It's less than 48 hours before WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao defends his title against undefeated jr. welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. For many, the outcome of the fight is already etched in stone. Despite being a slight 3 to 1 favorite over his challenger, the vast majority of boxing fans are expecting Pacquiao to pick up the 55th win of his career. Whether it's by knockout or decision, good performance or bad, remains to be seen, nonetheless, a Pacquiao victory seems to be a foregone conclusion. What if, however, all the stars and the planets align, and good fortune is bestowed upon the man who has yet to taste defeat? What happens if Timothy Bradley beats the odds and the man he's facing, and somehow, some way leaves the ring on Saturday night with a victory over the force that is Manny Pacquiao?
- Kiss A Mayweather Fight Goodbye
Obviously, the biggest ripple effect would be that the long-awaited, highly-anticipated mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao would virtually disappear. Of course, not that it really matters, as the likelihood of it happening even if Pacquiao wins is slim to none so long as Bob Arum is involved. In fact, it just might be a breath of fresh air, considering that fans and media alike have been fixated on that one fight for the past 3 years. A Bradley victory would no doubt change the landscape, and open up several new possibilities as far as mega-fights are concerned. - Forget about a Mayweather Fight
Manny Pacquiao isn't the only one who can forget about fighting Floyd Mayweather. Timothy Bradley won't land the assignment either, mainly for the same reason that Pacquiao hasn't for the past 3 years...Bob Arum. As previously stated, a Bradley victory would open up the possibility of several new mega-fights, but considering that he's a Top Rank fighter, expect him to only fight other Top Rank fighters. - An Immediate Rematch Likely Won't Happen
Depending on if you believe Freddie Roach or Timothy Bradley, a rematch clause may or may not exist, but regardless, I'm not so sure that Pacquiao would even want to do an immediate rematch. If he loses on Saturday, I doubt that it will be because the fight was close, but he simply got edged out in the eyes of the judges. If Bradley walks away with the victory on the scorecards, it will likely be because he put on a dominant performance, making Pacquiao look bad in the process. I have a feeling that the Fighting Congressman from the Philippines won't be too eager to do a quick turnaround and possibly get embarrassed again. He's been fighting top competition for a long time, and with a Gubernatorial election coming up in the near future, I think a softer touch that will make him look good would be the better call for his next fight...assuming, of course, he continues to fight. - From Zero To Hero Overnight
As Shane Mosley learned not once, but twice, just because you beat the man, it doesn't make you the man. If two wins over Oscar De La Hoya didn't turn Mosley into a pay-per-view star, then a victory over Pacquiao won't do it for Bradley either. That being said, Bradley, who was essentially unknown amongst casual boxing fans, got some great exposure on HBO's 24/7, and the fact that he was able to beat a man who has been linked to Floyd Mayweather for the past 3 years will go a long way in making him the most talked about athlete around the water coolers come Monday morning. Rest assured Top Rank will look to capitalize on that, booking him appearances every chance they get. Heck, if his performance is that good, he may even land a gig with Jimmy Kimmel, although I assume Kimmel won't be joking about having 2/3 of the Filipino population in the audience on that night. - Not A PPV Star, But They Will Work On It
As I just stated, Bradley won't become a pay-per-view draw overnight, but you can bet Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler will begin moving his chess pieces to try and turn him into one. Juan Manuel Marquez and Brandon Rios would be the obvious frontrunners to land assignments with Top Ranks new potential pay-per-view star. No, Bradley won't come close to doing the type of numbers that Pacquiao does...at least not yet...but with the right matchmaking, combined with Bradley's ability to sample quotes from Floyd Mayweather to mold his own personality, they can quickly turn him into a star that's consistently pulling in 500,000-750,000 buys, depending on who he's fighting. That's on par with the type of numbers that Miguel Cotto was doing, and honestly, that's pretty darn good. In the meantime, Top Rank will look to build other stars, like undefeated welterweight Mike Jones, with the hopes of creating their own mega-fight down the road. The motto in the Top Rank offices will be: "Who needs Mayweather? We have our own undefeated fighter!"
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