24 years ago today: Alonzo Sterling "Lonnie/Harlem Sweet" Bradley vs. John "Ghetto Blaster" Williams

This content is protected

Massively overshadowed by that evening's main event at the MGM Grand (the infamous Tyson vs. Holyfield II ear-biting incident) and even playing second fiddle on the undercard by Julio César Chávez Sr. blazing a path toward a DLH rematch with a ten-round beat-down of hapless "Lighting" Larry LaCoursiere - this one is worthy of remembrance, as the final title defense of a very solid titlist whose promising career was cut short in the midst of his prime.

Lonnie grabbed the WBO belt midway into the 90's - a time when it still hadn't been elevated in prestige alongside the Big Three of the WBC, IBF, and WBA - to become the first world champion hailing from Harlem since Walker Smith, Jr. (aka Sugar Ray Robinson), although unlike SRR who moved there in his preteens, Bradley was actually born there. He made six defenses in a 23 month span, culminating in this one against South Floridian garbage collector by day Johnny Williams - and then vanished, without ever being defeated for the prize. He would stage four attempted comebacks: a couple of victories in '99, one in 2002, and then his only professional loss in 2003 against David "The Destroyer" López in a fight he took on short notice and without his team giving him any heads-up that López was a southpaw to allow him to prep accordingly (having already struggled with a southpaw in his only previous blemish, a draw with Otis Grant in his 5th title defense just three months before Williams). He was scheduled for one more return in April of 2005 in Boston, although it didn't come to fruition.

Williams, while clearly no world-beater, was trained by respected longtime Sarasota coach Harold Wilen and brought a game challenge, serving mostly as a canvas to show off Bradley's stuff on a big stage (as the pump-up act before Mike and Evander's highly anticipated rematch). You can tell Lonnie was a well-schooled and well-rounded fighter. I'm not sure he quite had the makings of an IBHOF career (bubble/few years on the ballot type, if anything), and he unquestionably wasn't going to be toppling a prime Bernard Hopkins to fully unify - but aiming lower for targets like Hacine Cherifi or Keith Holmes? Yeah, those very easily could have been winnable for him. So too could have been Julio César Green, whom Bradley was scheduled to face in his 7th defense for a WBO & WBA unification when his eye rendered him medically incapable.

 

Sidebar: everyone remembers the recent light heavyweight fringe contender Lionell Thompson, right? (only 35 but inactive since his upset victory over Uzcátegui a few months before the pandemic hit, so I assume he decided to retire on the high note)

His nickname is "Lonnie B.", a very unique and distinctive choice which has always puzzled me. I wonder now if that was to pay his fellow New Yorker tribute...if there is a friendship/mentorship, or if they are indeed even acquaintances. It'd be a weird coincidence if not.

 

How many fighters have been permanently KTFO by detached retinas, I wonder? (just realized that my OP never actually names the condition that did Bradley in...discovered when his vision failed during sparring with Aussie middleweight Troy Waters but doctors surmised that he already had it for some time by then, possibly even the majority of his reign).

I know some outliers have rebounded from them with varying degrees of success (Abner Mares, Antonio Margarito, and SRL) but in most gyms coaches whisper of them like the dreaded injury that shall not be named and they're often considered to be career-enders. Fighters at the very least are never quite the same after them, ie Lamon Brewster. Guess it depends on the severity of the case and viability of corrective surgery?

 

P.S. for the young cats, a 'ghetto blaster' is what some of us called a boombox in the inner city back in the day. And yes it would have been considered a somewhat goofball/eccentric fighter moniker even then.

 

Yeah, next was supposed to be Green and then a few years later during his abortive final comeback attempt there was even talk of him moving up to challenge Lacy and/or Calzaghe. He was definitely well regarded by peers and industry folk but seems mostly forgotten by fans.

 

Plopping in Bradley vs. Grant for future rainy-day scoring session...

This content is protected

 

I'd say he loses to Félix and Bernard but beats William & Keith.