How to rate Bradley & Witter?

Whats everyone's opinion now on Bradley? To me, I think he's a good fighter. Nothing special, but solid. Witter is no slouth, and Bradley beat him clearly so obviously Tim has some level of talent. He reminds me of a HOMELESS man's version of Meldrick Taylor. Obviously he has nowhere near the talent of Taylor, I'm just saying thier styles are somewhat similar. Muzse called him Mosley-lite, and I can somewhat see that as well. But as with Taylor, he has nowhere NEAR the talent or skill of Mosley. However he can definitely make some noise at 140, which isnt exactly a division thats loaded with talent the way 147 is.

I like his chances vs Paulie, but I probably wouldnt pick him over Hatton. Not right now anyway. If he catches Hatton a bit down the road when Ricky gets a little bit older, he might win then.

As for Witter, I still dont think he's a bad fighter, or a fraud, but his spoiler style definitely backfired on him last night. I know everybody now will say that Hatton woulda killed him, and maybe he would have, but it still doesnt erase the fact that Hatton avoided Witter for years. But now thanks to Bradley, Ricky has the luxury of never having to face Witter, and not getting flack for it.

Whats everyone's thoughts on both guys?

 

For some reason he reminds me a bit of Stevie Johnston. Small, compact, fairly slick, fast and fairly aggressive too.

I agree with you, he is a good, solid fighter but nothing special.

It's just that witter is crap.

It puts harris into perspective too, but then maussa already did that ::

The fight vaguely reminded me of MAB - hamed, purely in the sense that brendan ingle's retarded style was exposed again.

 

i could give my opinion on you, if you like?

 

your post is fairly dead on, although I struggle at the moment to draw parallels between Bradley and Meldrick Taylor.

But anyway, Witter was the definitive top challenge to Hatton's linear crown going in. Bradley deserves props on that alone, never mind dominating him in his own backyard.

The excuse of training for one style (D-Hop) before switching gears to face another (Bradley) won't fly for Witter, because Bradley went through the same ordeal, training for Castillo before going from the scales to instead facing Witter. Just a solid performance by Bradley last night, while Witter looked utterly clueless for much of the fight.

That said, even if Witter found a way to win (legitimately or otherwise), the fight itself wouldn't have done a damn thing in getting him closer to a Hatton fight or winning over critics. Tough fight to watch, and for a few rounds, tough to score as well.

Where Bradley rates is a work in progress. I'm not going to be like The Ring and say "He beat #2, therefore advances from unranked to #2." He appears to have the talent to make noise in the division (and the sincerley humble personality that fans can easily rally around). But to undoubtedly say he beats, say Malignaggi or Andreas Kotelnik in his very next fight, would be jumping the gun a bit.

 

Yep, much like space monkey against Barrera.

 

"in jesus name" "in jesus name"
::

 

Granted this was my first time ever seeing Bradley fight, but I compared him to Taylor because both are compact guys with speed, and not much power who have the mentality to be aggressive rather than box. The differance being, Taylor had execptional handspeed, whilst Bradley's speed is just good.

Also I wouldnt say that he undoutedly beats Paulie, but I'd definitely at least give him a very good chance.

Ive never seen Kotelnik fight before, so I cant say for him.

 

Sweet, lets turn this into a Hamed thread!!

Hamed is the most underrated fighter eva!

 

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Prior to him getting beat, there were retards who thought he'd have beaten Sal Sanchez. The Princess is hardly underrated.

 

Exactly, and he was a 4 to 1 favourite to beat Barrera, and got beaten like a fucking amateur.

You have to be an utter retard to think Space Monkey is underrated.

 

bradley looked average to me.

Witter just didn't perform well at all. he was truely truely awful.

I don't know whether he has gotten old, or whether it was just a bad night.

I think with him being 35, with his style, it's all caught up to him now. His stamina and chin have faded (he took a few flush from Judah, one dislodged his mouthpiece).

 

Bradley seems alright to me. He has decent handspeed and seems to be pretty tough both physically and mentally. I think it was mainly Witters fight to lose last night. He faded badly in the last half of the fight, and seemed completely out of it as well. Although I must give Bradley credit for a great fight.

