By Jake Donovan
Photo © Ed Mulholland/FightWireImages.com

It almost seemed like old times last Saturday, with boxing everywhere you turn (except for the free networks, of course). Showtime elected to go head to head with HBO PPV on a weekend where the former normally doesn’t air boxing. Don King tapped the shoulder of new best friend James Dolan, as MSG Network once again stepped up in offering live boxing coverage by way of overseas satellite feed.

The best part of the overloaded boxing weekend is that each card came with its own theme, and also provided results germane to the sport’s future. Tomasz Adamek made a huge splash in his cruiserweight debut. His previous conqueror, Chad Dawson, continues to state his case as the biggest threat to the more recognized light heavyweights, while Antonio Tarver and Andrew Golota looked to remain relevant in the advanced stages of their respective careers.

Ultimately, the night and New York City proved to belong to Miguel Cotto. Before he would make the transition from rising star to one of the sport’s best, lesser-known and less-respected talents Humberto Soto and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr would bodypunch their way to potential career-high paydays in their immediate future.

Whether you tuned in to MSG Network, Showtime or HBO PPV (or all three, for homebodies like yours truly), one way or another, you were left with a lasting impression.

For those who couldn’t find the remote, or forced to fulfill other commitments, here’s a taste of what you missed on perhaps the deepest boxing night of the year, to date:

A NIGHT OF HOMECOMINGS AND FRESH STARTS ON MSG

Sometimes, you just need to head home and regroup. Tomasz Adamek and Andrew Golota certainly made the most of their homecoming, getting back in the win column with dominant performances, though against less-than-spectacular competition in their respective bouts aired live from Katowice, Poland.

Adamek returned home, fighting for the first time since his lopsided, though entertaining, loss four months ago to Chad Dawson (who also fought stateside later in the evening). The homecoming doubled as a cruiserweight debut for Adamek, who looked brilliant over the course of his seventh round stoppage against Luis Pineda in the main event.

It was easy to forget that just four months ago, Adamek was campaigning as a light heavyweight. At 6’2½” and 197 ¾ lb, Adamek appeared to be, and fought like, the bigger man against career cruiserweight Pineda. The chiseled Pole couldn’t miss with his jab and right hand all night, landing virtually at will from the second round onward. Pineda was able to absorb only so many right hands before eventually wilting in the seventh. A beauty of a straight right left the Panamanian frozen in his tracks before Adamek flurried to finish him off, 1:08 into the seventh round.

The win already had Don King talking title shots, an easy enough arrangement since he also promotes reigning two-time World Cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck. However, more so on his mind than cruiserweight collisions was finding a way to re-stake his claim in the heavyweight mix.

Enter Andrew Golota. Never mind that he hadn’t won a fight since 2003 heading into last weekend or having even participated in a prize fight since a career-worst performance two years ago in Chicago, the same night Adamek put his name on the map in a thriller against Paul Briggs. Golota put himself back on the map Saturday, and according to King, right back into the heavyweight mix. A second round thrashing of Midwestern roadkill Jeremy Bates was all it took for King to salivate at the possibility of his Polish pride somehow once again contending for a portion of the heavyweight crown.

Bates first made a name for himself (even if for all of the wrong reasons) last August as the comeback opponent of choice for former undisputed cruiserweight and heavyweight king Evander Holyfield. Bates had brief moments of success while Evander attempted to shake off the ring rust before ending matters in the second round.

This one lasted just as long against Golota, sans any moments of success for Bates. Golota, 0-2-1 in his last three dating back to April 2004 dominated from the opening bell, his jab controlling the tempo in the first round, right hands and body shots landing with regularity in the second. It was a straight right that the wheels in motion for the bout’s lone knockdown, as Bates took one on the chin as well as a few more follow up shots before crashing to the canvas. He beat the count, and was given extra time to recover when the ringside physician opted to examine two separate facial cuts. The doctor allowed action to resume, but Golota decided he had enough, battering Bates along the ropes before the referee intervened.

It was the third time Golota and Adamek shared a card. Whether they share another card, or even go on to make any noise in their respective divisions, remains to be seen. What can be said is that their bouts served as the perfect table-setter for what would come later in the evening.

