Sports

Bravo's first title fight will be July 30

Nito Bravo's tempestuous boxing career came full circle Wednesday when he signed for his first title fight July 30 at Desert Diamond Casino. The Tucson junior welterweight (20-9-2, 12 knockouts) will challenge Mexican Ernesto Zepeda (36-8-4, 32 KOs) for the International Boxing Association's Continental Americas title at 140 pounds. The 34-year-old Bravo, who retired in 1992 and then came back in 2001, will headline his second card for Golden Boy Promotions. "This is what I've been fighting for my whole life," Bravo said Wednesday at the Aztlan Boxing Gym in South Tucson. "I've been battling through everything - from controversial decisions and bad opponents - to get to this point in my career. "I can't wait to win the belt for Tucson, even if it's a minor championship, and bring it back to this gym." Bravo's comeback was fueled by hometown interest in his career. Seven of his last nine fights have been at Desert Diamond, including a controversial no contest against Victor Mendoza in January, and a widely unpopular decision loss to Demetrius Hopkins in March. "We thought we won clearly against Hopkins, and the no contest held up his purse for more than a month," Bravo's manager, Joe Agredano, said Wednesday. "Those things are hard to handle. It makes you wonder why you're in this business. It makes you feel like you've been robbed. "We've tried to turn those factors around as motivation. We keep fighting. This title fight is a title fight. It's not for the championship of the world. but it's in the right direction." Bravo's four-round fight with Mendoza ended with a melee after the bell. Referee Nico Perez disqualified both fighters, and their checks were withheld by the Arizona Boxing Commission. Bravo was fined $975 of his $3,900 purse after a hearing in February, and the bout was ruled a no contest. The Hopkins fight was his most significant to date. He was fighting the nephew of middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. It was televised on ESPN, and promoter Oscar De La Hoya watched it in person. "I've looked at the tape a lot, because it's a hard thing to put in the past," Bravo said. "I'm not sure what else I could have done to win." Judges Gonzalo Valenzuela and Gerald Maltz scored the 10-round fight 97-93, and Chris Wilson had it 98-82. They were booed mercilessly by the standing-room-only crowd of 1,850. "I was on top of Hopkins the whole fight. I took the fight to him and beat him to the punch," Bravo said. Bravo will need his aggressive style against the hard-punching Zepeda. "I have seen Zepeda fight, and he likes to mix it up," Bravo said. "It's nothing I'm worried about. I can take it." Short jabs

● Clarence Vinson (14-2, 6 KOs), a 2000 Olympic bronze medalist on the U.S. team, will fight Mexican Oscar Andrade (33-24-1, 18 KOs) for the World Boxing Organization's Latino Bantamweight title in the co-main event. ● Light heavyweight Otis Griffin, the winner of De La Hoya's "Next Great Champ" reality television series, has signed for the undercard. ● Desert Diamond Casino marketing director Treena Parvello said the Saturday night date was the only one open in July for Golden Boy. Previous cards at Desert Diamond have been on Thursday or Friday nights. ● Hector Camacho Jr. has agreed to fight July 23 in San Jose, Calif., against an opponent to be announced. Camacho Jr. fought Saturday night at the Tucson Convention Center, knocking out Francisco Barra in the third round.