HOT QUOTES from Beverly Hills, California – Top Rank promoter Robert ‘Bob’ Arum tells this writer the Manny Pacquiao versus Timothy Bradley boxing event on June 9 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas is going to be a “different sell” to the boxing public.
“We have a fighter who has a better chance of beating Manny Pacquiao than the other guys,” says Arum referring to undefeated lightweight champion Bradley, 28, whom he picked above Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson, to fight Pacquiao. This developed after Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. failed to reach an agreement to fight which fell upon the money-sharing ratio and outright rejection of offers and counter-offers between the two, back and forth.
“The fight fans are very enthusiastic about this fight.”
Arum believes Bradley’s youth is going to be a distinctive advantage over the Filipino boxing superstar, 33, who is the current WBO Welterweight Champion.
“Bradley can take a very, very good punch; he has a lot of scouts on his belt,” adds Arum.
“Because Bradley has campaigned at 140 pounds and Pacquiao had been campaigning at welterweight, though at catchweight, for a while, they will come in at about the same weight – around 144-145 pounds for this full weight limit at 147 pounds.”
Bradley, an offensive fighter and undefeated of 28 professional fights, is the the current WBO Light Welterweight Champion and former two-time WBC Light Welterweight Champion.
Arum continues: “As a guy, like Pacquiao, who gets up in age and he fights young guys, it gets tougher. And Bradley has not been fighting a nobody. He went to England to fight Junior Witter in 2008 and sent him to the canvas from overhand right. That was a tough fight. He also shut-out Lamont Peterson and sent him to the canvas in round 3. He beat Devon Alexander easily.”
But, “Pacquiao’s advantage would be his experience and his power,” says Arum.
“The best thing is that I don’t have to oversell this fight because it’s going to be a very close, competitive fight. And it should be an action fight.”
Special insert from Insider’s notes with emphasis supplied via Wikipedia:
Last year, Bradley was stripped of his title as he refused to fight World Boxing Association Jr. Welterweight Champion Amir Khan. Specualtion had it that Bradley was not satisfied with the $1.3 million to fight a boxer of Khan’s caliber, although this was Bradley highest pay day in his entire career so far. Also he had admitted that it was too risky to fight Amir Khan, stating What if I lose then I am out the sweep-stake to fight pound for pound king Pacquiao for 7.5 millon dollars on American radio show Leave It In The Ring. Bradley’s refusal to take the fight led to a falling out between him and his promoter Gary Shaw. Subsequently he was stripped of the WBC title due to inactivity. Now Bradley works under armship of Cameron Dunkin.
