Looking Ahead to HBO’s Fall Schedule

by Kieran Mulvaney

We know. It’s been a quiet month. But with the Olympics behind us and summer soon segueing into fall, HBO’s Boxing schedule is filling up fast. The network has four cards confirmed for September and one already in place for October, with the promise of plenty more to come.

Here’s a brief guide to what’s on tap: 

Gennady Golovkin

September 1

Gennady Golovkin vs Grzegorz Proska, HBO Boxing After Dark

If you haven’t seen Golovkin fight before, you’re in for a treat. The German-based, Kazakh-born middleweight is a wrecking ball of a fighter, with 20 knockouts from his 23 professional wins. He won silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and as an amateur defeated the likes of Andre Dirrell, Lucian Bute and Andy Lee. He defends his middleweight title against once-beaten European champion Gzegorz Proska in what promises to be an exciting match-up.

Chad Dawson - Photo Credit: Will Hart

September 8
Andre Ward vs Chad Dawson, HBO World Championship Boxing

Dawson is coming off arguably the best performance of his career, a convincing points win over future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. Can the light heavyweight champion be as effective against highly-rated super middleweight champion Andre Ward? Also on the card, lightweight title action featuring Antonio DeMarco, fresh from his spectacular win over Jorge Linares, defending against John Molina Jr; and, from Germany, Vitali Klitschko defends his heavyweight belt against unbeaten Manuel Charr.

Sergio Martinez - Photo Credit: Will Hart

September 15
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Sergio Martinez, HBO PPV

Argentina’s Martinez, widely recognized as the best middleweight in the world, collides with hugely popular WBC titleholder Julio Cesar Chavez in a battle that fans have been eagerly anticipating for well over a year. Martinez has stopped his last four opponents, while the undefeated Chavez has become one of the most exciting fighters in the game. A year and a half ago, most would have considered this a mismatch in favor of Martinez, but with the younger, bigger Chavez improving under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, this has become a pick’ em fight.

Edwin Rodriguez

September 29
Edwin Rodriguez vs Jason Escalera, HBO Boxing After Dark

It’s a battle of unbeatens as boxer-puncher Rodriguez looks to move into the world-title picture at super middleweight, and Escalera, who has 12 KOs among his 13 wins, aims to stop him. The fight is the main event of a three-bout card from Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.

Nonito Donaire - Photo Credit: Will Hart

October 13
Nonito Donaire vs Toshiaki Nishioka, HBO Boxing After Dark

It’s difficult to know which fight to be more excited about: charismatic budding superstar Donaire taking on the daunting challenge of Japan’s Nishioka, who recently defeated Rafael Marquez, in a super bantamweight title fight; or the co-main event, which pits Brandon Rios against Mike Alvarado in a junior welterweight contest that, given both men’s all-action styles, is already being looked at a possible fight of the year candidate.

Which of these are you most looking forward to? Let us know on the HBO Boxing Facebook page or on Twitter at @HBOBoxing. Let the countdown to September begin …