By Cliff Rold
This might as well be a week off. After repeated weeks of competitive, compelling fights, Boxing returns to one of its lesser lights this weekend: the rebuilding show. For the live crowds in New York and Ohio, the marquee players will be a great night out. If located in the area, it’s the working fans chance to see some of the world’s best.
Outside that geography, or membership in any established fan club…wellllll…
These are picks of the week.
Pick It: Young Guns on the Duece (ESPN2, Friday 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)
On the heels of last weekend’s exiting HBO showcase of young talent, ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights rolls out their own version. In the main event, 24-year old Jr. Middleweight Jesus Gonzalez (24-1, 13 KO) takes on rough veteran Richard Gutierrez (24-2-1, 14 KO). It’s not what most will tune in for. Also on the show, hot Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa will be highlighted as will Lightweight bomber, and Amir Khan conqueror, Breidis Prescott. Ever want to know how unfair Boxing can be? Khan gets embarrassed in one by Prescott and is headed towards Marco Antonio Barrera. Prescott is on the Deuce. Star power matters. The best part about this show? It’s got no price tag.
Pick Carefully: The Cotto/Pavlik Pay-Per-View Twinbill (Saturday, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)
It would be dishonest to advise fans of expected warfare this weekend for their TV dollars because there really isn’t any. Kelly Pavlik’s second defense of the World Middleweight title, in front of his native Ohio faithful, isn’t a bad fight. Marco Antonio Rubio (43-4-1, 37 KO) is a good fighter. Not great, not fantastic, but good and he earned his shot. Some have made negative comments but unlike another name being mentioned for Pavlik (cough Duddy cough), there’s nothing illegitimate about Rubio. He’s expected to lose but that isn’t a strike. Most Middleweights would be against Pavlik (34-1, 30 KO). Cotto (32-1, 26 KO)? Well, his battle for a vacant WBO belt looks a little less, um, compelling. Michael Jennings (34-1, 16 KO) to date falls just short of good, closer to okay. The New York fans will turn out at the Garden and see Duddy-Matt Vanda as well. So will the pay audience. Is it worth almost $45 for everyone else? It’s the question fans will have to ask themselves. Fight freaks can handle any resort but if one is on the fence, and fights which result in less than $45 worth of results are upsetting, might want to think twice on this show.
Pick Classic: Pernell Whitaker-Azumah Nelson (ESPN Classic, Friday 8 PM EST/5 PM PST)
While waiting for Friday Night Fights to go live, a pleasant appetizer might just be a trip back in time. Not often as mentioned as some of Whitaker’s other bouts, the win over Nelson might be the best of the bunch (if only because he didn’t get the official duke against Julio Cesar Chavez). When Whitaker and Nelson squared off for Whitaker’s Lightweight crown in 1990, the idea each could be headed towards the Hall of Fame wasn’t far-fetched. The idea that each might represent a case for the best ever at 135 (Whitaker) and 130 (Nelson) was just developing. Nelson, even in 1990, was believed to be slipping but had many years to go. This is two all-time greats near their peak and if one has never seen it, it’s a must.
Back in seven.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com