By Jake Donovan

BUSINESS AS USUAL

It's the first Saturday of the month this weekend, which is supposed to mean one thing - world class boxing on SHOWTIME. Everyone received the memo long ago; everyone except HBO, that is.

For the fourth time in five months, the two cable giants go head-to-head with separate boxing telecasts this weekend. HBO offers a two-play, with their one-fight telecast of Wladimir Klitschko-Lamon Brewster II airing live from Germany (Saturday, 5PM ET/2PM PT) before replaying later in the evening (10:30PM ET/PT).

On this side of the Atlantic, SHOWTIME presents two bouts featuring four fighters with a combined winning percentage of just under 99%, taking place in Bridgeport, CT (Saturday 9PM ET/PT). The headlining act features undefeated junior middleweights Travis Simms (25-0, 19KO) and Joachim Alcine (28-0, 18KO) throwing down mere miles from Simms' hometown of Norwalk, CT. The co-feature is a potential puncher vs. boxer classic as knockout artist Vic Darchinyan (28-0, 22KO) takes in his second Donaire in less than a year when he faces silky smooth Nonito Donaire (17-1, 10KO).

Unlike other months, the decision on what to watch and when isn't particularly mind-boggling. HBO late in the day, Showtime in the evening. Catch both live – that simple.

What is more difficult to fathom is why head-to-head telecasts are constantly occurring. It doesn't appear to be an effort to force the other to raise the level of competition; one card usually features a quality matchup, with the other featuring name fighters in far less scintillating battles. More often than not, it's Showtime offering the former, HBO the latter.

This month is no exception.

Last month marked the first time since the inception of their "great fights, no rights" policy (2004) that Showtime deviated from the script in airing live boxing on a date other than the first Saturday of the month. Dedicating the first Saturday to an MMA show, Showtime instead followed up with boxing on the following weekend, stealing a page out HBO's playbook in airing a light heavyweight doubleheader opposing HBO's Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah PPV telecast. Showtime truly emulated HBO, with their showcase card representing their weakest telecast since Sam Peter's showcase against Taurus Sykes two years ago.

The usual spin on something so poor in quality is "it can't be any worse the next time." The saying is certainly applicable in this case. Showtime almost always gets it right, so an occasional hiccup is forgivable, especially when they come right back with a fan-friendly card such as the one on tap for this weekend. Credit to Showtime for learning from past mistakes.

It's unfortunate that the same cannot be said of HBO. There are plenty of sidebars attached to this weekend's card, though none pointing toward a competitive bout. The motivation is as plain as day: the revenge factor enhancing what is otherwise just another Klitschko showcase.

If any credit is to be given, it's that this weekend marks the first time in the Klitschko fighting family that either one attempts to avenge an earlier defeat. Normally deferring to the "my brother's keeper" way of thinking, Wlad resists the urge to dispatch older – and comebacking – brother Vitali to take care of his dirty work, instead opting to go head-on with the last man to defeat him in Brewster, who managed the upset well over three years ago in Las Vegas.

That's where the good news ends.

The bout is competitive in an "anything can happen" sense, as well as taking into consideration the manner of victory in which Brewster won in 2004. It is that very fight to which Lamon points in pushing for a repeat performance this weekend. Brewster was coming off of a thirteen-month layoff prior to their first meeting, and managed to allow Klitschko to punch himself out before attacking at the end of the fifth round, and forcing a stoppage.

This time around, Brewster is coming off of a seventeen-month layoff by the time he steps into the ring. Even though Lamon would like us to believe otherwise, the circumstances aren't quite the same, as they appear to be on paper. For instance, he wasn't coming off of a loss, as is the case this time around. Nor was his inactivity period due to a medical suspension, as was the case this time around after suffering a detached retina early in his bout against Sergei Lyakhovich. Nor did he have to travel to Germany, where Klitschko hasn't so much as lost a round since his humiliating loss to Corrie Sanders in 2003.

An eternal optimist will point to Brewster's past few fights as proof that the California faced brawler is rarely in a bad one. His last bout, a 12-round loss to Lyakhovich, was a Fight of the Year contender. His 51-second blitz of Andrew Golota was explosive, if all too brief. The come-from-behind knockout of Luan Krasniqi was among 2005's best knockouts – both of them in fact, as Lamon unofficially twice knocked out Krasniqi in the same fight, with the latter benefiting from a very long count and assistance from the referee the round before being stretched for good. Even his first bout with Klitschko was an all-out slugfest, before Wlad punched himself into exhaustion and the L column.

On paper, it appears to be a competitive matchup that figures to be a thrill for however long it lasts, and where the favored fighter needs to exorcise past demons before proceeding with plans to rule the heavyweight division. In reality, it's a Klitschko showcase and a nice cashout opportunity for Brewster, arguably the nicest and most exciting heavyweight of this generation but deserving of a better sendoff.

There are plenty of sidebars that come along with this weekend's SHOWTIME telecast, though the card is capable of standing on its own merit. What the lacks in instant name recognition, it more than makes up for in potential competitive action.

When you only fight three times in the past four years, you better make each moment count. For Travis Simms, two outta three ain't bad, especially when you're normally best remembered for what you've done lately. His most recent win was one of the year's most dominating performances, pitching a virtual shutout before forcing a ninth-round stoppage against Jose Antonio Rivera in a bout that kicked off Showtime's 2007 boxing campaign.

That he's appearing on the network – or even in a ring – for the second time this year is a great improvement from Simms' recent body of work. Despite boasting an undefeated record and a fan-friendly style, the 36-year old Simms hasn't had the easiest time securing fights. Being southpaw and less than a household name will often do the trick, though added to the equation are the courtroom battles Simms has endured with his promoter (Don King), with the WBA, among others.

Oddly enough, he can thank the sanctioning body he previously had to sue in not only keeping busy, but having a guaranteed opponent lined up. Enter 6'0" Joachim Alcine, a transplanted Haitian currently fighting out of Canada, who won an eliminator last year on ESPN2. Alcine took the fight thinking he was next in line for Jose Antonio Rivera. Thanks to Simms' rightfully suing to secure his place in line, it is now Alcine who enters the bout following a longer-than-desired layoff – just over nine months, which represents the longest inactivity period of his eight-year career.

If their international conference call was any indication of how the bout will turn out, then both plan to take out all of their past frustrations one another. The simplest of questions managed to spark minutes-long debates between the two undefeated combatants, neither of whom seem to have an ounce of respect for the other. If the bout is nearly as explosive as the conference call, then the night will have certainly lived up to its them of "Fistic Fireworks."

Speaking of having no respect for one's opponents, everyone's favorite diminutive puncher makes his fifth straight appearance on America's #1 Fight Network, as Vic Darchinyan appears in the televised co-feature. For the first time since entering his bout with Irene Pacheco, the Armenian bomber (who trains in Los Angeles and is based out of Australia) faces on paper an opponent that poses a major threat to his unblemished record. Not only can Nonito Donaire box with the best of them, but much like the HBO card, revenge is in the air, even if he won't admit it. In fact, it's Darchinyan who sees this bout as righting a past wrong.

"I think everyone will agree with me, it was a knockout," Darchinyan insists. "It was not a headbutt. It was not the elbow. It was a knockout. I broke his jaw; he broke the corner and he screeched and put his hands up.

"I am very upset. It is still in my mind; is my title fight going to be settled by knockout?  It is not revenge against his brother. It is revenge for me because I knocked out his brother. Now, I am going to knock him out twice because it still is in my mind."

It was last October when Darchinyan forced Glenn Donaire, Nonito's older but far less talented brother, to quit midway through their 12-round flyweight bout. Donaire appeared to quit after getting cracked in the jaw, but replays showed (or at least suggested) that an inadvertent elbow forced the injury-based stoppage. As a fighter cannot win on a foul, the bout instead went to the scorecards. Darchinyan swept all six round on all three cards, but was infuriated at the thought of his eight-fight knockout streak coming to an end, much less against a man he literally beat into submission.

Darchinyan took out on his next opponent, though unintentionally going too far in beating hapless faded former titlist Victor Burgos into a coma following their one-sided 12-round battle this past March. Burgos was outmatched on paper, and provided even less of a test in the ring, absorbing a beating for far too long before the bout was mercifully stopped with just 90 seconds to go. It was at least five rounds too late, as Burgos had to be taken out of the ring on a gurney and brought to the nearest hospital before slipping into a coma. He has since recovered, though his career is clearly over.

How much fight is left in Darchinyan remains to be seen. He expressed genuine concern after the fight, but has insisted that the near fatality will not force him to change styles. Considering his recent shift from puncher-boxer to a fighter in search of a single bomb, a decision to leave things status quo may prove to be a wrong one. Just ask Darchinyan's one-time chief rival Jorge Arce, whose declination in skill led to an embarrassingly lopsided points loss to Cristian Mijares this past April.

