Last noche’s Bradley-Holt Jr. welter unifier lived up to most pre-fight expectations - Bradley the favorite, and Holt with the puncher’s chance - and then the opening bell. 

Begins with Bailey pressing the action and Holt looking to counter - late in the stanza it was Holt bringing the paying clientele to its feet with a sudden booming counter that found the sweet spot - it also found Bradley down on his back. 

The superbly conditioned WBC strap holder, surprisingly got to his feet and finished the stanza in his usual modus operandi, as he foiled Holts’ big chance of dropping the curtain in opening stanza. 

On my unofficial, until the final stanza twelve, it was Bradley with the edge in most rounds, displaying the much busier work ethic, while Holt stayed with the counter mode searching for the opening he found in that first candle. 

It wasn’t until rounds nine and ten did Holt become busy enough to edge the still aggressive Bradley - but the show would close on a what it might have been for the WBO strap holder, when once again dropping Bradley to the canvas with a well placed right uppercut - but to no avail, as the bell finished what was an entertaining affair.

 

Official scores went to Bradley 114-112, 115-111, 115-111; my unofficial saw it Bradley 114-112 on points and 8-4 under the round by round method.

 

Post Scripts:

• Timothy Bradley ( 24-0, 12 KO) ~ age 25, the biggest assets are quickness and physical strength - toss in effective straying from the Queensberry rules while straying below the DMZ, and inadvertent contact that in this outing resulted in Holt coming out second best, with cut aside the left eye. Questionable chin, but not 100% made in China. Action guy and fun to watch.
• Kendall Holt (25-3, 13 KO) ~ age 27 and still young enough to get it done with the punching power threat in both mittens. Needs to pick up the pace to have chance of once again grabbing one of them four available sanctioning belts for sale out there.
• Referee Michael Griffin - repeated cautions, but shouted them while letting the flow continue - low blows, mutual inadvertent meeting of the minds - but missed Bradley’s tons of rabbit and kidney punches that are more harmful than them strikes below the DMZ.
• Commentator duo of Gus Johnson working the blow by blow and Al Bernstein doing color a compatible team. The lady sweetheart with the interviewing assignment clearly not up to the task - qualifies as team-mate with Lummox Lewis and Maxie Hysterian of HBO B.A.D infamy.

 

GEL