Timothy Bradley Update

Despite the fact that Timothy Bradley has denied signing any paperwork to become the latest addition to the Top Rank roster, sources have informed us that once the litigation with his former promoters, Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson, is complete, the undefeated jr. welterweight champion will indeed make his move official. According to a source with knowledge of the November 12th showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley is in fact expecting to make his Top Rank debut on the undercard against a yet to be determined opponent. Obviously, we fully expect Bradley to deny that he's had any discussions about fighting on any Top Rank cards, as it could potentially jeopardize his ongoing litigation. After all, considering that Bradley's manager, Cameron Dunkin, has close ties to Top Rank (he also manages Top Rank fighters Kelly Pavlik and Nonito Donaire) and is also being sued by Shaw and Thompson for allegedly interfering with their promotional agreement, it's probably not a good look for Bradley to even be saying the words "Top Rank" right now.

According to the lawsuit, Shaw and Thompson are seeking an injunction against Bradley, hoping to prevent him from fighting under the banner of any other promotional companies, as they believe Dunkin has already been negotiating with other promoters about signing the talented jr. welterweight champion. It's also no secret that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has expressed interest in doing business with Bradley, naming him as a potential future opponent for pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao shortly after his unanimous decision victory over Shane Mosley. Coincidentally, or not, Bradley was said to be in attendance for that bout, much like Shane Mosley was in attendance at Pacquiao's bout with Antonio Margarito prior to the announcement that he was next in line for the Filipino superstar. If Bradley got the same type of red carpet treatment that Mosley informed me he got prior to being named as Pacquiao's next opponent, it would not suprise me at all to hear that Bradley got a special invite to Casa de Arum for a friendly chat over dinner.

Shaw and Thompson claim that in October of last year, Bradley signed a contract extension that included a two-fight deal to appear on HBO. The first of the two bouts was his victory over Devon Alexander this past January. The second was supposed to be a July 23rd showdown with Amir Khan, a fight where he was originally guaranteed $1.2 million before the offer was eventually increased when it became clear that Bradley, for whatever reason, was not interested in completing the contract extension. As time passed, rumors began to surface that Bradley was instead holding out in hopes of securing a career-high payday against Manny Pacquiao. Evidently, those rumors could very well become a reality as our source revealed that not only has Bradley been promised a future showdown with Pacquiao, but he's also been promised a whopping $1.2 million, nearly the same amount he would have made to face Khan, to fight on Pacquiao's undercard. "Do you know how much Bradley's signing bonus will be with Top Rank? Zero! Do you know why? Because they're going to pay him $1.2 million to fight on Manny's undercard," the source commented.

SAY WHAT? $1.2 million for an undercard fight? Wow! Perhaps the decision to pass on a unification with Amir Khan wasn't such a bad one after all for Bradley. In fact, assuming that he is going to receive close to the same amount of money to face a less dangerous opponent, one might say that it was truly the smart business move to make. If Bradley is indeed making his Top Rank debut on the Pacquiao-Marquez 3 undercard, which Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer also suggested several months ago, the real question is, how is Bob Arum able to guarantee $20 million for Manny Pacquiao, $5 million for Juan Manuel Marquez, and still be able to promise $1.2 million for Timothy Bradley? This could go down as a history-making event as I don't recall too many other pay-per-view cards where three fighters were set to make more than $1 million each.


Source: http://fighthype.com/pages/content10415.html


Not sure how much truth there is in there but thought I would share.

This weekend Mayweather will make at least $20m with Ortiz making roughly $3m and Morales reportedly making around $1.5m.

It was a smart move at the time not to fight Khan and look for an easier fight for the same money but having almost a year out has been harmful to Bradley as he isn't in as strong a position to negotiate his fight with Khan any more.

prettyboykev wrote:This weekend Mayweather will make at least $20m with Ortiz making roughly $3m and Morales reportedly making around $1.5m.

