Rick Reeno at BoxingScene.com has news on three potential fights that are being discussed, at least in the media.
First: Lucian Bute v. Allan Green
Lou DiBella is reportedly looking into matching Green, his fighter, with IBF super middleweight titlist Bute, who has become one of the fastest-rising stars in boxing. The first choice for Bute and HBO is still Kelly Pavlik, but matchmaker/agent Don Majeski says word is Pavlik will stay at middleweight:
"We have had some talks for a fight with Allan Green. We would really like to fight Kelly Pavlik but we've heard that he might stay at middleweight so who knows. We have to see what happens with Pavlik," Majeski told BoxingScene.
Green was heavily rumored to be the alternate fighter of first choice should anyone in the Super Six World Boxing Classic drop out of the competition. Jermain Taylor is the only fighter that appears would even be considering such a move, and JT seems set on staying in, even with the loss of DiBella as his promoter. So Green, who killed some time by fighting and beating Tarvis Simms in October, is in need of a fight. He can't just sit around and wait, although sitting and waiting has sort of been his career modus operandi thus far.
To be blunt, it's kind of time for Allan Green to crap or get off the pot. He's a talented guy, but he's been beating the same level fighters for too long. At 30, there's not likely to be any major improvement that will any better prepare him for the top level guys at 168 pounds. Green already once turned down a fight with Kelly Pavlik and has basically been banned from ESPN2 telecasts. He's made lots of shoddy career decisions. He's no longer at the point where he can just keep waiting. He's either going to do it or not, and with Bute being the only major titlist besides Robert Stieglitz not competing in the Super Six, this is the absolute best fight he's going to get.
Of course, it could not happen and totally not be his fault at all. He might well want it and be turned down if Bute and his team come up with something they like better, or if Pavlik surprises some people and moves up to fight him.
Second: Juan Manuel Marquez v. Michael Katsidis
The WBO has been threatening that Marquez needs to fight Katsidis next or be stripped of their lightweight title, and they're just saying it some more. Marquez is unlikely to fight Katsidis as there's probably a better money fight out there for him, either with Ricky Hatton or somebody else. Katsidis currently holds the sanctioning body's interim title, and if Marquez were to pass on a fight with him, he'd be upgraded to full titleholder.
Third: Timothy Bradley v. Victor Ortiz
In another one I think probably won't happen, Gary Shaw says he'll reach out to Golden Boy about pitting Victor Ortiz against Timothy Bradley:
"We want Amir Kahn, Maidana, Ortiz. Let's see how brave they are by offering up Ortiz. I might just offer Ortiz a title shot. Bradley would knock him out," Shaw told BoxingScene.com.
I don't know if Bradley would knock him out, but after watching Ortiz's fight with Antonio Diaz on tape yesterday, boy is that not a fight I'd put him in right now. Golden Boy probably still have high hopes for Ortiz, who was to be their star of the future. He's got a surfer dude sort of personality and to his credit, he's a really exciting fighter... which we've seen against lesser competition. Bradley is simply on another level and has rapidly improved. Ortiz looked a little bit gun-shy against Diaz on Saturday, but he may have shaken that just by getting back in there and fighting again.
I think the jury's still out on Victor, but if I'm at Golden Boy, there's no way in hell I put him in there with Bradley right now, unless I've decided that Victor isn't going to pan out, and that it's a really early "now or never" call. He's simply not ready for Bradley.