UndercarDVR: Pacquiao vs. Bradley III

Welcome to another installment of UndercarDVR, where we review what you need to see from this week in combat sports. We go fight by fight to see whether it needs to be watched, deleted, or put in fast forward.

Manny Pacquiao looks to ride off into the sunset with his head held high in the third part of a trilogy against a resurgent Timothy Bradley. With all the drama surrounding the fight and his life outside of it, Pacquiao looks to leave with a win to remember in the main event on PPV. Plus, title belts on the line all over the undercard, including Arthur Abraham defending his strap against Gilberto Ramirez.

Get your remotes ready.

Manny Pacquiao defeated Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision in a welterweight bout to win the WBO International Welterweight Championship.

• You really couldn’t have asked for more here. This has been one of the more interesting boxing trilogies in recent memory, despite Bradley losing all three (well, he “won” the first one, but you get the picture). Still, Bradley improved in each fight and Pacquiao, though declining, still proved that the gulf between the two was too wide to swim in the end. A few knockdowns later in the fight really saved Pacquiao from another close decision. For all the things Manny proved to be in the end after he lost to his foil and the man who gave him the good guy persona in Floyd Mayweather, he can hang his hat on a hell of a fight if he chooses to hang them up.
• The fight was can’t miss on many levels, but this proved to be the best fight of the trilogy. While Pacquiao scored two knockdowns later past the halfway mark, Bradley was able to swarm Pacquiao and trouble him as the two went back and forth. Not necessarily close, but a competitive fight with a lot of fun moments. Verdict: Watch.

Gilberto Ramirez defeated Arthur Abraham by unanimous decision in a super middleweight bout to win the WBO World Super Middleweight Championship.

• This fight, however, was not as pretty. Ramirez outworked a old and sluggish looking Abraham, who very well could have just been phoning this one in. Abraham took a few rounds, but Ramirez was never really having too much trouble as he earned some valuable ring time against a great veteran like Abraham. Ramirez is now someone to watch, if he wasn’t already before.
• Again, the fight was nothing to write home about. If you are interested in Ramirez from a level of watching a fighter develop in the upper tiers of a division, then it isn’t the worst fight to sit through. Still, probably best you just keep the remote handy here. Verdict: Fast Forward.

Oscar Valdez defeated Evgeny Gradovich by fourth-round TKO in a featherweight bout to win the WBO NABO Featherweight Championship.

• Valdez is not for play. Gradovich is a tough out and he looked like he was going to keep coming forward all night until a left hook put him on the floor in the fourth. Keep an eye on Valdez as he racks up these minor trinkets and stands on the cusp of bigger things very soon.
• At only four rounds and with an impressive performance leading up to the finish by Valdez, well worth your fifteen minutes or so.  Verdict: Watch.

Jose Carlos Ramirez defeated Manuel Perez by unanimous decision in a junior welterweight bout to retain the WBC Continental Americas Junior Welterweight Championship.

• Someone forgot to hand Perez the memo that he was supposed to be the wily vet stepping stone for Ramirez here. Another competitive, but not close fight here. Ramirez was in the driver’s seat, but Perez did him a favor really as he exposed some of his defensive flaws with his aggression. Good test and pretty solid results from Ramirez, though he is still working his way up and has some holds in his game.
• For the meaning of the fight, it isn’t really much in terms of relevance. Ramirez definitely has potential, but fighting guys like Perez isn’t really going to turn any heads. Still, it was a good little scrap with an outclassed and older veteran laying it on the line to prove something to the young showcase fighter. If you have the time, go on. Verdict: Watch.