No Holds Barred: Andre Dirrell, James DeGale, Plus Golovkin-Monroe and Chocolatito-Sosa Reviews, PBC vs. HBO

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the May 23 Andre Dirrell vs. James DeGale fight, and comments on the May 16 HBO Boxing telecast.

On Saturday, May 23, Andre Dirrell of the U.S. (24-1, 16 KOs) takes on James DeGale of the U.K. (20-1, 14 KOs) at Boston University's Agganis Arena in a fight for the vacant IBF super middleweight belt. This fight, part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series, will be shown live Saturday afternoon in the U.S. on NBC, and live Saturday night in the U.K. on Sky Sports.

Both Dirrell, a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, and DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, will be trying to capture their first world title. DeGale will also try to become the first British Olympic gold medalist to win a pro world title.

We spoke with both Andre Dirrell and James DeGale on a media conference call Thursday.

On Saturday, May 16, HBO telecast two title fights showcasing undefeated star fighters. Middleweight champ Gennady "GGG" Golovkin of Kazakhstan (33-0, 30 KOs) scored his 20th straight stoppage by dispatching overmatched and light-hitting challenger Willie Monroe Jr. of the U.S. (19-2, 6 KOs) by sixth-round TKO. Another star making his long overdue HBO debut was flyweight champ Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez of Nicaragua, who upped his record to 43-0 with 37 KOs by dominating and stopping the tough former 108-pound champion Edgar Sosa of Mexico (51-9, 30 KOs) with a second-round TKO.

While the HBO card was undoubtedly entertaining to fight fans, we discuss how HBO is primarily showcasing the best fighters signed to that network, instead of primarily having the best fight the best in each weight class. We also contrast this to the past few PBC cards, as well as this coming Saturday's Dirrell-DeGale fight, which should be competitive and intriguing.

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No Holds Barred: Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, Paulie Malignaggi, PBC Figueroa-Burns and McDonnell-Kameda and HBO Canelo-Kirkland Reviews

(Photo of Omar Figueroa and Ricky Burns by Esther Lin/PBC on CBS, photo of Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland by Ed Mulholland/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images)

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the Friday, May 29, Premier Boxing Champions card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, by speaking with Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, and Paulie Malignaggi.

On that card, Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) will face Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs) and Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs) will take on Danny O'Connor (25-2, 9 KOs) in welterweight bouts. These fights will be televised live in the U.S. on Spike TV.

We spoke with Amir Khan, Chris Algieri, and Paulie Malignaggi on a media conference call Wednesday.

This past weekend there were several televised fights, and we review Saturday's action on the PBC on CBS card and the HBO card later that evening.

On the PBC on CBS card, which took place at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, Omar Figueroa of Texas (25-0-1, 18 KOs) got a close and controversial unanimous decision over Ricky Burns of Scotland (37-5-1, 11 KOs), in a super lightweight fight. Also on that show, the U.K.'s Jamie McDonnell (25-2-1, 12 KOs) defended his WBA bantamweight belt by winning a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tomoki Kameda (31-1, 19 KOs), who is from Japan but trains in Mexico.

On the HBO card, which took place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, and as many expected, super welterweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) knocked out James Kirkland of Texas (32-2, 28 KOs) in the third round of a slugfest.

We compare the PBC on CBS card to the Canelo-Kirkland fight on HBO, discuss more of the fallout over Pacquiao's claim he was injured during his fight with Floyd Mayweather, rip the mainstream and most of the boxing media for not properly discussing this issue and dealing with doping in boxing, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.

Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.

No Holds Barred: Adrien Broner, Vicente Escobedo

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with boxers Adrien Broner and Vicente Escobedo, who meet this Saturday, July 21, for Broner's WBO junior lightweight title. This fight will be televised live in the U.S. on HBO and takes place at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The 22-year-old Broner (23-0, 19 KOs) is considered to be one of the rising stars of boxing. The 30-year-old Escobedo (26-3, 15 KOs), a 2004 U.S. Olympian, has recently fought as a lightweight and has never lost at junior lightweight.

We spoke with Adrien Broner and Vicente Escobedo on a media conference call on Wednesday to get their views on what to expect in what is the biggest fight this coming weekend. We also examine the careers of both fighters, why this is likely to be the biggest test yet for Broner, why Broner is being pushed as a budding superstar, and why this fight has all the earmarks of being particularly noteworthy.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.

Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:

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No Holds Barred: Charles Farrell and Frank Lotierzo on Diaz-Malignaggi Robbery, and What It Means for Boxing

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with our colleague and correspondent Charles Farrell, and veteran boxing journalist and former fighter Frank Lotierzo.

