Timothy Bradley v. Nate Campbell: Round by Round

Before the main event, Showtime plays a preview of the super middleweight "Super Six World Boxing Classic" with interviews with the six fighters.

It looks like the fighters are about to make their way to the ring. Campbell, wearing an Arturo Gatti shirt and Vernon Forrest hat, is dedicating his fight to both of the late fighters.

Now Showtime kills some time and shows a feature of each fighter's past. It should probably get up and running in about 10-15 minutes.

Nate Campbell makes his way to the ring first and he's coming out to Gatti's anthem, "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. The crowd gives him a lot of boos.

Timothy Bradley follows. He has the live rapper Darren L. Hughes rapping during his entrance. There are a lot of boos for him too but it sounds like the crowd is more for Bradley.

The tale of the tape shows that Campbell has a 2 1/2 inch advantage in reach. Campbell said that he's going to do his best to use that to his advantage. During the intros, Campbell faces plenty of boos from the crowd. He nods to acknowledge them.

Alright it's time for the fight.

Round 1

Campbell starts the action first, establishing the jab. Bradley uses the jab, but Campbell's crafty defense picks them off. Campbell misses with an overhand right. The commentators comment that Campbell looks dry to start the fight. Bradley lands a body shot and just misses to the head. Campbell is talking a lot in the ring. Bradley goes to the body and Campbell laughs and shakes his head. Bradley lands a great counter to the head. Nate goes back to the jab. Campbell gets inside and Bradley ties him up. Bradley lands some body shots at the end of the round. Close first round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Bradley
Franchise: 10-9 Bradley

Round 2

Campbell comes forward again. Bradley's speed gets the best of Nate again upstairs. The ref stops the action and tells the fighters to watch their heads. Bradley is doing a lot of backing up. Campbell gets Bradley against the ropes and lets loose. Bradley blocks most of it. Bradley seems to be holding one of Nate's arms. Campbell lands a jab followed with a right. Bradley keeps throwing the jab. Another close round.

Spartan117: 10-9 Bradley
Franchise: 10-9 Bradley

Round 3

Campbell grazes a right hand at the start. Campbell complains to the ref about a headbutt, but Bradley gets Campbell in the corner and lets his hands go. The crowd is on its feet as a Bradley chant starts. A cut opens up over the left eye of Campbell. My guess is its from a clash of heads. The blood is pouring into Nate's eye. Bradley's hand speed is way faster than Campbell's. Bradley is jabbing away at that eye. Campbell is in trouble late into the round against the ropes. It looks like Campbell might go down. He's complaining to his corner that he can't see because of the cut.

Spartan117: 10-9 Bradley
Franchise: 10-9 Bradley

Campbell stops the fight and says that he can't see. The fight should absolutely be a no-decision. The replay shows that the cut was opened by an accidental headbutt. Bradley seems to think he has won, but there hasn't been an official ruling yet. The commentators agree that the replay shows a headbutt right before the cut opens, and it should be a no-decision.

The winner by TKO at the end of Round 3... and still WBO light welterweight titleholder... Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley.

They interview the referee first. He says that he believes the punch right after the clash of heads opened up the cut.

Bradley is interviewed now. He thanks God. Bradley says he doesn't know what happened. He knew there was a clash of heads but wasn't sure when the cut opened. They stop the interview to talk to Campbell before he heads to the hospital. Nate is furious and rightfully so. They show the replay; Nate yells that this decision is "clearly wrong". He says, "This isn't about politics any more. It's about what is right and what is wrong." He asks Bradley to "be a man and stand up for what is right."

Bradley is asked if the right decision was made. After a long pause, he says he doesn't know. Don King grabs the mic now and yells about the missed call. There is talk of a rematch now. Bradley's corner says that if the money is right and Showtime buys it, they will. Bradley says that Campbell was going to lose anyway and he was getting older and older in the ring.

Well, it's been a night of wild ending. The wrong decision was made tonight in the main event and I hope we haven't seen the last of Campbell because of this lapse in judgement from the ref.

Posted by spartan117