A NIGHT OF SOUTHPAW SHOWCASES

A few hours after his most recent victim threw his hat into the cruiserweight mix, Chad Dawson lent further credence to claims that he is the future of the light heavyweight division, while former champ Antonio Tarver did his best in attempts to remain relevant

The suggestion going into last weekend’s SHOWTIME card was that it was designed as a prelude to a possible future matchup between future star, undefeated Chad Dawson, and faded former champ Antonio Tarver, who returned to the ring for the first time in the main event. Dawson held up his end, dominating journeyman Jesus “Chuy” Ruiz en route to a sixth round knockout. Tarver emerged as well, though not before receiving a bit of a scare from Elvir Muriqi and the ringside judges in taking a surprisingly close majority decision.

Tarver spent much of the before and after claiming the night would be history in the making, the dawning of a new day for the Tampa native. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Dawson had the decency to recognize the night for what it was – a showcase bout, as means to bide time while awaiting the next big challenge.

Dawson did his best to bring interest to a potential future bout with Tarver or any other top light heavyweight. Ruiz never had a chance, though in his defense, very few – if any - light heavyweights may be able to solve the Dawson riddle. Prior to this bout, Chad was a rare breed in which he showed improvement with each fight even as his competition progressed, whereas it’s usually one or the other. Against Ruiz, Dawson continued to show improvement, showing the positive effects of enjoying a full training camp with Floyd Mayweather, Sr.

On paper, Ruiz appeared to pose as much of a threat to Dawson as Muriqi was supposed to against Tarver. A former Golden Gloves champion, Muriqi never quite panned out as a pro, offering far more heart than his chin was capable of enduring.

In the ring, Muriqi nearly pulled out a miracle. Either that, or Tarver is simply a 38-year old fighter these days. The former light heavyweight king took a few rounds to get going, enabling Muriqi to jump out to an early lead on the cards. Antonio eventually settled into his groove by the fifth round, at which point Muriqi’s moments of success would be few and far between.

There was never a threat of a knockout either way, but the judges helped make up for the lack of drama. Steve Weisfeld managed to see an even affair, scoring the bout 114-114. Scores of 115-113 and 116-112 would help put Tarver in the win column for the first time since October 2005. Even his faux win in “Rocky Balboa” isn’t a win of any kind, having come in an exhibition bout.

Tarver’s attitude after the bout could be defined one of two ways. Either he still believes he’s the man to beat, and all others are mere peasants; or he’s having a hard time accepting the fact that he’s on the verge of becoming a high-priced steppingstone to Generation Next.

Whatever the case, his post-fight demands of wanting Muriqi removed from the ring while conducting post-fight interviews ranks among the more classless acts in recent memory. Tarver’s entire demeanor with Jim Gray was equally inexplicable, offering answers well before the question would finish, and very few having anything to do with the question, at that.

Tarver is the disgruntled former top dog clearly on the way out. Dawson is being groomed as the next great thing. How would a possible future matchup pan out? A similar matchup was offered a little more than an hour away, at Madison Square Garden. If the result holds true across the board, then perhaps Tarver is merely bitter over the inevitable.

A NIGHT OF BODY PUNCHERS

It wasn’t necessarily a ground attack that led Miguel Cotto to victory, but the man named Boxing’s Best Bodypuncher by Ring Magazine scored the biggest win of his career to date with an 11th round thrashing of former welterweight king Zab Judah at Madison Square Garden.

Judah promised to shock Cotto on Saturday and take his spot the next day in the Puerto Rican Day parade. It took a little over a round for Zab to learn the hard way that the weekend truly belongs to Miguel Cotto. Playing the main room at Madison Square Garden on the eve of boricua pride in NYC for the third straight year, Cotto became a star as well as a true ambassador in the sport this past Saturday.

That’s not to say he didn’t endure his moments of adversity. The last thing to go in a fighter’s repertoire is his punch, and Zab showed he still packs a wallop in his left. Judah rocked Cotto in the opening round and again in the third, both times with straight left hands.

Where his game plan fell short was in not letting his hands go enough. Cotto remained vulnerable to Judah’s power shots, but managed to take Zab’s best and impose his will early and throughout.

