Boxing: Bradley, Rios Fighting for Pride – And Nothing Else

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On Nov. 7, Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios will engage in what many expect to be an entertaining battle between two combatants with contrasting styles. It could be billed as Rios’ big punch versus Bradley’s big heart, or any combination of things that highlight what each of these fighters will bring to the table. Sounds fun, right?

However, when you really think about it, what’s at the end of the proverbial rainbow for either fighter?

It’s a problem that boxing has endured for years, ever since Bob Arum and Oscar De La Hoya decided that they couldn’t play in the same sandbox unless there was an absurd amount of money involved. Now, with Al Haymon in the mix with his Premier Boxing Champions, there are even fewer opportunities for fan-pleasing fights to be made. It’s not impossible, but fighters like Rios and Bradley, who don’t command a ton of box office appeal, end up being the odd men out.

Unfortunately, that means fans are unlikely to see Brandon Rios versus Danny Garcia or Timothy Bradley against Shawn Porter. There are plenty of options for both fighters if they cross Arum’s line in the sand, but the business isn’t quite good enough to force the hands of stingy promoters who hold the fighters’ futures in their spiteful palms.

Looking at Top Rank’s 147-pound division, you won’t find a wealth of options for the winner of this fight. Scouring the landscape of Arum’s top welterweights, you’ll find the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov, Mike Alvarado, Juan Manuel Marquez and Jessie Vargas. Bradley has already fought three of them and Rios has faced Alvarado on three occasions. That doesn’t bode well for their future prospects.

Even worse, neither of these fighters will get a chance to face the top dog under their own promotional umbrella. The little guy with the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow won’t be a Filipino fighter named Manny Pacquiao. Bradley has already faced Pacquiao twice, and even though they officially have split the series, there isn’t much intrigue considering that most believe Pacquiao won both fights handily. As for Rios, he was utterly dominated and looked horrible against “Pac-Man” when they met a couple of years ago. Even an up-and-comer like Terence Crawford is off limits because he’s currently tied to Pacquiao and it’s unlikely that Arum would want to put Crawford’s future at risk against a spoiler like Bradley.

Politics have ruined more than a few paydays for boxers and will continue to do so unless something dramatic changes. What could be that change? Who knows. Maybe a streaming service like Netflix or some billionaire tosses a yacht-full of money at all of these promoters in an effort to make them play nice together. Don’t mind me -- I’m just blindly throwing darts at a fractured board in hopes something will stick and make sense of it all. Not only are we robbed of some great fights, but the fighters are robbed of some decent paydays. Everybody loses, except the promoters.

Unfortunately, this isn’t like the UFC, where you can get another shot at the best if you prove your worth. There are no invisible lines to prevent fighters from facing each other. If Miesha Tate can still be considered to face Ronda Rousey despite losing to her twice, why shouldn’t Rios or Bradley be able to fight the best in their weight class if they work hard for it?

Because boxing, that’s why.

Andreas Hale is a content producer for Jay Z’s LifeandTimes.com and editor-in-chief of PremierWuzHere.com, as well as a frequent Sherdog.com columnist. Check out his archive here.