Vic Darchinyan, Tomas Rojas, Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson hit the stage Saturday on Showtime. (Photo credit Tom Casino / SHOWTIME)

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Showtime closes out a terrific year of boxing with a double-header worth your while and then some on Saturday.

The main event is a 140-pound title clash between Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson, two young, skilled and unbeaten Americans, and in the co-feature, Vic Darchinyan looks to get his groove back against rugged Mexican Tomas Rojas.

Bradley-Peterson

In what may be the most important and most relevant fight of a loaded Saturday, Timothy Bradley (24-0, 11 KO) defends his WBO junior welterweight title against Lamont Peterson (27-0, 13 KO). Both are skilled, both are quick, and both are unbeaten.

The differences?

#1: Level of Opposition

Bradley has taken on and beaten Junior Witter and Kendall Holt, as well as faced Nate Campbell in August in a fight that resulted in a no-contest, with Bradley taking the veteran to the woodshed. Peterson's toughest opponents just cannot compare. He beat tough guy Lanardo Tyner last November, and outclassed celebrated French amateur Willy Blain in his lone fight of 2009, which took place in April. Tyner and Blain simply don't stack up to Witter (even faded) and Holt. Bradley also has a win over Miguel Vazquez.

#2: Size

Bradley is quite short at 5'6", but his 69" reach helps make up for it, as does his pure skill. But Peterson is no slouch in the talent department either, and he'll have three inches of height and a full five-inch reach advantage on Saturday. Bradley is going to have to get inside on Peterson, or Lamont will be happy to box from the outside.

This could really end up being a terrific fight if Peterson chooses or is forced to engage seriously with Bradley. Bradley is a skilled boxer, but has some of that spark to him; he enjoys a good mix-up, and he handles them well to boot. His underrated battle with Holt from earlier this year saw him get up off the canvas to win a close, very entertaining bout, so we know he has some resilience, too.

Does Peterson? Will Lamont be able to make this leap in class? My gut says he will, and that he's going to be very competitive on Saturday. In fact, my gut is saying he'll be more than competitive. While Bradley should be favored without question, I've got a feeling he loses his "0" in a very good fight on Saturday. I see Peterson confounding him a bit in the early going with his reach, and being quick and good enough to get out of the way of most of Bradley's eventual charges in. Peterson by decision

Darchinyan-Rojas

Darchinyan returns to the 115-pound weight class with his tail tucked between his legs a bit. After being again positioned as an unbeatable steamroller because he'd started using his amateur skills again, combined with his ruthless, aggressive pro style, Darchinyan met a guy at 118 pounds that wasn't afraid of him. Joseph Agbeko squeezed out a fantastic win in July against Darchinyan, ending Vic's Pain Train -- at least for the time being.

Now Darchinyan -- who will defend the WBC belt he never gave up -- takes on another Mexican fighter, Tomas Rojas. Darchinyan has become semi-famous for his liberal trash talking of many Mexican opponents, and for beating them. He demolished Jorge Arce, Cristian Mijares, Victor Burgos and Luis Maldonado when he met them in the ring, and now Rojas says he's fighting for his country's pride.

Don't count out Rojas, a tough veteran who took a fight on October 24 with then-unbeaten South African Evans Mbamba and won. That was a good win, too. Mbamba is no joke. Rojas, 29, will have height (3") and reach (2 1/2") on his side. And though Rojas has suffered 11 pro losses, almost all of them have come against good fighters, and he's only been stopped one time, by Arce in 2007.

That said, and as much as I don't want to downplay Rojas as a fairly tough challenge and a perfectly credible bounce-back fight for Vic, I don't see Tomas having much of a chance to come out with his hand raised. Darchinyan plans to not fight as "stupidly" as he did against Agbeko, which is bad news for Rojas and for most guys, really. Darchinyan beat himself against Joseph Agbeko, and that gives full credit to how good Agbeko is. I'm not sure Rojas is good enough for Darchinyan to fight so poorly that he does beat himself. Darchinyan TKO-7

The Staples Center appears out of the running to host Mayweather-Pacquiao after a $20 million bid.

