There’s a good boxing card on HBO this Saturday night, headed by a junior lightweight title showdown of undefeated fighters, with Cincinnati’s Adrien Broner (22-0, 18 KOs) defending his crown against Eloy Perez (23-0-2, 7 KOs) of Salinas, Calif., in a scheduled 12-round bout.

Broner, who has taken the boxing world by storm with impressive wins and thrilling performances, is a budding star. Perez looks to use his speed and aggressive style to halt Broner’s streak and take his title in this intriguing 130-pound contest. It could be a defining moment for either (or both) fighters, who have the same agenda and very similar skill sets, although Broner is clearly the heavier puncher and Perez the slicker technician.

Broner won the WBO junior lightweight title with a third-round KO over Vicente Martin Rodriguez in his last bout. Broner has power in his hands, as 18 of his victories have come by KO or TKO. However, Broner only recently started fighting good competition, and Perez on paper looks to be his toughest bout yet. Broner, 22, has been the focus of attention in the United States when it comes to the 130-pound division; his last three bouts have all been televised by HBO and he has been well-favored to win all three of those contests. Against Perez, Broner is currently a +500 WagerWeb.com.

Perez has yet to fight any fighters with a recognizable name, but he has consistently fought competition with winning records, and Saturday may be his chance to shine. Perez has two draws on his record, but they came in 2007 and 2006 in short eight-round affairs. Power is something Perez does not appear to have. But despite not carrying heavy knockout numbers, Perez has begun to sit down on his punches more than before. That undeniably has helped lead him to stoppages in his last two wins, which includes a second-round stoppage of the usually durable Daniel Jimenez in September in Perez’s adopted home of Salinas.

“It’s not going to be a distance fight. Someone’s not going to make it through the 12 rounds. That’s all I can say,” Perez said.

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The WBA has ordered an immediate rematch between junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan after a controversial ending to their first fight.

Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) won a split decision against Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) to win the WBA and IBF 140-pound titles on Dec. 10. Khan, who was fighting in Peterson’s hometown of Washington, D.C., had two points deducted for pushing — an almost unheard of foul call — in the seventh and 12th rounds by Washington-area referee Joe Cooper. Had the points not been deducted, Khan would have retained the belts on a unanimous decision.

“I can confirm we have ordered a direct rematch,” WBA vice president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza said.

Khan appealed the scoring and questioned the presence of a “mystery man” distracting judges at ringside. His promotion company, Golden Boy, had appealed the decision to both sanctioning organizations, claiming that Cooper’s penalties were uncalled for and that the scorecards were mishandled. Golden Boy claims there were discrepancies between the scorecards kept by the WBA supervisor and IBF supervisor, although the scorecard kept by the Washington commission is official and had Peterson winning. Golden Boy contends that the WBA supervisor’s master scorecard, which collects round by round scoring from each of the three judges, had the fight a draw.

There is also controversy over the so-called ringside “mystery man,” Mustafa Ameen, who is affiliated with the IBF and had a credential arranged by the IBF as a courtesy, but was not at the fight in an official capacity. However, he was seen on video at ringside apparently touching the scoring slips, which is against the rules, and distracting a judge. He was later seen in the ring apparently celebrating with the Peterson team after the fight.

Khan’s camp said they could not comment on whether the fight would happen, pointing out that rival sanctioning body the IBF would also have to demand a re-match when they meet to discuss the matter at a hearing next week. Khan’s advisors initially claimed Peterson’s team voluntarily agreed to a rematch in the immediate aftermath of the bout only to apparently change their minds. And while the WBA have ordered the second fight, Peterson could still opt to relinquish that title rather than give Khan a second chance — particularly if the IBF, at a hearing on January 18, allow him to keep that belt without fighting Khan again.

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