Bradley Still Fighting for Respect

Bradley Still Fighting for Respect MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA — Long compared to the sometimes underappreciated Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Timothy Bradley Jr. finds himself in a position the middleweight great would have had a chance to sympathize with had he gotten the nod over Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987. Given the edge in scoring over beloved superstar Manny Pacquiao last year, Bradley felt the wrath of the Filipino fans and pundits alike. Despite what should have been a career-changing win, Bradley still has something to prove as he takes on determined challenger Ruslan Provodnikov in the HBO-televised main event tonight emanating from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Fighters weighed-in Friday at the Manhattan Beach Marriott. Bradley (29-0, 12 KOs) of Palm Springs, California will be competing as a welterweight for just the third time in the last six years as he makes the first defense of the WBO 147- pound title he claimed from Pacquiao last June. Bradley was slow to recover from injures sustained in that bout and opted to sit out the winter before accepting the challenge of Provodnikov tonight. A career 140-pounder himself, Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KOs) of Beryozovo, Yugra, Russia vacated his various world rankings at light welterweight to take tonight’s bout and now finds himself the WBO #3 ranked welterweight. Provodnikov worked his way into this opportunity by stringing together a five-fight win streak since his lone defeat to Mauricio Herrera back in 2011. Provodnikov and Bradley both weighed in at 146.6-pounds. In an intriguing co-feature, one of two undefeated welterweight prospects will graduate to world contender as Jessie Vargas (21-0, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada takes on Wale Omotoso (23-0, 19 KOs) of Hollywood, California by way of Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria in a ten-rounder with the minor WBC Continental Americas Welterweight title at stake. Vargas, who scaled 146.6, has hardly been tested in his four fights since a close decision win over eventual titlist Josesito Lopez in September of 2011. Based out of the Wild Card Gym, Omotoso came in at 146.8-pounds. Despite his glossy record, Omotoso remains an unproven commodity, but a win over Vargas would go a long way in changing that perception. In off-TV undercard action, Andy Ruiz Jr. (17-0, 11 KOs) of Imperial, California by way of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico takes on journeyman Matthew Greer (15-9, 13 KOs) of Saint Louis, Missouri in an eight-round heavyweight bout. Ruiz, who comes in off of an impressive third-round shellacking of Elijah McCall, scaled 246-pounds. Greer, who opened his year on the losing end of a second-round stoppage against Deontay Wilder, weighed in at 240-pounds. Well regarded prospect Jesse Magdaleno (13-0, 9 KOs) of Las Vegas looks to remain busy against Carlos Fulgencio (19-9-1, 12 KOs) of Santo Domingo de Guzman, Dominican Republic in an eight-round featherweight bout. Magdaleno, the younger brother of world ranked Diego Magdaleno, scaled 123.4-pounds, while Fulgencio made 123.6. Oscar Valdez (2-0, 2 KOs) of Tucson, Arizona by way of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico will take on Carlos Iguera Gonzalez (1-2) of Los Angeles, California in a six-round super featherweight bout. Valdez’ original opponent Jose Morales came in way over the contracted limit at 137.8-pounds. Iguera Gonzalez was scheduled to fight unbeaten Victor Pasillas, but Gonzalez himself came in overweight. Pasillas weighed in at 124.6, but turned down the fight when Iguera Gonzalez came in at 128. Top Rank quickly matched Iguera Gonzalez with Valdez, who also happened to be 128-pounds, saving the spot the promising wunderkind. Popular super bantamweight prospect Gabino Saenz (8-0-1, 6 KOs) of Indio, California makes his 2013 debut against Cesar Valenzuela (3-1-1, 1 KO) of Phoenix, Arizona in a six-round bout. Fighting as a featherweight tonight, Saenz weighed in at 126-pounds. Valenzuela, who got off the deck to score a stoppage last time out, weighed in at 125-pounds. Aiming to get back on the winning track after two straight defeats, Ramon Valadez (11-3, 6 KOs) East Los Angeles, California gets a softer touch in Victor Sanchez (3-5-1) of Houston, Texas in a bout scheduled for six. Valadez, whose recent losses came against fighters with a combined 24-1-2 record, weighed in at 126.8-pounds. Similarly Sanchez, who came in at 127-pounds, is 0 for his last two against fighters with a combined 28-1-1 record. International amateur standout Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Oxnard, California by way of Kaunas, Lithuania will take on late replacement Eridanni Leon Quintero of Inglewood, California in a pairing of fighters making their professional debuts. Kavaliauskas weighed in at 150.2, while Leon Quintero made 150.6-pounds. Tickets for the event, promoted by Top Rank, are available online at Ticketmaster.com. Quick Weigh-in Results: WBO Welterweight Championship, 12 Rounds Bradley Jr. 146.6 Provodnikov 146.6 WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Championship, 10 Rounds Vargas 146.6 Omotoso 146.8 Heavyweights, 8 Rounds Ruiz Jr. 246 Greer 240 Featherweights, 8 Rounds Magdaleno 123.4 Fulgencio 123.6 Super Featherweights, 6 Rounds Valdez 128 Iguera Gonzalez 128 Featherweights, 6 Rounds Saenz 126 Valenzuela 125 Featherweights, 6 Rounds Valadez 126.8 Sanchez 127 Light Middleweights, 4 Rounds Kavaliauskas 150.2 Leon Quintero 150.6 Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected]..

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