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After a $20 million bid yesterday, today it appears the Staples Center is quickly out of the running to host the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in March.

Adviser Michael Koncz says that Manny Pacquiao has refused to fight there, and feels that Floyd Mayweather Jr. would do the exact same thing. As expected, part of the reason is California taxes:

"Manny is not interested in fighting in LA. I’m going to advocate against it also  for the simple reason that its going to cost Manny an additional $3-$5 million in taxes to fight in LA. I mentioned to Manny that it looks like Staples Center and he said ‘I don’t want to fight in LA. I prefer Vegas,' and I didn’t even tell him about the taxes."

...

Koncz added "the bottom line is Manny’s preference is not to fight in California and I haven’t advised him not to do it for tax consequences which is an 11 percent tax plus I haven’t confirmed the amount but there’s an additional special athletic tax for foreigners who take part in sports in California."

One thing we might all have to accept is that Las Vegas is now the undisputed mecca of boxing, the home of the big fights, the city you fight in with your name on the marquee that means you've made it. At this point, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is the home of the big fight, and nobody else is very close. Madison Square Garden is a memory in this race, the Staples Center isn't even in the discussion. About as close as it comes is probably the Mandalay Bay in Vegas, and they're a clear No. 2 behind the MGM.

The money is better, the city is at this point part of the routine for most of the fighters I'd imagine, and it's just the place to be. This fight is going to land in Vegas. I don't think there's any question of that now.

Chris John will be staying at featherweight for now. (Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

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Rick Reeno reports today that featherweight titlist and consensus No. 1 at 126 pounds Chris John has passed on an offer to fight 130-pound titleholder Robert Guerrero, and will remain at featherweight for now.

An earlier report at Fightnews had a Guerrero-John clash as sealed for early 2010.

Samspon Lewkowicz, who works for John, had this to say:

"At one point, we did receive an offer from Golden Boy Promotions but we never answered. Chris John has no problems making the weight and we see no reason to move up when all of the action is at 126."

John finally came to the United States in 2009, after years of fan outcry that he was staying in a cocoon in Indonesia, and he twice beat Rocky Juarez. While Juarez nearly stopped him late in both fights, John impressed many with his performances, and may finally be getting the due he has likely deserved for quite a while.

And Lewkowicz is right: The action is at 126. 130 is nearly barren at this point for attractive fights in the States, as even Humberto Soto is moving up to 135 pounds to chase bigger bouts. In the first five months of 2010 alone, there are already three significant featherweight fights signed: Steven Luevano-Juan Manuel Lopez, Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez IV and Yuriorkis Gamboa-Rogers Mtagwa. And there are plenty of more strong contenders, another good titlist in Elio Rojas, and it appears as though Celestino Caballero will soon join the fray.

Roman Karmazin will kick off the next season of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. (Photo by Robert Laberge / Getty Images)

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Though as always, cards are subject to change, ESPN2's Friday Night Fights will kick off its first batch of fights for 2010 on January 8, and many main events are already set.

January 8: Roman Karmazin v. Dionisio Miranda

In an IBF middleweight title eliminator, former 154-pound titlist Roman Karmazin (39-3-1, 25 KO) faces powerful but chinny Dionisio Miranda (20-4-2, 18 KO). Miranda was last seen by most getting knocked out clean in two rounds by Giovanni Lorenzo on Showtime last February. Karmazin, meanwhile, was last seen by most shockingly stopped in 10 by Alex Bunema on the Jones-Trinidad undercard in January 2008. Since then he's gone 3-0, including wins over Bronco McKart and the zombie of Antwun Echols' career.

January 15: Fernando Beltran Jr. v. Tomas Villa

A minor featherweight title will be on the line when Beltran (33-3-1, 18 KO) meets Villa (21-6-4, 14 KO) in Texas. Villa was the other half of the November 2008 classic war with Rogers Mtagwa in Tucson. He's fought just once since then, beating a can in October of this year. American junior middleweight prospect Demetrius Andrade is scheduled for the undercard.

