ESPN Boxing

Originally Published: May 26, 2006

Notebook: HBO's 'BAD' hits stride in its 10th season

In its 10th season, HBO's "Boxing After Dark" continues its pursuit of making bouts between unknowns into memorable epics, Dan Rafael writes.

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By Dan Rafael
ESPN.com
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The great ones are indelible in the minds of boxing fans.

The first brilliant battle between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Chapter I of the now-legendary Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward trilogy.

Barrera's epic 12th-round knockout of Kennedy McKinney.

Gatti's sensational rally against Wilson Rodriguez.

The Ike Ibeabuchi-David Tua heavyweight slugfest.

There are so many more, but what do they all have in common? They were all memorable bouts on HBO's landmark series "Boxing After Dark."

When it debuted in 1996 with Barrera-McKinney in the first main event, the series bucked a broadcasting trend by showcasing lesser-known fighters, often in lower weight divisions, in high-risk, high-reward bouts that hopefully would produce late-night action.

The brainchild of former HBO executive Lou DiBella, now a promoter with his own stable of fighters, "BAD" chronicled the emergence of a litany of future stars. They were relative unknowns before fighting on the series: Gatti, Barrera, Morales, Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather, Fernando Vargas, among many others.

But somewhere along the way, "BAD" lost its way, and became, well, bad. It became the dumping ground for HBO's beaten stars to win a lesser fight or the place for a prospect to make an appearance in a mismatch.

Anyone remember Wladimir Klitschko-Eliseo Castillo? Or Vargas-Raymond Joval? Vargas-Fitz Vanderpool? Didn't think so.

Last December, HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg played host to a breakfast for several boxing reporters to deliver what amounted to a "State of HBO Boxing" address. Stung by mounting criticism concerning HBO's obvious drop in quality -- especially when compared to rival Showtime's huge 2005 -- Greenburg promised changes.

He promised more big fights on flagship series "World Championship Boxing" instead of on pay-per-view, and so far, he's delivered with the Wladimir Klitschko-Chris Byrd and Hasim Rahman-James Toney heavyweight championship fights, Ricky Hatton in a competitive fight in his HBO debut, and the Jermain Taylor-Winky Wright middleweight championship fight scheduled for June 10.

But Greenburg also promised that "BAD" would go back its roots, which meant no more appearance fights.

If you look at the schedule for "BAD," Greenburg is delivering on that promise as well.

AP Photo/Fred BeckhamAcelino "Popo" Freitas defeated Zahir "Z-Man" Raheem in a split decision at Foxwoods on April 29, the 10th season premiere of HBO's "Boxing After Dark."

The 10th season premiere last month featured a meaningful lightweight title bout between Acelino "Popo" Freitas and Zahir Raheem. It didn't turn out to be a great fight, with all of Raheem's grabbing and holding, but it was a strong match on paper. Greenburg has no control over things once the bell rings.

That brings us to this month's show on Saturday night (10 ET/PT) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., which includes a pair of high-risk, high-reward bouts that figure to produce action.

In the main event, bantamweight titlist Jhonny Gonzalez (32-4, 28 KOs) defends his crown against Fernando Montiel (32-1-1, 24 KOs), a junior bantamweight beltholder moving up in weight.

	Montiel

	Gonzalez

"It's back to the future," Greenburg said, obviously proud of the schedule. "We had to go back to our roots on 'Boxing After Dark.' It was always meant to be a series that took hot young prospects or established fighters in lower weight classes, who weren't getting attention, and have them in higher profile fights against significant opponents that put both fighters in jeopardy.

"Basically, we wanted to put them in the fights of their lives on 'Boxing After Dark,' fights that would make massive statements on HBO and launch careers, and fights that would really please boxing fans. In the ring, you want some all-out wars. That's how 'Boxing After Dark' started and that is what we are trying to get back to."

Saturday's opener pits highly-regarded, but fairly-untested, welterweights Paul Williams (28-0, 20 KOs) and Walter Mathysse (25-0, 24 KOs).

