Timothy Bradley was in a dark place this summer, having lost his WBC title to the nefarious machinations of Jose Sulaiman and his clear standing as the top dog in the super lightweight (140 lbs) division to rising sensation Amir Khan. It could be said that Bradley, who still has the WBO title to his name, is enjoying an Indian summer, as “Desert Storm” has moved into Top Rank’s stable and is now enjoying the fruits of having moved up in boxing’s promotional world.
The first reward of Bradley’s move to Bob Arum’s camp is his juicy fight on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III. Bradley is slated to face a thoroughly shopworn Joel Casamayor, and frankly the aged Cuban’s only hope of stretching that fight beyond the early rounds is by fouling early, sneakily and frequently. Even so, Bradley should have the skills and speed to make short work of the undersized and used-up “Brush,” so the fight is a solid showcase for Bradley’s talents.
Bradley Enters Two Sweepstakes for the Price of One
By signing with Arum, Bradley has all-but guaranteed a big PPV clash in his near future, because Bradley’s new stablemates include the aforementioned Manny Pacquiao and while Amir Khan is with rival Golden Boy, the two organizations have been plenty willing to get together on big events lately. Khan, who is slated to take on former Bradley opponent Lamont Peterson in December, has an open dance card next year, and assuming no fight with Floyd Mayweather materializes, so does Pacquiao. As Arum loves promoting entirely in-house main events, putting a fighter of Bradley’s caliber into the ring with Pacquiao is probably his first priority, but don’t rule out the Khan fight either, with the winner himself being in great position to take on Top Rank’s cash cow.
Timothy Bradley is a good fighter with brilliant speed and slick skills, but he has a suspect chin and merely average power. I therefore wouldn’t pick him to win a clash with Khan and especially not with Pacquiao, so I doubt either man would decline a fight with Bradley. Desert Storm would clearly prefer to fight Pacman, because it’s the bigger payday, but that decision isn’t up to him. That decision is up to Bob Arum, and I think which way Bob Arum goes depends on whether he really wants to see Pacquiao vs. Khan take place at some point in the future.
Considering that Arum’s promotional strategy in his ongoing war with Floyd Mayweather turns on getting Pacquiao fights to compete with or eclipse whatever Floyd Mayweather is doing, Bradley is a poor choice as an opponent in the Pacquiao vs. Mayweather arms race. He has little name recognition beyond diehard boxing fans, has slipped in status, and while Bradley is an undefeated champion, he isn’t an undefeated welterweight champion. Fighting a little-known sub-welterweight, regardless of quality, in the wake of Marquez III doesn’t sound like a viable PR move to me.
On the other hand, Bradley vs. Khan makes lots of sense. It has built-in cachet as a unification fight between the clear #1 and #2 in the division (although you could debate who occupies which slot). If Khan wins (and he should), it builds up Khan’s status for an invasion of the welterweight division. More importantly, a big fight with Bradley would serve to postpone that invasion until late 2012 or early 2013. That buys Arum time to maneuver the developing Pacquiao-Khan-Mayweather triangle, time he won’t have if he throws Bradley into the ring with Pacquiao next year.
So, I’m banking on Bradley vs. Khan over Bradley vs. Pacquiao, and hoping that will serve as a catalyst for getting Mayweather to finally agree to fight one of Arum’s big stars. Hope springs eternal, right?
