Timothy Bradley's debut at welterweight went well, as the 140-pound titleholder was able to rather easily defeat Luis Carlos Abregu over 12 rounds, taking a unanimous decision on scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. Bad Left Hook scored the fight 118-110 for Bradley.
Bradley (26-0, 11 KO) called out Manny Pacquiao after the fight, but also made challenges to 140-pound contenders Devon Alexander, Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana. Bradley would likely be available for a November 13 date with Pacquiao, but as we all know that's not in Top Rank's plans, as they intend to promote either a rematch no one wants to see or a fight against a guy that a major portion of the boxing fanbase has no respect for anymore.
Alexander, meanwhile, fights on August 7 against Andriy Kotelnik, and I'd suspect they could put together Bradley-Alexander for an end-of-year showdown if they tried to. Maidana will also be available, as will Khan, but Khan is almost certainly going to fight Juan Manuel Marquez near the end of the year if Marquez beats Juan Diaz on July 31.
Hopefully, whoever Bradley's next opponent is, he'll be a bit more lively and competitive than Abregu (29-1, 23 KO). Abregu never had anyone excited about his extremely bright future in the past, but he was generally always a good bet to put on an exciting fight. Tonight he couldn't find any rhythm whatsoever, only landed a few really good shots, and just wasn't on Bradley's level. He'll surely be back on ShoBox soon enough, because he's made a name for himself as a fun guy to watch there.
In the co-feature, Alfredo Angulo demolished Joachim Alcine in the first round, with referee Dr. Lou Moret jumping in to end the fight with just moments left in the round. Alcine (32-2, 19 KO) was being overwhelmed and battered by Angulo (19-1, 16 KO) and the stoppage was a good one.
- Over in Atlantic City, the impossible dream came true: Monte Barrett survived not just the opening rounds with David Tua, but the entire fight, and wound up scoring a majority draw in what the veteran promised was the final bout of his career, no matter the outcome. I do hope Monte sticks to that, as drawing Tua is probably the best way he can hope to go out. Tua won one card, 115-111, and the other two were 113-113. While Tua started strong, he gassed out in the fifth, and from then on Barrett was able to outbox Tua in spots. Tua was docked a point and knocked down (officially for the first time in his career) in the final round. Barrett (34-9-1, 20 KO) gets a huge moral victory both here and in his last fight, a loss to Alexander Ustinov, where he was hurt early but survived 12 rounds. Tua (51-3-2, 43 KO) is not a legitimate contender in any way, shape or form, and I hope this stunning draw gets people to leave alone this idea that the Klitschkos better watch their backs because here comes David Tua, whose career highlight win was a 19-second knockout of a guy who went on to have a much better career than he did, and that was 14 years ago. Of course all that said, the draw probably indicates Tua will be in line to fight Vitali Klitschko in 2011.
- In Tuxtla Gutierrez, Fernando Montiel retained his 118-pound belt with a KO-3 win over Rafael Concepcion. Concepcion lasted the full 12 rounds against Nonito Donaire and 9 rounds against Jorge Arce before quitting on his stool, so the manner in which Montiel beat the normally rugged fighter was impressive. Montiel started slow, but knocked Concepcion down with the first punch of the second round, and the Panamanian just never fully recovered. He was knocked down again in the second with another left hook, and knocked him out with a straight right that had Concepcion unconscious before he hit the floor. On the undercard, Michael "Murder Man" Medina stopped Gilberto Flores Hernandez in four.
- Off TV in California, Antonio DeMarco bounced back from his loss in February with a TKO-2 win over veteran Daniel Attah. Art Hovhannesyan also won to stay unbeaten.
- AJ Banal and Jason Pagara won their fights in the Philippines.
- Denis Lebedev brutally kayoed Alexander Alexeev in two rounds with a knockout of the year candidate. Our full write-up of the bout is here.