Floyd Mayweather vs. Timothy Bradley: Latest News and Rumors on Potential Fight

Former WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley is eyeing a potential fight with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather following his unanimous-decision defeat of Jessie Vargas on Saturday.

Bradley's interim welterweight title fight at the StubHub Center in California finished in controversial circumstances as referee Pat Russell called an end to proceedings seven seconds early having thought he heard the final bell.

Vargas celebrated a victory as he thought the fight had been ended because he had just rocked Bradley with a big right hand, per HBO Boxing, but the fight was eventually, and rightly, called for the 31-year-old:

With talk of a re-match between the pair quashed, Bradley's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, has put his man out there as Mayweather's potential next opponent, saying he can make the fight happen, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:

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If Mayweather is looking around for an opponent, the guy capable of giving him the best fight, who is available, is Bradley. Many people would agree with that. I've let it be known, and now it's Mayweather's decision. So now I'm waiting for a call from his people or not. I'm not waiting with baited breath by my phone, but they know where to call me. If they call me, I will try to set up the fight. We showed from Mayweather-[Manny] Pacquiao fight things could be worked out.

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Following his dominant if unspectacular May victory over Manny Pacquiao to take his unbeaten record to 48-0, there has been much speculation over who Mayweather will fight next.

He has earmarked September 12 for his next, and perhaps final, appearance in the ring as a professional, per Jordan Moskowitz of BoxingScene.com.

However, the names floated by Money recently have been largely uninspiring, particularly his insistence of late that he will fight one of Karim Mayfield or Andre Berto, per USA Today's Mike Coppinger:

Bradley, though, could provide the 38-year-old with a genuine challenge. He has lost only once in his career, to Pacquiao in 2014, two years after he won a controversial points decision against the Filipino.

Bradley has arguably earned his chance to take on Mayweather—certainly more than Mayfield or Berto have—but the fight seems unlikely ever to happen, per FightNights.com:

Mayweather and Showtime were prepared to do business with Top Rank for the the cash-cow that was the so-called "Fight of the Century" against Pacquiao, but they are unlikely to do the same for Bradley.

In all likelihood, as noted by Rafael, Bradley will take on Sadam Ali in his next fight. Mayweather, on the other hand, remains as unpredictable as ever, but his next challenger is unlikely to offer the kind of threat Bradley could.