Ringside Boxing Report: Timothy Bradley vs. Junior Witter
By Andrew Wake May 13th, 2008 All Ringside BoxingThe boil bursts as Bradley outpoints Witter
Ricky Hatton once famously referred to light welterweight rival Junior “The Hitter” Witter as being like a boil on his backside. Well, this Saturday night at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham, England, that boil finally burst as tough Californian puncher Timothy Bradley ripped away the Bradford native’s WBC title as well as any hope he had for a possible showdown with the “Hitman”.
34 year old Witter knew that the cameras of American television giant Showtime where on him and a performance in the bracket of the one he put in when stopping former WBA champion Vivian Harris in seven rounds last September, would add credence to his claim of being the world’s best 140 Ib fighter but it wasn’t to be as Bradley, now 22 – 0 (11), won a razor thin split decision.
Judges Omar Minton and Daniel Van de Wiele seeing it 114 – 113 and 115 – 113 for the visitor, while Franco Ciminale had it 115 – 112 to Witter.
The fight started as a cautious affair with Witter switching stances continuously and pawing with jab as he looked for openings. It seemed clear from the outset that the American challenger was intent on standing back and hoping to counter and part way through the round “The Hitter” moved in, missed, and was forced to absorb a quick flurry.
Despite this success for Bradley, Witter came back with a few decent right hands and was busy enough to take the session.
Round two was much of the same with Witter coming forward looking to score with single shots from awkward angles but again Bradley was slick enough to make him miss and then fire back with his own stinging punches. More...
