Bradley turns down Khan fight thinks he is worth more that $1.4 for the fight.

[killersheep]

What occured to me when I read this is that Bradley may be trying to position himself for a fight with Pacquiao for more money. If Marquez signs with GB and doesn't take the Pacquiao fight, who is left for Pacquiao that is a better opponent than Tim Bradley?

Also, what is Khan getting for the fight?

I can't imagine a scenario where Pac would bother with Bradley, I mean on the business side it makes no sense, for the casual viewer it makes no sense. This isn't meant to sound like Bradley isn't a reasonable fight, he just doesn't have the draw to make it worth it. Sure Bradley has taken on all comers and has risen to the occasion, got up off the deck, powered through, who was watching though? Just us here at Saddos (most of whom stream the fights and don't contribute to the event monetarily anyway)

Now on the other side of the coin, the question is what does Pac have without JMM...........
Brandon Rios could move up to 140 is Pac could go down there, he is a much better draw than Bradley and there is also already history via Margarito/Pac training camps.

Come on man, Rios hasn't done nearly enough, not even close, to deserve a Pacquiao fight. Does he have drawing power? Right now he is fighting at 135 - imagine the backlash at that, Pacquiao fighting an unproven lightweight at 147, that's worse than Mayweather fighting Marquez at 147.

Bradley has been successful going up to 147 and is a unified champ at 140 and a top ten p4p fighter. Other than Marquez or SSM, there aren't any active fighters who have a draw worthy of being a Pacquiao B-side at his weight. With his win over Alexander, in my opinion, Bradley earned another big pay day, whether it is against Pacquiao or Khan. Bradley's the best of what's left.

Bradley/Alexander is precisely the reason I disqualify him from being in with Pac, they had less people show up than a busy day at McDonalds.

[MMASUX]

What occured to me when I read this is that Bradley may be trying to position himself for a fight with Pacquiao for more money. If Marquez signs with GB and doesn't take the Pacquiao fight, who is left for Pacquiao that is a better opponent than Tim Bradley?

Also, what is Khan getting for the fight?

I can't imagine a scenario where Pac would bother with Bradley, I mean on the business side it makes no sense, for the casual viewer it makes no sense. This isn't meant to sound like Bradley isn't a reasonable fight, he just doesn't have the draw to make it worth it. Sure Bradley has taken on all comers and has risen to the occasion, got up off the deck, powered through, who was watching though? Just us here at Saddos (most of whom stream the fights and don't contribute to the event monetarily anyway)

Now on the other side of the coin, the question is what does Pac have without JMM...........
Brandon Rios could move up to 140 is Pac could go down there, he is a much better draw than Bradley and there is also already history via Margarito/Pac training camps.

Come on man, Rios hasn't done nearly enough, not even close, to deserve a Pacquiao fight. Does he have drawing power? Right now he is fighting at 135 - imagine the backlash at that, Pacquiao fighting an unproven lightweight at 147, that's worse than Mayweather fighting Marquez at 147.

Bradley has been successful going up to 147 and is a unified champ at 140 and a top ten p4p fighter. Other than Marquez or SSM, there aren't any active fighters who have a draw worthy of being a Pacquiao B-side at his weight. With his win over Alexander, in my opinion, Bradley earned another big pay day, whether it is against Pacquiao or Khan. Bradley's the best of what's left.

Bradley/Alexander is precisely the reason I disqualify him from being in with Pac, they had less people show up than a busy day at McDonalds.

True Bradley-Alexander didn't do any numbers, but then again it was at the Pontiac Silverdome...yea the silverdome. If that fight had been in Vegas, Atlantic city or LA it would have been better, not great but better. You have to remember that Pac fought Clottey who was a unknown to the casual boxing fans and still did solid numbers. If Pac were to fight Bradley i would say it would most likely be at the Cowboys stadium so it could sell 50,000 or so seats plus the PPV's.

