Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Timothy Bradley Fight Date Reportedly Moved to Oct. 12
By Bleachersreport on May 30, 2013
USA TODAY Sports
The date for the fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley has reportedly been moved from September 14 to October 12.
The prospective move comes after it was announced Floyd Mayweather would fight Canelo Alvarez on September 14 (h/t the Associated Press via USA Today). Rather than have Mayweather-Alvarez and Marquez-Bradley competing for interest on the same night, Idec reported that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum would rather move Marquez-Bradley back four weeks.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
It would be a rather shrewd move considering Mayweather's drawing power and the fact that Marquez-Bradley should draw plenty of fans in. Arum knows he'd make much more money by pushing his event back. He doesn't have the kind of fight that will be able to push a highly anticipated matchup like Mayweather-Alvarez head to head.
The Top Rank bout features the last two guys to have beaten Manny Pacquiao. Bradley's came under rather dubious circumstances back in June 2012. Marquez was much more decisive, knocking out the Pac-Man in the sixth round back in December.
The way in which Marquez dispatched Pacquiao immediately thrust him back into the spotlight. Fans started to look at the 39-year-old differently, and he cemented himself again as a major draw.
Marquez will be looking to continue his late-career resurgence. On the other hand, Bradley will be looking for a statement win against a talented opponent, because many look skeptically upon the Pacquiao result.
Marquez will be coming into the fight with a 55-6-1 record, with Bradley undefeated, at 30-0.