Khan-McCloskey, Berto-Ortiz Kicks Off At 9:45 ET On HBO

BRIGHT YOUNG STARS TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT IN THE
HBO SPORTS® DOUBLEHEADER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®:
ANDRE BERTO VS. VICTOR ORTIZ AND AMIR KHAN VS. PAUL MCCLOSKEY, PRESENTED SATURDAY, APRIL 16 ON HBO

HBO Sports spotlights some of the sweet science’s brightest young stars on both sides of the Atlantic when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING:  ANDRE BERTO VS. VICTOR ORTIZ AND AMIR KHAN VS. PAUL McCLOSKEY is seen SATURDAY, APRIL 16 (9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT) from the MGM Grand Arena at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Conn. and the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England, exclusively on HBO.  The broadcast team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will call all the action, presented in HDTV and in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates:  April 17 (8:45 a.m.) and 18 (midnight)

HBO2 playdates:  April 17 (3:30 p.m.) and 19 (5:30 p.m., 2:25 a.m.)

Kicking off the evening in a special tape-delayed presentation from across the pond, British sensation Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KOs) makes his 2011 debut by putting his super lightweight title on the line against undefeated Paul McCloskey (22-0, 12 KOs) of Dungiven, North Ireland in a scheduled 12-round bout.  The 24-year-old Khan is coming off a sensational unanimous decision victory over Marcos Maidana last December that was dubbed the BWAA Fight of the Year.  In his HBO debut, 31-year-old southpaw McCloskey intends to stop the fast-rising British star and make a name for himself.

The 12-round main event takes place live at the MGM Grand Arena when welterweight titleholder Andre Berto (27-0, 21 KOs) of Winter Haven, Fla. makes his 2011 debut against fast-rising challenger Victor Ortiz (28-2-2, 22 KOs) of Oxnard, Cal.  The 27-year-old Berto efficiently defended his title last November with a first-round TKO of Freddy Hernandez, and will be counting on his trademark lightning-fast hand speed and explosiveness in this sixth title defense.  Making his first title bid in the talent-rich division, the 24-year-old Ortiz will seek to counter Berto’s ferocity with devastating knockout power.  Having defied long odds to become an elite fighter, he wants to prove he is the one to beat at 147 pounds.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV.  HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

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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.