[Boxer4life]

You know i would like to bring up a point bernard once made against de la hoya, who cares if ur getting paid less, if you beat a guy like khan, you will see better paydays, take that fight, win and money will come

[Ant Live]

You know i would like to bring up a point bernard once made against de la hoya, who cares if ur getting paid less, if you beat a guy like khan, you will see better paydays, take that fight, win and money will come

Good point!!!

Bernard also said to RJJ a long time ago, "40/40 split coming into the fight. The winners take the other 20"!

[HattonTheHammer]

You know i would like to bring up a point bernard once made against de la hoya, who cares if ur getting paid less, if you beat a guy like khan, you will see better paydays, take that fight, win and money will come

Good point!!!

Bernard also said to RJJ a long time ago, "40/40 split coming into the fight. The winners take the other 20"!

so many more fights should work on this winner takes majority purse

agree with most arguments about bradley on here, bit of the same problem marvelous marvin had really in that although he is taken seriously he doesnt have that star entertainment value those around him do

id take 1.4mil and run for the hills if i was tim

[Dark Lord Al]

I dont feel either Khan or Bradley are big box office , but they should fight to see who is the best.

[Master]

I dont feel either Khan or Bradley are big box office , but they should fight to see who is the best.

Agreed, Bradley should take the money and not worry about what Khan is making. Bradley can beat Khan and make even more money against Floyd or Pac Man.

[skel1983]

Dan Raf's blog: http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/blo...-falling-apart

Quote:
When HBO decided to get deeply involved in the junior welterweight division in 2010 by making commitments to Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley Jr. and Devon Alexander, as well as putting Marcos Maidana on again, the idea was to create excitement in a division that is top-heavy with young talent.

Ideally, there would have been an unofficial tournament and a series of great fights culminating in the unification of most of the belts and a No. 1 fighter in the 140-pound division being crowned -- not to mention a potential pay-per-view opponent emerging for Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao (before Top Rank took Pacquiao from HBO to Showtime).

The plan started off with a bang. Khan fought Maidana in December in a tremendous fight, which will be honored next week in Las Vegas at the annual Boxing Writers Association of America awards dinner as the 2010 fight of the year.

But then Bradley and Alexander met in January to unify their belts. Great idea on paper, but a horrendous stinker in the ring, exacerbated by an inexplicable guarantee by HBO to pay hefty fees for their next fights, win or lose.

Bradley-Alexander ended in an unsatisfying technical decision in a venue where it didn't belong -- the cavernous Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., where few cared to come out on a bitterly cold and snowy night. Even if the weather had been great, Bradley and Alexander had no connection to the region. Co-promoters Gary Shaw and Don King took the fight there because Silverdome owner Andreas Apostolopoulous paid in the neighborhood of $600,000 to host the fight. Why? Who knows, but he did and the promoters took the money rather than try to cultivate an event in St. Louis, where Alexander is a good draw.

To top it off, the fight did a miserable rating, considering the $3 million or so HBO paid for it and all the marketing assets it put behind the fight. The public, largely unfamiliar with either guy, basically ignored it. I won't second-guess the making of the fight at all. You win some, you lose some. But the problem is that HBO remains on the hook to pay big money for the fighters' next bouts, which is an issue as it tries to lock down Bradley-Khan for the finale of the unofficial tournament.

Specifically, HBO wants to put on Bradley-Khan in another unification bout on July 23.

Khan easily won an interim bout April 16 against Paul McCloskey and worked out his deal with promoter Golden Boy to face Bradley. Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer and Shaw cut their deal, as well as one with HBO, which is willing to pay $3 million for the fight.

The last piece of the puzzle was for Shaw to come to terms with Bradley and his managers, Cameron Dunkin and Michael Miller. That's where it gets sticky and that's why it doesn't look like the fight will happen, unless something radically changes between Shaw and Team Bradley.

