Tim Bradley-Diego Chaves Set, 12/13 In Las Vegas

By Jake Donovan

Tim Bradley will face Diego Chaves on December 13 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was confirmed as fully agreed up, as per several representatives from Top Rank who are in Orlando for a Solo Boxeo show headlined by unbeaten lightweight prospect Felix Verdejo.

Both fighters are coming off losses, though - while each seek a victory - aren't necessarily in must-win situations in terms of remaining crowd favorites. Bradley (31-1, 12KOs) returns for the first time since dropping a decision to Manny Pacquiao in their welterweight title fight rematch this past April. 

The sequel came nearly two years after Bradley eked out a highly disputed split decision win over the Filipino superstar in their June '12 meet. Two successful defenses of a welterweight title followed - a 12-round war with Ruslan Provodnikov last March in what was hailed by BoxingScene.com as 2013 Fight of the Year; and a close-but-clear win over Juan Manuel Marquez last October. 

Chaves (23-2, 19KOs) fights for the second straight time in Las Vegas and on HBO. The Argentine brawler is hoping for a far more memorable trip this time around. His last trek came under bizarre circumstances, with his travel visa approved just in time to fly into Las Vegas and head straight to the final pre-fight press conference for his Aug. 2 clash with Brandon Rios. 

While the events that led to the fight coming off were unforgettable, the fight itself was anything but a memorable occasion. Both fighters mixed mauling with boxing, to the point where referee Vic Drakulich lost complete control of the fight and wound up disqualifying Chaves in round nine. 

It was a rare night where neither fighter produced pure warfare, as was the case when Chaves slugged it out with Keith Thurman last summer when both were unbeaten. The fight was the first time Chaves fought in the states, and gave a great account of himself before succumbing to Thurman's power as he was stopped in ten rounds. 

The December 13 crossroads clash will air live on HBO, capping a stretch where Top Rank has its hand in televised shows in eight of the next 11 weekends, all of which will air on HBO (and its Pay-Per-View arm) or UniMas. Of the eight shows, the Bradley-Chaves card is the only one that takes place in the promoter's home base in Las Vegas. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox