By Cliff Rold

After a solid run of fights, boxing rolls into an event week which…

…well…

…does it feel like an event week?

This is an odd one.  Close to 50,000 may be in the stands at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, two of the best fighters in today’s Welterweight division are squaring off, and one of them might just be the best fighter of his era. 

Where’s the general buzz?

After the nuclear meltdown that was the negotiations for THE fight, Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey just carries an air of okay.  Floyd Mayweather’s next bout doesn’t have that problem.  There is genuine anticipation for a showdown between he and Shane Mosley.  This weekend?

We’ll see.

These are the picks of the week.

Pick It: #2 Manny Pacquiao vs. #5 Joshua Clottey (Saturday, HBO PPV, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)

The question above is ‘where is the general buzz?’  In this space, there’s buzz a plenty.  Pacquiao-Clottey is almost can’t miss in terms of action and presents a new challenge for the pound for pound king.  Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KO) has yet to face a full-bodied Welterweight with the physical strength and chin of Clottey (35-3, 20 KO).  Has anyone ever seen the Ghanaian hurt?  Sure, he got dropped his last fight with Miguel Cotto, but that was a balance drop off a jab.  Considering the ticket buying crowd, it’s going to look great on TV.  Should it look great on your TV this week or on the HBO replay a week from now?  That’s worth asking.  While sure to be worth watching, Pacquiao is a healthy favorite and, while the undercard has a couple fights which could be entertaining, there’s nothing of real substance there.  The most intriguing fight is probably Alfonso Gomez-Jose Luis Castillo, though Humberto Soto-David Diaz could be pleasantly violent.  It’s probably not enough to make up for a fight which is taking place in lieu of what should have been.  For fans who still hope to see Mayweather-Pacquiao someday, not buying this fight could hurt those chances.  The chances will be hurt anyways.  This will be lucky to sell half of what Mayweather-Mosley ends up with, making revenue split an issue it wasn’t last time everyone was at the table.

Of course Clottey could win and turn the sport on its ear.  Stranger things have certainly happened.  That alone could make the purchase option worth it.

Pick Fox: Hernan Marquez-Richie Mepranum (Friday, Fox Sports Net, 10 PM EST/PST)
With no Friday Night Fights this week, the televised options are limited and, because its Fox Sports cable distribution, the requisite “CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS” applies.  And we mean check close.  The fights are slated to start at 10 but your Fox distributor might be rolling at 11…or overnight…maybe the next day…maybe not at all.  Infomercials are more reliable.  If and when the show is found, a look at one of the world’s best Lightweights, Anthony Peterson (29-0, 19 KO) is on tap with a Flyweight main event between Marquez (27-0, 20 KO) and Mepranum (16-2-1, 3 KO) which should be fun.  Former Heavyweight titlist Sam Peter (33-3, 26 KO), 3-0 with three stops since losing his belt to Vitali Klitschko, is co-featured against Nagy Aguilera (15-2, 10 KO).  Peter has been suddenly svelte at 240 again.  Could the Nigerian finally be finding some professionalism?  Tune in and find out. 

Not like there are any other fights on.

For BoxingScene’s latest full divisional ratings, log on to: https://www.boxingscene.com/forums/view.php?pg=boxing-ratings

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