By Paddy Dwyer: On 29th January 1991 headlines were dominated by the Iraqi invasion of a Saudi city and the two day Battle of Khafji commenced. 20 years later however and it is an entirely different “Desert Storm” which rages as Timothy Bradley (27(11)-0) beat Devon Alexander (21(13)-1) to unify the WBO and WBC light welterweight titles. In a much anticipated fight Bradley won a technical decision after the bout was stopped in round ten due to an accidental clash of heads.

The first round began tentatively with Bradley trying to catch Alexander’s southpaw jab with his lead mitt. Bradley pressed his younger opponent getting on the inside and looked to open up to the body. Alexander looked intent on circling the outside and tried to use his reach advantage to keep his shorter opponent at bay. The most eye catching piece of work however was from Bradley as he unloaded a flurry which tangled his opponent in the ropes. While none landed cleanly, it was a clear signal of intent from Bradley. Surprisingly, it was the jab of Bradley that seemed to be the most effective punch of the round. (Writer’s card; Bradley 10-9)

Round two started similar and Alexander found that most of his right jabs were being parried away. While he successfully landed a straight to the body, the more impressive work again came from Bradley who proved hard to hit and yet was still able to land on the WBC champion. Alexander upped the work rate in the second half of the round and found a straight left connect and leave Bradley off balance, but the man from St Louis would not follow up on the opportunity. Bradley seemed less comfortable with an aggressive opponent than with the Alexander that circled the outside the opening round, but there was not enough in the round to split the fighters. (Writers card; even 10-10)

Both fighters came out swinging in the third but ended up falling into a clinch. Bradley was still able to get on the inside but had become less elusive than he had been, taking shots on his way in which he had previously slipped. A huge left hook from Bradley backed the younger man onto the ropes and Bradley was able to land a left to the body before Alexander smothered his work. A right uppercut was neatly slipped by Alexander who then turned his man beautifully but frustratingly the southpaw seemed far more intent on admiring his own work than exploiting the gaps it had opened up. Once again Bradley pressed forward and landed some right hands to the body from the inside. Alexander did not seem to acknowledge that his jab was becoming almost redundant and once again tried to circle his opponent. As the fighters came into a clinch in the centre of the ring their heads clashed giving Alexander a nasty cut on the right eye lid. (Writers card; Bradley 10-9)

The fourth round saw Alexander once again circling on the outside. Bradley was able, almost at will, to slip under the southpaw lead and land into the midriff of his opponent. Alexander displayed some impressive defence prowess of his own as he slipped his opponents backhand, but without a counter punch returning “Alexander the Great’s” work would not score. As Bradley continued to press, his spider senses escaped him and he was to be peppered with shots. His gamble seemed to have paid off however when, in the last twenty seconds of the round, he caught Alexander with two big right hands. The first was down to poor work Alexander as he pulled away with his chin up and hands down. The second saw a backhand from Alexander miss it’s target and Bradley exploit the gap that had been left. While Alexander showed flashes of talent in this round, his opponent finished the stronger. (Writers card; Bradley 10-9)

By the fifth round it was obvious that Bradley was paying little respect to Alexander’s power as he continued to walk through his opponent’s shots to get his own off on the inside. However, Bradley’s work rate had dropped and Alexander was able to, for the first time in the fight, look comfortable from the outside although his shots were still largely missing the target. Bradley, while reducing his output in this round, still looked the more authoritative boxer and, once again, it was his shots that caught the eye. (Writers card; Bradley 10-9)

Alexander began the sixth round much more effectively. His punch output was now greater than it had been in previous rounds and, more importantly, he was landing shots on his opponent which were keeping Bradley at bay. Bradley, while looking unconcerned, was finding Alexander a much more difficult equation to solve in this round. Bradley did manage to land a nice short right hand on the inside and delivered a combination with his opponent against the ropes, but the pace in this round was set by his younger opponent who had finally began to exploit the gaps left by his admirable footwork. (Writers card; Alexander 10-9)

The seventh commenced with Bradley’s jabs now being the ones parried by his opponent. Alexander seemed to have gained confidence from his improvements in the last round and remained relatively elusive. Bradley landed a nice straight right on the way in, but Alexander was able to land his own back hands and even managed to put together a couple of combinations in this round. Bradley attempted to pound the body but the opening was not really there and his shots were soaked up by Alexander’s defence. This was another good round for Alexander who seemingly had begun to figure out his opponent’s style. (Writers card; Alexander 10-9)

The next round began as the last had finished with Alexander finding his range and beating Bradley to the punch. Alexander’s shots seemed to lack conviction but were scoring in any event. Bradley’s frustration was growing and was evident by the fact that he was now holding his gloves high and waiting for one big counter at a time. The aggressive barge forward style of the early rounds seemingly abandoned, the pace and nature of the fight was beginning to favour “The Great” as the “Desert Storm” had now reduced to just a light breeze. A clash of heads towards the end of the round however seemed to spark Bradley back into life as he ended with a good barrage while Alexander lay against the ropes, but it was not enough to steal the round. (Writers card; Alexander 10-9)

Bradley came out strong in round nine and started to put punches together again. It seemed as though it was Alexander’s turn to take a round off as his work rate dropped and Bradley took advantage landing a big right with little coming back. Neither man landed anything else of note but Bradley’s punch output swung this rather uneventful round in his favour. (Writers card; Bradley 10-9)

Bradley again started the tenth as the man in charge and opened up with a slow but powerful combination which saw him chasing his opponent across the ring. However, the action was spoilt with another clash of heads that saw Alexander wince and groan with pain. The doctor seemed to struggle to look at the cut as Alexander squinted and screamed. In shades of Zab Judah against Joshua Clottey, Alexander disappointingly appeared to be looking for a way out. The fight was stopped and the result would go to the cards. (Writers card; Bradley 10-9)

Judge’s Score cards;

Duane Ford
97-93 Bradley
Tom Miller
96-95 Bradley
Omar Mintun
98-93 Bradley

Writer’s score card; 97-94 Bradley

Paddy Dwyer