ESPN Boxing

How about some fighter picks for the two main bouts on Saturday’s big Showtime PPV card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Robert Guerrero and Daniel Ponce De Leon versus Abner Mares?

Here are some predictions on Mayweather-Guerrero, thanks to Showtime:

Canelo Alvarez: "Robert Guerrero has a great opportunity to win. He's hungry for glory and will try everything to get the victory. I am picking Guerrero.”

Danny Garcia: “Floyd Mayweather all the way. Robert Guerrero is a good fighter. He earned his shot, but Mayweather is the star.”

Mares: "Floyd Mayweather is such a talented fighter and he backs it up. He talks a lot, but he backs it up. I know Robert Guerrero is hungry and determined, but wanting to win doesn't get you a win. It's about what you can do inside the ring, and that's why Mayweather will win.”

Ponce De Leon: “I think Robert Guerrero can win if he fights the same way he fought Andre Berto, pressing the action like Jose Luis Castillo did against Floyd Mayweather. However, Mayweather is a great fighter and so difficult because his style, but I think Guerrero will win.”

Peter Quillin: “I never count Floyd Mayweather out. He's the best pound-for-pound fighter. He's who every fighter looks up to. I call it the Floyd Mayweather era of boxing. Robert Guerrero wanted this for a long time. He's a multi-division champion and he deserves it. They both have something to prove. I don't know who to pick here."

Fernando Guerrero: "You can never bet against Floyd Mayweather. He's just overall one of the best fighters ever. Gotta go with Mayweather.”

J’Leon Love: "Floyd Mayweather is too intelligent of a fighter.”

Leo Santa Cruz: “That is going to be another hard fight. I think Floyd Mayweather has more experience and he's smarter. He knows what he has to do to win. Guerrero is a good, smart fighter, but I think Mayweather is going to take it by decision.”

Austin Trout: “I'm picking Floyd Mayweather, but this fight is not as easy as everyone thinks it'll be. Robert Guerrero is hungry and has the ability to make it a tough fight.”

And here are some predictions on Ponce De Leon-Mares:

Robert Guerrero: "Both Daniel Ponce De Leon and Abner Mares are great Mexican warriors. Mares is going to come forward with pressure and Ponce De Leon will counter. I'm picking Ponce De Leon to win by a close split decision.”

Garcia: "I'm taking Daniel Ponce De Leon. I don't really see Abner Mares pulling it off at 126 pounds. That's a tough fight.”

Quillin: “A lot of people don't give Abner Mares the credit he deserves. Daniel Ponce De Leon has a rough, rugged style. I see Mares putting on a great performance against a guy like Ponce De Leon who gives people trouble, and coming out with the win."

Santa Cruz: "That is going to be another hard fight. They are both Mexican warriors. It can go either way, but if it goes to decision, Abner Mares will win. However, if Daniel Ponce De Leon catches him with a good punch, he will win by knockout.”

Trout: “Abner Mares takes this one. His youth and toughness can outdo the super tough Daniel Ponce De Leon.”

Fernando Guerrero: “Abner Mares just has the youth and the will. When guys are winning, they want to keep at it.”

Love: “Abner Mares has much better skills.”

England’s Martin Murray knew what he was up against going to Argentina to challenge middleweight champ Sergio Martinez in his homecoming fight Saturday night, and he came close to pulling the upset, too.

He dropped Martinez once officially and could have been credited with another knockdown that was controversially ruled a slip. In the end, all three judges had it 115-112 for Martinez, thrilling the nearly 50,000 who packed a soccer stadium in Buenos Aires.

But even in defeat, Murray showed he is a legitimate middleweight contender and deserves another fight of note.

He’d love another crack at Martinez (51-2-2, 38 KOs), but that isn’t going to happen. Martinez re-injured his surgically repaired right knee and broke his left hand. He’s out, most likely, until next spring. And even when he returns, Martinez is not going to face Murray (25-1-1, 11 KOs) again. He will move onto something else. Murray understands that.

"I'd love the chance to fight Martinez again, but there's no way I'll get the opportunity," Murray said. "Martinez is amongst the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world and I had him down twice, bossed him and lost a very close debatable decision in his own backyard, so I think I've proven I belong at world level.

