Bradley: I had to stay smart to get this victory

Photos by: Chris Farina/Top Rank

WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) retained his crown with a twelve round split decision over 40 year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs) on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

The younger, faster Bradley boxed for most of the fight and did just enough to get the victory in the eyes of the deciding two judges who saw it 116-112 and 115-113 for Bradley.

 “It was hard (not getting into exchanges), I like to fight. I like to step in there and fight but I had to listen to my corner to get this win” Said Bradley “Marquez is a big puncher and he could have hurt me at any time so I had to stay smart to get this victory”

One judge saw it 115-113 for Marquez, who had his moments during exchanges and rallied late but apparently could not overcome the early deficit.

“To fight here in Vegas, I need a knock out to get a victory.” said a disappointed Marquez “I have to fear the judges more than my opponent.”

Bradley got the victory by boxing and sticking to the game plan. He fought smart and didn’t allow himself to get dragged into a slug fest which would have favored the slick counter punching Marquez.

“I know the fans are a little upset because I boxed a little bit and didn’t exchange with him. At times I tried to make it as entertaining as possible but I had to box this way in order to get this win”

 

If I get the respect, great. If not, keep betting against me. I’m going to keep winning!”

In the co-feature, Orlando Salido (40-12-2, 28 KOs) scored a seventh round KO over Orlando Cruz (20-3-1, 10 KOs) to regain the WBO featherweight title. Salido pressured the Puerto Rican fighter and stopped him in the seventh with a huge overhand right. Time was 1:05.