By Jake Donovan

Anyone obligated to fill column space with boxing related material will be quick to tell you that it's been a tough couple of weeks. It's not uncommon to encounter the summer doldrums at this time of year before picking up steam in September.

What is rare, however, is when the one significant fight available in a particular weekend goes largely ignore by the boxing community.

Such was the case this past weekend, when Mexico's own Hugo Cazares traveled to Puerto Rico for the fifth time in 2 ½ years, shrink-wrapping himself down to 108 lb. one last time for a superfight with undefeated 2000 PR Olympian Ivan Calderon.  

At stake for Cazares was his 108 lb. crown and his well-earned title of baddest junior flyweight on the planet. For Calderon, it was all about respect. A mere 5'0" tall and with feathers for fists, critics were sour on the slick southpaw, not convinced that he was a great enough boxer to conquer such size disadvantages.

Plenty on the line in Puerto Rico. So where were you when this went down?

Boricuas residing in La Isla del Encanto can vouch for their whereabouts. At least 13,500 of them, anyway. That's how many fans were jam-packed into Coliseo Roberto Rodriguez in Bayamon. That's almost 5,000 more than the turnout for last month's God-awful business transaction between Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright, which of course drew far more headlines (including the attention of the same publication whose fictional title was on the line last weekend).

It's almost quadruple the amount of fans Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez managed to draw to the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, TX for their fantastic rematch, presently residing as the year's leading Fight of the Year candidate.

So we can't dismiss a lack of interest. Not when it drew more than the combined total of the two aforementioned bouts.

Significance? It was only the biggest fight at junior flyweight since a couple of cats named Chiquita and Carbajal roamed the halls more than a decade ago. As mentioned earlier, Cazares' 108 lb. title being on the line should count as significant. Especially for the purists in all of us who long for one recognizable champion per division. Here we have one.

Lack of availability? OK, so not everyone has DishNetwork. I admit, I'm still puzzled as to why the promoters elected to handicap their potential audience. But I also found another way to watch the bout. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about covering it; my trusty colleague Cliff Rold provided BoxingScene viewers with the most detailed post-fight report you will find anywhere else on the net or in print. (Click here for the full recap - https://www.boxingscene.com/index.php?m=show&id=10055)

So once again, where were you when this went down?

In fact, where were you before this fight went down?

I suppose there were more pressing issues to contend with. Like previewing and recapping UFC 74, which dominated the PPV sports slots on all of the other cable and satellite providers.   Not that it's boxing-related or anything. But hey, I guess having to do a little bit of research on a fight between fighters whose names don't immediately ring out in the general public. Or as some of us would call it, putting the report in reporter.

Instead you were out, looking for the perfect angle in which to inform your viewing audience that the September 8 Fernando Vargas-Ricardo Mayorga PPV event was cancelled due to Vargas blood test showing a severe case of anemia, and that the bout is only postponed and not cancelled. Only once you were finished, you came to discover it was the same generic crap that everyone else already reported – and more than one or two articles on the subject on some sites or publications.

Rather than fill their weekly online section with news of one of "their" world titles changing hands, The Ring-Online (The Ring magazine's website) instead dedicates this week's  webspace to Ricardo Mayorga, claiming the chain-smoking Nicaraguan to play the role of boxing's ultimate villain better than anyone else in the game today.

Did we mention that the fight he was, and they're still, trying to sell was already postponed?

Calderon's title-winning efforts? Limited to a single sentence in the "other observations" section. Pretty much the equivalent of shoving it in the News Briefs column in the middle of your daily sports section. You know, the same mainstream journalistic tactic that has long drawn the ire of many a boxing personality.

Some were still salivating over next January's Old Timers game between Roy Jones and Felix Trinidad, a fight that is rumored to have a home and date, but neither of which have yet been solidified. Only fitting that in the biggest fight of Ivan Calderon's career, his shine is instead eclipsed by his re-un-retired countryman.

Whatever you were doing this past weekend, you missed out on the confirmation of a star in the sport. You don't have to like Calderon's hit-and-move style, but he proved this weekend that you do have to respect. Giving away 6" in height, a massive edge in power and upwards of 15-20 lb. in natural weight once the opening bell rang, Calderon had nothing else to rely on except his superior boxing skills. So superior that Ivan sprinted out to a huge lead through the first seven rounds.

He proved to be resourceful enough after hitting the deck in the eighth, spending that round and much of the next attempting to get his legs back. He proved to be resilient enough to come back strong and regain momentum in the tenth, and ultimately outlasting the power-hitting Mexican in taking a split decision and the junior flyweight title.

If many of you made a conscience effort to search for the most relevant boxing action last  weekend, you'd have a first hand account of what went down. So too would your viewing audience, who were instead left to believe that little in the way of boxing went down on this side of the Atlantic last weekend.

That's because way too many of you were not doing your job.

Jake Donovan is a former member of the BWAA. He is currently licensed as a manager, promoter and judge (ABC certified), and is a member of the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. He may be reached for questions and comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .