Ok, who saw this upset coming?¬ Junior Witter had Timothy Bradley bested in every statistical category yet somehow the undefeated prospect from Palm Springs, CA managed to eek out an upset victory to win the WBC strap.¬ To be honest the fight itself was not one of your more scintillating contests.¬ Witter fought like, well he fought like Junior Witter which means unorthodox boxing and pot shots with a lot of holding.¬ Bradley while technically sound gets a bit sloppy in his outings falling in and never fully utilizing his superior hand speed.¬ Not to mention that the fight was filled with clinches, dirty tactics, and not much else and well you have yourself a very long twelve rounds.¬ Of course the whole fight will be summarized by the heroics of Bradley in the sixth round, a round in which the young American hurt Witter with a right before flooring the champ with an overhand right that seemed to originate in from the back of the stadium.¬ Witter rose but was on unsteady legs and spent the remaining rounds wearing the look of a man who mentally was not in the game.¬ Not to play Monday mourning Eddie Futch but listening to Witter talk on a pre-fight conference call he seemed to be disinterested in the fight and clearly could not get pshyed mentally to face the likes of a rather unheralded Bradley.¬ Witter made no secret his desire to face Ricky Hatton in a fight that would put Witter up financially but that like my dreams of being a pop star evaporated Saturday night.¬ But lets give credit to Bradley who despite some pretty steep odds went into Witter’s backyard and snatched the junior welterweight title from Witter’s hands.¬ I’m not completely sold on the prospect of Bradley being a force to reckon with in the division but I do think that he has the tools to make a mark in the sport.¬ He just needs to utilize his superior boxing ability more and quit that god awful falling in with his head routine.¬ I mean the man’s dome is the size of a Honda. So What’s Next For The Fighters:¬ For Bradley who knows.¬ The man is not rated in the top ten at 140 lbs. (though that may change now considering the win) and he brings a very limited fan base so it will be interesting to see his next fight.¬ Me thinks that Showtime will want him in against another live body in order to justify putting him on the airwaves again.¬ I would like to see him in against Gavin Reese as I think they are currently at the same level in the division.¬ For Witter, the road to prominence will be a long and hard task.¬ Witter does not really have a fan friendly style so do not expect to see him on TV here in America unless he is the B-side to a name fighter.¬ It’s a shame that Witter has to now be regulated to off TV fights and small purses but such is the harsh nature of a television driven sport.¬ Some where in Manchester Hatton is still laughing his ass off.¬ No name in the division wanted to fight Witter when he was a champion so the prospect of them fighting him none are slim to none.¬ At the ripe age of 35 Witters ship may have sailed.¬
Bradley Shocks The World; Witter Looked Like Sh#t
Posted by Tim Starks on May 12, 2008 02:07
