Geoff Burke - Getty Images for NASCAR

Evander Holyfield is still looking for the undisputed world heavyweight championship. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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Dan Rafael's Weekend Notebook (ESPN.com)
Nothing major that we haven't already talked about this week, but always worth reading, and there are some tidbits in there, including Nonito Donaire being set for the Cotto-Chavez PPV, but not against Fernando Montiel (shocker!). The feature is on Klitschko-Peter II, which I think is a fight laying really low, and Cameron Dunkin has a lot to say about Kelly Pavlik.

Watt: Course and distance win for Ricky (Evening Times)
Former lightweight world champion Jim Watt believes fellow Scot Ricky Burns will need to thoroughly outbox Roman Martinez to become Scotland's 12th "world champion." He adds, "Ricky can do it, but it is going to take a career-best performance."

Canelo Alvarez workout (Fightnews.com)
Photo gallery and a quick quote from Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's Thursday workout in Guadalajara. Alvarez faces well-faded former welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir on Sept. 18 in Los Angeles.

Search still on for missing son of boxing promoter (The Associated Press)
John Arum, the 49-year-old son of Bob Arum, is still missing in the Cascade Mountains. Twelve searchers and two helicopters are looking for Arum, who was reported missing on Monday. Best wishes to the Arum family.

Get ready for Molitor-Ndlovu III (Fightnews.com)
Despite two wins over Takalani Ndlovu already, if Steve Molitor beats Jason Booth on Sept. 11, he'll be obligated to fight him a third time. Ndlovu beat Jeffrey Mathebula on Wednesday. "Who in the hell wants that fight?" wonders Molitor's promoter, Allan Tremblay. It's a really valid question.

Japanese Scene News & Notes: Updates on Hozumi Hasegawa, Takahiro Ao, Katsunari Takayama & Tomoki Kameda (The Boxing Bulletin)
As always, Sidney Boquiren keeps you abreast of all the latest developments in Japanese boxing.

Evander ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield talks up David Haye fight (Telegraph)
If you were a big Evander Holyfield fan, look away.

Thomas Hearns is not finished yet (Express & Star)
Tommy Hearns, who is about to turn 52, still wants to fight. It's genuinely sad how badly Hearns wants to still be the fighter he was 25 years ago.

Al Bello/Zuffa LLC - Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

James Toney is planning to box again before the end of the year, and then return to mixed martial arts. (Photo by Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

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Steven Marrocco of MMA Junkie reports that James Toney is planning to box again on November 5 in New Orleans, after which he'll return to mixed martial arts. Toney, 42, was wildly unsuccessful in his foray into MMA at UFC 118 on August 28 in Boston, losing badly to Randy Couture.

Any return to MMA won't be in the UFC, though, according to Dana White.

"I thought we answered this question in 1993, but James came out and he picked a fight," White said. "We answered the question again in 2010. I don't think it needs to be answered again. I don't care if it's (Floyd) Mayweather or anybody else."

John "Pops" Arthur, Toney's long-time trainer, says that's fine, and that they'd like a release from the promotion if they don't plan to use Toney again. Arthur says there are three opponents under consideration for a November 5 fight, which Team Toney always makes sure to note is for his completely irrelevant and ignored "IBA heavyweight championship." Don't expect anyone special, if Toney does indeed fight at all. At best, we're likely to see him take on another shot former name.

Toney (72-6-3, 44 KO) has won his last three decisions in boxing, beating journeyman Danny Batchelder (both tested positive for steroids after the fight), getting a very controversial decision over Fres Oquendo, and stopping club fighter Matthew Greer after being rocked by the no-name in the first round. It's been a long time since James Toney was a top fighter in boxing, and a return to glory is not something anyone should anticipate.

Cross-posted from BloodyElbow.com since boxing fans are more likely to appreciate these:

50 years ago, Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, won the Olympic Gold Medal in Rome. To celebrate the occasion, his friend and award winning photographer, Michael Gaffney, released previously unseen pictures of the boxing legend.

More pictures here.

Gaffney also talked about the experience:

"I'd always wanted to photograph a true icon. I went off to photograph Ali at his Pennsylvanian training camp. Two weeks turned into a year. He simply told me I wasn't leaving and his words were 'I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse'."

Gaffney was touched by Ali's genius. "I went everywhere with him. I took thousands of pictures. The pictures went all over the world, in every newspaper and magazine imaginable. But there are many in this exhibition that have never been seen."

Friedemann Vogel - Getty Images

ESPN3.com will show Giovanni Lorenzo's challenge of Felix Sturm for a middleweight belt on Saturday. (Photo by Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images)

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ESPN3.com is showing new interest in the boxing business, with three notable overseas fights set for live airing on the broadband network.

