BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of the Week
By Cliff Rold
Money’s worth.
That’s the most oft-made, and fairest, argument about the current boxing pay-per-view landscape. It is rarely a good thing. Too often, when a major main event fails to leave a positive mark, the chance for a memorable night is shot.
It’s shot because so little effort is put into undercards. When a pay show has a stellar undercard, it’s usually a sign no one is sure the main event can sell on its own. The price tag doesn’t drop.
The value per fight goes up. It’s a money’s worth night. We might, probably will, have one of those this week.
These are the picks of the week.
Pick A Full Card: Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz II…and Friends (Saturday, HBO PPV, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)
When the Fight of the (previous) Year is rematched, that’s almost all one needs for an invite to viewing. This rematch comes with extra intrigue. Both World Lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KO) and former unified titlist Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KO) are coming off losses in their most recent outings. For Marquez, a decision defeat at Welterweight to Floyd Mayweather gave him the most decisive defeat of his career. For Diaz, he followed a knockout loss to Marquez last February with a split of decision against Jr. Welterweight Paulie Malignaggi. Both of those fights could have been defeats and, while only 26 to Marquez’s 36, it might be Diaz who is closer to over the hill. So what? They’re both going to bring it and, regardless of failures up the scale, are still the best Lightweights in the world.
The extra bit of money’s worth comes from a potentially exceptional undercard. For a vacant Middleweight belt (not to be confused with the REAL Middleweight crown worn by Sergio Martinez), undefeated Daniel Jacobs (20-0, 17 KO) and Dmitry Pirog (16-0, 13 KO) will decide which of them is ready to be a genuine, immediate force at Middleweight. A classic crossroads bout at Lightweight between aged former champion Joel Casamayor (37-4-1, 22 KO) and two-division titlist Robert Guerrero (26-1-1, 18 KO) and a showdown between perennial bridesmaid Rocky Juarez (28-6-1, 20 KO) and untracked talent Jorge Linares (28-1, 18 KO). None of these is a real strong main event on its own, but they are all important and they provide real support to a main event which should deliver. This is worth every penny on paper.
Pick Espanol: Jorge Arce-Martin Castillo (Saturday, FSE, 10:00 PM EST/PST)
While Friday night will have shows on Telefutura and ESPN2, this is the other can’t miss of the week. In the main, Simphiwe Nongqayi (16-0-1, 6 KO) attempts his second defense of the IBF 115 lb. belt he won against Jorge Arce last fall against veteran Juan Alberto Rosas (31-5, 25 KO). It could be scorcher and, given Nongqayi’s previous success, should probably lead the pick here. It doesn’t because, on the undercard, Arce (54-6-1, 41 KO) faces former titlist Castillo (35-3, 18 KO) in a fight long overdue. Can they show glimpses of why that’s the case? It’s worth finding out.
Pick R.I.P.: Jerry Quarry vs. Mac Foster (Friday, ESPN Classic, 4 AM EST/1 PM PST)
While not his finest hour, this overnight showing is still worth a look. Mac Foster was a real, exciting contender in the talent rich 1970s. Given another era, he might have been at least a titlist. Instead, he merely rubbed shoulders with the greatest Heavyweight pack of all time, always a game guy. Foster passed away last week at age 68 from heart issues and with condolences to his family, we thank this former contender for his contributions to the game.
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