Inside the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on June 27th we’ll get to see Timothy Bradley attempt to win back his WBO Welterweight title against the undefeated WBA Super Lightweight champion Jessie Vargas. The fight will display two men at two different points of their careers; Bradley trying to redeem himself as a force in the welterweight division after a rocky 2014 while Vargas attempts to move up and concur the division.
Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (31-1-1 12Ko’s) even though in the last 3 years has wins on his record over Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and won the 2013 fight of the year against Russian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov finds himself in an almost must win fight. Yes, Bradley’s win over Pac-Man was very, very controversial and lost the rematch last year, the one time super lightweight and welterweight king has in Jessie Vargas a dangerous fight and a lose would surely knock him out of the top 10 rated welterweights in the world, so the man nicknamed Desert Storm better bring his A game when the two go toe to toe.
The win back in 2012 against Pacquiao done Bradley more damage than good due to the amount of grief he received from the media and was even quoted in many newspaper articles, for example, The Daily Mail, ESPN and the BBC where they claim the whole aftermath of the fight nearly drove him to suicide.
It is certain after a disastrous 2014 which saw him lose his unbeaten record in the rematch to Pacquiao, the following time finding himself on the wrong side of controversial judging in the draw to Diego Gabriel Chaves, the man from Palm Springs, California, will be looking to put on a performance of lifetime come June 27th.
To maybe some of the boxing fans outside the US and Mexico the name Jessie Vargas (26-0-0 9Ko’s) may not ring a bell but the one time trained Mayweather prodigy and labelled “Future Of Boxing” is very much a serious fighter in the sport. Jessie was an excellent amateur with a record 120 wins with only 20 defeats and was part of the 2008 Mexican Olympic qualifying team; sadly, not to make it all the way. 2014 was the breakthrough year for the Top Rank promoted fighter that saw him claim the WBA lightweight title in an extremely close contest against the Russian southpaw Khabib Allakhverdiev, who was then undefeated in 19 straight contests.
The ringside judges scored the bout 115-113, 117-111 and 115-113 all in favour of the Nevada local but a few media correspondents sitting ringside scored the close contested fight in favour of the Russian.
In his last outing, now being trained by the legendary fighter Roy Jones Jr whilst fighting on the Pacquiao-Algieri undercard in Macau, China, Jessie Vargas boxed Mexican superstar, former world champion and also former Adrien Broner victim Antonio DeMarco. Aside from a few rounds in the middle of the fight where DeMarco seemed to come on strong and Jessie looked to be fading, DeMarco won the fight comfortably. Jessie displays a lot of heart in his career and he’ll need to show it once again when fight night comes around as Bradley will chapping at the bit to regain his title. Jessie’s team handled at the reigns by Roy Jones will have made sure no stone has been left unturned in preparation for the welterweight showdown and I’m sure he’ll be firing on all cylinders when the bout takes place in the StubHub centre.
The fight can go either way and both men will put it all on the line come fight night to try to take the belt home. We’ve saw both fighters come back from adversity to claim the W on their records but Jessie has not boxed anyone with Timothy Bradley’s skill set where Bradley has probably boxed better opponents and came out victorious.
Every style Bradley has came up against he’s been able to make in ring adjustments to suit, apart from maybe not being able to handle Pilipino legend Manny Pacquaio with great ease but there’s no shame in that is there? Jessie Vargas will not be able to trouble him much in the sense of technical boxing ability but may win the fight with educated pressure, in and out work rate and heart. Both men may not possess huge knockout power but what’s really got me hooked on this fight is that when the final bell rings on June 27th we’ll have one of two things; a return to the top by a former welterweight king or a new star emerge in front of our eyes. Whoever the winner is it opens doors to some huge fights in the 147lb division.
The fight will be aired live on BoxNation in the United Kingdom and on HBO Boxing in the United States. If you’re looking to travel to the fight in California ticket prices range between $25 and $150.
– Craig Best
Leave a Reply