HBO Sports presents two action-packed live title bouts from two different locations on the same night when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: KELLY PAVLIK VS. SERGIO MARTINEZ AND LUCIAN BUTE VS. EDISON MIRANDA is seen SATURDAY, APRIL 17 (10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT) from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall and the Bell Center in Montreal, exclusively on HBO. Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will be ringside from Atlantic City, while Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis will be in Montreal for all the action, presented in HDTV and in Spanish on HBO Latino. Other HBO playdates: April 18 (8:00 a.m.) and 19 (12:45 a.m.). HBO2 playdates: April 18 (4:30 p.m.) and 20 (midnight)..
The night opens in Canada, as undefeated super middleweight champion and Montreal native Lucian Bute (25-0, 20 KOs) takes on Edison Miranda (33-4, 29 KOs) from Carolina, Puerto Rico, in a scheduled 12-round title bout. Enormously popular in Quebec, Bute is coming off an impressive knockout of Librado Andrade in his HBO debut last November. He continues to take on all challengers in his quest to dominate the division, putting his title and undefeated record on the line against an opponent known for one-punch knockout power. The always exciting Miranda, once a dominant force in the middleweight division, is working with a new trainer and seeking to reestablish himself
The main event takes place on the boardwalk in Atlantic City when Kelly Pavlik (36-1, 23 KOs) from Youngstown, Ohio faces off against Sergio Martinez (44-2-3, 24 KOs) of Madrid, Spain in a scheduled 12-round title contest. Middleweight champ Pavlik, who has experienced some of his best moments at this Jersey shore venue, is back to full speed after being slowed by a hand injury in 2009. Martinez, who showed tremendous ring skills when he challenged Paul Williams last December in an action-filled brawl, would send shockwaves through the 160-pound ranks with an upset win.