By Rick Reeno

Following the big unification victory over Juan Urango, on March 6th, the IBF/WBC junior welterweight champion Devon Alexander, and his manager/trainer Kevin Cunningham, have been calling out WBO champion Timothy Bradley. Both fighters are undefeated rising stars in the sport. Alexander's knockout of the iron-chinned Urango made a big impression with the bigwigs at HBO. Bradley makes his HBO debut on June 19, at welterweight, against unbeaten Luis Carlos Abregu.

"I'm not ducking Devon nor am I afraid of Devon. Devon will get his in due time. He will get his opportunity and he will get his in due time. Right now I'm on another mission. I will take this fight [with Abregu], which is a dangerous fight for me. I'm taking this fight and then after this fight - then we'll see if it makes sense dollar wise. I have nothing to prove to anybody and whether I fight Devon or not at this point, I'm still number one. At the end of the day, he still needs more fights to come to my level to be where I'm at," Bradley told BoxingScene.com.

Alexander called Urango "the best junior welterweight in the world" in a post-fight interview. Bradley took some offense to the comment. He doesn't think much of Alexander's resume and advised his rival from St. Louis to beef up the record before calling him out. 

"He said he fought the best junior welterweight in the world [Urango], but he hasn't. Maybe after he has a few more fights, we'll do it. His resume is not that impressive. He has Juan Urango and he has [Junior] Witter. How much money is somebody really going to pay for us to fight? I'm thinking about this like a business man. He's talking mad smack, that he wants another world title and for us to do this," Bradley said.

"Be patient grasshopper, your day will come. I have nothing to prove to Devon Alexander. I'm looking for bigger paydays. If they don't happen, and Devon is still there, and he's fought a couple of more fights and everyone is hollering they want that fight and they pay the bucks for it - we'll do it."

There are a few targets on Bradley's radar. One of those targets is the winner of Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi, which takes place on May 15. Other names on his list include Victor Ortiz and Ricky Hatton. Bradley views all of those opponents as being bigger opportunities than taking a unification bout with Alexander.

"There is Amir Khan. Malignaggi is a bigger draw than Devon. We can go to MSG and fight Malignaggi. That's way bigger than Devon. You have Victor Ortiz, who I think right now is a bigger fight than Devon. There is [Ricky] Hatton. There are a lot of options out there. I'll fight anybody - just show me the money. That's all it boils down to at the end of the day," Bradley said.

If Bradley is successful in June, he will probably return to the ring in October or November. He took a page from the playbook of Paul Williams by moving up to higher weight division to open up additional doors. With names like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley at welterweight, Bradley hopes an impressive showing will get his name in the running for a mega-fight. The WBO has give him some wiggle room. He doesn't have to make a mandatory defense until the end of the year.

"Everyone is closing the door on me because they say the money is not enough for them. They say the gamble is not worth the money. Everybody is shutting me out, and if that's how everybody else wants to play, then I'll go up to 147 to open up a few more doors," Bradley said.