Miguel Cotto has been linked to a bevy of opponents since his June 7 upset of then-WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. One of those opponents is Timothy Bradley, who campaigns at welterweight.
Bradley is coming off a loss to Manny Pacquiao however, in which he tore his calf, and is way off in weight from the 160-lb. middleweight limit. Cotto himself is a true welterweight, and fought Martinez for the belt at a contracted catchweight of 159 lbs. If these pieces aren't adding up to a middleweight title scrap don't be alarmed-Bradley seems confused too.
"Honestly, I really haven't spoken to anyone about it," Bradley told The Desert Sun.
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"I haven't mentioned anything, and no one has mentioned it to me. I'm not sure how everybody is saying it's a done deal, that we're going to be fighting or that we've even thought about it. I'm open to anything that makes sense. But I haven't heard anything. Don't believe everything that you read, you know what I'm saying? Don't believe everything you read."
Although fighting at middleweight seems extremely risky, Bradley didn't rule out a move up to the 154-lb. division where Cotto had previously been campaigning.
"My preference would be to go up and try something different, something new," Bradley said. "I already did the 140 thing. I already accomplished a lot at 140. At 147, I've done some things there. I wouldn't mind testing the waters at a higher weight."
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One could say, however, that if the Cold War between Top Rank and Golden Boy does actually end there are several welterweights that could make good matchups vs. Bradley. They include Amir Khan, Keith "One Time" Thurman, and the winner of the August 16 Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook matchup for Porter's IBF welterweight title.
There are big challenges at junior middleweight, but aside from Canelo Alvarez and Floyd Mayweather Jr., there aren't many big-money fights available for Bradley, whose high profile and subsequent purse probably price out talented fighters like Carlos Molina or Demetrius Andrade.
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