By Jake Donovan
Given the amount of boxing that has been on television this year, a scheduling conflict was bound to happen at some point. Not only do HBO and Showtime go head-to-head, but both American cable giants present their own version of super lightweight title fight action this weekend.
On the Showtime side, Adrien Broner is given a chance to become a four-division champ as he faces former 140 lb. titlist Khabib Allakhverdiev for a vacant belt in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. More than 2,000 miles west, HBO presents a pair of super lightweight bouts, topped by a vacant title fight between Lucas Matthysse and unbeaten Viktor Postol.
The HBO co-feature pits unbeaten Antonio Orozco versus former three-division titlist Humberto Soto in a dangerous crossroads bout for both fighters.
Both matchups are in line with the vision Oscar de la Hoya had upon reclaiming the reins at Golden Boy Promotions last year, declaring a willingness to do business with all promoters and networks. The move has led to his return to HBO following a two-year absence, with this weekend’s headliner serving as a co-promotion with his former promoter – and longtime bitter promotional rival - Top Rank, Inc.
“Ticket sales indicate we will have a total sell out on Saturday night at the Stub Hub Center,” de la Hoya insisted during Thursday’s final pre-fight press conference. “A fighter from Ukraine and a fighter from Argentina are selling out a venue in Los Angeles.
“That's how you know this is going to be an exciting fight.”
Any matchup featuring Matthysse (37-3, 34KOs) is bound to be action-packed. The free-swinging Argentine slugger was involved in a Fight of the Year entrant just one year ago, twice climbing off the deck to stop John Molina in 11 rounds last April. Nearly one year later, he landed in another thriller, though managing to turn a slugfest into a furiously-paced boxing match in a 12-round win over Ruslan Provodnikov earlier this year.
Postol (27-0, 11KOs) hasn’t been issued the need to survive a Fight of the Year-level scenario, although he offered a good look at his skillset in an 11th round stoppage of Selcuk Aydin on HBO last May. The win was enough to put him in line for first dibs for the vacant title at stake this weekend.
However, there’s still a lot of work to be done come Saturday evening. Given the telecast, it’s possible that Postol can be upstaged by any number of fighters on the night.
“There’s a lot of smart boxing people on this dais,” observed Carl Moretti, vice president of operations for Top Rank, Postol’s stateside promoter. “It’s all about styles. That’s what makes this fight between Viktor and Lucas so intriguing.”
The four televised fights between HBO and Showtime are intriguing for a number of reasons. Still, Top Rank and Golden Boy firmly believe their side of the street has the stronger event – strong enough to where they couldn’t help but take a shot at the other side.
“We would like to thank HBO – the premier channel for quality boxing,” Moretti quipped, making a play on words on adviser Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions series.
The comment was enough to put a smile on the face of de la Hoya, whose company is currently embroiled in a $300 million lawsuit filed against Haymon’s organization. Top Rank is also suing Haymon for $100 million, with both cases due for a ruling as early as next week as to whether either (or both) will see the inside of a courtroom.
Between now and then, the only fighting between entities will be conducted on the dial this weekend.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene