Timothy Bradley / Photo © Justin McKie

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Michael Nelson assesses Timothy Bradley's welterweight debut.

Before Timothy Bradley's bout with Carlos Abregu Saturday night, Lou Dibella said that the winner of the fight is a potential opponent for Andre Berto.

A Berto-Bradley matchup sounds excellent on paper. But the more fights removed from Jr. Welterweight Bradley is, the less comfortable he's going to be making the 140 pound weight limit should he decide to move back down and handle unfinished business. And I think most of us want to see the Palm Springs phenom at his best against the likes of Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana, and Amir Khan.

That's the problem with prematurely jumping weight. Shane Mosley, for example, made the right business decision leaving his throne at Lightweight to chase Oscar De La Hoya up at Welterweight (and then Jr. Middleweight). But it cost boxing fans a number of dynamic matchups at weights where Mosley would have been at his most devastating.

While Bradley's excursion into 147 pounds was largely a successful one, Abregu managed to showcase some of the struggles Timothy may have against full-blown welterweights. Using his height, length, and an improved jab, Carlos made it difficult for Bradley to make consistent contact. As a result, he forced Bradley to give an unspectacular, but workman-like performance in his HBO debut, not unlike his unanimous decision over Kendall Holt (sans the knockdowns).

Would Abregu had given himself a better chance at victory had he been more aggressive? Maybe, but the more likely result would've been Bradley looking sensational while tagging him with eye-catching counter after eye-catching counter. Given the height disadvantage he generally has, the 26 year old tends to look more impressive when guys bring the fight to him.

It's easy to see how a polished boxer of Abregu's size could give Timothy fits.

Nevertheless, Bradley showed why he's going to be so difficult to defeat. His head movement and ring IQ are among the best in the business. There's a reason you hardly, if ever, see Bradley get handled in all three minutes of a round: he's quick to make adjustments, rarely gets caught flush with consecutive punches, and is never content to sacrifice extended segments of a bout by cruising. It's hard to win rounds against an elite defender that throws a high volume of punches.

He showed that anyone from 140 to 147 would have trouble landing consistently on him. But he also showed that the road to all-time credentials likely begins with doing more damage in a Jr. Welterweight division that's brimming with talent. Whether or not he could solve the puzzle of Alexander's textbook brilliance, deal with Maidana's ear-popping pressure and punching power, or navigate around Khan's length and speed are questions about fighters closer to his size that shouldn't be abandoned.

Barring a bout with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao (Floyd's waning interest in boxing is rearing it's head again, and Pacquiao's just fighting other Top Rank boxers), it's best that Bradley remains at Jr. Welterweight as long as he can. He has garnered more attention as an HBO fighter. His 140 pound peers are barking louder about him by the day.

His trip seven pounds north was informative. But hopefully, it's only a temporary one.

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