They disagree on the money, naturally, and if you know Dunkin and Shaw, that won't be easy to overcome. They get along about as well as Democrats and Republicans.

"I can't even get into it. It is not going well," Dunkin said to me about the talks on Wednesday. "That is all I'm gonna say."

I guess it's possible that HBO could throw more money at the fight to bridge the gap, but don't count on it; $3 million is already a huge number for the fight, especially when Khan-Bradley could end up like Bradley-Alexander: ugly in the ring (think Khan's sometimes-awkward style versus Bradley's penchant for head-butts) and without serious public demand.

Khan did a big crowd of about 17,000 in his native England for the McCloskey fight, but he's not yet that kind of draw in America, where the fight is supposed to take place (Las Vegas or Southern California).

Bradley is a non-entity when it comes to selling tickets in the United States -- another reason why his HBO fees are so out of whack with reality. He hasn't even been able to sell out a 2,000-seat ballroom in a casino minutes from his hometown of Palm Springs, Calif. (If Bradley-Khan actually does come off, it belongs in England, but that ain't happening.)

Shaw told me that Bradley and his managers rejected an offer of more than $1.3 million for the fight, which probably would generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.3 million (HBO money, gate, sponsors and foreign TV minus expenses). Dunkin confirmed the offer.

Bradley's number could rise depending on the variables of the revenues (other than the HBO money) because he and Shaw maintain an 80-20 split of the profit (80 percent to Bradley).

That's an enormous payday for Bradley, considering he has no real public profile and would be making about $200,000 more than he made to fight Alexander. Some might think Shaw should pay him more. Others might think Bradley is a fool to turn down that kind of money. But this is an important factor to consider: When HBO made Bradley-Alexander, each guy was guaranteed at least a $1.2 million fight in his return, win or lose.

Alexander's is June 25 against Lucas Matthysse. Bradley's is supposed to be against Khan. But here's the position of Bradley's team: Why not just take a $1.2 million fight against, theoretically, an easier opponent, instead of facing Khan for a few dollars more? That is not an unreasonable position.

According to Shaw, Bradley's deal with HBO had four pre-approved opponents for his first post-Alexander fight (win or lose): Alexander in a rematch at HBO's option (obviously not happening), Andre Berto (who lost his welterweight belt April 16 and is unavailable), Maidana (Golden Boy has other plans) and Khan.

Also, according to Shaw and Dunkin, Bradley's next fight is due to take place by June 30, which is when Bradley's deal with Shaw expires. Bradley was willing to put off the fight for an extra three weeks because HBO has no dates available before the end of June, but if he doesn't take the Khan fight, he may be waiting a lot longer. (Keep in mind, there aren't likely a whole lot of fans desperate to see Khan-Bradley right now, so if it doesn't happen, so be it.)

In that case, Khan would keep July 23 and fight somebody else. (I'd like to see titleholder Zab Judah get the call, especially now that it's unlikely Juan Manuel Marquez will accept an offer to face him July on HBO PPV on July 30.)

That would leave Bradley idle until at least September (HBO likely won't do a fight in August) and probably upset, because he was supposed to fight by June 30.

All of this could have been avoided had HBO not promised a return fight for a big fee to a guy with no ability to generate revenue outside of an arbitrary license fee. Without that crutch, the $1.3 million-plus to fight Khan probably would be looking pretty sweet to Bradley.

What we are seeing unfold right now is the downside of a bad business deal for Bradley-Alexander. It was a fight many of us wanted to see. But at what cost?

[ElTerribleMorales]

this fight should be 50/50 in terms of money maybe Bradley getting a slight bit more since he's a unified champ and considered #1 at 140, but the only way that $1.4 mil doesn't sound fair would be if Khan was getting an outlandish 5 or 6 mil which isn't happening, i say it should just be split down the middle, Bradley earned his half by his accomplishments and Khan by his title win and the fact that he's the most popular fighter in the division, if Bradley honestly thinks he's gonna get more than that fighting anyone not named Khan he's crazy cause i doubt he's even on Mayweather or Manny's radar right now

[marbleheadmaui]

I just can't find it in me to give a crap what a fighter makes or fight negotiations. Why? That's not boxing, it's business. When I want to talk/read business I go to the WSJ. They either get in the ring and then I'll care, or they don't and I'll watch another fight.

