For the second consecutive time, Miami resident Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez will share the same date and ring, but again with different opponents.

Gamboa and Lopez will be in New York on Thursday to officially announce their second consecutive appearances at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 23.

Gamboa is scheduled to make the second defense of his second-tier World Boxing Association featherweight title against Rogers Mtagwa. Lopez will move up to the featherweight class and challenge World Boxing Organization champion Steven Luevano.

Considered two of the most exciting fighters in the lighter weight classes, Gamboa (16-0, 14 KOs) and Lopez (27-0, 24 KOs) have been tabbed for a future showdown and were featured in their first joint appearance Oct. 4.

While Lopez had established a dominant run as 122-pound world champion, Gamboa upstaged him with a fourth-round stoppage against veteran Whyber Garcia. Lopez survived a late comeback against Mtagwa and won a hard-fought decision.

His rematch demands to Lopez unanswered, Mtagwa (26-13-2, 18 KOs) instead will face Gamboa and get a second opportunity at spoiling a potential Gamboa-Lopez bout.

If Gamboa and Lopez defeat Mtagwa and Luevano, respectively, they finally could meet later next year.

BROTHERLY SUPPORT

Gamboa expects to return from New York immediately after Thursday's news conference and attend a fight card Friday night at Miccosukee Resort and Gaming. Gamboa's brother, Yoelvis, will face Karl Garcia as part of a scheduled nine-bout show.

The main event will match veteran Cosme Rivera of Mexico and the Dominican Republic's Euri Gonzalez for a regional welterweight title.

Also on Friday night, Hollywood resident Ed Paredes will face Oscar Leon in the main event of a scheduled nine-bout show at La Covacha Night Club in Doral.

The bout will be Paredes' first since a disputed draw against fellow South Florida resident Joey Hernandez on Aug. 21. Friday's undercard will include Cuba's Yudel Johnson, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist.

SETTLING FOR SERGIO

Although his hopes of facing Kelly Pavlik ended when his bout against the middleweight champion was canceled last month, Paul Williams still kept his fight date. Instead of Pavlik, second-tier, junior-middleweight champion Sergio Martinez will fight Williams on Saturday night in Atlantic City.

``Sergio is a big threat, and he brings a great challenge,'' Williams said. ``So I have to do what I always do -- I have to eliminate that threat.''

Williams (37-1, 27 KOs) has developed a reputation as one of boxing's most-avoided fighters. Despite impressive victories over Antonio Margarito and Ronald ``Winky'' Wright, Williams still covets elusive marquee bouts and thought he had secured one against Pavlik.

But Pavlik withdrew from the bout after he was unable to recover from an infection in his left hand. Pavlik will fight Miguel Espino on Dec. 19 in Youngstown, Ohio.

``That's just part of boxing,'' Williams said. ``You have to deal with the good and the bad, and I think this works out for the best.''

BUTE KEEPS CROWN

Late Saturday, Lucian Bute retained his International Boxing Federation super-middleweight title with a fourth-round knockout of Librado Andrade in Quebec City. Bute (25-0, 20 KOs) dropped Andrade (28-3) twice in the fourth, with the second knockdown ending the fight at 2:57 of the round.

Bute trained for the fight at the Thump Gym in Kendall.

Earlier, Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman fought to a majority draw for the vacant IBF lightweight title. Although Funeka appeared to have landed the telling punches for most of the fight, two judges scored the fight 114-114. The third judge scored the fight for Funeka 116-112.