what appears to be some wild scores in his favor. Fights like Vargas-Josesito Lopez, Vargas-Novikov, and his struggle last year with a badly faded DeMarco (in China) make him more shiny record than shining light entering this weekend.
That doesn’t mean he can’t fight. Vargas is a busy, capable fighter who will have a sizable height advantage here. If he can catch Bradley coming at him, Vargas can pile points and win exchanges. The experience gap widely favors the more veteran fighter but Bradley hasn’t had an easy fight since his walkover against Joel Casamayor. Those miles could count.
Bradley rarely has easy fights. Even in impressive wins over Marquez and Holt, he had to work hard. There are fans that still hold debated wins over Pacquiao and Provodnikov against him, but he never stopped swinging against either.
A big question is whether either man can really hurt the other. Vargas hasn’t shown much pop in his career and Bradley, while he keeps foes honest, doesn’t scare men away in the ring either. There is a good chance we could see a lot of leather here.
There is also a chance for an awkward affair. Much depends on what style Bradley employs. If he presses, we could see head clashes as the shorter man works to get inside. If he boxes, which he is capable of, he could give more chances to the longer Vargas,
In terms of intangibles, Bradley is just much more proven. Both men have received some benefit of the doubt on scorecards, but Bradley has done it against better and beaten better. He’s also shown the ability to go on the road and come up big as he did against Witter. He’s taken big shots from Pacquiao, Provodnikov, and Marquez and his chin held up. Vargas is going to have to win enough rounds because the stoppage isn’t a probable outcome.
The Pick
Nothing in the career of Vargas to date indicates he is at the level Bradley has been. He’s a fair fighter but this is where we find out if he has genuine world-class chops. Bradley has some wear but he’s far from the finish line yet. There will be some interesting rounds early, but this could end up looking like Bradley’s fight with Alexander where he just sort of takes over and bullies a guy who can’t hurt him. Vargas won’t outbox him, won’t win enough exchanges in close, and is Bradley is the pick to win a clear unanimous decision.
Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 51-13
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com