Well, that was weird.
For the first 11 rounds, last night's (Sat., June 27, 2015) interim WBO Welterweight Championship bout went about as expected.
Jessie Vargas -- a slick boxer with a terrific jab and a nasty body shot belied by his dismal knockout percentage -- found some early success trading with the rough-and-tumble veteran Timothy Bradley. As with many of his bouts, though, Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KO), found increasing success as the fight went on.
Though his punches lacked the crispness of Vargas' (26-1-0, 9 KO), his accuracy and unceasing forward pressure allowed him to constantly take Vargas to the ropes and open up to the body. Even in the rounds that were close in numeric terms, Vargas' obvious discomfort and Bradley's constant aggression made it clear who was in control.
Then things went a little loopy.
In the last minute of round 12, Vargas uncorked a destructive right hand that you wouldn't think someone with 10 straight decision wins would be capable of. The iron-chinned Bradley wobbled backward and Vargas looked poised to score a shocking upset finish. Bradley tied up when forced to the ropes and, as Vargas worked to make distance, the referee pulled him away and announced the fight was over.
Vargas immediately ran to the corner and stood triumphantly on the ropes, thinking he'd won by technical knockout.
As it turned out, referee Pat Russell had mistaken the 10-second clapper for the end of the fight. Vargas was understandably displeased when he learned this and his mood certainly didn't improve when Bradley was announced as the winner on scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 115-112.
It was a solid fight, though not terribly memorable before that screw-up in the final round. It remains to be seen whether Vargas will continue to campaign at 147 pounds or return to 140 pounds to defend his WBA belt. As for Bradley, he's already faced two of the division's best in Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez and promotional rivalries could preclude some potentially excellent match ups.
Personally, I'd love to see him fight Shawn Porter, who recently trucked Adrien Broner and possesses comparable aggression to Bradley.
In the evening's opening bout, former Olympian and current elite prospect Oscar Valdez handily outclassed veteran Ruben Tamayo over twelve one-sided rounds. After a suffering a poorly-called "knockdown" in the first that was the product of some tangled-up feet, Valdez (16-0, 14 KO) took over with consistent power combinations.
Tamayo (25-6-4, 17 KO) struggled with Valdez's excellent footwork, which forced him to constantly pivot to face the young prospect and usually eat a hard punch in the process. Though Valdez didn't manage to put him away, it wasn't for lack of trying, as he constantly lit Tamayo up with power shots to the head to earn a unanimous decision on scores of 98-90 (twice) and 99-90.
A future match up between him and top Puerto Rican prospect Felix Verdejo is looking mighty appealing.
For quick results and round-by-round-coverage of "Bradley vs. Vargas" last night click here.