Things are heating up for the second half of 2015 and here are the latest stories in the latest edition of “Around the Ring”:
- Rios Against Bradley is On – Maybe not officially but it looks like everything is pointing for this mega fight between Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios and Timothy “Desert Storm” is ready to go down on November 7th at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. The fight has been spoken about for quite some time before talks broke down but by the looks of it, it is back on with the fans being the biggest winners in all it.
- Changes to Bradley Team – On the heels of the possible announcement for the Rios-Bradley fight, the shocking news that Timothy Bradley has decided to make changes to his team and get a new trainer broke through. Not devoid of controversy, Joel Diaz, his former trainer, claims that he found out from a message left by Bradley’s wife/manager while Timothy announced that he would never disrespect Diaz who he spent ten years with and won multiple titles in different divisions. No word of who Bradley is training with next.
- Mendoza to Defend at Home – IBF junior flyweight champion Javier “Cobra” Mendoza will defend his title for the second time in a row near his home of Tijuana. After capturing the vacant title in Tijuana, he defended it months later against Milan Melindo in Ensenada, Mexico, only about 80 miles south of Tijuana. Now he will be back in his hometown of Tijuana on October to defend against an opponent to be named. Mendoza is managed by former champion Erik “Terrible” Morales.
- Broner Not Speaking – Not known for shortness of words, Adrien “The Problem” Broner has vowed not to speak to the media until after his October 3rd fight against Khabib Allakhverdiev in Cincinnati, OH. Broner took umbrage at a piece written by Dan Rafael for ESPN where the validity of the title he is fighting for is questioned. Despite not talking to the press, Broner attended a press conference to announce the fight in his hometown but instead utilized his assistant, Brendan Fogel, as his mouthpiece. Fogel read from a prepared statement and explained the situation to the amassed media. If Broner wins the fight, he will capture the vacant WBA light welterweight title giving him four titles in as many divisions.
- Arum Sees Pacquiao Retirement Soon – Top Rank’s Bob Arum says that there is one more fight left in his star Manny Pacquiao before retiring and joining the Philippine senate. After that, Arum says the sky is the limit for the megastar, even maybe the presidency of his country. Pacquaio is recuperating from a shoulder injury suffered from his fight held this past May against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Arum assured that the thirty-six year old Pacquiao will be ready in 2016 to get back in the ring but it would be his last time, possibly against Amir Khan in the Middle East.
