Former two-division world champion Tiomthy “Desert Storm” Bradley Jr. returns to the ring where he will battle Diego “La Joya” Chaves in a 12-round welterweight rumble, Saturday, December 13, inside The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The fight will be televised live on HBO, and will feature Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera against undefeated contender Jose Benavidez Jr. The opening press conference for the card was held, and right here you can find the photos, quotes and notes.
These four gladiators boast a combined record of 96-7 (53 KOs) — a winning ratio of 93% with over half of those victories coming by way knockout.
“I’m excited to get back into the ring and showcase myself,” Bradley told ESPN.com. “Chaves is not that well known but the boxing fans know him. The boxing fans know that this guy can fight and that it won’t be a walk in the park for me. I think it’s going to be a great fight. I can’t wait.”
“I give Timothy Bradley all the credit in the world for coming back after his first loss to face me, especially after seeing how I hurt Brandon Rios in my last fight,” said Chaves. “We both have a lot to prove on December 13. If Bradley thought he had it rough against Ruslan Provodnikov, wait until he collides with me.”
“I’m so happy that this fight was made and I get to showcase my skills once again on a huge stage,” said Herrera. “I’m coming off of one of the most important wins of my career and I plan on using that momentum to defend my title and convincingly defeat Benavidez on December 13.”
I’m obviously excited and grateful for the opportunity to fight for the title. It’s something I’ve worked for since I was a kid,” said Benavidez. “I know I’ll be bringing the title back to Phoenix with me. I have heard Herrera is looking past me and talking about moving up in weight when he wins, and I’m sorry that I’ll be disrupting those plans on December 13th.”
“Tim Bradley’s return to the ring may be taking place at the end of the year but it’s the beginning of a new and exciting phase of the boxing career of one of the sport’s elite fighters, a man who has held a world title every year dating back to 2008,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank. “Diego Chaves came so close when he faced Brandon Rios in his last fight and I anticipate seeing that same intensity and aggressiveness when he faces Tim. This will be a war. The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will once again be hosting boxing at the highest level on December 13 and the world will be able to watch it on HBO.”
“So much hangs in the balance for both of these fighters – Herrera’s WBA Super Lightweight World Title, Benavidez’ undefeated record and much more,” said Golden Boy Founder and President Oscar De La Hoya. “With Herrera’s straight-ahead style against Benavidez’ Olympic pedigree, we have all the makings of a fantastic fight for fans.”
“There is no better way to present boxing fans with a pre-holiday gift than to feature the return of Timothy Bradley Jr. headlining an attractive card on World Championship Boxing, Live on HBO,” said Peter Nelson, Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports. “Bradley squares off against Diego Chaves, whose in-your-face style of fighting will keep Tim on his toes the entire night. And we anticipate fireworks from the rest of the telecast action.”
Promoted by Top Rank, tickets go on sale Friday, October 24 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Priced at $40-150, tickets will be available for purchase at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/ or through Ticketmaster.
