By Cliff Rold

Fresh matches and rematches highlight the week ahead with fresh meaning the finish of round two of the Super Six Super Middleweight tournament.  As a boon to U.S. fans, both fights will make American air waves.

Well, sort of.  The 108 lb. rematch between Rodel Mayol and Omar Nino, necessary after the controversial end of their first bout, is supposed to be on Fox Sports so who the hell knows.  The Espanol broadcast will certainly be out there but if one does not pay extra for FSE, they have to hope their local English-language Fox affiliate will have the show.

Good luck with that.

But, hey, Super Six…
 
These are picks of the week.

Pick “Six”:  #2 Andre Ward vs. #10 Allan Green (Saturday, Showtime, 10:00 PM EST/PST)
 
This fight is the make or break point.  No, it won’t make or break the 168 lb. “Super Six;” it simply stands in the divide between intrigue and outright chaos.  It’s hard not to root for chaos.  A win by new tournament entrant Green (29-1, 20 KO), the replacement for former Middleweight king Jermain Taylor, is the chaos conduit.  Green has long complained of a lack of opportunity and illness may have impeded the lone sort of big one he’s had (an HBO contest against a ten-undefeated Edison Miranda in 2007).  Ward (21-0, 13 KO), a 2004 U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, has never wanted for opportunity or, so far, failed to seize them when they arrived.  He was an amateur underdog moving up to Light Heavyweight and a pro underdog in round one of the “Super Six” versus Mikkel Kessler.  The WBA belt he won last year surely goes nicely in the trophy case next to his medal.  Ward has emerged as the new, de facto choice for tournament favorite.  A Green win leaves the tournament without a favorite and, more importantly, with every single fighter needing a win to secure a semi-final slot in round three of the prelims.  A Ward win?  Well, it just makes a third round showdown with Olympic teammate Andre Dirrell that much bigger as the two friends would be battling with Dirrell facing elimination.  That’s high drama.  This is as much fun as anything in boxing in a long time.     

Pick II: #2 Rodel Mayol vs. #8 Omar Nino (Saturday, FSE/FSN, 10 PM EST/PST)

For those who missed the first battle (and, as part of a smaller market PPV, it was probably the case), the ending was memorable as was glimpse of battle seen to then.  The WBC titlist Mayol (26-4-2, 20 KO) and former titlist Nino (28-3-2, 11 KO) were just warming up when, well, let’s go back to the original report from February:

Round one showed both veterans had done their homework, struggling to land clean blows of significance but not for lack of trying and each kept a hard pace.  There was no issue with landing in round two.  Just seconds in, Mayol drove a hard left underneath the guard of Nino and the Mexican staggered backwards to the ropes covering up.  He maneuvered away from Mayol and back to mid-ring only to be caught by another left driving him backwards again to the ropes.  Another Mayol left landed and Nino appeared hurt but kept his feet.  A Mayol right, then another, then a left all found his head but Nino kept his senses and slipped shots to evade danger. 

The round was still only a minute old when a Nino counter left hook sent Mayol backwards towards the ropes, Mayol also rubbing his head as if he’d been butted.  Mayol quickly grabbed the advantage again, turning Nino to the strands and the action slowed in the final minute with Mayol coming forward.

What was becoming an interesting fight was ended with odd circumstances in the third. 
Mayol, looking for the left hooks and uppercuts he’d used to success in the third struggled to do so while Romero focused his attack on the body.  Straying well beneath the cup line, Nino landed a low blow and Mayol dropped his hands as he reached for his groin.  Referee Vic Drakulich, out of position as he attempted to call time for the foul, was extending to step between the two men and grabbing the right arm of Nino as a crushing left hook caught the chin of Mayol flush.  Mayol was unconscious before he hit the floor and Nino rushed to the corner to celebrate what he assumed a victory.

The celebration ended quickly as officials scurried about, apparently reviewing video replays and discussing the verdict with Drakulich.  Ultimately the contest was ruled a technical draw, Mayol already stretchered out and on his way to the hospital.

Round four should be worth the wait.

Pick FNF: Sherzod Husanov vs. Jhon Berrio (Friday, ESPN2, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST)

Before the weekend’s biggest fight, or the big little man rematch, ESPN2 will be continuing a strong 2010.  This main event might not end up one of the nights fans point to as an example of the strong year.  Jr. Middleweight Husanov (14-0, 7 KO), a 2004 Olympian eliminated on points to Russian amateur legend Oleg Saitov, is in with veteran Jhon Berrio (15-6, 11 KO) is a fight he will be expected to win.  It would be a shock if he did not.  They’ll certainly have some preview work for the weekend and who knows what else on boxing’s “Sports Center.”  That’s always worth at least a TIVO.

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