"This kind of fight is the whole purpose of the 'Boxing After Dark' series," said Dan Goossen, Williams' promoter. "It's about showcasing guys that normally wouldn't be prominent on HBO. "It's the next step for these fighters to getting into the championship rounds, the World Series, the Super Bowl of boxing. You have to go through this process to see if you can make it to the next level of HBO boxing. Paul Williams and Walter Mathysse need to find out which one can go on from here. The winner will show he has the ability to go on and win big fights."

Next month, "BAD" features two more pick 'em-type fights involving four undefeated fighters: heavyweight Calvin Brock vs. Timor Ibragimov and welterweight Joel "Love Child" Julio vs. Carlos Quintana.

"Barrera was not Barrera and Gatti wasn't Gatti when they were first on 'Boxing After Dark," Greenburg said. "They were unknown, hungry, young fighters. They weren't established stars like they are 10 years later. Ten years from now, maybe we'll see Calvin Brock or Joel Julio as stars who were launched on 'Boxing After Dark.' The key will be for guys like Brock and Julio to come back and fight subsequent fights on the series and gradually increase their star power and see where it takes all of us."

Greenburg credited executives Kery Davis and Luis Barragan for shaping the "BAD" schedule.

"We have worked hard to give the fight fans exactly what they want," Barragan said. "They want an exciting fight and matches that mean something. We scratch and fight tooth and nail to get what they want."

The roll continues in July with former junior welterweight titlist Vivian Harris facing unbeaten Mike Arnaoutis.

"This is what we set out to do," Greenburg said. "I think we are delivering a menu of competitive and interesting fights between up and comers that will really be crowd-pleasing events. I told people at the end of last year we would turn this around. I laid it all out in December. We will let our actions speak and put these kind of fights in the ring."

Around the ring

	Klitschko

Klitschko on ABC? Heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko, who thrashed Chris Byrd in a seventh-round TKO to win a title April 22 in Germany, is making plans for a fall fight, and an intriguing possibility is that it could wind up on ABC in prime time.

Klitschko adviser Shelly Finkel and a source at the network told ESPN.com that there has been a preliminary discussion about a fall fight, which could be Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Klitschko and Finkel met with ABC/ESPN executives a couple of weeks ago when Klitschko was at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to serve as the studio guest analyst on "Friday Night Fights."

For more than 20 years, ABC regularly televised major fights, including numerous heavyweight title bouts, but it hasn't aired a fight since the first Jose Luis Castillo-Stevie Johnston lightweight championship fight in June 2000.

	Steward

"He has told me that one of his goals is to be seen by as many people as he can be," Klitschko trainer Emanuel Steward told ESPN.com. "The money is secondary to him. You might see him in the first fight of this caliber in a long time on ABC. He has told me that his two goals are to be seen by as many people as possible and to unify the titles."

Powerful HBO, which has been the regular American broadcaster for Klitschko's fights and also employs Steward as an analyst, is obviously also in the mix. However, HBO does not hold any contractual rights to Klitschko's future bouts, Finkel said.

Finkel also said he is talking about the fall fight with Showtime, which has televised one previous Klitschko fight in October 2004.

Possible opponents include Toney and Brock, who has an important bout against Timor Ibragimov on June 24.

"His next fight pretty much looks like it will be Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden, maybe against James Toney. It could jump to September, but that's what it looks like," Steward said. "Toney is the easiest fight to make against a big-name opponent, but whoever it is, it doesn't matter to me. Toney, [Hasim] Rahman, Calvin Brock, anyone they mention."

Gotzev's guys: Ivaylo Gotzev, manager for heavyweight titlist Sergei Liakhovich and top contender Samuel Peter, is working on fights for both of his star clients.

	Peter

	Liakhovich

Gotzev told ESPN.com that he met with Showtime boxing chief Ken Hershman this week in New York about a possible Liakhovich fight on the network Sept. 2, potentially against Toney if he is available.

