Broner-Demarco Headlines on HBO Saturday

HBO heads to the Jersey shore for an action-packed doubleheader headlined by a lightweight championship showdown when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: ANTONIO DEMARCO VS. ADRIEN BRONER AND SETH MITCHELL VS. JOHNATHON BANKS is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 17 at 10:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Roy Jones Jr. 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: Nov. 18 (8:30 a.m.) and 19 (12:15 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Nov. 18 (4:30 p.m.) and 20 (11:00 p.m.)

In a 12-round title bout, Cincinnati’s Adrien “The Problem” Broner (24-0, 20 KOs) challenges lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco (28-2-1, 21 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico. A ferocious fighter who has established himself as one of the most compelling boxers around, the 23-year-old Broner is fresh off a commanding fifth-round knockout of Vicente Escobedo in July. After cruising through the junior lightweight division, he now moves up to lightweight, putting his perfect record on the line. A fan favorite outside the ring, Broner is intimidating inside it, knocking out his last four opponents before the sixth round, and looks to continue his success in the competitive 135-pound division.

DeMarco, 26, has been dominant recently, scoring a memorable first-round victory on HBO in September, when he knocked out John Molina in 44 seconds. Dating back to Feb. 2010, he’s won his last five fights, four of them by knockout. Demarco has a decided height advantage, and looks to use his edge in experience to deal Broner his first loss.

In the opening fight, Seth Mitchell (25-0-1, 19 KOs) of Brandywine, Md., takes on Detroit’s Johnathon Banks (28-1-1, 18 KOs) in a much-anticipated 12-round heavyweight contest. A former Michigan State linebacker, Mitchell turned pro after just ten amateur bouts and has been lighting up the division ever since, utilizing his elite speed, power and conditioning. This April, he dispatched Chazz Witherspoon in a thrilling slugfest that underscored Mitchell’s rapid progress.

Banks is coming off a wire-to-wire unanimous decision victory over Nicolai Firtha in February, and will be well-rested and ready for the biggest test of his career. After dropping his first fight as a pro to the formidable Tomasz Adamek in Feb. 2009, he has gone without a loss, and has an opportunity to upset the undefeated Mitchell.