Timothy Bradley’s rumored $10 million purse demand for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao could be the reason why Arum is stalling on the overdue decision to officially announce the fight. Bradley is the frontrunner in the selection of opponent for Pacquiao’s next fight set for April 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The official announcement for the Pacquiao-Bradley rematch has remained pending for no apparent reason as the other candidates for Pacquiao’s next fight that include Juan Manuel Marquez and Floyd Mayweather Jr., have been taken out of the shortlist. Mayweather is returning to MGM Grand on May 3 possively with British idol Amir Khan, who is getting very impatient for having waited too long for Mayweather’s signature on the contract that he already signed and forwarded back to Mayweather for his own signature. Marquez has opted out of the Pacquiao sweepstakes. saying he there is nothing more to prove in another Pacquiao rematch following his stunning knockout decision win over the Filipino star in December 2012. Read more. But some boxing observers and fans believe that Marquez is just acting like a diva, sending a message to his promoter Bob Arum to raise his guaranteed purse before having a serious talk with Pacquiao for what appears to be his most lucrative fight ever. The other remaining contender aside from Bradley is Pacquiao’s former sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov, who is also being trained by Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach. Pacquiao has expressed his preference not to face the young Russian fighter in the ring, saying he is a friend and they both have the same trainer. The April 12 calendar set by Arum at the MGM Grand is drawing near and if Pacquiao will train for 90 days to prepare for rematch with Bradley, Arum should be able to finalize the deal in the next few days. Critics are saying Arum is having a hard time deciding on the rematch because of Bradley’s demand for a huge paycheck. Apparently Arum knows how Bradley performs in the pay-per-view (PPV) market and the rumored $10 million purse demand by by the Palm Springs star is just too much for him to gamble as the fight may no longer be financially viable. Bradley, who is riding on his unbeaten record and satisfactory performance over Marquez in their most recent fight, was reported to have received only $6 million in his last fight with the Mexican counter-puncher.
