Lou DiBella told Dan Rafael that two fights involving two of his biggest fighters and Golden Boy Promotions are close to done.

First up, the Shane Mosley-Andre Berto welterweight title fight on January 30, 2010. Confirmation is all that's waiting, and while it looks like it'll be a go, DiBella is being cautious:

"There are still some issues that have to be resolved between the Berto side and HBO," he said. "The issues are not between our side and Golden Boy. I'm optimistic that a deal can get done, but it's not done yet."

Mosley-Berto will stand as a great test for both sides in January, I think. Berto has never faced anyone this good, or frankly even close to it. Luis Collazo has been his toughest opponent, and Shane carved Collazo up a few years ago. At the same time, Mosley will have not fought in 53 weeks, and he's not getting any younger. Plus, Berto is quite fast, much faster than Shane's recent opponents, Antonio Margarito and Ricardo Mayorga, two plodding brawlers. It's a really interesting fight and it even feels like an overdue step up for Berto, which might not be fair, but when you get all the hype he has, eventually it becomes underwhelming when you're fighting the competition he has.

And then there's the ongoing saga of Diaz-Malignaggi II, which looks like it's going to happen on December 12:

"There are no remaining issues on our side and I believe this fight will happen. It's the right fight at the right time," he said. "I think Golden Boy feels the same way. It's very close, but they need to finish some of their business with Diaz and [manager Willie] Savannah." The fight could take place in Chicago or Las Vegas, DiBella said. Because Malignaggi is a New Yorker, Savannah refuses to come to the East Coast, even though DiBella had a $250,000 site guarantee from a venue in Atlantic City, N.J.

Diaz has been strange and sort of whiny during the negotiations, and Paulie has probably been overly animated and aggressive. Diaz recently claimed that Malignaggi has no other big fight options, which is probably true, but he talks as if he has any himself. Calling out Ricky Hatton doesn't mean you're fighting Ricky Hatton, and Ricky Hatton isn't saying much these days. All Juan Manuel Marquez has said is he'd like to take some well-deserved time off and then perhaps fight Hatton himself. Who do you think Ricky would choose in the event that he picked between those two? Diaz's options are every bit as limited as Malignaggi's, and it's a strange situation because it should be celebrated that they'll fight again. Good fight, close fight, and both of them obviously still have a little bit to prove. Fans are demanding it -- when's the last time fans demanded anything out of Diaz and Malignaggi? People are interested. Like DiBella says, it's the right fight at the right time. Strike while the iron's hot.

Later in the day, Dan Rafael spoke with Richard Schaefer, and reported in his weekly ESPN.com chat that the contracts for both fights had been sent out. So we'll know soon, it appears.