That wasn?t so bad, was it? All those weeks of waiting for a good fight, for a big fight, and then Showtime blows up the spot. A Fight of the Year contender between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez? That worked. Add in a Glen Johnson knockout entry to the Super Six and that?s a stellar Saturday.
HBO adding a couple of interesting scraps didn?t hurt either. The November/December rush fans have been anticipating has arrived and is now in full swing. This week, it gets bigger with the sports premiere superstar and a Heavyweight who may (or may not) one day make a global event with one of the brother?s Klitschko.
These are the picks of the week.
Pick Manny: Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito (Saturday, HBO PPV, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST)
Put aside that this fight, at a catchweight of 150 lbs., is being contested for a ?world title.? It?s not hard to put aside; almost no one is mentioning it much anyways because a fight between two guys without resume at Jr. Middleweight fighting for vacant belt there is stupid. Put aside as well that one of the combatants was suspended for over a year having been caught trying to put a foreign substance into his gloves. Here?s what matters Saturday: in front of between 50-60,000 fight fans, Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KO) is mixing with Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO). Even if it turns out one-sided, how can this fight suck? Margarito is going to press. Pacquiao is going to punch back. Done. Where do we sign up? The undercard is highlighted by mega-talent Guillermo Rigondeaux (6-0, 5 KO) fighting Ricardo Cordoba (37-2-2, 23 KO). Yes, this being for an interim WBA belt at 122 lbs. is silly, but consider this: Cordoba has faced world champions like Celestino Caballero, Wladimir Sidorenko, and Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym. Rigondeaux, in only his sixth fight, might turn out to be the best opponent of Cordoba?s career. That?s how good the former Cuban amateur standout just might be in the paid ranks.
Pick Brit: David Haye vs. Audley Harrison (Saturday, U.K., ?)
Before the big HBO pay show kicks off, the results should be in on this backyard Heavyweight brawl. WBA titlist David Haye (24-1, 22 KO) talks mad stuff on the Klitschko brothers. He?s even signed to fight them in the past. What has not occurred is any actual fight and, for a healthy chunk of 2010, even the talking stopped. It?s starting to pick up again as the days grow closer to a showdown with the 2000 Olympic Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist Harrison (27-4, 20 KO). Harrison, now 39, is viewed as an underachiever by many but he?s won four in a row and has some significant size on Haye. Harrison?s combination of size and natural athleticism are the best Haye has seen at Heavyweight (including the slow, if superior to Harrison in other aspects, Nicolay Valuev). It could be a window into how Haye would look in the ring with a Klitschko. It?s also just dangerous enough to be an obstacle to that hoped for clash. This one isn?t slated for U.S. TV but the result is a must-follow.
Pick Espanol: Omar Figueroa vs. Arturo Quintero (Friday, Telefutura, 11:30 PM EST/PST)
Can?t wait for the two big fights on Saturday? Friday night on Telefutura, promising Lightweight Figueroa (10-0, 8 KO) will try to keep his perfect run intact at the expense of Quintero (15-4, 9 KO). He?ll probably succeed but, hey, it beats watching Leno.
Back in seven.
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Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected]
