Timothy Bradley gives thoughts on Cold War, Richard Schaefer leaving Golden Boy

Timothy Bradley gives thoughts on Cold War, Richard Schaefer leaving Golden Boy
Mark E. Ortega
BehindTheGloves.com
June 2, 2014


When Timothy Bradley accepted his Fight of the Year Award at the BWAA Awards in Las Vegas for his March 2013 bout against Ruslan Provodnikov, he also gave a message to the assembled attendants. It is time for the Cold War to end and for the best fights available to be made.

With members from HBO, Showtime, Golden Boy Promotions, and Top Rank all under one roof for the dinner that took place a few days before Floyd Mayweather would face Marcos Maidana, it was as good a time as any for a top fighter to be vocal about boxing’s Cold War.

Monday afternoon, it was announced that Richard Schaefer has left Golden Boy, the company he was the CEO to and an integral part of the southern California company’s success in recent years. Behind The Gloves reached out to Bradley and spoke with him briefly on his thoughts about the development and whether or not he thinks it will be a building block to making fights with his promoter Top Rank in the future.

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2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year - Gennady Golovkin

Breakthrough Fighter of 2013: Gennady Golovkin

Mark E. Ortega
December 25, 2013

A number of fighters enjoyed years in 2013 that may later be traced back to the beginning of their legacies. Here's who I deemed the breakthrough fighters of the year.

Commentary: Calling Alvarado a ‘quitter’ is unfair

Commentary: Calling Alvarado a ‘quitter’ is unfair
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 21, 2013


When Tony Weeks went to the corner of Mike Alvarado at the completion of the 10th round during his WBO 140-pound title defense against Ruslan Provodnikov, the veteran referee gave Alvarado every opportunity to continue.

Alvarado's trainer Rudy Hernandez made it clear that he was intent on stopping the fight, though he gave Alvarado multiple opportunities to say he wanted to continue.

Alvarado stayed quiet. By definition, he quit.

However, for fans and critics to question Alvarado's manhood and heart afterwards is where a line should be drawn.

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Provodnikov wears down Alvarado to stoppage

Provodnikov wears down Alvarado to stoppage
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 19, 2013


BROOMFIELD, Colo. – When Mike Alvarado tasted the canvas twice in the eighth round Saturday night, a weight must have lifted from Artie Pelullo’s shoulders. Challenger Ruslan Provodnikov, whom Pelullo promotes, had opened up what was to that point a close fight on the scorecards.

Twice this year, Pelullo fighters wound up on the losing end of close decisions against fighters promoted by Top Rank. First, in March, Provodnikov lost a close decision to Timothy Bradley in a Fight of the Year candidate. Last month, Bryan Vera lost a highly disputed decision to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., in a fight that was unfair before the bell even rang.

Though all the officials for Saturday’s main event were from outside the state of Colorado, where Alvarado resides, each of the first seven rounds were extremely close and could have gone either way.

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Bits & Pieces: Provodnikov likely to go without Roach

Bits & Pieces: Provodnikov likely to go without Roach
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 17, 2013


At Ruslan Provodnikov's media day at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood a few weeks ago, the esteemed trainer told RingTV.com that he'd be in the corner on fight night against Mike Alvarado. The fight takes place on Saturday night in Broomfield, Colorado, close to Alvarado's Denver home. HBO will televise.

“Manny [Pacquiao] has given me permission to go,” said Roach, referring to the fact he'd have to leave Pacquiao's camp in the Philippines in order to make it out to Denver for the fight.

“I'm going to be able to make the fight by a little bit and then I'll have to leave right away. I don't know exactly how that is going to play out yet.”

Reports since have indicated that Roach will in fact not be in the corner on fight night and that Provodnikov will instead have assistant Marvin Somodio working the corner on fight night.

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Weight won’t be a problem for Provodnikov, says Roach

Weight won’t be a problem for Provodnikov, says Roach
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
October 8, 2013


Freddie Roach has been busy the past few weeks and he will stay busy with charges Ruslan Provonikov and Manny Pacquiao. Last Saturday, Roach helped Miguel Cotto get an easy third-round TKO of Delvin Rodriguez. Next Saturday in Denver, Provodnikov will be a slight underdog when he meets Mike Alvarado in a 140-pound bout on HBO.

