Bradley Retains Welterweight Championship !

Timothy Bradley is laid his World Boxing Organization   welterweight title on the line against Juan Manuel Marquez   (Oct. 12, 2013) live on HBO pay-per-view   from Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.For Marquez, capturing the WBO belt will cement him as one of the greatest Mexican boxers in history.Welterweight, 146 Pounds: Timothy Bradley vs. Juan Manuel Marquez

By: Andrew Guzaldo

First Round: Crowd is firmly behind Marquez. Both are waiting it out before committing. Bradley is first to attack with a jab to the body. Marquez responds with one of his own. Bradley with another jab to the body and Marquez sends a jab to the head. They clinch up and trade punches to the body before splitting. Marquez lands left hooks to the head in the exit, slight, head-butt from Bradley. Marquez really doing well to work the body. Bradley returns the favor with one of his own. Stiff jab to the head from Bradley snaps Marquez’ head back. 10-9 Marquez

Second Round: Bradley triples up the jab to open the second. He’s got an insanely wide stance and Marquez lands a hard hook to the head. They clinch up and break. Left hook to the body from Bradley landed a bit low but the action continues. Bradley is getting aggressive. Action slows a bit but then picks up with Marquez landing a beautiful hook. Bradley counters with a left hook. This is a tremendous fight thus far. Another hard body shot to the liver from Bradley. They exchange to close the round. 10-9 Bradley

Third Round: Slow start to the third. They clinch off a Bradley hook. Bradley lands another hook to the body. He’s found a home for that punch. Marquez lands a jab to the body. Another left hook to the body from Bradley, those are going to pay off in later rounds. Double jab from Bradley. Marquez responds with one of his own. Straight right from Marquez lands to the head. Hook to the body from Marquez. Bradley is doing well to take a lot of power away from Marquez’ punches by turning away from them. Slugfest to close the round. 10-9 Marquez.

Fourth Round: Bradley commits to a combination but nothing lands. Marquez counters but Bradley is able to slip the uppercut. Bradley lands first when they trade right hands. The referee stops the fight to wipe Vaseline off Marquez’ body. He’s loaded with it. It’s crazy. Bradley wildly throws a right hand. Bradley clinches up and the referee breaks the fighters. Nice three punch combination from Marquez. Seriously crazy amount of Vaseline on Marquez. Bradley gets hurt by a right hand from Marquez. Bradley responds with a left to the body. Nice combination from Bradley to close the round. 10-9 Bradley

Fifth Round: Left hand lands to the body for Bradley. Bradley just seems to be a step ahead of him. Marquez is doing well to defend the jab but he’s not attacking. Oh man! Hard left hook connects for Marquez. Bradley lands a left hook but just not as hard. Marquez connects with another hook to the head. Bradley working the body with hooks. Really just a quicker fighter tonight. Jabs connect for Bradley. He’s just stopping Marquez’ forward momentum. Hooks from Bradley. Marquez nearly catches Bradley to close the round but too late. 10-9 Bradley

Sixth Round: Bradley slips a punch and then connects with a straight right to the head. He’s trying to draw Marquez in. He lands a hard right hand to the body and then gets caught with a quick counter shot. Marquez lands a left hook to the body and Bradley lands one to the head. Bradley is landing multiple punches while Marquez is only throwing one at a time. They clinch and clash heads again. They exchange and both land right hands to the head. Bradley is countering Marquez’ counter. 10-9 Bradley

Seventh Round: They come out in the seventh and the pace is fast. Bradley is still landing multiple punches. He’s forcing the fight to Marquez. Marquez lands and the crowd goes wild. But those are becoming very rare. Bradley lands jabs to the head and then circles away. Bradley lands to the body and Marquez responds with a slow hook. Marquez looks for a big hook and Bradley ducks under it. Bradley landing more to the body. Marquez comes forward but can’t find his target. He lands a stiff jab to the head and Bradley responds with one of his own and then follows up with a right hand. Bradley is really connecting with that jab. 10-9 Bradley

Eight Round: Bradley’s head snaps back and he pushes forward with a counter. Marquez is trying to keep up the pace but Bradley starts to defend with a shoulder roll. Marquez lands a 1-2 combination but Bradley shakes it off. Hard hook from Bradley. Hard uppercut from Bradley snaps Marquez’ head back. And another jab lands for Bradley. And a hook to the head. He’s doing a brilliant job of counter punching tonight. Marquez lands a body shot. Bradley is just outworking him while Marquez is keeping a slower pace. Body shot from Marquez as Bradley gets cocky to close the round. 10-9 Bradley

Ninth Round: Marquez is pushing the pace. He knows he’s not going to out point Timothy Bradley right now. Bradley triples up the jab again. Marquez walks through a straight right. Bradley with two punches to the body. Marquez throws a hook to the head. Marquez lands a straight to the head. Bradley retreats a bit and then lands a hook to the body. Bradley slows the pace with his jabs. Marquez lands his right hand. Hard right hand lands to the head for Bradley. Marquez lands an uppercut. Great exchanges. Awesome exchange in the final 10 seconds and Bradley gets hurt with a right hand but recovers. 10-9 Marquez

Tenth Round: They start to exchange wildly as Bradley connects with a right hand that rattles Marquez. He’s able to survive and Bradley settles down. Body- shots from Marquez. Left hook lands for Bradley. They clinch up and the referee separates them. Bradley lands a right hook and Marquez counters with his own. hard right hand from Bradley. The round ends with Bradley landing on Marquez but not able to finish. 10-9 Bradley

Eleventh Round: Bradley paws out the jab to open the round. He wildly swings with a hook but can’t find Marquez’ head. They clinch again and there’s a slight headbutt. Hook to the body from Bradley. Hard uppercut inside from Marquez. Bodywork from Bradley and Marquez responds with a left hand to the body of his own. Bradley doing well to defend a lot of Marquez’ punches. Another clinch and another clash of heads. Bradley doubles up the jab and then lands a counter hook when Marquez comes in. Marquez lands a left to the head but can’t follow up with anything. Bradley pops Marquez in the mouth with a jab. Marquez misses his right hand. Bradley has slowed a bit and Marquez is landing to the head to close the round. Close round but 10-9 Bradley

Twelfth and Final Round: Marquez lands to the body and Bradley responds with a jab to the head. Crowd is pushing Marquez on as he lands to the body. Both fighters miss on their hooks to the head. Bradley lands to the body but gets caught with a hard right hand to the chin. Bradley lands a counter and then Marquez misses big on three wild punches. Bradley is coasting right now. Bradley lands two punches that snap Marquez’ head back. Marquez lands a jab to the head but there’s not much on it. Bradley has settled into countering. He knows he’s got this fight won. Marquez lands a hook to the chin but Bradley responds with a hook to the head. They trade to close the round and Bradley nearly knocks Marquez down with a left hook. 10-9 Bradley

Final Result: Timothy Bradley defeats Juan Manuel Marquez by Split Decision (115-113, 116-112, 113-115)