By Cliff Rold

Boxing returns to Yankee Stadium.

‘nuff said.

If nothing else captures the attention in the week ahead, if the main event of the show doesn’t really float one’s boat, the geography still counts.  It’s not just the ghosts of Yankee at play.  It’s the whole thought, the memories of June superfights outdoors in New York which should swarm the landscape this weekend.

The Polo Grounds is gone…Ebbets Field no more…and the real house that Ruth built?  That’s gone too.  This is the collision of old and new as the new Yankee plays host to an old school battle.

These are picks of the week.

Pick Outdoors:  Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto (Saturday, HBO, 10:15 PM EST/7:15 PM PST)

How old school?  It’s a major title holder of Jewish heritage and a Puerto Rican superstar in NYC.  It carries enough of the flavor of the old neighborhood draw matches to fit right into the seams of history.  That it has some intrigue doesn’t hurt a bit.  Cotto (34-2, 27 KO) is a two-division beltholder aiming for a third while Foreman (28-0, 8 KO), despite a lack of pop, has size, fresh legs, and opportunity on his side.  Prior to his WBA Light Middleweight title win over veteran Daniel Santos last November, Foreman’s chances here would have been laughable.  That fight, on the undercard of Cotto’s loss to Manny Pacquiao, indicated maybe Foreman hadn’t been given his full due to date.  He stung Santos enough to say perhaps his hands, while not heavy, are heavy enough.  At 5’11, can his long jab keep Cotto at bay?  If it can’t and he’s simply overpowered, will the image of the Yankee crowd be enough to make the show watchable on its own?  It’s not a show to be missed either way.

Pick Deuce: Yudel Jhonson vs. Juliano Ramos (Friday, ESPN2, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST)

ESPN2 proved again last week to be the year’s most consistent TV crowd pleaser in 2010.  Librado Andrade-Eric Lucas last week was yet another outstanding battle in a season full of them.  Even the fights which looked not-so-good have been better than expected.  This week, it’s the latest from the hot Cuban contingent which also includes Yuriorkis Gamboa, Erislandy Lara, and Guillermo Rigondeaux.  The Jr. Middleweight Jhonson (6-0, 4 KO) may or may not be quite on their talent level, but in with Ramos (16-3, 13 KO), he continues the trend of his compatriots in not lagging with soft touches (cough*DemtriusAndrade*cough).    

Pick Global: Sylvester-Karmazin & Cunningham-Ross (Saturday, Germany)

While hopes to see this card heavily reside in the charity of YouTubers out there in the world, it might be the best in-ring product available on Saturday.  Sebastian Sylvester (33-3, 16 KO) should be able to defend his IBF Middleweight belt against aged former Jr. Middle champ in Roman Karmazin (40-3-1, 26 KO), but it’s going to be a fight while it lasts.  Steve Cunningham (22-2, 11 KO) and Contender Season Four winner Troy Ross (23-1, 16 KO) is just a fight, period.  With the vacant IBF strap on the line, the winner emerges as a likely choice for best Cruiser in the world and it might just sneak up as a Fight of the Year candidate before the final bell sounds.

Back in seven.

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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