Now that Manny Pacquiao has answered the question of whether or not he's finished as an elite fighter with a resounding No!, the focus now turns to who his next opponent will be.
Pacquiao and his people are sounding the call for Floyd Mayweather Jr., but it is more likely that a rematch with Timothy Bradley is coming down the pike. Bradley also wants to fight Mayweather, but he acknowledges that bout is far away even though he considers himself the No. 3 boxer pound-for-pound in the whole world.
"I don't see that fight happening anytime soon at all. We're both different promoters, different networks. ... We don't really do business together, for whatever reason," Bradley said.
"At the same time, it is a dream fight of mine. I'm sure Floyd being the best fighter in the world wouldn't mind facing me himself. I don't think he would run from me at all. I think he would embrace that. But the fact we don't do business together, it's not going to fly. The fight's not going to happen."
Prior to the Pacquiao-Brandon Rios fight, Bradley seemed very open to settling the score with Manny, and hoping to erase the cloud over his career-defining victory. "I'm a very high-ranked fighter right now. I've paid my dues. I've definitely paid my dues," Bradley said. "After this Marquez fight, I have a bigger fan base. We definitely have to talk, and get the business side right. I wouldn't mind exercising my right to go to Asia where he wants to fight."
Ruslan Provodnikov, who defeated Mike Alvarado in Denver in his last match remains as an option but Bradley indicated it will be expensive. "At the time I fought him, I was in a different position than I am now. I'm looking for big fights, and I know this rematch would be a huge fan favorite or whatever," Bradley said.
"But they're going to have to pay me a whole lot of money. They're going to have to pay me a whole lot of money to get back in the ring with that animal. That dude is a beast."
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