Who wins Tim Bradley-Diego Chaves?

Dec

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Two-division titleholder Tim Bradley and Diego Chaves will engage in a high-stakes welterweight bout on Saturday at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, with each fighter attempting to bounce back from a loss.

In his last fight in April, Bradley (31-1, 12 knockouts) was dethroned as WBO 147-pound beltholder in a unanimous decision loss to Manny Pacquiao, who avenged his split decision to Bradley in June 2012. The loss to Bradley, 31, ended Pacquiao’s near seven-year, 15-bout winning streak that included eight knockouts.

Between the bouts with Pacquiao, Bradley rose from a 12th-round knockdown to secure a unanimous decision over Ruslan Provodnikov in March 2013 and earned a split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in October 2013.

Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) is 1-2 in his past three fights and is coming off August’s ninth-round disqualification loss to Brandon Rios. Chaves, 28, had taken a streak of five consecutive knockout victories into his bout with Keith Thurman, who dropped Chaves twice during a 10th round knockout victory in July 2013.

Prior to facing Rios, Chaves scored a third-round stoppage of Juan Alberto Godoy in February, ending Godoy’s run of six consecutive victories.

The results of the RingTV.com poll taken from 26 insiders regarding Bradley-Chaves are as follows.

Click here for Tim Bradley’s greatest hits

Marc Abrams, www.15rounds.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: I will take Tim Bradley in a hard-fought and ugly unanimous decision over Diego Chaves.

Record: 4-1 [Last pick: Wladimir Klitschko SD 12 Kubrat Pulev]

Steve Carp, Las Vegas Review Journal

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: Is Diego Chaves a dirty fighter? Perhaps. But Tim Bradley is a veteran fighter who won’t allow Chaves to gain an advantage by breaking the rules.

Plus, Joel Diaz will have him ready for anything Chaves tries. Bradley will want to put that loss to Manny Pacquiao from April behind him and I expect a big effort from Tim, who is the superior boxer.

Record: 4-0 [Last pick: Manny Pacquiao TKO Chris Algieri]

Stephen Donatelli, guest/fan, Pittsburgh, PA.

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: We all know Tim Bradley can overcome adversity with flying colors. I see Diego Chaves coming into this fight in attack mode, while Bradley won’t be so eager to trade early and pay the price like he did against Ruslan Provodnikov.

Bradley realizes he has the better footwork and a nice jab that will prohibit and neutralize the savage aggression of “La Joya.” Look for the more patient and tentative “Desert Storm” that bested Juan Manuel Marquez to show up Saturday night.

Chaves does pack a lethal punch but with such short arms, I see Bradley comfortably pacing himself and out-boxing the crude Chaves over the course of the entire 12 rounds, 117-111.

Record: 1-1 [Last pick: Gabriel Rosado TKO 10 David Lemieux]

Jake Donovan, BoxingScene.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Tim Bradley tends to fight to the level of his opposition, which tells me this one could very well wind up a repeat of Brandon Rios-Diego Chaves. I’ll be optimistic and say that it goes the full distance or at least without either fighter getting disqualified.

Bradley is way too skilled for a crude brawler like Diego Chaves and should win a comfortable decision, providing lessons were learned from the Provodnikov fight.

Record: 28-7 [Last pick: Tyson Fury W 12 Dereck Chisora]

Norm Frauenheim, THE RING magazine, www.15rounds.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Tim Bradley’s resourcefulness is summed up in the many ways he wins. From brawler to boxer, from ugly to careful, Bradley is all of the above. Diego Chaves has no counter for that versatility.

A one-dimensional Chaves is at his dangerous best in foul-filled exchanges that happen against unprepared opponents without a counter and the know-how to execute one. Bradley is none of those things. In fact, he has plenty of counters, which should be the difference in a one-sided decision.

Record: 31-9 [Last pick: David Lemieux TKO 9 Gabriel Rosado]

Jeffrey Freeman, www.KODigest.TV

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Assuming this match-up doesn’t deteriorate into a foul fest of some sort, Tim Bradley’s superior speed and boxing skills should be more than enough to carry the day and handle Argentine mauler Diego Chaves.

