Although many are not happy that lineal middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will drop down to junior middleweight and challenge Liam Smith for his belt on Sept. 17 on HBO PPV -- which will charge around $70 for a fight viewed as a mismatch against an opponent with zero American profile -- rather than face unified middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin, take heart. Although Alvarez is unlikely to face Golovkin until at least fall 2017, he is planning to fight again on Dec. 10 as he makes his way up to a full-fledged middleweight, and that fight is ticketed for regular HBO rather than HBO PPV, multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions told ESPN.com. When Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) left Showtime and signed an exclusive contract with HBO in late 2014, HBO officials and Golden Boy made a big deal out of the fact that the agreement called for live network bouts in addition to pay-per-view appearances.

Heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs), 26, of England, and New Zealand’s 24-year-old Joseph Parker (19-0, 16 KOs), two of boxing’s most intriguing younger big men, are on a mandatory collision course. Joshua retained his belt for the first time Saturday with a one-sided seventh-round demolition of Dominic Breazeale and is free to make an optional defense until Nov. 8. He could meet Dillian Whyte (17-1, 14 KOs) in a rematch of their excellent December slugfest, a seventh-round knockout win for Joshua. Parker, meantime, is scheduled to face countryman Solomon Haumono (24-2-2, 21 KOs) on July 21 in New Zealand. As long as both win, Joshua-Parker, according to the IBF, is due by Jan. 9, 2017.

Women’s welterweight world champion Cecilia Braekhus (28-0, 7 KOs), regarded by many as the best female boxer in the world, will finally get to fight in her adopted country of Norway. Braekhus, 34, of who was born in Colombia but has fought primarily in Denmark and Germany, will fight an opponent to be determined on Oct. 1 at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo. She has been unable to fight in Norway because professional boxing had been banned there for many years. “Finally! I'm thrilled I finally get the opportunity to fight on Norwegian ground,” Braekhus said. “This has been a major driving force in recent years. I would like to thank my wonderful partners -- both the ones concerned with sports, and the ones that are making way in politics. Many people have worked hard for a long period of time to make this possible. We promise an unforgettable party for the Norwegian people.”

Pro boxing has been banned in Norway since 1981. Braekhus submitted an application last year and was rejected, but after a long process the ban was lifted and she was approved to fight.