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On Saturday night, 29-year-old former WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion and Contender series winner, Sergio Mora (pictured above, at right, with Vernon Forrest), can make a big statement about his future — that is if the Los Angeles resident defeats 32-year-old, Calvin Green, at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas on the undercard of the pay per view light heavyweight (175 pounds) bout featuring 41-year-old Roy Jones (54-6, 40 knockouts) and 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs).

Mora (21-1-1, five KOs) will have been out of the ring for 19 months when he steps in against Green (21-4-1, 13 KOs), of, Baytown, Tex., last having fought during a September, 2008, unanimous decision loss to the late Forrest (41-3, 29 KOs).

Forrest-Mora was a rematch of Mora’s June, 2008, majority decision victory over Forrest for the WBC crown, which Forrest, of course, regained in what turned out to be the final fight of his career and his life.

If Mora wins on Saturday, however, Golden Boy Promtions CEO, Richard Schaefer, would like to line him up to face 38-year-old, southpaw, former WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO junior middleweight champion, Winky Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs), a loser of his last two bouts to Hopkins, and, Paul Williams, respectively.

Wright has not been in the ring since the loss to Williams in April.

FanHouse: I understand that you had a difficult time making the junior middleweight limit for your second fight with Vernon Forrest?

Sergio Mora: Oh, yeah. It hurt me the second time around against Vernon because I didn’t have enough time to make the weight before having to defend my title. The first time, I had more than enough time. I had 11 weeks the first time.

In order to make junior middleweight, I have to drop damn near 30 pounds. I don’t get heavy as it is, I’m just kind of a tall fighter. I’m a natural middleweight. I’m about 6 foot, and I walk around at about 180 pounds.

FH: Who would you like to fight next after Calvin Green?

Mora: Well, I’ll tell you what, like I said, I’ve learned a lot from Vernon Forrest. I really feel that as cagey as a veteran as he was, I can’t see anything that I will see in anyone else that is out there that will show me anything that he didn’t have.

This guy, Vernon Forrest, had every tool in the book. Even when I beat him, it felt like I didn’t do enough. But I learned so much from him and from that experience.

FH: So whom would you target?

Mora: When I look at the champions who are out there at middleweight, I see [WBA king] Felix Sturm and [IBF champion] Sebastian Sylvester, and, [WBO and WBC titlist] Kelly Pavlik. All three of these guys are very stiff, strong fighters, with experience of course, but they’re stiff.

They really don’t have any kind of fluidity to them or any tricks up their sleeves. Maybe Sylvester has a little bit. But other than that, they’re European style fighters, they’re strong fighters. I see myself doing well against all three of them.

FH: Do you believe that a middleweight title shot is likely in the near future?

Mora: Well, if one of those doesn’t pop up, then I need to fight somebody right under them. But middleweight is where I plan on staying, and that’s my position and where I plan on leaving my stamp on boxing. I plan on fighting three or four times this year.

Hopefully, I’ll get a world title shot by the end of the year. I mean, I’m with a promoter that has the television dates, and I’m with a manager, Cameron Dunkin, who has the connections. I’m doing my part, and that’s working hard in the gym. I’m ready to face anybody.

FH: Cameron Dunkin also manages Kelly Pavlik, so how possible do you believe a match up with him would be?

Mora: I don’t know how possible that’s going to be. But I had two contracts to fight Kelly before. The plan is to pick up another belt, and then, maybe that way I could bring something to the table in fighting Pavlik.

If I pick up another world title, and bring that to the table with Kelly, then, not only does it make more sense, but it makes more dollars as well.

FH: How do you feel being on the undercard of such a tremendous fight between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones?

Mora: Well, Roy Jones has always been a personal idol of mine, along with Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. You know, Roy Jones was a guy, in my era, that I got to see when I first started fighting, so he’s probably my favorite fighter out there, along with, like, Floyd Mayweather

Mayweahter Jr.

So this is an honor. Roy Jones is one of those guys that I’ve learned a lot from, and I tried to emulate as a young fighter.

FH: So who wins, Bernard Hopkins or Roy Jones?

Mora: I remember watching that first fight between that first fight with him and Hopkins just as I was barely getting into boxing. I think that it was a chess match. I expect this fight to be as competitive as the first one, it’s just that they’re older guys.

The fire is still there and the ring savvy is still there. It’s going to be another chess match, even though people think that Bernard is going to blow him out of the water, but it’s not going to be that way. Roy Jones is a beast, and Bernard Hopkins is well-perserved, and we know what he can do.

It’s just going to be another chess match, I feel. It’s going to be another close fight, but I think that Bernard pulls it off though.

Joe Calzaghe‘s last opponent believes the revelation over the weekend that Calzaghe has used cocaine is evidence that the undefeated former champion should return to the ring.

Roy Jones Jr., the last man to step into the ring with Calzaghe before he announced his retirement in February of 2009, said in a chat with FanHouse that he views the surprising admission of cocaine use as a sign that Calzaghe needs boxing.

When asked whether Jones thought it was time to hang up the gloves, Jones said he would have a hard time walking away from the sport that has defined his life — and he said he thinks that’s what’s going on with Calzaghe as well.

“I should think of my health, but the thing is, I need to keep fighting,” Jones said. “Look at Joe Calzaghe — he’s using cocaine now that he’s not fighting anymore. We need something to do — we need to box. As long as I can box I’m going to do it. It’s not like I can’t keep up anymore. It’s not like you can’t be knocked down and get back up again.

Jones, who will fight Bernard Hopkins on Saturday night in Las Vegas, later said he would love to see the winner of his own fight with Hopkins get another shot at Calzaghe. Hopkins lost a split decision to Calzaghe in April of 2008 (Calzaghe’s next-to-last fight) and Jones lost a unanimous decision to Calzaghe in November of 2008.

“I think he should come out of retirement,” Jones said of Calzaghe. “He showed that he can’t handle being retired. He needs boxing, and I think boxing needs him right now. I think (a rematch with Calzaghe) would be a great opportunity and a great fight. I’d like to see what would happen with my dad in my corner and his dad in his corner matching against each other.”

Golden Boy Promotions representatives will be meeting with former IBF and WBC junior welterweight (140 pounds) champion, Ricky Hatton, this week, to determine whether or not they will be working together on a future comeback for the 31-year-old, Manchester, Lancashire, England resident.

Hatton (45-2, 32 knockouts) has not fought since May, when he was stopped in the second round by Manny Pacquaio.

Golden Boy CEO, Richard Schaefer, told FanHouse that members of the promotional company will be in Manchester as part of their work with this weekend’s WBA heavyweight title defense by champion, David Haye (23-1, 21 KOs), of Bermondsey, London, against 38-year-old, former three-time titlist, John Ruiz (44-8-1, 30 KOs), of Chesea, Mass, that will take place at The M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester.

“I really don’t know if Ricky Hatton is retired or not, because you hear all of these conflicting reports. Ones that say that he’s retired, and ones that say that he is not,” said Schaefer. “But one of our matchmakers, Roberto Diaz, will actually be in Manchester this week because of the Haye-Ruiz fight, which is taking place this weekend.”

Among the other subjects that will be discussed, said Schaefer, is Hatton’s brother, Matthew Hatton (39-4-2, 15 KOs), 28-year-old welterweight (147 pounds) who earned the European title with Friday night’s unanimous decision over 39-year-old Gianluca Bronco (43-3-1, 22 KOs), of Civitavecchia, Lazio, Italy.

“Roberto will be meeting, as well, with Ricky Hatton, and with Matthew Hatton for that matter as well because he had this great win over Gianluca Bronco over the weekend,” said Schaefer. “Now, Matthew Hatton is the European welterweight champion, and we’ll see if there are any opportunities with Matthew as well.”

