Bradley turns down 1.3 mill to fight Khan

I guess from a business point of view it's smart when he is guranteed at least 1 mill from HBO no matter who he fights next. From a competitive stand point it's extremely dissapointing, it's always good to have the top 2 fighters in a weight class fighting.

So is he ducking or being smart?

 

Ducking. I'd fight them both at the same time for that kind of money.

 

Ducking........and HBO making these guys feel they are worth more than they actually are...

 

Have you a reliable source that Bradley has refused to fight khan?

 

As much as I would like to say 'ducking' because I want to see big fights happen, I honestly think it's smart business by Bradley.

If I'm him and doing a risk/reward analysis, I need more to fight Khan. Not because I am afraid, but because there is a narrow window to make money in boxing and he should try to maximize that window.

It sucks for boxing but I understand Bradley's POV.

 

I hate it but I agree here

 

Bradley already disgusts me. If this is true, shitty.

 

I hate boxing sometimes. Boxers are way overpaid and it has turned the sport to garbage. It's just a big money grab. Fuck boxing.

 

Does he think he's some kind of big draw? After his boring fight with Alexander? he should pay us to watch his boring ass!

 

This. If it's true, it's an inexcusable duck; Bradley is a nobody and 1.3 mil is a lot for him. Not to mention that if he really thought he could beat Khan, he has to be aware that'd make him a much bigger star than he is now.

 

Hell yes, there needs to be some risk taken once in a while. A win over Khan would lead to more exposure and more big money fights.

And I do thing Bradley is capable of beating Khan.

 

bradley - khan could possibly be a good fight. it wont ruin my year if it doesnt happen. big deal. supposedly he was ducking alexander as well when it didnt happen right away

 

Looks like he doesn't feel the same way, though (assuming this is true, of course)

 

He wasn't a draw before that and somehow they let him dictate where that fight would be. Should have been in St. Louis, where the fight was actually a draw. Where, you know, people would pay to go.

 

the win over alexander didnt seem to do much for bradley in terms of exposure or winning him fans.

 

Khan is more popular than Alexander...by a lot...

 

Bradley shouldn't be an idiot...he needs to take the fight.

"However"

I sense there's business at play (assuming it's true)

I believe Bradley is co-promoted by Shaw and Thompson Boxing and wants out. I'm sure he wants out so he can pocket more of the money...which you can't blame him in a sense.

Wih that said...he or Khoward could lose next then the payday goes down the drain.

 

It doesn't matter if he's hot guranteed HBO money.

 

Someone just told me they heard Bradley might be a fight Mayweather is interested in. If that is the case I can see turning down Khan and taking the much bigger payday. I have no idea where he heard this.

 

I'd like to see Floyd beat Lil' Tim's ass.

No...

Tim disqualified for headbutts, Floyd gashed over both eyes.

:kidcool:

 

Maybe Bradley can solve Floyd's defense by constantly head-butting his shoulder?

 

Totally agree Z

 

If there is one thing that is certain to happen in a Bradley fight it's a headbutt. He's got the Holyfield lead with the head technique down.

 

There might be more to the story.

But at face value, Bradley is a fucking IDIOT.

I actually think Bradley is an elite fighter, and favour him over Khan.

But he's not exactly popular is he?

If he beats or at least gives a great fight, his drawing power should increase substantially.

1.3 mil is good money, nothing to scoff at, he should just fucking take it, fight to win, and make more money.

 

The Alexander "win" means HBO brings him back against any opponent for $1 or $1.2 million. The logic woul dbe...fight a lesser risk...collect the $1.2 million then make the Khoward fight.

I guess he figures (coupled with the Gary Shaw issue) he can get two million dollar paydays out of the deal.

 

The clumsy Timothy Bradley-Devon Alexander fight (and HBO contract) has, for the moment, stalled the potentially exciting developments at junior<NOBR style="COLOR: #2b65b0" id=itxthook1w2nobr class="itxtrst itxtrstnobr itxthooknobr">welterweight</NOBR>.

The plan started off with a bang. Khan fought Maidana in December in a tremendous fight, which will be honored next week in Las<NOBR style="COLOR: #2b65b0" id=itxthook2w2nobr class="itxtrst itxtrstnobr itxthooknobr">Vegas</NOBR> at the annual Boxing Writers Association of America awards dinner as the 2010 fight of the year.

But then Bradley and Alexander met in January to unify their belts. Great idea on paper, but a horrendous stinker in the ring, exacerbated by an inexplicable guarantee by HBO to pay hefty fees for their next fights, win or lose.

Bradley-Alexander ended in an unsatisfying technical decision in a venue where it didn't belong -- the cavernous Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., where few cared to come out on a bitterly cold and snowy night. Even if the weather had been great, Bradley and Alexander had no connection to the region.