Saturday's fight between WBA middleweight titlist Felix Sturm and New York-based Dominican challenger Giovanni Lorenzo is the first of the bouts to air, starting at 3:30pm EDT. On September 11, Wladimir Klitschko defends the world heavyweight championship against Samuel Peter in a rematch, and a month later on October 16, Wladimir's brother Vitali defends the WBC heavyweight belt against Shannon Briggs. All three fights will be live from Germany.

That's the good news. The bad news is that a lot of people still can't access ESPN3. The network is available depending on whether or not your ISP has paid for the service. A full list of affiliates can be viewed here.

As a user of the service, I can say it's not the most reliable thing just yet, but the quality is very good when everything's working properly. All in all, it's only good that ESPN is using the service to pick up fights. As internet streaming becomes more and more of a factor in the way people watch television programs, it'll grow into a bigger and better entity, and hopefully that will mean more fights legally available for U.S. viewers. For those looking for more fights to air in the U.S., hopefully this will be a trail-blazing effort.

This is not safe for work because of language, and I'll also say if you've got headphones on, turn them down first and work your way up from there. Sound quality is terrible.

"Once I kick the midget ass, I don't want y'all to jump on my d**k. ... Once I stomp the midget, I'm gonna make that motherf***er make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice. ... Rice with a little bit of cat, rice with a little bit of barbecued dog..."

And it basically devolves from there.

This is really the first time Mayweather has talked in a while, and holy hell, could he have not come off worse. "Money" sounds insecure, at a loss for anything intelligent to say, childish, and ignorant. This is a complete waste of time. There is good trash talking, stuff that drives interest in a fight, and then there is "trash talk" that just makes you seem like a stupid 13-year-old trapped in a millionaire 33-year-old man's body. This is the latter. Mayweather has driven zero interest in a fight with his moronic ranting in this video.

Pretty "Madison Avenue," huh?

You stay classy, "Pretty Boy."

DO NOT post any racist, homophobic, hateful, etc., type comments in this thread. You will be banned immediately and your comments will be removed. It's not worth the effort. Instead of meeting this with a reaction that matches it, try to be above it.

More photos » LM Otero - AP

Nobody's quite sure if Rowdy is licensed by the state of Texas, but he probably is. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

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Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito were at Cowboys Stadium today to start local promotion for their November 13 fight. The two appeared during the Dallas Cowboys-Miami Dolphins final preseason game. Dallas won, 27-25, on a 31-yard field goal from David Buehler, about whom Jerry Jones expressed great excitement after the game.

There's your potential fantasy football tip for the day.

For those in the area and interested, tomorrow the two fighters will be part of a news conference at the stadium, which is open to the public. It starts at Noon CDT at the East End Zone Platform. Parking is available in Lot 3, and you can enter the stadium at Entry B.

It's the final event of the short press tour for the fight, which began in Los Angeles on Tuesday and moved to New York on Wednesday.

See Also: Top Rank's Facebook Gallery from the Event

Also on SB Nation
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Stuart Franklin - Bongarts/Getty Images

Juergen Braehmer may have a hard time going to Canada as rumored in December. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Bongarts/Getty Images)

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There's a lot of talk about a lot of year-end fights going on right now, so let's take a look at what's happening.

Rick Reeno of BoxingScene.com is on top of a developing situation at HBO, where the network is attempting to turn the November 27 show headlined by Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis a triple-header involving Lou DiBella fighters on the undercard. The DiBella fighters in question are welterweight titlist Andre Berto and featherweight contender Celestino Caballero.

Berto is looking likely to make his mandatory defense against Turkey's Selcuk Aydin, and HBO would like to put that fight on the Marquez-Katsidis show. Also included would be Caballero most likely against Ricardo Cordoba, who has become a hot property as a November opponent. Cordoba and Caballero met back in 2004, with Cordoba winning a 12-round decision in Panama, the home base of both fighters. The lanky, 5'8" Cordoba has been one of the few fighters not totally dwarfed by the 5'11" Caballero over Caballero's career.

Cordoba has also been targeted as an opponent for Guillermo Rigondeaux on the Pacquiao-Margarito undercard. Reeno says that while Caballero appears "very likely" to be on the show, the Berto-Aydin fight is another matter, with money -- what else? -- in the way.

Berto, as we've said countless times, has been turned into a minor monster because of his HBO push. In all candor, his fights aren't worth as much as they've paid for them, and they never have been. Berto drew less than 1,000 fans to his last fight with Carlos Quintana, and that was in his home state of Florida. Boxing isn't huge in the Sunshine State, but it's also far from a foreign concept. A lot of shows are promoted down there, albeit not truly big shows.

