:boxing: HardDoor's Summer Boxing Preview - '08 Edition

To Autumn 2008 Boxing Preview-->

With the coming of the summer season comes the big fights. It's as annual as the former and this year poses no exception. There are a number of exciting new matchups on the horizon, so HardDoor thus presents a short list of major or notable bouts taking place between now and the end of August. The outcomes may yield even more interesting fights in the fall or later in the year, but as anyone who follows boxing will know, any scheduled fight can collapse at any given moment or be moved to another date for whatever reason, so remember to always keep that in mind. I'll still try to give individual coverage to certain intriguing matchups, though... --HD

::Big courtesy to Fightnews.com for its compilation of fight schedules, though BoxRec was consulted for corrections::

[C] = Major Championship Match. Only the champions defending their titles are noted as such, though their opponents may be holding a belt that they are not defending.

[NIXED] = The scheduled fight was cancelled, or "nixed". This can happen at any time for any given circumstance, such as an injury or a contract disagreement.


June

:Sat.06.07.08:
[C] WBC, WBO Middleweight Champion Kelly Pavlik vs Gary Lockett [HBO]
--Should prove to be a good match for Pavlik, perhaps before a showdown with Miranda, or Calzaghe?

[C] WBO Junior Featherweight Champion Daniel Ponce De Leon vs Juan Manuel Lopez [HBO]

[C] WBC Super Welterweight Champion Vernon Forrest vs Sergio Mora [Showtime]
--The vet vs the upstart, at the crossroad. Forrest is still trying to make his way back, while Mora's trying to reach the upper level. He's got potential, but he'll need nothing short of a perfect fight to beat someone as seasoned as Forrest, despite his sometimes spotty performances.

[C] WBO Welterweight Champion Carlos Quintana vs Paul Williams (Welterweight) [Showtime]
--After his win over Antonio Margarito, Williams dropped down a few pegs after a loss to Quintana broke his undefeated streak and his chance at fighting Miguel Cotto (who, ironically, delivered Quintana his first loss). Now, both will need to go through each other once more to get back into contention, perhaps against the winner of Cotto-Margarito.


:Wed.06.11.08:
Sechew Powell vs Deandre Latimore (Junior Middleweight) [ESPN2]


:Thurs.06.12.08:
[C] WBC Bantamweight Champion Hozumi Hasegawa vs Cristian Faccio

[C] WBA Super Featherweight Champion Edwin Valero vs Takehiro Shimada


:Fri.06.13.08:
Jesse Brinkley vs Jason Naugler (Super Middleweight)


:Sat.06.14.08:
Mia St. John vs Amy Yuratovic (Lightweight)


:Fri.06.20.08:
Montell Griffin vs Corey Cummings (Light Heavyweight)

Andre Ward vs Jerson Ravelo (Super Middleweight) [Showtime]
--If he keeps it up, Ward will certainly be a fighter to behold in the future.

Eddie Chambers vs Raphael Butler (Heavyweight) [Showtime]


:Sat.06.21.08:
[C] (Vacent WBA Super Middleweight Championship) Mikkel Kessler vs Dimitri Sartison

[C] (Vacant WBC Welterweight Championship) Andre Berto vs Miki Rodriguez [HBO]

Arthur Abraham vs Edison Miranda (Middleweight) [Showtime]

Amir Khan vs Michael Gomez (Lightweight)
--Like Andre Ward, Khan is another Olympian that, he stays diligent and hone his skills, can become a great force on the boxing scene.

Cristobal Arreola vs Chazz Witherspoon (Heavyweight) [HBO]

Giovanni Lorenzo vs Raul Marquez (Middleweight) [Showtime]


:Wed.06.25.08:
Julio Diaz vs Rolando Reyes (Lightweight) [ESPN2]


:Sat.06.28.08:
[C] WBC Lightweight Champion David Diaz vs Manny Pacquiao [PPV - HBO]
--This should be a nasty little fight should it live up to expectations. If he wins...Juan Manuel Marquez to end the debate?

Tye Fields vs Monte Barett (Heavyweight)


July

:Sat.07.05.08:
[NIXED] [C] WBA Heavyweight Champion Ruslan Chagaev vs Nikolai Valuev
--David vs Goliath: Electric Boogaloo. Chagaev handled the giant with relative ease, but Valuev has said to have looked better since his first defeat. A win by either will certainly put them in the unification talks.

[C] WBA Featherweight Champion Chris John vs Michael Lozada

Kendall Holt vs Ricardo Torres (Light Welterweight) [Showtime]


:Sat.07.12.08:
[C] IBF, WBO, IBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko vs Tony Thompson [HBO]
--Hopefully after this, Klitschko will try to target the other major belt holders. Hopefully.


:Sat.07.26.08:
[C] WBA, IBF Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto vs Antonio Margarito [PPV - HBO]
--Margarito put major halt to Kermit Cintron's aspirations when he destroyed him a few years back. Now, after suffering a loss against Paul Williams (and looking unimpressive in the process) and thus losing perhaps his only crack at Floyd Mayweather, Jr., he may now find himself in Cintron's shoes as he faces the undefeated Cotto as he tries to get back to the road to the top.


August

:Sat.08.02.08:
[C] IBF Super Flyweight Champion Dimitri Kirilov vs Vic Darchinyan [Showtime]


:Sat.08.09.08 - Sun.08.24.08:
Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
--The Olympic Games have been the launching grounds of some of boxing's most storied names, from Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Sugar Ray Leonard, and Roy Jones, Jr. to Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and Lennox Lewis. With the Games of the XXIX Olympiad taking place in Beijing, China for 2008, it will prove to once again be a good lookout spot for finding the sport's next great talent. The weight classes (going by the amateur scale) in contention are as followed: Light Flyweight (48 kg/106 lbs), Flyweight (51 kg/112 lbs), Bantamweight (54 kg/119 lbs), Featherweight (57 kg/125 lbs), Lightweight (60 kg/132 lbs), Light Welterweight (64 kg/141 lbs), Welterweight (69 kg/152 lbs), Middleweight (75 kg/165 lbs), Light Heavyweight (81 kg/178 lbs), Heavyweight (91 kg/201 lbs), and Super Heavyweight (91+ kg/201+ lbs).

:Sat.08.30.08:
[C] WBO Light Flyweight Champion Ivan Calderon vs Hugo Cazares