Boxing is the only major sport without a centralized schedule. In team sports, the regular season is laid out in advance and everyone knows when the playoffs will begin; golf and tennis reserve calendar dates far in advance. But in boxing, each fight card is an undertaking unto itself. The schedule only develops as deals are made and the results of previous fights become known.

At present, the fall line-up looks promising for the Big Apple. On September 14, Final Forum promotes a card featuring Dimitriy Salita at the Atlantic Oceana Restaurant & Nightclub in Brighton Beach. Salita, an Orthodox Jew from the Ukraine via Brooklyn, is undefeated in the 140-pound ranks.

Then, as autumn leaves begin to turn, Lou DiBella will promote a September 30 card at the Manhattan Center followed by an October 14 show at the New York Hilton. The latter event is slated as a “black-tie” fundraiser to benefit FIST (a non-profit corporation formed by Gerry Cooney to help retired fighters make the transition to life after boxing).

But, as always, the big action in New York will take place at Madison Square Garden.

On October 2, Don King promotes the return of former middleweight champion Felix Trinidad against Ricardo Mayorga. Trinidad last appeared at the Garden three years ago, when he was knocked out by Bernard Hopkins in the only loss of his storied career. Now he’s back after a 29-month layoff.

Mayorga is an unpolished hard-puncher. He defeated Vernon Forrest twice at 147 pounds, but Trinidad is probably too big and too good for him. Also, in recent days, Mayorga has been beset by personal problems, including a charge of rape filed against him in his native Nicaragua. The fight will be televised by HBO Pay-Per-View and may well sell out.

Six weeks later, on November 13, King will bring another pay-per-view show to the Garden. That one features WBA heavyweight champ John Ruiz versus Andrew Golota and IBF titleholder Chris Byrd against Jameel McCline. Former undisputed heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman is expected to be on the card, too.

Ruiz-Golota will be an ugly fight: Both are maulers who clutch and foul. Byrd is a slick-boxing heavyweight past his prime. If the 6-foot-6-inch, 260-pound McCline uses his size effectively, he’ll be ahead on points at the end.

Also, WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko might defend his crown at the Garden on December 11, although a deal has yet to be nailed down.

Additional club-fight cards in New York are likely. DiBella is planning a November show at the Manhattan Center. Final Forum, Star Boxing, and Cedric Kushner Promotions are also looking at possible dates.

As for the television schedule, ESPN2 Friday Night Fights has been replaced by college football and the network doesn’t plan to resume boxing until February. But HBO and Showtime will step into the void.

HBO gets a jump on the fall season with two September 11 WBO title fights. Miguel Cotto faces off against Kelson Pinto in a battle of unbeatens for the 140-pound championship, while Daniel Santos goes against Antonio Margarita for the 154-pound crown.

Cotto is being touted as the next great Puerto Rican fighter, but that’s a stretch. Pinto is expected to test him. Margarito, on the other hand, is probably too big a puncher for Santos to handle.

Next up will be Bernard Hopkins versus Oscar De La Hoya for the undisputed middleweight championship in a September 18 pay-per-view extravaganza. Hopkins is the bigger man and can out punch De La Hoya. He might also be able to outbox him. Oscar will rely on speed, but that won’t be enough.

One week later, on September 25, Roy Jones challenges Glencoffe Johnson for the IBF light-heavyweight title. This is Jones’s first fight since suffering a one-punch knockout in a rematch against Antonio Tarver earlier this year. Jones will beat Johnson, but the fight that boxing fans want to see is Jones-Tarver III.

HBO Boxing will go into hibernation in October rather than compete with the Major League Baseball post-season. But the network is planning a November 20 rematch between Winky Wright and Shane Mosley for the WBC and WBA 154-pound titles, followed by a November 27th pay-per-view showdown between Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Wright convincingly out pointed Mosley the first time around, and most experts expect him to do it again. But Shane is a first-rate fighter, and anyone who sells him short is making a mistake.

Morales and Barrera have fought twice before with one win apiece. Morales is bigger now, and that should be the difference.

Meanwhile, Showtime will be making good on its promise to televise fights on the first Saturday of each month. October 2 brings a tripleheader: Jeff Lacy against Syd Vanderpool for the IBF 168-pound title; Verno Phillips versus Kassim Ouma for the IBF 154-pound belt; and heavyweights Wladimir Klitschko and DaVarryl Williamson facing one another.

Lacy-Vanderpool is a toss-up. Ouma is a fighter on the rise and will come out on top. Klitschko is fading as a force in the heavyweight class, but Williamson lacks the tools to test him.

On November 6, Kosta Tszyu defends his IBF 140-pound championship against Sharmba Mitchell. Tszyu is on most pound-for-pound lists, but has been plagued by injuries in recent years. Mitchell might be slick enough to steal this one.

All told, there are good fights on tap, but boxing fans will be disappointed in some respects. No heavyweight title-unification fights are in sight. That means the sweet science will continue to be plagued by the presence of four heavyweight “champions,” which is like having four Super Bowl winners in the same year.

Also, only a handful of open dates remain, so not all of the fighters that the public wants to see will be in action. Antonio Tarver, Arturo Gatti, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Marquez, and Diego Corrales are hoping to fight. But no one knows where or when.

Then there’s “reality” television. Fox’s “The Next Great Champ” starring Oscar De La Hoya debuted this week. NBC plans to counter with “The Contender,” featuring Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard. And let’s not forget boxing’s most compelling reality show, Mike Tyson. “Iron Mike” underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on August 2 and is expected to resume training in early October – if he’s in the mood to do so.