With the recent scoring controversy in Las Vegas on Sept. 14 as well as one this past Saturday in Carson, it wasn’t surprising to hear a reporter ask Timothy Bradley during a conference call if he is concerned about getting a fair shake from the judges when he defends his welterweight title against Juan Manuel Marquez on Oct. 12 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Apparently, he’s not.
“Man, I am going to whoop his (butt) and the judges are going to give me the fight,” Bradley said. “Just like the U.S. Government, I am going to shut down Juan Manuel Marquez on Oct. 12. I am going to win the fight – that is the bottom line.
“I’m not concerned about any judges or any ref. I am going to get in there and do my job and beat Marquez. And that’s it. And the world’s going to see it.”
On Sept. 14, C.J. Ross scored the junior middleweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at MGM Grand a 114-114 draw. Alvarez appeared to have won no more than one round. Fortunately, Mayweather still won a majority decision.
Last Saturday at StubHub Center, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was scored a unanimous-decision winner over Bryan Vera. Most ringside observers had Vera winning a close fight. A few had it even, this newspaper had Chavez winning 96-94. The scorecard of Carla Caiz was 96-94 for Chavez, which at least seemed reasonable. The outcry really came over the cards of Marty Denkin and Gwen Adair, who had Chavez winning by respective scores of 97-93 and 98-92. Adair’s card, in particular, seemed well off the mark.
The judges for Bradley-Marquez will be Robert Hoyle, Patricia Morse Jarman and Glenn Feldman. The referee will be Robert Byrd. The fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view.