Dan Rafael: Erik Morales
For months, Top Rank talked about putting on a July 14 pay-per-view card at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but now it looks like the talk is over and there won't be a show.
Originally, Top Rank's Bob Arum said the card would be headlined by Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez, who won an interim junior welterweight belt in April, and that junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire would fight in the co-feature.
Then Arum said Donaire wouldn't be on the card because the company would give him his own date (probably June 30 on HBO). Even without Donaire, Marquez would still headline, Arum said. But no deal had been finalized with a television company to distribute the event and Marquez had no opponent.
Top Rank was talking to HBO about working on the show, and Top Rank certainly could have done it on its own, but time is running short to mount a legitimate pay-per-view promotion.
Then came the usual steady stream of discussion about whom Marquez would fight. Junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson was originally mentioned, but he instead accepted a rematch with Amir Khan (which was supposed to have taken place last Saturday but was canceled when Peterson tested positive for a synthetic testosterone).
Other names were mentioned for Marquez: fellow Mexican star and future Hall of Famer Erik Morales (a fight I've wanted to see for about a decade), former titlist Zab Judah, former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios (coming off a gift decision against Richard Abril that most sane people thought was a very obvious Abril victory) and the utterly unknown Mercito Gesta, a talented Filipino lightweight who is, alas, nowhere near ready to face a fighter of Marquez's caliber.
In the end, after all the talk, Top Rank pulled the plug on the event Monday because Marquez elected not to fight on the pay-per-view. From what I hear from those around Marquez, the financial package wasn't to Marquez's liking. Plus, he didn't want to fight Rios, the opponent Top Rank wanted him to face.
Marquez had previously said he preferred a southpaw opponent (Judah and Gesta would have fit) in anticipation of a possible fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao, a left-hander, in the fall.
Now Marquez might instead wait to see what happens in the June 9 Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. fight. If Pacquiao wins, Marquez figures to be at the top of the list for Pacquiao's November opponent.
Arum had been in talks with Main Events' Kathy Duva about a Marquez-Judah fight, but according to Duva, Arum told her Monday that "Marquez has decided not to fight at all in July."
Zanfer Promotions, which has a promotional contract with Marquez but works closely with Top Rank, said it is possible Marquez could still fight this summer -- but in Mexico on July 21 or July 28, likely against a lesser opponent.
Originally, Top Rank's Bob Arum said the card would be headlined by Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez, who won an interim junior welterweight belt in April, and that junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire would fight in the co-feature.
Then Arum said Donaire wouldn't be on the card because the company would give him his own date (probably June 30 on HBO). Even without Donaire, Marquez would still headline, Arum said. But no deal had been finalized with a television company to distribute the event and Marquez had no opponent.
Top Rank was talking to HBO about working on the show, and Top Rank certainly could have done it on its own, but time is running short to mount a legitimate pay-per-view promotion.
Then came the usual steady stream of discussion about whom Marquez would fight. Junior welterweight titlist Lamont Peterson was originally mentioned, but he instead accepted a rematch with Amir Khan (which was supposed to have taken place last Saturday but was canceled when Peterson tested positive for a synthetic testosterone).
Other names were mentioned for Marquez: fellow Mexican star and future Hall of Famer Erik Morales (a fight I've wanted to see for about a decade), former titlist Zab Judah, former lightweight titlist Brandon Rios (coming off a gift decision against Richard Abril that most sane people thought was a very obvious Abril victory) and the utterly unknown Mercito Gesta, a talented Filipino lightweight who is, alas, nowhere near ready to face a fighter of Marquez's caliber.
In the end, after all the talk, Top Rank pulled the plug on the event Monday because Marquez elected not to fight on the pay-per-view. From what I hear from those around Marquez, the financial package wasn't to Marquez's liking. Plus, he didn't want to fight Rios, the opponent Top Rank wanted him to face.
Marquez had previously said he preferred a southpaw opponent (Judah and Gesta would have fit) in anticipation of a possible fourth fight with Manny Pacquiao, a left-hander, in the fall.
Now Marquez might instead wait to see what happens in the June 9 Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley Jr. fight. If Pacquiao wins, Marquez figures to be at the top of the list for Pacquiao's November opponent.
Arum had been in talks with Main Events' Kathy Duva about a Marquez-Judah fight, but according to Duva, Arum told her Monday that "Marquez has decided not to fight at all in July."
Zanfer Promotions, which has a promotional contract with Marquez but works closely with Top Rank, said it is possible Marquez could still fight this summer -- but in Mexico on July 21 or July 28, likely against a lesser opponent.
