WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: WINKY WRIGHT VS. IKE QUARTEY AND JEFF LACY VS. VITALI TSYPKO

One of boxing's most accomplished 160-pound fighters returns to action in a middleweight showdown when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: WINKY WRIGHT VS. IKE QUARTEY AND JEFF LACY VS. VITALI TSYPKO is seen live in HD from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa SATURDAY, DEC. 2 (9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT), exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward will be ringside for the event, which will be closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

HBO2 playdates: Dec. 3 (9:30 a.m., 5:30 p.m.) and 5 (11:55 p.m.). Times are ET/PT. For the past few years, Tampa native Winky Wright (50-3-1, 25 KOs) has achieved what previously seem to elude him during his productive career -- the opportunity to fight the elite boxers in the 154 -- and 160-pound divisions. Wright's most recent ring encounter produced a hard-fought 12-round draw with middleweight champion Jermain Taylor last June in Memphis. Now, the slick left-handed vet will showcase his considerable skills against a dangerous foe in front of his hometown fans.

Ike Quartey (37-3-1, 31 KOs) of Accra, Ghana, is well known to boxing fans. Having accepted the biggest challenges presented to him at 147 and 154 pounds, he moves up to 160 pounds to challenge the resourceful Wright in a twelve-round battle.

Sharing the stage in Tampa will be super middleweight star Jeff Lacy (21-1, 17 KOs) of nearby St. Petersburg. Lacy last fought Joe Calzaghe in a 168-pound unification fight in Manchester, England last March. The loss was Lacy's first professional setback; now he looks to reestablish his credentials.

Squaring off with Lacy in the ten-round super middleweight fight will be Vitali Tsypko (17-1, 10 KOs) of Ukraine. Tsypko is a tough, skilled southpaw who first met Lacy in 2004, when their elimination showdown ended with a second round no-contest" stoppage following an accidental head butt.

More middleweight action will be presented live on HBO a week after the Wright-Quartey showdown in Tampa when middleweight king Jermain Taylor defends his title against Kassim Ouma in Little Rock on Dec. 9.