Television personality Mario Lopez will be the grand marshal of the 2006 International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Parade of Champions on June 11.

Fresh off his career-refreshing performance against Audley Harrison on April 14, once-again heavyweight contender Dominick Guinn phoned in to give SweetScience readers an insight into Saturday’s Wladimir Klitschko/Chris Byrd heavyweight showdown from Germany.

Bobby Goodman saw the Silence Mabuza/Ricardo Vargas IBF eliminator in New York at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Thursday night and he doesn’t have a problem with the judges’ verdict.

All due regard to our readers in South Africa and Mexico, but the IBF eliminator bantamweight bout at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Thursday night WAS NOT the feature bout of the card.

Roy Jones Sr. knows full-well the emotions that come into play when a father trains a son. So Big Roy shouldn’t be surprised that Tony Mundine, the father of Australian super middleweight contender Anthony Mundine, is pissed off.

The Quietman is talking for himself a bit more these dats, now that excitable cornerman Norman Stone has been eased out of his camp.

DBE’s Broadway Boxing series continues to evolve and tonight’s show at the Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan looks to be its best card yet. Lou DiBella has had the dates, the venue and the stable of fighters, but consistently competitive world-class fights have thus far been elusive… but not for long.

Byrd has struggled against his last four opponents, none of them world-beaters, and when he and Wladimir first fought Chris lost 10, 11, and 12 rounds on the judges’ cards.

An injury has forced former two-time World Boxing Council lightweight champion Stevie Johnston (38-3-1, 17 KOs) to pull out of his May 26 fight against Herman “Black Panther” Ngoudjo (13-0, 9 KOs) at the South Coast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Word out of Ricardo Mayorga’s training camp in Miami is that the Nicaraguan super welterweight titlist is walking the straight and narrow path in preparation for his May 6 bout with Oscar De La Hoya.