Seven Seconds: Bradley wins crazy decision in a fight stopped too early

CARSON, Calif. – Nothing is ever easy for Timothy Bradley.

Or predictable

In a career full of controversial decisions and crazy finishes, there was another wild ride for Bradley.

Bradley wound up winning a unanimous decision over Jessie Vargas Saturday. But it was in a 12-round fight that referee Pat Russell stopped about seven seconds before it was supposed to end and about five seconds after Bradley was rocked by a huge right hand.

Confusion reigned for a couple of minutes, Vargas thought Russell stopped it because Bradley was hurt and couldn’t continue. Vargas celebrated, thinking he had scored a huge upset. His corner men and friends jumped into the ring to celebrate with him. Meanwhile, Bradley appeared confused. He shook his head in disbelief at what looked to be a loss.

“I knew where I was at all times,’’ said Bradley, who stumbled backwards from an overhand right by Vargas. “I knew where I was at all times. All of sudden, the referee was waving his hands. I didn’t know what was going on.’’

Nobody did.

Turns out, Russell stopped the fight because he thought it was over.

“I thought I heard the bell,’’ Russell told HBO’s Max Kellerman in a chaotic scene at the center of the ring.
Maybe, Russell heard the 10-second warning and mistook it for the final bell. Or maybe he heard an inadvertent bell from somewhere in the StubHub crowd. Maybe, maybe, maybe. It’s only certain that he didn’t stop the fight because of what he saw in Bradley.

“I made the call based on what I heard,’’ Russell said.

That meant the fight went to the scorecards. All three favored Bradley. Judge Max DeLuca had it 116-112. Rocky Young scored it 117-111. On Kermit Bayless’ card, it was 115-112.

Finally, Bradley (32-1-1,12 KOs) could celebrate. In the sudden turn of events, however, there was only frustration for Vargas (26-1, 9 KOs).

“Those seven seconds cost me the fight,’’ he said.
He complained that he wasn’t allowed to finish Bradley. He was denied a triumphant finish, he said.

“Let me finish what I started,’’ he said to Bradley while asking for a rematch.
Okay, Bradley said.
No telling how crazy an encore might be.

Except for seven seconds, Bradley appeared to control the bout

Doubt appeared to creep into Vargas’ eyes as early as the second round. Bradley was applying pressure with muscle and authority. As the round ended, Vargas smiled at him. There was a question, perhaps a prayer, in that smile. It was as if Vargas couldn’t believe that Bradley could sustain the pace.

But he did at a punishing rate. Bradley repeatedly stepped inside Vargas’ four-inch advantage in reach, delivering blows to body and head with the thudding impact of that old jackhammer he swung around during an old-school training camp.

At the end of the fifth, Vargas found himself with his back on the ropes. He would be there again and again in a futile attempt to elude Bradley’s tireless pursuit. There was just nowhere else to go for Vargas in his first bout against a welterweight who is among the division elite.

Bradley was stronger and he knew it. By the seventh, there was a look of resignation instead of doubt on Vargas’ face. By the ninth, there was almost a look of dread. By the tenth, there was inevitability.

But, in the end, there was only chaos. Nothing for new for Bradley

Oscar Valdez down early, wins easily

If the prospect stage is about lessons, super-featherweight Oscar Valdez got one. Passed it, too. But it wasn’t the A-plus kind of grade that put Valdez at the top of the honor roll through his first 16 fights. More like a B-minus.

Ruben Tamayo, a fellow Mexican with a journeyman’s record (23-6-4, 15 KOs) surprised Valdez (17-0, 14 KOs) early with some thing of a pop quiz. Valdez, a two-time Olympian, was on the canvas in the first round.

It wasn’t exactly clear how he got there. Valdez appeared to get his feet tangled up after Tamayo knocked him off balance with a left. Maybe, he tripped. Maybe, Tamayo’s power put him there. Maybe, both.

Whatever it was, it was a momentary stunner.

Valdez looks surprised, even embarrassed. The good news is that he quickly recovered with a poised attack that included stinging jabs to the head and combos to the body. The bad news was that he couldn’t finish Tamayo, who was penalized a point in the seventh for a low blow. Still, it was enough for a 98-90, 99-90, 98-90 win on the scorecards.

Next lesson, please

On The Undercard
The Best: Providence featherweight Toka Khan Clary (16-0-0-1, 10 KOs) landed a huge hook at the end of the sixth round, dropping Colombian Jonathan Perez (33-12, 27 KOs) just as the bell sounded. It looked as if Perez never heard the bell. It also looked as if he had no clue at what hit him or even where he was. He was unconscious before he ever hit the canvas, knocked out at 2:59 of the sixth.

The Rest: Chicago welterweight Ed Brown (6-0, 6 KOs) scored a second-round knockout of Jose Maruffo (7-3-2,) of Phoenix. It was dull, but it was decisive as junior-welterweight Abraham Lopez (1-1) of Rowland Heights scored a unanimous decision over Mexican Joann Valenzuela (1-4-1, 1 KO). And Los Angeles featherweight Leonardo Chavez (4-1, 3 KOs) scored a second-round knockdown and was never threatened in winning a unanimous decision over Mexican Jair Quintero (4-5-2).