By Robert Morales
Promoter Bob Arum recently told yours truly that the reason the fight between welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero did not come to fruition was because Golden Boy Promotions offered Guerrero only half of $1.2 million offered up by HBO. Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, in response told BoxingScene.com that was absolutely not true.
We asked Guerrero how bummed out he was about not getting what would have been a high-profile fight with Bradley.
"I was a little disappointed," Guerrero said at a Los Angeles news conference formally announcing his Nov. 24 fight against former welterweight champion Andre Berto at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. (on HBO). "I wanted to fight Timothy Bradley because he just came off that fight with Manny Pacquiao. He had a great win and I wanted to be able to unify the division and take care of business there. But it didn't happen."
We also asked Guerrero if money was an issue in him not taking that fight. His co-manager, Luis DeCubas, jumped into the conversation.
"No, absolutely not," DeCubas said. "We had a deal in place ready to go; Bradley pulled out."
DeCubas was asked if he knew why Bradley allegedly pulled out.
"No, it never came on record," he said. "But we had a deal in place and money had absolutely nothing to do with the fight."
The same day Arum said what he said about that situation, he said Bradley may not fight until next year because the foot he injured in the Pacquiao fight was still hurting. Bradley's manager, Cameron Dunkin, confirmed that. But Bradley subsequently denied his foot was aching during an interview with his hometown newspaper, The Desert
Sun.
Robert Morales covers boxing for the LA Daily News and BoxingScene.com.
