Dec. World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark

HBO SPORTS PRESENTS A SHOWDOWN OF ELITE FORCES WHEN

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®:   PAUL WILLIAMS VS. SERGIO MARTINEZ

AND CRISTOBAL ARREOLA VS. BRIAN MINTO

IS SEEN LIVE SATURDAY, DEC. 5 ON HBO

HBO Sports presents an explosive night of world-class fighters when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING:  PAUL WILLIAMS VS. SERGIO MARTINEZ AND CRISTOBAL ARREOLA VS. BRIAN MINTO is seen live SATURDAY, DEC. 5 (9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT) from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, exclusively on HBO.  The WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates:  Dec. 6 (10:30 a.m.) and 7 (10:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Dec. 6 (5:30 p.m.) and 8 (12:05 a.m.)

The opening bout is a ten-round heavyweight tilt featuring Cristobal Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs) of Riverside, Cal. and Brian Minto (34-2, 21 KOs) from Butler, Pa.  Arreola boasts knockout power and has the resilience and heart to withstand his opponent’s offerings.  Suffering his first loss last September to Vitali Klitschko, one of the premier heavyweights, the popular slugger looks to prove himself a serious threat in the division once again. The strong, hard-nosed Minto is a precise power puncher who is looking for his breakout fight in the HBO spotlight.

Scheduled for 12 rounds, the main event spotlights two elite middleweights in their prime who are arguably the best in the 154-pound division.  Facing his most formidable challenge yet, Madrid-based Argentine Sergio Martinez (44-1-2, 24 KOs) is a tricky, 34-year-old southpaw with both speed and power, as he showed last February when he fought Kermit Cintron to a majority draw.

Avoided and feared by many, Paul Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) is ready for his second 2009 fight as a middleweight.  Hailing from Augusta, Ga., this versatile fighter has scored convincing wins in three separate weight classes and enjoyed two stints as welterweight champion.  Last April, Williams convincingly defeated Winky Wright, one of boxing’s most dangerous fighters.

All WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING events are broadcast in HDTV.  HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Marc Payton.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

HBO SPORTS PRESENTS AN ACTION-PACKED NIGHT OF BOXING WHEN

HBO BOXING AFTER DARK®:  JUAN DIAZ VS. PAUL MALIGNAGGI AND

VICTOR ORTIZ VS. ANTONIO DIAZ IS SEEN SATURDAY, DEC. 12

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Presentation Also Includes Bonus Coverage Of Vitali Klitschko-Kevin Johnson Bout

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HBO Sports serves up an action-packed night when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK:  JUAN DIAZ VS. PAUL MALIGNAGGI AND VICTOR ORTIZ VS. ANTONIO DIAZ is seen SATURDAY, DEC. 12 at 10:15 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, exclusively on HBO.  The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Lennox Lewis and Max Kellerman will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates:  Dec. 13 (8:45 a.m.) and 14 (11:15 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Dec. 13 (5:00 p.m.) and 15 (12:05 a.m.)

The main event is a highly anticipated welterweight rematch between Houston’s Juan Diaz (35-2, 17 KOs) and Brooklyn’s Paul Malignaggi (26-3, 5 KOs).  Last August, the two faced off in Diaz’ hometown, in what many saw as a close, hard-fought contest, with Diaz winning by unanimous decision.  The call for a rematch stemmed from the judges’ controversial scoring, which had many in the boxing community questioning the lopsided numbers in favor of Diaz.  This time, the two expect a neutral arena to help settle the score.

In the opening bout, Victor Ortiz (24-2-1, 19 KOs) of Oxnard, Cal. faces off against Antonio Diaz (46-5-1 29 KOs) of Coachella, Cal. in a scheduled ten-round welterweight bout.  Ortiz is returning to the ring for after absorbing just his second loss – a tough battle with the formidable Marcos Rene Maidana in June – and now looks to get back on the winning track.  Tested ring veteran Diaz is out to derail Ortiz’ comeback.

Following the live action, HBO Sports presents bonus tape-delayed coverage from Berne, Switzerland of the same-day heavyweight title bout between Vitali Klitschko (38-2, 37 KOs) of the Ukraine, now living in Los Angeles, and Atlanta’s undefeated Kevin Johnson (22-0, 9 KOs).  Klitschko is coming off a dominating September win over Cristobal Arreola that reestablished him as a major force in the division; Johnson intends to use his speed and agility to claim Klitschko’s portion of the heavyweight crown.

The executive producer of HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jon Crystal; director, Mike Sheehan.

® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.