I've watched all of Bradley's big fights but this was the first time I've ever seen him so lacklustre. Trying to put some reasoning behind his poor performance, could it be that the flu he had mentioned days before the fight actually affected him? He seemed to get off to a good start, fighting as we've seen before, but his trademark stamina which worked wonders for him in previous fights wasn't there. He seemed to resort to pot shotting, like he was a knockout artist or something, rather than putting together solid combinations regularly over the round. Could this be an explanation behind his performance or did Alexander figure him out and keep him quiet? If his performance was affected, I'd say it was a very good performance from him. on first looks, he seemed sloppy and ineffective but if there was a genuine reason for his poor performance, he just might go into a Khan fight as a heavily underrated opponent.
As usual the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. I'm sure he was affected by being sick, I know it's typically the kind of thing that lingers for me, and I'm sure he wasn't at his best. At this level of athletics these guys are finely tuned machines and they invest a great deal of time and effort into being in peek condition. So while he wasn't debilitated or anything, it does matter to some degree. I also think that Alexander while not overly aggressive or effective, did land some shots (even if on the shoulders/gloves, or cleanly) early on that caused Bradley to be attentive. I also think he and his team came into the fight with a tremendous amount of respect for Alexander. So I think it was probably a combination of both, as Merchant (yeah I'm referencing Larry as bad as it pains me) I believe referred to last night, they were both fighting the best fighter they have yet to face and the worst thing Bradley could have done is underestimate Alexander. I think he was confident that he could win the fight if it went the distance and that his biggest danger would be rushing in and getting caught with a big shot or big combo.
yes he was, he never fights like he did, he is always active and fights almost every minute of every round. btw off topic but i think lamont peterson beats alexander.
good post. Bradley go off to a fast start and I really did start to see his workrate drop and I was thinking around round 10 that Alexander could steal it and I know something is wrong. You could also tell that he respect Devon's power and speed and I think it was hard for him to stalk down a quick southpaw. The reason I think the Flu did affect him though is because of the flu though
yea, i think he was affected by a flu. i think it was rounds 8 and 9 i remember him not doing much at all.
