By Jake Donovan

It would’ve been a summer for the ages, all brought to you by HBO and Golden Boy Promotions. That is, of course, if the proposed schedule for June and July held up.

Once upon a time, it was dreamed up in a NYC board room that a seven-week summer stretch would look something like this:

June 20 – Wladimir Klitschko versus David Haye

June 27 – Boxing After Dark doubleheader, including Victor Ortiz’ first shot at a major title; Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez 24/7 to begin airing.

July 4 – Happy Independence Day, see you next when…

July 11 – Bernard Hopkins attempts to dethrone cruiserweight king Tomasz Adamek

July 18 – Floyd Mayeather returns after a 19-month hiatus, facing Juan Manuel Marquez

July 25 – the exclusive replay of Mayweather-Marquez.

August 1 – James Kirkland in his first major title shot, versus Sergei Dzindziruk.

Never mind the weather; it simply doesn’t get any hotter for boxing fans than the aforementioned wish list. Naturally, a month-long break would’ve followed, as it’s par for the course for HBO to basically go dark for the month of August. But who would possibly mind after a schedule like that?

Well, now we mind.

Injuries, poor negotiating tactics and legal troubles have crippled HBO’s summer schedule. Rather than loading us up for the next seven weeks or so, boxing fans will have to savor the flavor after this weekend’s card, because the next one is two months away.

The eight-week gap between live boxing on HBO would’ve been slightly more forgivable had this Saturday’s show bore any resemblance to the originally approved version. We instead endure another reminder of the ugly tagline, “Programming subject to change without notice.”

Once upon a time, this weekend (Saturday, was supposed to serve as the coming out party for red hot super lightweight Victor Ortiz, who ended 2008 as one of boxing’s brightest prospect and entered this year as one of the more promising contenders. Golden Boy Promotions planned to match up their Oxnard (CA) thoroughbred against alphabet titlist Andreas Kotelnik.

As Kotelnik is with Universum Promotions, Golden Boy also took the time to hammer out a deal for undefeated junior middleweight James Kirkland to take on Sergei Dzindziruk. Once rumored to take place on the same card, it was decided that it’d be best for Kirkland to have his own headliner, especially since he was slated to appear on the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton pay-per-view undercard in May.

The loss of Kirkland on the June 27 card was no big deal, and in fact immediately filled by an anticipated featherweight rematch between Chris John and Rocky Juarez. Doubleheader complete, win-win all around, be it fans, the fighters or HBO.

At the time, the Boxing After Dark twinbill was merely part of what was easily HBO’s lineup in years, if not the 30+ years the network has been involved in boxing. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle when you are surrounded by: a rare highly anticipated heavyweight matchup; a potentially historic cruiserweight match featuring one the sport’s very best of all time; and the return of the sport’s very best of recent time.

The schedule was so loaded that it hardly mattered when July 11, the date HBO initially reserved for either Mayweather’s return against a non-descript opponent or Hopkins’  challenge of the lineal cruiserweight crown, suddenly became vacant.

Hopkins low-balled Adamek, offering $500,000 for a fight in which the latter would be putting his crown on the line and pulling in the lion’s share of the live gate. Hopkins reportedly later asked Golden Boy, for whom he is a minority stakeholder, to follow up with a more enticing seven-figure offer, but Adamek and Main Events had already moved on, proceeding with their own plans rather than allow themselves to get bent over at the negotiating table.

Given that the July 11 date was always a long shot, the absence of boxing on HBO or Golden Boy in another big event was hardly of concern. At least not until the August 1 date collapsed, as did the prime of James Kirkland’s boxing career.

One of the more promising prospects-turned-contenders in the sport, Kirkland was arrested on April 19, charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. The Austin (TX) southpaw was on probation following a 2 ½ year stint for armed robbery earlier in the decade, which means a potential return to prison if convicted.

What became certain was the fact that he was done fighting, at least in 2009. Gone were the May 2 and August 1 dates lined up. HBO moved on, pushing back plans their August plans three weeks, and focusing on another Texas star in Juan Diaz.

Missing was time to pass between Mayweather-Marquez and Diaz’ August 22 main event against Paul Malignaggi. Even though down to only three cards in span of five weeks rather than five shows in seven weeks, still existing were means to avoid the summer doldrums.

With the June schedule still intact, there was a way to maintain the viewership of the everyday boxing fan between late June and mid-July – their award-winning 24/7 series. By the time Mayweather-Marquez 24/7 was ready to air, HBO viewers would’ve already been treated to a slam dunk of a heavyweight fight, as well as a terrific Boxing After Dark doubleheader.

That was, until HBO removed itself from the heavyweight title picture.

The network had remained faithful to Wladimir Klitschko for as long as the Ukrainian was a relevant factor in the heavyweight division. They stuck with him through two knockout losses, as well as handful of wins over disinteresting challengers in equally disinteresting fights.

But when it came time for the younger Klitschko to vie for the vacant lineal heavyweight championship, HBO’s interest suddenly waned.

With rumors abound of the so-called network of champions strapped for cash and struggling to save up for enough to fill up their 4th quarter schedule, Klitschko versus anyone was suddenly removed from the June 20 slot the moment the “anyone” was no longer David Haye.

That moment came on June 3, when Haye pulled out of the fight after suffering a back injury during training camp. The event’s promoters scrambled to secure a suitable replacement, and found one – from a historical perspective, anyway – in Ruslan Chagaev.

Missing, however, were three things: the potential for an action fight; existing elements to entice American audiences to tune in; and the involvement of Golden Boy Promotions.

