By Keith Idec

Take a long look at what remains on boxing’s summer schedule and it’s easy to tell that we’re entering set-up season.

Unless you somehow want to consider the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz rematch a “big fight,” there really aren’t any scheduled before fall on HBO or Showtime. And until we learn whether the biggest fight of all, Manny Pacquiao against Floyd Mayweather Jr., will take place Nov. 13 in Las Vegas, there aren’t many marquee matchups set for fall, either.

What we do have, starting tonight in San Juan, is a string of bouts over the next month, some more intriguing than others, that will lead to big fights if the heavy favorites win.

JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ (28-0, 25 KOs) vs. BERNABE CONCEPCION (28-3-1, 15 KOs)

WHAT: 12-round fight for Lopez’s WBO featherweight title.

WHEN: Tonight.

WHERE: Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot; San Juan, Puerto Rico.

TV: Showtime; 9 p.m. EDT.

FAVORITE: Lopez (-800).

TBA: Lopez vs. Rafael Marquez; Sept. 18; Las Vegas.

OUTLOOK: The Phillipines’ Concepcion is a reasonably tough tune-up for Lopez just 10 weeks before he is tentatively scheduled to fight Mexico’s Marquez (39-5, 34 KOs). Concepcion, 22, got disqualified during a close fight against Steven Luevano for hitting Luevano (37-2-1, 15 KOs) after the bell to end the seventh round nearly 11 months ago in Las Vegas. Concepcion was ahead 67-66 on one scorecard and behind 67-66 on two cards when he committed that foul. The left-handed Luevano lost the WBO featherweight title in his next fight to Puerto Rico’s Lopez, who bounced back with a tremendous performance after a scare against Tanzanian journeyman Rogers Mtagwa (26-14-2, 18 KOs, 1 NC) in his previous fight four months earlier in The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Concepcion isn’t a big puncher, but he’s got a solid chin and should give Lopez some rounds. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old Lopez is expected to send home a crowd in excess of 10,000 very happy as he heads toward a more meaningful fight against Marquez.

TIMOTHY BRADLEY (25-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC) vs. CARLOS ABREGU (29-0, 23 KOs)

WHAT: 12-round welterweight fight.

WHEN: July 17.

WHERE: Agua Caliente Casino Resort; Rancho Mirage, Calif.

TV: HBO; 9:45 p.m. EDT.

FAVORITE: Bradley (-850).

TBA: Bradley vs. Devon Alexander; Jan. 22; TBD.

OUTLOOK: Once power puncher Marcos Maidana withdrew from his fight against Bradley scheduled for June 19, promoter Gary Shaw scheduled Bradley against another Argentine power puncher as a way to make Bradley a legitimate option for welterweight stars, preferably Pacquiao or Mayweather. Shaw promotes both Bradley and Abregu, but the matchup has raised some eyebrows because, at least on paper, Abregu looks like a high-risk, low-reward foe for Bradley, of nearby Palm Springs, Calif. Abregu’s critics contend that his record is padded and he has knocked out mostly journeyman, but he stands almost five inches bigger than Bradley and is a significantly stronger puncher. Bradley’s a much better boxer, of course, and his last five wins over the past two years have rightfully helped him crack some pound-for-pound lists. But Bradley isn’t a puncher at 140 pounds and has been hurt by men smaller than Abregu (Kendall Holt dropped Bradley twice during their junior welterweight unification fight 15 months ago in Montreal). It’ll be interesting to see how Bradley fares in his 147-pound debut and how his performance might impact a potential unification fight against Alexander. If he loses to Abregu, the Alexander fight becomes a lot less attractive, despite that Bradley’s lone loss would’ve come at welterweight.

JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ (50-5, 37 KOs) vs. JUAN DIAZ (35-3, 17 KOs)

WHAT: 12-round fight for Marquez’s WBO lightweight title.

WHEN: July 31.

WHERE: Mandalay Bay Events Center; Las Vegas.

TV: HBO Pay-Per-View; $49.95; 9 p.m. EDT

FAVORITE: Marquez (-400).

TBA: Marquez vs. Amir Khan; Dec. 11; TBD.

OUTLOOK: If you’re rooting for Mexico’s Marquez to lose because you want to see England’s Khan tested by one of the many attractive alternatives at 140 pounds, you’re probably wasting your time. If Diaz wins, Golden Boy Promotions could simply slide Diaz into that slot to fight Khan, who despite what he has said, seems unlikely to fight Maidana in his next bout. Khan is expected to sit ringside for Marquez-Diaz and he’ll likely see something similar to what we all witnessed the first time they fought 16 months ago in Diaz’s native Houston. The first half of the fight figures to be competitive and very entertaining, before Marquez, even at 36, becomes too much for the slower, less-skilled Diaz. Marquez might not be the same fighter that nearly defeated Pacquiao in March 2008, but Diaz, despite his huge heart, is about as old as a 26-year-old fighter can be and unlikely to win this rematch.

DEVON ALEXANDER (20-0, 13 KOs) vs. ANDRIY KOTELNIK (31-3-1, 13 KOs)

WHAT: 12-round fight for Alexander’s WBC/IBF junior welterweight titles.

WHEN: Aug. 7.

WHERE: Scottrade Center; St. Louis.

TV: HBO; 10 p.m. EDT

FAVORITE: Alexander (-700).

TBA: Alexander vs. Bradley; Jan. 22; TBD.

OUTLOOK: Alexander could be left looking for another higher-profile opponent at 140 pounds if Abregu beats Bradley three weeks earlier. If Bradley wins, though, St. Louis’ Alexander is unlikely to blow the unification bout by losing to Kotelnik, who’s inferior to Alexander in virtually every way. Kotelnik is a former WBA champion and a tough guy who has never been stopped, but he simply doesn’t have the skill set to upset the 23-year-old Alexander, a smart, versatile southpaw whose power seems to be increasing as he ages. England’s Junior Witter (37-3-1, 22 KOs) is one of the three fighters who’ve out-pointed the Ukrainian-born Kotelnik, and Alexander completely out-classed Witter 11 months ago in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The 32-year-old Kotelnik does, however, own a split-decision victory over Maidana and is one of only two of Maidana’s opponents who went the distance. Kotelnik’s chin should take this fight 12 rounds, but Kotelnik shouldn’t be able to make matters interesting on the scorecards.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com.