Boxing Kicks Off on HBO Saturday, 10:15 PM ET

HBO BOXING^® PRESENTS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^®: JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ VS. MIKE ALVARADO AND VIKTOR POSTOL VS. SELCUK AYDIN FROM THE FORUM IN INGLEWOOD, CAL. SATURDAY, MAY 17

Two of boxing’s top warriors make their 2014 debuts when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ VS. MIKE ALVARADO AND VIKTOR POSTOL VS. SELCUK AYDIN is seen SATURDAY, MAY 17 at 10:15 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from The Forum in Inglewood, Cal., exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team 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: May 18 (9:00 a.m.) and 20 (1:00 a.m.)

HBO2 playdates: May 18 (3:30 p.m.) and 19 (11:00 p.m.)

After a nearly two-decade absence, HBO cameras return to The Forum – the site of the first “HBO Boxing After Dark^®” telecast in 1996 – when Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs) of Mexico City and Mike Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs) of Denver clash in a 12-round welterweight world title eliminator.

A devastating right hand in the sixth round of his Dec. 2012 bout against Manny Pacquiao made Marquez the year’s unanimous knockout king. That heralded victory earned him a shot at Timothy Bradley Jr. and the welterweight title, but he subsequently lost to Bradley in 12 rounds by split decision. Now Marquez, 40, returns to The Forum, where he first showed promise as one of the sport’s future superstars, with a chance to build upon his already extraordinary hall of fame-worthy legacy.

Alvarado, 33, was responsible for some of the most captivating moments of the 2013 boxing season. Last October, he lost his 140-pound belt when he submitted to the referee’s stoppage against Ruslan Provodnikov. As he moves up in weight to test his abilities in the welterweight division, the veteran’s passion is the key to replicating the form that inspired “fight of the year” performances against Brandon Rios in 2012 and in their 2013 rematch.

Opening the night of action from Southern California, undefeated Viktor Postol (25-0, 10 KOs) of Kiev, Ukraine, takes on Turkey’s Selcuk Aydin (26-2, 19 KOs) in a junior welterweight tilt scheduled for 12 rounds. Postol, 30, made his American debut in December 2012 when he earned a first-round knockout against Henry Aurad in Inglewood, California, and since then has won four consecutive fights to emerge as a top contender in the 140-pound division. Aydin, also 30, is no stranger to the big stage, as his three convincing wins in 2013 has propelled him back into junior welterweight title contention. The stakes are high as the winner of this fight will be poised to challenge for the 140-pound title.

An all-new and compelling edition of “Face Off With Max Kellerman: Cotto/Martinez” debuts immediately following the boxing action (12:30-12:45 a.m. ET/PT). The special sets the stage for the blockbuster June 7th HBO Pay-Per-View^® encounter between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden.

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