Bradley perseveres to victory…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
With 20 seconds left in the first round Saturday night, I was ready to start singing the praises of junior welterweight boxer Kendall Holt.
After flooring Timothy Bradley with a picture-perfect left hook seconds earlier, thought it was going to be a quick night and another wrong prediction.
But like so many modern American boxers, Holt showed no sense of urgency for the next 11 rounds and lost a unanimous decision despite dropping Bradley again in the 12th round.
Bradley had never been knocked down in his amateur or professional career until that shot. A shot so picture-esque that Bradley’s eyes rolled into the back of his as he thudded onto the canvas.
But then he hopped back up. And in a true veteran move, he took a knee until the 8 (or 9) count and cleared his head.
Bradley put on the pressure all fight. Holt was complaining of headbutts but instead of doing anything about it, was content to back into the ropes round after round and let Bradley take the fight on pure determination.
Not to say Bradley didn’t land some shots, especially to the body. But the now WBC/WBO champ didn’t hurt Holt one time but never backed down after the brutal knockdown.
It said a lot about both fighters. The heart and desire of Bradley compared to the absolutely frustrating complacency of Holt.
I had it 114-112 as did one judge while the two other judges had it 115-111 for Bradley.
Think about that for a second. With the two knockdowns, I saw it 8-4 Bradley while two judges saw it 9-3 for Bradley.
Holt has no one to blame but himself for what happened.
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Former Oklahoma State wrestler Shane Roller got off to a good start but couldn’t make it last, losing to Ben Henderson on Sunday in a WEC event on VS.
Roller dropped Henderson early in the bout and tried for a guillotine choke to end things but couldn’t.
Back on their feet, a left hand dropped Roller and Henderson finished the job at 1:41 of the first round.
Team Takedown (Jake Rosholt, Roller and Johny Hendricks) have suffered some setbacks recently. But that’s the beauty of MMA: there will be another day, and you’re always one fight away from bringing yourself back into the picture.
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Sounds like two of my all-time favorites put on a show at WrestleMania XXV with The Undertaker defeating Shawn Michaels in a 30-minute match.
Haven’t seen it but all reports are giving it glowing reviews. It’s the only reason I would have bought the show, so glad the two legends did their thing and gave everyone another moment to remember.
***
Now we turn the page to a fun weekend. Here’s what ya got Saturday: A “Thrilla in Manilla” documentary on HBO. Paul Williams vs. Winky Wright on HBO. And UFC 97, featuring Anderson Silva and Chuck Liddell in separate bouts (whoops, a little ahead of myself. That’s April 18. This week is Strikeforce with Frank Shamrock and Nick Diaz).
Might be the best thing about March Madness ending (go Spartans, by the way). Time for the fight game to take over the landscape again.
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