Rising Stars Light Up The New Year When Andre Berto vs. Luis Collazo & Sergio Martinez vs. Joe Greene Take Place Jan. 17

An undefeated young titleholder looks to start the new year off with a bang and intriguing veterans aim to shine in the 2009 premiere of the network's hit late-night boxing franchise when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: ANDRE BERTO VS. LUIS COLLAZO AND SERGIO MARTINEZ VS. JOE GREENE is presented SATURDAY, JAN. 17 at 9:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., 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 playdate: Jan. 18 (10:15 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: Jan. 18 (5:45 p.m.) and 20 (11:30 p.m.)
Undefeated Florida native Andre Berto (23-0, 19 KOs) enjoyed a splendid 2008, winning all three of his fights and serving notice he is on the verge of becoming one of the elite stars of the talented welterweight division. Now he gets to test his game against a rock-solid opponent in former welterweight champion Luis Collazo (29-3, 14 KOs) of Brooklyn. The winner gets a head start on sorting out the crowded 147-pound division in 2009.

In the opening bout, fast-rising junior middleweight Sergio Martinez (44-1-1, 24 KOs) of Madrid, Spain returns to the HBO spotlight to meet Joe Greene (20-0, 14 KOs) of Queens, NY. Following his stunning victory over Alex Bunema on BOXING AFTER DARK last October, the 33-year-old Martinez looks to reaffirm his considerable skills in this 154-pound showdown. Standing in his way is Joe Greene, a skilled southpaw with knockout power.