BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of the Week

By Cliff Rold

Sure, the fight was a stinker.  That’s unfortunate.  It doesn’t mean the build last week wasn’t fun.  It was almost nostalgic to treat the Heavyweight title with such anticipation again.  We get to do it again in September when Vitali Klitschko defends a belt against former Cruiser and Light Heavy champ Tomasz Adamek. 

So, yeah, Heavyweight boxing has a pulse.  This week though is about getting back to what has allowed boxing to flourish while the big boys have been so dead, for so long.  This week, we have smaller men who bring bigger game.  On one card is a man looking for redemption.  On another might be the most exciting young Mexican-American since Fernando Vargas.

These are the picks of the week.

Pick It: #1 Brandon Rios vs. #6 Urbano Antillon (Saturday, Showtime, 10:00 PM EST/PST)

WBA Lightweight titlist Rios (27-0-1, 20 KO) brings it.  Period.  When his name is on the marquee, it’s on.  The same can be said for his challenger this weekend, Antillon (28-2, 20 KO).  Both enter off of incredible battles.  Antillon lost his, a Fight of the Year caliber epic versus Humberto Soto in late 2010.  Rios came from behind to stop the only other man to defeat Antillon, Miguel Acosta, earlier this year for his belt.  Many a fighter gets a soft first defense as reward.  Rios does not.  It’s a fair bet there will be more power punches landed in the first two rounds of this bout than the Heavyweights produced in twelve last weekend.

That’s the difference between Heavyweight boxing and real boxing in 2011.

And that’s why real boxing fans can’t wait to see Rios again.

Pick HBO…But on DVR: #2 Paul Williams vs. Erislandy Lara (Saturday, HBO, 10:15 PM EST/PST)
 
It’s a shame two shows this good are up against each other.  It’s a blessing we have DVR and/or picture-in-picture.  Showtime has the most can’t miss main event but neither one is miss-able.  At all.  HBO brings the return of Paul Williams (39-2, 27 KO), knocked out last year in challenging for the Middleweight crown.  He didn’t draw a short straw.  Williams locks up with undefeated, but recently stagnating, Cuban standout Erislandy Lara (15-0-1, 10 KO).  Is this where Williams begins the path to redemption and the needed rubber match with Sergio Martinez?  Or is this the coming out party for Lara?  The chief support will also be worth a look as Jr. Featherweight beltholder Akifumi Shimoda (23-2-1, 10 KO) and Rico Ramos (19-0, 10 KO) lock horns.  How many of the last dozen Fight of the Year were at 122 lbs.?  Hmmmm…

Pick Espanol: Jessie Vargas vs. Walter Estrada (Friday, Telefutura, 11:30 PM EST/PST)

On a Friday night where both ESPN2 and Telefutura have decent fare, it is the en espanol choice at Jr. Welterweight that stands above.  The undefeated Vargas is only 22 with the usual suspects on his docket.  Estrada (39-14-1, 25 KO) has been a knockout victim seven times but has been trending upwards with an upset over former Lightweight titlist Nate Campbell last year and a knockdown of former Olympian Vicente Escobedo in a competitive loss earlier this year.  Vargas should get a good test on Friday.

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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