We start by analyzing the August 22 junior welterweight fight between Paulie Malignaggi and Juan Diaz, won by Diaz by a unanimous decision which most observers have described as being unfair at best and a robbery at worst. Then, in a lengthy and lively discussion, we proceed to examine the repercussions of this hotly disputed decision for the sport of boxing, try to assess just how much damage it has caused to this already declining sport, and consider what, if anything, can be done to restore some credibility to boxing. Plus, we also discuss the rivalry between boxing and mixed martial arts. This is an unbiased and brutally frank discussion at the highest level, so make sure to check it out in its entirety.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

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The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

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Why we're getting De La Hoya - Pacquiao

Over the years I've been a huge defender of Oscar De La Hoya. That said, I've never considered Oscar an authentically great fighter, for one reason, he's not. Having said that, I like the fact that Oscar never ducked a fighter who was a perceived threat, nor has he ever fought not to lose or avoid getting hurt. Make no mistake, De La Hoya is tough and has plenty of heart.

In his big fights from 147 an up where the outcome wasn't conclusive, (I say 147 because I feel Oscar won a majority of his fights on the scales from 130-140) I think he drew with Whitaker, pulled the Quartey fight out with a 2-point 12th round, clearly beat Trinidad, and clearly lost to Mosley. I had him beating Mosley by a point at 154 (I saw it on TV, not live), and drawing with Sturm at 160.

I have always felt that De La Hoya thought if he could've beat Bernard Hopkins in 2004, he would've insured and secured his legacy. And since he was stopped by him, he's been looking for a fight to secure his legacy the way Sugar Ray Leonard did by beating Marvin Hagler. Remember, Sugar Ray Leonard is the fighter Oscar most compares and measures himself with.

In my opinion this all stems from De La Hoya never having won one of his signature fights in an impression fashion. I believe that Oscar is still looking for that career defining win, and that was the reason he fought Floyd Mayweather last year, and the reason he's fighting Manny Pacquiao this year. Like Mayweather then, Pacquiao is now considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. What a great way for Oscar De La Hoya to go out, beating the best fighter in boxing two months before he turns 36. That's why he's fighting Manny. See, Pacquiao is the perfect fit. He's a draw, along with being an exciting fighter, who's fearless and some see him as having a punchers chance....Wrong.

Oscar is too big, strong, and just fluid enough in style to decision Manny Pacquiao on December 6th 2008. He'll make another fortune, and he'll retire having defeated boxing best fighter. To which will cloud the judgment of many fight observers, and enhance his legacy to the ill informed or those having cookbook boxing insight. That's why he's fighting Manny Pacquiao! In a way, he goes out of boxing the way he entered it, beating up on guys smaller than him.

Who Are The Real Pirates?

The core component of boxing’s business model in North America over the past two decades has been pay-per-view television. Fights which used to air for free on broadcast or cable television now cost the consumer 50 bucks or more per pop.

Not coincidentally, boxing in North America has declined and been marginalized over this same period, as the product took itself out of the public spotlight and protected it behind this pricey wall. We now have an entire generation in these parts which has never seen a major world title fight live on television.

In Europe and Asia, where most boxing is still on non-pay TV, the sport is growing, often drawing huge crowds to arenas and sports stadiums, a phenomenon not seen in North American in decades.

At the same time, HBO, the principal architect of this business model, has become an incredibly profitable business, annually bringing in about $1.2 billion in profits – that’s just profits, not revenue.

Even with competition from satellite TV and now Verizon’s FiOS, cable TV rates keep rising, and disgusted consumers are caught in this profit assault.

Working around these profiteers used to be difficult. You had to buy a pirate box and hope it worked as promised. Soon, the cable companies would find a way to disable it, often through upgrading their own technology.

Now our beloved Internet has changed all that. All you need to do is find a web site which streams whatever you want to watch. Some of them require you to download a media player, but some others do not. All you have to do is go to a web site, just like you went to this one or any other site.

This is rarely discussed by that technophobic bunch known as boxing writers, most of whom grope around for a letter-opener when told they have an e-mail. Ask them what they have downloaded recently, and they’ll say their doctors told them it wasn’t serious.

We speak the truth here. It is not our task to protect whoever’s business model is being rendered obsolete by the growth of technology and the Internet. We just tell it like it is.

One of the most popular sites streaming these shows is SopCast.

You will see all “seven dirty words” in a row on these boxing “news” sites before you see that name mentioned.

What is being streamed is openly discussed on forums like the MyP2P Forum, which has a special section for fans of various combat sports.

That’s the reality, like it or not, legal or not. They may be offering pirate streams which violate copyright laws and which offer no compensation to their owners, but they also generally do not charge or make a profit from these streams.

