BoxingScene's Television Picks of The Week

by Cliff Rold

There is a lot of boxing on television in the US right now.

There’s almost too much. Many DVRs can only handle two shows at a time. This weekend, fight fans might just avoid the quandary of not having enough DVR to go around (though Saturday night, with a UniMas show on against two picks here, could get dicey). That won’t last.  There are two shows that stand out this week, one featuring a fan favorite Light Heavyweight and another highlighting the next edition of the PBC.

Those are on different nights.

These are the picks of the week.

Pick It: #1 Sergey Kovalev vs. #3 Jean Pascal (HBO, Saturday, 9:45 PM EST/PST)

Making his first start since a shutout of Bernard Hopkins, Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KO) defends the WBO, WBA, and IBF Light Heavyweight belts against the former lineal and WBC kingpin Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KO). Win or lose, credit has to go to Pascal. He doesn’t shy away from tough outs. He’s already fought Carl Froch, Chad Dawson, and Adrian Diaconu when they were undefeated. He handed the latter two their first losses. Now he tries to hand Kovalev his. Kovalev is the favorite but this isn’t a cakewalk. The undercard is intriguing with former Cruiserweight titlist Steve Cunningham (28-6, 13 KO) making his HBO debut. Cunningham has won three straight since a loss to Tyson Fury. He gets undefeated Vyacheslav Glazkov (19-0-1, 12 KO). Rounding out what will be a tripleheader, #7 Light Heavyweight Isaac Chilemba (23-2-2, 10 KO) faces Vasiliy Lepikhin (17-0, 9 KO). This is a strong show for HBO.  

Pick PBC: Andre Berto vs. Josesito Lopez (Spike, Friday, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)

This isn’t the same quality contest we got, on paper, from the maiden voyage of the PBC. This main event might end up being more violent than anything seen last week on NBC. Berto (29-3, 22 KO) has made many a fun fight. Lopez (33-6, 19 KO) has as well.  Mix them together and it’s hard to imagine anything less than a fun scrap. Berto has looked near shot in recent affairs, but he’s still quick early and with time off may have recharged enough to get some form together. Also on the show, recently deposed Welterweight titlist Shawn Porter (24-1, 15 KO) tries to rebound with rugged Roberto Garcia (36-3, 23 KO)

Pick Espanol: Fernando Montiel vs. Rogelio Doliguez (BeIn Espanol, Saturday, 11 PM EST/PST)

Montiel (53-4-2, 39 KO) has won seven straight since a loss at 122 lb. to Victor Terrazas. The former three-division titlist, partially unified at Bantamweight, is trying to add a fourth at 130 lbs. Doliguez (19-2-2, 14 KO) is his latest obstacle. Also on the show, former 115 lb. titlist Juan Carlos Sanchez (19-3-1, 9 KO) makes his first start since being knocked out by Zolani Tete. He’ll face Luis Melendez (41-9-1, 30 KO). Sanchez is one of only two men to defeat current unified Flyweight titlist Juan Francisco Estrada.

For BoxingScene’s latest full divisional ratings, log on to: https://www.boxingscene.com/forums/view.php?pg=boxing-ratings

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