“I'm obviously gutted that I'm not taking that belt home with me but I'm happy and proud that I can leave Argentina with my head held high, knowing that I represented [hometown] St. Helens and Great Britain.”

Still, Murray believes he deserved the decision.

"If it was fair scoring, then I would have got the decision but it was always going to be an uphill battle in Argentina and I knew that when I accepted the fight,” Murray said. “I just want to say a massive thank-you to my family, friends and team. I'm so lucky to have these people around me, especially Oliver Harrison, who's just an amazing trainer, and I know that one day I'll get them that world title that they all deserve.

"Also, a big thank-you to Sergio Martinez, his team and the people of Argentina. From day one, we were all treated so well and really looked after.”

Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. has never boxed outside of the United States as a professional and has not fought outside of Las Vegas since a 2005 fight against Sharmba Mitchell, which took place in Portland, Ore. That’s eight consecutive fights in Sin City.

Yet Mayweather, who defends his welterweight title against interim titlist Robert Guerrero on Saturday night (Showtime PPV, 9 ET) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, has often mentioned the possibility of going on the road, specifically to the United Kingdom, at some point before his career is over.

Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s adviser, reiterated that prospect, saying that Mayweather hopes to fight there at some point in the next 18 months.

“Floyd cannot wait until we can come over there and give the U.K. fans a big, big fight,” Ellerbe said. “Floyd has a tremendous fan base in the U.K. and we're looking at working on something now where he's going to come over there. Ever since the Ricky Hatton fight back in 2007, U.K. fans have been very loyal to Floyd and he definitely acknowledges that and he wants to bring a big, big event to the U.K.

“There's definitely a very strong possibility that Floyd will fight in the U.K. We'll see how this thing plays out. His focus is Saturday night and then we'll go from there. But we're definitely going to bring a big, big event to the U.K.”

I will, of course, believe it when I see it. The “Money” man loves Las Vegas, which is where he also lives and trains. I’d say there’s at least a remote chance of it happening.

Fighting overseas is complicated because of the need to time the main event to United States primetime for pay-per-view purposes, but you never know.

If Mayweather did take his game to the U.K., it would not surprise me at all if he faced England’s Amir Khan, a former unified junior welterweight titlist. Khan tested the welterweight waters on Saturday night, struggling to a 12-round decision win against Julio Diaz in a fight with a contract weight of 143 pounds. But if Mayweather did pick him to fight, it would probably be an easy deal to make because Khan is with Golden Boy Promotions, the company that will be promoting Mayweather’s seventh consecutive fight on Saturday night.

Want to perk up interest in the heavyweight division? Match two up-and-coming guys against each other and see what happens.

There are good fights to be made, even though most guys want to sit around waiting for a shot at one of the Klitschko brothers. But Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer wants to make interesting fights, Klitschko brothers be damned.

He wants to make a fight -- a very attractive fight, I might add -- between the 6-foot-7, 225-pound Deontay Wilder and 6-9, 250-pound Tyson Fury, two up-and-coming big men with a lot of question marks that a fight between them might answer.

Schaefer promotes Wilder, a 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, who has blasted through a litany of terrible opponents to compile a glittering record -- 28-0 -- without proving a thing other than he can knock out punching bags.

Wilder, 27, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., has real power in his right hand and obvious potential, but nobody knows if he can really fight because he has smashed his overmatched opponents so early, including the shot Audley Harrison on Saturday night in Sheffield, England, on the Amir Khan-Julio Diaz undercard. Wilder needed just 70 seconds and the first real punch of the fight -- a right hand -- to drill Harrison.

Fury (21-0, 15 KOs), 24, of England, is a bit more advanced than Wilder, having beaten opponents such as Dereck Chisora, Kevin Johnson and, on April 27 in New York, former cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham. But Fury has not shown the best chin. Obscure Neven Pajkic dropped him in a 2011 fight and Cunningham, a much smaller man, also dropped him and was roughing him in the early part of the fight. Wilder is a much bigger puncher than either of them.

“We’d like to make Wilder against Tyson Fury,” Schaefer said. “We’d do it in a minute. It would be a fight a lot of people would be interested in.”

Alas, like most interesting potential heavyweight fights, don’t count on seeing it.

Schaefer said Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez called Fury promoter Mick Hennessy to see if they were interested and they weren’t.

