By Chris Williams: Tim Bradley has a chance of getting a rematch against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao on November 10th if he can beat the Filipino in their fight next month on June 9th.
Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum was wise enough to include a rematch clause in the contract for Pacquiao’s title defense of his World Boxing Organization 147 pound strap against the unbeaten Bradley.
Arum told the Manila Bulletin “This is the reason why I haven’t talked about any other fight with Manny other than this upcoming fight with Bradley. He is getting well paid in this fight and it’ll take care of his children. And if he wins and fights Pacquiao in a rematch, the money he gets will take care of his grandchildren.”
I bet there’s some real worry from Arum and trainer Freddie Roach about Pacquiao getting derailed by Bradley. Having a rematch clause in the contract is a smart move but probably not needed. Why would Bradley not want to fight Pacquiao a second time? Bradley is getting a huge $5 million guaranteed purse for the Pacquiao fight.
Even if he did beat Pacquiao and capture the WBO strap, it isn’t like he’s going to get that kind of money facing other fighters. If Arum tries to make Bradley a pay-per-view fighter after this fight, I think he’ll be disappointed with the numbers Bradley brings in. Bradley has to fight Pacquiao or someone like Floyd Mayweather Jr. if he wants to get other big paydays. Without Pacquiao, Bradley will likely be back to fighting for a little over $1 million per fight.
Getting a decision against Pacquiao is the hardest part. Bradley is going to have to really batter the Filipino to the point where the judges won’t dare give Pacquiao another questionable decision win like they did in his last two fights against Juan Manuel Marquez. To take the judges out of the equation, Bradley may need to spread knockdowns out over the course of the fight because I still see him getting jobbed if he were to knock Pacquiao down two or three times in one round.
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