Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios is eyeing a showdown against Miguel Cotto or Ruslan Provodnikov as he is aching to get another shot at winning a world title.
Rios, who is coming off a ninth-round disqualification win against Diego Chaves last month, said in an interview with BoxingScene that his manager, Cameron Dunkin, is considering several opponents at this point.
But if he will have it his way, Rios insisted that he will challenge reigning World Boxing Council middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, who will defend his title on December 13 in New York against a yet-to-be-named opponent.
Rios, who has been fighting at the welterweight division over his last several bouts, said that he is open to moving up in weight just to get a shot at Cotto, who won the middleweight title against Sergio Martinez in June.
"It would be a bad ass fight because Cotto likes to fight," Rios said. "I'll go up to 152. We can fight at 152. I heard he's looking for an opponent in December. I'm ready. I'll be ready for December."
Rios is also being linked to former World Boxing Organization light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, who is also eyeing a return fight before the end of the year.
Provodnikov, who lost his title to Chris Algieri in June, won't get a rematch with his tormentor anytime soon because the unbeaten New Yorker is set to face Manny Pacquiao on November 22 in Macau, China.
Freddie Roach said that they are looking to arrange a showdown between Provodnikov and Rios, but the Hall of Fame trainer said that "Bam Bam" wants no piece of the Russian brawler. Roach came short of saying that Rios is afraid of Provodnikov.
When asked about Roach's statement, Rios insisted that he is not afraid of Provodnikov, but he will only face the Beryozovo, Russia native for the right price.
"I'm not scared of Provodnikov. Everybody thinks I'm scared of Provodnikov. Everyone thinks I'm scared of that fight; show me the money. They put up some money for it, I'll do it," Rios said. "You know I'm not going to fight him for stupid money because it is a dangerous fight for both of us. And I'm not going to fight for stupid money. Show me some money and I'll fight him, no problem. I have no problem fighting him."
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