Don’t be surprised if WBO welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley ends up fighting the winner of Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez 4 sometime before May next year.
Since his controversial win over Pacquiao last June, Bradley has failed to capitalize on his newfound fame. Bradley had expressed his disinterest in the rumored rematch against Lamont Peterson on Dec. 15, and was said to have pulled out of a proposed fight with Interim WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero. Reasons have ranged from money, the foot injury he sustained in the Pacquiao fight, down to simply not liking the idea.
?Another thing I want people to know, and no disrespect to Peterson, but I?ve already been down that road,? Bradley told The Desert Sun regarding the possibility of fighting Peterson in a rematch. ?I think a rematch with him doesn?t make sense at all. I think that?s another thing people need to know and realize,? he added.
Despite his claims of similarly beating another guy the way he did Peterson, the rematch that makes perfect sense – or should I say cents – for Bradley is the one with Pacquiao. But despite his desperate attempts and taunts, Pacquiao chose to shun Bradley, in favor of pursuing a fourth fight with nemesis Marquez instead.
Here’s some piece of free advice for Bradley: Call it a year, and sit ringside at Pacquiao-Marquez 4 in December, then call out the winner. The last time I offered advice for Bradley, I said that it was best for him to return the WBO belt to Pacquiao, then challenge him to a rematch, to at least maintain his positive image amidst the boxing world’s protestations regarding his controversial win. Instead, Bradley chose the opposite route, which was to trash talk Pacquiao and insist that he clearly won. Guess how that worked out for him.
If Pacquiao beats Marquez, and if Bradley goes about asking for a rematch the right way, I can’t see why people won’t want to reconsider their interest about a Pacquiao-Bradley rematch. At this point, fans will be back on a “high” regarding Pacquiao’s career, and would want to see him avenge his controversial loss against Bradley, and prove that he truly beat him. Pacquiao doesn’t really have any other compelling opponents waiting for him, and I don’t think Robert Garcia and Cameron Dunkin are truly ready to feed Brandon Rios to the big bad Filipino wolf just yet.
The biggest wrench to this proposition, however, is if Floyd Mayweather, Jr. finally decides to fight Pacquiao. In that case, Bradley will just have to move on.
And if Marquez beats Pacquiao, Bradley-Marquez will be far more interesting than any of Bradley’s current options. Ya dig?
