Saturday, August 1, 2009

Live Blog: Timothy Bradley vs Nate Campbell & Junior Witter vs Devon Alexander

Welcome to The Boxing Bulletin's live blog coverage of Showtime's junior-welterweight double-header featuring Timothy Bradley vs Nate Campbell and Junior Witter vs Devon Alexander.

Updates will start at 9 PM EST.

If you've been with us before for a live blog, welcome back. If this is your first time, thanks for checking us out. Feel free to participate by giving your scores and comments.

Coverage starts at 9 PM EST

Junior Witter 139 (24-0) vs Devon Alexander 138.5 (33-5) - 12 rounds

Timothy Bradley 139 (37-2-2) vs Nate Campbell 138.5 (18-0) - 12 rounds


We will be providing round by round updates of both featured bouts.

If you are here early, check out Michael Nelson's previews for tonight's fights:

Junior Witter vs Devon Alexander Preview

Timothy Bradley vs Nate Campbell Preview


Refresh this page often as updates will be frequent

7:30 PM EST... Coverage will start in 90 minutes.

8:53... Thanks for joining us. We are less than 10 minutes away from the start of the show.

9:01... The Showtime broadcast is on the air.

9:02... Tonight's fights are taking place at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California.

9:04... Gus Johnson is hosting tonight's broadcast and is joined by Showtime boxing analyst Al Bernstein.

9:08... Showtime just aired a pictorial tribute to the late Vernon Forrest. Jimmy Lennon is asking the crowd to rise as the timekeeper tolls 10 in honor of Vernon. Tonight's fighters will be dedicating their efforts to his memory.

9:09... R.I.P Champ. If you haven't had a chance yet, please check out The Boxing Bulletin editor Lee Payton's tribute to Vernon: How I'll Remember Vernon Forrest

9:10... Junior Witter has made his way to the ring. We're awaiting Devon Alexander's ring walk. The Don King promoted fighter - Don's following behind him - is wearing a St.Louis Cardinals cap in honor of his hometown.

9:12... Alexander is in the ring. According to the tale of the tape, he has 4 inch reach advantage, 71 to 67. He's also 13 years younger.

9:14... Here's Jimmy Lennon Jr. with the formal introductions... "Ladies and Gentleman, a very good evening to you..."

9:15... The 3rd man in the ring is Dr. Lou Moret.

9:16... Fighting out of Sheffield England, Junior "The Hitter" Witter. Junior raises his glove to acknowledge his name being announced.

9:17... Devon Alexander "The Great" has his name called. Not much of a reception for either man. A bit of applause, but otherwise the crowd appears to be a quiet one... for now.

9:18... We're underway.

9:21... Witter comes out boxing in the conventional stance. Alexander is coming from the southpaw stance. Witter of course might switch it up at any time. So far, both men are keeping a distance, flicking out jabs. The occasional power shot thrown in, without too much commitment though. Witter just went to the body, and then tried to come over the top with a big right and found himself on the canvas, as he missed badly and slipped. Witter tries to jump in with a right, and is quickly smothered. Still not too much to report, as we enter the final minute of the round. Both guys tries to exchange and ended up getting tied up. Witter has now switched to southpaw. According to Al, Alexander has been preparing with the expectation Witter will stick to that. A couple of minor bursts from both men in the last 30 seconds, but nothing of note to report. There's the bell.

9:21... In Al's keys to victory, he feels that Witter should stick to righty.

9:25... Alexander is keeping his gloves the higher of the two. Witter's holding his left very low as he looks to counter. They get tied up again. The action has been quite awkward to start. Witter just took a wild swing, and they fell into a clinch. Alexander just got a jab in. Alexander's trying to get the stick working. Witter's a very awkard guy to press against though. Now they get tied up again. Witter is in the righty stance. Alexander just landed a jab, and Witter countered with a hard left hand that landed. Probably the best punch of the fight by either fighter. Another clinch. They aren't really looking to hold, but given the styles, it's happening. Another one. Lou Moret will have his work cut out tonight. With 15 seconds left, a very nice exchange - Alexander got the best of it, with a hard right hook, that seemed to momentarily stagger Witter.

9:25... We just got shot at that right hook on the replay. A nice short shot on the inside that landed flush.

