Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez facing off in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)

By Chris Robinson

Moments ago, inside of the Encore Theater inside of the Wynn Las Vegas, WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (30-0, 12 KO’s) and Mexico City’s Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO’s) both weighed in ahead of their HBO pay per view duel on Saturday night.

Despite all of his accolades and his career stock presently at an all-time high, it is Marquez who is coming into the match as the challenger. This past December, Marquez scored his biggest victory as a professional in knocking out his rival Manny Pacquiao in their fourth encounter.

Odds makers at 5Dimes and Bovada presently have Marquez a -130 and -150 favorite, respectively.

Those odds are perhaps a reflection of just how much uncertainty people have in Bradley following his grueling battle with Ruslan Provodnikov this past March. In that match, Bradley tasted the canvas and absorbed several hard blows, later admitting that he suffered a concussion during that unanimous decision victory.

Marquez stepped onto the scale first and weighed in at 144.5 pounds. At 40 years old, Marquez’s physique beguiles his advanced age, as his body told the tale of just how much work he put into this training camp.

As is always the case with Bradley, the Palm Springs native was again ripped, as he weighed in at 146 pounds.

The two men faced off with one another but there was no real animosity in the air. Instead, it’s obvious that is a class match between two disciplined, well-schooled professionals who are simply looking to add another mark to their championship careers.

Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com