Unbeaten WBO welterweight beltholder Tim Bradley will make the first defense of his title against Russian Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16 at The Home Depot Center ini Carson, Calif.
A Saturday press conference is in the works for smack-talkers Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi.
Bradley-Provodnikov to be announced
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Top Rank has scheduled a Wednesday press conference for Los Angeles to announce a March 16 defense by WBO welterweight beltholder Tim Bradley against rising, once-beaten Russian junior welterweight Ruslan Provodnikov. A clash of 29-year-olds, Bradley-Provodnikov will be televised on HBO's World Championship Boxing from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promotes Bradley, and Art Pelullo, who handles Provodnikov, will be present at Wednesday's event, which is to begin at noon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Bradley (29-0, 12 knockouts) is coming off June's disputed split-decision victory that dethroned Manny Pacquiao, and Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KOs) has won five consecutive fights, four of them by stoppage, including the past two straight. Provodnikov is coming off June's second-round knockout of Jose Reynoso, ending his unbeaten streak at 6-0-1, including two stoppage wins. Also expected to be on the Bradley-Provodnikov card is two-time Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez (2-0, 2 KOs), a featherweight who is coming off December's featherweight second-round knockout of Corben Page. "It's going to be a very entertaining fight because Provodnikov comes to fight, and he is going to press Bradley. That should make it a fun and interesting fight," said Arum. "Bradley is a very, very good boxer who is very elusive, and Provodnikov is a straight-ahead guy who throws a lot of punches and comes to brawl. So it'll test Bradley's skills."
Photo by Naoki Fukuda Lem Satterfield can be reached at lemuel.satterfield@gmail.com |