Marquez-Bradley in the offing?

Twice during this past holiday season, Manny Pacquiao announced his possible fights for year 2012.
During a dinner he hosted for sports media at a native restaurant along Manila Bay, Manny told local scribes he and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum are looking at three possible opponents: Floyd Mayweather Jr., Juan Manuel Marquez whom he beat for the second time by decision, and world junior welterweight champ Tim Bradley.

About a week later at his grand birthday bash in hometown General Santos, the Sarangani congressman made the same announcement. There were no changes or additions in the projected opponents.
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Next week, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is expected to arrive in Manila to meet with Manny to concretize plans for this year.
Arum is bringing with him a list containing the names of four boxers, from which one will be chosen for the May 6 fight against the 8-division world champion.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s name is not in the list.
Boxing fans all over the world will be disappointed to know that the much-awaited Fight of the Century will again be aborted, on account of a conflict in schedule.
Floyd Jr. is serving a 90-day jail term which starts on Jan. 6 and by the time he is set free, there just won’t be enough time for training and other preparations.
Mayweather was convicted of domestic violence after beating up his former fiancée Josie Harris and two of his sons in September 2010.
The names on Arum’s list are Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico, Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico, and American junior welterweight champions Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson, who recently vanquished the favored Amir Khan of Britain.
It was Pacquiao coach Freddie Roach who had recommended Peterson.
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Marquez, Cotto, Bradley, Peterson, who is likely to be Pacquiao’s next opponent?
Angel Hernandez, Marquez’s strength and conditioning coach, says he is ready to begin training with JuanMa either late January or early February, but was unsure if Pacquiao would again be willing “to test the waters” after struggling in their third and most recent fight.
Hernandez said Marquez was in the best condition of his career in the Trilogy even at the age of 39, “and that’s one of the reasons why Pacquiao is kind of not sure whether he wants to fight Marquez again.”

But whether or not Pacquiao eventually decides to fight Marquez for a fourth time, it appears that the Mexican boxer will have a fallback or an option because of a brewing animosity between the Marquez and Tim Bradley camps.

It’s all over the boxing websites that a Marquez-Bradley matchup is in the offing, should neither one of them be chosen for a Pacquiao bout.


Hostilities between the Marquez and Bradley camps started when Marquez’s trainer Nacho Berestain labeled Bradley “a dirty fighter” who uses his head to hurt his opponents.

Bradley did not let this statement pass. He quickly retaliated by saying that Nacho is simply afraid to let Marquez get inside the ring with him, although El Dinamita has been in the ring with the most feared boxers like Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao.

According to boxing aficionados, all these trash talk could lead to the ring, unless Pacquiao chooses one of them for his May 6 opponent.


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