Undefeated world junior welter-weight champion Timothy Bradley, who just signed up with Top Rank Promotions, could end up being the next opponent of world pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
Bradley, 28, will defend his World Boxing Organization title against former lightweight champ Joel Casamayor of Cuba, in the main undercard of the November 12 Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez welterweight title showdown at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Bradley’s manager, Cameron Dunkin, told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that a bout against Pacquiao was not a condition for Bradley signing the contract.
However, both Dunkin and Bradley know that a fight with Pacquiao, the top attraction of star-studded Top Rank stable, would assure Bradley of his biggest payday.
“This really has nothing to do with Pacquiao,” Dunkin insisted. “Hey, if he gets the Pacquiao fight, great, but this was about ...getting Timmy’s name out there and building him.
“He needs that and that’s what this is about. They’ve committed to doing it for him and Top Rank is very good at doing that. The Pacquiao thing is great if it happens, but this was about what’s best for his career.”
Bradley (27-0, 11 by knockouts) has fought only twice in nearly two years, making him the least active elite fighter in the world. He is ranked eighth in Yahoo Sports’ pound-for-pound Top 10 list.
The Palm Spring, California-based fighter only fought once in 2010, against the little-known Luis Carlos Abrego. Bradley’s lone match this year – the Jan. 29 light welterweight unification bout against Devon Alexander – was heavily hyped, but turned out to be a dud and did little to generate the big-ticket matches every boxer wants.
Last July, Bradley declined a chance to further unify the super lightweight division against British boxer Amir Khan, holder the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation junior welter titles.“I wanted to let it [Khan fight] cook some more,” Bradley told Iole. “There was the whole thing with the contract, but really, I felt like it needed to marinate a bit. Coming off the Devon Alexander fight, yeah, I won another championship, but it didn’t do anything for my career.”
According to him, the Alexander fight – which ended with Bradley winning by technical decision after a clash of heads led to a deep cut that forced the referee ring physician to stop the fight – actually hurt his career.
“The fight was terrible, it got a low rating and it just wasn’t what everybody expected,” Bradley said.
“Me and Khan are going to get it on at some point, whether it’s at 140 or 147. It’s going to happen. But it seemed to me the best move at that point was to be patient.”
His patience could ultimately pay off, especially if both Bradley and Pacquiao win their respective fights – and end up in a big-money match-up next year, possibly on May 5.
BY JUN MEDINA
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