by David P. Greisman

Aging rock bands can tour into perpetuity – fans will still shell out hundreds of dollars for concert tickets for a chance to see their favorite musicians one more time, no matter how many times “one more time” turns out to be.

Boxers can use their names – built on accomplishments and marketing, sustained by reputation and more marketing – to hold on to some of the spotlight.

But nostalgia doesn’t hold the same sway with fight cards as it does with concert lineups. Boxing is more than going out and playing the same notes and singing the same words again and again.

Over time, boxers lose some of their ability. They lose some of their fights. And they lose some of their luster.

After several years, the changing of boxing’s guard is halfway complete.

It’s happened in fits and starts (and has seen plenty of false starts). Some stars have seemed to be on their way out of contention and away from significance, only to prove that they’re not quite done. Some prospects and contenders have been slower to develop than expected. And some heirs apparent had short-lived stays at the top.

There are also the stars of the past several years who remain viable: Manny Pacquiao is at the top, followed in no particular order by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Miguel Cotto and Juan Manuel Marquez.

They are the remaining vestiges of the last cast of top names, along with Bernard Hopkins (who defies critics every time they say he’s done), and Shane Mosley (whose May fight with Pacquiao might be his last chance to prove he still belongs).

Evander Holyfield still fights but does so in front of small crowds and on independent pay-per-views. The only airtime Roy Jones Jr. gets on HBO these days is when he’s working as a commentator. Joe Calzaghe has retired. Jermain Taylor wasn’t the middleweight champion for long. Neither was Kelly Pavlik.

Oscar De La Hoya hung up his gloves in favor of promoting. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is on another extended sabbatical. Ricky Hatton is out of the sport. Erik Morales hasn’t had a truly notable win since 2005. Marco Antonio Barrera hasn’t had one since 2006.

The vacuum at the top means networks are more willing to invest airtime and dollars into creating the next big name for fans to follow. Promoters, too, are searching for their next cash cow.

Several fighters are on the verge of getting there. Whether they do get there – and how long they stay there – is still to come.

David Haye needs a win over one of the Klitschko brothers to assert his claim to the heavyweight division.

Jean Pascal needs a victory in his rematch with Bernard Hopkins to regain the momentum he’d picked up after winning the light heavyweight championship against Chad Dawson.

Lucian Bute is mowing through many a super middleweight, though the true best at 168 will not be decided until Showtime’s “Super Six” tournament is over – with the winner (either Arthur Abraham, Carl Froch, Glen Johnson or Andre Ward) and Bute eventually meeting. There’s also the possibility that tournament dropout Mikkel Kessler could come back and face Bute first.

Sergio Martinez has impressed with his recent run of performances but is lacking a cast of notable challengers who could further define his middleweight reign.

Andre Berto is yet to face the one welterweight who will launch him nearer to the echelons of a Cotto, Margarito, Mayweather, Mosley or Pacquiao.

Amir Khan and Timothy Bradley are the two top names at 140 pounds and could be facing each other later this year.

Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez are two of the top three names at featherweight but seem no closer to facing each other than they were a year-and-a-half ago.

And Nonito Donaire has relaunched his hype with his knockout of Fernando Montiel. The logical follow-ups that could amplify the buzz might have to wait, however, for the resolution of a legal tug-of-war over Donaire between promoters Top Rank and Golden Boy.

All of these are possible entrants to the ranks of future superstars. Some of them are highly probable. Others, meanwhile, will fall short, and new, unexpected candidates might emerge.

As for Saul Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., both look to be flawed fighters who will be watched because they can excite – even if they won’t excel.

That is okay. Not every Grammy winner is a platinum-selling artist. And not every platinum-selling artist is a Grammy winner.

Even the music industry has its changing of the guard. Sure, Soundgarden has reunited for a new album. And yes, the Stone Temple Pilots are still playing concerts. But new music now gets more airtime, and new bands have taken the stage.

The stage is set for the transition among boxing’s guard to finish. There’s little need for nostalgia in boxing – not when there are always great fighters and good fights worth looking forward to.

The 10 Count

1.  The measure of a man’s character is in the world he leaves behind for others. We should celebrate the life of Nick Charles, then, for we can judge his impact on this world through the kind and meaningful words from some of those who’ve known him before and during his battle with cancer:

Tim Smith, New York Daily News: “Charles is the ultimate professional.”

Rich Mancuso, BoxingInsider.com: “God bless and be comfortable. I will always value your friendship and professionalism.”

Kelly Swanson, boxing publicist, via Twitter: “Helluva job Nick Charles on HBO Boxing. Didn't miss a beat.”

Steve Kim, MaxBoxing.com, via Twitter: “Great job by Nick Charles. A real pro, through [and] through, as always.”

And one person who knows Charles best – his wife, Cory Charles, in an article by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports: “The thing that makes Nick Nick is what’s inside of him. He’s like no one else I’ve ever met, and he has this amazing presence about him. He’s got such a great spirit and he’s so interested in the world and in other people, and he makes everyone feel at home.
“He loves people and loves learning about them and their lives. He’s an effusive, caring guy and you’re that kind of person whether or not you have a handsome smile and a gorgeous head of hair. He understands that it’s what is inside of a person that counts.”

2.  Classy move on HBO’s part, putting Charles behind the microphone this past Saturday to do the blow-by-blow of the “Boxing After Dark” opening bout between Miguel “Mikey” Garcia and Matt Remillard.

I’ve been trying to find the words to best describe Charles’ broadcast, considering the situation that prompted it:

It was as much a victory lap as it was a curtain call, a proper sendoff for a professional life and a personal life well lived.

