Top Rank and manager Cameron Dunkin are working on a potential November 7 fight between WBO welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr and Brandon Rios, according to ESPN.com. Dunkin, who manages Rios, says HBO is interested in the fight, and that Top Rank is speaking with Bradley and his wife/manager Monica about the deal.
Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KO) beat Jessie Vargas on June 27 to win the interim WBO belt, which was upgraded to full title status after the sanctioning body stripped Floyd Mayweather. Rios (33-2-1, 24 KO) last fought in January, dominating rival Mike Alvarado to definitively win their trilogy.
"It's a big fight with a lot of storylines between two really good fighters," Dunkin said of the proposed Bradley fight. "We're working on it and hopefully we can get it done. Top Rank and HBO really want to make it. We want to make it too."
Rios, 29, has won two straight after back to back losses to Alvarado and Manny Pacquiao in 2013. The former lightweight titleholder had recently discussed terms for a fight with IBF titleholder Kell Brook, but those talks fell apart fairly quickly. Bradley, 31, is a great second option, as it were.