Timothy Bradley vs. Juan Manuel Marquez
The main event come Saturday will feature the last two fighters to beat Manny Pacquiao, one via a controversial decision and the other by stunning knockout. Those fighters are Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez and now they will turn their attention away from Pacquiao and toward each other. This fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds for the welterweight championship and has a chance to be a Fight of the Year type bout.
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| Bradley barely made it out alive vs Provodnikov |
The last time Bradley was in the ring he barely made it out alive. Bradley took on tough Russian Ruslan Provodnikov and nearly got decapitated. In that fight Bradley was hurt in the 1st round and was completely out on his feet in the 2nd round yet somehow managed to keep throwing punches to avoid the stoppage. Bradley was also badly hurt in the 6th round and took a knee in the 12th round. Yet in the middle rounds Bradley was able to avoid big punches and boxed extremely well allowing him to win the fight by a close, controversial decision. In fact Bradley's last two wins against Provodnikov and Pacquiao were both highly contested and probably should have gone the other way. But they didn't so Bradley remains perfect with a record of 30-0 with 12 knockouts.
Bradley has fought absolutely everyone including Pacquiao, Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson, and Luis Carlos Abregu and he has beat them all. What makes Bradley so successful is the fact that he does everything well. He isn't a big puncher but he can land some heavy blows, he isn't lightning fast but his defense and boxing skills are both very good, Bradley doesn't seem to do anything great but does everything good. The biggest factor in Bradley's success is his heart and willingness to go through hell to win. In his fight against Provodnikov he suffered a concussion early in the fight yet never gave up. Bradley may be the toughest man in the sport, but those brass balls have also taken their toll on him. Following the Provodnikov fight he said he suffered headaches and slurred speech for months do to his concussion and while he says he is fine now no one can be sure until he starts to take some punches from the heavy hitting Marquez.
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| Marquez could have retired after this historic KO |
Marquez is also coming off a fight where he took a lot of punishment. He took that punishment from Pacquiao in their 4th fight. In the 5th round Pacquiao had Marquez badly hurt and coming out for the 6th round seemed to want to end the night early. With two seconds left in the 6th round Pacquiao went in for the kill and Marquez knocked him out cold. Somehow Pacquiao most have forgotten that Marquez is one of the best counter punchers in the history of the sport. That will be something Bradley needs to keep in mind.
Marquez is solid defensively but not spectacular and usually his defense is his counter punching. Much like Bradley, Marquez has also fought every challenger including Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Michael Katsidis, Juan Diaz, Orlando Salido, and Marco Antonio Barrera. Fighting so many top fighters makes his career record of 55-6-1 with 40 knockouts even more impressive. Marquez has been so successful partially due to his extremely high ring IQ and the high IQ of his Hall of Fame trainer Nacho Beristain. Both Marquez and Bradley have a ton of heart and will do anything to win, which is why this fight is all but guaranteed to be a classic.
Big time boxing fans know how Marquez will fight, he will stick and move and take his time until he is ready to unleash a viscous counter punch. The unknown here is Bradley who can choose to fight in many styles. Fans may see the Bradley who stood toe to toe with Provodnikov or they may see the defensive minded Bradley who fought Pacquiao. If Bradley chooses to go toe to toe with Marquez chances are the night won't end well for him. However Bradley has frustrated many top fighters with his defense and timing and if he stays smart he could do just that to Marquez. Whichever fighter wins this bout will only further his legacy in the sport and if it is Bradley who comes out victorious he may finally get the respect he deserves.
PREDICTION: As hard as it is to pick against a fighter like Timothy Bradley I just have a feeling the punishment he took against Provodnikov took a lot out of him. He will be fine in the future but not for this fight. Juan Manuel Marquez will be to patient for Bradley and will be able to successfully counter his punches all night. Marquez wins a great, very close fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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