By Ryan Songalia

This is the way they used to do it. It sounds like a good idea, having the two top contenders duke it out for the right to challenge the winner of the main event. All too often, however, the ranked parties opt to wait out their turn and preserve an unbeaten streak to cash in on the big money. Taking the tough fights when you don't necessarily have to, what a concept, huh?

With boxing riding a hot streak fresh off of the record-breaking De La Hoya-Mayweather clash, it's imperative that the sport reminds the fans what it's all about: Honor. An explosive water-cooler affair could create some serious momentum for the pugilistic trade. Excuse my excitement.

The middleweight division has long been one of the glamour divisions in the sport, showcasing big punchers with little man moves. But past the pageantry and show business lies a struggle. Edison Miranda and Kelly Pavlik are on the cusp of break-out exposure, two desperate contenders looking to prove their worth to approach middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, who will stake his claim against the upset-minded Cory Spinks.

Ranked number one and two respectively, Pavlik and Miranda both seem to be perfect foils for each other's styles. One look at Miranda's style immediately suggests that one needs to jab and box the aggressive, but crude, Colombian. Many thought Allan Green would do the deed the last time out when he squared off with Pantera. Green ended the fight looking like a man who needs police intervention.

Pavlik is a long-armed boxer who can keep a man on the outside of his range, that is when he isn't getting clipped by winging punches he has no business getting hit with. But he possesses sharp knockout power, ending all but three of his 30 wins inside the distance en route to an undefeated record. Any doubts as to the authenticity of his clout was answered in his last fight, when he annihilated the never-before-KO'ed Jose Luis Zertuche in his Boxing After Dark debut. The paradox in the fight seemed to be Pavlik's defense in close against short punches, contrasted with his inability to stop Ricardo Mayorga-esque haymakers. Not the best deficiency in your game to bring to an Edison Miranda fight.

Not to say Miranda doesn't have questions of his own left to answer. As impressive as the tenth round of the Green bout was, let us not forget that the fight took place at the catch weight of 162-pounds, noteworthy being that Green has fought as high as the light heavyweight division.

Former Junior Middleweight champion John David Jackson, who trained Green for the Miranda bout, believes that both men's shortcomings make the intrigue we are anticipating.

"Miranda's a good puncher, but skillwise, there's no skills. No one has taught this kid how to fight. I don't want to sound like I'm bad-mouthing him, but he just can't fight."

"To be honest, neither fighter is really that good. If Kelly gets the right game plan and fights the way he should - and I don't know if he can - he can win this fight. Kelly catches punches. He can box and punch a bit."

"Whichever fighter's will is stronger wins the fight. It's a pick 'em fight."

An entertaining affair usually breaks out when both men have glaring weaknesses the other can exploit. Luckily, thus is the case in the bout.

With every advancing stride of the two aforementioned fighters, Jermain Taylor's grip on his crown loosens ever slightly in the eyes of the public. Taylor's reputation as a contender was built largely on 154 pounders like Alex Bunema and Raul Marquez, and so is the case with his title reign. Cory Spinks marks Taylor's third straight junior middleweight titlist opponent in a row, a fact not lost on Edison Miranda.

[The fans] "think they’re going to see a middleweight championship fight," Miranda directed towards Taylor. "That's false advertising because you’re just fighting another junior middleweight."

Taylor has lost a great deal of momentum in the past year, failing to effectively assert himself as a dominant champion. Consensus thought was that he had taken on Hopkins too soon, yet still was able to outpoint the aging lion. Now, we're wondering if he already peaked. A resounding victory goes much farther than just increasing Pay-Per-View revenue for the winner of the co-main, because let's face it, Taylor is fighting for his foothold in the division. He may be champ to Ring Magazine, but Nigel Collins and Jeff Ryan don't pay for tickets.

Cory Spinks brings experience, having fought at the highest level of the sport for the better part of five years. He's crafty, tricky, quick, and certainly has an aura of credibility. But by boxing standards, he has no punching power. The idea that Spinks would be able to keep Taylor, who is closer to being a light heavyweight than a middleweight, at bay is difficult to swallow.

Even Kevin Cunningham, Spink's cop turned trainer, can't help but point out the obvious discrepancies. "You've got the bigger, stronger guy versus the slicker, quicker, faster guy. Now let's see what happens."

What usually happens is the younger, bigger, stronger fighter wins. So then why would Spinks engage in a fight that essentially, he has no real prospects of winning? The answer is money, something that is in scarce quantity at 154. Chances are greater that we're going to be watching Spinks-Ouma in the winter, and not Spinks-Miranda/Pavlik.

The question remains, would Jermain risk it all to face the winner of Pavlik-Miranda? Well, obviously if the promoters put the card together, they have something in mind down the line. However, talks of Taylor abdicating the division for a super-fight with Joe Calzaghe continue to cast doubts on how serious Taylor is about wanting to be a great middleweight. Or perhaps he just doesn't believe he can still be a middleweight by first snowfall.

John David Jackson cautions about discounting Taylor in a clash with Pavlik or Miranda.

"Jermain is beatable, but these guys aren't killers that are going to go in there and just bowl him over. The general public shouldn't go in there thinking [the winner of Pavlik-Miranda] are necessarily going to beat him."

In a division that features Arthur Abraham, Felix Sturm, John Duddy, and Winky Wright, along with the principles of this card, it's time to weed out the rest and establish with certainty, who is truly the best. Saturday night brings us one step closer to a fuller understanding.

Any questions or comments? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com