Timothy Bradley Jr. feels pretty good being the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight champion, although he may have to wait a while before he can lay claim to the belt.
Even though the WBO had ordered no rematch between him and Jesse Vargas, an appeal by the latter will prevent Bradley from laying claim to the said belt for now.
To recall, a conspicuous ending led to the questionable outcome of the said tiff. With the final round coming to a close, Vargas appeared to have tagged Bradley with a good hit and could have finished off desert storm had referee Pat Russell not stepped in to prevent him from following up.
Russell eventually admitted that he mistook the traditional tap signaling the last few seconds of the match as the final bell, and this prevented Vargas from doing more damage and possibly a knockout.
Vargas actually thought that Russell stepped in to stop the fight in his favor until that admission.
As such, Vargas' camp had wanted the fight to be ruled a no-contest since the boxer was trying to maintain his clean slate. The WBO ruled against it until Vargas made an appeal for a rematch.
Bradley is no stranger to controversial endings, having had one against Manny Pacquiao before. At the time, Bradley won via split decision in a fight obviously dominated by the Filipino boxer.
The two would face off again with Pacquiao scoring a unanimous decision the second time around.
Could this be déjà vu for Bradley in case the WBO finds sufficient cause to order a rematch? Apparently, this is what Vargas and company are vying for.
Then again if the WBO upholds its decision of not ordering a rematch, it will only be then that Bradley would finally get the WBO belt. For now, Bradley will have to make do being champion with the belt to follow, depending on the final verdict.
