Timothy "Desert Storm" Bradley is slowly but surely overcoming his controversial win over Manny Pacquiao in 2012, with a scintillating win over Ruslan Provodnikov and a fairly clear win against Juan Manuel Marquez in October. Now, the numbers are in for Bradley's pay-per-view numbers vs. "Dinamita," and things are looking up.
According to reports, Bradley-Marquez did $21.75 million on pay-per-view, somewhat dispelling the perception that Bradley's not a bankable fighter. Much of those sales might be attributable to Marquez's star power, and he was probably the A-side of the equation, but Bradley's presence clearly didn't hurt the buys.
"I'm confident we did over 375,000, closer to 390,000, but Todd [du Boef] thinks it's 375,000. Either way, it was a successful promotion that made money," Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said.
That works in his favor going forward regarding a purse split with Manny Pacquiao should Pacman beat Brandon Rios and want a rematch. Following his win over Marquez, Bradley declared himself the third-best fighter in the world. Post-fight he was quoted during his interview with HBO's Max Kellerman saying, "There is Floyd Mayweather, there is Andre Ward and there is Tim Bradley."
While rematches with Pacquiao and Provodnikov each have their pegs, it appears Bradley's brimming with confidence and wants to defeat Pacquiao more decisively, laying the biggest criticism of him to rest.
"Honestly, after that [Pacquiao] fight, I was happy," Bradley's trainer Joel Diaz said. "When the bell rang, whether they gave us the decision or not, he was a winner. He went 12 rounds with Manny Pacquiao, the most devastating puncher in the business, and he was clean. And he had a broken ankle and he didn't run. He was in front of Manny Pacquiao all night."
While Pacquiao and Provodnikov are the logical next steps, Marquez is angling for an unlikely rematch, claiming he was robbed by the judges.
"I'm sad for what happened in my last fight, because I needed to win," Marquez said. "I was more focused and stronger, but as I look to the future....what motivates me is a rematch with Bradley. Nothing else could take place if I don't carry out this fight. I have to settle this issue with Timothy Bradley, as long as he accepts a rematch."
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