When faced with the growth of peer-to-peer file sharing a decade ago, instead of adapting to the new technology, the music industry decided to declare war on consumers. That is leading to the destruction of the traditional record companies, with popular artists like Madonna distributing their music directly online, or though alternate services like iTunes and others.

The boxing business first has to get a clue that this is happening, which is not even likely until it is too late for them. The only major promoter taking seriously using the Internet to stream fights, and possibly for free, is Don King. Thus far, however, his DonKingTV.com seems more experimental than anything.

True, it will take some time before these p2p and other services can handle mass traffic. But storage and bandwidth are becoming cheaper and more plentiful all the time, and Internet users are becoming smarter as well.

There is almost no discussion in our obsolete boxing media about the obsolete pay-per-view model. One article which does refer to this phenomenon, “Do Not Pirate This Saturday’s Pay-Per-View” by John Chavez on BoxingConfidential.com, oddly argues that it is OK to pirate most boxing shows, but not Saturday’s Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito showdown: “If you call yourself a boxing fan and choose to pirate this Saturday’s Pay-Per-View bout, in essence you’re telling HBO and the other major players in boxing that exciting style match-ups still won’t entice you to purchase the event. To support this weekend’s match is to support boxing as a whole as it will point to the fact that we are educated fight fans that know good from bad.”

I would respond that it is better to be consistent, and either eschew pirating altogether as unethical, or eschew pay-per-view altogether as unethical pirating of the consumers.

Granted, something in-between may be more practical for many people, but once you open the door to pirating as acceptable, it is hard to argue that sometimes it is OK while at other times it is not.

In the end, different groups of people just have different economic interests. And many of them may be pirates of one sort and size or another. You just have to choose, or realize, which type, if any, you are.

SecondsOut Radio: Charles Farrell, Cotto-Margarito

SecondsOut Radio with Eddie Goldman

On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman begins by criticizing the build-up for this coming Saturday's important welterweight title fight between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. In particular, the pay-per-view model, the reliance on nationalism, and the failure to use the Internet properly are singled out.

In our interview this week, we speak with the award-winning boxing writer Charles Farrell. In a lengthy and candid discussion, the topics include the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito fight, the controversy arising from this past Wednesday's rematch between heavyweights James Toney and Hasim Rahman, the major injury suffered by Oscar Diaz in his fight with Delvin Rodriguez this past Wednesday which required emergency brain surgery, and more.

It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.

Thanks, Eddie Goldman
http://eddiegoldman.com

Pavlik-Hopkins

Pavlik-Hopkins. October 18. Atlantic City. HBO Pay-Per-View.

Are you excited yet?

Klitschko-Thompson: Another Stinker or Sleeper?

This Saturday’s highly-unanticipated fight between IBF-WBO heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko and WBO mandatory Tony Thompson in the Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany, is generating less interest than Mike Gravel’s unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, which was at least kind of humorous. Klitschko’s rock-paper-scissors slapfest against Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden Feb. 23 did untold damage to the already dismal reputation of the heavyweight division, and even the Garden itself. Their next big fight may not be until Sept. 20, when Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr. will likely tangle.

Wladimir Klitschko’s latest style, if it even can be called that, is not merely safety-first, as many have noted. It is disgraceful in that it changes a sport, where the fans pay good money to see good fighting, into a variety of fencing. And the fans then feel that the ticket-sellers and TV networks are themselves fences, selling garbage packaged as name-brand goods, and then treat them as the crooks they believe they are.

While I admire much of the work Wladimir Klitschko has done outside the ring to help needy people around the world, he should also remember that he can only be in a position to do this kind of work if he remains respected for what he does inside the ring. Another all-out stinker Saturday, and maybe not even the Hypocritical Boxing Organization (HBO) will want much more of him.

The wild card in this is Tony Thompson. The lanky, little-known, 36-year-old, six-foot five heavyweight has a record of 31-1 with 19 KOs. The lone loss was a four-round decision to Eric Kirkland in just Thompson’s fifth pro fight. Since then, he has 27 straight wins, but mainly against the graduates of the University of Journeymen (whose dean, A.J.L. Shoemaker, once wrote for a boxing web site which has since closed down).

Thompson’s break, so to speak, came last July against perennial contender Luan Krasniqi. In a WBO eliminator, Thompson stopped Krasniqi in five – and in Germany, and in the same arena in which he will face Klitschko this Saturday.

Whether or not he will have to impale Wlad to get a win in Germany this time remains to be seen. But a profile of Tony Thompson posted Thursday on the web site of The Washington Post raises some interesting points.

