Despite the fact that Timothy Bradley has denied signing any paperwork to become the latest addition to the Top Rank roster, sources have informed us that once the litigation with his former promoters, Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson, is complete, the undefeated jr. welterweight champion will indeed make his move official. According to a source with knowledge of the November 12th showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley is in fact expecting to make his Top Rank debut on the undercard against a yet to be determined opponent. Obviously, we fully expect Bradley to deny that he's had any discussions about fighting on any Top Rank cards, as it could potentially jeopardize his ongoing litigation. After all, considering that Bradley's manager, Cameron Dunkin, has close ties to Top Rank (he also manages Top Rank fighters Kelly Pavlik and Nonito Donaire) and is also being sued by Shaw and Thompson for allegedly interfering with their promotional agreement, it's probably not a good look for Bradley to even be saying the words "Top Rank" right now.
According to the lawsuit, Shaw and Thompson are seeking an injunction against Bradley, hoping to prevent him from fighting under the banner of any other promotional companies, as they believe Dunkin has already been negotiating with other promoters about signing the talented jr. welterweight champion. It's also no secret that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has expressed interest in doing business with Bradley, naming him as a potential future opponent for pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao shortly after his unanimous decision victory over Shane Mosley. Coincidentally, or not, Bradley was said to be in attendance for that bout, much like Shane Mosley was in attendance at Pacquiao's bout with Antonio Margarito prior to the announcement that he was next in line for the Filipino superstar. If Bradley got the same type of red carpet treatment that Mosley informed me he got prior to being named as Pacquiao's next opponent, it would not suprise me at all to hear that Bradley got a special invite to Casa de Arum for a friendly chat over dinner.
Shaw and Thompson claim that in October of last year, Bradley signed a contract extension that included a two-fight deal to appear on HBO. The first of the two bouts was his victory over Devon Alexander this past January. The second was supposed to be a July 23rd showdown with Amir Khan, a fight where he was originally guaranteed $1.2 million before the offer was eventually increased when it became clear that Bradley, for whatever reason, was not interested in completing the contract extension. As time passed, rumors began to surface that Bradley was instead holding out in hopes of securing a career-high payday against Manny Pacquiao. Evidently, those rumors could very well become a reality as our source revealed that not only has Bradley been promised a future showdown with Pacquiao, but he's also been promised a whopping $1.2 million, nearly the same amount he would have made to face Khan, to fight on Pacquiao's undercard. "Do you know how much Bradley's signing bonus will be with Top Rank? Zero! Do you know why? Because they're going to pay him $1.2 million to fight on Manny's undercard," the source commented.
SAY WHAT? $1.2 million for an undercard fight? Wow! Perhaps the decision to pass on a unification with Amir Khan wasn't such a bad one after all for Bradley. In fact, assuming that he is going to receive close to the same amount of money to face a less dangerous opponent, one might say that it was truly the smart business move to make. If Bradley is indeed making his Top Rank debut on the Pacquiao-Marquez 3 undercard, which Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer also suggested several months ago, the real question is, how is Bob Arum able to guarantee $20 million for Manny Pacquiao, $5 million for Juan Manuel Marquez, and still be able to promise $1.2 million for Timothy Bradley? This could go down as a history-making event as I don't recall too many other pay-per-view cards where three fighters were set to make more than $1 million each.
Be sure to check back soon for more details as this story continues to develop.
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