"We're talking about it. This is what makes sense," Gotzev said. "We have a network that is excited about great matches, and managers and fighters excited about great matches. Bottom line is Showtime is extremely interested in Sergei and interested in him against Toney. If it doesn't come off, it's not because of us. We're talking to [Toney promoter] Dan Goossen. It's a great matchup. Style-wise, they mesh perfectly. This has fight-of-the-year potential."

Goossen confirmed that they are talking about the fight.

And if Toney is otherwise occupied this fall, possibly against Klitschko?

"Sergei is willing to fight anyone, and Showtime is willing to support him if he is willing to step into the ring with anybody," Gotzev said. "We had talked with [Liakhovich promoter] Don King about fighting [Mike Tyson conqueror] Kevin McBride this summer, but we don't want to start off [the title reign] fighting guys like that. We want the best. Sergei wants to put on a show and do it against a top opponent."

Liakhovich won his title by outpointing Lamon Brewster in April in a candidate for fight of the year.

As for Peter, he is likely to appear Aug. 5 on HBO on the undercard of the Ike Quartey-Vernon Forrest junior middleweight fight, probably at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Potential opponents include New Yorkers Monte Barrett and Jameel McCline.

Peter, a power-punching Nigerian based in Las Vegas, has won two in a row since scoring three knockdowns but losing a decision to Klitschko in a title eliminator last fall.

Petty Tarver: Former undisputed middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins said Antonio Tarver should be more concerned about him than the petty things he appears to be concerned with as their June 10 bout (HBO PPV) in Atlantic City, N.J., approaches.

	Tarver

	Hopkins

During a joint interview from their respective training camps on HBO's Marco Antonio Barrera-Rocky Juarez broadcast last Saturday, Tarver (24-3, 24 KOs) took exception to the placement of Hopkins (46-4-1 32 KOs) on the TV screen. Hopkins was on the left, typically the champion's position during a promotion.

However, according to HBO, it was not a slight to Tarver, who is training in Vero Beach, Fla. The graphic was set up based on the geography of the fighters, and since Hopkins was west of Tarver, he was on the left.

"He's picking arguments and talking about petty things to hype himself up. What side of the TV screen is he on? C'mon, man! That's ridiculous," said Hopkins, who opened his New Orleans training camp to the media this week. "I heard there's a scene in the [forthcoming] Rocky movie [in which Tarver plays heavyweight champion Mason 'The Line' Dixon] where Tarver, the champion, looks up at the marquee for the fight and sees Rocky's name first. He gets mad in the movie, too. What is going on? I think he is still acting. This ain't Hollywood, and everyone knows what the record is for fighters who went off and made movies."

Hopkins was alluding to former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who took time out of his training camp before his first fight with Hasim Rahman to film scenes in "Ocean's Eleven" before going to South Africa and getting knocked out.

"[Tarver] uses all that nonsense to induce his own hype and motivation," Hopkins said. "He is trying to use the fact that he thinks he gets disrespected by the industry to be physically and mentally up and to get ready for the fight. I understand his psyche, but who cares about the small things? I hope he keeps worrying about all the small things -- if my ring walk is better than his, if my outfit is going to outshine his. I hope he's worrying about what kind of shorts I'm wearing instead of keeping his hands up. That's what I hope he's worrying about the night we are fighting. It will be an easy night for me."

Rocky returns: Heavyweight hero Rocky Balboa -- the famed character created by Sylvester Stallone -- returns to the ring Dec. 22.

	Stallone

That's when the sixth film in the Rocky series, "Rocky Balboa," opens in theaters across the United States. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the film franchise.

In the movie, the Italian Stallion comes out of retirement to take on fictional heavyweight champ Mason "The Line" Dixon, who is played by real-life light heavyweight champ Tarver.

Much of the movie was filmed on location in Las Vegas and Philadelphia and features numerous real-life boxing personalities.

Margarito plan: Welterweight titlist Antonio Margarito, despite his exciting style, can't seem to land a marquee fight or pique the interest of HBO or Showtime, which passed on buying a Margarito fight on Aug. 5.

	Margarito

Floyd Mayweather Jr. rejected an $8 million minimum offer to face him to instead pursue a possible fight with Oscar De La Hoya, and no other top fighter is rushing to fight Margarito, either.

So Top Rank promoter Bob Arum's backup plan for Margarito is to put him on the Aug. 12 pay-per-view undercard of Hasim Rahman's heavyweight title defense against Oleg Maskaev in Las Vegas.

Probably.

"We've told Margarito the following: He will be fighting on the Rahman card unless we can arrange a fight, say, with Mayweather or [Ricky] Hatton as early as September. If that's the case, he won't be on the card."

Since it appears unlikely that Mayweather will have a change of heart or that Hatton would be interested in the fight, look for Margarito (33-4, 24 KOs) on the Aug. 12 card.

"We'll hold off on making any official announcement until mid-June in case we can make one of those fights," Arum said.

	Mitchell

Arum said if Margarito is on the Aug. 12 card, his opponent would either be former junior welterweight titlist Sharmba Mitchell (57-5, 30 KOs) or Puerto Rico's Felix Flores (22-4, 16 KOs), a former two-time 140-pound title challenger. Flores lost title bouts to Mitchell and DeMarcus Corley, as well as a welterweight fight to Luis Collazo, who went on to win a title and then lose it to Hatton on May 13.

Goossen, Mitchell's promoter, has talked to Arum about the bout and hopes his man can land the fight, especially after his strong performance in a decision victory against Jose Luis Cruz on May 3. Mitchell was coming off a one-sided loss to Mayweather in November.

"He had a very convincing win against a tough opponent," Goossen said. "It makes sense for Sharmba to go out there and have one more shot. His speed and experience can give Margarito problems. Although Sharmba is a former champion, he has to beat a guy like Margarito to get the dollars he wants. So right now, it's not about the money, it's about getting the opportunity. Sharmba feels that Margarito hasn't had that defining fight with someone who has been there, done that.

"Sharmba couldn't beat Mayweather, but who can? Arturo Gatti lost handily to Mayweather, probably worse than the way Sharmba did, and he is still out there competing. Sharmba thinks he can beat Margarito and upset the apple cart."

Top Rank sues Golden Boy: The biggest outside-the-ring feud in boxing added another chapter this week when promoter Arum's Top Rank sued Golden Boy Promotions and company chief De La Hoya in Nevada District Court.

According to the lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.com, Top Rank argues that its rights to promote De La Hoya fights were breached when he faced Ricardo Mayorga on May 6.

Top Rank promoted virtually all of De La Hoya's professional fights, but the relationship soured, leading to a pair of acrimonious splits and De La Hoya founding a rival promotional firm.

In the suit, Top Rank said it had the contractual right of first negotiation and last refusal on whether or not to promote the Mayorga fight, which generated 875,000 pay-per-view buys (the fifth-largest non-heavyweight pay-per-view boxing event in history) and $7.6 million in ticket sales.

"Top Rank was neither given its right of first negotiation nor its right of last refusal for that bout," the suit says.

It further alleges that "Golden Boy and De La Hoya breached the exclusive rights agreement by, among other things, failing to present Top Rank an initial reasonable offer with the necessary terms and conditions, refusing to negotiate that offer, soliciting a non-independent proposal from Golden Boy Promotions on unreasonable terms inconsistent with revenues generated from De La Hoya's bouts during the two-year period preceding such offer and accepting such unreasonable proposal, all in the derogation of Top Rank's rights under the exclusive rights agreement."

Arum, who declined to comment on the lawsuit, figures his company is owed at least $3 million from the De La Hoya-Mayorga bout. Top Rank is also suing for punitive damages.

"Golden Boy is going to do everything necessary to prove it has done nothing wrong," said Golden Boy attorney Stephen Espinoza.

Good "BAD": The finishing touches are being applied to a deal for welterweight slugger Kermit Cintron (26-1, 24 KOs) to face rising Colombian prospect Richard Gutierrez (18-0, 11 KOs) on HBO's July 29 "Boxing After Dark" card in Santa Ynez, Calif. It will be the third strong welterweight match in as many months on "BAD."

