Timothy Bradley could've fought intelligently against Ruslan Provodnikov Saturday night on HBO and secured a victory with relative ease, but instead, perhaps driven by the fan animosity toward him over the bunk Manny Pacquiao win, he fought like a much stupider, much more awesome version of himself. It nearly got him knocked out. Instead, he won a narrow unanimous decision. It also should have won over anyone who had any hostility toward Bradley.
You will not see a fighter throw his brain out the car window so cavalierly in your whole life, and that's not meant as a diss on Provodnikov, who brought to the ring exactly what he was expected to and ought to have -- outrageous tenacity and hard punching. But Bradley could've beaten that guy easily just by fighting in the crafty way he did for a handful of rounds over the fight, and instead ignored the advice of his corner for most of the 12 rounds to avoid catching the kind of punches that had him fighting half-unconscio...
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March 17, 2013
