The usually quiet end of August is about to witness a flurry of ring activity. Locally, the action kicks off tonight with a six-fight card at the Hammerstein Ballroom. In the most entertaining match-up of the evening, undefeated junior-welterweight Paulie Malignaggi (19-0, 5 KOs) takes on Jeremy Yelton (17-1, 9 KOs).

The 24-year-old Malignaggi was born and raised in Brooklyn, and trained at legendary Gleason’s Gym for each of his previous fights. This time, however, he spent two months in Tewksbury, Mass.

“I had to go away because of distractions,” explained Malignaggi. “In New York, everyone knows where I live and calls or drops in at all hours of the day and night. There’s night life; there’s club life. It made sense to go away to training camp, but I can’t put into words how much I missed New York.”

“There’s nothing in Tewksbury,” he continued. “I had to walk for 10 minutes if I wanted some juice or a granola bar. I’m doing roadwork in this wooded area, and I’m saying, ‘Yo, there’s a chipmunk. Look out! I almost stepped on a frog.’ No offense to Tewksbury. For training purposes, it did the job. But I love New York.”

Malignaggi is a flashy dresser with a big mouth, but he’s basically a good guy. His Achilles heel as a pro has been a lack of punching power. A torn tendon and seven minor fractures in his right hand left him reluctant to go all out in the ring. But after an eight-month layoff occasioned by surgery in which three knuckles were fused together, Paulie has been punching with power.

“A lot of guys couldn’t write with a hand like I had,” says Malignaggi. “I had to fight with it. Now I can whack.”

That’s bad news for Yelton, who has an impressive record, but has never fought a fighter with more wins than losses.

Other fights of note on the card include Dmitriy Salita (22-0, 13 KOs) versus Shawn Gallegos (15-1, 5 KOs) and Sechew Powell (16-0, 10 KOs) against Santiago Samaniego (36-9-1, 29 KOs).

Salita is known in boxing circles as much for his Orthodox Jewish faith as for his ring skills. He’s a capable club fighter who wants to move up the ladder and should do so against Gallegos, whose last five opponents have a total of 146 losses among them.

Powell is technically proficient with knockout power and hopes to break into the world rankings within the next year. Meanwhile, Samaniego is an experienced veteran with some good wins on his record, but he has lost his last three fights and hasn’t won in three years.

The first fight at the Hammerstein is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are priced at $200, $150, $100, $60, and $40.

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On Friday night, the fights move to the suburbs, when Joan Guzman (23-0, 17 KOs) and Terdsak Jandaeng (18-0,13 KOs) meet at the Westchester County Center in a 126-pound contest. The winner will become the mandatory challenger for WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison.

The Westchester County Center opened in 1930 and served for decades as a stepping stone for fighters who were hoping to ply their trade in Madison Square Garden. Jake LaMotta fought five of his first 15 fights there.

Guzman relinquished the World Boxing Organization junior-featherweight belt last year because he could no longer make the 122-pound weight limit. Now, like LaMotta, he’s hoping to move on to bigger and better things. He’s a quality fighter who will win another title sooner rather than later.

The first fight in at the Westchester County Center in White Plains is at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $25 to $150.

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Finally, for those who’d rather stay home, Cedric Kushner Promotions is offering a pay-per-view card replete with heavyweight action on Friday night.

The main event features a showdown between former stablemates Shannon Briggs (42-4-1, 36 KOs) and 44-year-old Ray Mercer (34-5-1, 25 KOs).

Briggs, 33, was once considered a fighter of enormous potential. But other than a victory over George Foreman on a horrible decision eight years ago, he has never beaten a world-class fighter.

Mercer won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. But after victories over Francesco Damiani and Tommy Morrison in WBO title fights in 1991, his career went into decline.

One of the interesting things about the Briggs-Mercer confrontation is that the fighters genuinely dislike each other.

“Shannon Briggs is all talk,” Mercer said at the kickoff press conference earlier this month. “That’s all he’s ever been.Talk, talk, talk. I can’t stand him.”

“He’s a jealous prick and a 44-year-old bum,” Briggs countered.

If Mercer was 34, he’d beat Briggs. But he’s 44, so he won’t.

Other fights on the televised card include Jameel McCline (31-5-3, 19 KOs) taking on an overmatched Steve Parnell (34-8, 28 KOs) and IBF cruiserweight champion O’Neil Bell 24-1-1, 22 KOs) defending his crown against Sebastian Rothmann (18-3-2, 12 KOs).