Schaefer said that he is “currently working and trying to finalize that we are going to be able to show the Haye-Ruiz fight here in the United States,” adding, that “we acquired the rights for it, and we would basically do it as a preview an hour before the pay per view, and it would be available for free to the American public to watch the heavyweight fight.”

Schaefer said that he is “working on the technical aspect of the situation [Haye-Ruiz,] together with HBO,” such as the channel the fight will be on, and that “it looks pretty good.”

In addition, Schaefer said that 36-year-old, Mexican, three-time world champion, Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) will face 26-year-old Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) in a rematch Marquez’s, February, 2009, ninth-round knockout of Diaz for the vacant WBA and WBO lightweight (135 pounds) titles that was named Fight Of The Year.

“We’re just waiting for some signature pages, but both fighters have, in principle, agreed to the fight,” said Schaefer. “The date would be July 10, and it looks like it’s going to be at The MGM Grand. We’re going to be meeting with the MGM people this week.”

Shaefer also said that if 29-year-old former WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds) champion and Contender series winner, Sergio Mora (21-1-1, five KOs), of Los Angeles, defeats 32-year-old Calvin Green (21-4-1, 13 KOs), of, Baytown, Tex., on Saturday night, he could set up some lucrative, future possibilities.

Mora-Green will take place at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the undercard of Saturday’s pay per view light heavyweight (175 pounds) match up featuring 41-year-old Roy Jones (54-6, 40 knockouts) and 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins (50-5-1, 32 KOs) in a rematch of Jones’ unanimous decision victory in May of 1993.

“If Sergio Mora wins this weekend, you know, the plan would be to see if we could put Sergio Mora and Winky Wright together on the Marquez-Diaz card,” said Schaefer. “We’ll see how it goes this weekend, and then we’ll sit down next week. But that’s definitely a fight we’ll be looking at.”

A 38-year-old, southpaw, former WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO junior middleweight champion, Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs) has lost his last two bouts to Hopkins, and, Paul Williams, respectively.

Wright has not been in the ring since the loss to Williams in April.

In the wake of Saturday night’s sixth-round knockout victory by 26-year-old, Argentinian WBA interim junior welterweight titlist, Marcos Rene Maidana, (28-1, 27 knockouts), over 25-year-old, Dominican Republican, Victor Cayo (24-1, 16 KOs), Schaefer said that he is looking for options for Maidana in what is perhaps the deepest division in boxing.

One of those considerations is 23-year-old, southpaw, IBF and WBC junior welterweight king, Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), of St. Louis, Mo., who is coming off of a March 6, eighth-round knockout of then-IBF champ, Juan Urango (22-3-1, 17 KOs).

“I’m in Las Vegas right now, and the HBO people, Kery Davis and Mark Taffet, are going to be out here. So I’m going to be talking to Kery about Marcos Maidana, who has a spectacular performance again,” said Schaefer, of Maidana (pictured below, at left, against Cayo).

“That’s [Alexander] is one fight that I’m going to be discussing with them, and I know that they’re not afraid of fighting anybody — you can see it in the style Maidana has, that he’ll fight anyone,” said Schaefer. “That [Alexander] could definitely be a possibility, yes. We’ll have to see if a deal can be structured and if the money is right.”

Alexander’s manager and trainer, Kevin Cunningham, believes Alexander-Maidana is the fight that should happen, particularly with 26-year-old WBO king, Tim Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs), of Palm Springs, Calif. and, 23-year-old, WBA titlist, Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KOs), of England, having already lined up their next fights.

Maidana was originally a mandatory defense for Khan, who, instead, will defend his crown against 29-year-old Paulie Malignaggi (27-3, five KOs), of Brooklyn, on May 15 at The WaMu Theater in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

And on June 19 at the Agua Caliente Casino, Rancho Mirage, in Calif., Bradley will fight in a non-title, over the division weight limit match up opposite 27-year-old Luis Carlos Abregu (29-0, 23 KOs), of Salta, Salta, Argentina.

