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If fans were worried that Gary Shaw would continue to take the approach that a bout between top rated junior-welters Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander would need to marinate a little more, there appears to be some good news...

AOL FanHouse - Lem Satterfield... Bradley's promoter, Gary Shaw, said that he and Alexander's promoter, Don King, are pretty much on the same page, and that HBO's President of Sports, Ross Greenburg, is absolutely giddy about the match up and the date. "It's newsworthy that HBO wants Bradley and Alexander to fight on that big date, which is Jan. 29. It's the biggest HBO date. One of the biggest of the year because it sits right in front of the Super Bowl. I just don't have a deal done with HBO. But HBO is on board saying that they would like to do the fight very much," said Shaw.

That Bradley might be getting to the point where it's a strain on his body to make the junior-welterweight limit could be a factor in pushing this one along.  Bradley will be testing the waters at welterweight against Luis Abregu, and given he's been campaigning at 140lbs since turning pro, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that 147lbs is a much more comfortable weight for the fighter from Palm Springs.

According to Dan Rafael, Cuban featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa will be taking on Elio Rojas on HBO in September...

ESPN - Dan Rafael... Gamboa and Rojas will meet Sept. 11 in the main event of an HBO "Boxing After Dark" card at a venue to be determined -- although promoter Top Rank hopes to have the fight in Las Vegas -- Top Rank's Carl Moretti said. Moretti said Top Rank and Don King, Rojas' promoter, have come to terms, although they are trading paperwork.

Rojas - originally slated to meet Gamboa earlier in the year - is a pretty good opponent, especially if you've come to terms with the fact that Bob Arum does not appear interested in matching the Cuban up with either Juan Manuel Lopez or Celestino Caballero anytime soon.

Lucian Bute will be fulfilling his mandatory obligations as he continues to bide his time while waiting for bigger opportunities to materialize...

Rick Reeno - Boxing Scene... it's practically a lock for Lucian Bute (26-0, 21KOs) to make a mandatory defense of his IBF super middleweight title against Jesse Brinkley (35-5, 22KOs) on the date of October 15 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Talks are ongoing for the fight to get televised by ESPN as part of the Friday Night Fights series.

Brinkley is a couple levels below Bute's class, but with the potential Kelly Pavlik bout derailed by Sergio Martinez, there just aren't too many options right now for the Montreal star.  Let's hope something can be arranged between the winner of next month's light-heavyweight showdown between Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal.  Gary Shaw's expressed a willingness to make it happen should Dawson win, and given the money that could be involved in an all Montreal mega-fight, one would have to assume Pascal wold be very interested as well.