BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of the Week
By Cliff Rold
It’s almost over. Soon, the long, slow passage of fistic time that has been October 2010 will pass. It hasn’t been the worst month in memory, but let’s just say it’s unlikely to be recalled fondly either. November, with its big fights and stadium shows and anticipated match ups, is only days away. When, next Sunday, the streets are full of trick or treaters and the bars are full of perfectly respectable young ladies in lingerie and theme hats (a “costume”), the end will be at hand.
There are some fights on TV before then.
These are the picks of the week.
Pick Straw: Raul Garcia vs. Luis De La Rosa (Saturday, Fox Sports Espanol, 11 PM EST/PST)
Mexico’s Garcia (28-1-1, 17 KO) was having a perfectly solid little run as a beltholder at 105 lbs. through four defenses. Then, along came Nkosinathi Joyi to spoil the party in March. Now, Garcia makes his second start since that lopsided decision loss of the IBF belt. This being boxing, when one loses a ‘world’ title they can simply go win another. They don’t even have to beat the man who beat them. The WBO has deigned this an ‘interim’ title contest. Awesome. Belt silliness aside, a scrap might break out here. De La Rosa (14-0-1, 8 KO) doesn’t know how to lose yet, though few of his opponents speak to the experience level one would want for a more seasoned pro like Garcia. This is a huge step up for De La Rosa. It could be a big step back into the fray for Garcia. Either way, the all-Espanol Fox shows have been pretty good and this should be no exception.
Pick Fight Club: Gary Russell Jr. vs. Guadalupe De Leon (Thursday, RingTV.com, 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST)
The Golden Boy experiment with club shows isn’t an experiment anymore. It’s become a staple and a good one with airings on Fox Sports (sometimes) and the Ring Magazine website (live and in replay). This week, the best of the 2008 U.S. Olympian, who ironically didn’t fight at the Olympics for weight reasons, is back in action. Russell (12-0, 9 KO) is a marvelous combination of speed and snap that might, might, one day stand among the best in the game. De Leon (8-11, 4 KO) won’t prove that, but he’s a step along the road and it’s a road worth traveling with a potent emerging talent.
Pick Middles: Daniel Geale vs. Roman Karmazin (Sunday, Australia, ?)
YouTube is the likely locale for most fans to catch what could be a little action gem on Halloween. Geale (23-1, 14 KO) and former Jr. Middleweight titlist Karmazin (40-3-2, 26 KO) are both among the top ten of a largely unheralded (in 2010) 160 lb. class with an IB F eliminator on tap. The chance for some heralding will be there for the winner of this one. The resurgent Karmazin won four straight after a devastating knockout loss to Alex Bunema and, while his legs are not what they once were, he still earned a draw with IBF titlist Sebastian Sylvester last time out. If he wants a second crack at that belt, he’ll have to join Anthony Mundine on the short list of men who have, if only narrowly, gotten past the talented Geale.
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