To top it off, the fight did a miserable rating, considering the $3 million or so HBO paid for it and all the marketing assets it put behind the fight. The public, largely unfamiliar with either guy, basically ignored it. I won't second-guess the making of the fight at all. You win some, you lose some. But the problem is that HBO remains on the hook to pay big money for the fighters' next bouts, which is an issue as it tries to lock down Bradley-Khan for the finale of the unofficial tournament.

Specifically, HBO wants to put on Bradley-Khan in another unification bout on July 23.

Khan easily won an interim bout April 16 against Paul McCloskey and worked out his deal with promoter Golden Boy to face Bradley. Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer and Shaw cut their deal, as well as one with HBO, which is willing to pay $3 million for the fight.

The last piece of the puzzle was for Shaw to come to terms with Bradley and his managers, Cameron Dunkin and Michael Miller. That's where it gets sticky and that's why it doesn't look like the fight will happen, unless something radically changes between Shaw and Team Bradley.

They disagree on the money, naturally, and if you know Dunkin and Shaw, that won't be easy to overcome. They get along about as well as Democrats and Republicans.

I guess it's possible that HBO could throw more money at the fight to bridge the gap, but don't count on it; $3 million is already a huge number for the fight.

Khan did a big crowd of about 17,000 in his native England for the McCloskey fight.

Bradley is a non-entity when it comes to selling tickets in the United States -- another reason why his HBO fees are so out of whack with reality. He hasn't even been able to sell out a 2,000-seat ballroom in a casino minutes from his hometown of Palm Springs, Calif.(If Bradley-Khan actually does come off, it belongs in England, but that ain't happening.)

Shaw told me that Bradley and his managers rejected an offer of more than $1.3 million for the fight, which probably would generate somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.3 million (HBO money, gate, sponsors and foreign TV minus expenses). Dunkin confirmed the offer.

Bradley's number could rise depending on the variables of the revenues (other than the HBO money) because he and Shaw maintain an 80-20 split of the profit (80 percent to Bradley).

That's an enormous payday for Bradley, considering he has no real public profile and would be making about $200,000 more than he made to fight Alexander. Some might think Shaw should pay him more. Others might think Bradley is a fool to turn down that kind of money. But this is an important factor to consider: When HBO made Bradley-Alexander, each guy was guaranteed at least a $1.2 million fight in his return, win or lose.

Alexander's is June 25 against Lucas Matthysse. Bradley's is supposed to be against Khan. But here's the position of Bradley's team: Why not just take a $1.2 million fight against, theoretically, an easier opponent, instead of facing Khan for a few dollars more?

Also, according to Shaw and Dunkin, Bradley's next fight is due to take place by June 30, which is when Bradley's deal with Shaw expires. Bradley was willing to put off the fight for an extra three weeks because HBO has no dates available before the end of June, but if he doesn't take the Khan fight, he may be waiting a lot longer.

In that case, Khan would keep July 23 and fight somebody else. (I'd like to see titleholder Zab Judah get the call, especially now that it's unlikely Juan Manuel Marquez will accept an offer to face him July on HBO PPV on July 30.)

That would leave Bradley idle until at least September (HBO likely won't do a fight in August) and probably upset, because he was supposed to fight by June 30.

All of this could have been avoided had HBO not promised a return fight for a big fee to a guy with no ability to generate revenue outside of an arbitrary license fee. Without that crutch, the $1.3 million-plus to fight Khan probably would be looking pretty sweet to Bradley.

 

Problem is that he has a gurantee of 1.2 mill for his next fight no matter who he fights, so the 1.3 mill isn't so appealing.

 

Hi Musze,

Yeah I kind of understand the logic, and I can see it. It's playing things safe though.

I guess my logic is, what if he declines this, and the Khan fight simply falls through and he doesn't get to fight Khan? One of them loses, Khan moves up etc, it's no guarantee the Khan fight comes off after his next fight.

It just seems like he should strike while it's hot, beating Khan would mean more paydays and popularity.

 

It was like Godfather said have a big fight and get hot of that. Have a trilogy. Morales-Barrera 1 and Corrales-Castillo 1 both had weak attendances. Then in the rematches they sold out big arenas.

 

Yep that's basically what I'm thinking. That's how fighters become household names, regardless of how good they are.

Strike while the iron is hot. Khan is gaining in popularity, it would be a much bigger fight than Alexander, he should just fucking do it, especially because he has an EXCELLENT chance of dethroning this supposedly new and improved Khan.

Especially if Bradley wins, as long as the fight is decent, it sets up a rematch with even more money.

The worst case scenario is Timmy gets blasted out in a round or two, but let's face it, that's not going to happen. Khan couldn't even hurt Barrera.

Strange choice to be honest. Bradley strikes me as the kind of guy that would just jump at the chance right away. Especially given how Khan looked recently.