If Chaves gets dirty again as he did against Brandon Rios, look for Bradley to use his head and go to the body before “La Joya” gets disqualified and sent packing back to Argentina with a permanently revoked travel visa.

Record: 24-12 [Last pick: Lemieux TKO 10 Rosado]

Tom Gray, RingTV.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: With big fights pending, now is definitely not the time for Tim Bradley to lose and I think he will have learned from past mistakes.

While Diego Chaves is no Manny Pacquiao, he is not to be underestimated. Bradley took Ruslan Provodnikov for granted and almost took a loss in a fight which may have taken years off him.

I think “The Desert Storm” will fight to his strengths, using speed, movement, controlled bursts and effective counter punching. Chaves can whack but if Bradley is on point, he wins a clear decision.

Record: 30-9 [Last pick: Lemieux UD 12 Rosado]

Lee Groves, RingTV.com

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: When Tim Bradley boxes and sticks to an intelligent game plan, as he did against Juan Manuel Marquez, he is tough to beat. When he opts to brawl like he did against Ruslan Provodnikov and Manny Pacquiao in the rematch, he makes matters tough on himself.

We just don’t know what version of Bradley we’re going to get from fight to fight, which makes his fights intriguing. If one chooses to match best style vs. best style, Bradley’s best is better than Diego Chaves’ best.

Bradley knows that he needs an important win like this to retain his high-profile status. Therefore, I think Bradley will put head over heart and box his way to a points win.

Record: 20-6 [Last pick: Lemieux TKO 10 Rosado]

Andreas Hale, RingTV.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: It’s no secret that Tim Bradley fought the wrong fight against Manny Pacquiao by lobbing loaded power punches in hopes of putting the Filipino to sleep within 36 minutes.

Bradley’s certainly learned from his mistakes and will go back to the effective boxer that will use his footwork and speed to hustle a unanimous decision against Diego Chaves.

Chaves isn’t a bad fighter and looked good in spurts against Brandon Rios but Bradley won’t be there in spurts. Bradley will be there the entire time. Chaves won’t be able to take a single minute of any round off. This will be Bradley’s fight to lose and I don’t see any way of him losing it.

Record: 22-9 [Last pick: Terence Crawford TKO 7 Ray Beltran]

Keith Idec, The Record/BoxingScene.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Experience has taught Tim Bradley to avoid slugfests against punchers. Assuming the ever-brave Bradley resists those temptations, particularly early in this fight, he should be able to out-box the slower Diego Chaves and win pretty comfortably.

Bradley also must be careful not to allow the rugged Chaves to make this a rough, physical fight because it’s the only chance Chaves has to make it the type of ugly brawl he can win.

Record: 16-6 [Last pick: Crawford UD 12 Beltran]

Gordon Marino, Wall Street Journal

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: I have Tim Bradley by a decision. Bradley is too quick and crafty for Diego Chaves.

Record: 4-0 [Last pick: Pacquiao KO 6 Algieri]

Rich Marotta, KFI Radio, Los Angeles

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: This is a good, interesting, well-matched fight. Even though both fighters are coming off losses, it holds plenty of interest. It is a fight Tim Bradley should win, that is if he can resist the temptation to go all Ruslan Provodnokov on Diego Chaves.

That will be the strategy Chaves tries to lure Bradley into. Bradley is really a fundamentally sound fighter who SHOULD win because he has the edge in everything but punching power. Chaves’ best chance is to turn it into a Pier 6 brawl.

At times, Bradley may fall into that trap because he desires to be a fan-friendly, as much as a winning fighter. That will keep the fight interesting. Chaves doesn’t need for the fight to degenerate into whatever that was against Rios.

But Chaves would like it to be physical and rough. I expect a tough scrap. Bradley is smart though and knows some tricks of his own. I think Bradley will prevail in a distance fight over a tough customer in Chaves

Record: 25-12 [Last pick: Rosado TKO 10 Lemieux]

Diego Morilla, XN Sports

Diego Chaves W 12 Tim Bradley: This is going to be the third time I predict a victory by Diego Chaves and I feel I am about to finally nail it. After all, I missed by a good margin in his bout against Keith Thurman.