“Hennessy was saying that they have other options and this and that and other excuses,” Schaefer said. “They were not all that keen on it. It’s too bad.”

It is too bad.

Hall of Fame former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis was a star amateur who won an Olympic gold medal. He was also shockingly stopped in a pair of upset losses -- the only defeats of his career -- in world title fights by Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, both of which were avenged in knockout victories.

So Lewis, who developed a close relationship with trainer Emanuel Steward -- one of the great boxing minds in history -- took an interest in helping British heavyweight prospect David Price. Lewis knows what Price, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist and the 2012 ESPN.com prospect of the year, is going through.

In February, the heavily favored Price (15-1, 13 KOs), 29, was shockingly stopped in the second round by 41-year-old American contender Tony Thompson (37-3, 25 KOs). The fighters are now set for a July 6 rematch at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, Price's hometown.

To help Price prepare for the fight -- and undoubtedly impart some of the wisdom he learned from Steward -- Lewis will come on board as part of Price's training team. About 10 days from now, they will start working together in Canada, where Lewis lived for several years and the country he represented in the Olympics.

"David is a dedicated fighter," Lewis said. "He takes his training seriously and is single-minded in wanting to avenge that defeat. And as a fighter, I understand that and want to help him towards his goal."

Price and longtime trainer Franny Smith have been in talks with Lewis since Price's loss to Thompson.

"This is a fantastic opportunity to be able to work with one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, and I'm sure his knowledge will prove to be invaluable," Price said.

Lewis and Courtney Shand, who was an integral part of Lewis' training team, will work alongside Smith to get Price ready for the Thompson rematch. Lewis said he will also be ringside for the fight.

One of my favorite prospects, exciting junior welterweight Antonio Orozco, is getting back to work after being sidelined briefly because of an injury.


San Diego’s Orozco (16-0, 12 KOs), 25, will face Jose Reynoso (16-4-1, 3 KOs), 28, of Riverside, Calif., in a scheduled eight-rounder at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on May 3, Golden Boy Promotions announced Friday.

The fight is part of a Fox Sports Net/Fox Deportes card (11 p.m. ET) taking place on the eve of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Robert Guerrero welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand.

That means Las Vegas will be filled with fight fans, many celebrating Cinco De Mayo, and media, some of whom will be at the show and getting a good look at Orozco and others on the card.

The co-feature was also announced. That eight-rounder will feature super middleweight Anthony Dirrell, the younger brother of former super middleweight title challenger and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell. Anthony Dirrell does not have an opponent yet.

Anthony Dirrell (24-0, 21 KOs), 28, has not fought since December 2011 because he was injured in a motorcycle accident. He had another layoff of nearly two years as he successfully battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2007.

In previously the previously announced main event, Francisco Vargas (15-0-1, 12 KOs) of Mexico faces Jose Aguiniga (33-0, 15 KOs) in a 10-round junior lightweight contest.

The card will also feature a pair of 2012 U.S. Olympians, junior middleweight Errol Spence Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) of Dallas and junior featherweight Joseph Diaz Jr. (3-0, 1 KO) of South El Monte, Calif.

In 2011, former heavyweight title challenger Cristobal Arreola fought five times. That's a lot for a top contender, especially a heavyweight. But in 2012, the activity fell to just one fight in February, in part because of injuries.

His 2013 opened with more delays. Arreola and Bermane Stiverne have been set to duke it out in a title elimination fight for the right to become titleholder Vitali Klitschko's mandatory challenger. But injuries and first the postponement and then the cancellation of the Andre Ward-Kelly Pavlik super middleweight title fight (because of Ward's shoulder injury) in January forced Arreola-Stiverne to be rescheduled three times.

Stiverne is looking for his first title opportunity. Arreola would be in line for a rematch with Klitschko, who stopped him in the 10th round in 2009.

Finally -- assuming nothing else bad happens between now and when the bell rings -- they will get it on Saturday night at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., not far from Arreola's hometown of Riverside. The fight is the opener of HBO's split-site tripleheader that will also include two fights from Argentina, middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KOs) defending against Martin Murray (25-0-1, 11 KOs) in the main event and welterweight Luis Carlos Abregu (34-1, 28 KOs) of Argentina against Montreal's Antonin Decarie (27-1, 8 KOs).