Yes, 2011 is in the books, but as is usually the case, the Fight Freaks have been tweeting me for more boxing award winners than just those I handed out last week. I'm here to serve. Now that I've borrowed Adrien Broner's brush and styled my hair, here are a few more, with Part 2 coming tomorrow:
Trainer of the year: There were several good candidates, including Robert Garcia (who trains, among others, Nonito Donaire and Brandon Rios); Freddie Roach (Manny Pacquiao, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Amir Khan), who has made the running for this award his personal playground in recent years; Barry Hunter (whose charge, Lamont Peterson, upended Khan); and Ann Wolfe, who deserves a ton of credit for the rebound of James Kirkland. But I'm going with Virgil Hunter, who led Andre Ward to unifying two super middleweight titles, the Super Six championship and fighter of the year honors. Hunter has trained Ward since he first picked up gloves as a kid, and they have climbed the mountain together. Now they can celebrate together.
Comeback of the year: You could certainly go with Kirkland, who returned to Wolfe and eventually outslugged Alfredo Angulo to rebound from a shocking first-round knockout loss to Nobuhiro Ishida. But I'm going with Erik Morales, whose return in 2010 from a 2½-year retirement looked like it would be spent fighting low-level opponents. But in 2011, Morales begged Golden Boy for a fight with Marcos Maidana, which everyone but Morales thought was a very bad, unhealthy idea. Many believed the Nevada commission shouldn't have approved the fight, calling it a death match. Instead, although Morales lost a majority decision, it was a massive upset that he was even still standing after a few rounds, much less that he made it an exceptionally competitive fight. Morales had turned back the clock. For good measure, he claimed a vacant junior welterweight belt (albeit a paper one, because it had been disgustingly stripped from Timothy Bradley Jr.) in his next fight.
Three Blind Mice robbery of the year: Three stand out -- junior middleweight Erislandy Lara getting ripped off against Paul Williams, Matthew Macklin being shafted in a middleweight title bout in Germany against hometown fighter Felix Sturm and heavyweight Dereck Chisora getting similar treatment against Robert Helenius in his native Finland. But Lara-Williams was the worst. While Williams was getting hammered so badly that HBO's announcers discussed the notion that he should retire, judges Hilton Whitaker (115-114), Don Givens (116-114) and Al Bennett (114-114) were tallying scorecards that were so abominable that the New Jersey commission suspended them indefinitely. They still haven't been reinstated.
Non-event of the year: Same as 2010. No Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. And the soap opera continues.
TruTV court story of the year: Mayweather dealt with multiple court cases -- none more serious than the eight charges (four felonies and four misdemeanors) related to a domestic violence incident with his ex-girlfriend, the mother of three of his children. Mayweather eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge and no contest on two harassment charges. He was sentenced to six months in county jail in Nevada, three of which were suspended. Instead of arranging the monster fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather, one of boxing's two most famous fighters, will spend the early part of 2012 in the can. He's due to report to jail Friday. He could be out by mid-March, but surely he won't fight in May as originally planned.
TMZ scandal of the year: Oscar De La Hoya went to rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. Then he admitted to multiple affairs, suicidal thoughts and came clean about those bizarre photos of him that wound up on the Internet a couple of years ago -- the ones supposedly taken by a stripper he was partying with in a hotel room showing him in sexually suggestive positions while wearing fishnet stockings, a woman's wig, panties and high heels -- admitting that they were indeed authentic.
All bark, no bite award: David Haye, obviously. After a couple of years of ducking heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko and trash-talking him to no end, Haye finally manned up and got into the ring. Instead of actually fighting and trying to back up his stream of venom, Haye spent more time flopping to the mat looking for penalty points than fighting as Klitschko kicked his butt in a virtual shutout. Then Haye made himself the laughingstock of boxing when he complained that he lost because of a sore pinky toe, even taking off his boot to show off the digit after his shameful performance. Haye showed himself to be a classless buffoon. The only bigger joke than Haye was his toe-tally pitiful excuse.
Video of the year: After all the trash-talking Haye did, Klitschko responded with this brilliant Internet video shortly after his July victory.
Boxing body parts of the year: 1. Haye's toe; 2. Antonio Margarito's right eye; 3. Pawel Wolak's hematoma; 4. Bernard Hopkins' left shoulder.