I think Witter is soft and the tougher man won.

Bradley may make some noise in the division. Can he outbox Paulie? I don't know. I don't think that he can force his will on Hatton the way he did Witter though.

Props to Bradley though. I love seeing the underdog take it to the cocky champion.

 

Like Bob just said Attraction, witter is soft. He doesn't have the mental fortitude to be a great fighter.

The 2 fights he's had with the biggest amount of pressure, he's folded.

His stupid retard ingle style was also exposed against a fast technically adept fighter.

 

The way these Ricky fanboys speak it's like Hatton was in there beating Witter last night.

It's pretty sad when i think about it. Hatton could and probably would have beaten Witter in an ugly fight by decision just off of uneffective aggression. In a fight that would have probably made him more money beating him then lets say Urango or Maussa.

 

I was very surprised by how well Bradley fought. His record suggested that he didn't pack much power, but his straight right hand hurt Junior almost evertime it landed, and the punch which scored him the KD was an excellent, power-packed shot. He looked lively, held his hands high and his chin low which made him difficult to ping, and much to my surprise, he seemed quicker in hand and foot to Junior almost throughout.

I'm not sure how he'd match up with either Kotenik or Mallinaggi, though I do think these are the guys he should be looking to fight. I think Kotenik especially is very underrated and he has an awkward style which is difficult to take on as well as good power in both hands. I was very impressed with the way he took Rees apart to win his bauble, because Rees if nothing else is a strong, couragous little SOB.

I would still say that Bradley is too green for a fight with Hatton, unless Hatton's decline is more sunstantial than appears at present.

As for Witter, well, I really have no idea where and if he has anywhere to go from here. When you build a career off the back of another fighter, as Junior has, you have to force him blindly into a corner or you are fucked. Now, Junior is fucked. Hatton will NEVER fight him now, and whether or not he would or wouldn't have beaten him is now a matter for Mythical Matchups only.

Worse still, he looked very faded last night. His weird, Ingle style is based all on angles, fighting of the back foot and, much more importantly, speed and reflexes. Last night he seemed to have lost a hell of a lot in terms of reflex and speed- Bradley was quicker to the punch and caught Junior far too often as he tried to swing his head out of range.

Junior has now had two shots in the limelight and he has imploded badly on both occassions. US networks won't touch him again, because he has such a horrible, negative style that his fights are often awful to watch. He has always claimed that he was avoided, but without a bauble to bring to the table, no-one worth a light will touch him with a bargepole. Too much risk for almost no reward.

Props should go to Tim, though. Major props. To go to the champions backyard and beat him so comprehensively, especially a champion whose stock has risen so highly recently, is no mean feat, and regardless of where he goes from here, his performance last night should be lauded.

MTF :clap:

 

REED was Impressed w/Bradley's INITIATIVE...

Stylistically, Bradley-Witter had "STINKER" Written All Over it...So REED LIKED the Fact that Bradley FORCED the Issue...He WANTED it More than Witter Did...

Bradley WASN'T the Least Bit Intimidated by the Environment, the HUGE Step UP N Class or the Fact that he was Fighting for a World Title...Dude Treated it like Another Day N The Office, just like he SAID he Would N the Interview...

REED Doesn't Necessarily See "Greatness" N Bradley, but he'll DEFINITELY B a "Player" N the 140-147 Mix for the Next 10 Years...Boxing Fans Better Get USED to the Name "Tim Bradley"...



REED

 

RJJP4P- you are clearly a knowledgable guy when it comes to boxing, but your Hatton hate always clouds your judgement in that regard.

Most Hatton fans, myself included, fully expected Junior to win last night and win well enough to bring a Hatton fight closer to reality. That he didn't is no cause for celebration in my book- that fight was the SINGLE fight I wanted to see more than any other in the next 12-18 months.

 

If that was the single fight you wanted to see in the next 12-18 Months i feel bad for you. It would have been a very ugly awkward fight.

I don't deny the fact i hate Hatton. Truth is i wish i could like him. His "fighting" style is what makes me hate the guy. Truth is also i have to admit i hate Witter also. Every fight i have seen him in he has looked like total shit. Somebody needs to tell him when you are inside a boxing ring you are there to fight. Honestly if this fight happens im not sure if i would root for a double KO or even for Witter to be Ko'd.

