Mandatory Eight Count - Making the Big Fights Makes it a Big Year

Lucian Bute to fight Edison Miranda | Canadian Press

On April 17 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Lucian Bute will take on his next opponent, Edison Miranda.  Good for Interbox, finding Bute a decent opponent when they have every financial incentive to just take whatever scrub is available.  The fight will be a part of a split-site double header on HBO that's going head to head with Showtime's Super Six tournament.  The other half of the card will be a Kelly Pavlik fight, likely with Sergio Martinez.  More analysis to come on this one...

Gary Shaw signs Sergiy Dzinziruk | Gary Shaw Productions

Dzinziruk had been going through promotional issues with Universum and was looking to get out when fights with Paul Williams and James Kirkland both fell through.  Credit to Dzinziruk for actually wanting to fight good opposition instead of feasting on cream puffs.  Dzinziruk is still officially a titlist at 154, so there should be opportunities for him, and Shaw is good at getting TV time even for guys who aren't super marketable.  (Warning - bad music alert at the website)

Donaire focused on Guerrero, but looking for Darchinyan or Montiel | Las Vegas Sun

As Donaire trains to face yet another crummy opponent on yet another small independent pay per view, he says he's focused on the task at hand, but still can't help saying he wants a Vic Darchinyan rematch, or to move up and challenge Fernando Montiel, next.  According to Donaire's manager, Gary Shaw has been calling Donaire about a June rematch with Darchinyan, and his manager says it's "very likely" that he'll take it, although he would like to take another fight in the interim if possible.

Andre Berto Helping Rebuild School in Haiti | Los Angeles Times

Lest we forget why Mayweather-Mosley can happen, Andre Berto continues to put together efforts to help out in Haiti.  In addition to his next fight likely to be somewhat of a benefit for the disaster, he's teamed up with a school in Encino, California to help rebuild a school that was destroyed in Haiti. 

Developments in the Jorge Barrios Case | Boxeo Hoy

As previously reported, Barrios last week was imprisoned after a hit and run accident where he killed a pregnant woman.  Barrios remains in custody and is charged with aggrevated manslaughter, charges which would become even more serious oif it turns out that Barrios was drunk.  A new toxicology report should be coming out today, although there are conflicting reports as to whether or not Barrios was drinking and driving when he committed the crime.  (link in Spanish)

Conversation with Emile Griffith | Boxing Scene

For the history buffs out there (or those who just want to learn more about boxing history), here's an interesting one.  Terence Dooley sat down with hall of famer Emile Griffith to talk about the state of boxing, past and present.

Dmitry Pirog fighting the other twin | Fightnews

Pirog isn't well known, but he's a good fighter who's near the top of the middleweight rankings for three of the sanctioning bodies.  In a WBO eliminator, he was scheduled to face 27-1 Aaron Mitchell.  Mitchell got hurt, so he's being replaced by....twin brother Eric Mitchell.  I'm still not sure why either 40 year old brother should be in line for a title shot - Eric is coming off two losses in a row, and Aaron has only fought twice in the last four years (and hasn't faced anyone good in about 15 years).

Samuel Peter Suing Don King | Courthouse News Service

Don King stiffing a fighter and getting sued for it?  Never heard of that before.  Considering King can't even get TV dates anymore, that he doesn't find venues for fights until a week or two before the show, and that his fighters end up being extremely inactive due to a lack of cards, it really dumbfounds me as to why ANYONE would sign with this guy anymore (unless you're a bad heavyweight, in which case he'll guarantee you a WBA title shot or three).