American boxer Timothy Bradley is unlikely to get his chance to fight Floyd "Money" Mayweather.
The 30-year-old WBO welterweight champion extended his agreement with Top Rank, which will run beyond 2015 but looks set to expire after Mayweather's scheduled retirement date.
Bradley told The Desert Sun's Leighton Ginn of his mentality to worry about his own future:
What I have to look after is myself. I can’t chase a guy. I can’t chase Floyd Mayweather, and chase this guy, chase this guy. I need to secure my future, secure my legacy, and secure what Tim Bradley wants and what will benefit him and his family.
Ginn also told of how the networks involved in the new deal would prove to end any chance of a bout between the pair:
Mayweather announced he would retire at the end of 2015. While Bradley didn't release details of his new deal, he said it goes beyond 2015. And because Mayweather is on a rival network, Showtime, a fight is unlikely to happen while Bradley is with Top Rank, whose fights air on HBO.
The deal also means that Bradley will get his chance at a rematch with Manny Pacquiao on April 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, following the heated split decision from the first bout.
And with six years of boxing behind his idol, Bradley has plenty of time left to take spot and leave his own legacy.
The new deal, along with the rematch with Pacquiao, pleases Top Rank president Todd duBeof:
We were talking about our partnership extending beyond the Pacquiao fight, and we were able to come to an agreement that extended beyond that for our relationship, so we were happy with that. He’s satisfied and our partnership will go on in the future.
Mayweather remains the No. 1 boxer on nearly every pound-for-pound rankings, with Bradley sitting in third place behind Andre Ward.
Bradley, who remains undefeated with 12 knockouts to his name, will be looking to not only retain his WBO welterweight title against Pacquiao but also see his name in lights as he continues his path to top spot in the rankings.
The Cathedral City, Ca. native has already defeated the Philippine once before, a split-decision victory to earn the title that he has now carried for three bouts. But it's a title that Pacquiao will want to reclaim, following the vast media coverage of the first fight.
The stakes will now have risen between the pair, who will both go into the ring in Las Vegas looking to restore bragging rights and, for Bradley, look to continue his dominance in the division despite competition from Juan Manuel Marquez and Ruslan Provodnikov.
Perhaps, too, a motivation that will not only please Bradley's fans and management, but also Floyd Mayweather, who may just see the mentality displayed as reason to find a way to make any fight between the pair possible.
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