Like Mijares, there's no particular area in which Donaire is dominant, but he does everything well. Such was exhibited in his lone Showtime appearance in January 2006, offering the full arsenal dropping and soundly outboxing Kahren Harutunyan in their ShoBox main event. Watching various bouts fall by the wayside, the Filipino boxer has been forced to settle on pedestrian opposition while awaiting his big break. None bigger than getting a chance at bumping off one of the division's top dogs and attempting to avenge big brother's loss, all in one shot.

Donaire insists it's the former and not the latter which provides all of the motivation he needs.

"It is not so much for revenge… it is more of living the dream to be a world champion," insists Donaire. "It is that hunger.  It is just a pleasure; it is the dream of fighting to be at this level.  It is a great feeling."

Though there's no denying that it will be an even greater feeling for at least one Donaire to claim a win over Darchinyan. Nonito believes to have the answer as to why it will be him.

"My brother is a lot smaller than I am and he is a brawler.  For me, I am a smart fighter and that is the difference between us. We are completely opposite in fighting styles. I think I have the speed and power to do it, and (Darchinyan) believes he has the power to do it.  But I have the speed advantage."

Showtime has the advantage of having two fights, therefore two tries to entertain its audience this weekend. HBO hopes to get it right in one shot with its heavyweight rematch.

While dueling cards can be a nuisance at times, when all is said and done, it is boxing fans who enjoy the advantage of having "too much" boxing to choose from.

YET THEY CAN'T AFFORD CALZAGHE-KESSLER?

 This weekend's telecast on HBO was originally intended as a showcase for boxing's longest reigning active alphabet titlist, undefeated super middleweight Joe Calzaghe. The Welsh boxer was forced to withdraw after injuring his hands yet again in his last bout, a three-round drubbing of Peter Manfredo in a premature stoppage, even if the fight was over well before it ever began.

While there was no chance of Mikkel Kessler being the opponent even if Calzaghe was able to fight this weekend, HBO is doing all it can to make sure the fight never happens. The network has offered a $3 million pot for the fight, whereas both parties involved are seeking a combined payday closer to $5 million. HBO insists that the fight is simply not worth that much, though offer a "no comment" when asked why bouts such as this weekend's potential mismatch– or Wlad's mismatch against Ray Austin – are greenlighted at the same price.

WHEN A GREAT ENDING MAKES UP FOR A BAD SHOW

Whenever I see a classic knockout that erases a horrible fight, I am reminded of the 1999 film "The Sixth Sense." The movie itself was mediocre as a whole, but its surprise ending was what helped earned its praise, and an eventual Best Picture nomination.

That feeling came back last weekend, when Darnell Wilson scored what many regard as the greatest knockout in the ten year history of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights with his come-from-behind one-punch stoppage of Emmanuel Nwodo. Despite scoring two knockdowns, Wilson was still down on the cards and on the wrong end of a boxing lesson before rallying back in the 11th.

In all honesty, the bout could have been stopped at least a minute prior, when Wilson had Nwodo drunkedly stumbling around the ring from a big right hand. For safety and practical reasons, it would've been better had the referee intervened at that point; it would've saved Nwodo a trip to the hospital, and spared the promoter the embarrassment of having to cancel two bouts due to the lack of an ambulance presence.

But as the saying goes, everything happens for a reason. Because it all unfolded the way it did, we as boxing fans were treated to what will undoubtedly go down as 2007's Knockout of the Year. Nwodo did his best to fight back, but couldn't pull himself together to keep a rejuvenated Wilson off of him. Wilson managed to keep Nwodo upright long enough to land the mother of all left hooks. The shot landed flush on Nwodo's chin, sending him to the canvas in cartoon-like fashion. Amazingly, the referee (David Fields) further exuded poor judgment in actually administering a count, apparently the only man watching the fight who didn't realize Nwodo was out upon impact.

With a single blow, Nwodo – a top 10 cruiserweight contender going in – is more than likely done as a contender, if not a fighter altogether. Wilson, on the other hand, extends an improbable run, scoring his fourth straight upset (almost five, as he gave Andre Purlette a major scare last summer in his last loss) and for the first time in his career can now demand a long awaited title shot.

And with a single blow, a bad fight – in fact a bad fight card – became an instant cassic.