Bradley Upsets Witter for WBC Title
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 05.11.2008
Bradley pulls it out in England while Carl Froch makes quick work of Rybacki.
Photos by Tom Casino / SHOWTIME
Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley showed no signs of jetlag in his upset, split-decision victory over defending world champion Junior Witter Saturday. Bradley, a four-fight veteran of the SHOWTIME boxing series ShoBox: The New Generation, captured the World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Lightweight Championship by scores of 115-113, 114-113 and 112-115 to become the 25th ShoBox fighter to win a world title.
Early on, Witter controlled a sloppy fight and appeared to be on his way to his third championship defense. But Bradley, reportedly a 6-1 underdog, rocked the champion in the sixth with a devastating overhand right sending Witter down for only the second time in his career.
That one-punch knockdown turned the tide for Bradley who controlled the rest of the contest with effective aggression.
"I knew this fight was mine," said the newly crowned 24-year-old champion. "I've seen the tapes [of Witter's past fights], and he fades in the sixth and seventh. And I know that's when I come on. I get stronger in the later rounds.
"I have been working on that punch," said Bradley of the overhand right that dropped Witter. "He tends to pull back with his chin up in the air and I just caught him. But I couldn't finish him. I had to be careful in there. He's got power in both hands."
"This can be considered an early candidate for upset of the year," said renowned ShoBox analyst Steve Farhood. "It is so difficult to win a world title on the road. And to do it with as little experience as Bradley has, this was something special. That one-punch knockdown in the sixth proved to be the difference maker in the fight."
In the co-feature, No. 1-ranked WBC super middleweight contender Carl Froch of Nottingham dispatched late-replacement Albert Rybacki of Poland with a fourth-round stoppage.
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If you missed Saturday's exciting telecast, catch the replay on SHOWTIME.
The Bradley-Witter bout was downright ugly. They both switched from orthodox to southpaw so many times that it had me dizzy. As for the Froch bout, he was ok but I think Calzaghe's ring experience will put their fight away early. Thanks for the updates Ramon. Im happy to see boxing getting lots of love here on the site.
Posted By: Unplugged (Guest) on May 12, 2008 at 12:22 AM
i enjoyed the Witter fight, mostly enjoyed Witter getting beaten, as an Englishman, he pisses me off. Also I find it amusing we have the English national anthem for a person wearing the Jamaican flag all over his attire. was a decent bout I thought. Cagey, but not brilliant. And thoroughly enjoyed him getting knocked down!
Posted By: pbq (Guest) on May 12, 2008 at 06:18 AM
