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Will Alvarez prove he’s the better fighter July 12?

LUIS CORTES

ALEC KOHUT

MARTY MULCAHEY

ALLAN SCOTTO

STEPHEN TOBEY

GERMAN VILLASENOR

ANSON WAINWRIGHT

MATTHEW PARAS

DANIEL KRAVETZ

JASON GONZALEZ

Countdown to the Fall

By Steve Kim

The thing about boxing is that even when nothing is really going on, something is still going on. That’s the case this week as plans are being shored up for what looks to be a strong run of fights in the fall and winter months. Here’s a few things that are happening...

- It’s official: Guillermo Rigondeaux will not be part of the September 15^th undercard at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas before Sergio Martinez faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in that night’s main event. A judge in Miami denied a motion by the Cuban’s attorney, preventing him from facing Robert Marroquin. Basically, Gary Hyde, who manages Rigondeaux, is charging that Top Rank made this bout without his consent and is accusing them of dirty pool. Lem Satterfield of The Ring has more on this story:ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/

But the show will go on. Top Rank matchmakers are looking for a replacement to face Marroquin and it could be Mexican Oscar Gonzalez who gets the call.

- The bout between super middleweights Adonis Stevenson and Don George has been rescheduled for October 12 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Originally, that fight was supposed to be a co-feature to the bout between IBF light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud and Jean Pascal on Showtime, scheduled for August 11^th but then postponed as Pascal suffered a training injury. According to promoter Yvon Michel, this contest will be broadcast in the States by Wealth TV.

(OK, does anyone out there actually have WealthTV?)

- The bout between Stevenson and George is an IBF super middleweight eliminator. The champion, Carl Froch, announced on Tuesday that he will be taking on Yusaf Mack in Nottingham, England. “The Mack Attack” isn’t a bad opponent in this circumstance. He’s been a fringe contender for much of his career and is best known for losing to the likes of Librado Andrade, Glen Johnson and Cloud. Froch, who destroyed Lucian Bute in May, is slated to face Bute in a rematch in 2013.

- Tickets for the inaugural boxing card at the Barclays Center on October 20^th, featuring the rematch between WBC junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia and Erik Morales and the likes of Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin go on sale today at 10 a.m., Eastern time. Here’s the ticket info (from a Golden Boy press release): Tickets start at $50 and go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, August 29 at 10:00 a.m. ET and will be available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, or at 800-745-3000.

- Word is that HBO is pushing for Adrien Broner to face Robert Guerrero on November 3^rd. Originally, “The Problem” and his magical tweeting brush were supposed to appear on the network October 6^th but that date was scrapped after a suitable foe could not be found. Last week, Guerrero, who holds a version of the WBC 147-pound title, and Broner were sparring back and forth on Twitter. And if there’s ever an impetus for a fight to happen nowadays, it’s when two guys go at it 140 characters at a time.

Another option could be the winner of the September 8^th tangle in Oakland between WBC lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco and Johnny Molina.

HARD KNOCKS FLURRIES

It looks like Jorge Linares will be making his return to the ring on Oct. 6^th on a card televised by Fox Deportes...Malik Scott faces Bowie Tupou in a heavyweight match-up on the Andre Ward-Chad Dawson undercard...We’ll have more on this tomorrow but Mexican Olympian Oscar Valdez has signed a deal with manager Frank Espinoza...My dark horse in this year’s Heisman Trophy race is Geno Smith of WVU...Yeah, I like USC but their lack of depth on the D-line concerns me...I can be reached at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.

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