Pacquiao-Bradley II fight signed and done for April 12th in Las Vegas!

01/25/2014 Jeff Sorby

Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) and Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) have signed for their rematch on April 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. After weeks of negotiations, Bradley and Pacquiao have signed their contracts for what their promoter Bob Arum hopes will be a successful pay-per-view card on HBO. It’s a risky rematch, because the first fight didn’t do well on PPV, but Arum doesn’t have much else to offer other than Bradley or a fight against Ruslan Provodnikov.

Pacquiao will receive $20 million for the fight, which is around the same amount he received for their previous fight in June of 2012. As for Bradley, he’ll be getting a slight bump up in pay to $6 million for the fight plus the upside from PPV. Bradley will likely make as much as $10 million if the fight does well on PPV on HBO.

Timothy Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao II Ready To go on April 12th

01/21/2014 Vitali Shaposhnikov

According to the Manila Bulletin, Manny Pacquiao will soon cross the ropes to face Timothy Bradley in a rematch that many Pacquiao fans have been clamoring for. The fight is set to take place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 12, 2014.

This fight undoubtedly gives both fighters a shot at sweet redemption.

By beating Pacquiao again, Bradley can finally get rid of and step out of the shadow that their last fight cast on him. Not only was it a lackluster fight for the fans, but Bradley’s victory was ridiculed and unaccepted by the majority of the boxing fans as well as the media. The victory gave him nothing but a sour feeling, filled with an enormous amount of confidence shredding press.

Why doesn’t Pacquiao offer to fight his April 12th opponent for free?

01/20/2014 Rob Smith

Manny Pacquiao got a lot of attention last week with his offer to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. for free in a fight where they would both give their entire fight pay to charity. This was Pacquiao’s way of showing Mayweather that he’s not desperate for the fight. My thoughts are this sounds good from Pacquiao, but why focus just on Mayweather for this charity offer?

If Pacquiao is willing to give his entire purse to charity, then he should be willing to give his money away for his next fight against Tim Bradley or Ruslan Provodnikov. If the idea is for Pacquiao to give to charity, why should there be a difference in which opponent he’s fighting for him to do this? Does it absolutely have to be Mayweather that Pacquaio is fighting for him to give money away?

Tim Bradley asking for $10 million for Pacquiao fight?

01/16/201401/15/2014 Rob Smith

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) is reportedly asking for $10 million for his rematch against Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) on April 12th, according to Mydesert.com. If this really true then it makes a lot of sense why the Pacquiao-Bradley fight isn’t a done deal.

$10 million for a fighter like Bradley is an incredible amount given that he’s not proven himself to be a a huge star in the sport. That kind of money goes to guys like Saul “Canelo” Alavarez and Miguel Cotto. In other words, fighters who have proven that they can bring in massive amounts of fans for their fights. I don’t know that Bradley is capable of attracting huge audiences when not matched against guys like Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s someone that needs help to bring in fans.

Is Tim Bradley pricing himself out for the Pacquiao fight?

01/07/2014 Jeff Sorby

The negotiations between Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) and WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) are dragging out a lot longer than what many boxing experts expected it to for their proposed April 12th rematch at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. According to Steve Kim, Bradley is asking for an $8 million guarantee for the rematch with Pacquiao, which is above the $5 million that he received in their previous fight in June of 2012.

That fight brought in close to 900,000 PPV buys. But with Pacquiao losing that one, and then getting stopped by Juan Manuel Marquez in December of 2012, the interest in Pacquiao’s fights may have dropped off with boxing fans. His last fight against Brandon Rios brought in just 475,000 PPV buys.

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

01/05/2014 Jeff Sorby

If 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.

Bradley could get ruined by Pacquiao, says Nate Campbell

08/01/201412/28/2013 Jeff Sorby

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) really lucked out last year when he was given a controversial 12 round split decision over Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Few people believe that Bradley won that fight, and he’s seen by many fans as a paper champion because of the win that was given to him.

As of now, it’s looking like Bradley will likely be Pacquiao’s next opponent in April in a rematch. Former lightweight champion Nate Campbell, who previously fought Bradley back in 2009, thinks he could end up getting permanently ruined by Pacquiao if he takes the rematch. Campbell saw how Bradley was slurring his words after his fight against Ruslan Provodnikov last March, and he sees him possibly having a worst outcome against Pacquiao due to his speed, power and desire for revenge.

2013 Year End Awards: Fighter of the year, KO of the year, Fight of the year, Upset of the year

12/20/2013 James Slater

It’s that time of the year again: when fight fans take a look back at what went down in the fistic calendar. 2013 was, in many years one of the best for boxing in a long time. We saw some great action fights, we saw some superb displays of The Sweet Science, we saw a number of electrifying KO’s and we saw our share of controversy.

That said, this writer now gives his picks for the recipients of the following awards:

Fighter of the year. Fight of the year. KO of the year. Upset of the year.

See what you think:

Roger Mayweather: Pacquiao needs to beat Bradley to create interest for Floyd fight

08/01/201411/30/2013 Rob Smith

Trainer Roger Mayweather believes that for Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) to attract a lot of interest in a Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight in the future, he needs to defeat WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s).

Roger thinks a win over Bradley will get boxing fans excited for the Pacquiao-Mayweather bout because Roger thinks that fans really like Bradley. I’m not sure if that’s actually the case, to tell you the truth. A win over Pacquiao over Bradley would say about as much as a win for Pacquiao over Brandon Rios. There are better fighters at 147 than Bradley, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were knocked out if he were to ever face Ruslan Provodnikov again.

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Provodnikov’s Stunning Performance, Ward’s Steroid Testing Position, & What’s Next for Provodnikov & Bradley!!!

10/21/201310/21/2013 Vivek Wallace

Andrei S. (Miami Lakes, FL): Provodnikov is a countryman of mine and I was very excited to see him get the victory over Alvarado. How did you rate his performance and what do you see happening next for him?

Vivek W. (ESB): Coming into the fight I had Provodnikov winning, and the failed weight attempt by Alvarado made me feel even more comfortable with that choice. It should be duly noted that Alvarado is an absolute warrior and a couple losses will not define his legacy. That being said, Provodnikov was viewed by most coming in as the hungrier fighter, and it was clear that he would not be denied. A week ago I pointed out a very similar subplot that existed in the Bradley/Marquez showdown. In that fight, we had Bradley coming in with something to prove, following a victory where most felt he could have lost and didn’t perform well. To his opposite, we had Marquez, riding the high of a stunning KO victory. In this fight we had Provodnikov coming off a loss with something to prove, and Alvarado, who was also riding the wave of a great victory.