January 29: Jesse Brinkley v. Curtis Stevens

Brinkley (34-5, 22 KO) will have home court advantage in Reno against Stevens (21-2, 15 KO). Brinkley had a nice 2009, beating Reno rival Joey Gilbert and gutsy Mike Paschall. Stevens has been on a tear since losing that infamous HBO-televised stinkbomb against Andre Dirrell in 2008, winning four fights in a row, including a third round TKO of previously unbeaten Piotr Wilczewski. Welterweight prospect Raymond Serrano is scheduled for the undercard.

February 5: Joey Hernandez v. Ed Paredes

These two went to a draw in August in Miami, and the rematch headlines ESPN2's return to the city. Featured on the undercard will be Cuban super prospect Guillermo Rigondeaux, which is probably the more interesting event of the night.

February 12: Ji-Hoon Kim v. Tyrone Harris

Former Korean featherweight champ Kim (19-5, 16 KO) was last seen by most in the States stopping Koba Gogoladze in one round on an ESPN2 show in May 2008. Harris (24-5, 16 KO) shocked Gary Shaw prospect Marvin Quintero in July of this year. Russian 140-pound prospect (and one of my personal favorite prospects) Ruslan Provodnikov (14-0, 9 KO) meets Aris Ambriz (13-0, 8 KO) on the undercard.

February 19: Fernando Guerrero v. Jesus Gonzales

Another BLH favorite, Fernarndo Guerrero (16-0, 13 KO) will meet Jesus Gonzales (24-1, 13 KO) in Cleveland. Right now, Guerrero has a December 18 Shobox fight scheduled in Minnesota. Also fighting on both cards is Shawn Porter (11-0, 9 KO). In February, he's scheduled to face Damian Frias (16-2, 7 KO), who was less than impressive losing to Freddy Hernandez in October.

Tony "TNT" Tubbs is in trouble once again. (Photo via cyberboxingzone.com)

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Mother fights for former boxer (Cincinnati.com)
Tony "TNT" Tubbs is facing another jail term. His 71-year-old mother Leola stays vigilant trying to save him from himself. Boxing has too many of these tales, but I can't help but always feel something anyway.

Diaz hopes to quiet doubters (Houston Chronicle)
Juan Diaz promises to be active and take the lead early in Saturday's rematch with Paulie Malignaggi. Diaz also believes the only reason the rematch is happening is Gale Van Hoy (he's right), and says he still wants to fight Juan Manuel Marquez again.

Timothy Bradley Jr.-Lamont Peterson makes foes of old friends (ESPN)
Bradley-Peterson may well be the most intriguing fight of the weekend, all things considered. The two are friends outside of the ring, but their paths now cross professionally.

Ortiz plans to prove he's no quitter (The Ring)
Victor Ortiz continues attempting to spin his post-fight, eyebrow-raising comments from his June loss to Marcos Maidana. We'll find out a little bit on Saturday when he gets back in the ring.

Haskins fight 'career-defining' (Sky Sports)
Lee Haskins and Don Broadhurst -- the UK's two best junior bantamweights -- meet on Sky Sports this Friday night.

Japanese Manager Wants His Boxers to Seek Titles Outside WBC and WBA (PhilBoxing.com)
Japan's boxing commission recognizes only the WBC and WBA, not the WBO and IBF. But former WBC strawweight titlist Katsunari Takayama is looking to become the first Japanese fighter to win titles in all four bodies.

Boxing: Dunne's hard-knocks tale just one to tick the Christmas box (Independent.ie)
A round-up of some new boxing books available now or soon, including one on Bernard Dunne, the popular Irish battler.

Biographies of Boxing Hall of Fame inductees (USA Today)
A look at the 13 people to be inducted June 13, 2010, into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Is Marcos Maidana too dangerous for Amir Khan?

