Bradley: I’m going to erase doubts in people’s minds in Pacquiao rematch

08/01/201402/02/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) is still bothered that boxing fans don’t believe he rightfully beat Filipino Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) in their fight in 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It bothers Bradley that he’s seen as a paper champion and not a legitimate one in people’s minds because of two judges giving him a close decision that pretty much the entire world disagreed with.

“He is the superstar and he is the icon, the legend,” Bradley said to the Manila Bulletin. “He is still the top dog. I am just happy to get this chance to fight Manny again. I will make it official (this time) to erase it on people’s minds. I am much tougher now.”

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Paquiao vs Bradley II – Who Learned More from the 1st Bout?

01/28/201401/27/2014 Paul Strauss

Rematches can be momentous or insignificant. The Zale vs Graziano II, Raging Bull vs Sugar Ray (all), or on the other hand the Brown Bomber vs. Conn II, or Marciano vs Jersey Joe II. You just never know. When it comes to Pacquiao vs Bradley II, it would seem fans will be treated to an exciting bout. Bradley is young, and Pacquiao recently demonstrated he can still box pretty well, and both have desire and determination to reach new heights, so it should be a good one.

Andre Ward, who is friends with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley offered his opinion that Bradley will win because he wants it more. The only thing wrong with that is Andre doesn’t know how badly Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao wants it.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Peterson vs Danny Garcia, Bradley, Broner, Mikey Garcia, and Charlo!

01/27/2014 Vivek Wallace

Karen B. (Baltimore, MD): As a huge Lamont Peterson fan, I was very happy to see him win last Saturday night. What were your thoughts on his performance, and how do you see a proposed bout between he and Danny Garcia going if they do face off next?

Vivek W. (ESB): Coming into the night, I wanted to really get a feel for where Peterson was mentally, at this stage in his life. We’ve seen Peterson at the top of the ranks, and we’ve seen him look far less threatening. The past has taught us that Peterson can be whatever Peterson wants to be when his mind is right. Some would raise the failed steroid test. My response would be that it’s a non-factor. The lead official for the medical staff produced proof that he was being treated for a condition and the traces found were low enough to pass any other drug test in the sport except the overly stringent “zero policy” VADA based testing. Couple that with the fact that he was cleared by the IBF, and certainly you have to view it as a non-issue. What we saw Saturday was a man with a clean system, and after that performance, one could argue a clean slate and a bright future.

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Official: Pacquao vs. Bradley 2 – April 12 – MGM Grand – Live on Pay-Per-View

01/25/2014 Top Rank

Bob Arum and Todd duBoef, CEO and President of Top Rank, respectively, and Michael Koncz of MP Promotions are pleased to announce that an agreement was reached today for undefeated two-division world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against Fighter of the Decade Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO. Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with MP Promotions and Tecate, Pacquiao-Bradley 2 will take place, Saturday, April 12, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View.

Both fighters and their teams will embark on a U.S. media tour the week of February 3, including press conferences in Los Angeles and New York on Tuesday, February 4 and Thursday, February 6, respectively. Ticket information and other details on the promotion and the media tour will be released shortly.

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Pacquiao-Bradley II fight signed and done for April 12th in Las Vegas!

01/25/2014 Jeff Sorby

Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) and Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) have signed for their rematch on April 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. After weeks of negotiations, Bradley and Pacquiao have signed their contracts for what their promoter Bob Arum hopes will be a successful pay-per-view card on HBO. It’s a risky rematch, because the first fight didn’t do well on PPV, but Arum doesn’t have much else to offer other than Bradley or a fight against Ruslan Provodnikov.

Pacquiao will receive $20 million for the fight, which is around the same amount he received for their previous fight in June of 2012. As for Bradley, he’ll be getting a slight bump up in pay to $6 million for the fight plus the upside from PPV. Bradley will likely make as much as $10 million if the fight does well on PPV on HBO.

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Timothy Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao II Ready To go on April 12th

01/21/2014 Vitali Shaposhnikov

According to the Manila Bulletin, Manny Pacquiao will soon cross the ropes to face Timothy Bradley in a rematch that many Pacquiao fans have been clamoring for. The fight is set to take place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 12, 2014.

This fight undoubtedly gives both fighters a shot at sweet redemption.

By beating Pacquiao again, Bradley can finally get rid of and step out of the shadow that their last fight cast on him. Not only was it a lackluster fight for the fans, but Bradley’s victory was ridiculed and unaccepted by the majority of the boxing fans as well as the media. The victory gave him nothing but a sour feeling, filled with an enormous amount of confidence shredding press.

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Why doesn’t Pacquiao offer to fight his April 12th opponent for free?

01/20/2014 Rob Smith

Manny Pacquiao got a lot of attention last week with his offer to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. for free in a fight where they would both give their entire fight pay to charity. This was Pacquiao’s way of showing Mayweather that he’s not desperate for the fight. My thoughts are this sounds good from Pacquiao, but why focus just on Mayweather for this charity offer?

If Pacquiao is willing to give his entire purse to charity, then he should be willing to give his money away for his next fight against Tim Bradley or Ruslan Provodnikov. If the idea is for Pacquiao to give to charity, why should there be a difference in which opponent he’s fighting for him to do this? Does it absolutely have to be Mayweather that Pacquaio is fighting for him to give money away?

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Tim Bradley asking for $10 million for Pacquiao fight?

01/16/201401/15/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) is reportedly asking for $10 million for his rematch against Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) on April 12th, according to Mydesert.com. If this really true then it makes a lot of sense why the Pacquiao-Bradley fight isn’t a done deal.

$10 million for a fighter like Bradley is an incredible amount given that he’s not proven himself to be a a huge star in the sport. That kind of money goes to guys like Saul “Canelo” Alavarez and Miguel Cotto. In other words, fighters who have proven that they can bring in massive amounts of fans for their fights. I don’t know that Bradley is capable of attracting huge audiences when not matched against guys like Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s someone that needs help to bring in fans.

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Is Tim Bradley pricing himself out for the Pacquiao fight?

01/07/2014 Jeff Sorby

The negotiations between Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) and WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) are dragging out a lot longer than what many boxing experts expected it to for their proposed April 12th rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Steve Kim, Bradley is asking for an $8 million guarantee for the rematch with Pacquiao, which is above the $5 million that he received in their previous fight in June of 2012.

That fight brought in close to 900,000 PPV buys. But with Pacquiao losing that one, and then getting stopped by Juan Manuel Marquez in December of 2012, the interest in Pacquiao’s fights may have dropped off with boxing fans. His last fight against Brandon Rios brought in just 475,000 PPV buys.

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Arum wants Bradley-Marquez rematch, if Pacquiao selects Provodnikov for next fight

01/05/2014 Jeff Sorby

If Manny Pacquiao chooses not to fight WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley in a rematch on April 12th, and instead face his former sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov, then Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is interested in putting together a rematch between Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. Presumably the Bradley-Marquez fight would then be the co-feature for Pacquiao’s bout against Provodnikov in April.

It makes a lot of sense to have Marquez on the card, because without Marquez, who Arum wanted to face Pacquiao in a 5th fight, Pacquiao’s next fight might not bring in the huge pay-per-view numbers that he’s been accustomed to getting in the past when matched against Marquez and Miguel Cotto. Arum has struck out when matching Pacquiao against Bradley, Joshua Clottey and Brandon Rios in getting big PPV numbers.

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