Bradley vs. Márquez, Live via HBO Pay-Per-View, Oct. 12

          LAS VEGAS, NEV. (June 20, 2013) — Undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Champion and the pride of Palm Springs TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY, JR. will make the biggest defense of his world title when he faces Méxican icon and four-division world champion JUAN MANUEL “Dinamita” MÁRQUEZ.  The only two fighters to defeat Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao in the last seven years, Bradley will be looking to further state his case as one of boxing’s elite pound for pound fighters while Márquez attempts to add yet another highlight to his storied career — becoming the first Méxican fighter to win world titles in five different weight divisions.  Both enter this rumble fresh from Fight of the Year caliber performances.

Promoted by Top Rank^®, in association with Zanfer Promotions, Wynn Las Vegas, Márquez Boxing, and Tecate, Bradley vs. Márquez will take place Saturday, October 12, at the Thomas & Mack Center, on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets to the Bradley vs. Márquez welterweight championship event, priced at $800, $600, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50, will go on sale Tomorrow!  Friday, June 21, at 3:00 p.m. ET / Noon PT.  They can be purchased at the Thomas & Mack Center Box Office, online at UNLVtickets.com, at UNLVtickets Outlet Town Square Las Vegas Concierge, or by calling 702-739-FANS (3267).

“It will be an honor to step in the ring with Márquez, I am looking forward to displaying my skills and giving the fans a competitive fight,” said Bradley.  “I know that the one thing he and I will have in common, stepping into that ring, is that we’re both warriors. Neither one of us will take defeat as an option and with that being said we can say the countdown has officially begun.  October 12 will not just be another fight but a memorable fight for not only him and me but for the world of boxing.”

“This is a very tough fight. I am facing an undefeated fighter who has something that I want very much, said Márquez.  “It is a complicated fight but not impossible to win. I want that fifth world title.  Bradley is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. I think we have the styles to make a great fight.”

“This fight will be a very exciting confrontation between the two best fighters in the world today,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.  “Timothy Bradley, the undefeated, reigning world welterweight champion, has always distinguished  himself in the ring. Juan Manuel Márquez is the most popular fighter in México and is coming off a sensational win over Manny Pacquiao.  Márquez will try with all of his might to win his historic fifth world championship.”

“The phenomenal victories registered by both Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Márquez in their last ring performances makes the October 12 showdown in Las Vegas a fight fan’s dream,” said Mark Taffet, senior vice president, HBO Sports. “Bradley-Márquez is one of the sport’s elite and most highly anticipated matchups of 2013.”

“We are thrilled to work with Top Rank in presenting this highly-anticipated match-up,” said Maurice Wooden, president of Wynn Las Vegas. “This will undoubtedly be an exciting event for both our guests and boxing fans as Juan Manuel Márquez attempts to become the only fighter in México’s boxing history to win world titles in five weight classes by defeating current champion, Timothy Bradley Jr.”

Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs), from Palm Springs, Calif., a two-division world champion trained by Joel Diaz, returns to the ring off  two career-best victories.  On June 9, 2012  Bradley moved up in weight and won a split decision victory over Pacquiao, ending the defending WBO welterweight champion’s title reign and his seven-year winning streak.  It was only the fourth professional loss Pacquiao had suffered in a 60-bout career that included world titles in eight different weight divisions.  Bradley, 29, won his first world title in 2008, travelling across the pond to dethrone the defending WBC super lightweight champion Junior Witter in the Englishman’s backyard of Nottingham, England. Bradley’s sixth-round knockdown of Witter shocked the hometown crowd as Bradley won a hard-fought split decision. One year later, in his second championship defense, Bradley unified the title by dominating then-WBO champion Kendall Holt. In a career-defining fight, Bradley weathered a first-round knockdown, and showed his trademark heart and determination during the remainder of the match, to win a unanimous decision. Bradley opted to keep the WBO junior welterweight title. Bradley successfully defended that title twice. In August 2009 he dominated former world champion Nate Campbell before an accidental clash of heads near the end of round three led to the fight later being ruled no contest when Campbell could not continue due to a nasty gash over his left eye. Bradley followed that up with a December 2009 schooling of undefeated interim WBO champion Lamont Peterson, which included a third-round knockdown, the first time Peterson had ever hit the canvas in his 27-bout professional career. With no worthy contenders available to defend his title against, Bradley moved up to 147 pounds and won a 12-round unanimous decision over undefeated Top-10 welterweight contender Carlos Abregu on July 17, 2010. Bradley kicked off 2011 by reunifying the welterweight titles with a 10-round shellacking of undefeated WBC super light champion Devon Alexander in January, followed by an eighth-round knockout victory of former world champion Joel Casamayor in November, setting up his date with destiny — Pacquiao.  In his last fight, on March 13, Bradley survived a brutal battle, going toe-to-toe for 12 Hellish rounds, against No. 3-rated contender Ruslan Provodnikov to retain his WBO welterweight title in what many consider Bradley’s finest  — and bravest — fight of his career.  With 2013 half over, it is still considered the fight of the year.

Márquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs), of México City, trained by Hall of Famer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristáin, is one of only a rare few fighters from México to have won world titles in four different weight divisions.  He captured his first world title — the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight championship — with a seventh-round stoppage of three-time featherweight champion Manuel Medina in 2003.  He unified that title that same year with a decisive victory over World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight titlist Derrick Gainer.  Márquez successfully defended the titles three times during his three-year reign, which included unanimous decision victories over Victor Polo and Orlando Salido and a Draw with Pacquiao.  After losing the crown to Chris John, and winning the interim featherweight crown, both in 2006, Márquez moved up in weight to dethrone the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera and claim his World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight championship belt in 2007.  After successfully defending the title, by a unanimous decision over Ricky Juarez, he lost the title in his 2008 rematch with Pacquiao by the slimmest of margins — a one point split decision.  Since that fight, Márquez has won seven of his last nine fights, including knockout victories of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, and Michael Katsidis — the latter two in WBA/WBO lightweight championship fights.  Last year he won his fourth world title in as many divisions, capturing the WBO interim junior welterweight title with a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over Sergey Fedchenko.  He ended the year with his most satisfying victory, a sixth-round knockout of professional nemesis Pacquiao, which was voted the 2012 Fight of the Year and the 2012 Knockout of the Year.