Provonikov is coming off a strong challenge against Timothy Bradley in March in what is currently one of the leading Fight of the Year candidates. Many fans have circled Alvarado-Provodnikov on their calendars as being another one of the year's best action fights. RingTV.com spoke to Roach last week about Provodnikov's preparation.

After successfully campaigning at 140 pounds, Provodnikov challenged Bradley at the 147-pound welterweight limit. Coming back down in weight can be an arduous task for some, but Roach made it clear he doesn't expect too much of a problem.

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Bits & Pieces: Bradley's trainer weighs in on Marquez fight

Bits & Pieces: Bradley's trainer weighs in on Marquez fight
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
September 10, 2013


In attendance at Saturday’s card in Indio, Calif., was trainer Joel Diaz, who has a big fight coming up next month as he prepares Timothy Bradley to face Juan Manuel Marquez.

A lot of people are arguing that Bradley will have a hard time coming off the rough fight he had with Ruslan Provodnikov in March (recently voted best fight of the year so far in a RingTV poll). Diaz explained to RingTV why that fight was difficult and why it won’t affect him in October.

“One of the biggest reasons he got hurt in the last fight is that he blew up to 185 pounds due to the injuries to his feet [from the Manny Pacquiao fight last June],” said Diaz.

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Did HBO's 'Champions Dinner' snub Rigondeaux?

Did HBO's 'Champions Dinner' snub Rigondeaux?
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
August 8, 2013


This past weekend in Los Angeles, HBO Sports had a private dinner that they called the "Dinner of Champions."

Fighters in attendance were Adonis Stevenson, Ruslan Provodnikov, Mike Alvarado, Gennady Golovkin, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Nonito Donaire, Juan Manuel Marquez, Terence Crawford, and Mikey Garcia, based on a picture tweeted by Provodnikov.

When reached by e-mail for a list of those in attendance, HBO informed RingTV.com that it was a private dinner and that the guest list was not available.

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Vargas hopes patience pays off with tonight's HBO debut

Vargas hopes patience pays off with tonight's HBO debut
Mark E. Ortega
RingTV.com
March 16, 2013


In the short term, it looked as though Jessie Vargas had made a mistake leaving the stable of fellow Las Vegas resident Floyd Mayweather Jr. to join up with Las Vegas-based Top Rank Promotions nearly a year ago.

 Prior to the switch, Vargas had been positioned well in showcase bouts on Mayweather pay-per-view undercards, perhaps the most visibility a young fighter could ask for.

 After being brought on with Top Rank, Vargas took a bit of a step back. He was no longer fighting Josesito Lopez or Steve Forbes type guys at the MGM Grand on pay-per-view. He had been relegated to fighting lesser heralded names like Aaron Martinez and Vito Gasparyan on ESPN2 at places away from the Las Vegas Strip.

 But when Top Rank and their matchmakers Bruce Trampler and Brad Goodman make decisions on what speed they are going to move you at, you would be smart to listen.

 “They did tell me to be patient, that they were gonna get me there,” said Vargas in a phone interview with RingTV on Thursday.

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Younger Magdaleno maintains focus while title shot looms for older brother

Younger Magdaleno maintains focus while title shot looms for older brother

Mark E. Ortega

RingTV.com

March 12, 2013

Less than a week from Saturday, Jessie Magdaleno will head on an expedition to Macau, where he hopes to witness his 130-pound older brother win his first major title. Junior lightweight contender Diego Magdaleno takes on WBO titleholder Roman Martinez in a fight that will be televised by HBO2 in the afternoon as part of a special “night” of boxing, and as usual with the Magdaleno brothers, Jessie will be along for the ride.

 But first things first, the younger, and according to many, the more talented Magdaleno brother has his own business to take care of. The 21-year old junior featherweight prospect fights journeyman Carlos Fulgencio on Saturday's Timothy Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov undercard where he is expected to get a quick and impressive victory.

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