By Cliff Rold

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Seriously.

Love it or hate it, three weeks of Olympic dominance over the squared circle is, well, enough.  Loyal readers know a little bit more than they might have those few weeks ago about the future of the sport than they otherwise would have but there’s no substitute for today…or at least next Saturday.

The weekend immediately ahead provides men large and small fighting for big stakes all around.  Before we get there, both ESPN2 and Telefutura will present intriguing main events on Friday.  The Deuce goes with Cruiserweight Matt Godfrey, a still promising 1-loss American bouncing back from his first loss (to undefeated Rudolf Kraj) with Emmanuel Nwodo.  Nwodo can be remembered for his near-decapitation loss against Darnell Wilson last year.  En espanol, undefeated American Welterweight Mike Jones goes heads up with 1-loss Juliano Ramos. 

That’s a pair of good fights and they aren’t even the highlight of the week.

Those of course can be found in these picks of the week (a day early for the classic collectors).

Pick It: Ivan Calderon-Hugo Cazares II (PPV, Saturday 9 PM EST, 6 PM PST)

The first fight last August was a quiet gem.  Provided on a limited satellite service pay-per-view, Puerto Rico’s Calderon went from slick to survivor to champion, capturing Ring’s Jr. Flyweight crown in an off the floor career validator against the Mexican Cazares.  Now it’s time for round two.  Pre-fight safety weigh-ins present the same problem of one year ago: Cazares is dangerously overweight as the fight draws near.  Can he get all the way back down to 108 lbs. after not having slimmed down that far since the first Calderon fight?  If so, will he have the legs to get Calderon in trouble again?  Mexico v. Puerto Rico is almost always worth a look and these two have already proven they add honorably to the tradition.  With another win, Calderon at least bolsters his place as a thinking man’s pick for the pound for pound list while a win for Cazares would certainly force a third chapter.  The only thing that could spoil this bout is if the weight marks a bridge too far for Cazares, leaving us with a bad fight or even no fight at all.

Click It: Nicolay Valuev-John Ruiz II (Saturday, Somewhere online)
 
While it is not officially announced as airing next weekend on www.donkingnetwork.tv, recent history strongly suggests it will.  If it doesn’t, it won’t be hard to find.  The first WBC Heavyweight alphabelt battle between Valuev and Ruiz is currently available at the site.  For those who missed the fight in December 2005, it’s worth a look even if it was by no means a great fight.  Ruiz was ahead on this scribe’s card the first time around and faces big obstacles fighting overseas against the 7’1 giant for a second time.  A loss here could mean the end for Ruiz and a sigh of relief for the many fans who long ago grew tired of a grappling-heavy style that would have been well suited for a Gold medal in Beijing.  A win for Valuev conversely could set up a showdown with a Klitschko, any Klitschko, in 2009.  This is an important fight even if it’s not going to be one for the ages.

Classic Pick: Evander Holyfield Day (ESPN Classic, Next Saturday, All Afternoon)

If anyone reading didn’t love watching the prime Evander Holyfield do his thing, get the hell out of here.  I’m not kidding.  You are not a Boxing fan.  Go watch TIVOs of rhythmic gymnastics until your eyes fall out. 

For the vast majority remaining, next Saturday is Holyfield day on ESPN Classic.  All the fights have been shown before, but in a row?  It’s a Boxing geekgasm.  The Greatest Cruiserweight fight of all time, Holyfield-Dwight Muhammad Qawi I, starts it off.  Also featured will be Ring Magazine’s choice for Best Heavyweight fight of the 80s, Holyfield-Michael Dokes, and the entire epic trilogy with Riddick Bowe.  In between, you’ll also see the Qawi rematch, the unification at Cruiser with Carlos De Leon, and the wars with George Foreman, Bert Cooper and Ray Mercer.  Would it rock to have the Mike Tyson fights available?  Sure, but neither of them were actually as good as the bulk of the viewable in the ring. 

And that’s not all in terms of must-see classics this week.  The reason for popping this weekly column out a day early comes as Sunday becomes Monday on the East Coast.  At 12 AM EST/9 PM PST, Classic runs with the Middleweight title rematch between Sugar Ray Robinson and Randy Turpin.  The last round alone, with Robinson cut badly and needing a knockout, is one of the greatest displays of sustained violence ever recorded. 

And then…

still not done…

Thursday 1 AM EST/Wednesday 10 PM PST, Classic runs out one of the most important fights of all time as the culmination of Archie Moore’s legendary ride past age and racism is on display via his Light Heavyweight championship win over the historically underappreciated Joey Maxim. 

Every fight collector should mark ‘all of the above’ next to any of these fights not already in their set.  Put it all together, new and old, and Boxing ends its summer vacation with a staggeringly strong array of fights over the next few days. 

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