Bradley deserves the criticism.

[PEBBLES!]

People who don't want fighters to be criticized for fighting ******ly need to go watch strongman contests or something. Of course he deserves the criticism. Like Amir Khan going to war when he's hurt or Nate Campbell dropping his hands and getting KTFO'd or Victor Ortiz trying to hug and kiss Floyd 5 times. Fighters need to get called out on their ******ity.

the counter-argument to that is that Bradley doesn't typically fight dumb, and that he did so last night with a certain purpose.

ofc, despite all the publicized statements to the contrary, you believe that Bradley had nothing to prove to his promoter and any potential opponents who were viewing last night's fight, so you'll dismiss the point as mere horse-hockey.

[IronDanHamza]

in a more measured and clever way, though. he was staying in a certain range way too long last night.




he hung so well 'inside' because Bradley stayed there too long -- sometimes in a dangerously upright stance swinging away while giving Provodnikov that little bit of space between them that he needed, almost mid range -- too often. Bradley was still effective in making Provodnikov miss a lot there while landing himself, but the problem for him is that he could land seven, eight, nine, ten punches without making his guy shake, but the one or two that Provodnikov might land in that same spell would be damaging.

Bradley has spent a lot of time working in that range when he isn't concerned about being worn down by an opponent's workrate or power, because they either don't hit that hard typically or they don't have the workrate (Holt hit hard but is lazy, for example).

against Peterson, he went in to feel what his guy had, got buzzed up a bit at one point at those closer quarters, and then, after realizing Peterson's strength, stayed outside for long passages and outboxed/jabbed a longer, fundamentally sound fighter, picking his moments to bully much more carefully and not spending so much time there.

Bradley felt what Provodnikov had and still took excessive risks.



Bradley felt what Provodnikov had and still took excessive risks later on. it's blatant to the eye. Bradley put himself right in there by his own volition very often, when he could have moved or spoiled.

as a contextual prelude to my next point, i'd say it would be difficult for anyone to deny that Bradley threw away that first round by willingly going into the killzone, which let RP into the fight much earlier than was necessary - when a guy has an opening two rounds like the ones Bradley had, you might expect them to not be at their absolute sharpest in the subsequent 10 rounds. by rights, Bradley shouldn't have even been there for the 3rd. most fighters wouldn't have been.

where Provodnikov did struggle in close quarters with Bradley, IIRC, was in the real inside territory, when Bradley was on his chest popping his head up with uppercuts. that's where Bradley should have been more often if he wanted to take it to RP, instead of whaling away in that killzone range with that little bit of space between them.

Agree to disagree.

You make good points, but I don't agree with all of them.

I just don't think Bradley is the boxer you feel he is. He clearly canbox, there's no denying that and when he did box he did well and I personally believe, especially after the 3rd and then the 6th that his intention was to box but he was forced to fight and happy to oblige because that's who is he. He's a skilled fighter IMO who can box and adjust when needed.

I don't believe after getting almost knocked back in time, that he willfully went back for more. I just don't believe that and it's actually something I expect from Bradley.

Like I said, only thing I didn't expect was Ruslan to have the success he did in close quarters and hurt Bradley as much as he did.

Similar to Holt, when he get badly dropped, he got up and came straight back and even forced the fight. And outworked him. He's a warrior.

But you make good points and like I said I respect your opinion.

[B-Bomber]

Bradley can't win. If he boxed like he did in the middle rounds he would be called a boring runner and people would say "he hasn't looked good since the Alexander fight"

Now he goes toe to toe when he shouldn't have and people are still criticizing him instead of showing him respect for having a heart, grit and determination of a warrior.

What do you want from Bradley? He's always been an average fighter skill wise and he always will be one. What separates him from other fighters is his will to win.

This, even though I would stretch it to good rather than average.

However, he is no Floyd Mayweather , absolutely.

[2todabody]

Ruslan pull Bradley into a dog fight, Bradley had no choice but to fight Ruslan's fight for half of the whole fight, if Timmy had a choice he would box the exact way his corner told him to but he couldn't because he doesn't have the skill level to do so.

Roach got into Tim's head before the fight even started, with the "he's going to run again" talk. Combine that with all the $h!t he got from the Pac decision, Bradley was trying to prove something instead of fighting like he did in the middle rounds

[IronDanHamza]

the counter-argument to that is that Bradley doesn't typically fight dumb, and that he did so last night with a certain purpose.

ofc, despite all the publicized statements to the contrary, you believe that Bradley had nothing to prove to his promoter and any potential opponents who were viewing last night's fight, so you'll dismiss the point as mere horse-hockey.

