By Yuri Tarantin

Former WBO junior welterweight world champion Ruslan Provodnikov (25-4, 18KOs) will soon arrive in the United States to begin training for a potential fight, which is scheduled for the spring - according to the boxer's manager Vadim Kornilov.

The current they are looking at include Mauricio Herrera, who handed Provodnikov his first defeat in 2011 by decision. They are also considering former champion Brandon Rios, who looks t recover from a knockout loss to Brandon Rios last November, and the third candidate is Adrian Granados, who last November rolled in a major upset with a knockout of highly regarded Amir Imam.

"I think Ruslan will fly to California in a few weeks and begin to prepare for his next fight," said Vadim. "We are considering the possible contenders Mauricio Herrera, Brandon Rios and Adrian Granados. We will fight any of these options."

There was some discussion of a potential rematch with Argentine fighter Lucas Matthysse. Kornilov says Matthysse has rejected them for a second time after initially stating that he was interested in facing them.

Matthysse won a close decision over Provodnikov in the early part of 2015. It was an exciting fight and Provodnikov attempted to get a rematch, but Matthysse had no interest. The big puncher then faced Provodnikov's stablemate, Viktor Postol, last October. In an unexpected outcome, Postol knocked Matthysse out in ten rounds.

"I think after the first fight Lucas is not very confident in his abilities, because this is the second time that he's refused to accept a fight with Ruslan," Kornilov said.

Yuri Tarantin covers boxing for Allboxing.ru