But I came very close in his challenge of Brandon Rios until Chaves was disqualified. Against Bradley, the Argentine slugger may succeed where Juan Manuel Marquez failed.

Chaves will be sporadically outboxed and outfoxed by Bradley but somewhere along the way, his mauling tactics will have a destructive effect on “The Desert Storm” and he will force Bradley to fight in close quarters, where he is most uncomfortable.

“The Jewel” may not shine, and it may not be a pretty fight to watch but Chaves will finally be up to the task in this one and grab a close decision in his favor.

Record: 17-9 [Last pick: Lemieux W 12 Rosado]

John J. Raspanti, MaxBoxing.com/Doghouseboxing.com/KO Monthly Magazine

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: Timothy Bradley might never get the credit for how good of a fighter he is. Bradley’s only officially lost once and that was to Manny Pacquiao eight months ago. In the last few years, Bradley has defeated Joel Casamayor, Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Diego Chaves, his opponent on December 13, was stopped by Keith Thurman and lost by disqualification to Brandon Rios. Chaves is a pretty good fighter but Bradley is a very good fighter. I see Bradley winning a wide, 12-round decision over Chaves.

Record: 29-11 [Last pick: Lemieux TKO 10 Rosado]

Matt Richardson, Fightnews.com

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: Even though I was disappointed with the foolish game plan Tim Bradley utilized in his rematch with Manny Pacquiao, there’s no shame in losing to Pacquiao.

Bradley is still a damn good fighter and clearly a level or two better than Diego Chaves. Really, this depends on what kind of Bradley shows up. If it’s the brawler who showed up against Ruslan Provodnikov and Pacquiao in the rematch, Bradley will win in an exciting fight.

If it’s its the consummate boxer who showed up against Juan Manuel Marquez, he’ll dominate easily. Either way, Bradley wins. This isn’t really about Chaves. It’s more Bradley’s fight to lose and I don’t think he will.

Record: 23-8 [Last pick: Lemieux TKO Rosado]

Cliff Rold, BoxingScene.com

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: Some people see a battle coming. It’s more likely Tim Bradley boxes Diego Chaves and wins this going away. Bradley is too quick and too experienced.

Record: 25-13 [Last pick: Rosado KO Lemieux]

Michael Rosenthal, THE RING Magazine

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Diego Chaves is a tough guy and a decent fighter but not in Tim Bradley’s class. Bradley wins by unanimous decision.

Record: 19-5 [Last pick: Lemieux KO 9 Rosado]

Vince Santino, guest/fan, New York, N.Y.

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Diego Chaves is a talented fighter with speed, power and strong lateral movement. Chaves has that rare ability to effectively punch while pivoting. Unfortunately, he’s facing one of the hardest guys to hit in boxing in Tim Bradley.

Unless you’re Manny Pacquiao, Bradley is tough to beat on the cards. Ironically, while Bradley should put on a clinic against Chaves, we’ll likely see a much closer and more entertaining bout.

Nicknamed “The Desert Storm,” Bradley has been working hard to market himself as an exciting fighter and will likely trade with Chaves more frequently than is prudent. In the end, he’ll keep it just out of Chaves’ reach in a clear but close decision.

Record: 0-0

Joseph Santoliquito/THE RING Magazine/RingTV.com/CBS Sports

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: You’re only as good as your last fight in the minds of many, consequently. So Tim Bradley will look to erase a bad memory not just for himself but for fight fans. Bradley cruises to an easy victory over Diego Chaves, who has lost two of his last three.

Record: 20-0 [Last pick: Lemieux W 12 Rosado]

John Scully, trainer

Tim Bradley Jr. W 12 Diego Chaves: I’ve got Tim Bradley winning the decision in an impressive performance against Diego Chaves. I think Bradley feels that he needs to make a statement with this fight to keep himself in the big fight mix and he has prepared with that in mind.

Record: 19-10 [Last pick: Lemieux W 12 Rosado]

Rob Soucy, ProBoxingInsider.com

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: This fight has the chance to be the fight of the year as both Tim Bradley and Diego Chaves have a propensity to brawl.

Bradley has very little power but a great chin while Chaves can crack but is less skilled. Again, I think class will show over a long fight and Bradley will be able to gain control sometime in the middle rounds.

