Bernard Hopkins and Joe Calzaghe have finalized their bout. The two Champions will meet April 19th, from the Thomas & Mack center in Las Vegas, NV. Tickets will go on Sale February 6th. The fight will be shown live on HBO.

- Former World Champion Jorge Arce has suffered a shoulder injury that has forced him to pull out of his January 29th bout. Arce was scheduled to be a co-feature on the Top Rank "Latin Fury" card, headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

- Ricky Hatton's return to the ring has been tentatively slated for May 24th. No opponent has been name, but the fight is scheduled to take place in England.

Some people may think that it’s a little too late to list my 2008 predictions for boxing when January is one week from being over, but I thought I’d wait for the first big fight of the year to finish first. I was curious to see if the first big fight of the year would give us a glimpse of what the future might bring, kind of like how Appalachian State's upset over the University of Michigan should have prepared us for a wacky college football season. Late or not, here are my 2008 predictions:

-Every heavyweight champion, with the exception of Wladamir Klitschko, will lose his title.

-Manny Pacquaio will finally win a real championship belt.

Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico - Julio Cesar Chavez Jr will go into his biggest fight, taking on Jose Celaya of Salinas, Calif., on Top Rank's "Latin Fury" Pay-Per-View fight card here on Saturday, Feb. 9. "Julio is coming off a great victory, but he now has a bigger challenge in Jose Celaya," said Bob Arum of Top Rank.

January 19, 2008- In the first big fight of 2008, Former Pound-for-Pound King Roy Jones Jr. turned back to the clock to defeat Puerto Rican Legend Felix "Tito" Trinidad in a highly entertaining bout in New York. Jones Jr (52-4, 38KO's) came out sluggish, allowing Tito the chance to move forward and tee off on Jones' body. Jones seemed to change his tactics during the fourth round as he slowly began to let his hands go and walking Tito (42-3, 35KO's) backwards. The key punch for Jones was the lead right. At times it seems Jones Jr. could throw and land the punch at will.

In the 7th round, Jones Jr. landed a counter right hook that sent Trindad to the floor. From then on, it was all Jones Jr as his speed and ring quickness overpowered Trinidad's courage and heart. Trinidad was again decked in the 10th round by a Jones left.

Judges at ringside scored the bout 116-110, 116-110, & 117-109 all in favor of Jones Jr.

January 16, 2008, New York,NY - Its official, Don King is the best salesman in America! For years Don King has been promoting/selling the images, hopes, and dreams of boxers all over the world.

Why is Don King the best in the business?
Anyone can sell a fight that people want to see. Don King is a man that can sell a fight that nobody wants to see and turn it into a big event. Don King could sell a Rabbi a Christmas tree. Don King could probably convince you that global warming is good for planet Earth. Don King just might even be able to convince New Yorkers that the Knicks are playoff bound!

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 14, 2008) – Sensational news for Los Angeles-based ProElite, Inc.’s Live Fight Division, EliteXC, and all fans of Mixed Martial Arts. EliteXC has signed Hall-Of-Famer Ken Shamrock, “The World’s Most Dangerous Man’’ and one of the true MMA legends and biggest pay-per-view draws in any sport, and his son, Ryan, to multi-fight deals. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

“We’re thrilled to have signed Ken and Ryan Shamrock,’’ said EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw, who made the announcement Monday. “Ken is one of the most recognizable and popular figures in MMA. He has fought the biggest and some of the most important fights in MMA history.

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 9, 2008) - Fans seeking to participate in perhaps the biggest, most significant fight card in the history of mixed martial arts in Florida will have the opportunity to reserve their spots beginning this Friday, Jan. 11, when tickets to EliteXC’s tremendous mega-event on Saturday, Feb. 16, will go on sale. Tickets for a spectacular 10-bout event start at $35 and will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com and at the BankUnited Box Office at the University of Miami.

In a long-awaited, much-anticipated grudge match that figures to be an absolute slugfest, the incredibly popular pride of Perrine, Fla., and hometown hero, Kimbo Slice, will face David “Tank’’ Abbott, of Huntington Beach, Calif., in the main event on SHOWTIME. It will be the second professional MMA fight for Kimbo, the legendary Internet street fighter and YouTube sensation who scored a smashing 19-second, first-round knockout in his Street-to-Elite debut. “With these hands I can part the sea. With these hands I feed the family,’’ Kimbo said.

