This Saturday night, from the Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, former two-division world champion Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOS) will attempt to regain his place atop the deepest division in boxing, taking on the always durable Diego Chaves from Argentina who boasts a record of 23-2, 19 KOs.
The scheduled twelve round contest is being broadcast in the main event of a brilliant HBO World Championship Boxing “tripleheader”, with a start time of 10PM ET.
Although the Palm Springs resident is eager to get back in the ring, this will be the first time Tim Bradley will be competing with a loss on his professional resume. Tim claims that he’s taking his career one step at a time. “It’s always exciting to be back in the ring, and back under the lights,” admitted “Desert Storm”. “Coming off of my first professional loss to Manny Pacquiao, I’m just trying to regain my steps and get back in the win column.”
“Every time I step foot in the ring, I always put my best foot forward and try to put on an exciting show for the fans. So I’m expecting another great fight. Diego Chaves is a great opponent. He’s a very talented fighter and I know the fight is going to be very tough.”
But how will the proud 31 year old boxer look coming off of another serious injury?
“Having the time off and spending it with my family is always a great thing,” claims the former WBO Welterweight Champ. “But for my career, it’s kind of nerve racking and a little tough for me to deal with. I’m very active and I couldn’t be as active as I wanted to be because I was in a cast for several weeks. Then I was in a walking boot for months because of this injury.”
“So it was a little frustrating, but I’ve rebounded from that and I’m fully healed…fully recovered. When I finally was able to get back in the gym, it’s was if I had never left. I sparred the first day, and I still had it. I was so happy that I still could do this…that I was still a good fighter!”
“My speed is there, my reflexes are there, I can move…I’m okay. I can still fight.”
With the amount of talent in the stacked 147 pound weight class, why did Tim Bradley and his promoter, Top Rank, decide on the very underrated and hard punching Argentine as his first assignment back from rehab? “Why not. I want to be the best. I just fought the best fighter of this generation.”
“Who’s Diego Chaves compared to Manny Pacquiao? I fight the best available opponents out there. I’m an old school type of fighter who will fight anybody. Diego was available, and so here we are. Why not?”
In Tim’s last three assignments, he brawled with Ruslan Provodnikov, boxed Juan Manuel Marquez, and did a little bit of both in his return bout with Manny Pacquiao.
So which version of the boxer will we see in the ring this Saturday night?
“The fight fans who are going to tune in should always expect a great fight from myself,” modestly states Tim Bradley. “Especially when I’m fighting against a tough guy like Diego Chaves who loves to bring it. So I think it’s going to be a great exciting fight.”
While Tim’s response was indeed a true statement, he didn’t really answer the question. Once again…which version of Tim Bradley will we see on Saturday night?
“As far as my strategy or style, I have a gameplan and I’m not going to give it away. Just expect a great fight. I’m coming…I’m bringing it!”
Will Bradley remain a top 10 boxer after tonight?
