Who is the least respected boxer in the world?
No matter what some boxers do, they just don’t get the level of credit or respect that others do. Maybe it’s just because they haven’t been around long enough, or their performances aren’t snazzy enough. Or maybe it’s something else. But at all times, while fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather stay in the news every day, many other fighters slip between the cracks of the sport. Which fighter holds this dubious title for the year 2009?
Timothy Bradley: the 2009 least respected boxer
Without a doubt, the least respected fighter in the sport considering accomplishments is Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley. He’s a young, undefeated champion. He fought three times in 2009, all against quality opposition. But his name never comes up when the best fighters are mentioned.
You can discredit guys for looking bad in winning efforts. You can discredit them for not knocking out enough people or for not being very flashy in the ring. There are many ways you can discredit a fighter. But at the end of the day, when that fighter keeps on winning and winning, at some point you have to stop and give the man his dues. That sums up the career for Timothy Bradley to this point.
He started off the year in a unification match against Kendall Holt. Holt had him down early, but Bradley survived the chaos, continued applying pressure, and won a clear unanimous decision. You can say Holt stepped off the gas and missed his chance, but Bradley certainly deserves credit for his heart and total effort in this bout.
Then was an intriguing bout against Nate Campbell, who was coming up from lightweight. While the fight was stopped with controversy, and the win was changed to a No Contest, it was clear in the early going that Bradley was going to dominate Campbell for the duration of the bout. Say what you will, but Campbell wanted a way out of the encounter, and he got it. It may not have been a pleasing outcome or a complete performance, but Bradley was assuredly on his way to a win that evening.
Recently he took on Lamont Peterson in another title defense. The untested Peterson only scrambles into the top 15 or so in the incredibly deep junior welterweight division, but he is a slick boxer and a fighter who didn’t know how to lose as a pro. Bradley dominated him from start to finish.
With all of this under his belt in the year 2009, Timothy Bradley is still hardly recognized at all amongst the boxing world’s elite. Here’s hoping he continues his winning ways in 2010 and starts earning some more well deserved recognition.
Make sure you check out the rest of the 2009 Boxing Awards from ProBoxing-Fans.com. It’s the best way to recap the entire up and down, crazy year in boxing. And if you agree or disagree with any of the recipients, let us know in the comments!
Image Credit: Tom Casino/Showtime