Klitschko-Haye was on the verge of becoming the heavyweight fight that wasn’t, thanks to Team Haye’s one too many attempts of going big dick with Klitschko and HBO. It wasn’t until Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer entered the mix did negotiations resume.

Schaefer has developed a reputation in recent years for his ability to secure the big event, and added to his growing legacy in getting the respective teams of Klitschko and Haye to see eye to eye and sign on the dotted line.

His efforts aren’t a total waste; HBO’s decision to pass on Klitschko-Chagaev had everything to do with their still remaining interested in Klitschko-Haye, whenever the fight can be rescheduled. Their reasoning was that if they bought the June 20 fight that eventually aired on ESPN Classic, there wouldn’t be enough in their budget to stage Klitschko-Haye later this year.

Fair enough – although it still results in one less event involving HBO, or Golden Boy.

The bad news for either entity didn’t end there, not by a long shot.

Eleven days after Haye’s fallout, the boxing world was given the news that Floyd Mayweather suffered a rib injury during training camp, thereby postponing his July 18 comeback event versus Juan Manuel Marquez.

If there was ever a knockout blow to HBO’s schedule, it was this event. Not only does the network lose out on the pay-per-view event, but the three preceding weeks it planned to fill with episodes of 24/7 to atone for the lack of live boxing in between this weekend and July 18.

Mayweather’s injury came early enough to where his promotional company wasn’t too financially invested into the project, but still late enough to where HBO had already begun an aggressive advertising campaign to promote the series.

The first episode of the four-part series was supposed to air immediately following this weekend’s live doubleheader. The Boxing After Dark doubleheader is all that remains, though even that is barely being held together by chewing gum and duct tape at the moment.

(Editors note: the HBO B.A.D. show is no longer a doubleheader; Rocky Juarez withdrew from the show after Salgado was rejected as an opponent by HBO, Boxingscene.com was informed after this article was published).

Not longer after the June 27 date was secured, Ortiz-Kotelnik was no longer the top bill, thanks to the latter’s handlers reneging on a deal reached with Golden Boy. They instead opted to face Amir Khan in England on the same date, though obviously not on HBO.

Ortiz and Golden Boy immediately moved on, securing highly serviceable Marcos Maidana as a replacement opponent for this weekend’s show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (Saturday, HBO, 10PM ET/PT). Maidana had given Kotelnik all that he could handle in a razor-thin decision loss earlier this year and still represents Ortiz’ toughest test to date.

There was a bit of poetic justice in the news of Kotelnik allegedly suffering a toothache during training camp, thereby pushing back his fight with Khan to July 18. At the time, all systems were still a go for this weekend’s card.

But this is the summer where bad news no longer comes in threes, but in bunches at a time.

Ortiz-Maidana still tops the bill, but the co-feature remains an endless merry-go-round. John-Juarez II is no longer, thanks to unfavorable blood test results scratching the undefeated Indonesian from the show. With the main event now the only bout to air on Saturday, the show is nowhere near on the same level as the one previously advertised.

And so continues to go this year in boxing. The warmest season of the year only began this Sunday, but with this weekend and August 22 to look forward to, there’s no question that HBO wishes they could already spring ahead to the fall.

MEANWHILE ON “THAT OTHER BOXING NETWORK”

American cable giant SHOWTIME, chief rival to HBO, has endured a lot of well-deserved criticism for the boxing – or lack thereof – they have aired thus far in 2009. It hasn’t exactly been a banner year for the station whose tagline is “America’s Number One Boxing Network,” with their Showtime Championship Boxing series being all but non-existent, while depending on Shobox to carry the day.

That’s about to change for the better in the next few weeks.

The next few Saturdays becomes Armenian rhapsody for boxing fans, with Arthur Abraham and Vic Darchinyan headlining two separate telecasts in span of 14 days.

In what turned out to be a very pleasant surprise for stateside boxing fans, Showtime opted to pick up the feed for this weekend’s alphabet middleweight title fight between undefeated champ Arthur Abraham and mandatory challenger Mahir Oral (Saturday, 9PM ET/PT, aired via tape delay from Berlin, Germany).

Two weeks later comes a telecast that has every hardcore boxing fan foaming at the mouth.

Fresh of his Fighter-of-the-Year worthy campaign in 2008, Vic Darchinyan came out with both guns blazing to begin 2009, scoring a one-sided 11th round stoppage of Jorge Arce in their well-overdue grudge match this past February.

After running rampant on the super flyweight division, Darchinyan now sets his sights on the world’s best bantamweights. He doesn’t make it easy on himself, going straight for rock solid titlist Joseph King Kong Agbeko in a bout that headlines a Showtime telecast on July 11, live from Sunrise, Florida.

Three weeks later comes a solid super lightweight doubleheader (August 1, Rancho Mirage, California, 9PM ET/PT), with the finishing touches applied just this week.

Former titlist Junior Witter looks to get back into the mix when he takes on undefeated contender Devon Alexander in a vacant title fight. They have the opportunity to fight for a trinket thanks to Tim Bradley, the undefeated and perfectly sculpted Californian who gave up one belt in order to defend another against former lightweight champion Nate Campbell.

The remainder of their 2009 schedule is in the process of filling up, but the good news for boxing fans is that there haven’t been any cries of their being too broke to not remain an active participant.

Regardless, they perfectly fill the gaps that HBO so sorely leaves behind.

Call it a modern day remake of the tale of the tortoise and the hare.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .