After his ten round technical decision victory over Devon Alexander last weekend, the speculation over who WBO/WBC light welterweight champion Tim Bradley's next opponent might be has become one of the most talked about subjects in the sport.
While the obvious choice might be a bout against WBA champion Amir Khan
to unify three of the four major titles at the weight and with it any lingering doubt as to who the best fighter in the division is, Bradley himself seems to have other plans.
to unify three of the four major titles at the weight and with it any lingering doubt as to who the best fighter in the division is, Bradley himself seems to have other plans.
Despite the fact that the Alexander fight was neither a crowd pleaser or a particularly dominant showing from Bradley, in part due to the ending and a bad clash of styles, the one name mentioned consistently by Bradley if not his current promoter has been pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao.Before that fight has any realistic chance of happening though, there are several things that have to change for Bradley.
The first of which is likely his promotional status.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum said recently that Bradley was the kind of opponent he would welcome for Pacquiao in the future.
What he didn't mention is the fact that Bradley will become a free agent in the coming months and that Top Rank, along with Golden Boy and current promoter Gary Shaw are all hoping to sign him.
Bradley taking on Pacquiao then likely comes with the caveat that it will only happen if both fighters are under the Top Rank banner at the time.
Looking past a possible showdown with Pacquiao though, in the long term Golden Boy might be the better option for Bradley in terms of available opponents. Their roster currently includes Juan Manuel Marquez, Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Victor Ortiz and Lucas Matthysse, all interesting opponents.
Top Rank on the other hand certainly has a deep roster of fighters but at light welterweight and even welterweight their ranks are a little thin these days, and Bradley likely wouldn't be able to effectively compete at junior middleweight or above where the majority of their talent has been heading to of late.
Aside from the promotional difficulties in putting a fight together with Pacquiao, there are other concerns, namely Bradley's effectiveness at welterweight and his tendency to inadvertently headbutt opponents causing fight ending cuts.
In his sole outing north of the 140lb division, Bradley looked dominant against Luis Abregu but against a higher caliber of opponent the size and strength difference might have been more telling.
Against Pacquiao this isn't a concern for Bradley as much as Pacquiao is one of the smaller welterweights and moved up in weight himself, but without a resume at the weight many would no doubt question whether Bradley had earned a fight against the best in the division.
Perhaps the biggest concern from Pacquiao's point of view though is the fact that Bradley's head has caused cuts in each of his last five fights, ending two of them prematurely.
Worse than that though, even on his best days he isn't a particularly charismatic or always entertaining fighter to watch, and Pacquiao obviously won't want to look bad even in winning due to a clash of styles. Nor will his team want him to be in against a dangerous and unbeaten fighter that won't contribute much in the pay per view department.
Lastly, the fact that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan trains with Pacquiao could also for now make the fight unlikely. Pacquiao and Khan have formed a bond since training together and it could well be the case that Pacquiao wouldn't want to rob Khan of the opportunity of becoming the lineal light welterweight champion.
Source: examiner.com
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