Manny Pacquiao Vs. Timothy Bradley Confirmed For June 9th In Las Vegas
With the prospect of Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao evaporating once again, both fighters have turned to another batch of opponents to keep their skills sharp. Last week Floyd Mayweather announced his May 5th showdown with Miguel Cotto and Pacquiao has followed suit by locking in a June 9th date for his showdown with Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The Bradley fight came together shortly after Mayweather-Cotto was locked in because of the fact that Top Rank Promotions saw their first pick taken away by Mayweather. Originally, a rematch of 2009′s Cotto-Pacquiao fight was in the works but the two sides were unable to agree on a weight to fight as Team Cotto said the 147 lbs limit that Pacquiao desired was too low for him. This led directly to Cotto taking a 154 lbs showdown with Mayweather and opened the door for Timothy Bradley to get the biggest payday of his career by moving up from 140 lbs to face Pacquiao.
Although Bradley doesn’t have the star power that Cotto has, it could prove to be quite the interesting fight as Bradley current holds an undefeated record of 28-0 with one no contest. He’s coming off an 8th round TKO of Joel Casamayor on the undercard of Pacquiao-Marquez III and boxing aficionados recognize Bradley as one of the top ten pound for pound fighters in the world. The Pacquiao fight is a long awaited payoff for Bradley who saw his career take a blow when he ditched a surefire million dollar payday against Amir Khan last Summer in lieu of splitting with his former promoter Gary Shaw and joining Top Rank. He will finally see the benefit of his criticized career moves by facing Pacquiao in June.
As of press time, the Bradley side hasn’t signed on the dotted line but it is reported by ESPN that this is a mere formality and will be done as soon as possible.
