(From Left to Right) Timothy Bradley, Ruslan Provodnikov, Manny Pacquiao. FILE Photo, AFP, Livefight.com
MANILA, Philippines—After all the wheeling and dealing, only Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov are left to dispute the right to tangle with Manny Pacquiao on April 12 in Las Vegas.
Bradley wants a return bout with Pacquiao, but Provodnikov was unwillingly thrown into the fray after snatching the WBO junior welterweight crown from Mike Alvarado last October.
Though Bradley was rewarded with a split decision over Pacquiao in 2012, an independent panel of judges formed by the WBO to review the highly controversial bout held June 9, 2012, later saw the Filipino Fighter of the Decade the clear victor.
Provodnikov’s reluctance to fight Pacquiao stemmed from themutual respect they developed for each other after the Russian served as Pacquiao’s spar mate in his training for Bradley.
However, the Siberian’s stock rose quickly after that stint with the Pacquiao camp, knocking down Bradley twice before the unbeaten American escaped with a decision in a March 16 brawl that earned Fight of the Year honors from ESPN.
Revered promoter Bob Arum, after conferring with Pacquiao’s consultant Mike Koncz on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) is expected to announce who between Bradley and Provodnikov stands to earn millions for a bout with Pacquiao, who bounced back into the limelight after a virtual shutout victory over Brandon Rios in Macau last November.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao has dismissed reports that he and American Floyd Mayweather are to hold talks about fighting each other, questioning whether a boutwill ever happen.
A fight between the former world champion in eightweight divisions and the unbeaten Mayweather has long been desired by boxing fans and there were reports that a September 2014 date had been set.
But Pacquiao, 35, told Philboxing.com that a deal to settle once and for all who is the best boxer of the two is not imminent.
“I have no plan to go to theUS to talk to Floyd. That’s not true,” he said.
“If it’s a done deal already, how come I do not know anything about it?”
In late 2009 and early 2010, Pacquiao and Mayweather were considered the world’s top pound-for-pound fighters and record profitswere expected from a showdown between them.
But a disagreement over prefight blood testing scuttled talks, with Mayweather vowing never to do business with Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum. Agence France-Presse