Timothy ?Desert Storm? Bradley retained his WBO welterweight title which he grabbed from Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao in a hugely controversial decision that was condemned by the media, fighters and fight fans around the world, by scoring a close if not controversial decision over Pacquiao?s chief sparring partner, Ruslan Provodnikov.
Bradley entered the ring ten months after his win over Pacquiao which Top Rank promoter Bob Arum condemned the decision as shameful.
Bradley made the mistake of trying to slug it out with the hard-hitting Russian and almost paid the price.
Provodnikov battered Bradley and dropped him in the twelfth and final round but the bell saved Bradley who won a unanimous decision with two judges scoring the fight 114-113 and the third judge 115-112. The judges were Raul Caiz Sr, Marty Denkin and Pat Connolly.
Bradley appeared to be dropped in round one but referee Pat Russell ruled it a slip which effectively denied the Russian a 10-8 round and appeared to be in trouble even as Provodnikov who is trained by Freddie Roach rocked Bradley again in round two and hurt him one more time in the sixth.
Bradley decided to fight from a distance and used his speed and skill to outbox the Russian and pile up the points in the middle rounds before punishing him in the ninth round of what turned out to be a brutal battle.
Boxingscene.com reported that Bradley had to survive on pure heart when he was taking a pounding in several action-packed rounds. Bradley was hurt bad in several rounds and barely escaped a knockout loss in the second and twelfth rounds.
In a post fight interview at the Home Depot Center in Carson City, California, Bradley sad ?I gave it everything I had. He?s much more powerful than Pacquiao. He hits harder and has shorter punches. He?s a great puncher and I take my hat off to him.?
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