Top Rank CEO Bob Arum speaking in Las Vegas, Nevada (Photo: Chris Robinson – Hustle Boss)
By Chris Robinson
On Friday afternoon, I caught up with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum to discuss the April 12 Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley rematch as well as the latest news on some of his stable’s biggest stars such as Mikey Garcia, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao and Bradley will meet inside of the MGM Grand in a much-needed rematch for both men. Bradley won a split-decision over Pacquiao in June of 2012 that many felt he didn’t deserve and there is some definite unfinished business to settle.
Read below for a few sound bites from Arum.
An important fight…
“I think it’s a very important fight for both of them. Bradley got the decision over Manny and Manny wants revenge [and to] get his title back. That’s important for him. As far as Tim is concerned, he never got credit for winning the fight and now he wants a decisive win to prove that he’s the better fighter. I think this will be a very spirited, very good match and I’m proud of both of these guys for making this fight.”
Tim Bradley signing an extension with Top Rank ahead of the rematch…
“Tim is a terrific guy. It’s a real pleasure to promote him and Tim realizes the value of being associated with HBO and being part of the HBO family. That was very important for Tim and that was, I think, the major reason why he re-upped with Top Rank; because of the connection with HBO. And I’m very pleased that he did.”
Bradley regrouping in 2013…
“Going into the first fight, people didn’t give Bradley much of a chance. There were pretty big odds in favor of Pacquiao. Bradley was relatively unknown and he wasn’t the household name that’s he’s become. After the Pacquiao fight, he distinguished himself with two unbelievable fights. One, the fight with Provodnikov, the Fight of the Year last year, where he showed tremendous courage and grit. And then there was the fight with Marquez, where he fought a very, very good fight to win a decision. Bradley has a lot more credentials going into the second fight than he did when he went into the first fight.”
Questions still remaining for Manny…
“As far as Manny is concerned, he looked like a dominant force going into the Bradley fight. Then he had the knockout loss to Marquez. And that certainly was something to take into account; how would he react to getting knocked out so decisively? I think he answered that part in the Rios fight but questions still remain with Manny and we’ll see when Bradley tests him.”
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Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com
