Is Bradley in a no win situation, even in victory against Marquez?

By Boxing News - 09/30/2013 - Comments

bradley57By Boxing Muse: The October 12th, WBO welterweight title fight between Tim Ray Bradley Jr. and Juan Manuel Márquez at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas provides us with a compelling contest but around two weeks away it occurred to me that defending champion Bradley is in a no win situation against his challenger the heralded Marquez.

If Bradley secures a victory over Marquez the boxing world will view this as the case of the younger boxer Bradley who just turned 30 last month beating the veteran Marquez, a future hall of fame fighter who turned 40 years old also last month.

It goes without saying Marquez well and truly cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all-time by devastatingly knocking out long-time nemesis Manny Pacquiao with one punch.

Whereas Tim Bradley’s reputation is linked with a controversial points decision over the ‘Pac-Man’, he has since earned many critics respect by the die-hard effort he gave to beat rugged Siberian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov. But in my opinion ‘the jury is still out’ as to whether the boxing fraternity give him the respect he craves.

Marquez ranks up the upper echelon of anyone’s pound for pound list. ‘Dinamita’ A four-division world champion who has claimed seven world titles in total turned professional in 1993 at the age of nineteen years old when his next opponent ‘Desert Storm’ Bradley was only nine years old.

Any method of victory for Bradley may be scrutinized as a result of Marquez finally getting old after two decades of prize fighting. The younger man wins in an all-out war or a boxing chess match victory or even a knockout Bradley’s stock can only decrease or remain the same.

If Marquez beats Bradley then the Mexican elevates his career to a higher degree as the younger Bradley kisses goodbye to being on the shortlist for a chance to biggest ticket in the sport a Mayweather Jr. fight. A loss on the record of Bradley would stain his undefeated CV.

But you may say if Bradley beats the senior Mexican then surely he wins as he gets his name in the hat for a possible Mayweather fight? Well perhaps that is the case but my point is conquest over Juan will earn Bradley no credit, it will be the fights he had before against the likes of Devon Alexander, Pacquiao and Provodnikov that impact his reputation or the potential future fights he takes part in.

Did Rocky Marciano get true distinction for his win against faded icon Joe Louis? (Louis was unbeaten in 8 fights before this loss)

Did Danny Garcia receive complete merit for two wins over a weathered war hero Erik Morales? (Morales was on an impressive wave of fights during his comeback wins over Lorenzo and Pablo Cesar Cano plus a close points loss to danger man Marcos Maidana)

Did Oscar De La Hoya obtain real respect for beating Mexican legend Julio Caesar Chavez Sr in 1996? (even though Chavez Sr. had previously only lost once in 96 fights).

Did Evander Holyfied gain authentic appreciation when overcoming ‘Big’ George Foreman? (Foreman was unbeaten in 24 fights during his comeback over a span of five years.)

These fights had their own individual details, history and results but the undisputed answer to all of the question is No.

Although it is true Marquez has had a stellar career with some great moments you can’t change the fact he is 40 years old and despite his most impressive performance was last time out this Mexican warrior surely has a few fights left.

A professional boxing resume which features a W over Juan Manuel Marquez is an impressive accomplishment but in all honesty a Marquez could lose the fight against father time instead of the man in the opposite corner to him on fight night. I empathize with Tim as it seems he simply cannot win the public’s appreciation even in triumph, well at least yet considering this fight anyway.

So what do you think? Follow and Tweet me @BoxingMuse with your opinions on this matter.

Thanks for reading.



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