[blegit]

Well, I think it is critical to know what Khan is expected to be getting because he is known to try to lowball and criticize his opponent for turning down a specific amount without disclosing what he is making. A lot of recent possible opponents turned down a Khan fight, even Maidana before he finally accepted, due to lowballing attempts. I don't know what Khan is going to make with this initial offer but I find it very Khan-like that Bradley's purse offer is well known but Khan's isn't.

[Dropanuke]

They should fight and the winner will win a roman shield

[Fenster]

Killersheep and Skel are right, Bradley isn't worth two bob. He split a million dollars for the Alexander fight, his biggest pot by miles, which turned out to be the ultimate dud. They couldn't give the tickets away. Bradley has ZERO fans outside a few internet forums.

Bradley offers Pac absolutely nothing.

[Rantcatrat]

Killersheep and Skel are right, Bradley isn't worth two bob. He split a million dollars for the Alexander fight, his biggest pot by miles, which turned out to be the ultimate dud. They couldn't give the tickets away. Bradley has ZERO fans outside a few internet forums.

Bradley offers Pac absolutely nothing.

But Bradley's nothing is more than anyone else's nothing. I'm not stubborn - show me a better opponent for Pacquiao. I'm all ears.

Exactly as MMASux said, Pacquiao-Clottey did fine numbers and Clottey wasn't a belt-holder, wasn't a top ten p4p fighter, and hadn't been featured on HBO prior to the their fight, and unknown to the casual fan.

I'm not saying Bradley is ideal, but I don't think there is a better opponent.

And if Bradley offers Pacquiao nothing, why does he offer Khan anything?

[killersheep]

Killersheep and Skel are right, Bradley isn't worth two bob. He split a million dollars for the Alexander fight, his biggest pot by miles, which turned out to be the ultimate dud. They couldn't give the tickets away. Bradley has ZERO fans outside a few internet forums.

Bradley offers Pac absolutely nothing.

But Bradley's nothing is more than anyone else's nothing. I'm not stubborn - show me a better opponent for Pacquiao. I'm all ears.

Exactly as MMASux said, Pacquiao-Clottey did fine numbers and Clottey wasn't a belt-holder, wasn't a top ten p4p fighter, and hadn't been featured on HBO prior to the their fight, and unknown to the casual fan.

I'm not saying Bradley is ideal, but I don't think there is a better opponent.

And if Bradley offers Pacquiao nothing, why does he offer Khan anything?

how does MMASux statement prove anything that would make Bradley a worthy opponent, your entire argument for Bradley is predicated by the accolades Bradley has achieved in the ring, and as you said yourself Clottey was none of those things. Clottey was chosen for one reason, he was bigger and clammed up under pressure, it can be viewed as a relatively lower risk fight for the weight given Pac's heavily offensive volume style. Now apply that logic to booking Bradley, Bradley is much smaller so Pac can't take the smaller fighter line. Bradley also flies in head first which is a very real risk to Pacquiao, not as a tactical disadvantage, but an illegal shot means.

I do agree that Pacquiao will make good numbers regardless of who he fights. That being said, other things need to be considered such as publicity, I guarantee you right now Rios that I mentioned before already far outdraws Bradley, add to that the added drama of him making fun of Roach publicly puts an element of bad blood and a storyline the common fan can grasp. Rios trying to avenge Margo's loss, Pac to defend Roach's honor.

The other issue was that the attendance was so low because it was in the Silver Dome, the reality is that it was at the Silverdome because their collective attendance was so bad.