This is the type of fight that Bradley needs to win and look good if he is to remain in the upper echelon at 147 pounds. I wouldn’t be shocked if Chaves is able to hurt Bradley at some point but I pick Bradley to win a clear decision.

Record: 19-6 [Last pick: Lemieux TKO 10 Rosado]

Bradley Starks, guest/fan, Novato, Calif.

Tim Bradley UD Diego Chaves: Tim Bradley is a highly-skilled, lightning-fast slickster who likes to fight but wasn’t blessed with big power. Diego Chaves is a rough-and-tumble banger who likes to fight and isn’t afraid to lose a point or two with roughhouse tactics.

As “The Desert Storm” himself said recently, he needs to box to win this fight. If Bradley gets sucked into a street brawl with the scrappy Argentinian, he’s going to make the night really hard for himself.

But if the Californian mimics the game plan used by Sergey Kovalev in his recent undressing of Bernard Hopkins, he’ll take a comfortable unanimous decision.

Record: 17-3 [Last pick: Lemieux KO 7 Rosado]

Bob Velin, USA Today

Tim Bradley SD 12 Diego Chaves: Tim Bradley has fought much tougher competition than Diego Chaves over the last few years. That’s good and bad: He has taken some brutal punishment against the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov and Manny Pacquiao.

But Bradley has learned how to win tough fights and that counts for a lot. Chaves has plenty of power, winning 19 of his 23 fights by KO. But he couldn’t stand up to the quickness and power of Keith Thurman.

Bradley doesn’t have Thurman’s power but he has the speed and quickness to frustrate Chaves. A good, competitive fight will end with Bradley having his hand raised.

Record: 16-5 [Last pick: Pacquiao UD 12 Algieri]

Dominic Verdin, RingTV.com

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: Tim Bradley will be in a bout against Diego Chaves. This will not benefit “The Desert Storm”; however, Bradley will take home a well-deserved decision in what will be an ugly contest.

Record: 26-9 [Last pick: Rosado TKO 10 Lemieux]

Charles Villa, guest/fan, Portland, Ore.

Tim Bradley UD 12 Diego Chaves: Despite losing to one of the two top fighters of this era, Tim Bradley is still an excellent fighter. While his early and impressive career was marred by criticism for his style, Bradley has emerged as an entertaining technician with pound-for-pound heart at the least.

It’s not always pretty but Bradley manages to find a way to win, utilizing his hand speed, foot movement and an occasional rough, inside game. Diego Chaves has earned himself a reputation as yet another Argentine KO artist. Chaves is heavy-handed, doesn’t get flustered by dirty fight and can take most big shots.

The only problem is that Chaves’ wins have come via local Argentine competition. When Chaves has ventured stateside, the results haven’t been great: A disqualification against Brandon Rios, and a 10th round KO loss to hard-hitter Keith Thurman. Chaves doesn’t have the technical skill to outpoint Bradley.

While Chaves may have some power, I find it hard to believe it’s more thudding than Ruslan Provodnikov’s punches. Bradley may go down but as we’ve seen numerous times before, he gets back up and finds a way to win the fight. Look for Bradley to flurry from the outside and frustrate Chaves with superior movement en route to a unanimous decision.

Record: 19-10 [Last pick: Fury TKO 9 Chisora]

Anson Wainwright, RingTV.com

Tim Bradley W 12 Diego Chaves: Tim Bradley-Diego Chaves is a much-anticipated fight that has the potential to be an exciting contest. Both boxers are looking to get back in the win column.

Bradley is coming off a loss to Manny Pacquiao. Though Bradley lost for the first time in his career, he seems to be in a good place mentally, as if he’s almost relieved following the criticism he received from the first Pacquiao fight.

Chaves was winning his fight against Brandon Rios until he was disqualified. Chaves felt a sense of injustice and intends to take that out on Bradley. I see Bradley boxing in much the manner he did against Juan Manuel Marquez last year to win a wide points decision.

Record: 27-9 [Last pick: Lemieux TKO 7 Rosado]

By a one-sided and near shutout margin of 25-1, the insiders favor Tim Bradley to win Saturday’s welterweight clash over Diego Chaves.

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