Overrated Timothy Bradley Is Not Worthy as Next Opponent of Manny Pacquiao

Timothy Bradley is one lucky guy who will share the spotlight with Manny Pacquiao on June 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Lucky indeed because he is virtually unknown in the pay-per-view market until he got Pacquiao to do the selling and make him popular overnight.

Still, he is lucky because Bob Arum, his new promoter, may have used his influence in selling the fight to Pacquiao—his fading cash cow—who earlier announced his retirement next year to run for governor of his province in Southern Philippines.

Although Bradley is unbeaten in 29 professional fights, he has not proven his worth against topnotch opponents in the welterweight division. Fight fans say he is just an overrated fighter and certainly not a worthy opponent of Pacquiao at this time.

Other than Devon Alexander, Nate Campbell, Joel Casamayor and Lamont Peterson, the Palm Springs fighter has earned his unbeaten record against less capable fighters in the early part of his professional career.

Bradley's lackluster performance against unbeaten Devon Alexander early last year has exposed his ability to withstand rated opponents in the ring. Instead, he seems to  use his head and elbows to gain advantage over his opponents—in the process branding him as a "dirty fighter" by boxing observers, including Pacquiao coach, Freddie Roach.

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“He’s a dirty fighter, well, he’s a physical fighter,” Roach told Chris Robinson of Examiner.com. “He uses his head, elbows, so forth. Manny does have some trouble with that because Manny can’t retaliate. I tell Manny that if a guy hits you low, hit him back low, but he won’t do that. So, the thing is, it could pose a bit of a problem. But the thing is, his speed and his power should be too much for him. It should be an exciting fight as long as it lasts.”

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Bradley is one of the shortlisted opponents of Pacquiao along with Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez, Miguel Cotto and Lamont Peterson.

Fight fans were hoping for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight on May 5 after Mayweather was granted a postponement on his January 6 schedule to start serving his 90-day prison term stemming from his assault on his girlfriend Josie Harris who is the mother of his two children. But they both could not agree on purse splits, venue and date of the fight.

The Palms Spring fighter was offered to face British boxing idol Amir Khan late last year for a reported guaranteed purse of $1.5 million but later decided to pursue a lucrative fight with Pacquiao by first joining Bob Arum's promotions company.

Top Rank Promotions owner Bob Arum said, his new recruit is a dangerous opponent for Pacquiao, citing his youth, energy and dynamism.

“Bradley is going to be the toughest opponent than his previous fights as he is fighting a young lightwelterweight champion who may seem to be very energetic, dynamic and comfortable at full-welterweight,” Arum said.

Bradley is reported to be earning up to $5 million, the biggest in his professional boxing career while Pacquiao will make no less than $20 million excluding shares in pay-per-view buys.