Timothy Bradley (L) and Manny Pacquiao battle it out during their WBO world welterweight championship boxing match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 12, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. David Becker/Getty Images/AFP
At the end of the day, money matters.
Top Rank boss Bob Arum explained that marketability was the biggest factor when WBO welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley was picked over WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford for Manny Pacquiao’s April 9 fight.
In a report of Las Vegas Review Journal, the boxing kingmaker said, “A lot of the writers thought Terence Crawford was the hottest candidate. But they felt that Crawford wasn’t as marketable, because other than people in the boxing industry, people didn’t know Crawford well enough.”
Bradley (33-1-1) was announced as the winner of the Pacquiao sweepstakes on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time), as the American prizefighter faces the eight-division world champ for the third time.
He won the first meeting in 2012 in a controversial twelve-round split decision, but Pacquiao (57-6-2) dealt Bradley his first defeat via unanimous decision in the 2014 rematch.
MGM Grand hosted the firsts two bouts and will also serve as the stage for the end of the trilogy.
The undefeated Crawford (27-0) impressed in his technical knockout win against Canadian Dierry Jean, as he successfully defended his WBO junior welterweight title back in October.
However, his chances of fighting Pacquiao may be slim to none as the Bradley fight could be the Filipino’s last fight in the squared circle as he seeks a higher position in the PH government.