THE BOXING TRUTH: Bradley-Campbell...

THE BOXING TRUTH: Bradley-Campbell Controversy: Will California Commission right a wrong?







In this edition of The Boxing Truth, Beau Denison examines the controversial outcome of the recent WBO Jr. Welterweight Championship bout between Tim Bradley and Nate Campbell and, questions whether the California State Athletic Commission will intervene.



What would the sport of Boxing be without the element of controversy? The recent WBO Jr. Welterweight championship bout between undefeated champion Tim Bradley and former Unified Lightweight champion Nate Campbell if nothing else; has provided the sport with more of the element that it just cannot seem to avoid… Controversy…





The contest on paper had some intriguing sub-plots leading up to fight night. Could the undefeated champion Bradley deal with a grizzled veteran in the former Lightweight champion Campbell? Would Bradley be able to avoid the same fate that plagued former Unified Lightweight champion Juan Diaz who lost his championship and undefeated record to Campbell?





Campbell perhaps being under estimated by Diaz and experts alike was able to pull off what most consider an upset. An upset when the previously unbeaten champion Diaz at the time was considered among the best pound for pound fighters of the world.





What could have been the reason that Campbell was perhaps under estimated was his age. Campbell walked into the contest with Diaz at thirty-six years of age having failed twice previously to win a world title as a 130lb. Jr. Lightweight. It is believed by some that boxers who compete in the lower weight divisions can not compete as effectively as they age as perhaps a younger boxer.





Initially Diaz was able to dictate the contest early but it was Campbell who took control of the bout in the later rounds winning the bout via split decision. Campbell now thirty-seven, now faced a similar situation as he prepared to step in the ring against Tim Bradley.





What made this a seemingly difficult task in addition to Bradley having the youth advantage was that this was Campbell’s first fight as a 140lb. Jr. Welterweight. Would Campbell be able to compete as effectively as he went up in weight as he had as a 130lb Jr. Lightweight and a 135lb. Lightweight where he had become a Unified world champion? Would Campbell’s age finally become a factor?





All these questions would normally make the ingredients for a compelling contest. What actually took place however made the ingredients for confusion and controversy… In a fight that never seemed to get out of the initial feeling out process it was apparent that Bradley’s fight plan was to overwhelm Campbell with superior hand speed and lateral movement mixed with angles to avoid any return offense.





Throughout the first two rounds Bradley appeared to have a slight advantage with this approach though Campbell held his own. It was in round two where the first of two unintentional head butts took place as both fighters leaned in to throw punches.





It was shortly after the start of round three that the two boxers heads clashed again in what would become the focal point of the contest. Bradley accidentally butted heads with Campbell while he was on the ropes. Campbell immediately placed his glove over his left eye in obvious pain. Bradley unaware of what had happened pressed forward with a flurry of punches that sent Campbell back into Bradley’s corner.



Campbell attempted to get the attention of Referee David Mendoza pointing with his glove that he had been head butted but was unsuccessful. Campbell appeared to be slowed by the head butt that had opened a bad cut over his left eye. The cut was now bleeding profusely… Campbell gamely fought on slipping many punches Bradley threw in the flurry along the ropes. Campbell was hurt with a series of punches toward the end of round three.





At the end of the third round Campbell immediately told his corner that he could not see out of his left eye contending that he was seeing spots and to stop the bout. The bout was stopped. This is where the element of controversy would come into the equation. Referee David Mendoza awarded the contest via technical knockout to the champion Bradley. The ruling enraged Campbell who stormed out of his corner and immediately went to argue his case that the bout should be ruled a no contest due to the accidental clash of heads in round three.





Several replays shown on television from several different angles supported Campbell’s case that it was the head butt that caused the cut. Despite being shown the replays Referee Mendoza stood by his initial ruling. Mendoza indicating that the two fighters were butting heads while throwing punches and that he saw a punch land on Campbell and it was only then that he (Mendoza) saw the cut. Whether it was a referee’s bad ring positioning or a case of a referee’s inexperience the one thing that is indisputable is a bad call took place.