I think he does fight dumb, at times.

By no means at all times, he's not a dumb fighter.

But, he does tend to get get sloppy and "dumb" at times, IMO.

[daggum]

bradley got beat up in order to please the fans. just like floyd against cotto.

[4Corners]

Bradley easily wins a decision, and stinks the joint out.....he's boring

He takes risks with a huge puncher, fights reckless but exciting.....he's overrated

The guy can't win.

[Cuban Linx]

FeFist made excellent point in the 2nd paragraph.

If This was Canelo, Donaire (who I am not a fan of), or Pacquiao against a B- level opponent, getting dropped, and staggered left and right, everyone would be calling them bums. I would be very critical of them as well.

But why is it ok for Bradley to look like a bum with no defense and come off as a warrior, but it's not ok for the other guys?

[4Corners]

FeFist made excellent point in the 2nd paragraph.

If This was Canelo, Donaire (who I am not a fan of), or Pacquiao against a B- level opponent, getting dropped, and staggered left and right, everyone would be calling them bums. I would be very critical of them as well.

But why is it ok for Bradley to look like a bum with no defense and come off as a warrior, but it's not ok for the other guys?

Well for one......Bradley has proven himself against top fighters at 140 lbs before, Canelo has done jack s**t.

The thing is when Bradley stinks the place out but wins handily.....they call him boring

When he takes unnecessary risks and fights reckless but exciting......he's overrated.

So what do people want him to do???

[PEBBLES!]

I just don't think Bradley is the boxer you feel he is.

i don't believe that i ever stated once that Tim is the pure-boxer who ate Cincinnati. although, he boxes very well in spite of possessing a stature that is ostensibly incongruous with out-fighting.

but he was forced to fight

I don't believe after getting almost knocked back in time, that he willfully went back for more. I just don't believe that

it's right there on the tape, though. you can see him go to RP at points when he really did not need to and then staying in the trenches instead of getting in and out (as he did against a previous opponent whose strength put him on the back foot).

to not see that would be like someone denying that Tony DeMarco walked to Adrien Broner in the 4th and made his job a lot easier. it was plain as day.

and it's actually something I expect from Bradley.

'fighting inside' or 'pressuring' are nuanced from 'whaling away at a somewhat close range that still gives your opponent that little bit of space that he can use and staying there for extended periods'.

Like I said, only thing I didn't expect was Ruslan to have the success he did in close quarters and hurt Bradley as much as he did.

that's just restating your original point without adding to the counter-points i presented re. the 'inside fighting', though.

as i already intimated, there are nuances in range. some would describe the mid-range as 'the inside'. look how often Tyson is mischaracterized as an 'inside fighter'.

he hung so well 'inside' because Bradley stayed there too long -- sometimes in a dangerously upright stance swinging away while giving Provodnikov that little bit of space between them that he needed, almost mid range -- and too often. Bradley was still effective in making Provodnikov miss a lot there while landing himself, but the problem for him is that he could land seven, eight, nine, ten punches without making his guy shake, but the one or two that Provodnikov might land in that same spell would be damaging.

Bradley has spent a lot of time working in that range when he isn't concerned about being worn down by an opponent's workrate or power, because they either don't hit that hard typically or they don't have the workrate (Holt hit hard but is lazy, for example).

against Peterson, he went in to feel what his guy had, got buzzed up a bit at one point at those closer quarters, and then, after realizing Peterson's strength, stayed outside for long passages and outboxed/jabbed a longer, fundamentally sound fighter, picking his moments to bully much more carefully and not spending so much time there.

where Provodnikov did struggle in close quarters with Bradley, IIRC, was in the real inside territory, when Bradley was on his chest popping his head up with uppercuts. that's where Bradley should have been more often if he wanted to take it to RP, instead of whaling away in that killzone range with that little bit of space between them.

saying that Ruslan fared better on the inside than one might have expected is too flat a statement and doesn't give me much understanding of what you're seeing, because they fought at varying degrees of close range in the fight. could you identify some moments that i could look at?

Similar to Holt, when he get badly dropped, he got up and came straight back and even forced the fight. And outworked him. He's a warrior.

he didn't just come straight back at Holt, though. he continued to pressure, but adjusted and tightened up, and didn't get that careless again until the 12th.

But you make good points and like I said I respect your opinion.

i'm here for strong, insightful debate, bro. let's trade. give me reason to change my mind.