Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com reports today that a finally confirmed date has come down the pike for the four-man bantamweight tournament semifinals show that Showtime has put together. Yonnhy Perez, Joseph Agbeko, Abner Mares and Vic Darchinyan will all be in action on December 11, in Leon, Mexico.
This does free up December 18 to be unopposed for the Jean Pascal-Bernard Hopkins fight, which likely is headed to pay-per-view, but it also maybe at least cracks the window once again for Showtime to bid on that bout. Ending the year with the Super Six semifinals, Lopez-Marquez, the two big bantamweight fights, and a light heavyweight championship bout would be amazing for Showtime, but most likely is also too costly, particularly the Pascal-Hopkins bout.
It will also mean that HBO and Showtime will be going against one another on December 11, at least so long as Amir Khan actually fights on that date as currently scheduled. Golden Boy is currently working hard on a fight between Khan and Marcos Maidana, but money -- and I suspect something else, too -- has reportedly been an issue for the Maidana camp. If Khan fights someone other than Maidana on December 11, it'll probably amount to little more than a stay-busy fight with limited appeal, anyhow. Victor Ortiz has been previously rumored as a "potential" Khan opponent, but that could be simply because Ortiz is a Golden Boy fighter. Ortiz fights Vivian Harris on September 18 in Los Angeles, on the Mosley-Mora PPV card.