Timothy Bradley chooses sure fight over chance at Floyd Mayweather
Written by
Leighton Ginn
The Desert Sun
In the end, the security of a sure thing overruled the hope of a dream opportunity for Cathedral City boxer Timothy Bradley.
The WBO champion decided to extend his agreement with Top Rank to beyond 2015, meaning he likely will never get a chance to fight his idol Floyd Mayweather.
Bradley agreed to his extension while working out a deal for his rematch with Manny Pacquiao on April 12.
However, Mayweather announced he would retire at the end of 2015. While Bradley didn’t release details of his new deal, he said it goes beyond 2015. And because Mayweather is on a rival network, Showtime, a fight is unlikely to happen while Bradley is with Top Rank, whose fights air on HBO.
“I don’t know how that got blown out of proportion,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “We were talking about our partnership extending beyond the Pacquiao fight and we were able to come to an agreement that extended beyond that for our relationship, so we were happy with that. He’s satisfied and our partnership will go on in the future.”
Mayweather is the No. 1 fighter on nearly every pound-for-pound rankings, which accounts for all fighters regardless of weight class. Most rankings have Bradley at No. 3 behind Mayweather and Andre Ward.
However, there’s no guarantee Mayweather would want to fight Bradley. And Bradley has had a lucrative relationship with Top Rank.
“Remember, Floyd Mayweather can do whatever he wants. He doesn’t have to fight me,” Bradley said. “Fans asked him to fight Manny Pacquiao, he’s not fighting Manny Pacquiao, you know what I’m saying? There’s no guarantee. What I have to look after is myself. I can’t chase a guy. I can’t chase Floyd Mayweather, and chase this guy, chase this guy. I need to secure my future, secure my legacy, and secure what Tim Bradley wants and what will benefit him and his family.”
Top Rank and Golden Boy, which works with Mayweather’s The Money Team promotional company, have not made deals to pit their fighters against each other for years. Bradley sees no end to that.
If Bradley waits until his deal with Top Rank ended after this year, he could have talked to the Mayweather camp to secure a fight.
Bradley has said he welcomes the fight. But when push came to shove, Bradley said financial security for his family was worth more than possibly fighting Mayweather, which could have been an iffy proposition.
“I had to look at what would benefit me,” Bradley said. “At the end of the day, as a man I made my decision, and I have to live with it. And I’m happy with the terms. I’m happy with everything Top Rank. What I asked for, I got. It’s a lucrative deal. I’m happy with the deal. It’s great. I think it’s great for me and my family.
“I’m more than positive that I wouldn’t get this kind of deal anywhere else.”
Negotiating the deal with Bradley and his wife Monica. Bradley said his long-time manager Cameron Dunkin, who brought Bradley to Top Rank, are no longer working together.
Their contract expired at the end of last year, and Bradley said he only had spoken to Dunkin once after his last fight, a victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in October.
“He showed no interest in talking to me about extending for more or anything like that,” Bradley said. “Cameron is a great manager, a great manager. I can’t say anything bad about him. He helped me in many ways and we helped each other.
“If guys are looking to make money, Cameron is the man — Is the man.”
But Bradley said he’s comfortable with Monica negotiating deals and he’s happy with his extension with Top Rank and his deal to fight Pacquiao again on April 12.
“I decided, I know this game, my wife knows this game,” Bradley said. “I can control my own destiny. I have a relationship with Top Rank, a relationship with HBO. We know the game.
“We know what we want and that’s the bottom line. We know what we want. … And we got what we wanted.”
Written by
Leighton Ginn
The Desert Sun
In the end, the security of a sure thing overruled the hope of a dream opportunity for Cathedral City boxer Timothy Bradley.
The WBO champion decided to extend his agreement with Top Rank to beyond 2015, meaning he likely will never get a chance to fight his idol Floyd Mayweather.
Bradley agreed to his extension while working out a deal for his rematch with Manny Pacquiao on April 12.
However, Mayweather announced he would retire at the end of 2015. While Bradley didn’t release details of his new deal, he said it goes beyond 2015. And because Mayweather is on a rival network, Showtime, a fight is unlikely to happen while Bradley is with Top Rank, whose fights air on HBO.
“I don’t know how that got blown out of proportion,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “We were talking about our partnership extending beyond the Pacquiao fight and we were able to come to an agreement that extended beyond that for our relationship, so we were happy with that. He’s satisfied and our partnership will go on in the future.”
Mayweather is the No. 1 fighter on nearly every pound-for-pound rankings, which accounts for all fighters regardless of weight class. Most rankings have Bradley at No. 3 behind Mayweather and Andre Ward.
However, there’s no guarantee Mayweather would want to fight Bradley. And Bradley has had a lucrative relationship with Top Rank.
“Remember, Floyd Mayweather can do whatever he wants. He doesn’t have to fight me,” Bradley said. “Fans asked him to fight Manny Pacquiao, he’s not fighting Manny Pacquiao, you know what I’m saying? There’s no guarantee. What I have to look after is myself. I can’t chase a guy. I can’t chase Floyd Mayweather, and chase this guy, chase this guy. I need to secure my future, secure my legacy, and secure what Tim Bradley wants and what will benefit him and his family.”
Top Rank and Golden Boy, which works with Mayweather’s The Money Team promotional company, have not made deals to pit their fighters against each other for years. Bradley sees no end to that.
If Bradley waits until his deal with Top Rank ended after this year, he could have talked to the Mayweather camp to secure a fight.
Bradley has said he welcomes the fight. But when push came to shove, Bradley said financial security for his family was worth more than possibly fighting Mayweather, which could have been an iffy proposition.
“I had to look at what would benefit me,” Bradley said. “At the end of the day, as a man I made my decision, and I have to live with it. And I’m happy with the terms. I’m happy with everything Top Rank. What I asked for, I got. It’s a lucrative deal. I’m happy with the deal. It’s great. I think it’s great for me and my family.
“I’m more than positive that I wouldn’t get this kind of deal anywhere else.”
Negotiating the deal with Bradley and his wife Monica. Bradley said his long-time manager Cameron Dunkin, who brought Bradley to Top Rank, are no longer working together.
Their contract expired at the end of last year, and Bradley said he only had spoken to Dunkin once after his last fight, a victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in October.
“He showed no interest in talking to me about extending for more or anything like that,” Bradley said. “Cameron is a great manager, a great manager. I can’t say anything bad about him. He helped me in many ways and we helped each other.
“If guys are looking to make money, Cameron is the man — Is the man.”
But Bradley said he’s comfortable with Monica negotiating deals and he’s happy with his extension with Top Rank and his deal to fight Pacquiao again on April 12.
“I decided, I know this game, my wife knows this game,” Bradley said. “I can control my own destiny. I have a relationship with Top Rank, a relationship with HBO. We know the game.
“We know what we want and that’s the bottom line. We know what we want. … And we got what we wanted.”
Props:
battle619 and battle619