It will be Arreola's first fight in 14 months. Stiverne, 34, who was born in Haiti and lives in Las Vegas, has not fought since last April.

Arreola (35-2, 30 KOs), 32, whose own illness was responsible for the latest delay from March 9 to Saturday, said regardless of the postponements he is ready to roll.

"I get frustrated when I get injured at the gym or when I get sick, but when I have to wait for a fight, it doesn't frustrate me because I have worked my butt off for the entire year since 2011," Arreola said. "Even though last year I only fought once, I know that when I fight again that I am ready to go. I'm hungry to fight. When I go to [stablemate Josesito Lopez's] fight or any other fight, I get antsy. I get that motivation to fight and get in there."

Stiverne, who was barely audible and seemingly disinterested when he met the media for the announcement news conference in Las Vegas late last month, is also ready to go after all the delays.

"I just want to get it done," he said. "I might be wrong but I don't believe that he was sick. I got frustrated with all of the delays but I am patient. If I have to wait again, I would do it. This is a fight that we've been talking about for three years."

Arreola is a big puncher, but so is Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KOs), although he is not nearly as experienced against quality opponents. But Arreola basically dismissed Stiverne's power.

"I wouldn't say that he has humongous punching power. Every heavyweight has punching power but if you get caught you're going to sleep," Arreola said. "I don't really care about his punching power or his professional record as much as I do about his amateur record because to me amateur experience means the world [and Stiverne was a top amateur]."

Although the winner is due to get a shot at Klitschko, it remains to be seen if he will fight again. It's no secret that Klitschko, now heavily involved in politics in his native Ukraine, is considering retirement.

"If Klitschko decides to retire then he retires," Arreola said. "It's a dawn of a new era. That's me. It's my time. It's my time to shine. If he chooses to retire, that's good. He did his time. Let him step away. But if I get the rematch that would be even better."

Stiverne said before he thinks about the title fight, he wants to deal with Arreola.

"Chris has fought for a world title so I have to respect that," Stiverne said. "Any fighter would have to. It's something you got to respect. Chris brings the heat. I believe whatever heat he brings, mines is hotter. Mine is more damaging than his. I just can't wait for this fight to happen."

A few fight and fighter updates:

•  Former middleweight titlist Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., whose first fight since losing his belt to Sergio Martinez and subsequent suspension for testing positive for marijuana after the fight was being planned for either June 15 or 22, will be delayed a few weeks. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com that Chavez, who is likely to fight at about 164 pounds, will instead fight July 13 (HBO). Arum said the likely opponent is Brian Vera and that the fight would be in Texas or Mexico.

•  With Chavez moving into July, Arum said featherweight titlist Miguel Angel "Mikey" Garcia would tentatively take the June 15 HBO date for his first defense. The two opponents under discussion remain former titlist Juan Manuel Lopez and Orlando Cruz. Prospect Terrence Crawford, who easily outpointed perennial junior welterweight contender Breidis Prescott on March 30 as a late substitute on the Mike Alvarado-Brandon Rios II undercard, is being penciled in for the opening television bout. Crawford fought Prescott at junior welterweight but he is likely to go down to lightweight, where he has fought most of his career.

•  Junior featherweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, who unified titles on April 13 with a decision victory against Nonito Donaire, has nothing specific planned yet for an encore, but Arum said he would meet with HBO in the coming weeks to talk about his next bout.

•  Junior middleweight titlist Ishe Smith's first defense (and a mandatory) against Carlos Molina will take place July 19 in Las Vegas, Warriors Boxing promoter Leon Margules told ESPN.com. Margules, who promotes Molina, made a deal for the fight with Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to promote the bout a few weeks ago, but now the date is locked in. Smith, the first native of Las Vegas to win a world title, will get to make his first defense in his hometown. TV arrangements are pending.

Although middleweight champ Sergio Martinez won a dominant unanimous decision against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in their big-time showdown in September at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, the most memorable moment came in the 12th round when Martinez, way ahead on the scorecards, got dropped and nearly knocked out as Chavez went for broke in the final 90 seconds of the fight.

Although Martinez rose from the canvas and fought back hard in what was eventually the 2012 ESPN.com round of the year, he was injured.

On the knockdown, Martinez injured his right knee, which required surgery for a partially torn meniscus. He also injured his ankle. There were other injuries, as well. Martinez broke his left hand during the fight and wound up needing stitches to close a cut over his eye and a gash in his scalp.

Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KOs) is now healed and ready to go for his Argentina homecoming fight -- his sixth title defense -- against England's Martin Murray (25-0-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday night (HBO, 8:30 ET/PT) at the 50,000-seat Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Martinez said that despite the injuries and subsequent surgery, he is good to go for the fight with Murray.

"All of my injuries have healed 100 percent," he said. "Thanks to my sports therapist, Raquel Bordons, I can perform to my full abilities prior to my injuries. Without her I probably would have retired a couple of fights ago."

Martinez also touched on some other other topics with ESPN.com.

On the significance of the win against Chavez, in which he regained an alphabet belt that had been stripped from him:

"I was very emotional after that win. I cried in the ring and in the dressing room after with my team. I worked so hard for so many years to become champion, and then to lose my belt in an office and not in a ring really affected me. So when I won back my belt, I felt like a wrong has been righted."

On surviving the knockdown in the 12th round and fighting back back hard rather than trying to kill the clock:

"[Trainer] Pablo [Sarmiento] and I trained for that moment. We trained to possibly get knocked down and to get up. We knew going in that Chavez was strong and could potentially knock me down, but in no way would he be able to knock me out completely. The reason why Chavez caught me with that shot is because I was going for the knockout in the 12th. I wanted to show everybody what a true champion is supposed to do and that is finish strong."

On giving Chavez a fall rematch -- which has been discussed -- should he defeat Murray and if Chavez wins a summer fight:

"I would offer Chavez a rematch but only if he agrees to Olympic style [random drug] testing. He needs to respect the sport. I know that if we did, in fact, have a rematch and Chavez agrees to testing, I will KO him next time."

Who else would he like to fight?

"I would love to fight [former junior middleweight titlist Miguel] Cotto as he has disrespected me in the past when we have been at the same event together. [Titleholders] Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Geale and Peter Quillin are great champions and if the proposal to fight is great, then we can discuss the possibilities of fighting them as well."

Hyping fights is part of the game. We all get that. But pure delusion is another matter altogether.

No offense, Lucas Browne.

Browne (15-0, 14 KOs), for those who don't know who he is -- and that's probably most of you -- he's a 34-year-old Australian heavyweight who turned pro in 2009. Nicknamed "Big Daddy," Browne, who is promoted by Ricky Hatton, has a perfect record but has never faced anyone of remote consequence.

On Sunday (Saturday in Australia), Browne will face James Toney (74-7-3, 45 KOs), in name only, in Melbourne, Australia. Toney, 44, is a completely shot, once-great former three-division champion who hasn't been a factor since 2007 when he took a massive beating in a heavyweight rematch against Samuel Peter. Yet, Toney has trudged on. He's fought four times since 2009, beating lesser opponents but getting pummeled in a sad display against Denis Lebedev in an interim cruiserweight title fight that went the distance. (As much as Toney's skills have eroded, he still has one of the all-time great chins.)

The point is, Toney, a future Hall of Famer, is way beyond his expiration date. So when Browne declared this week that a win would "announce" his "presence on the world stage" if he beat Toney, it was hard not to snicker. The only thing it will announce is that he can beat a guy who should no longer be fighting.

"A win here against Toney would get my name out there like I want and need it to be if I'm to continue to be successful," Browne said.

I suppose it might get his name out there a bit. I have, after all, written this blog about Browne.

Browne added, "Regardless of his age and who he has lost to, he's a very crafty fighter and he knows all the tricks. This is the hardest fighter I've faced so far so there's no taking him lightly in any regards."

Fair enough with that comment.

But Matt Clark, Browne's manager and trainer, is even more delusional than Browne in believing that a win over Toney at this stage will mean much.

"I truly believe that Lucas can establish himself as a contender for the world title with a win over James Toney," Clark said.

Wrong again.

Beating Toney in 2013 will not establish anyone as a heavyweight contender. All it will establish is that Browne, if he wins, can beat a guy who was done six years ago.

Heavyweight Bryant Jennings, one of the fresh faces in the division, will return to action June 14 to face Russia’s Andrey Fedosov.

Jennings-Fedosov will headline a “Fight Night” tripleheader (NBC Sports Network, 9 p.m. ET) at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa.

