Bradley Responds To Arum on Pacquiao Fight Comments

By Robert Morales

Promoters Bob Arum and Gary Shaw recently went back and forth in this space on the subject of a possible Timothy Bradley-Manny Pacquiao fight. Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, was asked if Bradley would be a viable opponent for Pacquiao should a fight not get made between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Arum said no, that Bradley is talented but not enough of a household name and would not be able to generate enough pay-per-view buys. (Arum also noted Pacquiao has a hefty minimum salary that needs to be covered). Shaw, who co-promotes Bradley, scoffed, saying Arum wants to keep things in-house. That's why, Shaw said, Arum is looking at either Miguel Cotto or Antonio Margarito as replacements for Mayweather. Cotto and Margarito are promoted by Arum.

Bradley, who will take on Luis Carlos Abregu on July 17 at Agua Caliente Casino (on HBO) in Rancho Mirage, Calif., was reached by telephone Wednesday. He wasn't thrilled about Arum's suggestion he is not known well enough and wouldn't be able to carry his pay-per-view weight.

"I think he's completely wrong," Bradley said. "I am a bigger name than Joshua Clottey, no disrespect to Clottey."

Pacquiao's last fight, against Clottey on March 13, did 700,000 pay-per-view buys.

"I can't even go to Staples Center and walk out without signing hundreds of autographs, or just go somewhere and not be recognized," Bradley said. "I have tons of fans in L.A., all over the world. I've been overseas and I have a lot of fans overseas as well. I don't
really see that. It kind of makes me upset.

"I say, as long as I keep winning, people are going to get on the bandwagon. If they are not on the bus now, they will be. I think that is a lame excuse they are suggesting because they don't want to fight me. They feel it is too high of a risk for too little reward. But how do they know?"

Bradley said he knows that in order to get a fight against the likes of a Mayweather or a Pacquiao, one must earn his stripes. He intimated he has made enough of a name for himself to be considered for the top dogs. He has cracked respected top 10 pound-for-pound polls.

"I'm one of the top fighters at 140, and I'm moving to 147," said Bradley, who is a junior welterweight world champion but is fighting Abregu at welterweight. "As long as I keep winning, they're going to have to fight because they're going to run out of fighters."