ESPN report: Tim Bradley in line to be Pacquiao's next foe

Top Rank president Todd duBoef confirmed Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) that junior welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr. has emerged as the frontrunner to be Manny Pacquiao's next opponent. DuBoef told ESPN boxing correspondent Dan Rafael, "We're in the process of having the conversations with [Bradley's manager] Cameron [Dunkin] and we're also having them with the Pacquiao team. It's a very active dialogue." Prior to DuBoef's statement, the Pacquiao camp explored their options with the Mayweather side, Bradley was on Top Rank CEO Bob Arum's list of four potential opponents when he arrived in the Philippines in January to talk to the Sarangani congressman, a list that also included Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and Lamont Peterson. ESPN.com managed to talk with Pacquiao advisor Michael Koncz, who confirmed that there were in fact discussions about a Bradley fight, but stressed that nothing was finalized yet. "I'm going to meet with Bob [Arum] to discuss not only Bradley, but also Marquez and Peterson because now I have to determine what is the best for Manny style-wise," Koncz told ESPN. "The majority of our discussions have been about Bradley. We have not committed to Bradley from our side, but now I need to explore the other options because of what happened with Mayweather announcing that he's fighting Cotto." In the same report, Koncz also said the Pacquiao camp's offer to Mayweather, which included a guaranteed $50 million (P2.1 billion), and a 55-45 split of the revenue, with the larger portion going to the fight's winner. In prior reports, Pacquiao allegedly offered a 50-50 split, which Mayweather also turned down. Bradley, the current World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion, sports a 28-0-0 record with one no contest. His last fight came in November of last year, when he defended his title against Joel Casamayor, interestingly enough, on the undercard of Pacquiao's last fight as well, against Juan Manuel Marquez for the third time. Should the Bradley fight push through, it is expected to be held on June 9 at the MGM Grand. Arum will allegedly announce Pacquiao's next opponent sometime this week. Earlier in the day, Floyd Mayweather Jr. ended weeks of "will they or won't they" talk about his bout with Manny Pacquiao by opting instead for a May 5 fight with Miguel Cotto. — JVP, GMA News