erm no he jsut wants to build the khan fight as a superfight to earn more cash and to make sure that other dickhead dont take his money
That's certainly better than the recent news about Bradley. Obviously I hope the Khan fight happens, but I just want him to finish this lawsuit so he can get back in the ring.
I think the main reason he rejected the Khan fight was that he didnt want Shaw taking any of the money. If Bradley lost, Shaw would abandon him since their contract would have expired, and who else is going to be interested in him? No fanbase, no belts and no HBO guarantee hardly ideal for the old risk/reward. So I think hes being smart. Get the legal stuff sorted and then try and make the fight if its still there. Khan has options Alexander (a good fight) and Matthysse (a great bout, IMO) spring to mind. Bradley could come back against Maidana, which would be an awesome battle, or Rios if he steps up to 140.
If he was that concerned about Shaw taking any of the money, he wouldn’t have agreed to extend the fight deal to accommodate the Khan fight. What’s made him change his mind, is Arum mentioning his name as a possible opponent for Pacquiao. It was then that he realized that, in order to get a shot at the big boys, he won't actually need to face Khan to settle the score at 140. He realized there was an easier route to Pacquiao - keeping his undefeated record and selling himself to Arum at the nearest opportunity. Some may call that being smart, others call that chickening out and going back on your word.
I commend your loyalty to him dtaylor but trying to defend Tim is a losing battle. The argument used to be he wouldn't fight Khan because it meant resigning with Shaw which is clearly not the case. Bradleys self importance is staggering. He speaks as though he was a million buys PPV fighter. Tim is scared of losing and its pathetic. Shaw got him a tremendous deal with the Alexander fight and it's obvious it was Bradleys team that needed the guaranteed purse even if they lose. Fighters need to market themselves and pissing off HBO, GBP and the general boxing community is not being "smart". If he was "smart" he'd realize his worth as a fighter is plummeting due to his attitude and his small army of fans is shrinking by the day.
Im not saying I agree with him, but just that I understand. I do agree about the self-worth issue. Considering he brings zero money to the table, I think he was crazy for turning the Khan fight down. I just dont think its anything to do with fear and thats what annoys me about some fans selective reasoning on this.
It is fear though. It's not a fear of him being scared of anyone but a fear of losing which effects how much he makes. I don't like the man but I think people calling him a coward is way off the mark.
Not everyone has Khan’s wealth to fall back on. The kid was a millionaire before he even fought for his WBA belt. Bradley has had to earn what he’s got, so I do understand if he doesn’t want to make a decision that he’d regret down the line. All I’ll say is that Bradley declined the Alexander fight initially because it wasn’t worth as much as later. And he was absolutely right – they both got $1m paydays and guarantees on their next fight for a similar amount. Whenever he’s interviewed he always comes across as thoughtful and self-aware. He acknowledges that his desire to make money will mark him out with some fans. Yeah, it’s crap, but the hysterical over-reactions of some people are just weird.
For a guy who talks about how he wants to make as much as possible, he's not exactly active. If he was beating guys 3 times a year, then he would be earning good and the demand for a showdown with Khan would be huge. He seems to think he is Floyd the way he comes across.:huh
But he's in litigation. And he was in dispute with Shaw after beating Abregu. I don't think it's been deliberate. Prior to then he was fairly active. Four times in 2007, twice in 2008, three times in 2009. It was 2010 when he started having problems with Shaw. He agreed the extension, but has now decided that he wants out.
Since the Peterson fight, he has been inactive, no word on an opponent till 3-4 months after his last outing and Bradley would be "chillin". He didn't seem to have any problem with Shaw until he was asked to fight Khan. He seemed happy enough with the terms to fight DA.
Except that he wasn’t. His contract was up at that stage and he was going to leave. Shaw promised him the DA fight and the Khan fight, but whatever’s happened, Bradley now wants out. We know Shaw’s a scumbag – he’s got a history of shorting his fighters and leaving them high and dry when he doesn’t need them anymore. See Diego Corrales for evidence of that when he tried to move to GBP and Shaw went about screwing him over. Bradley isn’t going to shaft himself out of a deal without reason. Who’s to say that Shaw hasn’t added an extension clause if Bradley beats Khan but no guarantee if Khan beats Bradley? He’s done similar things before.