Without publically chastising Referee David Mendoza… I feel simply that both the Referee and the commissioners in attendance should have reconsidered the ruling that Mendoza initially made after being shown replays that showed the head butt causing the cut and not the punch that Mendoza had seen afterward.





It is not completely fair to downright criticize the referee. In the heat of the moment with a crowd raving in excitement and punches being thrown at a fast pace it is not unlikely to have a referee miss a head butt and in turn make a bad yet critical call. Referees after all are human. The real focus of this situation must now lie with the California State Athletic Commission.





An embittered Nate Campbell has filed a formal protest to the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) in the hope of getting the controversial ruling of a Technical Knockout loss against him reversed to a No Contest.



Campbell does have a valid case. It is totally understandable to see a fighter in his position be outright livid over an unjust ruling against him that could have long lasting implications on his career. No one should take issue with a fighter for attempting to gain vindication in a controversial situation such as this.



What is unfair to the fighter in question Campbell is this belief by some boxing fans and experts alike that Campbell would have lost the contest anyway due to Bradley getting the better of the exchanges.





A world championship contest in professional Boxing is a twelve round distance. The only way a fight would end prior to that distance in uncontroversial fashion would be for one boxer to knock out the other. That clearly was not the case in this fight…





Furthermore, one must remember that Campbell is a fighter who traditionally starts fights at a slow pace and gradually picks up his pace as the fight goes on. This was evident in Campbell’s Lightweight championship win over Juan Diaz.





Diaz an all pressure fighter who throws at times hundreds of punches per round had the upper hand in the early rounds against Campbell but faded late in the fight. Diaz’ command of the bout early much in the way that Bradley seemed to have against Campbell. To discredit the legitimacy of Campbell’s grievance on the belief of him perhaps going on to lose the bout anyway is disingenuous and simply unfounded.





The bottom line is we the experts and fans alike do not know what would have happened. It is disingenuous to make claims supporting either fighter in this case because there is no way of knowing what might have happened had the contest continued or had no clash of heads taken place.





The real focus as I said must now turn to the CSAC… An official hearing regarding Campbell’s protest is set to take place on August 24th. What are Campbell’s chances of getting the ruling reversed to a No Contest?





Perhaps the answer to that question may lie in a bout that took place last year in California that ended under similar circumstances. The James Toney-Hasim Rahman rematch…





In that contest an accidental head butt caused a cut over the left eye of Rahman with blood streaming into the eye in round three. At the end of the round the cut that Rahman had suffered was deemed too severe for him to continue by Ringside Physician Dr. Paul Wallace.





What made this a controversial outcome was Rahman said he could not continue several times, without his cut left eye being evaluated. The bout was ruled as a Technical Knockout victory for Toney. The result of the contest however, was changed to a No Contest following an appeal by Rahman at a CSAC hearing two weeks after the fight.





The Toney-Rahman rematch is very similar to the Bradley-Campbell fight in that both fights had similar circumstances in the way the contests ended. Will they both be similar in the way the controversies are resolved?





The element that has yet to be discussed regarding this situation is what if anything will the World Boxing Organization (WBO) do. Will the WBO order an immediate rematch between it’s Jr. Welterweight champion Bradley and Campbell? Will they place Campbell in a title elimination bout and force the disgruntled former Lightweight champion to fight his way back into the title picture? No one but the WBO themselves can answer those questions.





In regard to the upcoming CSAC hearing regarding this matter; it would benefit not just the fighters involved in this situation but the entire sport of Boxing to see a well respected athletic commission as the CSAC set a standard of equality for all fights that take place under their jurisdiction and for the fighters that compete in those fights. It would seem very questionable in this observer’s eyes if this contest a world championship bout between Bradley and Campbell is not corrected.



You cannot in good conscience reverse a decision in one bout and then not reverse a decision in a bout that featured many of the same circumstances that called for commission interaction in the bout that was reversed, in the other bout.





When will the sport of Boxing finally come together as one and say enough of the controversy?





And That’s The Boxing Truth.