Mandatory Eight Count: Khan-McCloskey, John-Yordan Finalized

Boxing: Khan comes home to face McCloskey (The Independent)
In a move that I hope doesn't really surprise anyone, a fight has been finalized for April 16 between Amir Khan and Paul McCloskey, despite all the news that that deal was off the table. This isn't going to excite many people and really is just a decent stay-busy fight, but I guess at least he's fighting, and McCloskey is the European champ at 140, and after that there's only supposed to be one next step for a fighter. Maybe I'll look at it as a great opportunity and focus on McCloskey's underdog role.

Chris John to make 14th title defense against Daud Yordan in April (ESPN)
Chris John will face countryman Daud Yordan in Jakarta on April 17. I like the fight and it's one where you can't blame anyone for not looking elsewhere, given that these are, to my knowledge, the two biggest, most accomplished, and most popular fighters in Indonesia. If John were to lose to Yordan, it would be a passing the torch sort of moment. Yordan has won a couple since losing to Celestino Caballero last year, and he's got a lot less wear and tear on him than does John, who at 31 is eight years and a lot of fights Yordan's senior.

Tim Bradley: Devon Alexander Fight 'Was A Little Bit Personal' (FanHouse)
Lem Satterfield talks to Tim Bradley, who is definitely not at a loss for words.

Trout wins a world boxing title (The Daily News - Galveston County)
Austin Trout won the vacant WBA junior middleweight belt over the weekend, traveling to Guadalajara to beat Rigoberto Alvarez on scores of 119-108 across the board. Alvarez is the older brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who is already saying he wants to fight Trout in June for revenge, and it will give him the chance to say he's going after "world champions." Trout (22-0, 13 KO) really shouldn't have been fighting for a "world title" against Rigoberto, but it's all a nice set-up for Canelo to claim a belt later. Without that trinket, if Alvarez had fought Trout in June, only the most gullible would have felt like it was a worthy fight. That's not meant to be a shot at Trout, it's just reality.

Genaro Hernandez hangs tough in his toughest bout (latimes.com)
Bill Dwyre's piece on Genaro Hernandez, the former champion who continues to bravely battle cancer.

Barrera returns Feb 12 (Fightnews.com)
Marco Antonio Barrera will fight on February 12 in Guadalajara against Jose Arias (15-1, 9 KO). Before you possibly think anything of that record, Arias is a 43-year-old Dominican club fighter.

Foster Jr: 'I Feel Like I'm The Challenger' (Seconds Out)
Stephen Foster Jr. talks about his upcoming European super featherweight title fight against Ermano Fegatilli.

Evander Holyfield's fight with Brian Nielsen postponed for cut (ESPN)
Because I know you're all intensely interested in the Holyfield-Nielsen showdown.