9:28... Alexander just landed a nice hard right hand again. This one just 20 seconds into the round. Witter seems okay though. Alexander is sticking the jab out. Another clinch. It must be pointed out that they are looking to fight here... but the way they are jumping in, it's impossible for these tie ups not to occur. Alexander just landed a decent left to the body. 1:30 to go in round 3. Al comments that Alexander is the more consistent of the two. He's letting his hands go more. He's snapping the jab in. Witter just tried to counter it with a big right, but just missed. 45 seconds to go. Nice right hook by Alexander. Right on the button. That backed Witter off. He looks to have taken it well though. Now Witter tries to jump in with a right, and gets smothered. 10 seconds to go. More clinching and Moret yells for a break. There's the bell.

9:29... I expect we'll get some press row scores after the 4th, and I'll relay those. I think Alexander's clearly got the edge so far.

9:32... Witter is now boxing southpaw. Both are probing with the jabs. Both firing quick hard jabs, neither man pawing with it, although both at a distance where neither is really landing it frequently. Witter with a wild left that misses. Witter with a combo to the body. We're almost at the half-way mark of the round. Witter is back to righty. Now switches to southpaw. It must be tough for Alexander to get comfortable when Junior keeps flipping the switch like that. Witter just fired off a hard left that just missed. Might have glanced off Alexander's jaw. Alexander though came back with a clean right. Gus comments on Witter's wildness. Yeah, he's definitely not your conventional fighter. Switches back and forth, fires off wild counters. Now he lands a jab. There's the bell.

9:33... Jim Gray is with Cory Spinks at ringside. Cory's pleased with his friend Alexander's performance so far. "What would you like to see him do?" "Flick the jab a little bit more. A couple more feints here and there."

9:34... We're into round 5. Press row has it 39-37 twice for Alexander and 38-38 on the other card.

9:36... Al points out that a couple of these rounds have been tricky to score due to the messy action. Witter is trying to work the jab now. He's back to southpaw. Alexander with a left hand that lands. HUGE shot from Alexander. On the button. Witter almost went down. Witter's trying to hold on. He's got Alexander tied up. That was a big left hand. Alexander is moving in, but gets tied up. He's trying to capitalize, but again gets tied up. Now he lands a jab, and Witter holds again. Witter fires off a counter left, and now jumps in and ties Alexander up again. Witter seems to have his legs back. He had a few shaky moments though. We've got 20 seconds left in the round. Witter again gets a hold of Alexander. Alexander fires an uppercut and gets tied up again. Witter is backing away and circling, and then holding. There's the bell.

9:37... Let's see that shot. It was a big straight left hand, landed while Witter was throwing a wild left. Landed flush on the button and snapped Junior's head back.

9:40... Al comments that he's got a tough time saying a nice things about a guy that wears a Cardinals hat, as he's a long suffering Cubs fan, but has to give Aleander his props. Al says, "We presume Alexander is probably ahead in this fight." Witter is backing up, looking to counter. Alexander is working the jab. Neither guy landing much of note though this round. Witter has his hands hanging low. Both men throwing out the jab at the moment. Witter backing away, circling to his left. Now he jumps in with a decent right hand. But Alexander responded with a nice right hook. Alexander also had the better of the final exchange just before the bell. That's 6 rounds in the books.

9:41... Jim Gray is interviewing Nate. Nate's wearing a shirt in tribute to the late Arturo Gatti.

9:45... Witter is in the southpaw stance. Alexander trying to attack with his jab, as Witter edges backwards slowly and then tries to fire off a hard counter. Alexander always has to be careful not getting to aggressive, but he's steadily moving forward here this round. Al comments that Witter throws a better right jab - definitely true. He looks a lot more comfortable working the jab from the southpaw stance... but Al points out that Witter's power comes from when he's fighting out of the orthodox stance. Not too much of note happening so far this round. The crowd lets the fighters know with some scattered boos. Alexander edging forward. Witter flicking out the jab. Al comments that Witter has landed his share of jabs this round and can make a case for winning it based on just that. Alexander with a decent jab. Alexnder tries to attack as the round comes to a close. I think he might have got a shot in there as Witter tried to counter.

9:45... Jim Gray is now talking with Timothy Bradley. In complete contrast to Campbell, Bradley has a broad smile across his face. He said he was just kidding around with some remarks that Nate took exception too. Bradley looks very calm and relaxed.

9:49... Witter still in the southpaw stance. He just tried to land a wild counter early here in round 8, but it missed. Press row has it 68-65 twice and 67-66 all for Devon Alexander. Lou Moret warns both guys to not wrestle as they were in the clinch there mucking it up. Moret just warned Witter for holding... "No more!" He said sternly. Al likes Moret laying down the law. Always good to see holding being cracked down on. Gus comments that Witter is refusing to fight inside. That's not his strong suit, and he's looking to grab in close. Not too much other than that to report so far this round. Alexander is the one moving forward, while Witter is circling. Alexander more steady with the jab. He's definitely the one more eager to mix it up. Witter just tried to jump in with a right hand late in the round. Gus comments that this round has been more of a wrestling match than a boxing match. Unfortunately that's the case. Messy stuff.

