By Jake Donovan

Even with a forced month-long hiatus from significant boxing action last summer, fans eagerly awaited the upcoming fall lineup. A year that began with a whimper ended with a bang, with major fights appearing on the boxing schedule from late September through mid-December.

The good fortunes carried over to the first quarter of 2008, capped by an unforgettable March, regarded by many as perhaps the best month of boxing in recent history. There was a big fight to look forward to almost every Saturday, with linear titles in four separate weight classes on the line in as many weekends. The month was such a gem that even ESPN2, Telefutura and Telemundo were delivering fight of the year contenders and major upsets.

Sadly, once-in-a-lifetime moments that became a dime a dozen in March went back to being the exception the following month.

Sebastian Sylvester's Knockout-Of-The-Year entry against Javier Castillejo was a great moment for those who happened to catch the bout, which for those in the states would be limited to those who bothered to catch an available (though not necessarily legal) Internet feed. A shame, as it was easily the standout moment of a month that, quite frankly, didn't deliver very much.

SHOWTIME offered a pair of cards that provided some surprising results. There was its lone ShoBox card of the month, featuring Carlos Deleon Jr's knockout of previously unbeaten James McGirt Jr in the televised co-feasture. The main event saw Edgar Santana twice climb off the canvas to finish strong and eke out a decision over Josesito Lopez, resuscitating his struggling career in the process.

The following evening , 39-year old Glen Johnson offered Chad Dawson, 14 years his junior, the fight of his life, only to be disrespected by the three ringside judges, all of whom incredulously had Dawson winning 8 out of 12 rounds. Antonio Tarver's lopsided win over Clinton Woods was as ho-hum as they come, though through no fault of Tarver, who delivered his best performance in years.

Everything else about the month went basically as scripted. Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito both won bouts in which they were considerable favorites. ESPN2's Friday Night Schedule became progressively worse as the month went along; its Wednesday Night Fights roster was notable only for making its season premiere earlier this month. Telefutura's end results saw its weakest month of 2008 thus far.

The one A-list bout of the month – Joe Calzaghe's split decision win over Bernard Hopkins – was as tough to watch as any historically significant fight in recent memory.

If April's offerings failed to wow you, the month of May could very well bring you to tears.

ESPN2's schedule continues to go from bad to worse. Like everything else offered late last year, the Deuce enjoyed a significant carry over in the first quarter of 2008, highlighted by Brian Vera's shocking stoppage win over highly touted middleweight prospect Andy Lee. April saw a significant dropoff, and it only gets worse in May.

Showtime had two major cards planned, but have since been reduced to one, and that one is presently in need of First Aid. The co-feature remains intact, with Junior Witter defending his alphabet junior welterweight title against undefeated American challenger Timothy Bradley. It's the main event that's in trouble. Carl Froch was to meet Dennis Inkin in a battle of top super middleweight contenders, only for Inkin to inexplicably pull out over the weekend.

May 24 was to feature another super middleweight crossroads bout, this between Edison Miranda and recently dethroned unified titlist Mikkel Kessler. Only Kessler's camp played games when it came time to sign, before resurfacing to ask for a new date – and network. They were denied, and now May 24 goes dark while Kessler remains without a fight in his immediate future.

There's also its May 2 ShoBox telecast, though mixed results are expected. Lightweight prospect Tony Demarco takes on undefeated Juan Castaneda in what appears to be a promising co-feature. It's the main event that remains a wild card, as Andre Dirrell faces Anthony Hanshaw in a super middleweight battle. Dirrell hasn't appeared on television since his sleep-inducing decision over Curtis Stevens last June, while Hanshaw makes his first ring appearance since dropping a decision to Roy Jones Jr nine months ago.

Telefutura's May schedule looks a lot better on paper than what was offered in April. Standing out among the scheduled cards is its May 9 date, headlined by undefeated junior welterweight Mike Alvarado, knocking on the door of contender status, against all-action Michele Rosales.

HBO offers card every other weekend, two on its subscription channel before ending the month with a PPV telecast between fallen ex-welterweight champions.

The best news of the month for the self-proclaimed Network of Champions is that Oscar de la Hoya appears in a non-PPV bout for the first time in seven years, with his May 3 bout with Stevie Forbes not only on regular HBO, but during its free preview weekend. The bad – or at least disappointing – news is that it's a one-fight card on the televised feed, which means the opportunity to draw in new fans to the sport will be limited to what figures to be little more than an infomercial for a Floyd Mayweather-Oscar de la Hoya rematch that very few have expressed an interest in watching.

Its May 17 tripleheader is intriguing in theory, but in all honesty accentuates – along with boxing on other outlets that evening – where boxing all too often gets it very, very wrong. HBO's Boxing After Dark series returns after skipping April, with this April resembling a line-up more suggestive of a ShoBox telecast. Five of the six contestants make their network debut, including red-hot super featherweight prospect Yuriorkis Gamboa, who also fights for the first time under the banner of his American-based promoter Gary Shaw. ShoBox alums James Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo once again appear on the same card in separate junior middleweight bouts.

A bout that would've easily headlined a show on the Boxing After Dark series we all once knew and loved instead headlines a PPV telecast due to a lack of available TV dates. The irony in Cristian Mijares' junior bantamweight unification match with Alex Munoz forced to go the premium route is that its promoter, Lou DiBella, was a very big part in B.A.D. becoming an instant cult classic in the late 1990's. Mijares-Munoz is perhaps the most evenly matched bout of the month, a seemingly can't-miss fight, whether you like boxing or brawling. The big question of the night – is the can't-miss factor really worth shelling out $30 to watch?

Two weeks later, you'll have to ask yourself whether or not $50 is a fair asking price for a card headlined by a loser leaves town match featuring ex-welterweight kingpins "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Zab Judah, or if it's a bout worth paying for at all. The only solidified undercard bout at the moment is a junior welterweight clash between Jorge Barrios and Rocky Juarez.

Those longing for VERSUS to either feature boxing worth a damn or dry up and blow away altogether are given a glimmer of hope on May 24. A rare Saturday afternoon card is offered, and from overseas no less, when linear junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton and current alphabet titlist Paul Malignaggi appear in separate junior welterweight fights in a card designed to serve as a prelude to a head-on collision on HBO later this year.

While there's plenty of boxing offered in May, that one bout any given boxing fan truly looks forward to is sorely missing from the schedule. Things pick up slightly in June, but nothing that will remind anyone of the sport's version of March Madness.

All in all, the chants have gone from "whoa" to "ho" – as in ho-hum. Or hopefully, something mind-blowing is warming up in the bullpen. Boxing lost a ton of momentum after a dismal 2006 campaign, and struggled until the final quarter of 2007 (even with offering the most financially successful event in the sport's history last May).

The year began as if the sport's powerbrokers learned from their past mistakes. Hopefully, we are just stuck in a lull and not that things are back to normal.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Jake can be reached for comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.