Tim Bradley: Is a Fight with Pacquiao and Mayweather Really Worth It?

Timothy Bradley, one of the best fighters in one of boxing's most stacked division with talent, the junior welterweight division.

Don't let his headbutts in recent matches fool you. He's actually a very good fighter and not as boring as many people peg him to be. He's usually the aggressor in his fight and isn't scared to push the action onto his opponent.  

He used to be ranked number one in the division in almost every ranking for the division. 

Dan Rafael had him ranked number one at ESPN.com and The Ring Magazine had him rated at number one as well. 

I don't know about you guys, but I see their rankings as one of the most reliable out there, with the exception of Shane Mosley still being ranked in both of them.  

Everything changed after Amir Khan knocked out Zab Judah in what was supposed to be one his biggest challenges to date. As of today, Amir Khan seems to be the new king of the junior welterweight division with new rankings of ESPN and The Ring coming out.

It was supposed to be Timothy Bradley in the ring with Khan that fateful night instead of Judah. 

If it wasn't for issues concerning Bradley's contract, maybe we would have seen the top two junior welterweights punching it out to see who really deserved to be the best in the division.

Both fighters went in different directions from there though. Khan went on to win the IBF belt from Zab Judah and Bradley is now being sued by Gary Shaw for breaching his contract and damages on income they would have received in a bout with Khan.

A contract was written up and was all ready to go to have Bradley face Khan on July 23rd, but Bradley decided not to sign. He knew his contract was near its end and decided he'd wait it out. 

People are now saying that Bradley is too scared to fight Khan or lose his undefeated record, which quite frankly I don't agree with.

Bradley believes that he has paid his dues in his division and that's agreeable. He has taken the best available when he could. He fought Abregu when he was undefeated, traveling to England to take on Junior Witter for his WBC belt and 5 of his last 7 opponents were either current or past title holders.

He fought and beat three undefeated boxers in a row ( Alexander, Abregu and Lamont Peterson) and won! People say he's nothing but a coward ducker, but that has got to count for something doesn't it? 

I truly believe that Bradley wants to take on the best out there. I think he would have taken on Khan if he wasn't already trying to get out of his contract with Shaw. As of right now though, it seems that he just wants to leapfrog Khan and move straight on to Pacquiao and Mayweather for the big money bouts.

Bradley had the opportunity to make a guaranteed 1.5 million dollars with fighting Khan, his biggest pay day to date. Now he wants to play chance in hopes of winning the PPV sweepstakes with two of boxing's most profitable stars.

Now he's facing a lawsuit and is going to be losing money instead of making money. He'll go on without a fight for even longer and stays out of the ring even longer than he should.

Bradley also faces the possibility of being stripped of his titles. With him being out of action for so long, the WBO and WBC could strip him of his titles down the road.

I believe Bradley did all of this to strengthen his chances of fighting Pacquiao. I believe he wanted to leave Shaw and join Top Rank so that he could have a possible matchup with Pacquiao. 

Well now, Bradley is in a pickle of a situation and could end up with nothing in the end. If he loses his titles in the end and gets a fight with either Pacquiao or Mayweather, I wouldn't be surprised.

Wouldn't you guys want to see Pacquiao fight Bradley? 

People complain all the time that Pacquiao faces old opponents that just come forward and are tailor made for him. Well here's a young, undefeated champion that's not only a smart boxer, but an effective boxer. 

Like I said before, Bradley is a good fundamental boxer. He stays in monstrous shape ( Seriously, have you seen this guy?) and is always willing to fight. He may not have punching power to KO all his opponents, but he has intelligence and can control the fight;making his opponent fight the way he wants.

He may not be the pay-per-view generator that they want, but Bradley is without a doubt one of the most dangerous opponent either men could face in the ring.

His style of boxing is deemed boring by spectators, but it works and he wins with it.