BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of the Week
By Cliff Rold
Friday Night Fights is back. Given the suck of the first main event, it could have been missed another week. Dyah Davis should never be matched with a clinger ever again. Seriously, that was horrid.
It’s behind us now.
What’s not behind us is the lull in the action. Boxing doesn’t really get started until the weekend of the 21st when NBC Sports Network gets into the game and Showtime comes with a fight that has solid names and might end up being about as intriguing as Davis-Lopez.
That can wait until the next edition. For now…
These are the picks of the week.
Pick It: New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos (Saturday, CBS, 9 PM EST)
The best fight of the week will be a football game. Sorry. It’s true. It might not be this game, but this is the one everyone will spend the whole week jawing on. New England kicked Denver’s butt a few weeks ago, but astute fans will remember it was close, with quarterback Tim Tebow playing fairly well, until some turnovers around him, and some of his own late, changed the tone. After his 316-yard performance on ten completions (for 31.6 yards per catch…getting the theme) expect all the nuts to come out. Tebow is a good, not great, football player. However, from a pop culture watching perspective, the whole Tebow ‘thing’ has been wildly entertaining. All things considered, Tom Brady may be on his way to Super Bowl number five. It’ll be fun to talk about something other than the bottom line for one more week. Oh, yeah, and as to boxing…
Pick Deuce: Teon Kennedy vs. Christopher Martin (Friday, ESPN2, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)
This Jr. Featherweight clash looks like a better edition of the Friday night special. Both Kennedy (17-1, 7 KO) and Martin (23-1-2, 6 KO) enter the bout off of their first defeat. Kennedy’s loss was more decisive, Martin’s coming by split decision. Regardless, the defeated man Friday takes a hard step back in the quest for titles and wealth. The incentive to fight, and the need to throw lots of punches because of a power deficit, makes this the sort of potential brawl that can be overlooked. No overlooking here; fair warning is given. In addition, the studios segments will probably be hashing out whom Floyd Mayweather is fighting in May. There could even be some chatter among fans on the topic prior to the show.
Pick AA: Arthur Abraham Returns (Saturday, Germany, Boxnation)
After losses in three of his last four, and the win hardly counted, former Middleweight beltholder Arthur Abraham (32-3, 26 KO) begins his post-Super Six life. It can’t help but be a wee bit better. He’s still one of the best single shot KO artists in the game and there are still good fights for him out there. Pablo Farias (19-1, 11 KO) probably won’t be on them, but he should help get a new highlight reel going. The reel should find its way to YouTube by Sunday.
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
