By Ryan Burton

Ruslan Provodnikov's manager Vadim Kornilov has advised BoxingScene.com that former champion Jose Luis Castillo (66-12-1, 57KOs) is the frontrunner to face Provodnikov on November 28th in Russia.

Castillo's son took to Twitter earlier today and announced that the fight was finalized. Kornilov revealed that Castillo was the frontrunner but cautioned that an agreement had not yet been reached.

Despite losing to Chris Algieri in June, Provodnikov has had difficulty finding an opponent for his fall return. Several fighters turned down the opportunity to face the "Siberian Rocky" in the United States in bouts that would have been televised by HBO. Provdnikov's promoter Artie Pellulo recent stated that Mauricio Herrera and Zab Judah also turned down mid-six figure purses to face the former WBO junior welterweight champion in Russia.

Castillo, at his best at 135-pounds, has been fighting as high as junior middleweight in recent years. He fought twice this, winning both times be knockout in five.

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