Next Saturday is a week off, but then we jump right back into the game with extensive coverage of all the big fights. Coming up:
April 7 on HBO: Joe Calzaghe defends against Peter Manfredo, Jr., and Amir Khan knocks out Steffy Bull. Apparently, that night's Maccarinelli/Gunn fight is not up to HBO's high standards.
April 7 on Showtime: Diego Corrales moves out of the lightweight division to take on Joshua Clottey.
April 13 on ESPN2: Zab Judah's return to the ring against Ruben Galvan, as Judah tunes up for Miguel Cotto in June.
April 14 on PPV: Manny Pacquiao takes on Jorge Solis, older brother of Archie; Jorge Arce faces Cristian Mijares; Brian Viloria takes on Edgar Sosa; and some other stuff. Honestly, this better have some really exciting fights, or it's going to be a real downer to have paid for this one. Top Rank gambled correctly -- at least in my case -- that the hardcore boxing fan wouldn't want to miss a Pacquiao fight, and that Arce/Mijares would be enough of an extra kick to get me hooked in. Plus, I want to see how Viloria looks, because I find him to be a really interesting fighter to watch. The rest of the card I can take or leave, but I'm in, and we'll have you covered since chances are pretty decent you aren't going to want to pay for this one.
April 18 on ESPN2: Chris Byrd makes HIS return on ESPN, as well, taking on Terry Smith. Oops, wait -- now it's apparently Paul Marinaccio, a far less interesting and dangerous matchup for the former heavyweight champ.
April 20 on Showtime: Kendall Holt takes on Mike Arnaoutis, who I thought beat Ricardo Torres on the undercard of Pacquiao/Morales III.
April 22 on ABC: It's official. Boxing is coming back to network TV. Unfortunately, it features Antonio Tarver. That said, Tarver's opponent is Elvir Muriqi, a guy who you can probably bet your bottom dollar will at least make it exciting. Tarver was not the best choice for this fight (starting at 1:30 PM), but who else was going to do it?
April 28 on HBO: Acelino Freitas and Juan Diaz in what should be a barnburner.
May 5 on PPV: The big one -- Floyd and Oscar. Right now, it's all leading up to this fight.