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It's almost too predictable to be true, but Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com is reporting today that word around boxing is that if the WBA issues an order for junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan to face interim titleholder Marcos Maidana, Khan will vacate his title rather than face the powerful slugger from Argentina.

From Reeno:

After the Ortiz win, Maidana's side was putting pressure on the sanctioning body for a shot at Khan. There was only one problem, Dmitriy Salita was the mandatory and his side was ready for an all-out legal war if their title opportunity was given to Maidana.

The WBA gave Salita the first crack - with a catch attached. The winner of Khan-Salita had 90-days to fight Maidana. I hear the sanctioning body will soon issue an order for Khan-Maidana.

This should come as no surprise. I'm not calling Amir Khan a coward or anything, but he has every right to be terrified of a fight with Maidana. Khan (22-1, 16 KO) still has some serious chin questions, and his matchups against nothing but light hitters since the first round KO debacle against Breidis Prescott last year should tell you that as much as they talk about the extra five pounds helping his resistance, they're still not totally confident against big punchers.

And Maidana (27-1, 26 KO) can punch. Victor Ortiz found that out for sure in June, quitting after feeling too much of Maidana's power. Maidana's only loss is a disputed decision against Andriy Kotelink, whom Khan beat in July for the title.

Part of it could also just be money, but there are wrinkles there too. If you look at the names that Khan and Roach have talked about, there's not a single guy in his prime, and two of them aren't 140-pound fighters. Roach has brought up Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and of course, in his most shameless call-out, Erik Morales.

Even if the WBA mandates it, don't expect to see Khan-Maidana. If all goes right for Khan, there will be plenty of title belts in his future, and giving one up to avoid a guy who has danger written all over him is, in its own way, plenty understandable. Khan is all of 23 years old, and while perfect records aren't all they're cracked up to be, a second bad KO at this point could be devastating for his career.

Like it or not, Maidana may be too damn dangerous for his own good in this case.

Vitali Klitschko defends his WBC heavyweight title Saturday against Kevin Johnson. (Photo by Jacob de Golish / Getty Images)

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Bad era, good genetics, whatever. We all know by now that the modern heavyweight division is ruled by two brothers, Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. The only real question is which of them is better.

The elder brother, Vitali, returns to action on Saturday, less than three months after battering then-unbeaten American contender Cristobal Arreola in Los Angeles. Some actually expected Arreola could be competitive. Personally, I thought Arreola had a chance if Vitali (38-2, 37 KO) was stiff. Injuries forced him into an early retirement in 2005, and when he fought Juan Carlos Gomez in March 2009, he came out very immobile. Gomez failed to take advantage of it, and fought much of the bout with what seemed an obvious fear of mixing it up with the powerful Klitschko. Once Vitali loosened up, Gomez's fears were proven to be well-founded, as Klitschko stopped him in nine.

It took ten rounds with Arreola, but while it may not have been the most graceful-looking footwork you'll ever see, stiffness was no problem for Vitali on that September evening. While lumbering, he moved around easily, peppering the strong young American from the outside, busting up his face and forcing his corner to call an end to it after ten one-sided rounds.

Klitschko, 38, seems to want to clean out the division as much as he possibly can before his inevitable, long-term retirement, which likely isn't too far down the road. Both Klitschko brothers are educated men with out-of-the-ring ambitions aplenty, and both have made it clear that overstaying their welcome in boxing isn't part of their plans.

So now he meets Kevin "Kingpin" Johnson (22-0-1, 9 KO), another unbeaten, younger American. But don't go thinking Johnson is some young stud on the rise, either. At 30, it's kind of a now-or-never deal for him, and I think he and his team know that. With his 82-inch reach and good technical skills, he's as much a danger to the brothers as just about anybody. At 6'3", Klitschko (at about 6'8") towers over him. And Johnson will likely get no favors in Switzerland, so he'll have to put on quite an exhibition, proving he is clearly the better man.

Can he do it?

