If indeed it is true that Mexican counter puncher Juan Manuel Marquez has signed up with Palm Spring star Timothy Bradley for a title fight in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 14, it is doubtful if the fight will sell well and make money for the promoters. While it is a wise move to set the date of the fight on Mexican independence day weekend to draw Mexican crowd to the event, the pair won’t generate huge pay-per-view (PPV) buys that will make the fight financially viable. It is possible that promoter Bob Arum, who handles both fighters under his own Top Rank Promotions outfit, is priming up a huge fight between the winner of Bradley-Marquez fight against eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao early next year. Arum may not be able to make substantial returns on his investments on the proposed Marquez-Bradley fight, but he will make a killing when Pacquiao returns to the ring early next year to face the winner of the fight. Arum will be lucky to generate half a million buys for the Bradley-Marquez fight because of Bradley’s weak PPV performance record. Bradley has not done much to develop his fans and supporters for him to become a future PPV attraction. Bradley is a “hard sell” from a promoter’s point of view. His fan base number is very low and he has not done much to improve his image in order to attract more supporters. Marketability is very important to a fighter as it is one of the factors usually considered by promoters in determining his fight purse. In Bradley’s case, his low PPV appeal contributes to his inability to secure a huge purse for his fights despite his unbeaten professional record. The Mexican Independence day weekend is a significant event for Mexicans and Marquez will surely cash in on this special event but the PPV buys won’t probably go beyond half a million which is about half of what the fight will generate if Marquez chose a fifth fight with Pacquiao. The September 14 schedule is still up in the air as the handlers of pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. are saying the date has been reserved for Mayweather’s second fight of the year. “If Mayweather is going to fight on Sept. 14, we’ll move our date,” Arum said. “But this prevents anybody from bait-and-switching us. We talked to the [pay-per-view] industry about it. Nobody is looking to make trouble. We’re just looking to protect our position. Mayweather is scheduled to face Robert Guerrero on May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas,, Nevada. to defend his WBC welterweight title. He has earlier mentioned the possibility of fighting twice this year. If Arum is looking at a huge pre-retirement fight between Pacquiao and Marquez early next year, then he does make sense in pushing the Marquez-Bradley fight for September but if he has not secured a commitment from Marquez to face Pacquiao early next year, then he is throwing away good money on this fight. The fight has not been signed and sealed and Arum, as we all know, can change his mind to suit his bottom line.
