Russian Ruslan Provodnikov is expected to land in Los Angeles on Aug. 4 in part to begin preparing for his planned Oct. 19 clash against Mike Alvarado, according to the boxer’s manager, Vadim Kornilov.

Alvarado (34-1, 23 knockouts) has yet to agree to the fight two weeks after Provodnikov already has inked his name on a deal to fight for the WBO’s junior welterweight belt. The bout is being targeted for HBO in Denver, near Alvarado’s hometown of Thornton, Colo.

Although Alvarado has expressed discontent over the money being offered by promoter Top Rank for the bout, the boxer’s manager, Henry Delgado, has informed RingTV.com that he has “faith that the fight will happen,” characterizing the deal as “close” to being done.

At any rate, Kornilov said Provodnikov will be in Los Angeles in advance of a planned public relations shoot with HBO that is slated for Aug. 6-7. He will then train at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif., under Freddie Roach.

“He will be in Los Angeles on Aug. 4 or 5, no matter what,” said Kornilov.

“Ruslan’s planning to start training with Freddie Roach and Gavin McMillan at that time, and that will be together with Miguel Cotto, who is also scheduled to arrive during that time. That’s what Freddie told us.”

Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) will be in his first fight under Roach as he readies for an Oct. 5 bout against Delvin Rodriguez.

In the meantime, Provodnikov is hopeful that Alvarado accepts the fight soon, adding, “I think that all of the fans will thank us for this fight. It’s a Fight-of-the-Year candidate, in my mind.”

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]