BoxingScene.com's Television Picks of The Week
By Cliff Rold
This was (again) supposed to be the week of the latest potential war at Flyweight (Juan Carlos Reveco-Yodmongkol Vor Saengthep). Initially pushed back two weeks to Halloween night, it’s now been cancelled.
Bummer.
There is still boxing to be found on US air. How good it is remains to be seen.
These are the picks of the week.
Pick It: Fonfara/Kameda in the Spotlight (Saturday, Showtime, 9 PM EST/PST)
Continuing the fall Al Haymon showcase theme on Showtime, we get a couple of spotlight outings. One of them might be pretty good. That’s at Bantamweight as arguably the most talented fighter in a fighting family goes to scratch. Youngest brother Tomoki Kameda (30-0, 19 KO) defends his WBO belt against Alejandro Hernandez (28-10-2, 15 KO) and don’t let the record fool. Hernandez is a scrappy veteran with three straight wins behind him. Kameda could have his hands full. At Light Heavyweight, hey, if a guy is going to get some spotlight why not Andrzej Fonfara (25-3, 15 KO)? Underrated by too many before his challenge of Champion Adonis Stevenson this year, the exciting Fonfara nearly pulled off the upset and kept his career trajectory going up. This weekend, he has a chance to wipe away Doudou Ngumbu (33-5, 12 KO). Will it get him a rematch with Stevenson? It’s not like Stevenson is really doing anything interesting.
Pick Weeknight: O’Connor/Bogere on Tap (Thursday, Fox Sports 1, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST)
There will be more chances to see spotlight action earlier in the week. At Jr. Welterweight, Danny O’Connor (23-2, 7 KO) tries to rebound from a loss to Vivian Harris against an Andrew Farmer (18-2, 7 KO) who has won five straight. Seriously, someone who lost to the current version of Vivian Harris is getting serious TV time? Really? The better reason to tune in will be the return of often entertaining Lightweight Sharif Bogere (25-1, 17 KO). Bogere was off for a year before returning with two wins this year. He goes for three against Fernando Garcia (30-6-2, 18 KO).
Pick Progeny: Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. vs. Jonathan Arellano (Saturday, UniMas, 11 PM EST/PST)
This doesn’t look like great shakes, but, well, it’s boxing and if one is home for Showtime they might as well flip to this afterwards. Vazquez (23-4, 19 KO) got off to a good start but is 4-4 in his last eight. He’s not his Daddy, but that’s a lot to ask. Arellano (15-4-2, 3 KO) shouldn’t be too big an obstacle.
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Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