Jennings (16-0, 8 KOs), 28, of Philadelphia, broke out in 2012 by winning five fights, four of which were nationally televised on “Fight Night.” After such a busy year -- in which he went from unknown to being mentioned as a possible opponent for heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko -- the pace is slowing this year. The fight with Fedosov will be Jennings’ first of 2013.

He was supposed to face Franklin Lawrence (19-2-2, 14 KOs) and Lawrence’s promoter, Gary Shaw, had signed a contract for the fight, but Lawrence did not sign his paperwork after agreeing to the fight and would not even take a phone call from his manager or promoter to discuss it.

So now Fedosov (24-2, 19 KOs), 27, who is from Russia but based in Los Angeles, got the fight.

Also on the card, light heavyweight contender Sergey Kovalev (20-0-1, 18 KOs), 30, of Russia, who is coming off an impressive knockout of former titlist Gabriel Campillo, meets Cornelius White (21-1, 16 KOs), 31, of Houston, in a light heavyweight title eliminator that will make the winner the next mandatory challenger (after current mandatory Karo Murat) for titlist Bernard Hopkins.

In the opener, Bethlehem's Ronald Cruz (17-1, 12 KOs), 26, faces Jaime Herrera (10-2, 5 KOs), 24, of Franklin Park, Ill. Cruz will be looking to bounce back from his first loss, a decision to Antwone Smith in September.

After light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly of Wales rolled to a near-shutout decision win against mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi of Germany on Saturday in London, he beat the drum yet again for a showdown with fellow titleholder Bernard Hopkins.

Cleverly did it in a respectful manner, too. He lauded Hopkins for being an all-time great and said he wanted to fight him to prove to himself that he was an elite champion and not just an ordinary titleholder.

"Hopkins is a great, great fighter, and against him I'll have to take my game to another level," Cleverly said. "His experience is unmatchable and technically he's superb, but I think my youth, pace and aggression will be too much for him. I'd force him to fight every second of every round and not give him an inch or second to think."

Cleverly looked good against Krasniqi and turned in an exceptional work rate (1,047 punches thrown). Cleverly doesn't have much pop, but that activity would be sure to give a slower, methodical fighter such as Hopkins some problems.

"I showed another side to my game against Krasniqi," Cleverly said. "I showed that I could box intelligently, not get reckless against a dangerous challenger and made it look easy. He was very tough, and maybe I would have liked to have knocked him out, but it was a great workout and I showed the pace I can set for 12 rounds at the highest level."

Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KOs) has said he would like to face Cleverly (26-0, 12 KOs) and that he would be willing to go to the United Kingdom for the fight. But first Hopkins has a mandatory defense to make this summer against Karo Murat, whose only loss is a 10th-round knockout to Cleverly in a 2010 title eliminator.

On March 9, the 48-year-old Hopkins broke his own record of becoming the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title when he outpointed Tavoris Cloud.

Cleverly's promoter, Frank Warren, and Hopkins' promoter, Richard Schaefer, have done business before and get along just fine, so if the sides really want to make the fight, it shouldn't be too difficult. Warren would like to have Cleverly fight in the co-feature when Hopkins faces Murat and then have them square off if they both win.

Light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly waited through a five-week delay to face mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi and is ready to go.

The fight was originally scheduled for March 16, but the entire card was postponed because promoter Frank Warren had issues with several of the bouts on the show, including the fact that Cleverly got ill.

So now Cleverly, making his fifth title defense, and Krasniqi will meet on Saturday (Epix and EpixHD.com, 5 p.m. ET) at Wembley Arena in London.

“Prep has gone OK. Delays are a part of boxing,” Cleverly said. “When the news of the delay broke, I just eased off the gas for a week or two and enjoyed a welcome bit of junk food. I do like my curries, pizzas and Chinese plus a Magners [Irish cider] with ice. When the time came to step back on it, I was refreshed.

“The only thing I’ve really changed has been my environment. Earlier in the year, not really as part of the camp for this fight, I went to a mate’s gym in Alicante in Spain for a bit of warm weather training, mixed in with a bit of a holiday. Recently, for a change of scenery, I’ve been training at [trainer] Don Charles’ gym in London. It’s taken me away from my home comforts, which helps keep the mind fresh.”

