Often times fighters call out other fighters that they would love to face, but it is never that simple. We are in an age where fighters can be divas, promotional companies refuse to work with each other, and fighters are not willing to fight outside of their home country. Luckily we do not have that issue with Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Both fighters have expressed interest in facing each other, both work with the same promoter, and both have proven that they will go anywhere to fight. As far as diva issues go, there seems to be no issues there.
Tim Bradley was recently interviewed at the BWAA and stated: “I want Marquez. He’s the guy who knocked out Pacquiao. You got two guys who defeated Pacquiao going at it. Let’s see who the best is.”
Although both fighters do have wins over Pacquiao, Marquez’ victory was a clear victory while Bradley’s was very controversial. With Marquez’ victory, he should have the leverage in negotiations. Marquez is expected to make a decision on who he wants to face within the next week.
So what could stop the fight from happening? The biggest issue could be their promoter Bob Arum. Arum is more interested in making a fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao, but Marquez has stated that he is not interested in a fifth fight. If Marquez-Pacquiao 5 does not happen, Arum has stated that would want to make Bradley-Pacquiao 2. With Bradley’s recent comments, where does Arum go from here?
Often times promoters will listen to their fighters and make sacrifices to keep their fighters happy. If ever there was a chance for Arum to show humility and sacrifice, now is the time. Marquez has shown interest in the fight but does not want to fight in the United States at the moment due to high taxes. Will Arum match the two up or will he continue to push them to face off against Pacquiao? Will the fans prevail or will greed, money, and corruption come into play?
