Tomorrow night, WBO World Welterweight Champion Timothy Bradley defends his title against Brandon Rios. At 32, Bradley is coming off a wild ride in his last six. Bradley started on this roller coaster by defeating Manny Pacquiao in a decision that could be considered one of the worst in the history of professional boxing. Worse off, Bradley was sidelined with a foot injury for the better part of a year, leaving him with nothing to do but defend the controversial victory. In his return nine months later, Bradley decisively defeated Ruslan Provodnikov in a fight The Ring deemed the best of 2013. As is the case with fights like these, Bradley was revealed to still be tangled in the cobwebs months later, dealing with symptoms of concussions and head injury months after the fight.
Bradley trudged on and soundly defeated Juan Manuel Marquez by the skin of his teeth as one judge bizarrely saw the fight for the Mexican great. Pacquiao would get his revenge in Bradley’s next fight and he left no doubts in a fight
that went the distance. Since then, Pacquiao has proven to be a fighter who is eagerly waiting to put one foot out the door, despite facing Floyd Mayweather. Bradley would go on to a draw with Diego Gabriel Chaves in a bout that many thought the former had taken easily and defeat Jessie Vargas.
After a whirlwind of controversy, success, and injury, Bradley comes in against a game opponent in Brandon Rios. Rios, though limited, could present many of the same problems Provodnikov did with his toughness and willingness to trade shots forehead to forehead. Though an opponent with name value that is ultimately expected to fall short due to the prowess of his opponent, it would be safe to assume Rios isn’t going to get that memo and give Bradley all he can handle.
ith all that said, Bradley stands at a crossroads. Struggling with consistency and fighting an uphill battle against age while injuries have accumulated, Bradley steps into a ring that has been a changing landscape over the past year. New, younger stars are developing in the wake of Pacquiao and Mayweather creeping into retirement (save for Gennady Golovkin, who seems to defy age and physics each fight). Bradley stands with his feet on either side of the line, making his name when Pac and May were at their peak. Still, Bradley proves that he is part of the cream of the crop in this current pack by being a cut above the old guard (Juan Manuel Marquez) and some of the new guard near the top (Ruslan Provodnikov).
A victory over Rios may not provide a concrete answer, but it serves notice to the sport where Bradley is headed. This fight begs a few questions. Where does Bradley go from here? Is Bradley done? Can Bradley keep up with the post-MayPac crop? Before Saturday night, we take a look.
Where does Timothy Bradley stand before his fight with Brandon Rios?
Nolan Howell: Bradley stands, or more appropriately straddles the fence, between someone who can still challenge and hang with the new class for the next few years and someone who is going to be sent out along with his contemporaries. Bradley has a good shot at still being serviceable and near the top because of his more methodical style, but he has taken quite a few injuries in his last few fights. There is a lot riding on this fight, despite it seeming fairly one sided. Rios isn’t so much a hurdle as he is a measuring stick.
Luke Irwin: Bradley is in a strange spot. He’s a likable, affable, articulate, American fighter, who can be technically sound or get in a firefight, but with all of that in his favor, he’s never really been able to move the needle much. I think he can stand toe-to-toe or beat any fighter in the world at his weight class not named Mayweather or Pacquiao, but I don’t think he has the frame or body type to move up to junior middleweight. So at 32, it’s time for him to make hay while the sun shines, and either make a push towards owning the division and face fighters like Kell Brook, Amir Khan, and Shawn Porter, or stay on the legends circuit and take fun money fights. His next fight will be very telling.
Where does Bradley go with a victory Saturday?
Nolan Howell: I think Bradley crosses the line to be a straggler along with the new breed of stars with a victory. It resolidifies him over those guys who remain at the top of the second tier, Rios included with the Provodnikovs and Broners of the world. His next fight or two will determine whether or not he can really keep up or if he will stay behind when guys like Canelo, GGG, Wilder, and Chocolatito march forward. That depends on matchmaking and what Bradley’s management want to make out of him with probably two or three more good years in him.
Luke Irwin: Like I mentioned above, he has options. He has choices. He can lower his head and dive into the meat of the upper-division, or, at 32, coast the rest of his career with money fights. He’s battled some of the best of all-time, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Marquez, Casamayor, nobody would fault him for cashing out with his health and reputation intact. Either way, Bradley’s had an excellent career, it’s up to him how he wants to add to it.
Will this be a Fight of the Year contender?
Nolan Howell: Given Bradley’s propensity to let gamer fighters stay in the fight, I think there is a great shot at that happening. I still think Bradley is a step or two above a guy like Rios, who will probably never be able to get out of his own way to become elite, and that concerns me as to whether or not this will be a fight with someone who refuses to stop coming forward or a boxing clinic from Bradley. My prediction is that this is a really solid fight that falls just short of being a great fight that hangs in the memory of boxing fans.
Luke Irwin: I really don’t see how it can’t be. As a boxer, Bradley is your financial advisor best friend with a wife and two kids and a sensible car, but once you drag him out to the bar and pump some Jameson in him, he’s buying the entire bar shots and breaking bottles over his head. Brandon Rios literally doesn’t know any other way to fight except putting his head on your head and bringing hell with him. I’d be utterly shocked if it was anything other than a fireworks factory.
Is Vasyl Lomachenko a star in the making?
Nolan Howell: As we focus on the boxing landscape moving forward after Mayweather and Pacquiao being their exits, Vasyl Lomachenko stands out on this card as someone with potential to be a solid TV star. What could hinder him is that his handlers seem to be going back to the more traditional buildup of a star and he is approaching 30, changing his fights with veterans to more winnable bouts. I think Lomachenko could end up being a solid TV headliner or co-headliner on PPVs, which isn’t too bad these days when boxing seems to be booming.
Luke Irwin: Well, they’re certainly not wasting any time in pointing him in that direction. Fighting on the main card of the biggest boxing PPV of all-time was certainly a feather in his cap, as he put on a technically sound, if a tad pedestrian, effort. Loma’s credentials are certainly not in doubt, as he is one of the best amateur/Olympic boxers of all-time, and his silky-smoothness and brilliant countering in the ring is a treat to watch, they just need to profile him a little more. There’s a story to be told and content to be mined, so if they start letting the public know and care about Lomachenko, he may not be a superstar, but he could be a solid headliner.
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