	Cintron

The run begins Saturday night with the Williams-Matthysse bout and continues June 24 with the title eliminator between "Love Child" Julio and Quintana.

Steward, Cintron's trainer, thinks that Cintron is a big favorite in the fight.

"I saw the tape of Gutierrez, and he is an aggressive fighter, a swinger, but I don't feel Kermit will have any real problems," Steward said. "I think he's at another level now."

Cintron is coming off a 10th-round TKO of David Estrada April 19 in a candidate for fight of the year televised on ESPN2. In his American TV debut, Gutierrez was held to a three-round no contest on ESPN2 May 19 when his bout against Thomas Davis was halted after Davis suffered a cut from an accidental head butt.

Former junior welterweight titlist Harris headlines the July 29 card against Arnaoutis.

Summer on Showtime: Showtime's Aug. 5 card featuring the Marquez brothers in Stateline, Nev., is set.

Bantamweight champ Rafael Marquez (35-3, 31 KOs), who recently signed a promotional deal with show promoter Gary Shaw, will face mandatory challenger Silence Mabuza (19-1, 15 KOs) of South Africa in a rematch of their bout from last fall. In the first fight, Marquez stopped him in the fourth round of a lopsided fight. A rematch doesn't appear necessary, but Mabuza outpointed Ricardo "Chapo" Vargas  another Marquez victim -- on April 20 in an eliminator to gain another title opportunity.

Former featherweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez (44-3-1, 33 KOs), Rafael's older brother, also will be on the card in his first bout since losing to champion Chris John in Indonesia. Marquez will face Terdsak Jandaeng (24-1, 15 KOs) in an interim featherweight title bout. The WBO approved the interim title fight because of beltholder Scott Harrison's inactivity and recent treatment for alcohol dependency and depression, which could keep him out of the ring for an extended period.

Jandaeng, a southpaw from Thailand with two previous bouts in the United States, lost his first appearance in America, a lopsided decision to Joan Guzman in a featherweight title eliminator. Jandaeng has won six in a row since that August 2005 defeat.

Larios ready for Pacquiao: Throughout his four-year reign as junior featherweight champ, Oscar Larios, like so many smaller-weight fighters, struggled to make weight.

	Pacquiao

	Larios

Yet Larios kept winning, so he continued the struggle. But after losing his title, getting stopped in the third round on a cut against Israel Vazquez in their December unification fight, Larios bid farewell to the 122-pound division. He is jumping up two divisions to 130 pounds for a huge opportunity -- and a $500,000 payday -- against junior lightweight star Manny Pacquiao.

They'll meet in Pacquiao's native Philippines on July 2 (July 1 in the United States) in a pay-per-view fight that Larios is looking forward to.

"I'm finally fighting at my own weight," Larios said. "I don't have to starve myself. I feel so strong. Manny has every right to believe he will win since he has already beaten great champions like [Erik] Morales and [Marco Antonio] Barrera, but I know he won't win. I don't mind that Manny is receiving all the media attention for this fight. He's the star, but it will only make my victory even bigger. A victory over Manny Pacquiao, and I will become a big attraction."

Pacquiao (41-3-2, 32 KOs) is fighting Larios (56-4-1, 36 KOs) with an October rubber match against Morales looming. Larios hopes to derail the fight.

"Manny is a strong and powerful southpaw, but he has weaknesses, and I will exploit them," Larios said.

Should Pacquiao lose, Top Rank, Morales' promoter, holds the contractual option on whether to go through with the rubber match.

Change of heart: Junior bantamweight titleholder Martin Castillo and manager Frank Espinoza have had a change of heart.

	Castillo

Initially, they rejected an offer to go to Japan, where Castillo would defend his title against Nobuo Nashiro on July 22 because Espinoza hoped to line Castillo up for a more meaningful fight, preferably on promoter Top Rank's Aug. 12 Hasim Rahman-Oleg Maskaev HBO PPV undercard.