Tank, of Huntington Beach, Calif., is a feared knockout artist and notorious bad boy and trash-talker. A veteran who has never turned down a fight, Tank has called out Kimbo on numerous occasions, including after Kimbo’s EliteXC and MMA debut in November. Tank is supremely confident he will send home Kimbo and his fans unhappy.

HOLLYWOOD, FL, January 9 - On Friday, January 11th, with the New Year less than two weeks old, super middleweight stars Edison Miranda and Jean Pascal will attempt to move closer to their long awaited showdown – but only if they can survive the hard-nosed battlers they will face at boxing’s “Crossroads”.

And it won’t be easy, as Miranda squares off against David Banks and Pascal faces Omar Pittman in ten round bouts which headline a night of world-class professional boxing presented by Seminole Warriors Boxing and Groupe Yvon Michel in Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

For Miranda and Pascal, wins on January 11th could mean a highly-anticipated showdown later in 2008.

January 7th, 2008 - This Friday, January 11, the authentic Mexican cerveza Tecate presents the latest "Solo Boxeo Tecate" bout, set to take place at the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, Calif. This will mark the first Tecate and Golden Boy Promotions boxing event of the year.

Headlining this outstanding bout is Season Ones' "Contender" winner, Sergio Mora (19-0-1, 4 KO's) and 2004 U.S. Olympian Vicente Escobedo (15-1, 11KO’s), who will present their talent in separate matches. Mora will be facing Rito Ruvalcaba (31-8, 27 KO's) in a 10-round middleweight match, while Escobedo will battle Puerto Rican Angel Chacon (30-8-2, 15 KO’s) in what promises to be an exciting meet.

This "Solo Boxeo Tecate" event will air live beginning at 7 p.m. CST/8 p.m. EST on Friday, January 11on Telefutura.

January 4, 2008 - Forget the cold New York winter – on Saturday, February 23rd, the action at Madison Square Garden has just gotten even hotter with the addition of three of the Big Apple’s hottest fighters to the undercard of the World Heavyweight Title Unification bout between WBO champ Sultan Ibragimov and IBF titleholder Wladimir Klitschko.

January 5th, 2008 - In his first fight of 2008, Paulie Malignaggi turned in a lackluster performance against determined Herman Ngoudjo, being awarded a lucky unanimous decision tonight in Atlantic City. Malignaggi (24 - 1, 5KOs) started back-peddling from the opening round and could not get his jab in rhythm. Although landing fewer punches, Ngoudjo (19-2, 9KO's) landed the harder punches throughout the fight, stunning Malignaggi a few times through the course of the bout. In a surprise, Ngoudjo got stronger as the fight entered the later rounds, pushing the action and punished Malignaggi until the final bell. However, according to the judges, it was little too late.

Judges at ringside scored the bout 115-113, 116-113, and 117-111.

BILOXI, Miss. (Jan. 5, 2008) – Brothers Lamont and Anthony Peterson of Washington, D.C., kept their undefeated records and hopes for a world title shot in 2008 in tact with convincing victories Friday in the co-featured bouts on ShoBox: The New Generation at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

LAS VEGAS, January 3 – During every New Years celebration, the saying goes, “Out with the old, in with the new,” as well as “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Neither could be more true concerning the mindset of Jermain Taylor as he starts the New Year with training camp in Las Vegas for his rematch with Kelly Pavlik, billed as "The Epic Battle Continues."

HOLLYWOOD, FL, January 3 – Member of Team Ibragimov were treated to a meeting of boxing minds Wednesday when middleweight legend and current light heavyweight champion Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins stopped by the Sultan’s gym to speak with the WBO Heavyweight Champion, who is preparing for his February 23rd unification bout with IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Hopkins, who is coming off back-to-back wins over Winky Wright and Antonio Tarver, discussed the Klitschko bout with Ibragimov and invited the Dagestan native to his spring showdown with super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.

New York, January 2 - Duva Boxing will swing into 2008 with a hard hitting card on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights headlined by the sensational knockout artist Darnell Wilson defending his USBA Cruiserweight championship against undefeated B.J. Flores on Friday night, February 8, at Dover Downs Racetrack and Casino, it was announced today by Duva Boxing president Dino Duva. The card will be presented in association with Dave Tiberi’s TNT Promotions and Sal Musemeci’s Final Forum Promotions.