Comparisons to fellow boricua bomber Felix “Tito” Trinidad are unavoidable for Cotto, even if the two fight nothing alike. Miguel didn’t help his cause any when two low blows manage to land moments after he was stunned by Judah’s power. Neither appeared intentional, though both landed low enough to do damage. How much damage is unclear, as Judah’s flops to the canvas appeared straight out of Derek Fisher’s playbook, if not suggestive that the Brooklynite was perhaps looking for the easy way out. All he would get was one point closer on the cards, as referee Arthur Mercante Jr deducted a point from Cotto following the second hard foul.

Judah would have his moments here and there, but would ultimately suffer the worst beating of his underachieving career before being rescued early into the 11th round. Signs of the end began to surface as early as the eighth round, when Zab appeared lost in the corner while father and trainer Yoel Judah offered a bizarre pep talk in hopes of willing his son to victory.

It would never come. Cotto tore through Judah in the 9th, a round where Zab was forced to take a knee while dealing with a relentless Cotto and a right eye that was rapidly closing. There were thoughts of stopping the fight after the 10th; Miguel put matters into his own hands in the 11th, a right hand sending Judah to the canvas. Judah arose, but was under attack yet again before being rescued by Mercante Jr 0:49 into the 11th round.

The bout was perceived as Judah’s last moment in the sun, having now gone 0-3 (1 NC) in his last four. Cotto’s in the opposite direction, his stock never higher, and with a guaranteed return to The Garden in November, possibly against Antonio Margarito, should he emerge victorious against Paul Williams next month.

Another possible PPV headliner is Manny Pacquiao against Humberto Soto, already complete with a built-in story line thanks to genius matchmaking on the undercard. Soto took on Manny’s younger brother, Bobby Pacquiao, dominating the less talented sibling before taking him out with a perfect body punch in the seventh round.

Promoter Bob Arum has suggested for some time that Soto is perhaps THE best 130 lb fighter on the planet. Soto certainly didn’t make him eat his words last weekend, offering an array of offensive weapons in breaking down Pacquiao. Uppercuts were landing with fluidity, though it was eventually precision body punching that brought an end to Bobby Pac’s night.

While Manny gets to play My Brother’s Keeper, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. defended his father’s honor by destroying Grover Wiley, the last man to defeat the legend in a prize fight.

What gets lost in the storyline is that Chavez Sr was forced to quit on his stool after breaking his hand in their September 2005 bout. But far be it from a promoter to allow the truth to get in the way of a promotion. All that mattered on this night was that Chavez Jr. would exact revenge. That he did, employing a brutal body attack that led to three knockdowns and an early night for Grover Wiley, who never made it out of the third round.

Chavez improves in technique but is still in search of a name fighter who will help bring much needed credibility to a career that deserves far more respect than many in the industry elect to offer. Team Chavez is hoping that Arturo Gatti is still regarded as enough of a threat on paper to where a win would finally allow the 21-year old wunderkind to be taken seriously.

***

What needs to be taken seriously is boxing’s ability to survive the business world, even without the same major network backing offered to just about every other major sport. A Saturday filled with boxing was preceded by the 82nd annual Boxing Writers Association Awards dinner at the Copacabana in NYC, and followed by the Hall of Fame induction of three of the best in boxing history at the annual ceremony in Canastota, NY. Roberto Duran, Pernell Whitaker and Ricardo Lopez were the three modern day inductees this weekend, all three getting voted into the Hall in their first year of eligibility.

Promoter Bob Arum got it half-right in claiming Roberto Duran was the last fighter to fill the Garden to the rafters. The legendary Panamanian was actually the last non-heavyweight to turn the trick, in his turn-back-the-clock, title-winning effort against Davey Moore 24 years ago. Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield fought their controversial first bout in front of a full house in 1999.

What Arum can now claim is that Cotto is the first fighter in the 21st Century to sell out the Garden. Given his winning ways and rising popularity, there’s no reason to believe Cotto can’t repeat the feat next year and beyond. That’s good news for New Yorkers in June, since the Knicks and Rangers are no longer threats to last long enough in the playoffs (or in the Knicks case, even make them) to cause a conflict.

It’s also good news for boxing fans, who can proudly point to this past weekend as one where amidst the myriad of boxing action, a star was born – in front of a full house, no less. No longer with a whimper, boxing is back on the scene with a bang.