“I think that Alexander and Maidana would be a great fight, and I think that the fight needs to get made because I think that Devon and Maidana are the two most feared guys in the division,” said Cunningham.

“Devon has chased Tim Bradley to welterweight, and Maidana ran Amir Khan away from his mandatory. So, with that being said, everybody’s scared of these two guys,” said Cunningham. “So, the man who is truly the best, 140-pounder can be decided out of these two guys, because they have continuously demonstrated the will and the courage to fight anybody.”

Former WBA super featherweight (130 pounds) titlist, Jorge Linares (28-1, 18 KOs), who was dethroned as champion following October’s first-round knockout loss to 25-year-old Juan Carlos Salgado (21-1-1, 15 KOs), bounced back with Saturday night’s majority decision victory over 38-year-old, Dominican Republican-born, Franciso Lorenzo (34-8, 15 KOs), of Irvington, N.J.

“We’re trying to get him back on the road in the United States,” said Schaefer. “I’d like to bring him back and maybe have him on one of those cards as well, because I still think that he has a tremendous opportunity and some possibilities.”

Schaefer said that the Solo Boxeo series is likely to debut on April 30 the night before the May 1 welterweight clash between Floyd Mayweather

Mayweahter (40-0, 25 KOs) and WBA champion, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“The largest Spanish network in the United States, Univision, their sister station, Telefutura, they used to have a weekly show called Solo Boxeo, that means basically, ‘Only Boxing,’ in Spanish,” said Schaefer.

“It had been going for a long time — 10 years or more. They took it off the air about two years ago, and we were working on bringing that Friday night boxing back on the Spanish language network,” said Schaefer. “We were able to succeed there, so the first one of them is going to be on April 30, from Las Vegas.”

Undefeated middleweight (160 pounds) prospect Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mex., will take on Ireland-native, John Duddy (pictured above, left, against Michael Medina), of New York, in the main event, and former WBA flyweight (112 pounds) king Eric Morel, of Madison, Wis., will meet former WBC light flyweight (108 pounds) champion, Jorge Arce, of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mex. on June 26 at The Alamodome in San Antonio, Tex..

The fights will be part of Top Rank Promotion’s Latin Fury, said matchmaker, Carl Moretti.

The 24-year-old Chavez (40-1-1, 30 knockouts) is coming off of November’s 10-round, unanimous decision victory over Michigan’s 34-year-old Troy Rowlands (25-3, seven KOs), a verdict that was turned into a no-contest after Chavez was determined to have tested positive for a banned substance by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Chavez tested positive for Furosemide, a diuretic, and was suspended by the commission for seven months — a term which ends in mid-June, and which allows him to face the 30-year-old Duddy (29-1, 18 KOs).

Duddy is coming off of a March 13, split-decision victory over 23-year-old Michael Medina (28-2-2, 18 KOs), of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mex., that was contested at The Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium.

Chavez-Rowland took place on the undercard of Manny Pacquaio’s 12th-round knockout victory over Miguel Cotto, which earned Pacquaio the WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title — his record seventh world title in as many weight classes.

Duddy-Medina took place on the undercard of Pacquaio’s 12-round, unanimous decision over Joshua Clottey (Pacman next!) in the first defense of his WBO title.

The 34-year-old Morel (42-2, 21 KOs) earned a disputed, split-decision over 37-year-old, former two-time world champion Gerry Penalosa (54-8-2, 36 KOs), of Cebu, Philippines, in their WBO 118-pound title eliminator.

The 30-year-old Arce improved to 53-6-1, with 40 knockouts, after a seventh-round technical decision over 28-year-old, Angky Angkota, of Indonesia to win their WBO super flyweight (115 pounds) title eliminator.

Angkota was cut over his right eye from an accidental headbutt, and, as a result, the verdict went to the scorecards, where Arce led, 60-54, according to two judges, and, 58-56, according to the third.