By Cliff Rold
Upsets were in the air this past week as Joseph Agbeko retained his Bantamweight title against Junior Bantamweight king Vic Darchinyan, Cristobal Cruz avenged a loss to the favored Jorge Solis for a Featherweight belt, and Felix Sturm came near to losing to his Middleweight strap to Khoren Gevor.
Upset was also the only way to describe boxing fans as the action unfolded Saturday. News from Brazil of the death of unparalleled warrior Arturo Gatti brought shock and sadness. Gatti, a former titlist at Junior Lightweight and Junior Welterweight, was one of the rare fighters for whom titles were hardly the measure of the man. Every time he stepped in the ring, a fight of the year threatened to break out and all could feel blessed to know they’d seen the depths of a fighting heart by night’s end. Following on the heels of another tragic loss, the apparent suicide of the great and equally heart and soul Alexis Arguello, boxing has lost two of its finest in-ring representatives in little more than a week.
Under this shadow, the business of the living continues with more action in the squared circle.
These are the picks of the week.
Pick It: Andriy Kotelnik-Amir Khan (Saturday, ?)
It’s unknown still where or if this Saturday’s WBA Junior Welterweight title affair will be available live in the U.S. Hope for the best; it could be a doozy. Kotelnik (31-2-1, 13 KO) is one of the world’s most improved fighters in recent years, bouncing back from a 2005 loss to Junior Witter to notch victories against former Olympian Mohammed Abdullaev, titlist Gavin Rees, and contender Marcos Maidana. Now he gets a young man still on the cusp of superstardom even after a disaster. Khan (20-1, 15 KO), an Olympic Silver Medalist in 2004, was drubbed in one by Breidis Prescott last year but gets to a title shot first. Such is the power of being an attraction. At 22, Khan doesn’t have power to fear here much and brings in a solid advantage in speed. It is also not missed that he moves into the same division as countryman Ricky Hatton. At the weigh-in for Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah two years ago, HBO’s Harold Lederman predicted a superfight one day between Hatton and Khan. Saturday could be the first step.
Pick Deuce: Breidis Prescott-Miguel Vazquez (Friday, ESPN, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST)
Khan’s conqueror, Prescott (21-0, 18 KO) gets his own spotlight on Friday and there is no effort needed to find out where it airs. He gets the tough Vazquez (24-3, 12 KO), whose only losses have come at the hands of Saul Alvarez and current Jr. Welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley. This is about rugged professionalism and raw power, often the ingredients of a hell of a fight. It’s also about an undercard which can’t be missed. The development of the new Cuban crop remains one of the sports best stories and both Middleweight Erislandy Lara and all-time great amateur and now professional Jr. Featherweight Guillermo Rigondeaux will be on tap. Also expect ample tribute through coverage of the Gatti tragedy from boxing’s version of Sports Center
Pick Digital: Hozumi Hasegawa-Nestor Rocha (Tuesday, ?)
YouTube will be the only hope for fans to find the latest from the world’s best Bantamweight, Japan’s Hozumi Hasegawa (26-2, 10 KO). He attempts a ninth defense of the WBC title against Rocha (21-1, 7 KO). Hasegawa is working his way towards pound-for-pound consideration even without those level foes. Consistency, and legitimately professional opposition, count for a ton and Hasegawa has recently shown increased pop. Pop is no question in the support bout from the World Memorial Hall, in Kobe, Japan. Strawweight titlist Roman Gonzalez (23-0, 20 KO) is the most explosive entrant to the littlest man class since the great Ricardo Lopez left the stage. He defends against former titlist Katsunari Tokuyama (23-3, 9 KO) in what could be an underground classic by night’s end.
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
