This upcoming weekend marks the start of the college football season with a few marquee match-ups (LSU-Oregon and Boise State-UGA) but boxing also kicks off the first weekend of September as IBF welterweight titlist Jan Zaveck defends his belt against Andre Berto from the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, MS on HBO. This past week on a national conference call with reporters, Lou “Mount St.” DiBella, who ?promotes? Berto, erupted at suggestions that Zaveck was only chosen because he had a major world title and that the titlist was another in a long line of no-hopers that Berto has faced on the network while collecting exorbitant checks.
In defense of this fight, Zaveck, a 35-year-old Slovenian, is probably the second-best foe that Berto has been paired with on the ?Network of Champions,? behind Victor Ortiz and is comparable to the likes of Luis Collazo and Juan Urango. While some might believe that it?s actually an indictment of the kid-Everlasts treatment afforded Berto by HBO (that after a dozen or so appearances on the network, somehow Zaveck represents one of his sternest challenges), Zaveck is not a bad fighter by any means. No, seriously.
In watching his last several fights, this guy reminds me a bit of Arthur Abraham, with his high guard and catch-and-counter style. However, one major difference is that Zaveck does seem to initiate much more offensively than ?King Arthur? and has a wide array of punches. Zaveck has a record of 31-1 with 18 stoppages with that one loss- a split verdict against Rafal Jackiewicz- avenged recently. While he may not be Arturo Gatti, Zaveck is a pretty entertaining fighter who isn?t afraid to mix it up. The question is just how much of a difference is there in class between the Jackiewiczs, Paul Delgados and Rodolfo Martinezs of the world to ?The Assassin??
