DID BRADLEY?S WIN EARN HIM THE RESPECT HE WANTED?
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 17 Mar 2013
Home Depot Center, Carson, California:- WBO Welterweight champion Tim Bradley said that he wants to gain respect with a victory over Ruslan Provodnikov.
Bradley was so sure of victory that gaining that respect was the first thing he wanted so that people can erase the bad memories as a result of the controversial and unpopular victory he had over Manny Pacquiao last year.
But the win over the Russian slugger tonight, may not be enough for that respect to come.
First and foremost, respect is earned and not given.
To the eyes of many, his performance tonight was not that great. He needed an emphatic win to get respect but he only got a win via a close unanimous decision. Some pundits said that his performance was sporadic particularly after the first two rounds. He had to get on his bike and score from the outside to get his points. He did not stand up and slug it out phone booth style unless he was forced to because when he tried to earlier, the Russian almost punched him silly. In fact he was frequently rocked by Provodnikov and was forced to take a knee at the late seconds of round 12 so as to avoid being knocked out.
The victory was so controversial that people at the HDC booed the result of the fight.
But that is not to say that he didn?t give it all. Bradley staged a great comeback in the middle rounds to gather the points he needed to win. But, to many, even that was not enough to earn their respect.
Whatever little respect he got tonight, if indeed he did, hopefully will result in a bigger fan base..
The HDC was not even half full indicating that Bradley has no huge following. But then again, that is not the first time I have seen an empty arena when Bradley fights. I have seen Bradley fight at Agua Caliente and the place small as it is, is not even full.
This problem is something Bradley must address besides getting wins to get that respect he wants.
What does he need to do to attain that?
Many theories have been advance but only Bradley can help himself.
Top photo: Bradley takes a knee in the 12th round.
The half empty Home Depot Center.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ed de la Vega, DDS.
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