Kings of Boredom

WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley did his best impression of Floyd Mayweather and bored the fans to yawning as he outslicked Juan Manuel Marquez to retain his title via a split 12-round decision in Las Vegas last Saturday night (Sunday morning, Manila time).

Bradley, 30, showed nothing to enhance his reputation and was out of whack in declaring the win put him close to Hall of Fame status. While watching the live feed of the telecast in the studios, I heard Bradley blurt out that he doesn’t care if his fights are unexciting because what matters is just the bottom line. Sure, Bradley won and deserved the decision but at what expense? He’ll never be a marquee fighter. His cautious, stick-and-run style won’t ever draw big pay-per-view numbers. The only way he’ll make the headlines if his opponent carries the show. It’s no wonder that in 31 fights, Bradley has fought only twice in Las Vegas which is considered the fight game’s mecca. His two Las Vegas outings were the win over Marquez and the robbery over Manny Pacquiao last year.

Two judges scored it for Bradley last weekend. Robert Hoyle, a judge in the third Pacquiao-Marquez encounter two years ago, saw it 115-113 for the man inaccurately called Desert Storm. Patricia Morse Jarman had it 116-112, also for Bradley. Glenn Feldman, who was in Manila for the Brian Viloria-Omar Nino Romero bout last year, gave it to Marquez, 115-113. Feldman should be banned from judging for his ridiculous scorecard. There was no way Marquez deserved to win. He could hardly lay a glove on Bradley. You score points in a fight for landing, not attempting to land blows. It’s about the connection, not the effort. Sure, Marquez should be credited for trying to make a fight of it but as they say, it takes two to tango and Bradley didn’t show up to engage.

Marquez, 40, was reduced to a fumbling oldtimer chasing a shadow from start to finish. He finally looked his age. Bradley ran rings around Marquez, out to make history by becoming the first Mexican-born fighter to capture five world titles in different divisions. In between rounds, Marquez’ trainer Nacho Beristain repeatedly told him to cut the ring off on Bradley, to be aggressive, to stay active. Marquez, however, had no antidote for Bradley’s stay-away tactics. Like a poor man’s Mayweather, Bradley fought Marquez from a profile with his shoulder facing the Mexican. Bradley poked Marquez from the outside, darting in and out, keeping a safe distance away from counters. Marquez never had a clear target.

On rare occasions, Bradley came forward to exchange, more to confuse Marquez and throw him off rhythm than to actually give and take. Marquez just couldn’t figure out Bradley. He was exasperated. He seemed lost in the ring. Not even Beristain could save him from a tragic loss.

Bradley, of course, didn’t want to take any chances. Pacquiao gambled in his last fight with Marquez and paid a hefty price for it, throwing caution to the wind in going for a knockout. Alas, Pacquiao got careless and was tagged charging in. Bradley made sure he wouldn’t suffer a similar fate.

Marquez said he should’ve won and was robbed. The reality is nobody takes him seriously anymore. The familiar refrain of robbery has worn out. In the 12th round, he almost fell and would’ve gone down if only Bradley pressed the attack. Bradley didn’t want to risk anything even in the final seconds, fearing that all Marquez needed was a slight opening to land his big right straight. So Bradley coasted to victory, leaving Marquez behind in a cloud of dust.

Bradley now has something more in common with Mayweather than only an unbeaten record. He’s become a Mayweather clone, fighting in the same unexciting mold. It’s a sad development that boxing has to put up with two Mayweather fight-alikes. The one man who can end the reign of the Kings of Boredom is Pacquiao. The boxing world is waiting for the Filipino icon to save the sport all over again like he did when he gave it a fresh lease on life with thrilling wins over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton.  

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Pacquiao has to hurdle Brandon Rios in Macau on Nov. 24 before entertaining fights against Bradley and Mayweather. If Pacquiao disposes of Rios convincingly, he’ll be the best bet to take on Bradley next then Mayweather to close out his career in a blaze of glory. It’s the scenario that will save boxing from the Kings of Boredom.