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correct.
Bradley could have danced for 12 rounds and won a wide UD, easy work. rounds 7-10 were exactly how he should have fought this guy.
instead, he chose to fight this guy's fight frequently in order to entertain, to make the 'statement' he was talking about pre-fight, and put himself in the shop window as an attractive proposition for a big fight with a Pacquiao, Marquez or a Rios. and that transformed what should have been a routine night into an incredibly risky night for him, ultimately.
even then, when he would hang in exchanges, he would be getting the better of Provodnikov, making Provodnikov miss most of his laughably wide shots and landing multiples, until he would eat one or two and get rocked. problem is, there was a big power differential between these guys, and seven, eight, nine or ten of Bradley's light punches were barely equal to just one of Provodnikov's in terms of effecting the opposite man. Bradley would stay in there too long, landing lots, but getting caught once or twice with big ones, and that's when he'd get in trouble.
every time he would stay in there, i'd exhort, 'get out! dance! jab!'
after he'd dominated rounds 7 through 10 in that exact manner, i was annoyed to see Bradley putting himself in the killzone again in round 11, which got him rocked, and then the same thing again in the 12th. Bradley should have been able to see out those championship rounds with relative comfort, but hanging around in there too long with Provodnikov had put him in a position of vulnerability that was completely unnecessary.
that said,
rounds were easy to score.
neither of round 1 or 2 were dominant enough for Provodnikov to warrant a 10-8.
Bradley was winning round 1 until he got rocked in that last minute - having been comfortably in control of the round, he threw it away by fighting that guy's fight.
round 2 was a two-way war that Provodnikov got the better of, not a one-sided round - Bradley gave back plenty in reply even after being rocked.
Bradley won 7 clear rounds (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10) to Ruslan's 5 (1, 2, 6, 11 and 12). factor in a point off for the knockdown and you have a deserved 114-113 Bradley win.
he showed he was a class above Provodnikov when he fought with strategic intelligence and used his abilities.
instead of fighting that way for 12 rounds, Bradley gave this guy every chance to win, put himself right in the danger zone and took damage that isn't good for his career just to entertain fans and sell himself for a big fight.
i hope he gets that big fight, because he sure won't get any credit from his haters and internet scumbags, who will either cry that he received a gift or shriek that he went life and death with a crude, limited opponent.
it's a no-win situation for Bradley in that respect. so predictable.
anyone who understands boxing and truly loves it knows that Bradley is a LION and a fine asset to the sport.
Bradley could have danced for 12 rounds and won a wide UD, easy work. rounds 7-10 were exactly how he should have fought this guy.
instead, he chose to fight this guy's fight frequently in order to entertain, to make the 'statement' he was talking about pre-fight, and put himself in the shop window as an attractive proposition for a big fight with a Pacquiao, Marquez or a Rios. and that transformed what should have been a routine night into an incredibly risky night for him, ultimately.
even then, when he would hang in exchanges, he would be getting the better of Provodnikov, making Provodnikov miss most of his laughably wide shots and landing multiples, until he would eat one or two and get rocked. problem is, there was a big power differential between these guys, and seven, eight, nine or ten of Bradley's light punches were barely equal to just one of Provodnikov's in terms of effecting the opposite man. Bradley would stay in there too long, landing lots, but getting caught once or twice with big ones, and that's when he'd get in trouble.
every time he would stay in there, i'd exhort, 'get out! dance! jab!'
after he'd dominated rounds 7 through 10 in that exact manner, i was annoyed to see Bradley putting himself in the killzone again in round 11, which got him rocked, and then the same thing again in the 12th. Bradley should have been able to see out those championship rounds with relative comfort, but hanging around in there too long with Provodnikov had put him in a position of vulnerability that was completely unnecessary.
that said,
rounds were easy to score.
neither of round 1 or 2 were dominant enough for Provodnikov to warrant a 10-8.
Bradley was winning round 1 until he got rocked in that last minute - having been comfortably in control of the round, he threw it away by fighting that guy's fight.
round 2 was a two-way war that Provodnikov got the better of, not a one-sided round - Bradley gave back plenty in reply even after being rocked.
Bradley won 7 clear rounds (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10) to Ruslan's 5 (1, 2, 6, 11 and 12). factor in a point off for the knockdown and you have a deserved 114-113 Bradley win.
he showed he was a class above Provodnikov when he fought with strategic intelligence and used his abilities.
instead of fighting that way for 12 rounds, Bradley gave this guy every chance to win, put himself right in the danger zone and took damage that isn't good for his career just to entertain fans and sell himself for a big fight.
i hope he gets that big fight, because he sure won't get any credit from his haters and internet scumbags, who will either cry that he received a gift or shriek that he went life and death with a crude, limited opponent.
it's a no-win situation for Bradley in that respect. so predictable.
anyone who understands boxing and truly loves it knows that Bradley is a LION and a fine asset to the sport.
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