Timothy Bradley survived a late knockout bid from Jessie Vargas Saturday night at the Stubhub Center in California, and held on-with a little help from referee Pat Russell-to a unanimous decision victory.The victory earned Bradley the WBO interim welterweight title.
Bradley performed well throughout the fight; before getting crushed with the 12th-round right hand Bradley was comfortably ahead on the scorecards and overwhelming Vargas with activity. Bradley was quicker, beat Vargas to the punch repeatedly, and surpassed his performance vs. Diego Chaves, which ended in a controversial draw despite most observers believing Bradley won.
This win was another quality opponent he's vanquished, and now Top Rank CEO Bob Arum is mentioning him for a possible date against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"They want Bradley in Dubai to fight Sadam Ali, that's a great possibility. And listen, of all the guys around he'd make the best fight for Mayweather," Arum said.
"Floyd's always taken the least dangerous guy and Bradley presents a great danger. So will Showtime-which has to come up with the money-let him fight someone who is not going to resonate at the box office? That's up to him and Showtime."
Bradley is a skilled fighter with victories over Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. He has also robbed zeros in the loss column from Devon Alexander, Luis Carlos Abregu and Lamont Peterson. Most boxing observers wouldn't characterize Bradley as "dangerous" though.
Of Bradley's 32 wins only 12 have come by way of knockout, and he couldn't even knock down Vargas, coming up in weight from 140 pounds, despite hitting him cleanly and repeatedly. Bradley is often at his best when boxing from the outside and using his defense, tactics that don't figure to work as well vs. Mayweather.
There's also the issue of Bradley being signed to Arum and Top Rank. Mayweather has in the past refused to do business with them, and only agreed to face Manny Pacquiao because of the potential for the highest-grossing fight in boxing history.
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