By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) was passed over by Bob Arum to face Manny Pacquiao in a rematch this time. Arum decided to go with a proven money-maker in Juan Manuel Marquez to fight Pacquiao on December 8th.

However, the 29-year-old Bradley is still in a very good position to get another fight with Pacquiao next year after Pacquiao faces one of Arum’s Top Rank stable fighters former WBA World lightweight champion Brandon Rios.

Bradley will likely get the shot against Pacquiao for a couple of reason. Number 1, Bradley is one of Arum’s Top Rank fighters, and that means more money if Arum doesn’t have to deal with an outside promoter. Even if the Pacquiao-Bradley fight only generates 700,000 pay per view buys it’s still win-win for Top Rank because both Pacquiao and Bradley are in the same stable so there’s no sharing.

Secondly, Pacquiao obviously needs to try and avenge the loss to Bradley because he did get beaten by him. I know Pacquiao has been telling himself that boxing fans saw him as the winner and not Bradley, but there’s no getting around how terrible Pacquiao looked in that fight. We’re talking old. He looked ancient and fought like a fighter that can no longer fight at a hard pace anymore.

Pacquiao needs to prove to himself and to fans that he can beat Bradley, because I have my doubts. He can’t simply tell himself that he should have won the fight because of handful of boxing fans saw him wining. If that’s the case, then Pacquiao needs to see himself having lost the three previous fights with Juan Manuel Marquez because tons of boxing fans saw Pacquiao losing all three of their fights.

I have no doubts that Bradley will get a rematch against Pacquiao in 2013. As long as Bradley doesn’t lose to someone before then he’ll likely get his shot at another big money fight against the Filipino fighter. Bradley was wise to turn down a rematch with Lamont Peterson for December because Peterson has really improved since the two fighters fought in 2009, and it’s highly possible Peterson would beat Bradley and wreck his Pacquiao rematch hopes.