However, when Espinoza could not secure a match for Castillo (30-1, 16 KOs) against a name opponent, they decided to accept the offer to fight Nashiro (7-0, 4 KOs). It will be Castillo's third bout there.

"After an unsuccessful attempt for a Castillo-(Jorge) Arce matchup, we have decided to take the fight in Japan against Nashiro," Espinoza told ESPN.com. "Castillo expressed to me that he wants to give the fans the fights they want to see, but with the Montiel fight not going through because of the Top Rank-Golden Boy feud, and realizing that Jorge Arce wanted no part of Martin Castillo, we had no choice but to go forth and fight Nabou Nashiro in Japan."

Although Nashiro, 24, is a relative novice, he defeated three well-regarded Japanese contenders in a row.

Ajamu psyched: Although Roy Jones (49-4, 38 KOs) has been silent about his upcoming fight against Badi Ajamu (25-2-1, 14 KOs), Ajamu has been talking it up.

	Ajamu

	Jones

They meet in a light heavyweight fight July 29 at the 6,000-seat Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, on pay-per-view. The news conference to announce the card -- titled "Hold Nothing Back!" -- is June 1 in Boise, but Ajamu is getting a head start on the hype.

"I've always been a fan of Roy's, and I find it almost mystical that I'm now fighting somebody I've admired so much," Ajamu said. "But this is business. A win puts my name down in history and tells the world I'm ready to fight at the next level. A lot of guys have good records, but there are questions about them. A win means I can fight the top guys in my division, whether people feel I'm fighting a vintage Roy Jones or not. You can't take anything away from him because of three fights."

The three fights he is referring to are Jones' last three bouts, all losses. The former pound-for-pound king suffered back-to-back crushing knockouts against Tarver and Glen Johnson before being easily beaten and nearly knocked out by Tarver again in their third meeting last fall.

The performances have many calling for Jones' retirement, but Ajamu said he is preparing for the Jones who once ruled the sport.

"I'm preparing to fight the Roy Jones who defeated Bernard Hopkins, James Toney and knocked out Montell Griffin," Ajamu said. "Roy is a man who had caught up with his goals. He is a man on the rebound, chasing his demons, and his fight against me is an opportunity to conquer his demons. Any questions about Roy will be answered in our fight. Roy Jones is very, very unique. He has all of that experience in world title fights, but I'm hungry, determined and dedicated."

Dirrell survives: Super middleweight prospect Andre Dirrell, a 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist, survived a hard knockdown -- the first of his career -- to win a six-round decision against Alfonso Roca on Thursday night at Temecula, Calif.

Roca (8-4) nailed Dirrell (7-0) with a perfect right hand in the third round. Dirrell, the only American medalist in Athens besides gold medalist Andre Ward, was very shaky when he got to his feet. However, the round ended just as he got up, and Roca didn't have a chance to follow up. Dirrell went on to win a unanimous decision, 58-55 on all three scorecards.

In the main event, former two-time heavyweight title challenger Fres Oquendo (26-3) staggered Javier Mora (20-3-1) in the first round with a left hook and cruised to a unanimous decision, 98-92 (twice) and 96-93.

Quick hits

	Hatton

• Welterweight titlist Ricky Hatton has been ordered to make his WBA mandatory defense against Oktay Urkal (36-3, 11 KOs) of Germany, according to Hatton co-promoter Artie Pelullo. While that is a fight HBO would accept when Hatton next fights this fall, Pelullo said Hatton is considering going back to junior welterweight, where there are attractive fights for him as well. If Hatton does go down in weight and relinquishes the title he won against Collazo on May 13, Urkal would face the winner of the June 24 Julio-Quintana bout for the vacant belt.

• A purse bid for the John Ruiz-Sultan Ibragimov heavyweight title eliminator will be held June 3 at the IBF convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The winner of the fight becomes Klitschko's mandatory challenger. However, according to Ruiz's attorney, Anthony Cardinale, Ruiz also has been installed as the No. 1 contender in the WBA rankings, meaning he also could get a rematch with Nicolay Valuev, against whom he lost a title in December on a close decision. Cardinale said Ruiz would weigh both options, but prefers a second fight with Valuev.

