The experts weigh in on Bradley-Marquez
Abel Sanchez, trainer of WBA middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin
Tim Bradley W 12 Juan Manuel Marquez: I think Tim Bradley wins, absolutely. I think Bradley out-boxes Juan Manuel Marquez. I think that Bradley will be smarter and that he won’t fight Marquez the same way that he fought Provodnikov.
So I think that Bradley has a hell of a chance of winning a decision against Marquez. I think that it will be a tight fight. I think that Marquez is a good counter-puncher.
But Marquez was behind against Manny Pacquiao until he landed that knockout punch, so I think that the speed that Bradley displayed against Pacquiao, that speed will allow him to out-maneuver Marquez.
Record: 3-0 [Mayweather W 12 Alvarez]
Tim Bradley SD 12 Juan Manuel Marquez: This is a tough call for me and it’s a tough fight, but I think that I’m going to go with Tim Bradley, and for no other reason than that he seems to be the ultimate survivor.
Every adversity that Bradley seems to face in the ring, he seems to find a way to overcome it. I don’t know what it is about him, but he just seems to have this incredible survivor skill and instinct.
I think that it’s going to be a split-decision for Bradley over Juan Manuel Marquez, sort of like the one that he had over Manny Pacquiao. That’s the the only edge that I can give Bradley over Marquez is that he the ultimate survivor.
Record: 3-2 [Mayweather W 12 Alvarez]
Joseph Santoliquito/THE RING Magazine/RingTV.com/CBS Sports
Tim Bradley W 12 Juan Manuel Marquez: Tim Bradley is a lot like Danny Garcia. Bradley is always doubted, and all he does is win. Bradley works hard and trains hard–and clean.
I didn’t like Juan Manuel Marquez’s victory over Manny Pacquiao. Bradley will outwork Marquez, who won’t have the kind of power he suddenly found against Pacquiao. It should be a fun fight.
Record: 21-4 [Klitschko KO 10 Povetkin]
John Scully, former trainer of RING and WBC lightheavyweight champion Chad Dawson
Juan Manuel Marquez UD 12 Tim Bradley: I see Juan Manuel Marquez in a pretty tough fight. Tim Bradley is desperate for attention and respect that he didn’t gain after the Manny Pacquiao victory, and coming in with that type of emotion is going to push him hard.
I do think though that skills and science negate a lot of the emotion and determination. In a good fight, I have Marquez finding enough holes to punch through to come away with a unanimous decision victory.
Record: 16-5 [Chavez Jr. W 10 Vera]
Tim Bradley W 12 Juan Manuel Marquez: I’m picking Timothy Bradley by a decision here. Since it’s in Las Vegas, expect it to be a split or majority decision.
I’m making this pick based on the belief that Bradley can fight the kind of fight that negates Juan Manuel Marquez’s legendary counter-punching approach.
If Bradley can fight a smart fight, where he sticks and moves from the outside, then smother and make it ugly down the stretch to wear down the older Marquez, I think he wins.
I think Marquez is a fight or two from going completely over the hill, and this may be the fight. But Marquez still is a great fighter and will be dangerous all the way.
Record: 9-4 [Stevenson KO 8 Cloud]
Juan Manuel Marquez TKO 5 Timothy Bradley: The entire boxing world is intrigued to see how much Tim Bradley actually has left after his war with Ruslan Provodnikov in which Bradley was hurt bad several times. Bradley has stated that it took two months for him to stop slurring his speech after the fight.
Juan Manuel Marquez, on the other hand, has some momentum and a ton of confidence after knocking Manny Paquiaou out cold. Despite his undefeated record, Bradley is ripe to be beaten.
Marquez is a sharp counter-puncher who won’t have to worry about anything explosive coming back as Bradley lacks significant power. I see Marquez hurting Bradley early and having the killer instinct to finish the fight in the mid-rounds.
Record: 9-4 [Klitschko UD 12 Povetkin]
Juan Marquez UD 12 Tim Bradley: I’m going to say Juan Manuel Marquez by unanimous decision. Skills pay the bills, and, in my opinion, Marquez is a technically better fighter than Tim Bradley. Period, end of story.
Record: 1-0 [Mayweather UD 12 Guerrero]
Tim Bradley SD 12 Juan Manuel Marquez: Nobody really knows how well Tim Bradley has recovered from his concussion until he steps into the ring. Bradley took some severe punishment in beating Ruslan Provodnikov, struggling defensively while trying to prove he can fight as well as he can box.
As Manny Pacquiao painfully discovered, Juan Manuel Marquez is as good a counter-puncher as there is in the sport. But Bradley will not get caught up in a Provodnikov-type of war against Marquez and should avoid most of those counters. Bradley has an indomitable will to win, and he will prevail in this fight.
Record: 13-5 [Klitschko TKO Povetkin]
Timothy Bradley W 12 Juan Manuel Marquez: In a fight with many intangibles, both guys are adept at boxing. But as evidenced in their most recent fights, they can also fight, and know how to hang in there when hurt. Both are among the biggest warriors in the sport.
You wonder just how long Juan Manuel Marquez can maintain the very high standard he has over the past 20 years. Now at 40 years of age, Marquez has yet to show any real decline.
However, in this fight, I’m going with Tim Bradley to win by the smallest of margins, out-boxing Marquez to win a close unanimous, maybe split decision in what promises to be an exciting encounter between two of the best in the business.
Record: 7-5 [Stevenson KO 5 Cloud]
Dave Wilcox, guest/fan, Placentia, Calif.
Juan Manuel Marquez KO 11 Tim Bradley: I have always been a big Tim Bradley fan and respect him a great deal, but I think he will finally hit the wall in this bout against Juan Manual Marquez. Bradley has been playing chicken with being knocked out for a few fights now, and I think this time Marquez will do the number on him.
I look for Bradley to come out fast and box well and most likely have a good lead on JMM. You’ll start to see a change of body language from Timothy around the sixth round as Marquez continues to quietly put a beating on Bradley. My prediction is that Marquez will get Bradley out of there in the 11th round by way of Knockout.
While watching this one, I think we will all be reminded of the great classic bout between Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor. Plenty of heart and determination will be with Bradley, but the heavy hands of the veteran, Marquez will prove to be too much for him.
Record: 0-0
The experts are deadlocked at 16-16 as to who will be victorious between WBO welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley and four-division titlewinner Juan Manuel Marquez.
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Photos by Chris Farina, Top Rank
Photos by Naoki Fukuda
Photo by Chris Farina, Top Rank
Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]