Non-effort of the year (after Haye's): It's a tie. Shane Mosley spent 12 rounds trying to touch gloves with Pacquiao instead of fighting, and Omar Narvaez ran from Donaire for 12 rounds -- and hopefully had his visa revoked when he returned to Argentina so that we never have to see him fight on U.S. soil again.
Non-sanctioned fight of the year: Junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, with his 46-pound weight advantage, allegedly beating up junior flyweight titlist Ulises Solis in a street fight over a girl in Mexico.
Interview of the year: So upset by the decision after his fight with Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez didn't stick around in the ring to do an interview with HBO's Max Kellerman. So the cameras went to his dressing room, where Marquez agreed to talk. Having already stripped out of his ring gear, Marquez gave Kellerman an interview seated with a sombrero strategically positioned over his junk.
Faker of the year: Likar Ramos turned in an award-winning performance in his supposed first-round knockout loss to Marquez, who was using the fight as a tune-up for his third meeting with Pacquiao. Marquez landed a nice right hand, but you'd have thought Ramos got hit by Mike Tyson given the ridiculously exaggerated manner in which he went down. It looked like a tank job. I've seen better acting in the WWE.
Ducker of the year: Bradley. After repeatedly calling out Amir Khan for a junior welterweight unification fight, Khan accepted and HBO made deals with their promoters for a July fight. But Bradley, using the excuse of a feud with promoter Gary Shaw, refused. After Khan called his bluff and offered to do a 50-50 deal, including giving Bradley half of his British television money, which is unheard of, Bradley still balked. Then Bradley had the audacity to say that fighting Khan would do nothing for his career. Instead, he left Shaw, signed with Top Rank and beat the totally shot Joel Casamayor in a terrible fight. So what did that do for his career?
Most inspiring: Hands down, Dewey Bozella, who spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit and, at age 52, finally lived out his dream by making his pro debut in October. He won on the Hopkins-Chad Dawson undercard at the Staples Center. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Biggest miracle: The Super Six World Boxing Classic actually reached its conclusion as Ward painted a masterpiece to unify super middleweight titles by easily outpointing Carl Froch.
Biggest bummer: Kelly Pavlik, who simply cannot get his life together as what little is left of his career circles the bowl.
In memoriam: Among those we lost in 2011 were Joe Frazier, Nick Charles, Genaro Hernandez, Gil Clancy, Bouie Fisher, George Benton, Bill Gallo, Ron Lyle, Henry Cooper, Gary Mason, Billy Costello, Butch Lewis and Scott LeDoux. Rest in peace.
Trainer of the year: There were several good candidates, including Robert Garcia (who trains, among others, Nonito Donaire and Brandon Rios); Freddie Roach (Manny Pacquiao, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Amir Khan), who has made the running for this award his personal playground in recent years; Barry Hunter (whose charge, Lamont Peterson, upended Khan); and Ann Wolfe, who deserves a ton of credit for the rebound of James Kirkland. But I'm going with Virgil Hunter, who led Andre Ward to unifying two super middleweight titles, the Super Six championship and fighter of the year honors. Hunter has trained Ward since he first picked up gloves as a kid, and they have climbed the mountain together. Now they can celebrate together.
Comeback of the year: You could certainly go with Kirkland, who returned to Wolfe and eventually outslugged Alfredo Angulo to rebound from a shocking first-round knockout loss to Nobuhiro Ishida. But I'm going with Erik Morales, whose return in 2010 from a 2½-year retirement looked like it would be spent fighting low-level opponents. But in 2011, Morales begged Golden Boy for a fight with Marcos Maidana, which everyone but Morales thought was a very bad, unhealthy idea. Many believed the Nevada commission shouldn't have approved the fight, calling it a death match. Instead, although Morales lost a majority decision, it was a massive upset that he was even still standing after a few rounds, much less that he made it an exceptionally competitive fight. Morales had turned back the clock. For good measure, he claimed a vacant junior welterweight belt (albeit a paper one, because it had been disgustingly stripped from Timothy Bradley Jr.) in his next fight.
Three Blind Mice robbery of the year: Three stand out -- junior middleweight Erislandy Lara getting ripped off against Paul Williams, Matthew Macklin being shafted in a middleweight title bout in Germany against hometown fighter Felix Sturm and heavyweight Dereck Chisora getting similar treatment against Robert Helenius in his native Finland. But Lara-Williams was the worst. While Williams was getting hammered so badly that HBO's announcers discussed the notion that he should retire, judges Hilton Whitaker (115-114), Don Givens (116-114) and Al Bennett (114-114) were tallying scorecards that were so abominable that the New Jersey commission suspended them indefinitely. They still haven't been reinstated.