• Look for heavyweight Joe Mesi to headline on ESPN2 this summer. Mesi (30-0, 25 KOs), who had been ticketed to appear June 7 on "Wednesday Night Fights," instead probably will fight on the network in August. The June fight fell out because of issues related to the site and finding an acceptable opponent. Mesi won an April 1 comeback fight, an eight-round decision against Ronald Bellamy in Puerto Rico. Mesi, who was nearing a title shot and had signed an HBO contract, suffered multiple brain bleeds in a decision victory against Vassiliy Jirov in March 2004. He was medically suspended in Nevada after the injury, a suspension upheld nationally, and sat out 25 months until winning the right to apply for a license again.

• Junior welterweight Juan Urango (16-0-1, 13 KOs), a Florida-based Colombian, will face Australia-based Tunisian Naoufel Ben Rabah (24-1, 13 KOs) on June 30 (ESPN2) for a vacant 140-pound belt at Hollywood, Fla. They will be vying for the title that the IBF forced Hatton to vacate. Urango, 25, hasn't fought since injuring his hand in August and undergoing surgery. Rabah, 28, became the IBF's mandatory challenger despite a resume devoid of a single notable victory.

	Kessler

• Super middleweight titlist Mikkel Kessler of Denmark injured an elbow while sparring this week, forcing him to withdraw from a planned June 9 defense against Vitali Tsypko. Kessler will be sidelined from training for at least a month after undergoing arthroscopic surgery.

• Although he lost a razor-close split decision to junior lightweight champ Barrera last Saturday, Juarez will be the in-studio guest analyst with host Brian Kenny on "Friday Night Fights" (ESPN2, 9 ET). The main event in El Paso, Texas, features welterweight prospect Delvin Rodriguez (18-1-1, 10 KOs) facing Luis Hernandez (20-2, 13 KOs).

• HBO's "Countdown to Tarver-Hopkins," a 30-minute preview of the June 10 HBO PPV light heavyweight championship fight in Atlantic City, debuts Saturday night immediately following the Gonzalez-Montiel "Boxing After Dark" telecast. It will be replayed several times on both HBO and HBO2.

• Before junior bantamweight titlist Masamori Tokuyama defeated American contender Jose Navarro in February, he told Japanese media that it would be his final bout, win or lose. However, Tokuyama (32-3-1, 8 KOs) announced at a news conference in Osaka that he planned to continue his career. The two-time champion at 115 pounds said he wanted to go up three pounds to bantamweight to challenge titleholder Hozumi Hasegawa or rising Japanese contender Koki Kameda. Before he fights, however, Tokuyama must recover from a right shoulder injury he suffered in a car accident.

	Briggs

• Perennial heavyweight contender Shannon Briggs knocked out club fighter Chris Koval (23-3) in the third round Wednesday night in New York. Weighing a career-high 273 pounds, Briggs (47-4-1, 41 KOs) won his 11th consecutive fight since dropping a lopsided decision to Jameel McCline in 2002. Briggs scored two knockdowns in the third round.

• Although few name fighters want anything to do with Margarito, lesser-known, but highly-regarded, Joshua Clottey (28-1, 20 KOs) wants to fight him. Clottey has won nine in a row since a highly-controversial disqualification loss in 1999 to Carlos Baldomir, now the recognized 147-pound champion. "I've dealt with many hardships throughout my career, and getting a shot at Margarito and the title would make it all worth it," Clottey said. "This is what I have been working toward my whole life. I have a lot of respect for Antonio Margarito as a champion. I know he always wants to fight the best. I am the best welterweight contender in the world."

	Castillo

Quotable: "Corrales is a great fighter. I feel no hatred toward him. In the ring, I want to destroy him and win the fight, but outside the ring I thing he's a great guy."
-- Former two-time lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo, on champion Diego Corrales, whom he faces in a much anticipated rubber match in Las Vegas on June 3 (Showtime)

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.