Timothy Bradley Hoping He's Not Out of the Pacquiao Sweepstakes
With all the focus being given to a fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez or a remaining outside shot he'll fight Floyd Mayweather Jr if he forces Top Rank to make the fight, Manny Pacquiao's other supposed "next opponent" is hoping he's still in the running. Timothy Bradley spoke with RingTV.com about his win over Joel Casamayor, and his hope that he still lands Pacquiao next.
"The pound-for-pound best, Manny Pacquiao. That's who I want to fight. I'm ready. Marquez just showed it. I've got a plan for every fighter out there," said Bradley.
"I've got the speed to compete with Manny Pacquiao. I've got the determination. I would love to fight that guy. Definitely. Footspeed, handspeed, I go to the body well. Bring it on."
Bradley (28-0, 12 KO) is doing his best to convince people that his win over Joel Casamayor was difficult or anything more than a stay-busy fight, but that's probably a lost cause. Bradley is describing a fight with the old lightweight champion Casamayor, not the 40-year-old, out of shape version that was in the ring on Saturday.
But as we've noted, it's not Bradley's fault that was his matchup, and he frankly deserved better. All he could do on Saturday was go out and do his job, and he did that, dominating Casamayor while hardly breaking a sweat. When you read between the lines of Bradley's fight description, you notice that the most difficulty he can hype out of the bout was that Casamayor held him a lot. That says enough.
Bradley was also enthused to fight in front of the crowd of 15,498 in Las Vegas:
"It was awesome being in front of this huge crowd, man. I just stayed in a zone and didn't want to look out into the crowd and see all of the people and get shell-shocked. It was a lot of fun and I want to do it again."
While promoted by Gary Shaw and Thompson Boxing, it became essentially a running joke that Bradley's fights were sparsely-attended at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and his utter flop as a gate attraction at the Silverdome outside of Detroit earlier this year with Devon Alexander remains a go-to gag when noting fights where nobody showed up to watch. The only time in his career that Bradley had fought in front of a crowd that reflected his ability came in May 2008, when he traveled to Nottingham to face and defeat Junior Witter.
As for fighting Pacquiao next, Bradley is the third option. For now, Top Rank and Pacquiao seem to want to make the Marquez fight, but Marquez is seriously considering retiring from the sport on a high note. If they can't get Marquez, negotiations with Mayweather could actually happen, and who knows? But if neither of those work out, I'd expect Timothy Bradley to be Pacquiao's next opponent. He may be the third option, but of the three he's the guy with whom they'll have zero difficulty making the fight happen.
14 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
In the Ring’s current poll “Who should Manny Pacquiao fight next?”, Bradley’s currently at 3%, just barely edging out “Cotto-Margarito winner” (ouch), so that’s not much of an audience interest vote of confidence (for whatever those polls are worth.) I’m most interested in Bradley fighting Kahn before anyone else, and gather that that’s the general expectation for who he should face next…
Look, SOMEBODY is going to have to become a star in the next year here, because both Mayweather and Pacquiao have about 2 major fights left in them. Why not Bradley?? It interests me as much as seeing Marquez get screwed again……
Why not Bradley??
Probably because he’s not a very exciting fighter and doesn’t have a very charismatic personality.
Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
by Scott Christ on Nov 16, 2011 8:08 PM EST up reply actions
He also doesn’t hit very hard. He just doesn’t. The shape Casamayor is in, and his age, should have been over in 3.
There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939
Timothy Bradley Hoping He’s Not Out of the Pacquiao Sweepstakes
Brent Brookhouse hoping he is.
But seriously, Bradley/Khan does much more for me. I feel like Bradley NEEDS that cocky foil to push him to break out a little more personality.
For me he’s just a guy who, while talented, is a touch on the boring side and has an annoying moustache.
Managing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 16, 2011 8:12 PM EST reply actions
and has an annoying moustache.
+1
"After this, I'm gonna kick Bob Arum's ass."
-George Lopez
by Eddie Gonzalez on Nov 16, 2011 10:38 PM EST up reply actions
If we do end up getting Floyd-Manny
I hope we get Bradley vs. JMM or Khan. I get why folks are down on Bradley, but those are both excellent fights.
Vaguely related to the topic at hand
but Bradley is seriously ripped. Totally escaped my attention, much like the memory of most of his fights. I don’t get it: he always lands leather and throws with aggression, so where’s his power? I know muscle doesn’t necessarily translate into devastating force, but his K/O % is mighty low. Are his punches not straight enough? Does he not bend at the knee? I need to hit Youtube.
by abcdefghijklost on Nov 17, 2011 1:43 PM EST reply actions
"It was awesome being in front of this huge crowd, man. I just stayed in a zone and didn't want to look out into the crowd and see all of the people and get shell-shocked. It was a lot of fun and I want to do it again."
“It was awesome being in front of this huge crowd, man. I just stayed in a zone and didn’t want to look out into the crowd and see all of the people and get shell-shocked. It was a lot of fun and I want to do it again.”
i can just imagine how awesome he feels that night..

by 
























