Timothy Bradley to Face Joel Casamayor on Manny Pacquiao Undercard This November

Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs) signed with Top Rank Promotions this past Thursday, with the unbeaten 28-year-old American fighter set to debut under his new promoter on the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III undercard this November on HBO pay-per-view.

Bradley's official opponent for his November 12 return is legendary Cuban boxer and 1992 Olympic Gold medalist, Joel Casamayor (38-5-1, 22 KOs).

Bradley hasn't fought since his January dethroning of previously undefeated Devon Alexander (22-1, 13 KOs).

Bradley commented on the opponent of choice, predicting that criticism would come for Top Rank's selection of Casamayor, mostly due to his age of 40 years and inactivity.

About the selection of Casamayor, Bradley said the following to My Desert Sun:

"He hasn't been very active, so it will make for a good fight since I haven't been very active. Somebody's gotta lose and it's not going to be me. Like I said, he's a worthy opponent, he's a tough guy. I know people will say, 'Why did you pick him?' I didn't pick him; it's what Top Rank gave me. That's who they gave me and I'm getting ready for him."

Bradley was originally set to unify his WBO Junior Welterweight World Title with the WBA Junior Welterweight Title of Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KOs) this past July, but Bradley refused the matchup in order to finally free himself of his former promoter, Gary Shaw.

Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, has informed Ring Magazine that he intends to build Bradley into a star. Arum said the following:

"I think that he's a very attractive young man, and he's a terrific fighter, and I think that we can make him a big superstar. We think that we can make him a pay-per-view attraction and also one of the major stars in boxing."

Bradley feels Top Rank can make good on his promises and discussed what he felt his career was missing. Bradley commented that:

"Top Rank has had all the greats. They’ve had all the greats. I’m here to be promoted. This is why I box, I want to be promoted. I’ve been winning my fights, but I haven’t been getting the top exposure I feel I deserve, being a three-time world champion.

I’m relatively unknown and I think that’s terrible. You hear about it all the time: Bradley can’t do this, can’t sell that, he can’t do that. My main objective was to get a promoter to build the Bradley brand, and Top Rank is good at doing that. That’s why we chose Top Rank."

My Two Cents

Bradley is signed, and hopefully he'll turn into a star. The only problem I have with this is whether or not Pacquiao is an immediate part of this star-building plan.

If so, then I think this is a setup to have a backup plan in case negotiations for a super-fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fail for the umpteenth time.

But if Bob Arum didn't keep a backup, I think they'd put their full heart into these negotiations.

Assuming Pacquiao defeats Marquez this November, the timing is perfect for Mayweather and Pacquiao to face each other next year.

Anything else would just seem redundant and would likely do more harm than good to either man's standing until this fight gets made.

Pacquiao has mentioned that he is willing to undergo unlimited blood and urine drug testing. Mayweather's negotiation team will continue to question these desires until they see Pacquiao's John Hancock.

Arum wants a different testing company from outside of the United States to test Pacquiao, since Pacquiao is not from the Philippines.

Mayweather's clan doesn't want Pacquiao to train in the Philippines, as they feel it would be harder to monitor and randomly test him from there.

The details of how this would work would take time and patience—something that both sides have not shown each other much of.

If Arum is serious about building Bradley's name, then he shouldn't use him as another throwaway fighter to send into the Filipino trash compactor that is Pacquiao.

Bradley is still fighting one weight class below Pacquiao. He needs at least a few big fights at the welterweight world championship level before being thrown to the shark that is Pacquiao.

If Arum is quick to throw Bradley into a mega-fight with Pacquiao the moment negotiations with Mayweather become frustrating, then Arum proves just how much he cares about his newest fighter.