Bradley vs Chaves results: Timothy Bradley and Diego Chaves go to Split Draw

Early on the fight became ugly as both fighters clashed heads numerous times, causing a contusion on the head of Chaves and a swollen left eye for Bradley that may indicate a broken orbital.Head butts aside, Bradley did his best work on the inside, banging Chaves' body and blocking or evading more or less everything that came back his way.

On the outside the fight was a different story, as Bradley was forced to move away from Chaves' jab and right hand. Early on Bradley countered that jab very well with his overhand, but as both fighters tired it was Chaves who

Bradley confounded viewers by appearing to throw massive power shots that Chaves nonetheless walked through, just as he did against Manny Pacquiao. Trainer Julio Diaz advised Bradley to "close his fist" when he punched between rounds eight and nine, which may help to explain Bradley's unimpressive punching power. It may also just be part of the Bradley style, which is often all about appearances. Bradley gets hit but sells the idea that he's not, and swings wild but sells the idea that he's landing power shots. It's this clever manipulation of both judges' and opponents' perceptions that makes him a special fighter.

Nonetheless, many of the rounds were close, and perhaps sharp eyed judges like Julie Lederman chose to overlook much of Bradley's activity in favor of Chaves more spare but often cleaner work. Justifications aside, the draw is very controversial, and it's hard to imagine many boxing fans seeing any argument for a Chaves scorecard.

Bad Left Hook had it scored 117-111 for Timothy Bradley. The official result is as follows:

Timothy Bradley and Diego Chaves go to a Split Draw (116-112, 115-113, 114-114).