Saturday’s HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The main event features a matchup of welterweights Timothy Bradley Jr. and Brandon Rios in a scheduled 12-round fight. The telecast kicks off with a featherweight title fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Romulo Koasicha.
Official Weights from Las Vegas:
Timothy Bradley Jr.: 146.0 lbs.
Brandon Rios: 147.2 lbs.
Vasyl Lomachenko: 125.6 lbs.
Romulo Koasicha: 125.6 lbs.
Join the conversation on Twitter: #BradleyRios
https://youtu.be/dNdunO39R70
Two-division world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY JR. and former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS, both who have fought in Fights of the Year in 2013 and 2012, respectively, will step on the scale for the Official Weigh-In Tomorrow! Friday, November 6, in the Margaux Ballroom at Wynn Las Vegas (3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV. 89109). The fighters will step on the scale beginning at 3:00 p.m. PT. Fans are invited to attend!
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight world champion VASYL LOMACHENKO (4-1, 2 KOs), of Odessa, Ukraine, his opponent, No. 7 world-rated contender ROMULO KOASICHA (24-4, 14 KOs), of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and 2012 Olympic gold medalist and undefeated No. 5 world-rated middleweight contender RYOTA MURATA (7-0, 5 KOs), from Tokyo, in his U.S. debut, are in the featured undercard bouts .
Bradley, (32-1-1, 12 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., in his second reign as WBO welterweight world champion, collides with Rios (33-2-1, 23 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif., in a 12-round all-Southern California welterweight showdown. Bradley vs. Rios will take place This Saturday! November 7, at the Thomas & Mack Center, located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will open with the Lomachenko-Koasicha world title fight.
https://youtu.be/hBfFC8uhCYs
World Championship Boxing Saturday on HBO: Bradley Jr. vs. Rios, Lomachenko vs. Koasicha
One of the sport’s best fighters returns to the ring to battle one of the game’s most popular sluggers when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: TIMOTHY BRADLEY JR. VS. BRANDON RIOS AND VASYL LOMACHENKO VS. ROMULO KOASICHA is presented SATURDAY, NOV. 7 at 9:30 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside to call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdates: Nov. 8 (9:30 a.m.) and 9 (11:45 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: Nov. 10 (11:00 p.m.)
Timothy Bradley Jr. (32-1-1, 12 KOs), from Palm Springs, Cal., takes on hard-hitting Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 23 KOs) of Oxnard, Cal., in a scheduled 12-round welterweight championship contest. One of the sport’s most accomplished pros, Bradley, 32, has earned acclaim for his willingness to take on any challenge. His sterling record includes two Manny Pacquiao fights and notable wars with Juan Manuel Marquez and Ruslan Provodnikov. Bradley began his 2015 season with a victory over Jessie Vargas in June, when he claimed a 147-pound title belt. He returns to Las Vegas with veteran Teddy Atlas as his new trainer.
Brandon Rios, 29, trains with Robert Garcia in the boxing hotbed of Oxnard, Cal., and looks to secure a second world title in as many weight divisions. He became one of the top attractions in the 140-pound weight class by brawling and slugging his way to signature wins, including two over archrival Mike Alvarado. The contrasting styles of Bradley and Rios have experts and fans anticipating an all-action affair.
Opening the telecast, world featherweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko (4-1, 2 KOs) of Odessa, Ukraine, meets challenger Romulo Koasicha (25-4, 14 KOs) of San Luis Potosi, Mexico in a 12-round, 126-pound clash. Koasicha, 24, has a huge advantage in professional experience, but Lomachenko, 27, is widely regarded as one of the top amateur boxers ever, having captured gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Although he has had only five pro bouts, Lomachenko should prove a fearless competitor.
Immediately following the live boxing coverage, HBO presents episode #1 of 24/7 Cotto/Canelo at 11:45 p.m. (ET/PT).
Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.
® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
Tim Bradley: I’m prepared for Brandon Rios’ intense pressure
Two-division world champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY JR. and his new trainer TEDDY ATLAS hosted their first-ever Media Workout today at the Tim Bradley Boxing Gym in Indio, Calif. Bradley (32-1-1, 12 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif., is 10 days away from for his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title defense against former world champion BRANDON “Bam Bam” RIOS (33-2-1, 23 KOs), of Oxnard, Calif. Coincidentally, both Bradley and Rios have fought in Fights of the Year in 2013 and 2012, respectively. Here is what Bradley and Atlas had to say:
TIM BRADLEY
“Rios can bring on the pressure all night long and we will deal with it. We are prepared for intense pressure. The only chance Rios has is a lucky punch and that’s not going to happen. Teddy Atlas brought in two sparring partners who have put pressure on me every single second for the last three weeks. Rios is living on a prayer and he knows it.
“I don’t care what Rios is doing in his camp. I am only concerned about what I am going to do on fight night. I am absolutely, totally focused. I am not the same fighter I was before. When Teddy came to camp he challenged me, not what I could do physically but my mental aspect of fighting.
“When Teddy came to camp he took a book of images of certain rounds I had fought previously. There were notes about what I did right and what I did wrong. No trainer of mine has ever prepared for a fight like Teddy has for me against Rios.
“My game plan is to stay totally focused for 36 minutes of fighting. Rios fights hard, is relentless, can endure pain and look for one shot to hurt me. I want this fight badly. I plan to keep it in control my way. Teddy is full of wisdom. Together we are going to win this big fight.”
TEDDY ATLAS
“We looked at a lot of video of Rios to take a look at how he moves and his tendencies. We are not concerned about what is happening in the Rios camp because I’ve seen fighters have bad camps and fight well and have seen fighters who had great camps not perform on fight night.
“Tim did his job to prepare for Rios. He knows what it takes and what we have to do to win on November 7. Tim is ready to fight. We both know what needs to be done — total focus for 12 complete rounds — to win this fight.”
