By Lem Satterfield
HBO's Kery Davis, the senior vice president of sports programming, is very high on the junior welterweight division. HBO is playing out an unofficial tournament at the weight. WBA king Amir Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) and WBA interim titlist Marcos Rene Maidana (29-1, 26 KOs) have reached an agreement to fight on December 11 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
The other anticipated bout at 140-pounds, between undefeated champions Tim Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs) and Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs), has yet to be finalized. HBO has set aside January 29 for the fight. Bradley and his manager Cameron Dunkin have yet to reach a deal with their promoter Gary Shaw. Despite the problems between Team Bradley and Shaw, Davis expects a deal to be reached.
"I think that it's an important fight, not just for the HBO, but it's an important fight for the sport. The sport really needs big fights at this point. It needs fights that the fans can look forward to and pencil on their calendars and say 'Oh boy, you know what? This is where I'm going to be on Jan. 29,' because two of the best young fighters in the sport are going to be fighting each other on that night," said Davis
"The sport needs events like Bradley-Alexander. I don't like to talk about negotiations. I will say this, I believe that all sides can agree that this is an important fight for the sport. I also believe that everyone involved -- fighters, managers and promoters -- really want the fight to happen. It's just a question of everyone getting on the same page. Fights of this magnitude take time, but I do expect and believe that the fight will get done, and that fight fans will have a special treat on Jan. 29."
Lem Satterfield is the news editor for BoxingScene.com and the boxing editor for AOL FanHouse. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
