Tim Bradley to Return December 13 After First Loss

(Tim Bradley, left, during his 2013 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez)

Former welterweight title-holder Timothy Bradley is set to return to the ring December 13 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. Bradley is coming off of his first career loss, coming at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in a highly publicized rematch.

Bradley will square off against 28 year old Argentine Diego Chaves, who is also coming off of a loss, courtesy of a controversial disqualification against Brandon Rios. Chaves possess solid power, having knocked out 19 of his 25 opponents, and a respectable record of 23-2-0. Chaves also has a bit of an edge to him, as displayed in the Rios fight where things got a bit dirty and out of hand. Bradley knows this will be a tough test for him, telling ESPN.com in an interview, "Chaves is definitely a world-class fighter. This is another tough challenge for myself, but I want challenges and I want to fight top fighters and give fans exciting fights."

For those unaware of Tim Bradley's style, he is a smart defensive fighter with good speed and foot work. However, he has the propensity to abandon his trainer's game plan and stay in the center of the ring trading punches with his opponents who may look to keep him stationary. Bradley does not have world-class punching power, but has one of the best chins in boxing and is never afraid to stay in the pocket and catch & shoot. Diego Chaves will likely try to make this into a rough and dirty fight, and try to lure Tim into a brawl. Come December 13th, we'll see which Tim Bradley comes to fight.


(Photo Credit: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/oct/13/bradley-marquez-wbo-title)
(Quotes: http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11631868/timothy-bradley-jr-diego-chaves-fight-set-dec-13-las-vegas)