By Jake Donovan
A minor hurdle has been cleared for Top Rank to continue to pursue a potential welterweight between Tim Bradley and Diego Chaves. The Las Vegas-based company was granted permission to stage the event—targeted for December 13 at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas—by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
The motion was unanimously approved by the commission during their monthly agenda hearing held Tuesday morning in Las Vegas. If the bout can be made, it will likely headline on HBO.
Should such a fight come off, it will serve as an interesting pairing of both sides of the headliner coming off of a loss in their past fights. Bradley (31-1, 12KOs) suffered the first defeat of his career this past April, dropping a 12-round decision to Manny Pacquiao in their pay-per-view aired rematch.
Chaves (23-2, 19KOs) saw his defeat come under far more questionable circumstances. The Argentine brawler was disqualified in the 9th round of his HBO-televised welterweight bout with Rios this past August, a fight in which referee Vic Drakulich was widely scrutinized for never assuming full control in allowing the brawl to devolve into a foul-plagued affair.
The bout was Chaves’ second defeat in his past three contests, having suffered a 10th round knockout at the lethal hands of Keith Thurman in their matchup of unbeaten welterweights last July.
Despite their current winless stretch, both fighters are viewed as top contenders in a welterweight division overloaded with talent.
Bradley has regularly fought on HBO. Beginning with his July ’10 decision win over then-unbeaten Luis Carlos Abregu, his past seven contests have aired either on the network or its pay-per-view arm, including his two fights with Pacquiao.
A June ’12 win over Pacquiao was regarded by most as one of the worst decisions of 2012, with Bradley claiming a split decision in a bout most believed the Filipino superstar won with room to spare. His 2013 campaign was met far more favorably, boasting a split-decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez and his off-the-canvas 12-round unanimous decision over Ruslan Provodnikov in a bout many—including BoxingScene.com—hailed as 2013 Fight of the Year.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
