By Cliff Rold
Last week, depending on when one’s cable began the UniMas show (and fight of the day between Victor Terrazas and Cristian Mijares), it was possible to watch approximately nine hours of boxing with only the briefest of intermissions.
And most of the fights were good.
It was glorious.
There’s won’t be as many hours of action this weekend, but there could be close to five solid hours at the least. That’s not too shabby.
Neither are the picks of the week.
Pick It: Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah (Saturday, Showtime, 9 PM EST/PST)
This is a strong televised tripleheader and the main event comes with some spice. Judah (42-7, 29 KO) has rarely been a sympathetic character. If ever one wanted to root for him this would seem the week. Garcia (25-0, 16 KO), the WBC/WBA titlist at 140 lbs., comes across fine. His loudmouthed father, who talks a lot for someone not getting in the ring, is a different story. Some people find Angel Garcia amusing. He’s not. Someday, like Norman Stone, he’ll meet his Alton Merkerson. While we wait, this is a fine fight in Judah’s Brooklyn backyard. Amir Khan will be on the telecast from London in what should be a gimme’ versus Julio Diaz. More intriguing is a Middleweight belt affair between Peter Quillin (28-0, 20 KO) and Fernando Guerrero (25-1, 19 KO). Showtime is bringing heat in this latest battle of the major premium networks.
Pick Crying for Argentina: World Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez vs. Martin Murray (Saturday, HBO, 8:30 PM PM EST/PST)
Playing to a crowd of what could be 50,000 in Argentina, Martinez (50-2-2, 28 KO) will attempt the sixth defense of his crown against tough Martin Murray (25-0-1, 11 KO). Martinez is looking to build on the momentum of his win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and shake off the effects of a knee injury suffered in their dramatic encounter. Countryman and Welterweight Luis Abregu (34-1, 28 KO) will face Antonin Decarie (27-1, 8 KO) in local support. Also on the telecast, possibly stealing the show, there will be Heavyweight action. Chris Arreola (35-2, 30 KO) may still have yet to beat a contender but he makes fun fights. Bermane Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KO) isn’t much tested yet, but he can knock down a wall. Sometimes is looking up at the lights here.
Pick UniMas: Raymundo Beltran vs. Alejandro Rodriguez (Sunday, Unimas, 12 AM EST/Saturday, 11 PM PST)
Beltran (27-6, 17 KO) needs to keep the momentum going if he wants to realize the dream of a title shot at Lightweight. Consecutive wins over Hank Lundy and Ji-Hoon Kim make it a dream worth having. Rodriguez (19-9, 11 KO) shouldn’t force him to wake up. It’s a nice nightcap to another fine fistic evening (we hope).
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Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
