By Jake Donovan

It’s been more than 30 years since a boxing has been staged at Yankee Stadium, but this weekend’s featured attraction between Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto could potentially represent something else that hasn’t been seen in quite some time on HBO – a bout that’s both competitive and entertaining.

You have to go back to the end of April to find a telecast that fits such a criteria. The month of May proved to be a lucrative one, thanks to the boatloads of cash generated in Floyd Mayweather’s landslide win over Shane Mosley. But from a competitive standpoint, there wasn’t a single bout for which HBO paid that even came close to delivering.

When the majority of the fights staged in a particular month have fans calling for a participant’s immediate retirement, it’s hardly a good thing.

There stands the chance that the same chatter could come out of this weekend’s headliner, which airs live from the House That Jeter and A-Rod Built (Saturday, 10:15PM ET/7:15PM PT).

That people are expecting a competitive fight perhaps speaks volumes of how far along Cotto is – or perceived to be in his career. It never helps when you enter a major fight on the heels of the worst beating of your career, which is what occurred in last November’s stoppage loss to Manny Pacquiao.

Cotto (34-2. 27KO) looked worse as the fight wore on, getting little to no help from his inexperienced corner and being sent out round after round merely for the sake of attempting to go the full twelve. He fell just over two minutes short of accomplishing that feat, but the effects of the additional punishment he absorbed along the way could very well be on display this weekend.

There also comes the challenge of fighting in a new weight class, as he ventures up to the 154 lb. division after having campaigned as a welterweight for the previous three years.

Still, Cotto comes in well-rested and also well-prepared. Saturday will mark one week shy of seven months since his last ring appearance, and also his first fight under the tutelage of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward.

Add to the mix that his 154 lb. debut comes against a titlist with a modest resume and even less overwhelming knockout percentage, and it all should all come out to yet another showcase night for an HBO house fighter, right?

Certainly, the network’s subscribers are hoping Cotto’s opponent has something to say about that.

It sometimes serves as a red flag when more is said of the backdrop than of the actual fight itself. In the weeks since this matchup was announced, we’ve heard countless tales of memories from Ali-Norton III, about Foreman’s rabbinical aspirations and fighting just hours after the end of Sabbath, about New York City serving as Cotto’s home away from home, and whether or not he has enough in the tank to extend his career beyond Saturday evening.

What’s not being told is what makes this fight somewhat of a pick-‘em on paper.

That’s the part where Yuri Foreman will have his say in what happens in the ring.

An undefeated Belurasian Jew who calls Brooklyn home, Foreman (20-0, 8KO) has faced an uphill battle in earning the respect of the boxing world. Part of the resistance had to do with the hard sell that came with his career, where his nationality and religious beliefs were often cited before his actual boxing ability.

Once given the opportunity to perform, Foreman proved he can fight a little.

What he hasn’t always provided is the entertainment, earning the dubious nickname “Yuri Boreman” in reference to his knack for allowing most of his bouts to go to the scorecards. Eight straight wins have been by decision, with a three-round no-decision against Cornelius Bundrage mixed in between.

Foreman’s last stoppage win came more than four years ago, which isn’t saying much since his competition had hardly been stellar leading up to his first crack at a major title, which came on the same night that Cotto conceded his welterweight strap to Pacquiao last year.

There wasn’t much of a frame of reference to gauge Foreman’s chances against Daniel Santos. Though undefeated and the top-rated contender, Foreman hadn’t beaten anyone close to the level of Santos to suggest that he belonged on the championship level, even in the era of splintered titles.

Conversely, Santos hadn’t fought in 16 months and didn’t exactly enter last November’s fight in the best condition, accepting the fight on relatively short notice and training accordingly.

All a fighter can do is deal with what’s placed in front of them. Foreman handled his own very well, dropping Santos twice and dominating him throughout, looking like a watchable fighter en route a landslide decision and his first major championship.

The win was a big one for a 154 lb. weight class that has struggled to maintain an identity ever since Oscar de la Hoya departed from the division. Not that it transformed Foreman into an overnight star, although his name makes the papers more than most other fighters due to his strong faith in the Jewish religion and his looking to become a rabbi.

It also gave promoter Bob Arum a horse in the division’s race, providing the perfect opportunity to give an older thoroughbred one more test run.

Had the fight been made even a year ago, few would have given Foreman any sort of chance of winning the bout, and it’s debatable whether or not HBO would’ve approved the bout for its airwaves.

Given how 2009 ended for both fighters, the fight makes sense now more than ever. Not just for the fighters or the event’s handlers, but also for the very network funding the fight.

Let’s hope for their sake that Foreman is as good as was suggested in last year’s win over Santos and that Cotto is still close to the fighter who has spent most of the past few years hovering around the pound-for-pound rankings.

Because after watching Shane Mosley, Nate Campbell and Paul Malignaggi scrambling for fans to have them pen retirement speeches after last month’s respective fights, the last thing HBO needs is another night spent wondering when the next competitive bout will appear in front of its cameras.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at

JakeNDaBox@gmail.com

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