Timothy Bradley Has to Get Up Twice to Take Home Two 140-Pound Belts

Timothy Bradley Has to Get Up Twice to Take Home Two 140-Pound Belts

By Thomas Gerbasi, MaxBoxing.com (April 5, 2009) Photo © Tom Casino SHOWTIME

Kendall Holt bookended his junior welterweight unification bout against Timothy Bradley Saturday night with knockdowns in rounds one and 12, but in between, it was Bradley putting in the superior work as he pounded out a 12 round unanimous decision to add the WBO belt to his WBC strap at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

“I just kept faith in there and gave it everything I got,” said an emotional Bradley. “I knew this day would come.”

Scores were 115-111 twice and 114-112 for Bradley.

“You ready to see this heart?” asked Holt during referee Michael Griffin’s opening instructions, but it was Bradley who came out as the aggressor at the bell. Holt calmly looked to counter from the outside as the ‘Desert Storm’ moved forward. After one heated exchange at the two minute mark, Holt drilled Bradley with a monster left hook that put the WBC champion on the canvas. Bradley got up immediately, but then decided to take a knee to compose himself. Holt didn’t get wild in his follow-up attack, but he continued to land his left hook on Bradley before the bell sounded.

Bradley remained in the role of aggressor in the second, but his wild swings allowed Holt to land with his jab and more compact power shots. Bradley was the busier of the two fighters though as he got himself back into the fight.

In the third, Bradley’s work rate, especially to the body, continued to pay dividends, but it was clear that Holt’s power could easily be the equalizer and / or finisher.

The action heated up again in the fourth, with Holt now chasing after Bradley for stretches of the round. But as the two traded punches at close range, Holt emerged with a cut over his right eye.

Bradley’s inside work was getting progressively more troublesome for Holt in the fifth as he complained to the referee of headbutts, but Bradley refused to deviate from his fight plan, and as the fifth bled into the sixth, Holt’s workrate continued to dip as he looked to potshot his busier foe.

Holt did try to up the ante in the seventh, but Bradley’s body attack looked to hurt the New Jersey native in the second half of the round, and he kept focused on Holt’s gut in round eight, tossing the occasional thudding right to the head to keep Holt guessing.

There were some good exchanges in the ninth round, with Holt showing that he was still dangerous as he landed with a whipping uppercut to the body, and later with a hard overhand right.

The tenth was tough to call, with Holt starting off well with his jab, but it was Bradley’s energizer bunny style that carried the second half of the frame.

Bradley didn’t let up in round 11, even chasing Holt down at moments throughout the stanza, but ‘Rated R’ bounced back with some good counters in the 12th and final round, with one exchange producing a knockdown with 15 seconds left as Bradley’s glove touched the mat. Again, the Californian emerged unscathed, and as he made it to the closing bell, he sealed the biggest victory of his career.

With the win, Bradley improves to 24-0 with 11 KOs; Holt falls to 25-3 with 13 KOs.

Super middleweight contender Librado Andrade earned a second shot at Lucien Bute’s IBF crown in the co-feature, dropping Vitali Tsypko twice en route to a 12 round unanimous decision win.

Scores were 117-109 twice and 120-106 for Andrade, who dropped Bute in the 12th round of their bout last October before losing a 12 round unanimous decision.

After a slow first round, Andrade cracked Tyspko with a flush right hand to the face and dropped him early in round two. Tsypko rose immediately and seemed unhurt by his trip to the canvas. Andrade upped the pressure throughout the rest of the round, but he was unable to land the finisher, despite scoring well.

Andrade continued to tag Tsypko in the third, jarring the Ukrainian with shots to both the head and body. Tsypko got back in the fight in the fourth behind his southpaw jab and a whipping uppercut, but it was Andrade who finished strong with more flush rights to the face.

The fifth and sixth rounds were competitive, yet it was becoming evident that Tsypko didn’t have the firepower to keep Andrade off him for long.

Tsypko went down for a second time in the seventh, and after the Ukrainian rose, Andrade went after him, determined to end the fight. Tsypko gamely fought on, but was starting to take a lot of punishment from the Mexican battler.

The pace slowed down in rounds eight through ten, with Tsypko staying alive due to his jab, and Andrade still trying to pick his spots with power shots.

In the 11th, Andrade was cut over the left eye, and it lent a sense of urgency to the bout for Tsypko, who did some of his best work of the night. Andrade got even in the 12th though, jarring Tsypko with another right hand that had him reeling. Tsypko wouldn’t give in, and he landed with some flush power shots of his own on the steel-chinned Andrade, and the crowd erupted as the fighters went toe-to-toe to the final bell.

With the win, Andrade improved to 28-2 with 21 KOs; Tsypko falls to 22-3-1 with 12 KOs.

Special thank to MaxBoxing.com for providing Doghouse Boxing with this Article.

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