By Keith Idec
A spokesman for Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. confirmed Wednesday night that the Juan Manuel Marquez-Timothy Bradley bout has been moved from Sept. 14 to Oct. 12.
Arum told Boxingscene.com and other outlets recently that he would move Marquez-Bradley only if Mayweather was one of the main event participants Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) announced via Twitter on Wednesday night that he will meet Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) at a catch weight of 152 pounds Sept. 14 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The WBO welterweight championship bout between Mexico’s Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs) and Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs, 1 NC), of Palm Springs, Calif., will take place at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, just four weeks later than initially planned.
Moving Marquez-Bradley eliminates the possibility of staging competing cards again on the same night in Las Vegas, where Alvarez defeated Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18 KOs, 1 NC) by fifth-round TKO and Sergio Martinez (51-2-2, 28 KOs) defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KOs) by unanimous decision on the same night, Sept. 15, last year.
Scheduling the Mayweather-Alvarez and Marquez-Bradley bouts on the same night would’ve made even less sense, since both fights will headline pay-per-view events. Martinez-Chavez was a pay-per-view main event, but Alvarez-Lopez was televised live on Showtime.
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
