Timothy Bradley of Palm Springs took some heat when he passed up a reported $1.4million to face fellow junior welterweight champion Amir Khan in a fight that would have taken place in July.
Bradley then announced he was leaving his co-promoters, Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson, saying he had become a free agent.
Shaw and Thompson are suing Bradley, claiming they had one more fight with him and Bradley turning down the Khan offer cost them money.
But Bradley signed with Bob Arum and his Top Rank Inc. last month, so in his mind everything worked out for the best.
“A part of me wanted to get in the ring and do what I had to do, but I had a plan,” said Bradley, who Saturday will have his first fight for Top Rank when he defends his title against Joel Casamayor (38-5-1, 22 KOs) on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view).
“If I had fought Amir Khan and beat him, I don’t think it would have done anything for my career. A lot of people thought it would have been great, but I didn’t think I was with the right promotional company. I felt like they didn’t push me to make me into a superstar, to promote me to not only the boxing fans but the crossover to the housewives that don’t work, but love boxing.
“I never got that type of exposure. Top Rank brings that. If I fought Amir Khan with Top Rank, I think it would be huge.Sitting back and thinking about it, my team and I made the