Former heavyweight title challenger Dereck Chisora (15-4, 9 KOs), 29, of England, seeking to end a three-fight losing streak (which includes a robbery against Robert Helenius, the championship loss to Vitali Klitschko and the knockout loss to David Haye), opens the telecast in a scheduled 10-rounder against Argentina’s Hector Alfredo Avila (20-12-1, 13 KOs).

Although Cleverly (25-0, 12 KOs), 26, of Wales, owns a 10th-round knockout win against top-10 contender Karo Murat (who is set to challenge titleholder Bernard Hopkins this summer), he said he views Krasniqi (39-2, 15 KOs), 26, of Germany, as his best opponent.

“Krasniqi is a dangerous challenger, the best I’ve faced yet and I’ve trained as if I’m the challenger in this fight,” Cleverly said. “In my eyes he’s unbeaten. The two losses were on points and were at the beginning of his career and he’s worked his way to the No. 1 spot. He’ll be hungry to take the title from me.”

Krasniqi began his pro career 1-2 with a pair of four-round decision losses in late 2005 and early 2006, but he is unbeaten since.

“I’m ready for a war against Krasniqi,” Cleverly said. “Whatever he brings to the fight I’ll have an answer for. If he wants it toe-to-toe I’ll come out on top or if he doesn’t want to mix it I’ll out-box and outsmart him.”

Junior welterweight contender Olusegun Ajose, who gave a good battle to Lucas Matthysse in a 10th-round knockout loss in a September interim title bout, gets back to action Friday night.

Ajose (30-1, 14 KOs), who fought just once in 2012 while awaiting a mandatory title fight against Danny Garcia, but ending up instead settling for the interim shot, returns to face Rynell Griffin in a scheduled eight-round bout on promoter Bobby Hitz’s popular club show at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind. Lou DiBella, Ajose’s promoter, owed him a fight and found a spot for him on Hitz’s card, although the match with Griffin (6-14-2, 2 KOs) is a brutal mismatch on paper. Frankly, it’s disappointing to see such an obvious mismatch be approved by a state commission. Ajose is a world-class fighter and solid contender. Griffin is way below .500, 0-12-1 in his past 13 fights and has been stopped in six of his 14 defeats.

Nonetheless, Ajose is at least happy to be back in action for only his second fight since October 2011.

“I am so glad that I'm getting back in the ring,” said Ajose, 33, a native of Nigeria who lives in England. "This is going to be my first fight after my loss to Matthysse, and I can't wait to do my thing.”

Ajose hopes to work his way back to another title opportunity and is interested in challenging welterweight titlist Devon Alexander on May 18 after Kell Brook dropped out of the bout because of a foot injury.

“I know that Devon is currently looking for an opponent, and I would love to get in the ring against him,” Ajose said. “This is a great opportunity for me to share a ring with the champ, and I am willing and able to step in. I am sure boxing fans around the world will like this matchup, so I'm ready to give everyone an exciting fight. I'm here -- let's make it happen.”

A couple of boxing notes on the Canadian fight scene:

•  Former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal (27-2-1, 16 KOs) and former super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute (31-1, 24 KOs) announced they will undergo random drug testing leading up to their much-anticipated light heavyweight showdown on May 25 (HBO) at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

In a joint statement, the fighters, along with Bute promoter InterBox and Pascal promoter Yvon Michel, announced that “all parties have agreed on all procedures and both fighters have approved the anti-doping program. The program is inspired by the highest standards in the industry and calls for unannounced testing for each boxer before, during and after the fight. At the request of the third parties involved in this effort, all procedures and intervening companies shall remain confidential. Both promoters, together with their respective boxers and team members, will not comment further on any aspect related to the program or procedures in place."

In other words, they announced the fighters will be tested but they have declined to say whether the testing involves blood and urine, and they have refused to say which testing agency -- USADA or VADA or some other company -- is overseeing the testing. Why go to the effort of announcing testing and then refuse to disclose other important details? It just makes folks want to ask even more questions.

•  Super middleweight contender James DeGale (14-1, 9 KOs), who won a 2008 Olympic gold medal for Great Britain, will kick off his 2013 campaign by making his North American debut on May 17 (WealthTV) at Casino Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Canada. His opponent has not been determined. The fight will be DeGale's first since he routed Fulgencio Zuniga for a lopsided 12-round decision in December.