Bradley defended his WBO 140-pound title and remained unbeaten with a
dominant unanimous decision over Peterson on Saturday night, delighting the
hometown crowd that was chanting his name even before the opening bell.
Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs) impressed with his superior skill and speed,
blemishing the perfect record of his friend and former roommate from their
amateur days. But Peterson provided a formidable test, even before the fight.
“Lamont had me nervous,” Bradley said after the bout, grinning below his
oversized sunglasses. “I don’t get too nervous, but this is one fight I was
nervous for. I felt like an amateur again.”
Peterson (27-1), the Washington, D.C., native who overcame childhood
homelessness to become a title contender, was knocked down for the first time in
his career by an overhand right in the third round.
Peterson rallied courageously, landing some of his best shots to Bradley’s
body later in that round, but Bradley picked him apart through the rest of the
fight in his usual “Desert Storm” style.
“He came out and made me fight like no one ever has,” Bradley said. “I
think experience played a real big role. He had the right game plan, but he got
a little careless, and he was rushing in there instead of following his jab.
When he came in is when I nailed him.”
Judge Fritz Werner gave every round to Bradley, scoring the fight 120-107,
while Jose Cobian gave one round to Peterson for a 119-108 total. Judge Denny
Nelson and The Associated Press both scored it 118-110 for Bradley.
Bradley had another outstanding night in the same desert casino where he
dominated Nate Campbell for three rounds on Aug. 1 in a fight eventually ruled a
no-contest due to an accidental head-butt.
Bradley might be the world’s top fighter at 140 pounds, and he’s hoping to
be the biggest name in a division that no longer features Manny Pacquiao and
Ricky Hatton.
“I will fight whoever they want me to fight, and I don’t care where I have
to go,” Bradley said.
Gary Shaw, Bradley’s co-promoter, said the WBO already had been approached
that night by Frank Warren, who promotes British Olympic silver medalist Amir
Khan, about a matchup in England early next year.
“I would have no problem going over to England to fight in front of 40,000
screaming Brits,” Shaw said. “(Khan) has been down once for the count. I don’t
think this is a hard fight for Timothy Bradley. I’m surprised that Frank Warren
wants it, but we would do it.”
Bradley caught Peterson with a nasty right hand to the nose about 60 seconds
before the end of the first round, staggering Peterson back to the ropes.
Bradley landed another handful of damaging right hands in the second round, with
Peterson struggling to contain his speed and power.
“My game plan was to win the first round, but in the middle of the first
round, I got hit real hard by a couple of right hands,” Peterson said. “It
really bothered me. I lost the round, I fell behind, I got reckless. I couldn’t
make it up. I gave it all I had. He’s a great champion.”
Bradley was credited for a knockdown early in the third when Peterson
slipped to a knee after catching a right while leaning forward, but Peterson
rallied later in the round with body shots. Bradley fought more defensively for
the next few rounds before catching a second wind and peppering Peterson with
counterpunches.
“He tried to break me down, but my condition was superior,” Bradley said.
Peterson, who had never been past the 10th round, kept moving forward but
found no holes in Bradley’s attack. Bradley caught Peterson with a handful of
big shots in the 11th and cruised to the win, flexing for the crowd at the final
bell.
