ESPN Boxing

Unlike Sergio Mora, junior middleweight titlist Cory Spinks has no problem fighting in Memphis, Tenn.

Spinks (36-3, 11 KOs) will challenge middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (26-0-1, 17 KOs) on May 19 on HBO at the FedEx Forum, eagerly accepting the challenge a few days after Mora reneged on a deal for the fight because he was unhappy with the selection of Memphis as the host city.

"Cory is ready to make the most of the opportunity," Spinks manager and trainer Kevin Cunningham told ESPN.com Thursday night. "We appreciate [promoter] Lou DiBella and Jermain for giving us the opportunity to challenge for Jermain's title. We're not going to blow it."

DiBella wasted little time lining up Spinks after Mora, the winner of the first season of "The Contender" reality show, bailed on the fight.

He quickly reached a verbal agreement with Spinks promoter Don King and is awaiting the contracts.

"We made a deal and I am waiting for it to be signed," DiBella said. "I'm waiting for the contracts and assuming that I get back something close to what I sent King, then we have a deal."

Said Cunningham: "It's on. We haven't signed the contracts yet, but we have the contracts. We've agreed. At least one of the marquee fighters [Taylor] in boxing has the [guts] to fight Cory."

While the main event figures to produce a tactical battle, the HBO undercard is more geared to producing fireworks.

Middleweight sluggers Kelly Pavlik (30-0, 27 KOs) and Edison Miranda (28-1, 24 KOs) will meet in a much-anticipated title elimination bout in the co-feature. The winner will become the mandatory challenger for the winner of the main event.

Pavlik promoter Bob Arum, Miranda promoters Seminole Warriors Boxing and Main Events all worked with HBO and DiBella to move the fight to the undercard. The bout was originally going to headline its own "Boxing After Dark" card on July 28.

"HBO raised the money they were willing to pay for the fight to compensate us for the gate we would have had and for the international [TV sales]," Arum said. "We're glad we could work it out."

Cunningham said Spinks -- the son of former heavyweight champ Leon Spinks and nephew of Hall of Fame former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks -- opened training camp on Tuesday in Deerfield Beach, Fla., to get ready for the fight.

"Cory is extremely excited to have this fight," Cunningham said. "The Spinks family has a history of making history."

The fight matches the world's No. 1 middleweight with the former undisputed welterweight champion, who is now recognized by many as the No. 1 junior middleweight. Spinks, coming off a lopsided decision win against mandatory challenger Rodney Jones on Feb. 3, will move from 154 pounds to 160 for the fight.

"Cory looks at this as a fight he has to win," Cunningham said. "He has to win a fight like this to get respect from the networks and the experts. He feels it's a fight he has to win. He's looking at making history and becoming a three-division world champion. This is the opportunity for Cory to get respect and to be looked at as one of the best fighters of his time. If he has to go up in weight to fight a bigger, stronger, heavier guy, he has no problem doing it."

Said DiBella: "In some ways, I would have preferred the Mora fight. I actually think Spinks is tougher for Jermain. Spinks is a more difficult fight with less reward. Cory is a difficult fighter. He's an elusive guy. Jermain will have to track him down and impose himself on Cory."

The match shapes up as a big regional rivalry, which is why DiBella wants to call the fight "The Border Battle." Taylor, from Little Rock, Ark., and Spinks, from St. Louis, are both proven draws in their hometowns. Both cities are only a few hours by car from Memphis and fans of both fighters figure to flock to Memphis for the fight.

"People from both cities will come to Memphis for the fight. It's a great regional fight," DiBella said.

"It will be a huge fight in Memphis, a lot bigger than Taylor fighting Sergio Mora," Cunningham said.

DiBella said that former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest (38-2, 28 KOs) will also be on the undercard, possibly in a junior middleweight elimination bout against European junior middleweight champ Michele Piccirillo (47-3, 30 KOs) of Italy.

Whether the fight will be part of HBO's broadcast has not been determined, but even if it's not, HBO likely would air highlights.

Piccirillo claimed a vacant welterweight world title on a highly controversial decision against Spinks in April 2002 in Italy and then lost the belt in his first defense against Spinks when they met in a rematch 11 months later, also in Italy.

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.