Tickets for Morales-Maidana card on sale Feb. 17

Tickets for the junior welterweight showdown between former three-division champ Erik Morales and hard-punching 140-pound contender Marcos Maidana, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 9, go on sale Thursday, Feb. 17, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Wednesday.

Morales-Maidana headlines an HBO Pay-Per-View event that includes a middleweight fight between former 154-pound champ Winky Wright and European middleweight champ Matthew Macklin, and a lightweight showdown between 135-pound contenders Michael Katsidis and Robert Guerrero.

Morales (51-6, 35 knockouts), a future hall of famer from Mexico, has won three consecutive bouts since ending a near-three-year retirement last March. Maidana (29-2, 27 KOs), a relentless puncher from Argentina best known for his KO of junior welterweight contender Victor Ortiz, is coming off a close and thrilling 12-round decision loss to 140-pound titleholder Amir Khan in a 2010 fight-of-the-year candidate.

The reputations for action that Morales, Maidana, Katsidis and Macklin have earned among their many fans promted Golden Boy Promotions to name the April 9 PPV card "Action Heroes."

Tickets for "Action Heroes" are priced at $350, $250, $150, $75, $50 and $25, and go on sale at 10 a.m. PT on Feb. 17. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.  Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.