It was a smart move at the time not to fight Khan and look for an easier fight for the same money but having almost a year out has been harmful to Bradley as he isn't in as strong a position to negotiate his fight with Khan any more.

Depends if you are fighting for your legacy or for money.

Dazstarr wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:This weekend Mayweather will make at least $20m with Ortiz making roughly $3m and Morales reportedly making around $1.5m.

It was a smart move at the time not to fight Khan and look for an easier fight for the same money but having almost a year out has been harmful to Bradley as he isn't in as strong a position to negotiate his fight with Khan any more.

Depends if you are fighting for your legacy or for money.

It's harmed both though. His reputation has been damaged and so has his stock which wasn't that high to begin with. He would be lucky top get 60/40 in a Khan fight now.

Yeah I agree. Don't think Tim will ever get a shot at Pacman. Makes it even worse for him holding out for it.v That fight has no value for Pacman at all.

Smart move by Bradley if he has signed for Top Rank. Bradley vs Manny Pacquiao likely to be early next year.

I dont think it will happen Rob. Bradley offers nothing for Pacman. Nothing at all. He would get demolished.

I suppose the way Top Rank runs its matchmaking policy it might happen though.

Dazstarr wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:This weekend Mayweather will make at least $20m with Ortiz making roughly $3m and Morales reportedly making around $1.5m.

It was a smart move at the time not to fight Khan and look for an easier fight for the same money but having almost a year out has been harmful to Bradley as he isn't in as strong a position to negotiate his fight with Khan any more.

Depends if you are fighting for your legacy or for money.

Does anyone fight for legacy anymore?? Khan offered him more money and more legacy but he ducked both.

Seem to be a rare breed these days mate. I used to really like Bradders as well. Not exciting but a work horse who grinds out his wins. What made it worse was that he said in an article a few months ago that he doesnt care what anyone thinks as he has enough money to be comfortable and he is eating well.

Dazstarr wrote:Seem to be a rare breed these days mate. I used to really like Bradders as well. Not exciting but a work horse who grinds out his wins. What made it worse was that he said in an article a few months ago that he doesnt care what anyone thinks as he has enough money to be comfortable and he is eating well.

In all fairness should we expect anything more than this?

Boxing is a tough sport and boxing fans are VERY hard to please.

Look at Calzaghe - I know he gets stick for picking and choosing and this isn't really the point I'm making. When he retired everyone was saying he should have fough Froch, then the debate moves to Dawson, then Pascal.

Basically there will always be someone around who would have a claim to being a decent opponent (unless you are Floyd or Pac!).

I think with a lot of other sports - the sportsman generally want to be the best they can be - and by proving it. If you apply Bradleys logic to other sports - it wouldnt be long before people lost interest.

Boxing seems to have lost a lot of these sportsmen.

Dazstarr wrote:I think with a lot of other sports - the sportsman generally want to be the best they can be - and by proving it. If you apply Bradleys logic to other sports - it wouldnt be long before people lost interest.

Boxing seems to have lost a lot of these sportsmen.

There is a difference however in wanted to be the best and wanting to please fans that are never pleased.

I would think most boxers want to be the best but if it were down to the fans then boxers would have 200-300 fights in their careers.

In other sports the fans don't expect as much and as a lot of other sports are team games the individuals get a lot more slack.

huw wrote:

Dazstarr wrote:I think with a lot of other sports - the sportsman generally want to be the best they can be - and by proving it. If you apply Bradleys logic to other sports - it wouldnt be long before people lost interest.

Boxing seems to have lost a lot of these sportsmen.

There is a difference however in wanted to be the best and wanting to please fans that are never pleased.

I would think most boxers want to be the best but if it were down to the fans then boxers would have 200-300 fights in their careers.

In other sports the fans don't expect as much and as a lot of other sports are team games the individuals get a lot more slack.

I don't agree Huw. As long as you are a realistic person - then why would you expect anything more than the best fighting the best? For me it comes down to respecting the fighter.

