By Dan Ambrose: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) said last week that his goal was to get pushed up to #3 in Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound list, and today he finally got his wish with Ring promoting him from #8 to #3 in the pound-for-pound list. Bradley now takes Marquez’s spot at #3, below #2 Andre Ward and #1 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Marquez drops to #6 on the list.
If Bradley wants to get any higher, he’s going to have to beat someone really good because he’s going to be stuck where he’s for a while until someone beats Mayweather or until he retires. Bradley isn’t going to get a fight with him to prove that he belongs at #1, so that’s out of the question.
Bradley’s ranking ahead of the #4 Wladimir Klitschko is kind of a curious one, because Bradley isn’t the beat welterweight in the division. Bradley might not even be the 2nd best, because it’s awfully hard seeing him beating Manny Pacquiao and I don’t know that Bradley would be able to beat the much bigger and stronger Keith Thurman.
That would be very difficult fight for Bradley if he were to ever face Thurman due to Bradley not having the power to really compete with him. Bradley’s win over Pacquiao in 2012 was a controversial one, so that should be reason enough to keep Bradley ranked below the #3 spot. Wladimir is by far the best heavyweight in the division without any questions. Based on that, he should be ranked above Bradley on the pound-for-pound list.
Bradley deserves to have some movement in the pound-for-pound list after his win over Juan Manuel Marquez, but pushing him to #3 seems like wrong-head decision by the Ring staff. Again, if Bradley was the second best welterweight in the division, then I could agree with this move, but I really doubt that Bradley is even the 4th best in the division. Mayweather, Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner and Devon Alexander would give Bradley huge problems. You can also make a very strong argument that Amir Khan would find Bradley an easy target due to Bradley’s lack of power, reach and size. All the things that Bradley did against Marquez last Saturday, he wouldn’t be able to do against Khan. Khan would likely dominate Bradley the same way that he dominated Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah.
I hope the Ring Magazine gets their pound-for-pound rankings together because I’m starting to lose respect for their rankings.
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