In a word, no. Johnson is an intriguing fighter. Sure, his window to be a top heavyweight may be small given his already-advanced age, but he is in no way ready for a boxer of Klitschko's strength, skill and wisdom. Vitali is an immeasurable leap in class from the guys Johnson has beaten thus far. Earlier this year, when Johnson faced Devin Vargas, we had an interesting matchup of unbeaten American prospects. Johnson came out the clear victor.

He needed a few more steps up in class, though. He didn't take them. Perhaps because the chance (or money) was too good to pass up, or perhaps because he genuinely feels he can dethrone Vitali, he's in there with the wolves now.

If Kevin Johnson upsets Vitali Klitschko, put it on the list of great heavyweight upsets. The Klitschkos right now look near as untouchable given their surroundings as anyone ever has, and Johnson was not on the radar before this fight was quickly announced.

I don't say this to try and question Johnson's abilities, or to be a doubter. But if Johnson does win, I want it to be framed properly. He's not just an underdog in this fight, he essentially cannot beat this man. Klitschko TKO-8

Los Angeles' Staples Center has come in with a $20 million bid for Mayweather-Pacquiao.

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Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Staples Center in Los Angeles has come forward with a $20 million offer to host the March 13 fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"This is the biggest boxing event ever, and we're prepared to step up in a big way," said Dan Beckerman, chief financial officer for AEG, which runs Staples Center.

...

"We know there's interest in this fight across the world, but we're very interested and honored to make the most impressive offer possible," Beckerman said. "It's our biggest guarantee ever, and we hope it wins the day. We wanted to push as far and as hard as we could."

Richard Schaefer, who previously was said to have nixed the idea of hosting the fight at Cowboys Stadium in Texas, says that idea isn't dead, and attempts to explain why he canceled his trip to Dallas with Bob Arum to meet with Jerry Jones:

"I don't need to tour any facilities. I'm a numbers guy. Numbers transmit over the fax machine as well as they do in person, and I've yet to see any numbers from them. I'm told things are bigger in Texas, but Staples has stepped up and presented us the numbers. Money talks," he said.

As best we know, Staples has made the first firm offer, and it's a good one. I don't think $20 million can beat whatever the MGM in Vegas will offer. Pacquiao himself is getting a rumored $25 million guarantee for the fight.

Plus, the big deterrent will be the income taxes that California levies against the fighters. New York and New Jersey are totally out of the running because of their taxes. Nevada and Texas don't have them, and Louisiana would have to waive theirs, which James Carville proposes.

But it's never over 'til it's over, either. Staples may well be prepared to go even higher. All I know is this is getting very interesting.

Cowboys Stadium won't be the venue for the March 13 fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. (Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

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In a somewhat strange story, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer has decided to pull the plug on any possible offers from Jerry Jones and Cowboys Stadium in Texas. That's what Bob Arum told ESPN.com today.

Arum, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, who will co-promote the nearly finalized fight, and HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg were supposed to meet with Cowboys officials at the stadium on Wednesday for a tour of the facility and to talk with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about a site fee for the fight.

...

"Richard called me last night and said he won't go to Texas," Arum said. "And I told him to call Ross and tell him. And then I called Ross and said, 'You don't want me to go if he's not going. If Jerry Jones offers me money for the fight what is Pacquiao going to do? Go in the ring alone?' Schaefer just said, 'I'm not going to Texas. I'm not going to do the fight in Texas. I'm not going to waste my time.' That's the explanation."

Arum said he asked why and Schaefer's response was, "'The fight is March 13 and there isn't enough time to do a fight at an outdoor stadium.' It's bizarre, but that's what he said. I reminded him [that the stadium has a retractable roof]. He said it doesn't matter. I am not going to theorize. I'm just telling you what happened."

If Schaefer is serious about no outdoor stadium, that would also take out Miami, as the Dolphins just made Land Shark Stadium a possibility by stating interest, and the 30,000-seat outdoor stadium that was potentially being built in Las Vegas.

That would leave the obvious front-runner as the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, which was probably always going to be the home of the fight anyway. New Orleans' Superdome and Atlanta's Georgia Dome are also interested.