By Chris Williams: The big fuss that Bob Arum is making about having the Nevada Attorney general look into last Saturday’s fight between Manny Pacquiao losing to Tim Bradley is a complete waste of time. This investigation isn’t going to change the results for the fight. Pacquiao will still have lost after they finish their investigation, and there’s nothing Arum can do about that. Arum might as well cut his losses and forget it.
Even if Bradley did have his WBO title stripped from him and given back to Pacquiao, it would only make Pacquiao look bad in the process. It’s better for a fighter to take his loss without making a big production about it. If Pacquiao was up on things, he’d tell Arum to call off the dogs and just let the defeat stand. It looks worse with what they’re doing now.
Both the World Boxing Organization and the Nevada State Athletic Commission are also looking into Pacquiao-Bradley fight as well, but it won’t matter. Neither of those agencies are going to overturn the results of the fight, and if anything, they’ll merely order a rematch, which is what Bradley wants most of all. Sure, go ahead and order a rematch. I’m sure Bradley will be so sad to hear that. Not. That will be music to Bradley’s ears, believe me. Arum is thinking about flipping the script, through, by not even bothering having Pacquiao risk his hide by facing Bradley again.
Instead, Arum is thinking of steering Pacquiao straight into a rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez instead of Bradley. This is going to take a lot of convincing for Arum to get Pacquiao to agree to this, because he after all was just beaten by Bradley, and he probably badly wants to try and get revenge. I’m not sure if Arum is going to be able to talk Pacquiao out of taking that fight. But knowing Arum, he’ll ultimately get Pacquiao to agree to blow off the Bradley rematch and instead move onto facing other Top Rank stable fighters like Marquez and whoever else Arum has left that Pacquiao hasn’t beaten.
The pickings are getting mighty slim for Arum fight now. Arum’s fighter, previously unbeaten Mike Jones, was just exposed last Saturday night in getting knocked clean out by Randall Bailey. Arum won’t be able to match Pacquiao against Jones after a loss like that without turning off fans completely.
Likewise, Arum can’t throw former WBA World lightweight champion Brandon Rios in with Pacquiao without upsetting a lot of fans because they still think Rios got a gift decision in his right against Richard Abril. That probably won’t stop Arum from making the Rios-Pacquiao fight, but it’ll be giving fans a really, really bad product. Can see that happening? Yes. If Arum was okay with matching Pacquiao against 40-year-old Shane Mosley, and Joshua Clottey, then I can see him throwing in the recently exposed Rios to face Pacquiao in a Top Rank in house fight.
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