By Keith Idec

Bob Arum has helped make Timothy Bradley a wealthy man since becoming his promoter in 2011.

It thus makes perfect sense that Bradley respects and appreciates Arum’s business acumen. The former junior welterweight and welterweight champion also appreciates the opportunity Arum has given him by making Bradley part of his broadcast team for the independently produced Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas pay-per-view telecast November 5 in Las Vegas.

Arum announced recently that his promotional company, Top Rank Inc., will handle the distribution role that HBO Sports has fulfilled for most of Pacquiao’s pay-per-view fights since the Filipino superstar burst upon the American boxing scene.

Bradley, who fought Pacquiao in three HBO Pay-Per-View main events, admires Arum’s willingness to go against convention by risking even more of his own money than usual on this pay-per-view show.

“I think what Bob Arum is doing is definitely risky,” Bradley told BoxingScene.com. “But I like the risk because the more risk, the better the reward. I like that, man. You’ve got to be a risk-taker in life, man, because the reward is better. It’s just better.”

Bradley will be part of a broadcasting team that also includes former ESPN boxing analyst Brian Kenny and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. The Palm Springs, California, native would welcome this moonlighting gig becoming a long-term job once he retires from boxing. 

“With what’s going on with the [free] streaming and people not buying the pay-per-views like they used to, it’s because of technology,” said Bradley, who beat Vargas by unanimous decision 15 months ago and went 1-2 against Pacquiao. “So you have to change with the times. And Bob Arum, being the best promoter of all-times, he knows that. He’s smart and he’s gonna try this out, and maybe it’s gonna be something that he’ll continue to do in the future.”

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.