Saturday night will be a very busy one for the sports world. You have the third leg of the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes, game five of the Stanley Cup Finals, game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals, and the showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. Their fight was originally scheduled to begin around 8:30 p.m. PST or so, but that is no longer the case.
According to Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, the title bout will not begin until the Celtics and Heat game wraps up. He cites the best interest of the viewers in his statement about the decision, but we all know this is about the money.
"I'm not waiting for Manny's request on this one. We will not begin the Pacquiao - Bradley main event fight until the Celtics and the Heat finish their playoff game," said Arum to FightNews.com. "Now Manny, the Heat, the Celtics, and sports fans watching the basketball game won't have to make a choice between events, they will be able to watch both. However, the action-packed pay-per-view undercard will begin as scheduled at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT."
The Celtics vs. Heat game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 PST, meaning it should conclude by 8:30 assuming there is no overtime. I'd imagine Pacquiao and Bradley will enter the ring around 9 p.m. if this is the case, which gives everyone plenty of time to transition from their basketball (or hockey) game to one of the bigger fights of the year.
For more on Pacquiao vs. Bradley and all of the undercard bouts, be sure to follow the SB Nation Los Angeles StoryStream. Check out our great boxing blog, Bad Left Hook, for continued updates on the fight.