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By Thomas Gerbasi - When Bernard Hopkins was 29 fights into his professional boxing career, he was coming off a 12 round draw with Segundo Mercado in their bout for the vacant IBF middleweight title, and frankly, no one cared.
Hopkins was the Philly tough guy who lost a decision to Roy Jones in his first title fight a year and a half earlier, and there were few, if any, hints that the 29-year-old “Executioner” would go on to compile a Hall of Fame resume and carve out his own niche of boxing history along the way.
In comparison, Timothy Bradley is ahead of the game. At 29, and with 29 pro fights, the WBO welterweight champion has held titles in two divisions, he’s unbeaten, and he is coming off the biggest win of his career over Manny Pacquiao last June.
Yet as he approaches the first defense of his 147-pound crown against Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov this Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, the talk isn’t about the fight, but about Pacquiao, the controversy surrounding the decision, and how Bradley wasn’t able to capitalize on his win in the more than nine months since beating the Filipino icon.
In other words, no one cared.
That’s unfortunate for a number of reasons. First, Bradley has long been one of the sport’s most accessible and affable fighters, always available for an interview or a quick quote, and always a great ambassador for the sport. But getting the brunt of the abuse for the scoring in the Pacquiao fight has made him bitter toward the industry, and rightfully so. [Click Here To Read More]
Hopkins was the Philly tough guy who lost a decision to Roy Jones in his first title fight a year and a half earlier, and there were few, if any, hints that the 29-year-old “Executioner” would go on to compile a Hall of Fame resume and carve out his own niche of boxing history along the way.
In comparison, Timothy Bradley is ahead of the game. At 29, and with 29 pro fights, the WBO welterweight champion has held titles in two divisions, he’s unbeaten, and he is coming off the biggest win of his career over Manny Pacquiao last June.
Yet as he approaches the first defense of his 147-pound crown against Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov this Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, the talk isn’t about the fight, but about Pacquiao, the controversy surrounding the decision, and how Bradley wasn’t able to capitalize on his win in the more than nine months since beating the Filipino icon.
In other words, no one cared.
That’s unfortunate for a number of reasons. First, Bradley has long been one of the sport’s most accessible and affable fighters, always available for an interview or a quick quote, and always a great ambassador for the sport. But getting the brunt of the abuse for the scoring in the Pacquiao fight has made him bitter toward the industry, and rightfully so. [Click Here To Read More]
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