Canelo looking at plan B option, Arum offering Tim Bradley

01/17/2015 Jeff Sorby

Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) has about run out of patience in waiting on his opponent WBC middleweight champ Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) to sign the contract for a fight against him. Canelo, who is kind of used to getting his own way in negotiations, has told his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, that he wants to have him start looking for another opponent for him to fight. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is saying that Tim Bradley is a possibility for Canelo to fight next.

Bradley is a considerable step down from Cotto, both in size and popularity. Canelo-Bradley isn’t a fight that would be near big enough for the 24-year-old Canelo to boot Floyd Mayweather Jr from the May 2nd fight date that he has his eyes on, so Canelo would need to have an open mind about moving off that date. Canelo has insisted for the past month that he plans on fighting on May 2nd, the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo.

Khan adds Marquez and Bradley to his list of names he wants to fight

12/22/2014 Bill Phanco

Amir Khan says that besides Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, he’d like to add Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez to the list of guys he wants to face in the near future. Khan has been after a fight against Mayweather for ages now, but he’s not been fighting the preliminary guys that would get him the Mayweather fight unfortunately.

Instead of fighting big punchers like Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, Khan has been fighting the likes of Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz, Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander. This has led to Khan not picking up the name recognition in the United States that he needs for him to lure the likes of Mayweather to fight him.

Bradley: Diego Chaves ain’t no joke

12/12/201412/11/2014 Bill Phanco

Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) knows he’s in for a tough fight this Saturday night against the heavy-handed Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Bradley knows this could be potentially a very tough fight for him if Chaves brings his A-game and he’s able to connect with his power shots.

Bradley says he’s not going to take the 28-year-old Chaves lightly, because he doesn’t want this fight to be tougher than it needs to be. For Bradley to win this fight in flying colors, he’s going to need to treat Chaves much like he did Juan Manuel Marquez in using movement, a stiff jab and fast combinations to keep Chaves from landing his shots.

Bradley open to brawling with Diego Chaves on Saturday

12/10/2014 Rob Smith

Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) will be facing a big puncher this Saturday night in Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) on HBO in a 12 round bout at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Bradley was badly hurt last year when he faced the hard-hitting Russian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov and chose to slug with him instead of boxing him. However, Bradley has since gained confidence after going 12 hard rounds with Manny Pacquiao last April.

Bradley lost the fight by a 12 round decision, but he was able to take Pacquiao’s best shots without getting concussed like he was against Provodnikov. Bradley says he’s looking forward to facing Chaves this Saturday night, and that he won’t shy away from punching with him when the two of them start trading with big power shots.

Tim Bradley / Joel Diaz Interview Transcript

12/05/201412/05/2014 Top Rank

CARL MORETTI: December 13 will be Tim Bradley’s return to the ring against Diego Chaves who we expect to be 100%. No Visa drama for Diego like the last time for the Brandon Rios fight. Diego has been training for three months and arrives in Las Vegas this weekend. I know Tim is extremely focused on this fight – it’s the most important fight of his career because it’s the next fight in his career. This, along with two other fights that are really intriguing – the WBO middleweight championship fight between Matt Korobov and Andy Lee and the WBA interim super lightweight title battle between defending champion Mauricio Herrera and undefeated Jesse Benavidez Jr. – are both 50/50 fights. So without further ado, the great Tim Bradley, who after this call will be watching his favorite team as well as mine, the Dallas Cowboys, who also need a big win tonight.

Bradley says Mayweather wouldn’t be the toughest opponent, but still wants to fight him

10/22/2014 Bill Phanco

Welterweight contender Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) says he’s going to be moving up in weight to 154 to target the top fighters in that weight class. He’s specifically interested in fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Besides those guys, Bradley says he’d like to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr, because he’s already fought Manny Pacquuiao and Juan Manuel Marquez in the past.

Interestingly enough, Bradley doesn’t see Mayweather as being the toughest opponent for him. He doesn’t say who’s tougher, but you’d have to assume he means Pacquiao, Cotto or Canelo. Bradley’s coming off of a 12 round decision loss to Pacquiao in his last fight in April of this year in a one-sided loss.

Bradley: Diego Chaves reminds me of Mayweather Jr

10/21/201410/20/2014 Jeff Sorby

Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since losing his WBO 147lb title when he steps inside the ring to face Argentinian Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) on December 13th on HBO from the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Bradley thinks Chaves reminds him a little of Floyd Mayweather Jr with his fighting stance.

Chaves doesn’t have the hand speed or the mobility that Mayweather possesses, but he does like to stand in the pocket and use the shoulder roll like him.

Bradley vs. Chaves/Herrera vs. Benavidez Tix Go On Sale

10/21/201410/20/2014 Top Rank

LAS VEGAS, NV (October 20, 2014) — Former two-division world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY JR. returns to the ring where he will battle one-time interim welterweight world champion DIEGO “La Joya” CHAVES in a 12-round welterweight rumble, Saturday, December 13, inside The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (3708 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89109). The fight will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:00 p.m. EST/PST. The telecast will open with World Boxing Association (WBA) Interim Super Lightweight World Champion MAURICIO “El Maestro” HERRERA defending his title against undefeated contender JOSE BENAVIDEZ, JR.

Bradley-Chaves undercard on 12/13: Andy Lee vs. Matt Korobov & Mauricio Herrera vs. Jose Benavidez Jr.

10/11/2014 Jeff Sorby

Top Rank is packaging the December 13th HBO Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) vs. Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) with some really interesting boxing action on the undercard as part of this triple-header card. The word is unbeaten #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) will be facing #3 WBO Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs).

Also, interim WBA World light welterweight champion Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7 KOs) will be facing unbeaten Top Rank promoted Jose Benavidez Jr. (21-0, 15 KOs). This will be a big step up in class for the 22-year-old Benavidez Jr, because he’s still facing weak opposition at this point in his career.

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Floyd Mayweather, Marcos Maidana, Timothy Bradley, and more!

09/16/2014 Vivek Wallace

Layton F. (Brooklyn, NY): I never thought I’d see the day, but to me, Floyd Mayweather looked old and out of sorts. I just didn’t think he looked the same. Is it safe to say that he’s no longer the guy he was?

Vivek W. (ESB): The old adage has it that “time waits for no man”! Oddly, we’ve seen Floyd Mayweather dominate for so long that we’ve grown accustomed to the notion that he’s some blind exception to the rule, and unfortunately, this is not the case. While there were some points that just didn’t quite seem normal for him, statistically, we see the same level of success. From day one, Mayweather’s statistics have been mid to high 50 percentile (or greater) in offensive connection rates; all while holding the opponent down to a very low 20 percentile connection rate in exchange. Has he been touched a bit more lately? Certainly seems that way, but again, all percentages remain intact, so is he truly “slippin” (as Steven A. Smith of ESPN went on record to say)?