Jackie Kallen: Is Greed Ruining Boxing?

By Jackie Kallen

So 30-year old Timothy Bradley feels he’s worth $10 million to fight a rematch with Pacquaio (who actually beat Bradley before–but lost the decision.) Boxing fans find that interesting because Bradley has never been a marquis name. He doesn’t possess great KO power and his fights are often technically-perfect but lackluster. So is $10 million a realistic number? Bradley’s camp thinks so.

Apparently that figure was originally set by Pacquiao’s people when they were setting up the original 2012 fight. They wanted to ensure a rematch should Pacman lose the bout, so they sweetened the pot. I don’t think they actually felt that Bradley had a chance to win, so the number wasn’t that important.

Fast forward to 2014. Pacquiao is looking for an opponent. Mayweather is not a likely target so he is circling the Bradley camp, sniffing for blood. 99% of the world knows that Pacman won the first fight and it is understandable that he would want to avenge his wrongful loss. But money, as always, is the issue.

After the controversial win over Manny, Bradley went on to beat Rusian Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez. The same JMM who flattened Pacman in a stunning finale to their December 2012 fight. So, based on that, you would assume that Bradley’s stock went up and Manny’s went down.

In a shrewd business move, Bradley turned down $6 million last fall for a Pacquiao rematch. He chose, instead, to take less and fight JMM. He figured if he emphatically beat Pacman’s nemesis he would merit the $10 mill that was originally slated for the rematch.

Money is once again a stumbling block. We never got to see Mayweather/Pacquiao during their heydays due to financial haggling and misc. other excuses. Money has been the issue in a lot of the match-ups that the public has cried out for.

Some boxing pundits are guessing that Manny doesn’t really want to tangle with Bradley again so he is balking at paying him the money. Others believe that Bradley is holding out for the $10 mill because he is concerned he’d lose the rematch and wants to be richly compensated.

Interesting. When Mayweather low-balled Manny in negotiations, he was criticized by Pacman for using money as a way to cover his fear. If that is the case, isn’t he doing the same thing to Bradley? Just sayin…..