There's been a change of plans for junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr.
Due to make his HBO debut on June 19, Bradley was slated to face welterweight brawler Luis Carlos Abregu in a nontitle bout. However, promoter Gary Shaw told ESPN.com on Thursday there had been a change. He made a deal with Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions for Argentina's Marcos Maidana to challenge Bradley for his 140-pound title.
Shaw said they will meet at the Agua Caliente resort in Rancho Mirage, Calif., which is only a few miles from Bradley's hometown of Palm Springs.
"It's done," Shaw said. "It's a tremendous fight. It's a great fight in a great division. Great for fans, who will definitely see an exciting fight, great for HBO, great for Gary Shaw, Golden Boy, Bradley, Maidana and boxing. It's great for all of us."
The fight had been in the works for the past week or so and came out of the blue. Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs) thought he'd be facing Abregu while HBO was working with Don King, who promotes unified titleholder Devon Alexander, on a deal to match Alexander and Maidana in August.
Shaw said the change in Bradley's opponent came about while he was waiting for Abregu to return a signed contract. While he was waiting, Shaw said he had a meeting with HBO executive Kery Davis.
"He asked if I had a signed agreement from Abregu and when I said I didn't, he said, 'I have an idea. Would you fight Maidana?' I said, 'In a heartbeat.'" Shaw said. "We talked about it for a few days and when I spoke to Richard we were able to get it worked out and the fight got made."
Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs), 26, who holds an interim belt, looked superb knocking out Victor Cayo in the sixth round on HBO March 27.
"We're ready to go," said Cameron Dunkin, Bradley's manager. "It's what Tim deserves and what he needs. The other kid [Maidana] deserves this too. It's a great opportunity for both of them. Tim was so excited when I told him about it. He just went crazy. He sounded like a little kid. It makes you feel good when something like this gets done and your guy is happy."
Alexander will still fight Aug. 7, but King and HBO need to find another opponent. King plans to stage the fight in Alexander's hometown of St. Louis.
Bradley, 26, outpointed England's Junior Witter to win a world title in 2008. He unified two belts last April by surviving two knockdowns to win a unanimous decision against Kendall Holt, but was forced to vacate one of the titles.
In December, Bradley won a lopsided unanimous decision against previously undefeated mandatory challenger Lamont Peterson.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5069318
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