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• April 10: Berto is supposed to return to action to defend against former titlist Carlos Quintana in South Florida with light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud making his first defense against mandatory challenger Glen Johnson in the co-feature. I like this card, which will be used to also raise funds for earthquake-ravaged Haiti, where Berto's family is from. I think Quintana is slick enough and big enough to give Berto a few problems in an interesting style matchup. Cloud against Johnson can't help but be a good fight. And if Cloud can get the win, he will have been introduced to HBO's large audience and set himself up for a possible fight with Chad Dawson down the road. The final particulars are being worked out for both fights.
• April 17: The plan is a split-site doubleheader with super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute facing Edison Miranda in Montreal to be followed by middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik defending against junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City, N.J. This is a tremendous doubleheader and there should be raucous crowds at both venues. Miranda, who is always in entertaining fights, is a major underdog, but he's just wild enough and hits hard enough to maybe make things interesting. Bute-Miranda has officially been announced. Pavlik-Martinez is a first-class, A-level fight that should be competitive and exciting. It has been agreed to, but remains unsigned.
• April 24: This card is official -- heavyweight contender Cristobal Arreola faces former cruiserweight champ Tomasz Adamek (who is 2-0 at heavyweight) in Ontario, Calif., which is Arreola's turf, and interim junior middleweight titlist Alfredo "Perro" Angulo meets Joel "Love Child" Julio in the opener. Both fights should be fun, high-contact rumbles. The winner of Arreola-Adamek is set up for another big fight. Angulo is great to watch, win or lose, and Julio, who is also exciting, faces a must-win situation. Love the card.
• May 8: Paul Williams, coming off his rousing slugfest with Martinez in December, is due to return on this date. The most likely scenario is a junior middleweight fight with former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron. Williams might not be facing Pavlik or Martinez in a rematch, but the idea of Williams-Cintron has been growing on me since it was first brought up. There is supposed to be just one live bout on this night.
• May 15: The date is set for the American debut of junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan of England as part of his fat new promotional deal with Golden Boy. Golden Boy at first tried to match Khan and Juan Manuel Marquez, but Marquez ultimately declined. That left Golden Boy to try to make the fight it should have been working on in the first place -- Paulie Malignaggi. Lou DiBella, Malignaggi's promoter, and Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer are working on a deal. If it gets done, the fight will be at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, which is the ideal spot for it. It will be a hot ticket and a good fight. The HBO opener should also be a good one between junior welterweight prospect Victor Ortiz and veteran former unified lightweight titlist Nate Campbell. This is the epitome of a crossroads fight. It's a must win for both guys if they want to continue getting HBO-level fights. That sense of desperation always raises the stakes and makes a fight even more interesting
• April 17: The plan is a split-site doubleheader with super middleweight titlist Lucian Bute facing Edison Miranda in Montreal to be followed by middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik defending against junior middleweight titlist Sergio Martinez in Atlantic City, N.J. This is a tremendous doubleheader and there should be raucous crowds at both venues. Miranda, who is always in entertaining fights, is a major underdog, but he's just wild enough and hits hard enough to maybe make things interesting. Bute-Miranda has officially been announced. Pavlik-Martinez is a first-class, A-level fight that should be competitive and exciting. It has been agreed to, but remains unsigned.
• April 24: This card is official -- heavyweight contender Cristobal Arreola faces former cruiserweight champ Tomasz Adamek (who is 2-0 at heavyweight) in Ontario, Calif., which is Arreola's turf, and interim junior middleweight titlist Alfredo "Perro" Angulo meets Joel "Love Child" Julio in the opener. Both fights should be fun, high-contact rumbles. The winner of Arreola-Adamek is set up for another big fight. Angulo is great to watch, win or lose, and Julio, who is also exciting, faces a must-win situation. Love the card.
• May 8: Paul Williams, coming off his rousing slugfest with Martinez in December, is due to return on this date. The most likely scenario is a junior middleweight fight with former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron. Williams might not be facing Pavlik or Martinez in a rematch, but the idea of Williams-Cintron has been growing on me since it was first brought up. There is supposed to be just one live bout on this night.
• May 15: The date is set for the American debut of junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan of England as part of his fat new promotional deal with Golden Boy. Golden Boy at first tried to match Khan and Juan Manuel Marquez, but Marquez ultimately declined. That left Golden Boy to try to make the fight it should have been working on in the first place -- Paulie Malignaggi. Lou DiBella, Malignaggi's promoter, and Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer are working on a deal. If it gets done, the fight will be at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York, which is the ideal spot for it. It will be a hot ticket and a good fight. The HBO opener should also be a good one between junior welterweight prospect Victor Ortiz and veteran former unified lightweight titlist Nate Campbell. This is the epitome of a crossroads fight. It's a must win for both guys if they want to continue getting HBO-level fights. That sense of desperation always raises the stakes and makes a fight even more interesting
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