Boxing’s initial major PPV event for 2016 has
been confirmed, and it may double because the last bout of Manny Pacquiao's
career. Pacquiao's agent, Bob Arum, told the Los Angeles Times' Lance Pugmire
that the previous multi-division world champ can have a rubber match vs.
Timothy Bradley on 9th April at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. HBO PPV can
broadcast the event, and on the road will be Bradley's WBO welterweight (147
lbs.) title.
"I am not aiming to position
this as his last fight," Arum said. "It could okay be his last fight,
however I will not place myself within the position of selling it as his last
fight and so he decides he needs to fight once more and that I appear as a schmuck.
I am unsure it's his last fight, despite what he told me."
Bradley and Pacquiao initial battled
in 2012, with Bradley winning an extremely disputable decision and handing
Pacquiao his initial loss since 2005. They rematches in April 2014, and
Pacquiao won a transparent unanimous decision to send Bradley to the 1st (and
to date only) defeat of his career.
Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) is returning
off a unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather on 2nd May within the richest
match in boxing history. The extremely anticipated super fight did not live up
to the high expectations, And Pacquiao later discovered he came into the fight
with a bruised right shoulder. Because it stands, his last win may be a Nov
2014 lopsided decision win over the sadly overmatched Chris Algieri.
Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) recorded his
initial stoppage win in four years by knockout Brandon Rios in an HBO main
event last month. The 32-year-old conjointly defeated Jessie Vargas by
unanimous decision in June, however not before suffering an enormous scare
within the last round wherever he was desperately rocked within the closing
seconds. Bradley's solely different non-win of his career may be a disputable
draw vs. Diego Chaves last year, that came when the loss to Pacquiao.
As much as whether or not this may be
Pacquiao's last fight, Arum had this to mention (via LA Times):
"I'm not aiming to advertise it
as his last fight. It might be his final Boxing match. However I am not aiming
to place myself in position wherever he changes his mind and goes on to boxed
in November, and so everybody says I am a huckster. If it's his last boxing
fight, it's his last fight and it is relevant intrinsically when.... I am not
sure it's."
Other choices for Pacquiao enclosed
rising star Terence Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs), and Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs),
however according to Arum, cable and satellite distributors "didn't feel
Khan would do something," which "[Khan] features an inconsistent
record, hasn't done nice ratings. Why would we tend to feel he'd move on
pay-per-view?"
While Khan is not engaged to fight
anybody, Crawford is probably going to defend his a hundred and forty lbs. WBO
title against Mauricio Herrera in February on steady HBO. The fight would
happen at Madison square Garden in New York.
For the record, Pacquiao-Bradley I
draw an according 890,000 buys, and also the rematch force in 800,000. Bradley
has ne'er been abundant of a draw throughout his career, and also the aftermath
of Mayweather-Pacquiao may greatly have an effect on Pacquiao's PPV strength,
that had previously declined when his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
There is an authentic case to be created that Bradley may truly get the win
here, however it is not precisely a fight that I think most fans were clamor to
envision once more.
Manny Pacquiao has created his
decision: He can fight welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr. for a 3rd
time on 9th April at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas within the main event of an HBO
PPV card, Top Rank agent Bob Arum mentioned.
Although the work is being sent to
each camps, Arum told ESPN that he has deals with each fighters which he closed
with Pacquiao on Tuesday by wiring him a $2 million advance against his $20
million bonded purse.
"[Pacquiao adviser] Michael
[Koncz] cleared the whole thing with Manny and that we sent out the advance
cash to seal the deal," Arum said.
Although immediate public reaction on
social media was savagely negative concerning the fight -- as neither of the
primary 2 installments were significantly unforgettable or competitive -- Arum
said he believes Bradley may be a completely different fighter than he was the
primary twice as a result of he is currently operating with trainer Teddy
Atlas, the ESPN TV analyst.
Bradley fired career-long trainer
Joel Diaz within the fall and convinced Atlas to require over his coaching. In
their initial fight along, Bradley looked terribly sharp during a title defense
against an ill-prepared Brandon Rios, whom he knocked move into the ninth round
of a one-sided fight on November 7th.
Atlas told ESPN.com that he has
nevertheless to listen from Bradley that the fight with Pacquiao was official
however said he has already evaluated video of their initial 2 fights.
