Tim Bradley to Fight Dec. 15 in Miami on HBO, Andre Berto Likely Opponent

UPDATE:

According to the Twitter account of Lance Pugmire, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions is representing Andre Berto, and there have been no negotiations about a possible Bradley vs. Berto matchup.

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Lance Pugmire ‏@latimespugmire

Interestingly, Schaefer says he represents Andre Berto and hasn't talked to Arum about him. Arum: "I thought DiBella" has Berto.

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Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KOs) has a date and venue for his next fight, but still no opponent as of yet. Bradley will be fighting in Miami at Marlins Stadium Dec. 15 on HBO, according to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times.

The Palm Springs, Calif. native, will be defending his WBO welterweight crown for the first time since winning it, in controversial fashion, from Manny Pacquiao earlier this year. 

Pugmire says Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) is the most likely candidate to land the fight according to unnamed sources close to the negotiations. 

Berto had been rumored to be fighting IBF junior middleweight champion Cornelius “K9” Bundrage on Nov. 24, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. A fight with Bradley could be much more lucrative for the former two-time welterweight champion Berto. 

There had been recent talk of a Bradley facing WBC interim welterweight champion Robert Guerrero, but due to the ongoing boxing cold war between rival promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy, that fight was unable to be made. 

Another name that had been floating around was IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson, but it appears that he is longer being considered. 

Promoter Bob Arum is hopeful that, with low ticket prices, the fight will be able to draw between 20,000 and 25,000 fans. 

Arum has promoted cards at both Yankee Stadium and Cowboys Stadium in the past, but those cards had huge names attached to them, Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto respectively.  

As neither fighter, Bradley or Berto, is a big draw, fighting in a stadium this size seems a little over ambitious for guys who can’t sell out 5,000 seat venues on their own.