Who'd have thunk it? Timothy Bradley, 24 years old and in his first pro fight outside of his home state of California, beat Junior Witter via split decision in Nottingham to win the WBC junior welterweight title.

The split decision was a little bit ridiculous, and had Witter won, I would've counted it as highway robbery. I scored it 117-110 for Bradley, who largely dominated the fight against an aged-looking, unmotivated-seeming, totally ineffective Witter, widely regarded as (at worst) the world's second-best 140-pound fighter.

Bradley was awarded the mandatory shot at Witter's WBC crown when Jose Luis Castillo failed to make weight for a fight against him in Cancun. Most of us felt that Witter would dominate the unseasoned Bradley, who had never traveled more than a car ride for any pro fight. But Bradley drilled Witter in the sixth round with a massive overhand right, putting the exclamation point on his momentum grab, and taking full control of the fight.

The first five rounds were quite close, all up-in-the-air scoring affairs, and I gave Bradley three of five. If someone gave Witter the nod in four or even all of them, it's hard to argue. Eventually, it was Witter's total lack of offense that defined the fight, with Bradley pot-shotting his way to what most saw as a pretty definable victory. A career-starting splash of a win, really.

So congratulations to young Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley, the Palm Springs, CA, native who is your new WBC junior welterweight champion, and a rising force in the division.

The loss throws Witter into no man's land. At 34, he started looking his age, or else he just wasn't mentally ready for the tough fight, perhaps buying the hype that Bradley simply was not ready to take on someone as smart and outright terrific as Witter can be. This loss takes Junior Witter entirely out of any Ricky Hatton sweepstakes, meaning he'll likely never see the fight he's been petitioning for forever. And he's still too much of a potential spoiler to get an easy pass into lucrative bouts in the division, which is now unquestionably ruled by Hatton, with the likes of Paulie Malignaggi, power-punching Colombian Ricardo Torres, Kendall Holt, and Bradley as his chasers.

Witter will have to be lucky to find him self as anything more than a regional star like Andreas Kotelnik or Souleymane M'baye at this point. He could possibly find a fight with Kotelnik (who would be attempting to avenge a loss to Witter), but any big-money, international sort of affair is now out of the question. It's a little unjust and more than a bit unfair, but Witter is too good to walk into high-profile fights without a title.

On this night, Timothy Bradley outboxed him over 12 rounds, and did so with aplomb. He deserves all the credit in the world. Witter's punches seemed to lack pop, and his offensive gameplan was simply to wait. The sixth round knockdown showed him waiting just a bit too much, and overall, the fight itself did the same.

Also in Nottingham, super middleweight contender Carl Froch improved to 23-0 with his 19th knockout, taking out late substitute Albert Rybacki in the fourth round via TKO. Froch is the mandatory to Joe Calzaghe, who is now at 175 and will almost certainly never fight Froch, who will nonetheless spend the next couple of years calling Calzaghe out. He'd be better off just focusing on the realistic, perhaps a fight with titlist Lucian Bute, former titleholder Mikkel Kessler, or "titlist" Anthony Mundine.

Junior Witter WBC Junior Welterweight Titlist Ring Magazine No. 1 Contender   Timothy Bradley     36-1-2 Record 21-0 21 KO 11 Bradford, UK Hometown Palm Springs, CA 5'7" Height 5'6" 70" Reach 69" Vivian Harris (KO-7) Andreas Kotelnik (UD-12) DeMarcus Corley (UD-12) Notable Wins Miguel Vazquez (UD-10) Donald Camarena (UD-10) Jaime Rangel (TD-8) Zab Judah (UD-12) Notable Losses

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

CARL FROCH
Ring Magazine No. 6 Contender
(22-0, 18 KO, Nottingham, UK)
versus
ALBERT RYBACKI
(15-0, 8 KO, Katowice, Poland)

10:45 PM EDT - Showtime

WBC 140-pound titleholder Junior "The Hitter" Witter is universally regarded as second-best. Second-best in his division, second-best in his country in the division, second-best at pretty much everything.

But some folks will tell you that Witter should be considered the best 140-pounder in the sport. With Ricky Hatton trying over the past couple of years to find a home at welterweight (and failing), the mega-popular "Hitman" has returned to the 140-pound ranks for the time being, waiting on a May 24th fight against Juan Lazcano, part of a double-header with potential future opponent Paulie Malignaggi, arguably America's best 140-pound fighter.

Where does that leave Witter?

Junior Witter is 36-1-2 in his career. You can throw out the two draws, since they happened early in his career. And his only loss came in 2000 against Zab Judah. Eight years is so long that you might as well throw that fight out, too.

Right now, who would you favor if the long-desired bout between countrymen Hatton and Witter came to pass? There are a ton of people who would pick Witter. I am, in fact, one of them.

While he's often been content to just outbox his opponents and take a decision victory, Witter showed last year how destructive he can be, when he faced talented enigma Vivian Harris. Take a look at the KO, even if you've seen it before.

Witter proved he has real power, for anyone that doubted it. When he's willing to take chances, he's as deadly as anyone in the division. He's also technically superior to just about everyone at 140, save perhaps only for Malignaggi, who can be extremely good defensively.

Witter is somewhat comparable to Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who dominated Hatton with upper body movement and short, quick punching. Like he did against Mayweather, Hatton would be forced to work -- perhaps too hard -- to get in good shots on Witter.

But before a Hatton fight could even potentially come off (and I believe it will), Witter has another American lined up before him. Tomorrow night on Showtime, Witter will face a challenge from top prospect Timothy Bradley (21-0, 11 KO), a highly talented young man with all the potential in the world.

But is the 24-year old Bradley truly ready for a fighter like Witter? Conventional wisdom says no.

Bradley doesn't have big power. But he's a student of the game, with a good trainer (Joel Diaz) who has seen big fights. He's going to have to find a way to block out the obvious hometown advantage that Witter will have in Nottingham. And after that, when he settles down (if he settles down), he'll have to find a way to out-box a terrific boxer.

Bradley got this fight because an eliminator bout with Jose Luis Castillo was called off after Castillo couldn't come close to making weight. He's been rushed into a title fight, but you can't blame him or his team for taking it. Should he lose, they simply get back on the horse, because frankly, he's supposed to lose. And you have to admire his guts, because most guys with 21 pro fights and the prospect tag that Bradley carries wouldn't get into a fight where they're such a huge underdog.

For Witter, this is about trying to kickstart his American branding, and trying to muscle his way into a fight with Hatton. For Bradley, this fight is more about trying to beat the odds, and leapfrog his way into the money fights in this division.

The smart money is on Junior Witter. In fact, the dumb money, the moderately intelligent money, and the brilliant money are all on Junior Witter. This isn't one you can sugarcoat. Nothing will tell you that Timothy Bradley can or should win this fight. But they'll fight for a reason, that reason being that you just never absolutely know until the bell sounds.

We'll be here tomorrow night with round-by-round coverage, scoring, and BSing during the fight, which starts at 10:45 EDT on Showtime. It's a rare chance for American fans to see Witter live, and a chance to see a very promising young fighter. Last word I've heard is that the co-feature will be Carl Froch against Albert Rybacki.