By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley’s less than impressive performance against Ruslan Provodnikov last Saturday night might be enough reason for 39-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO’s) to select him for his next opponent rather than taking a fifth fight with Manny Pacquiao.
Marquez said he’d be scouting out Bradley’s fight with Provodnikov, and by now he’s seen all he needs to see to make his decision about whether he’s someone he would match up well against.
If Marquez wants a fight where he’d had an excellent chance at capturing his fifth division world title, then Bradley is definitely the way to go. Bradley was on the verge of getting knocked out on three separate occasions last night by an average Provodnikov, and he probably should have still won the fight had the referee ruled knockdowns in the 1st and 2nd rounds.
Marquez won’t get the kind of big money that he’ll get a fight with Pacquiao, though, so he’s going to have to understand that. Bradley isn’t a big name, and it’s doubtful that you could make a Bradley vs. Marquez fight a PPV bout.
Without PPV, Marquez likely wouldn’t even make $1 million for the fight.
Provodnikov’s trainer Freddie Roach sees Marquez as having no other options but to take a fifth fight with Pacquiao unless he’s okay with making less than $1 million for the fight.
I wouldn’t give Bradley too many chances of beating a fighter like Marquez. All the mistakes that Provodnikov was making last night, Bradley wouldn’t be able to count on Marquez making the same mistakes.
With Marquez, he hits about as hard as Provodnikov but he has better stamina, and he’s a lot smarter in the ring. He would have countless opportunities to land his counter shots with Bradley throwing his combinations. Bradley would have to become totally defensive in order to give Marquez little to work with in terms of his counter punching.
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