"I already checked out it. I do
not believe waiting," Atlas said. "When this fight was initial
mentioned, I checked out it and that I see what I ought to see and that I see
why Pacquiao was able to be effective and why Tim was able to be effective at
the days once he was effective."
Arum said he knew that a lot of
boxing fans would be a react negatively to the fight, but said, "This may
be a completely different Timothy Bradley below the aegis of Teddy Atlas,"
Arum said. "This isn't not me
just that. The Bradley that fought Rios, no matter you considered Rios, was a
unique fighter. It's still Bradley, however a replacement Bradley with Teddy.
And at now of his career, will Manny handle that? Moreover, Manny is just
returning off an injury."
Pacquiao, boxing's solely
eight-division titleholder, are fighting for the initial time in 11 months when
losing a transparent unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather in their
long-awaited and record-shattering welterweight title unification fight on 2nd
May, similarly at the MGM Grand.
Pacquiao fought despite a shoulder
injury he didn't expose till when the contest, angering many that shelled out a
record $100 for the pay-per-view and thousands for tickets.
Pacquiao had surgery to repair a torn
right rotator cuff following the boxing match, that sold-out a record 4.6
million pay-per-view subscriptions and generated in more than $600 million,
moreover a record.
Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs), Who turned
37 on Dec. 17, and Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs), 32, of Palm Springs, California,
have already split a pair of welterweight title fights, both of that were also
at the MGM Grand.
In June 2012, Bradley claimed a
split-decision win in one amongst the foremost disputable decision in boxing
history. Whereas Duane Ford and C.J. Ross, both of whom no longer judge, gave
the fight to Bradley, nearly everyone saw Pacquiao because the clear winner.
The result was thus disputable that there it spawned multiple inquiries.
In the April 2014 rematch, Pacquiao
won a cockeyed unanimous decision as he dominated the bout even as several
believed he had done the 1st time.
"Anyone who has watched me on
ESPN for nearly twenty years is aware of I am not one to throw out superlatives
unless I trust them, however Pacquiao is one amongst the most effective
fighters of the last decade," Atlas said. "It'll be a troublesome
challenge, however we'll confirm we're prepared for this match. We’ll respect
the challenge Pacquiao offerings. We’ll do what we're imagined to do and be
100% ready. It’ll be a tough fight."
Arum is already licking his chops to
market the fight, in part, as a battle between Atlas and Freddie Roach,
Pacquiao's Hall of Fame trainer and seven-time trainer of the year. Atlas and
Roach do not significantly look after one another, and Arum is banking on some
trash speak between the corner men to assist sell the fight.
Atlas, however, said he's not
fascinated by being a sideshow with Roach.
"If that is what people are
trying to envision, they're going to see exercise," Atlas said.
"They'll see Freddie by himself. I actually have no interest in this. This
can be concerning Timmy and concerning winning the fight. That is all it's
concerning on behalf of me. It's concerning Timmy, not about me and
Freddie."
Although the fight is meant to be the
last one amongst Pacquiao's legendary career -- he's possible to be elective to
a six-year term within the Philippines' senate in May, which is able to leave
him very little time to coach or concentrate on boxing -- Arum said he wouldn't
endorse the bout as a career finale.
If Pacquiao wins, several believe he
can still fight in hopes of luring Mayweather out of retirement for a
remunerative rematch next fall.
Timothy Bradley was hand-picked as Pacquiao's
opponent over boxer titlist Terence Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs) and welterweight
competitor Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs), a former unified junior welterweight boxer
titleholder.
Although fights against Crawford, the
2014 fighter of the year who is promoted by Top Rank, and England's Khan, a
protracted shot to land the fight as a result of he's within the stable of
authority Al Haymon, Arum's business enemy, were far more popular choices among
fans and media, Arum said Bradley created the most business sense.
His said Top Rank spoke broadly with
cable operators and satellite services to raise their read on that fight would
do larger business. He said all of them in agreement on Bradley.
"The reasoning was they did not
assume Khan would resonate on pay-per-view within the United States," Arum
said. "While people within the boxing community know him, he wasn't
popular by the general public within the United States. In England, sure. There
was no contest that he would be larger business over there. However the
majority of the cash is within the United States pay-per-view.
