Bradley to take on Rios in title fight

Timothy Bradley has hammered out a deal with Oxnard’s Brandon Rios, and the welterweight world title fight between the Southern Californians will take place Nov. 7 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Vasyl Lomachenko will defend his featherweight belt on the card, which will be televised by HBO.

Bradley (32-1-1, 12 knockouts) is obligated to fight Sadam Ali, the World Boxing Organization’s top contender.

But the fight’s promoter, Bob Arum, said he believes the Bradley-Rios winner can still take on Ali within a 10month window from when Bradley won the belt.

“We’re not concerned,” Arum said. “I’m sure the WBO will sanction the fight and that the winner will fight Ali.”

Arum said the Bradley-Rios winner could choose to vacate the title and seek a 2016 bout against Mexico’s 154-pound Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, should he defeat Miguel Cotto on Nov. 21.

Bradley was elevated to WBO champion after his June 27 victory over Jessie Vargas at StubHub Center, when the sanctioning body stripped Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the title for not paying sanctioning fees.

Bradley last week split with Joel Diaz, his longtime trainer in the Coachella Valley. Arum said he was “taken aback” by the split and was unsure who would train Bradley.

Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs), a former lightweight champion, hasn’t fought since January, when he defeated Mike Alvarado in their third meeting.

Those three fights were known for toe-to-toe action, and Bradley has engaged in similar battles, notably his narrow decision over Ruslan Provodnikov.

“These are two guys who aren’t afraid of anything, who’ll come to fight,” Arum said. “Should be real exciting.”