Paul Magno’s Daily Grind: Friday, July 9th

…More Grind for You…

* IBF Super Middleweight champ, Lucian Bute, will be taking on mandatory #1 contender, Jesse Brinkley at the Bell Centre in Montreal on October 15th.

Brinkley is maybe just a half step up from club-level and nowhere near as talented as Bute, but there’s no dog in the guy and he will be fighting hard for as long as the bout lasts. It should be a fun fight.

No word, yet, on how US fans will see the title fight. HBO initially rejected Brinkley as an opponent, but the buzz is that ESPN might pick it up.

* Speaking of HBO passing on fights, Ross Greenburg of HBO Boxing, once again took a shot at the Klitschkos by saying in an interview that Wladimir Klitschko’s upcoming title bout with Alexander Povetkin doesn’t “register” with the American public.

Well, Ross, I don’t know about that, but I do know that fewer and fewer are “registering” to see the fights you’ve been putting on your network in recent years.

* The infamous Sakio Bika-Jean Paul Mendy IBF  title eliminator purchased by Golden Boy for $30,000 (total) has found a home. It will be included on the stacked July 31st  undercard for Marquez-Diaz II.

Only highlights will be shown on the pay-per-view telecast, but Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer, is exploring the possibility of airing a free, one-hour preview prior to the ppv show that will feature Bika-Mendy and a bout with prospect Frankie Gomez.

Also on the non-televised portion of the undercard is UK prospect, George Groves, and Golden Boy Heavyweight hopeful, Seth Mitchell.

* Saturday’s Saul Alvarez-Luciano Cuello contest will be aired live on www.WBCBoxing.tv at 11 PM Central Time.

* Decisions, Decisions: Fight Fans will be faced with the dilemma of having to choose among four bouts featuring some outstanding young fighters, all airing within the same 60-90 minutes.

The ESPN Friday Night Fights main event, a really good one featuring Henry Lundy vs. John Molina Jr, will run up against Showtime’s ShoBox opener with Welterweight prospect, Antwone Smith. Then, the ShoBox main event of Mike Jones vs. Irving Garcia will likely come up against the Erislandy Lara-William Correa main event on Telefutura.

That’s boxing for you…Nothing at all is happening on Thursday or Sunday, but they will all gladly cancel each other out on Friday. Dumb.

…Grind ya Sunday…