J.M.M. Marquez-Tim Bradley
WBO TITLE & MORE ON LINE FOR BRADLEY-MARQUEZ
Los Angles, CA– Since I have finally awoken from the coma-inducing performance put on by heavyweight champion “Dr. Steelgrabber” A.K.A. “Dr. Jab N. Grab” A.K.A. “Grabimir Clinchko“ (61-3, 51 KOs), I decided to take the time to write about a real fight, not one involving Wladimir Klitschko. Recent Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs) conquerors Tim Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs) and Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs) will meet in the ring this Saturday to settle who is the rightful WBO welterweight (147 lb.) champion of the world. The most significant prize on the line, however, is a top 5 pound-for-pound ranking.
MEN WITH STELLAR CAREERS CLASH ON HBO PPV
Both Bradley and Marquez have very solid resumes, with JMM’s being the more impressive one going in. While Juan was able to give Pacquiao a canvas coma courtesy of a perfectly placed counter right hand to the chin, there is no guarantee he will do the same to “Desert Storm” Bradley.
JMM ON BRINK OF DEFEAT & THEN “POW”
Many observers believe Pacquiao was well on his way to a stoppage of Marquez prior to “Dynamita” landing what some call a “lucky punch”. In reality, the punch was far from lucky, and was the result of expert timing from one of the game’s best counter-punchers. That being said, Manny certainly was slicing up Juan’s face like a pizza just before the MBH (Marquez-Nacho Beristain–Angel Heredia) power company shut his lights off for the night.
DID BRADLEY REALLY WIN HIS LAST TWO FIGHTS?
After seeing Bradley get battered around the square circle in an Amir “Bambi” Khan-esque fashion in his last fight by none other than Ruslan “Mr. ESPN” Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KOs), it is tempting to believe that a Heredia-enhanced Marquez would be able to finish the job. If the 40-year-old JMM can pull off this victory, it would put a nice final stamp on what is surely a hall of fame-worthy resume. In my mind, that is a very big “IF”, however.
BRADLEY SUFFERED FOR MONTHS AFTER RUSLAN FIGHT
Tim Bradley did not fight like himself during the Provodnikov fight. He showed flashes of his great speed and technical ability, but decided to abandon reason and slug it out with a fairly devastating puncher. He also came into camp extremely out of shape and was forced to cut a great deal of weight, as a result, by his own admission, Tim was unable to take a punch. These factors, combined with the public scorn he receieved after his controversial decision win over a fan-favorite in Manny Pacquaio, led to what is my personal front-runner for “Fight of the Year” thus far. While Bradley gained a lot of new fans with his performance, I would not expect him to do the same thing against the greatest Mexican fighter of this generation.
LEAN TOWARDS YOUTH IN THIS ONE!
I expect Bradley to utilize his speed, youth, and movement to take a close decision and retain his belt. As Larry Merchant often reminds us, however, boxing is the theater of the unexpected”. If Bradley comes into the ring with his chin open swinging for the fences like he did against Provo, he will not hear the final bell. If that war has taken something out of Tim, which many believe it has, Marquez will be the new WBO welterweight champion. Regardless, I expect a fight to break out in the middle of a boxing match on Saturday night. No matter which man ends up with his hand raised in the end, it will be a hard-fought victory.
“Zak Attack” Young