The other night I was watching a junior welterweight prospect named Timothy Bradley as he navigated his way through a ten-round fight against Donald Camarena on the Showtime network. It wasn't what might be considered a proper test for Bradley's abilities, as Camarena, a southpaw who is really a glorified club fighter, was severely outclassed. One could see that Bradley had athletic ability, a work ethic, a lot of hustle, and some power.
But the question is, could he be a world champion?
Surely the Showtime announcers were pumping him up pretty good, talking about how he looked even better than the last time they had seen him, when he was matched with another mediocrity. And I don't blame them for not seeing some subtle things, since neither of them really had any boxing background, aside from being observers.
But I noticed that when Bradley threw his combinations, he was slapping with his punches - coming wide, and if he had been able to throw some straight punches with authority he would have knocked out his opponent. The "arm punches," as it were, prevent him from getting the maximum power on his blows, naturally, and for a moment I dismissed him as being someone who wasn't likely to ever be a world champ.
But when it comes down to it, what does it really take to be a "world champion" these days? Let's consider that there are all the sanctioning bodies to consider; the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO are the five most credible. And there are usually top "contenders" waiting to fight for each of those titles. Some of them might actually be better than one or more of the champions.
It is entirely conceivable that a champion may not even be, legitimately, one of the top ten fighters in a division. So how possible would it be for Timothy Bradley, who possess at least SOME ability, to defeat the 11th best fighter in a division on a given night? Well, I guess it's quite possible.
So the lesson to be learned is, don't disqualify anyone who can hold up their hands from becoming a champion, even though it doesn't necessarily mean they're a great fighter.
by: Cheap Boxing
