By Cliff Rold

Following the latest star showing from one of boxing’s premiere box-office heavyweights, the fighters on tap will be all that fits the bill.  Will big men mean big action?

Recent history doesn’t bode well but fingers are always crossed, particularly when the best big man in the world is on the slate.  For those who want a greater guarantee of fireworks, there is (yet another) solid entry in ESPN2’s slate for the year and, who knows, the Fox broadcast might actually air when it’s supposed to.

These are the picks of the week.

Pick It: World Champion Wladimir Klitschko vs. #3 Eddie Chambers (Saturday, Klitschko.com, 6 PM EST/3 PM PST)

Times have changed.  Heavyweights have been increasingly absent from television in recent years.  This is a new extreme.  The man with the strongest claim to the title, Wladimir Klitschko (53-3, 47 KO), is taking on one of his genuine leading contenders in Eddie Chambers (35-1, 18 KO).  There will be no U.S. TV.  Fans who want to see this one will be asked to fork over $14.95 to Klitschko’s website for a live feed.  Here’s a hint: take the plunge if Chambers comes in below 215 lbs.  This could be fun.  Chambers is definitely an underdog, but he’s also not scared and, at the sort of light weight he had in dominating giant Alexander Dimitrenko, might just make things interesting.  It might be wishful thinking as well, a hope for something surprising, something that doesn’t dull the senses, at the Heavyweight peak again.  There is of course every chance of the typical precise, technically dominant Klitschko night.  But who knows…a fight can always break out in strange places.

Pick Deuce: #7 Deandre Latimore vs. Sechew Powell II (Friday, ESPN2, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST)

The first time these Jr. Middleweights squared off in June 2008, it was a good fight.  There is no reason to expect less the second time around.  Latimore (20-2, 16 KO) is once removed from a narrow split decision loss to Cory Spinks for the IBF 154 lb. belt and has a chance to get himself another crack at that diadem.  Powell (25-2, 15 KO), once a promising prospect after a wealth of amateur honors, has had only two soft touches since being stopped by Latimore in seven rounds.  At age 30, Powell might already be staring at his last chance.  The winner will see the winner of the Spinks-Cornelius Bundrage fight in a few weeks.  Powell knows Bundrage well; the two engaged in a memorable 22-second explosion which featured a rare double knockdown before Powell ended things with a single bomb.

Pick Fox (if found): Odlanier Solis-Carl Drummond (Saturday, Fox Sports, 10 PM EST/PST)

If the Heavyweight bug isn’t taken care of with Klitschko-Chambers, rising (and regularly expanding) Cuban contender Solis (15-0, 11 KO) will be taking on former WBA title challenger Carl Drummond (26-2, 20 KO).  Solis has all the tools once could want to see.  He’s technically sound, has speed, and can crack a little.  However, at 6’1 ½, he’s also been an example of what not to like in big men.  His last contest, he came in at 271 lbs. and, no, he’s not just big boned.  Only 29, Solis was the 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist at Heavyweight.  The amateur Heavyweight limit is 201 lbs.  In each of his last three fights, he’s set a new high on the scale.  It’s hard to get excited.  Drummond probably won’t be good enough to cause a problem.  That’s not too exciting either.  But, hey, there’s always fun to be had checking around the TV Guide and wondering if the Fox Show is even on wherever one is living.  Anyone who has been through the dilemma recently knows from whence this is spoken.

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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