A little birdie tells me that there is a 90% chance that Provodnikov-Rios happens.

[////]

great fight

i wont care who wins ill just eat lots of popcorn and watch skin fly off faces kinda fight

[English Lion]

I really hope they both come out safe and well after they fight. God Forbid but i can honestly see one of them ending up seriously hurt in this fight. They are literally going to punch the life and sense out of each other for however long it lasts. Brutal fight.

[Cinci Champ]

HBO's budget is apparently so tight that Bradley-Ali isn't going to get picked up, and neither fighter's promoter (Banner, Top Rank) have access to any other TV dates that would even remotely make sense [unless the come out of pocket for PPV].

Unless Pacquiao's "injury recovery" has him in line to fight on a Nov/Dec PPV, I don't see where'd they'd put the fight to air; Brandon Rios and Ruslan Provodnikov are both coming off main eventing their own HBO cards. There may be talks underway somewhere, but the notion of the fight being eminent doesn't make much sense.

that is true but i think their budget re ups in like november

[GMAN SUPREME]

that is true but i think their budget re ups in like november

forget hbo if showtime was smart they would pick up this fight.provo vs rios is huge showtime needs a big fight like this they have had a terrible year.

[joesaiditstrue]

rios doesn't want to fight ruslan for some reason.

because Ruslan would hurt Brandon pretty badly, I have no doubt in my mind

[soul_survivor]

I'm sorry that I can't give you my sources however I believe this fight is imminent. Fantastic news.

Looks good on paper but both guys slow terribly by the 6th or 7th rounds, especially provo. Hope it ends in some sort of early KO cost he longer it goes, the worse it gets.

[BrometheusBob.]

Yeah boiiii let's go Provo gonna stop this dude.

[Mr. Philadel]

Lucas and Bam back to back?!?...Provo is a ****ing WARRIOR!!...I can't pick a winner cause neither of them has shown the ability to step back and box...this will be a toe to toe phone booth brawl....FOTY...not FOTY candidate but a definite FOTY...give them the award now!!...DAMN!!...this fight will be super sick!!

[jqSide]

forget hbo if showtime was smart they would pick up this fight.provo vs rios is huge showtime needs a big fight like this they have had a terrible year.

Nah. Espinoza just approves whatever garbage Haymon comes up with. We all know that if these fighters happened to be controlled by Haymon, they will never fight. And they will be avoided like plagues by his top fighters. In a perfect world, fans would have loved to see them pitted against Garcia, Broner, Peterson, Alexander, Porter, even Thurman, Brook, Khan...

Provo is not even signed with TR and HBO. There was a time when he was looking for a dance partner when he wanted to fight in Russia. He called out everyone, including Haymon fighters. Matthysse was the only guy who responded to his call, "Yes, I'll fight Provodnikov."

[SalimShady1212]

May the source be with you...

Good effort

HBO's budget is apparently so tight that Bradley-Ali isn't going to get picked up, and neither fighter's promoter (Banner, Top Rank) have access to any other TV dates that would even remotely make sense [unless the come out of pocket for PPV].

Unless Pacquiao's "injury recovery" has him in line to fight on a Nov/Dec PPV, I don't see where'd they'd put the fight to air; Brandon Rios and Ruslan Provodnikov are both coming off main eventing their own HBO cards. There may be talks underway somewhere, but the notion of the fight being eminent doesn't make much sense.

HBO exec did say a few days ago that this fight was a priority and they know that it would definitely get viewers to tune in.