The cold, hard, fact of the matter is that Berto-Aydin as an HBO co-feature to a truly marquee fight in Vegas is exactly where that fight belongs. This ridiculous ego or greed or pride or whatever it is has got to be curbed by some of these fighters, or they're going to be playing to the same empty arenas in Sunrise, Fla., forever. Berto is not a draw. Caballero can't help in that regard.

DiBella says Berto being on the card is up to the fighter and his manager, Al Haymon. There's a lot of upside to Berto fighting in a Marquez co-feature. There is no upside to stagnating in another headlining card in Florida in January or February. His opponent has zero name in the States, and it's just the way the cookie is crumbling for his career right now. He's young, has a friendly style, and is charismatic. The true marquee fights may come in time, but right now they're not there. If I were advising Berto, I'd tell him to do it. And don't count out the idea that this could even set up Berto-Marquez for next year as Marquez continues his wild goose chase for Manny Pacquiao.

* * * * *

There is talk that WBO light heavyweight titlist Juergen Brahemer will come to Quebec to face Librado Andrade (another adopted Montreal fighter) on the 12/18 Pascal-Hopkins card, but I think Per Ake Persson makes a couple of very good points about that possible fight. First of all, Universum is hardly known for their strong matchmaking, or for sending their fighters -- especially titleholders -- overseas.

Also, Braehmer's legal issues may make it hard for him to go to Canada to defend. I really wouldn't expect this fight to come off.

Andrade's brother Enrique Ornelas is set to fight super middleweight titleholder Robert Stieglitz on October 16, though. Stieglitz lost to Andrade on HBO a couple of years ago, and has since nabbed a paper title at 168. He's turned down a unification offer from Lucian Bute and is clearly not looking to take on any of the division's top names. Ornelas was a solid middleweight fringe contender for a while, and moved up to light heavyweight last December in a loss to Bernard Hopkins in Philadelphia. Stieglitz-Ornelas is a fight between two limited guys -- not bad fighters, but nowhere near top-shelf -- who could produce some fireworks. All things considered, it's a fine fight.

* * * * *

A few more:

• Touted Hatton Promotions prospect Scott Quigg will fight Santiago Allione on September 25.
• Jackson Asiku will fight Jhonny Gonzalez on September 15. The fight will be available from Integrated Sports PPV. My cable box is actually listing the fight at $9.99 right now, but a press release I got said it's supposed to be $24.95. I'm guessing the latter is the correct price, though frankly $9.99 would be more in line with actual demand. Juan Carlos Salgado will face Tyrone Harris in the co-feature. Both fights could be very good.
  
• Kevin McBride, if you haven't heard, is taking part in the next Prizefighter tournament. Here's hoping that goes the way of Wayne McCullough's return in Prizefighter from earlier this year, and just doesn't happen.

Ethan Miller - Getty Images

Once again, Ricky Hatton says he thinks he's done fighting. But he reminds you to never say never. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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In what feels like about the 37th time in the last year or so that Ricky Hatton has been asked the question, "The Hitman" once again told BBC Radio Manchester that he's most likely never going to fight again.

"You can never say never, but if I was to put my last pound on it I would say 'no, I think that's me done.' ... I'm doing the promoting now and my goal is to try and make champions of my fighters. I've been retired, if that's what you can call it, for 16 months. I announced I was going to make a comeback and I came back off holiday and went into a training camp for three or four weeks, but it just wasn't the same."

Hatton turns 32 in about a month and has let himself balloon in weight since his last fight, a brutal second round knockout at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in May 2009. Ballooning in weight is, of course, nothing new for the man affectionately called "Ricky Fatton," but he's now done it and has taken by far the longest break of his pro career. There's really no way he could ever compete again at his former level. Time has taken its own toll, and Hatton's conditioning between fights has always been something you could point to as a reason his light was going to burn out faster than most. Plus, he took (and dished out) plenty of punishment in his career.

If he really does never fight again, I can't help but hope he earns more respect from non-UK fans over time. He had a dominant reign as the 140-pound champion of the world, retired the great Kostya Tszyu, and his only losses came to the men regarded at that time as the best in the world (Pacquiao and Mayweather). He had a lot of good wins, and he was by far the biggest global star that British boxing has produced in quite a long time, and an era-defining megastar in his home country. Few fighters anywhere in the world during his run grabbed on to casual fans the way Hatton did in the United Kingdom. He was the face of British boxing for the better part of the decade.

But all that said, he still hasn't made anything totally official or concrete, and we all know that crazier things in boxing have happened than Ricky Hatton returning sometime in 2011 or even beyond. Hopefully, he doesn't. As a promoter, he's taken off, one of the few fighters who has made something legitimate out of that side of the business. And he's given all I think he can -- or should -- give to boxing.