After the sport’s most popular, and most exciting star, has left the stage, what can boxing do for an encore?
The answer this week is attach the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito replay to a fight that, on paper, looks better than Pacquiao-Margarito ever did. It?s not just paper either. Saturday?s HBO main event is a rematch of one of the best fights of 2009 and just happens to be for arguably the sports second most prestigious and storied crown.
The loaded month of November continues to unfold and these are the picks of the week.
Pick Middles: World Champion Sergio Martinez vs. #1 Paul Williams (Saturday, HBO, 10 PM EST/7 PM PST)
Williams (39-1, 27 KO) won a narrow decision over Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KO) last December in a fight where both men were on the floor. Martinez landed harder, Williams more, both getting a taste of hell from one another. Because he won, Williams has every right to tell himself on the way to the ring that the title is already his; to tell himself he is the uncrowned Middleweight king. Martinez has every right to feel like the cards should have gone his way last year. Martinez knows it was he, not Williams, who came off the floor to bust Kelly Pavlik up down the stretch in April to win the Middleweight honors. None of what they are saying inside their head, none of the private thoughts assisting in the run up to the opening bell, matter more than knowing there will be an opening bell. Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather couldn?t figure out how to get to this point in 2010; David Haye and the Klitschko?s will continue barking into 2011. Williams and Martinez made the fight, and they made it knowing already just how hard that will be on them when they wake up sore on Sunday. Kudos to both and, hey, can Saturday get here already or what?
Pick Espanol: Raul Martinez vs. Rodrigo Guerrero (Saturday, FSE, 11 PM EST/PST)
He?s limited but, for those who like a good scrap, that?s a good thing. Martinez (27-1, 16 KO) is a dependable action outing and has a shot at lining up a second title opportunity this weekend in an IBF eliminator at Jr. Bantamweight (115 lbs.). Across the ring he will find a Guerrero (14-2-1, 9 KO) with a bag of guts and a chin to match; fans will remember Guerrero from a spirited effort against Vic Darchinyan in March of this year. Martinez?s only loss was a stoppage came at the hands of the talented Nonito Donaire for the IBF Flyweight belt in 2009. There is no shame there. There is unlikely to be a backwards step here. As a bonus, fans who want a glimpse at who might be knocking on the door of Paul Williams or Sergio Martinez sometime in the next couple years will want to see excellent Russian Middleweight prospect Matt Korobov (12-0, 8 KO). The former amateur standout continues his rise with a test from Derrick Findley (17-3, 11 KO).
Pick Club: Carlos Molina vs. John Figueroa (Thursday, RingTV.com, 11:00 PM EST/8:00 PM PST)
Golden Boy?s Club Nokia series continues and that?s a good thing. So few promoters have exploited the internet for their up and comers and this is one place where Golden Boy is getting it right. There have been plenty of fun fights on this series so far. Sure, sometimes the records look mis-matched but that?s the way things are early in a career. As has been evidenced in the ring on the series, fighters with losses aren?t the same as men who can?t fight. This week, 24-year old Jr. Welterweight prospect Molina (13-0, 7 KO) will continue to learn his trade against Figueroa (7-7-3, 3 KO). Maybe Molina will be a champion someday. Maybe not. If it?s the former, one can never say they saw him when unless they see him now.
Back in seven.
