The pre-fight hype suggested that the junior welterweight unification match was the biggest in Montreal boxing since Roberto Duran’s welterweight title winning effort over Sugar Ray Leonard 29 years ago. What it proved to be at the end of the night was a major gut check and ultimately the biggest win in the career of still undefeated Timothy Bradley, who overcame two knockdowns to outwork Kendall Holt in taking a close but clear decision in their 12-round main event Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

The bout aired live in the United States on Showtime.

Neither fighter lives nor trains anywhere near Montreal, but Bradley appeared to enter the fight as the crowd favorite. Polite applause and cheers were offered for the Palm Springs (CA) native, while the announcement of Holt’s name drew a chorus of boos.

Holt relished in the role of villain, talking trash to Bradley the moment the two met in center ring for the referee’s final pre-fight instructions. “You ready to see this heart?” the Paterson (NJ) boxer-puncher repeatedly asked. Bradley barely batted an eyelash, but would have Holt’s undivided attention by round’s end.

Bradley began the fight patiently stalking Holt, targeting the body while both fighters maintained a tight guard. Holt worked behind the jab, while awaiting openings. He found one in a big way, landing a booming counter left hook with about a minute left in the round, sending Bradley to the canvas for the first time in his career. Bradley initially rose early in the count, but had enough sense to take a knee and allow the ref to finish his mandatory eight. Another left hook rocked Bradley, prompting him to tie up Holt in efforts to get out the round.

Things went much better for Bradley in round two, who was able to clear his head in between rounds and resume his role of aggressor. Holt still found a home for his power shots, but was sparing with his punches, prompting a tongue lashing from his corner by rounds end. “You have to pick it up, Kendall,” he was warned. “Any close rounds like that, they gonna give it to (Bradley).”

The advice didn’t stick. Bradley continued to press the action in the third, repeatedly scoring with his left hook to the body. Holt landed a flush right hand that drew a reaction from the crowd, but as was the case in round prior, his best moments came too few and far between. Holt’s guard began to drop and his mouth was agape towards rounds, clear signs of fatigue already setting in.

A similar pattern developed in the fourth. Bradley was the much busier fighter, never straying from his body attack. His aggression led to moments of literally dropping his guard, a dangerous prospective against a hard-hitting opponent who already dropped you hard once in the bout. But Holt could never capitalize, instead ending the round worse for the wear after one of several unintentional clash of heads left him with a cut over his eye.

Round five hardly deviated from the script, prompting stern words from both corners. Holt’s chief second demanded he open up his power game, particularly check hooks to prevent Bradley from marching in. Caution was heeded on the other side of the ring, with Bradley’s corner asking their charge to adopt the role of counterpuncher, to force Holt to take the lead in hopes of creating more openings without having to expend too much energy.

Naturally, neither fighter listened. Bradley took the initiative in much of the sixth, proving to be just as effective on offense as on defense. Holt never managed anything more than one punch at a time, and not landing very often. He changed up in the seventh, offering a more liberal offensive attack. But an action without a plan rarely results in a formidable conclusion. Such was the way things went in the seventh and eighth, at which point the wheels appeared to be falling off of the Holt wagon.

Things changed for the better for Holt in the ninth. A left hook that briefly stunned Bradley, and also managed a flush right hand, only for a clash of heads to leave both fighters buzzed. Holt returned to the jab, backing up Bradley whenever he threw it. His corner reminded him of this at the end of the round, illustrating the different shape the fight takes whenever Holt lets his hands go.

For the first time in the fight, Holt carried out his corner’s instructions with a successful ten round. His momentum was briefly thwarted by yet another clash of heads, leaving Holt wincing in pain before regrouping and controlling the action down the stretch.

Bradley threatened to return to a body attack as the bout entered the championship rounds. A shoeshine at the start of the eleventh proved to be effective, as Holt returned to fighting in reverse. Bradley responded by walking down his foe, bouncing on his toes and letting his hands go. It wasn’t an eruption in non-stop boxing action, but about as clear of an exclamation mark as Bradley could enjoy in preserving his inevitable lead on the scorecards.

Both corners urged their fighters to leave it all in the ring in the final round. Vazquez-Marquez was demanded by both sides; a boxing match was offered by both fighters. The round wasn’t without its share of action or drama, particularly late. Holt landed a right uppercut that buckled Bradley’s legs with less than 30 seconds to go in the fight. His right glove touched the canvas in efforts to steady himself, prompting the referee to rule it a knockdown, Holt’s second of the night.

In the end, it proved to be too little too late. The decision was unanimous, with scores of 114-112 and 115-111 (twice) giving Bradley the victory as well as the two alphabet titles at stake in the fight. The verdict didn’t sit well with Holt, was who respectful in complimenting Bradley’s effort prior to the announcement but clearly believed it would be his own arm raised in victory.

Such was not the case, as Bradley remains unbeaten, with his record now at 24-0 (11KO). He collects his second belt in a span of eleven months and three fights, and clearly establishes himself as the top contender to Ricky Hatton’s lineal junior welterweight crown, even with the win being bookended by the first two knockdowns of his career.

“I knew that this day would come that I had to prove myself,” said Bradley, initially reduced to tears during an emotional post-fight interview. “Coming off of the canvas twice – Kendall’s a big puncher, a hard headed man , but I prepared myself very well.”

It was his preparation that he believes separated himself from his divisional rival.

“I came in tremendous shape, I didn’t cut any corners. I was a little buzzed (following the first knockdown). By the eighth round I was warming up. I got caught in the last round, I was trying to be careful but Kendall was very sneaky, he’s a crafty fighter. He hits hard, he’s quick, but I got off of the canvas and followed my gameplan, and that’s what won me the fight.”

Though not of the belief that the judges got it right, Holt to his credit acknowledged the inability to consistently carry out his corner’s advice ultimately cost him the fight.

I” was a little disappointed in myself. I let my corner down and my fans down,” admits Holt, who falls to 25-3 (13KO), losing a decision for the first time in his career. “Put this on the long list of disappointments in my life.”

What he hopes for now is a chance at redemption.

“(I want) a rematch. I gave away a few of the middle rounds by lack of work. I did it because I was landing better shots than him, but the judges didn’t see it that way. (The headbutts) took me out of my game a little bit, but these things are a part of boxing.”

So, too are close but clear decisions, with the night ultimately belonging to Tim Bradley.