By Paul Strauss: Timothy Bradley out jabbed and out punched Luis Carlos Abregu at Agus Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, CA. Bradley moved well, and managed to keep Abregu in the lock and load, but no fire position. Abregu’s corner pleaded with him to take more chances, and to punch more. It was obvious that he wanted to, but Bradley kept upsetting Abregu’s timing.
That’s not to say that Abregu wasn’t busy, because he was. However, when he did let his hands go, he just couldn’t connect with Bradley’s head which would be low, bobbing and weaving, and moving side to side, so much so that Abregu created a pretty good wind storm trying to land..
In the second round, Bradley landed a very good overhand right that stunned Abregu. Bradley closed quickly and unleashed some wind shots. It made him vulnerable, but Abregu wasn’t able to take advantage. In between rounds, Bradley’s corner told him to stay calm and not to get careless, which is what he did.
Abregu’s best punch of the fight was a good left hook that connected with Bradley’s forehead. If it had been lower, the fight might have gone differently, but all it did was wake Bradley up to be a bit more cautious. The only other telling blows that Abregu landed were body shots, but Bradley gave no indication that he was bothered to any great degree by them. Both men did sustain minor cuts from accidental head butts, but they did not become a factor.
Bradley landed a lot of good clean shots, both to the head and body. Early in the fight, he seemed to like the right hand, but later his punch of choice was the counter left hook, which he landed with some regularity. Abregu was definitely very vulnerable for the punch. Often Bradley would land it coming out of a bob and weave position, so it would be visually difficult to pickup.
Bradley scored a unaminous decision, and seemed ready to go another 10 or 12 rounds if necessary. When HBO’s Max Kellerman entered the ring for the post fight interview, Bradley told Max that he wanted
to fight Manny Pacquiao. If that fight can’t be made, Bradley said he would fight anyone else, and in particular Devon Alexander.
Max finished up with Bradley, and then commented about how Top Rank and Golden Boy seem to be closing out fighters other than their own for the big fights. He mentioned the likelihood of Manny getting matched with Margarito or Cotto, two Top Rank fighters, if the Mayweather fight falls through. He makes a good point. It seens pretty obvious that what’s best for the fans is not necessarily their foremost concern.
In the undercard, Alfredo Angulo destroyed Joachim Alcine in round one. In fact, there was only one second left when Referee Lou Moret stepped and kept Alcine from absorbing serious damage. There’s nothing fancy or pretty about Alfredo “Perro” Angulo. He just punches straight and hard. When opponents make the mistake of exchanging with him, they soon become victims. Angulo has great focus in the heat of battle, and fires his shot on straight lines, and with great accurracy. He’s a dangerous prospect for anyone in the junior middleweight division, including Kermit Cintron.