By Rick Reeno
If he's successful on September 15th, WBC 154-pound champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (40-0-1, 29KOs) will return to the ring for a third time in 2012. Canelo defends his title against Josesito Lopez (30-4, 18KOs) in the main event of a Showtime televised quadrupleheader at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has advised BoxingScene.com that his company does have a hold on the MGM Grand for December 8th, and the event's headliner will depend on the outcome of Canelo-Lopez. Last month, Canelo's trainer, Chepo Reynoso, told BoxingScene that he expects his boxer to defeat Lopez and then return on December 8.
QUILLIN LANDS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY
Middleweight contender Peter Quillin (27-0, 20KOs) has landed a golden opportunity, says Schaefer. A deal was finalized for Quillin to face Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (27-0, 17KOs) on October 20th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The WBO's full middleweight championship will be at stake. N'Jikam became the "interim-champion" after winning an eliminator against Max Bursak in May. The World Boxing Organization then ordered Dmitry Pirog to face N'Jikam. Pirog was stripped when he took a pass on the WBO's directive and accepted a lucrative offer to fight IBO/WBA "regular champion" Gennady Golovkin on HBO. However, Pirog suffered an injury and he was later replaced by EBU champion Grzegorz Proksa.
Quillin-N'Jikam is part of a Showtime televised tripleheader. In the main event, Danny Garcia will defend his WBA/WBC 140-pound titles in a rematch with Erik Morales, and Paulie Malignaggi will make the first defense of his WBA welterweight crown against Pablo Cesar Cano.
MARES-MORENO ON THE MOVE, SO IS ABRIL-BOGERE
After weeks of discussions, Schaefer and Showtime were able to reschedule the super bantamweight clash between WBC champion Abner Mares (24-0-1, 13KOs)and tough challenger Anselo Moreno (33-1, 12KOs).
The fight was previously scheduled for October 13th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The event has been switched to October 27th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Schaefer and Showtime were trying to avoid a head to head battle with HBO's doubleheader, which takes place at the Home Depot Center in Carson. HBO's doubleheader, put together by Top Rank, has one of the most anticipated cards in recent memory. WBO/IBF super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire will defend his titles against Japanese superstar Toshiaki Nishioka, and Brandon Rios will take on Mike Alvarado in a certified junior welterweight war.
In the interest of the boxing fans, Schaefer felt it was best to avoid a head to head scenario.
"Showtime helped a lot to see that we could move it to October 27th. We moved this great card to the Honda Center. It will be a tripleheader and we will be announcing the other two fights in the coming days," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.
The original co-feature to Mares-Moreno was a lightweight clash between Sharif Bogere (23-0, 15KOs) and Richard Abril (17-3-1, 8KOs) for the vacant WBA title. Because of scheduling conflicts in October, that fight will now get shifted to a likely date in November.
OLYMPIANS STAY ON SCHEDULE FOR OCTOBER 14th
When Golden Boy originally booked the Mandalay Bay as the venue for Mares-Moreno, they also booked the venue for the following day, October 14th, to stage a CBS televised event which is going to feature the pro debuts of several Olympic fighters from the 2012 London Games. According to Schaefer, Golden Boy's CBS card, featuring the Olympians, will remain on schedule for October 14th. The venue and location, however, is still to be determined.
The fighters being showcased and other event details will be announced shortly.