Non-event of the year: Same as 2010. No Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. And the soap opera continues.
TruTV court story of the year: Mayweather dealt with multiple court cases -- none more serious than the eight charges (four felonies and four misdemeanors) related to a domestic violence incident with his ex-girlfriend, the mother of three of his children. Mayweather eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge and no contest on two harassment charges. He was sentenced to six months in county jail in Nevada, three of which were suspended. Instead of arranging the monster fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather, one of boxing's two most famous fighters, will spend the early part of 2012 in the can. He's due to report to jail Friday. He could be out by mid-March, but surely he won't fight in May as originally planned.
TMZ scandal of the year: Oscar De La Hoya went to rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. Then he admitted to multiple affairs, suicidal thoughts and came clean about those bizarre photos of him that wound up on the Internet a couple of years ago -- the ones supposedly taken by a stripper he was partying with in a hotel room showing him in sexually suggestive positions while wearing fishnet stockings, a woman's wig, panties and high heels -- admitting that they were indeed authentic.
All bark, no bite award: David Haye, obviously. After a couple of years of ducking heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko and trash-talking him to no end, Haye finally manned up and got into the ring. Instead of actually fighting and trying to back up his stream of venom, Haye spent more time flopping to the mat looking for penalty points than fighting as Klitschko kicked his butt in a virtual shutout. Then Haye made himself the laughingstock of boxing when he complained that he lost because of a sore pinky toe, even taking off his boot to show off the digit after his shameful performance. Haye showed himself to be a classless buffoon. The only bigger joke than Haye was his toe-tally pitiful excuse.
Video of the year: After all the trash-talking Haye did, Klitschko responded with this brilliant Internet video shortly after his July victory.
Boxing body parts of the year: 1. Haye's toe; 2. Antonio Margarito's right eye; 3. Pawel Wolak's hematoma; 4. Bernard Hopkins' left shoulder.
Non-effort of the year (after Haye's): It's a tie. Shane Mosley spent 12 rounds trying to touch gloves with Pacquiao instead of fighting, and Omar Narvaez ran from Donaire for 12 rounds -- and hopefully had his visa revoked when he returned to Argentina so that we never have to see him fight on U.S. soil again.
Non-sanctioned fight of the year: Junior middleweight titlist Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, with his 46-pound weight advantage, allegedly beating up junior flyweight titlist Ulises Solis in a street fight over a girl in Mexico.
Interview of the year: So upset by the decision after his fight with Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez didn't stick around in the ring to do an interview with HBO's Max Kellerman. So the cameras went to his dressing room, where Marquez agreed to talk. Having already stripped out of his ring gear, Marquez gave Kellerman an interview seated with a sombrero strategically positioned over his junk.
Faker of the year: Likar Ramos turned in an award-winning performance in his supposed first-round knockout loss to Marquez, who was using the fight as a tune-up for his third meeting with Pacquiao. Marquez landed a nice right hand, but you'd have thought Ramos got hit by Mike Tyson given the ridiculously exaggerated manner in which he went down. It looked like a tank job. I've seen better acting in the WWE.
Ducker of the year: Bradley. After repeatedly calling out Amir Khan for a junior welterweight unification fight, Khan accepted and HBO made deals with their promoters for a July fight. But Bradley, using the excuse of a feud with promoter Gary Shaw, refused. After Khan called his bluff and offered to do a 50-50 deal, including giving Bradley half of his British television money, which is unheard of, Bradley still balked. Then Bradley had the audacity to say that fighting Khan would do nothing for his career. Instead, he left Shaw, signed with Top Rank and beat the totally shot Joel Casamayor in a terrible fight. So what did that do for his career?
Most inspiring: Hands down, Dewey Bozella, who spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit and, at age 52, finally lived out his dream by making his pro debut in October. He won on the Hopkins-Chad Dawson undercard at the Staples Center. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Biggest miracle: The Super Six World Boxing Classic actually reached its conclusion as Ward painted a masterpiece to unify super middleweight titles by easily outpointing Carl Froch.
Biggest bummer: Kelly Pavlik, who simply cannot get his life together as what little is left of his career circles the bowl.
In memoriam: Among those we lost in 2011 were Joe Frazier, Nick Charles, Genaro Hernandez, Gil Clancy, Bouie Fisher, George Benton, Bill Gallo, Ron Lyle, Henry Cooper, Gary Mason, Billy Costello, Butch Lewis and Scott LeDoux. Rest in peace.
HBO's 2012 first quarter looking good
December, 15, 2011
12/15/11
2:55
AM ET
By
Dan Rafael | ESPN.com
HBO put a solid 2011 in the books last week with Lamont Peterson's upset of Amir Khan to win a pair of junior welterweight titles in an exciting fight, albeit one saddled with the controversy of two questionable point deductions of Khan, which impacted the result.
Now attention can turn to 2012. Ken Hershman will take over as president of HBO Sports on Jan. 9, after leaving rival Showtime in mid-October for the gig -- one he couldn't start right away because of his contract with Showtime.
So while HBO waits for Hershman's arrival, the folks running the department for the time being, namely Mark Taffet and Kery Davis, have done a good job of putting together the first few cards of the year, even if they did lose the Feb. 11 Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto rematch to Showtime, after putting on their first (terrific) fight in April.
Despite that loss -- and make no mistake, it's a loss, especially when you consider how good the first fight was, how well it performed ratings-wise and how much money HBO has invested in the careers of Ortiz and Berto over the past few years -- the schedule being put together for the early part of the year looks very good. Let's take a look:
• Jan. 28: HBO is due to kick off its boxing year in Houston with a card that will be announced at a news conference Thursday: Future Hall of Famer Erik Morales will defend his (paper) junior welterweight title against energetic youngster Danny Garcia. When I first heard about the fight, I was a bit surprised it was happening because it wasn't a match I had ever contemplated. I figured Morales would look for a much bigger name for a fight that would generate more money. But Morales has never ducked anyone, and Garcia is one of the 140-pound division's rising contenders. They are both with Golden Boy, meaning it was a relatively easy fight to make. Morales' title is a joke, but that doesn't take away from the matchup. How can this not be an action fight?
I like the undercard fight, too, as it pits all-action junior middleweight James Kirkland -- coming off his memorable battle with Alfredo Angulo -- against Carlos Molina, who muscled his way into the 154-pound top 10 with an excellent recent run. He deserves this kind of fight. Frankly, Kirkland could shadowbox and it would probably be exciting.
• Feb. 4: HBO will stay in Texas -- San Antonio this time -- for the next installment of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. show. He'll defend his version of the middleweight title against an opponent to be named, and either of the fighters being mentioned for the assignment are solid: veteran contender and former title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio and undefeated junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan. I'd prefer to see Rubio in the fight, but either would be a good opponent for Chavez, who usually makes for crowd-pleasing fights.
I love the undercard fight. Nonito Donaire, one of the best fighters in boxing, is leaving the bantamweight division, where he was champion, for the junior featherweight division to face former titlist and top-five 122-pounder Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for a vacant belt. Simply, I think this will be an action fight for as long as it lasts.
• Feb. 25: Marcos Maidana is like Kirkland in that both are prodigious punchers and make action fights no matter who they face. For this one, Maidana is moving up to welterweight and going to St. Louis, the hometown of his opponent, former junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander, who is also rising in weight. It's a good style match, too, with Maidana (a pure brawler and banger) clashing with Alexander (a speedy technician). The winner will become a player in a very lucrative division.
The undercard features newly crowned junior lightweight titlist Adrien Broner in his first defense, against fellow undefeated fighter Eloy Perez. Considering how weak the 130-pound division is overall, it's a reasonable first defense for Broner. If Broner wins, you at least know you'll be amused when he busts out his hairbrush after the fight.
• HBO has two other shows in the works. A March 3 card is tentatively supposed to feature Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa in separate fights. Rios, who failed to make weight and was stripped of a lightweight belt before his Dec. 3 win, may still fight at lightweight. His opponent is not determined. Gamboa, who is moving up from featherweight, likely will fight at junior lightweight. One name I've heard mentioned as a possible opponent is titlist Juan Carlos Salgado, which would be a nice fight. Rios and Gamboa, who may eventually fight each other, are two of the most exciting fighters around, so to get a chance to watch both on the same card in legitimate matches is a good thing.
The other card being discussed is for March 17 -- St. Patrick's Day -- with middleweight champ Sergio Martinez likely facing Irishman Matthew Macklin in New York. An excellent matchup, with a crowd that will be going bonkers. Andy Lee, another Irish fighter and a top middleweight contender, probably will be on the televised undercard, according to promoter Lou DiBella.
I wouldn't classify any of the fights on HBO's early 2012 schedule, or on the drawing board, as megafights. But to me, they are all worthy shows (assuming Chavez, Rios and Gamboa are matched legitimately) that should provide the two most important things: action and entertainment.
Now attention can turn to 2012. Ken Hershman will take over as president of HBO Sports on Jan. 9, after leaving rival Showtime in mid-October for the gig -- one he couldn't start right away because of his contract with Showtime.
So while HBO waits for Hershman's arrival, the folks running the department for the time being, namely Mark Taffet and Kery Davis, have done a good job of putting together the first few cards of the year, even if they did lose the Feb. 11 Victor Ortiz-Andre Berto rematch to Showtime, after putting on their first (terrific) fight in April.
Despite that loss -- and make no mistake, it's a loss, especially when you consider how good the first fight was, how well it performed ratings-wise and how much money HBO has invested in the careers of Ortiz and Berto over the past few years -- the schedule being put together for the early part of the year looks very good. Let's take a look:
• Jan. 28: HBO is due to kick off its boxing year in Houston with a card that will be announced at a news conference Thursday: Future Hall of Famer Erik Morales will defend his (paper) junior welterweight title against energetic youngster Danny Garcia. When I first heard about the fight, I was a bit surprised it was happening because it wasn't a match I had ever contemplated. I figured Morales would look for a much bigger name for a fight that would generate more money. But Morales has never ducked anyone, and Garcia is one of the 140-pound division's rising contenders. They are both with Golden Boy, meaning it was a relatively easy fight to make. Morales' title is a joke, but that doesn't take away from the matchup. How can this not be an action fight?
I like the undercard fight, too, as it pits all-action junior middleweight James Kirkland -- coming off his memorable battle with Alfredo Angulo -- against Carlos Molina, who muscled his way into the 154-pound top 10 with an excellent recent run. He deserves this kind of fight. Frankly, Kirkland could shadowbox and it would probably be exciting.
• Feb. 4: HBO will stay in Texas -- San Antonio this time -- for the next installment of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. show. He'll defend his version of the middleweight title against an opponent to be named, and either of the fighters being mentioned for the assignment are solid: veteran contender and former title challenger Marco Antonio Rubio and undefeated junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan. I'd prefer to see Rubio in the fight, but either would be a good opponent for Chavez, who usually makes for crowd-pleasing fights.
I love the undercard fight. Nonito Donaire, one of the best fighters in boxing, is leaving the bantamweight division, where he was champion, for the junior featherweight division to face former titlist and top-five 122-pounder Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. for a vacant belt. Simply, I think this will be an action fight for as long as it lasts.
• Feb. 25: Marcos Maidana is like Kirkland in that both are prodigious punchers and make action fights no matter who they face. For this one, Maidana is moving up to welterweight and going to St. Louis, the hometown of his opponent, former junior welterweight titlist Devon Alexander, who is also rising in weight. It's a good style match, too, with Maidana (a pure brawler and banger) clashing with Alexander (a speedy technician). The winner will become a player in a very lucrative division.
The undercard features newly crowned junior lightweight titlist Adrien Broner in his first defense, against fellow undefeated fighter Eloy Perez. Considering how weak the 130-pound division is overall, it's a reasonable first defense for Broner. If Broner wins, you at least know you'll be amused when he busts out his hairbrush after the fight.
• HBO has two other shows in the works. A March 3 card is tentatively supposed to feature Brandon Rios and Yuriorkis Gamboa in separate fights. Rios, who failed to make weight and was stripped of a lightweight belt before his Dec. 3 win, may still fight at lightweight. His opponent is not determined. Gamboa, who is moving up from featherweight, likely will fight at junior lightweight. One name I've heard mentioned as a possible opponent is titlist Juan Carlos Salgado, which would be a nice fight. Rios and Gamboa, who may eventually fight each other, are two of the most exciting fighters around, so to get a chance to watch both on the same card in legitimate matches is a good thing.
The other card being discussed is for March 17 -- St. Patrick's Day -- with middleweight champ Sergio Martinez likely facing Irishman Matthew Macklin in New York. An excellent matchup, with a crowd that will be going bonkers. Andy Lee, another Irish fighter and a top middleweight contender, probably will be on the televised undercard, according to promoter Lou DiBella.
I wouldn't classify any of the fights on HBO's early 2012 schedule, or on the drawing board, as megafights. But to me, they are all worthy shows (assuming Chavez, Rios and Gamboa are matched legitimately) that should provide the two most important things: action and entertainment.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Dan Rafael
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com's boxing writer. Rafael began writing for ESPN.com in March 2005 after working for five years as the boxing writer for USA Today. He can be reached on Twitter at danrafaelespn.