By Cliff Rold

It hasn’t been a regular occurrence for much of 2008, but this Saturday night HBO and Showtime go head to head with HBO appearing to have the better show on paper.  Showtime’s main event could be good; HBO’s will be.  The only shame of it all is that the two shows pit two marquee matches in two of Boxing’s very best division’s against each other.  Real Boxing fans know that if current top ten Welterweight are fighting, they want to see it.

The same is true for current top ten Jr. Bantamweights. 

What to do? 

These are the picks of the week.

Pick It: All of the Above on Saturday

Watching both shows is easy this week.  Showtime’s show features former IBF Flyweight titlist Vic Darchinyan (29-1-1, 23 KO) challenging IBF 115 lb. titlist Dimitri Kirilov (29-3-1, 9 KO) along with 2004 U.S. Olympic Bronze Medalist Andre Dirrell (15-0, 10 KO).  It starts at 9:00 PM on both the East and West Coast however, with digital cable all but the norm, it will be available at 6 PM for most subscribers.  Darchinyan is a banger and while Kirilov is not, he’s got a good chin and willingness to fight inside.   

HBO’s show starts thirty minutes later than Showtime’s either way, at 9:30 PM.  As a Boxing After Dark show, it won’t have the varied live start times that HBO World Championship Boxing shows get.  In the main event, former World Welterweight champion Zab Judah (36-5, 25 KO) and rugged Joshua Clottey (34-2, 20 KO) do battle for a vacant IBF belt.  Judah is as unpredictable as ever and facing one of the most full bodied Welterweight he’s seen since moving into the class.  With the closely quartered start times, it may seem impossible to see both main events live, but it may not be.  HBO can be expected to begin their telecast with a replay of Cotto-Margarito. 

If the timing doesn’t work out perfect for double viewing, the later HBO start would mean staring there and making what would be a fairly seamless move to the late Showtime tape delay broadcast.  Either way, two excellent little fights don’t have to be missed by anyone with a little forethought.

Pick Another: Fulgencio Zuniga-Sebastian Demers (ESPN2, Friday 9 PM EST)
 
This is one of those nice little Middleweight sleepers that could push folks to the edge of their seats.  Demers (25-1, 9 KO) has lost only once and that one came to badass IBF titlist Arthur Abraham.  Zuniga (20-2-1, 17 KO) has lost twice, to current World champion Kelly Pavlik and current WBA Jr. Middleweight Daniel Santos.  Zuniga also has quality wins against veteran David Lopez and an exposing win of undefeated prospect Victor Oganov in his last bout.  This is a good style match and should go some rounds, both important factors in picking a fight on a Friday night.

Classic Pick: Carlos Ortiz-Ismael Laguna II (ESPN Classic, Wednesday 1 AM EST/Tuesday 10 PM PST)

Last week, ESPN’s Graham Houston rated Ortiz, the great Lightweight and Jr. Welterweight champion of the 1960’s, the greatest Puerto Rican fighter of all time.  Ortiz certainly has a case and as Tuesday and Wednesday bump heads, modern fight fans can get a look at what was his last great victory.  Having already defeated Laguna once, this rematch in 1967 heralded the beginning of the end for Ortiz, who would immediately after be upset for the Lightweight title by Carlos Teo Cruz.  Laguna would go on later to win and lose the Lightweight title himself.  Both men are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.  Is your TIVO set yet?

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