Coming from a controversial split-decision win over Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao, Timothy “The Desert Storm” Bradley had been highly criticized by boxing analysts for his lack of punching power and experience. Almost everyone in the boxing community considered the win the greatest robbery of all time. Setting out to prove himself, Bradley landed a bout against “The Siberian Rocky,” Ruslan Provodnikov. The fight for redemption turned into a street brawl—fire against fire, it was an all-out showdown—and Bradley prevailed in yet another split decision. The black cloud that surrounded him after the Pacquiao cleared up to some extent, but the credit that Bradley wanted was yet to come.
Meanwhile, the greatest rivalry of this era, Pacquiao vs Marquez (IV), was on the way. In the previous three encounters, Pac-Man had gotten the better of Mexican counter-puncher on two occasions. On December 8, 2012, both fighters came with one thought in their mind—a knock out, a decisive victory to prove their supremacy. Juan Manuel Marquez came in to the fight with considerably more muscle mass than he had before, which raised some eyebrows at whether he was using performance-enhancing drugs. Nonetheless, Marquez’s conditioning training proved the difference in the fight, as he delivered a vicious one-punch knockout. In the past decade or so, no fighter has been able to stop the Pacquiao’s rampage. Now two fighters, both counter-punchers, had succeeded in doing so, and on October 13, 2013, they were to decide who was the real victor.
The fight between Marquez and Bradley was about pride for Marquez—he wanted to become the only Mexican fighter to win five division titles. It was about honor for Bradley— he wanted to defeat Marquez and make a firm statement of entry into the immortal hall of fame. Many considered Bradley the underdog of the fight, with his inexperience and tendency to get into a slugfest. Marquez came into the fight as the smarter, bigger, and stronger fighter. However, Team Bradley had come with a plan; they were adamant in staying out from exchanging punches and focusing on winning it by decision.
From the outset, Bradley began to establish his jab and disrupt the rhythm of Marquez. There were a couple moments of excitement: Marquez hunted Bradley down into the corner and tried to exchange. But Bradley remained exceptionally sharp on his feet, and with good head movement was able to evade taking a serious punishment. Bradley’s jab was a key factor in the fight, as he landed at will and kept himself ahead on the scorecards. In the final minute of the last round, Bradley rocked Marquez with a hook and almost knocked him down. Two judges scored the fight 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of Bradley, and one scored 115-113 in favor of Marquez. Bradley won via split decision, but the fight wasn’t as close as the scorecard suggested. Bradley controlled the rhythm of the fight, won majority of the rounds, and remained the more active boxer in the ring.
With this win, Bradley has successfully defended his title twice in the same year. Will Bradley be given the credit for defeating Pacquiao, who is considered to be one of the greatest of all time, and Mexican legend Marquez, or are the critics going to remember Bradley as beating two out-of-prime fighters? Despite what the critics and others might say, Bradley still maintains an unblemished record of 31 wins and zero losses.
