WBC junior middleweight champion Vernon "The Viper" Forrest has informed Boxingtalk that he plans on defending his title against mandatory challenger Michele Piccirillo before the end of the year. Based on the fact that all of HBO's Boxing After Dark and World Championship Boxing telecasts have been booked, Boxingtalk would be far from surprised if Forrest's title defense wound up on Showtime Championship Boxing before the end of the year. Remember where you heard it first! (5:50 PM EST)