9:49... Alexander's corner is telling their man that's he's walking towards Witter, and then posing. "You've got to perpetually moving."

9:50... Junior Witter just walked across the ring and told Devon Alexander he's had enough. That's it. No idea why, but he's called it a night.

9:51... Alexander is ecstatic. He puts on his Cardinals hat, and has the belt draped over his shoulder and has a big big smile.

9:52... According to Al, Witter's corner was responsible for stopping it. Let's have a look at what was going on. Lou Moret came to Witter's corner and said, "You can't throw one punch and grab all night." Witter's trainer then said, "He's finished." Witter then stood up and walked across the ring as Moret waved his hands.

9:53... Jimmy Lennon with the official announcement. "Dr. Lou Moret calls the contest on advisement of the corner."

9:56... Jim Gray is with the winner... Alexander is getting a little emotional as he mentions his late father. He credits those around him for never giving up on him.

9:59... Witter has gone to his dressing room and is being attended to by the doctor. Perhaps there's a hand injury or something. The official judges had it 79-73, 79-73 and 80-72. Press row had it 78-74, 77-75 and 78-74.

10:00... Coming up next will be the main-event. I'll keep you updated on when the fighters look like they'll be making their way in.

10:04... Not much to relay at the moment. Showtime is just advertising future programming, including the 168 pound tourney.

10:06... We just saw a clip of Nate in his dressing room. He's moving from side to side. Looks serious, but relaxed.

10:11... Jim Gray is with Junior Witter. "My elbow went in round 4. I couldn't keep him off with my left hand. I battled through for a few rounds, but couldn't do it anymore... I just decided it was time to let this one go. As much as I wanted to do it, I just wasn't able to... I don't think it's my last fight. I've got to decide where I'm going though. At the minute, I just want to get away for a bit, heal up, and go from there."

10:12... Gus Johnson doesn't sound convince as he refers to Witter's issues as mental. Not sure that's fair at all. Witter faced the music, gave an interview. He looked fairly subdued. If he was hurt, he was hurt.

10:14... Nate is making his way in.

10:15... Bradley's making his entrance. He's dressed in bright yellow gear, and he's bouncing around in his corner.

10:17... According to the tale of the tape, Nate has 2 1/2 inches reach advantage.

10:18... Jimmy Lennon Jr. with the official introductions. There's a buzz in the air for this one. You can tell the atmosphere is a little more intense.

10:18... After all the smiling he's been doing, Bradley now looks very intense.

10:19... David Mendoza is our 3rd man.

10:20... Nate's looking kind of mean as well. He does does the throat slash gesture as his name is announced.

10:21... The crowd is giving Bradley a nice reception. He's bouncing up and down with a scowl.

10:21... That was one of the more intense stare downs I've seen recently.

10:22... We are ready to go.

10:25... Nate comes out, edging forward. Bradley fires out the jab. Nate marching forward, and misses a hook. Now he tries to dig to the body. Bradley keeping his gloves up. He now digs to the body with a right, and the misses wildly. Nate is the one pressing a little more here. Bradley circling. But now Bradley stands his ground and flurries downstairs. Both guys shoulder to shoulder here banging on the inside. Campbell fires of a right hand that lands. Now he tries to go downstairs, but just missed and gets tied up. Bradley flicks the jab out. Bradley probing with the jab as Nate tries to press. Nate with a jab, and Bradley just misses with a counter right. Now Nate just misses over the top. Bradley looking comfy despite Nate's pressure. He's moving well. Now he digs a right to the body. Nate tries to pressure, but Tim ties him up. Bradley firing off the jab as Nate tries to press. Bradley with a combo. Nate fires off a right hand. There's the bell on a good first round.

10:26... In Al's keys to the fight, he mentions that the uppercut will be key for Nate. For Bradley... angles, keep working the body and keep working.