The fight would have made Haton alot of money, with a guy calling you out at every turn who is beatable and you don't like i have no idea why Hatton didn't fight him anyway.

Im not sure how a Witter win would have brought the fight closer to happening. First of all Hatton appears to have at least 2 fights lined up, possibly 3. And in every Interview with Hatton ive seen when asked about Witter he says he doesn't want to fight him. In one interview he even said he would fight anybody then the interviewer asked him if he would fight Witter then he said no.

 

I wanted to see the fight happen because:

a. I fully expected Ricky to win
b. Junior was the consensus 'challenger' to Hatton's claim to be the best at 140.
c. I'm English and big domestic fights such as this one always whet my appetite.

If Junior had won, and won well, he would have greatly increased the clamour in the UK (which he alone had started and continuously fanned) for the fight to happen. Witter has been calling Ricky out for years, but he has been doing so from Leisure Centres and City Halls- this was his big chance on terrestrial TV to show what he was about and to make Ricky look like the coward he has always claimed he is. And he fucking blew it, big time.

I don't like Hatton's style now either, but he hasn't always fought like this. He first did it to major effect against Tszyu to negate Kostya's desire to have 'punching space' to unload his powerful right hands. After having such a positive effect then, he has just taken it too far and does it always and against everyone. I liked Hatton long before he started fighting like that and that he does so now is clear evidence, IMO, of a slow decline incorporating a declining level of stamina generally.

 

Here we go with the excuses. First Witter is on top of his game, now that Bradley beats him, he's faded.

 

He'll be a factor at 140, he aint doing shit at 147 though!

 

REED was Speaking More of N the FUTURE...agREED that Bradley Definitely SHOULDN'T Fuck the CURRENT Wave of 147 lb'ders...

But Dude Said HIMSELF he'll Eventually Move Up to 47...

REED

 

I thought both guys fought below their usual level, especially Witter.
After the knockdown, and even before, Witter was not showing the power and handspeed that make him so dangerous. He was slow and lacked pop on his punch. That's not typical Junior Witter.

Because Witter looked measurably worse after the kd, props goes to Bradley. I really wouldn't mind a rematch to find out of Witter is better, like I think, or if he's shot, like he might be, or if Bradley is just better, which I doubt.

And I picked Witter to win 115-113 so it's not like the end result was all that different, I just think more of both guys than I saw last night.

I thought I heard Farhood say this was Witter's 3rd USA appearance on tv? It was just his 2nd, right?

 

Props to Bradley. It was nice to see him beat up on Witter. That said, WTF happened to the Junior Welterweight division? :dunno:

5-6 years ago or less it was absolutely loaded with fan friendly action fighters. Now it's filled with pot shotting little man-humpers. It makes me pine for the days of prime John Ruiz. :shit:

 

Tszyu, and Mitchell got old. Gatti got old and exposed. Zab moved up. And Hatton turned into a grappler. Thats what happened to 140.

 

Not to mention Mayweather and Cotto both moved up too.

 

Regarding Witter, even IF he has/had the STYLE to Beat Hatton, he Ultimately DIDN'T EARN the Right to Fight Hatton...

Like it or Not, Hatton has STATUS...He's the "DeLa" of Europe & it's IMPERATIVE that Potential Opponents Make THEMSELVES Attractive Options...Hatton Could Fight a HOMELESS Guy & Sell Out Soccer Stadiums, so he Never NEEDED Witter N Actuality...

Witter's Job was SIMPLE...MAINTAIN your Spot N the Hatton Sweepstakes...But Dude COULDN'T Even Do that...

NOW, he's Gonna ALWAYS B Known as a CHOKER who was PETRIFIED of Zab Judah & NUTHUGGED Ricky Hatton...



REED

 

140 is a pretty weak division. 147 is loaded. Im not sure if i could pick Bradley against any top 10 147lber.

 

Yep, 140 really has gone downhill fast, since it's recent heyday.

But at 147, I think little Timmy is just too small. He looks around 5'5, that's a pretty fucking small welterweight.

 

Witter beat Jurgen haeck on Showtime several years ago.