CATHEDRAL CITY ? The manager for WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley confirmed that contracts have been sent out for the Cathedral City resident to defend his title against Ruslan Provodnikov on March 16 at the Home Depot Center in Carson.
This will be the first fight for Bradley (29-0) since scoring a split decision victory over Manny Pacquiao on June 9, 2012 in Las Vegas.
?It?s an entertaining fight because this guy brings it,? said Cameron Dunkin, Bradley?s manager in a telephone interview from his home in Las Vegas. ?He comes hard and Tim comes hard. It should be a terrific fight.?
Bradley couldn?t be reached for comment.
Dunkin said contracts were sent out Friday, and Bradley got his copy to sign Friday night. However, Top Rank, the promotion company that represents Bradley, sent out a release earlier Saturday that there will be a Los Angeles press conference Wednesday at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel .
?I negotiated the purse with them and Top Rank. We came up with a number that wasn?t ideal, but both sides were willing to live with,? Dunkin said. ?Tim was willing to live with it because he wants to fight. The only thing that can change is if there?s something in the agreement that he doesn?t agree with and I?m sure it can be worked out. Everyone feels like the fight is going to happen.?
The 29-year-old Russian is 22-1, having won his last six fights. But it will be the first time Provodnikov has fought a name fighter, or one the caliber of Bradley.
Provodnikov is expected to move up from the 140-pound light welterweight class to fight for Bradley?s 147-pound title.
The 29-year-old Bradley had been the top fighter in the light welterweight division since winning his first world title in 2008.
He won three world titles in the light welterweight division before moving up to welterweight to take on Pacquiao, considered the boxer of the decade.
In a stunning and controversial upset, Bradley scored a split decision against Pacquiao to end the Filipino superstar?s 15-fight win streak that spanned seven years.
