After the Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight negotiation ended when both sides once again did not come to terms, Mayweather opted to challenge junior middleweight titlist Miguel Cotto on May 5. Cotto had also been in the running to face Pacquiao in a rematch, but Pacquiao and Cotto could not agree on the weight for the fight. Pacquiao wanted the 147-pound welterweight limit, which Cotto said was too low for him, and he accepted a deal from Mayweather.
The other names in the running to face Pacquiao in the pay-per-view fight were junior welterweight titlist Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson, and Juan Manuel Marquez, who is 0-2-1 in a three close fights with Pacquiao, including a majority decision loss to him in November.
Bradley would move up in weight to challenge Pacquiao for his title.