10:29... Nate edging forward. Bradley's countering him though when he comes inside. Bradley just fired off a right hand. Bradley with a nice combo. Nate tries to dig to the body, and their heads collided. No damage thankfully. That's going to happen though with these guys working on the inside. Bradley circling, using his jab, and then trying to counter. Nate edging forward, and trying to bang home power shots, especially the right hand. Both men now shoulder to shoulder on the inside. Bradley witha couple of hooks. Nate threw a right, and got tagged witha counter hook. Nate pressing forward, while Bradley flicking out this jab. Nate digs to the body with a heavy right hand. Al comments that Bradley is working very effectively on the inside. Now they clinch, and Nate tries to bang the body in close. Nice little exchange on the inside. Nate trying to work the uppercut in close. Bradley flurries with a multi-punch combo. Al comments that one of the stories so far is Campbell having a hard time landing the right. He does dig a right to the body though. There's the bell. It appears to me at least so far that Nate is having to work a little harder than Bradley to get similar results. Tim just looks a little more comfortable.

10:30... Just got a replay of the clash of heads. Both were throwing, while Bradley had his head down as he was digging downstairs. Thankfully no blood.

10:33... Nate pushes forward. He's suddenly in a little trouble. May have been a head clash and that's what Nate is indicating. He's not happy, but Bradley isn't showing any mercy and just goes after Nate hard. He's flurrying with both hands as he backs Nate into the corner and unloads. Nate again looks to plead that it was a butt, but Bradley keeps working and our ref isn't interested. Bradley banging away as Nate has his back against the ropes. Bradley really lettting his hands go. Nate trying to fight back though and he works his way off the ropes to center of the ring. Bradley now working the jab. Nate leaning in now and trying to work in close, but Bradley gets space with the jab. 1:00 to go in round 3. Nate digging hard with a right to the body again, but Bradley spins away and presses Nate against the ropes. Bradley flicking the jab out, and then banging his right hand home. Bradley really working his jab to set up other shots. Nate fires back though, but Bradley is just bombing away. Bradley backs Nate up against the ropes and is unloading. Heavy shots here. Lefts and right. To the body and upstairs. Nate tries to fight back, but he's getting banged around. Nate's got some blood around his left eye as he goes to the corner.

10:34... On the replay, we see that it was a clash of heads. Bradley was working away pressing Nate along the ropes, and his head caught Nate's eye.

10:34... We might have some controversy. The fight is over. Nate's not coming out for the 4th round, and he's claiming a head-butt. Mendoza isn't interested though. He said it's a punch.

10:35... Nate's corner didn't even try and work on the cut. They just stopped the fight at the end of the round, and tried to get this called a no-contest. Nate's eye was cut, but surely work on it? Did the doctor stop it, or the corner? We need some answers here.

10:36... Let's see the replay of what took place in Campbell's corner. "I can't see. I can't see." He said he couldn't see out of his left eye at all. The doctor then called a halt to it.

10:38... There was a clash of heads. Very clear on the replay. "To me that was as obvious as it gets." - Al

10:38... "This fight should be a no-contest." - Al

10:39... It's going to go down as a win for Timothy Bradley though. Nate's not happy.

10:41... David Mendoza is sticking to his story that it was a punch. He's being shown the replay though, and he's going to have a hard time defending that. He's saying that what he saw was a punch. Really you can't blame him. It's often tough to see things in real time. The only way a correct decision can be made in cases like this is with instant replay, and for some reason boxing refuses to join the 21st century and give officials that tool.

10:42... The other obvious question is what's wrong with Nate's eye. He's got a cut, but the corner never had a chance to work on it. Nate just said he couldn't see, which brings up the question of whether or not Nate suffered an internal eye injury there. The doctor wants to get him out of there and off to get some tests. Nate is saying he's seeing "spots".

10:45... Lots of controversy. Nate's mad. Don King is mad. Tim Bradley says he doesn't care. He'll fight Nate again. "His hometown, I don't care."

10:48... Gus and Al are discussing the situation. Rematch, etc. It was good while it lasted, and I certainly wouldn't mind a rematch. Given the styles of the two men, a clash of heads will always be a big danger though.

10:49... That's it for The Boxing Bulletin's live blog coverage of tonight's event. Not very satisfactory, but I hope you still enjoyed our coverage.

9 comments:

Whicker said...

This is Whicker, from boxrec.

thanks for the link, hope the evening goes well.

THUMBS UP!

Andy said...

Thanks for stopping by Whicker. Hope you enjoy our coverage.

whicker said...

The referee is a Dr?

Anonymous said...

Who's winning each round?

Andy said...

I'll throw out the press row scores guys. Alexander is up by 3-2 at a minimum, probably close to 4-1 or 3-1-1 maybe.

Anonymous said...

Nice thank you

whicker said...

Thanks for the commentary, but an odd evening all round-two rather unlikley stoppages.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Campbell pulled an Hasim Rahman

Andy said...

Yeah, that was an odd evening all around. I was looking forward to the main-event for awhile, but what can you do. That's boxing.