Golden Boy could feature two-division titlewinner Rafael Marquez, heavyweight contender Seth Mitchell and welterweight stalwart Josesito Lopez among those in a Showtime-televised tripleheader on Sept. 6 at the Fantasy Sports Casino in Indio, Calif., according to Sharif Salim, Mitchell’s manager.

“Seth Mitchell, ranked No. 2 in the world by the WBC, will be facing Chris Arreola, ranked No. 3 in the world, in the main event at Fantasy Springs in Indio, Calif., on Sept. 6,” said Salim.

“Rafael Marquez and Josesito Lopez are in fights that are the co-main event. They’re also on the card. But the main event is Seth Mitchell against Chris Arreola…in a 12-rounder.”

Dan Goossen, Arreola’s promoter, said that deal is close for Arreola to face Mitchell.

“We’re working on it right now,” said Goossen. “Hopefully, we’ll have something done. We’re working on it to get it finalized.”

Coming off last month’s unanimous decision over Johnathon Banks that avenged a second-round stoppage loss in November, Mitchell (26-1-1, 19 knockouts) could face Arreola (35-3, 30 KOs), who had surgery in May to repair a broken nose suffered during April’s unanimous-decision loss to Bermane Stiverne.

“I think that it promises to be one of the banner fights of the year. Two heavyweights who are highly ranked and highly talented and who bring a lot of action,” said Salim.

“So it’s going to be a pretty good fight. There are several belts on the line, and the possibility of getting closer to a championship fight. We’re looking forward to it with unlimited enthusiasm.”

A 38-year-old who signed with Golden Boy earlier this month, Marquez (41-8, 37 KOS) is planning to end what would be an 11-month ring absence against Efrain Esquivias (16-2-1, 9 KOs) in a featherweight bout, according to Boxrec.com.

Lopez (30-5, 18 KOs) is attempting to rebound from last month’s sixth-round knockout at the hands of Marcos Maidana opposite Aaron Martinez (19-2-1, 4 KOs), according to Boxrec.com.

YAO MING DWARVES MANNY PACQUIAO, BRANDON RIOS IN SHANGHAI

Standing 7-foot-6, former Houston Rockets’ center Yao Ming towered over the 5-7 Manny Pacquiao and the 5-8 Brandon Rios during Wednesday’s visit to Shanghai, the boxers’ third stop of a seven-city promotional press tour in advance of their November welterweight clash in Macau, China.

“I felt like a baby standing next to him,” said Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs), who will face former lightweight beltholder Rios (31-1, 23 KOs) on Nov. 24 (Nov. 23 in the western hemisphere). “I kept looking up wondering how far it was until I would see the top of his head.”

Manny Pacquiao versus Brandon Rios press tour

(All Times local)

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3
Private Event
Marina Bay Sands Singapore

MONDAY, AUGUST 5
Fighters Visit ESPN
ESPN Headquarters, Bristol, Conn.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6 at 3:00 P.M. ET
New York Press Conference
Jong Fong Restaurant
20 Elizabeth St.
(South of Canal St., between Canal & Baynard Sts.)
New York, NY 10013

THURSDAY, AUGUST 8 at Noon PT
Los Angeles Press Conference
The Beverly Hills Hotel – Crystal Ballroom
9641 Sunset Blvd.
Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210

Photo by Al Bello-Gettyimages

Photo by Chris Farina, Top Rank

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]