What better way to celebrate that life than through the sport a man loved?

Here’s Charles, speaking to Iole of Yahoo! Sports in the days before the fight:

“You know, you don’t have to be terrified about this thing. You really don’t. I want to be an inspiration to people. I still have a lot of great books I want to read and champions I want to see crowned and music and literature that I want to experience.

“This is a great world with a lot of amazing things and tremendous, caring, giving people. I don’t want to give up on all of that just because I am sick. I want to continue to experience it and try to be an inspiration to people who maybe need someone to tell them to keep up the fight.”

3.  Let us try to transition to the comparably less important world of boxing, starting with Odlanier Solis and whether he went into the Vitali Klitschko fight with preexisting knee problems.

Agence France Press had quoted a German newspaper as saying that Solis’ manager had known about pre-existing problems with the knee – but had thought they would go away with training.

Solis’ team is now saying those reports aren’t true.

“This rumor is based on a false quotation spread in the German press,” Solis’ promoter, Ahmet Oner, said in a statement sent to the media. “Everybody knows that there are a lot of medical tests for fighters who want to compete in a world title fight. Every professional athlete has some small problems every now and then. But all documents prove that Solis was fit and ready for this fight.”

Oner could be telling the truth – or he could be trying to do damage control. Solis did seem to be moving around the ring just fine, but then again, the same could be said for Yuri Foreman in his fight against Miguel Cotto. Foreman did have a knee brace on, but the remnants of past injuries did come back to cause new ones.

Who knows? And, at this point, who cares? It won’t change the result of Klitschko-Solis. It won’t change that Solis is injured. And it won’t change that there shouldn’t be a rematch between the two until Solis recovers and fights his way back toward another title shot.

4.  I’m watching the legal battle between Shannon Briggs and promotional firm Empire Sports and Enterainment with interest. Briggs claims he was supposed to be paid $750,000 for his fight with Vitali Klitschko but instead got only $25,000 for the beating he took. He also claims he was defrauded out of his stake in Empire.

Briggs filed a lawsuit in January. Part of his lawsuit includes claims that his signature was forged on legal documents.

Why am I mentioning this now? Because Briggs took to Twitter last week on an extended tirade against ESPN.com boxing writer Dan Rafael, responding to Rafael’s comments on the lawsuit from nearly two months ago.

“I don't believe it,” Rafael wrote in an online chat in January. “Supposedly, he [Briggs] got hundreds of thousands in advances, which is part of the purse anyway. Was also told he ran up something like $70,000 on his promoter's credit card bill that they covered. But who knows the truth? That's why a judge will decide.”

I do wish Rafael had said where he heard about the advances and the credit card bill; readers deserve to have more information about the possible motivation of whomever was making those accusations.

I’m still curious about one facet of the lawsuit: whether Briggs ever signed his contract for the Klitschko fight.

I asked Briggs about this twice via Twitter last week – if he hadn’t signed a contract, why’d he go into the ring?

His first and only response didn’t answer the question: “They forged my signature.”

Nobody deserves to be ripped off or defrauded, no matter the situation – if that’s what happened (and that will be figured out in court). And you can’t help but feel for someone who has taken the kind of beating Briggs did.

But it was also Briggs’ responsibility beforehand not to allow himself to provide services (boxing) if he knew he hadn’t given his signature to the terms of those services (the contract).

5.  Sugar Ray Leonard has plenty of room to grow after the season premiere of “Dancing With the Stars.” Leonard got 17 points out of a possible 30 for his foxtrot, and he’s got quite a way to go until he’s as good as Sugar Ray Robinson tap dancing with Gene Kelly.

The biggest shocker? None of the judges resorted to boxing puns when rating Leonard’s performance.

6.  While we’re making comparisons, boxer Jorge Solis reminds me of Silvio Dante from The Sopranos.

Granted, it’s mainly in the hair, but it’s worth a quick Google.

7.  Boxers Behaving Badly: Derrick Campos, a designated opponent to many a lightweight and junior welterweight prospect, has been arrested twice in four days, according to The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal.

The first arrest was for an alleged case of aggravated battery, while the second was for allegedly “driving under the influence of alcohol, transporting cereal malt beverages, reckless driving, driving without insurance and driving without a valid license,” the newspaper reported.

Yes, transporting cereal malt beverages.

Campos, 30, is 20-11 with 11 knockouts.

8.  Dear Top Rank,

Please find a way to post the full fight between Teon Kennedy and Jorge Diaz. It deserves to have been seen by more than the announced 2,913 people in attendance and those who were able to watch your online “live stream” or your international broadcast.

Last year’s war between Humberto Soto and Urbano Antillon at least made its way to YouTube. More exposure is good for the bottom line of all involved.

9.  The week in predictable headlines, as brought to you by the cancellation of FX boxing drama “Lights Out”:

- New York Times: “It’s ‘Lights Out’ for Boxing Drama on FX”
- Los Angeles Times: “FX turns out the lights on ‘Lights Out’ ”
- Cinema Blend: “It’s Lights Out for Lights Out: FX Cancels Boxing Drama”

And then there were the headlines with the boxing clichés:

- Inside Pulse: “Down For The Count, FX Cancels Lights Out”
-Screen Rant: “FX Throws In The Towel, Cancels ‘Lights Out’ ”
- Multichannel News: “FX KOs ‘Lights Out’ ”
- StarsEntertainment.com “FX Delivers a Knock Out Punch, Cancels ‘Lights Out’ ”

10.  “Lights Out” gets 13 episodes, while forgettable boxing reality competition “The Next Great Champ” got 10.

“Jersey Shore”? It’s had three seasons and 35 episodes…

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com.

Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com