Brandon Rios: record, next fight and profile →
Over the past few weeks Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has been trying to put together a December HBO showdown between WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley and former lightweight champion Brandon Rios. In a recent article by BoxingScene.com's Steve Kim, Rios' manager Cameron Dunkin declared the fight "dead" which leaves both fighters looking for new dance partners for their fall returns.
While there had been a lot of talk of a showdown between Brandon Rios and Tim Bradley for the fall, it looks as though this fight will not be happening. In theory, it should've been a relatively easy pairing, given that both are under the Top Rank banner. The reality is that both wanted a certain amount of money which may have not fit into the current HBO budget.
Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum says a fight between WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and mandatory challenger Sadam Ali is not sellable to HBO. “I can’t sell that to HBO,” Arum told the Los Angeles Times. Arum has his full focus on making Bradley against Top Rank stablemate Brandon Rios. HBO spent a bulk of their budget in the first six months of 2015 and now they are very selective about the fights they are willing to purchase for the next few months. The next HBO televised event is not scheduled until October 3rd.
Robert Garcia, who trains Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 24KOs), is hoping the fight discussed fight with WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (32-1-1, 12KOs) comes off for the fall. Their mutual promoter of both boxers, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, is trying to make a deal that financially works for HBO, who spent the bulk of their budget in the first six months of the year. Arum hopes to make the fight in November or even in December, on the 12th of that month, at the Forum in Los Angeles, California.
There is a lot of talk of a potential bout between Tim Bradley, the newly minted WBO welterweight titlist, and former beltholder Brandon Rios. In theory it should be a relatively easy fight to make given that both are promoted by Top Rank. The only issue that might be holding that fight back is the HBO budget. Word in the industry is that after spending heavily in the first half of 2015, the network does not have much left to spend.
Vadim Kornilov, the manager of both ex-WBO light welterweight Ruslan Provodnikov (24-4, 17 KOs) and top-ten boxer-stylist Victor Postol, told TASS media agency about Provodnikov’s most probable opponent in the fall.
There has been some talk from the side of Brandon Rios about facing either Ruslan Provodnikov or Jessie Vargas in the fall. According to Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum, HBO has given them a date for his next bout. Rios is coming off a third round thrashing of Mike Alvarado in January. For the last year or two, Artie Pelullo of Banner Promotions has been yearning for a match-up between his client( Provodnikov) and Rios, which figures to be a fan-friendly slugfest should it ever come to fruition.
For the past few weeks, negotiations have been taking place for a fight between IBF welterweight titlist, Kell Brook and Brandon Rios that was slated for September 12th in England. But according to Cameron Dunkin, who manages Rios, the fight seems to be wavering. "I don't see it happening right now,'' Dunkin told BoxingScene.com on Sunday afternoon. "We've got too many problems with it. It changes every time I speak with Top Rank and so I'm not feeling too positive about it right now.''
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (34-0, 25KOs) has already started training camp for a potential headline title defense at London’s O2 Arena against former beltholder Brandon Rios - if the two sides are able to reach an agreement. Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport is still working out the details with Top Rank, who have Rios. The two sides are close and Brook is training with September 12th in mind, but anything can happen in boxing and always does.
One man who is chasing a bout with Amir Khan (31-3, 19KOs) is unbeaten IBF world welterweight champion Kell Brook (34-0, 25KOs), who looks set to defend his belt against Brandon Rios on the same September date. Khan, however, remains adamant the Sheffield fighter has not earned the right to call him out. The Olympic silver medallist told Ring Cast: "When the question comes to me, why don't you fight Kell Brook? My body's taken wear and tear fighting all the top guys, the world champions so why isn't Kell doing that? Why should I give him this big pay day he's after?