Arum wants Bradley-Marquez rematch, if Pacquiao selects Provodnikov for next fight

bradley#1If Manny Pacquiao chooses not to fight WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley in a rematch on April 12th, and instead face his former sparring partner Ruslan Provodnikov, then Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is interested in putting together a rematch between Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. Presumably the Bradley-Marquez fight would then be the co-feature for Pacquiao’s bout against Provodnikov in April.

It makes a lot of sense to have Marquez on the card, because without Marquez, who Arum wanted to face Pacquiao in a 5th fight, Pacquiao’s next fight might not bring in the huge pay-per-view numbers that he’s been accustomed to getting in the past when matched against Marquez and Miguel Cotto. Arum has struck out when matching Pacquiao against Bradley, Joshua Clottey and Brandon Rios in getting big PPV numbers.

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Left-Hook Lounge: Bradley vs Marquez, Lomachenko, & Bradley’s Next Move!!!

DSC_6760Mario H. (Tampa, FL): There was a lot of discussion in the aftermath of Bradley/Marquez about Marquez being “robbed again”. How did you score the fight? And how did you rate the performance of both men?

Vivek W. (ESB): Personally, I had the fight scored 7 rounds to 5 in favor of Bradley. In all fairness, there were several rounds that were very tight that could have gone either way. Typically, we see the Champion get the nod in those rounds. My opinion on whether or not that should be a standard practice is irrelevant, as it has been that way for years, and my position won’t change it. Bearing that in mind, I think what we saw in the final analysis was in fact a product of that mentality.

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Timothy Bradley Shakes off the Demons and Wins Impressively

marquez#5The narrative for Timothy Bradley’s career before last night was that of negativity and spoiled success. Bradley has been a fighter more criticized than praised on his rise to prominence and his time in the limelight has been one of turmoil. Boxing fans and pundits alike have had a slow transition to giving credit to Bradley after his ugly technical decision win over Devon Alexander in 2011 and his controversial decision over pound for pound boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

In a fight that was supposed to propel Bradley into stardom and millions of dollars he got his hand raised but it did little to advance him to the public and media. In a comeback defense of his World Boxing Organization Welterweight Title he was matched against an “easy” opponent that he was supposed to win and look good against in order to make people forget about the Pacquiao controversy.

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Bradley Wins, Marquez Loses Twice

marquez433HBO PPV viewers and the live crowd at the MGM Grand saw Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley out-box and out-fox Juan Manuel “Diaminta” Marquez twelve championship rounds for the welterweight championship. Marquez was forced into a fight where he needed to be the aggressor. As most fans know, Marquez’ strong suit is counter punching. He is at his best when he can draw his opponents into traps. He welcomes their aggression, and generally makes them pay for mistakenly thinking they made a good move.

His problem Saturday night was he waited and waited, while Bradley kept sticking him and sticking him with a good jab and quick combinations. He darted in and out, or ducked under most of Marquez’ attempts to counter. When Marquez did land anything, Bradley would roll with it,, and then counter Marquez’ counter. Bradley controlled the pace and the distance. However, Marquez did manage to connect a few times, but Bradley once again proved he can take it both to the head and body. He is in superb physical condition.

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It’s been a bad spell for Mexican fight fans, Juan Manuel Marquez the latest Mexican warrior to fall

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Let’s not even start about the latest slice of poor officiating witnessed last night in Las Vegas. Tim Bradley, a worthy and clear winner over an always-game but suddenly old-looking Juan Manuel Marquez, had to listen to how one judge had somehow scored the fight against him. Still, the right man won via split decision and Bradley – a fighter I learnt never to bet against some time ago – can now go on to even bigger fights (maybe even one with Floyd Mayweather Junior?)

As for Marquez, it’s tough to see where he goes from here, although he may well demand a return with Bradley, feeling as he does that he deserved the win. But whatever happens next for both great fighters, it must be agreed how it’s been a tough time for Mexican fighters and their fans just lately.