Dazstarr wrote:
I don't agree Huw. As long as you are a realistic person - then why would you expect anything more than the best fighting the best? For me it comes down to respecting the fighter.

The thing is though Dazstarr, that is just you. The next fan would want them to fight a decent up and comer, the next fan a faded great. Out of these opinions there would be three best fights for a fighter, muliply that by the numerous fans in the world who also think there are 20-30 bests.

If we as fans all thought the same it would be a lot easier for the boxer to please us and I'm sure they would try.

Having said that when there is a clear and obvious two best fighters at any weight (Floyd / Pac) there should be no excuse for the fight not happening.

Again that comes down to knowing the sport - some fans are more knowledgeable than others. Anyone who is a real fan would want (in this example) for Bradley to fight Khan and no one else, no Morales and no upcomer either.

I agree you cant please all the fans but the ones that matter are the more experienced and knowledgeable ones.

huw wrote:

Dazstarr wrote:I think with a lot of other sports - the sportsman generally want to be the best they can be - and by proving it. If you apply Bradleys logic to other sports - it wouldnt be long before people lost interest.

Boxing seems to have lost a lot of these sportsmen.

There is a difference however in wanted to be the best and wanting to please fans that are never pleased.

I would think most boxers want to be the best but if it were down to the fans then boxers would have 200-300 fights in their careers.

In other sports the fans don't expect as much and as a lot of other sports are team games the individuals get a lot more slack.

Except modern fighters get paid more for fighting less than their pre-WWII equivalents, hence why it's hard to view/respect them in the same light.

And I think fans do expect as much in other sports, the difference being they get it. You can't win the Champions League without beating Barca or their conqueror but if it did happen there'd be the equivalent of 'paper-champ' accusations. Murray gets slated because he won't ever win a Grand Slam unless Fed, Nadal or Djok aren't there, again similar accusations are levied.

Dazstarr wrote:Again that comes down to knowing the sport - some fans are more knowledgeable than others. Anyone who is a real fan would want (in this example) for Bradley to fight Khan and no one else, no Morales and no upcomer either.

I agree you cant please all the fans but the ones that matter are the more experienced and knowledgeable ones.

I would agree with you however I'm sure Bradleys fans would think a fight against Pacman would be better.

If he gets that fight - makes the "he ducked Khan" a bit of a joke. Ducking Khan to fight the best p4p fighter in the world. What a Cat.

oxring wrote:If he gets that fight - makes the "he ducked Khan" a bit of a joke. Ducking Khan to fight the best p4p fighter in the world. What a Cat.

He wants a big pay day. He would get double what Khan offered for the Pac fight. Losing to Khan would have put an end to that, so he id duck Khan after being all mouthy.

prettyboykev wrote:

oxring wrote:If he gets that fight - makes the "he ducked Khan" a bit of a joke. Ducking Khan to fight the best p4p fighter in the world. What a Cat.

He wants a big pay day. He would get double what Khan offered for the Pac fight. Losing to Khan would have put an end to that, so he id duck Khan after being all mouthy.

Yep. And if he comes off well in the Pacman fight - ie puts on a good show - he puts himself in a good position re: future Top Rank fights. Sensible move.

oxring wrote:

prettyboykev wrote:

oxring wrote:If he gets that fight - makes the "he ducked Khan" a bit of a joke. Ducking Khan to fight the best p4p fighter in the world. What a Cat.

He wants a big pay day. He would get double what Khan offered for the Pac fight. Losing to Khan would have put an end to that, so he id duck Khan after being all mouthy.

Yep. And if he comes off well in the Pacman fight - ie puts on a good show - he puts himself in a good position re: future Top Rank fights. Sensible move.

Not to sure I've got a feeling he will get over looked and the big one will be made next year (although I don't want to start that debate.) Then he is in a terrible position because the guy couldn't fill a phone box. I

f that happens then he wouldn't be in a good position negotiating with Khan who would be quite right to tell him he doesn't deserve 60/40 because he never deserved a 50/50 split with Khan before.