By Jim Slattengren: WBC light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs) went a long ways in proving that he’s the best light welterweight in boxing by soundly defeating WBO light welterweight champion Kendal Holt (25-3, 13 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision last Saturday night to add Holt’s belt to his WBC title at the Bell Centre, in Montreal, Canada. Bradley, 25, survived a 1st and 12th round knockdown to get the victory, earning it by winning almost every except for the beginning and last round of the fight.
Bradley’s speed, work rate and sheer determination were too much for Holt to handle at the end of the day. The fight had been expected to be a close knit affair but after the first round, it was clear that Bradley wasn’t going to be denied a victory.
Now, Bradley has beaten two of the best light welterweights in the division in Junior Witter and Holt. The only fighters worth mentioning that are still remaining is Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao, Victor Ortiz, Ricardo Torres and Nate Campbell. Bradley would like to get the winner of the Hatton vs. Pacquiao bout that takes place on May 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, it’s extremely doubtful that Hatton or Pacquiao would be willing to face Bradley at this point because he hasn’t been fighting long enough to build up a similar resume as they have.
In five years or so if Bradley is still unbeaten over this time, I suppose Hatton and Pacquiao would be interested in fighting him. However, by that time both Hatton and Pacquiao will be long gone from the sport. If they are still around at that time, it wouldn’t have as much meaning for Bradley, since there’s zero chance that Pacquiao and Hatton could stay at the top for another five years without taking losses from time to time when they facing quality opposition. By then, Pacquiao and Hatton would be the equivalent of what Oscar De La Hoya is now – two over-the-hill fighters who attract fights because of their name value but then lose them.
Instead, Bradley will need to look at someone like Ortiz or Campbell if he wants a recognizable name to fight. Ortiz hasn’t done enough to waste time to build a name for himself with the boxing public. Although he’s undefeated, his best opponent on his record is Mike Arnaoutis.
He’d be a good fighter to defend the title against, but it wouldn’t be a big fight money fight for Bradley like a Hatton or Pacquiao fight would be. Bradley might want to look towards former IBF/WBA/WBO lightweight champion Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KOs) instead.
Campbell has a proven track record of winning big fights and has been one of the best fighters in the lightweight division for the past five years. He recently had problems making weight for his fight against Ali Funeka and was stripped of his lightweight titles, yet he still remains quite popular with boxing fans.
IBF light welterweight champion Juan Urango (21-1-1, 16 KOs) is even less of an appealing fight because of his lack of name recognition among the larger public. When Urango did step up to the big time in fighting Hatton, Urango was easily beaten and showed to be a limited fighter. Beating him would prove nothing and would likely attack flies in terms of fans.
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