We’ve seen Rafael Marquez, Juan Manuel’s brother, lose by stoppage and decide the hang ’em up, we’ve seen new superstar in the making Saul Canelo Alvarez comprehensively schooled by Mayweather, we’ve seen Julio Cesar Chavez Junior receive an undeserving win over Bryan Vera and now we may have seen the last of “Dinamita.”

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Bradley decisions Marquez; Salido defeats Cruz

marquez49WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) won an incredibly dull 12 round split decision on Saturday night over 40-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KO’s) by the scores of 115-113 Marquez, 116-112, 115-113 Bradley at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Bradley did a great job of staying on the outside to keep Marquez from landing his power shots, but unfortunately it kept Bradley from landing punches as well. Bradley ended up moving too much and that really took away the excitement in the fight. The only round where Bradley actually exchanged was the 12th, and he clearly lost that round.

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Marquez vs. Bradley: Will Juan Manuel’s “Dinamita” be potent enough to put a dent in Mt.Timmy’s forehead?

DSC_6379World class skill, heart, and grit will be on full display this Saturday night from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on HBO PPV. Many questions and queries from the boxing public will be answered when these pound for pound level fighters square off. Before we attempt to answer the final question of who will win enough battles to ultimately win the war, let’s take a look at what’s at stake and the doubts causing mass speculation leading into this matchup.

We might as well not beat around the bush, many fans and media members have placed a dark cloud of doubt that has followed the great Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez ever since he stepped on the scale for the third installment of a four fight series with Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez’s body, mainly his shoulders and arms, displayed growth and definition like never before. The last time above the lightweight division Marquez sported skin that wouldn’t be classified as saddle bags but surely his body looked bloated around 144 pounds.

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Marquez-Bradley Undercard Press Conference: Battle of Orlandos, Ramirez-Lomachenko, Smith-Monaghan

DSC_6518The Final press conference for the undercard fights on the Marquez-Bradley welterweight showdown took place on Thursday in Las Vegas.

In a battle of Orlandos, the co-main event features another Puerto Rico Vs. Mexico face off: Orlando Cruz and Orlando Salido. At stake for both fighters is the vacant WBO Featherweight title. Salido, the Mexican bulldozer inside the ring, is aiming to bounce back from his defeat against Mikey Garcia. After having successful fights against Puerto Rican fighter Juan Manuel Lopez, Salido is no stranger to fighting and defeating Boricuas. He comes to this fight with confidence of scoring another victory and recapturing the title.

Two victories are in the mind of Orlando Cruz. One of those victories has already been achieved: a personal victory with himself. Months ago, Cruz openly admitted to being a member of the gay community.

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Marquez vs Bradley……the Prediction

DSC_6341Rarely do fight fans get a fight that we, the public want to see. Usually the promoters in their best interest and their fight stable, create fight cards and then OCNVINCE us it’s what we want to see. They hype enough and we buy into, because we are fight fans. Come Saturday though, I as a fight fan will be watching with intrigue the fight between Bradley and Marquez. Both of these fighters are true warriors and will fight to the finish. We have Bradley a come forward fighter, who though claims he will not be reckless as his previous fight, has something to prove to the world. That in his heart he did beat Pacquiao. Then you have Marquez a slick counter punching assassin, with a vicious body attack and precision that would make many surgeons jealous.

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Exclusive Media Roundtable Interviews: Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley

DSC_6360After the final press conference concluded, both Marquez and Bradley took the time to answer questions from the media and press. Fighters spoke about their mindsets going into this fight, explained what their goals are for winning and things to expect come Saturday night. Here are a few of many questions that were answered.

JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ

Question: “How do you feel at 40 years of age?”
Marquez: “I feel like a young fighter. I like training. I like everything. Outside the ring, I take care of myself very well. This is the best time for me.”

Question: “What kind of fight do you expect Saturday night?”
Marquez: “I expect a great fight. A tough fight. I trained hard for a very tough fight. I’m ready for another great fight.”

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