Promoter Bob Arum said Monday that negotiations to stage a Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight June 9 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas are nearing completion, with an announcement coming as soon as Tuesday.
"It can be difficult dealing with a guy [Pacquiao] so many time zones away in the Philippines, but I feel very good about this and think I'll be in a position to announce something by [Tuesday]. I just have to get all the ducks in a row," Arum said. "I just need a complete sign-off from Manny."
Arum huddled with Pacquiao manager Michael Koncz and Bradley manager Cameron Dunkin during the weekend in San Antonio, where 14,000 fans at the Alamodome watched Arum's middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and new World Boxing Organization champion Nonito Donaire win bouts.
Efforts to stage a Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. super-fight crumbled again as they bickered over the fight date, how to split the purse and various other items, although Arum says — to the great skepticism of some — that he'll work feverishly to make the bout in November.
For now, Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs), coming off a less-than-convincing victory over Juan Manuel Marquez in November, will fight at 147 pounds. Bradley (28-0, 12 KOs), the unbeaten junior-welterweight champion from Cathedral City, has defeated another junior-welterweight champ, Lamont Peterson, along with Devon Alexander and veteran Joel Casamayor.