On the one hand, we have this:

Thompson doesn't love boxing. He derives no joy from training. He fights for the reward, not the act.

"I really don't like getting hit," he said. "I really don't like to train for boxing. I'm just good at it. It's what I do to make a living. If I had my choices of making a living, I'm not one of those people who would say boxing. . . . Boxing was so far down the list for me."

And this:

His family awaits his return. At his Fort Washington home in a tree-lined development at the tip of a cul-de-sac, one of three air conditioning units is broken. The dishwasher and washing machine have stopped working. The electricity won't run in part of the house, where three of his children still live. Sydnee, who grew up with both parents and went to a Catholic school, college and graduate school, wants everything fixed. Tony said she'll have to wait until the check clears from the fight.

We’ll find out Saturday night if any of that provides Thompson with the motivation to fight the fight of his life against Klitschko, to abandon his own uber-cautious style, and to pull a major upset against this European moneymaker.

Or, it could just be another useless show televised in America by HBS.

Boxing is Run by Complete Idiots, Part 651,909

After getting sick of having everyone tell me that they couldn’t hear me on my aging cell phone, I finally decided to retire it and replace it with a new one Friday afternoon. The one I had, like Arturo Gatti, was once pretty good and very durable, but it had taken far too much punishment, and was now starting to bleed much too easily.

I went to my favorite T-Mobile store where I have purchased all my phones. I’m quite satisfied with the service, and having been involved in telephone company evaluations in another lifetime, that is quite an endorsement from me (make checks payable to “Eddie Goldman”).

A young man helped me make this cell phone transition, setting up the new phone and handling the paperwork, while we chatted. Judging from his name, he was of either Russian or Eastern European origin, although by his accent he had either been born in America or had moved here a long time ago.

After we had some techie talk about new cell phones coming soon like the Google phone (actually a phone running a Google-devised operating system) and similar stuff, he asked me if I had watched the soccer game yesterday. I said I hadn’t, and, in an instant, added that I watch boxing (interesting that this was my first reaction considering some other sports I cover).

He perked up and said he, too, likes boxing, and asked me whether I liked the heavyweights or the lightweights. I said these days the heavyweights were awful, and that Saturday there would be an interesting lightweight title fight between Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz.

Now one of his co-workers came over to join our little discussion, and he said he expects Pacquiao to win. So here, out of the blue, I had discovered two young, knowledgeable boxing fans.

Then I said to these obviously tech-savvy guys that while the fight was on pay-per-view, you could watch it for free online.

Now my helpful retail sales representative, as I believe they are called, smiled broadly, and nodded. He said he knows all about these sites, and implied that this was how he would watch this fight live.

So there it is once again. Boxing still has a lot more young fans than the ruling networks and promoters realize. These fans just aren’t coughing up 45 or 50 bucks a month to HBO pay-per-view when they can watch these same fights, and even more, for free through a site like SopCast.

When a sport’s business model is based upon relying on obsolete technology that has already been bypassed by new, user-friendly services available to almost anyone with a computer and a high-speed Internet connection, then it needs a major change.

But while I realized that I had to retire and replace my cell phone ASAP, how long will it be before the dinosaurs running this sport will come to a similar conclusion?

HBO & De La Hoya Throw Boxing Fans A Bone

This coming Saturday night former six division title-holder Oscar De La Hoya (38-5) will once again be fighting as a welterweight. In a fight that amounts to nothing more than a "see I can win a fight" exhibition, Oscar will face former Super-featherweight champ, Steve Forbes (33-5). Forbes, has been at his best fighting at 130. In his last meaningful fight he lost a unanimous decision to Demetrius Hopkins for the USBA Junior welterweight title. So I don't expect to see Steve at his best fighting at 147.

This fight serves both De La Hoya and Forbes great financially, although much more so for Oscar obviously. The purpose of the fight is HBO's way of throwing boxing fans a bone by showing De La Hoya for free, and to provide him a chance to win in an impressive fashion. In other words the De La Hoya-Forbes bout marks the official beginning of the selling of De La Hoya-Mayweather II. Forbes is there to provide Oscar a foil with a name and garner his biggest payday for getting stopped for the first time in his career. Not that stopping Forbes should be considered a Herculean task by De La Hoya, being that he's naturally bigger and stronger than Forbes.

The minute De La Hoya has his hands raised after defeating Forbes, and he will, we'll begin hearing why he has a more realistic chance to beat Mayweather this coming September. First we'll here how the fight with Forbes was perfect to help ready him for Floyd Mayweather, which sounds plausible, despite Mayweather and Forbes having nothing in common other than being professional fighters. Then Oscar will talk about how he fought Mayweather wrong the first time and knows what he has to do this time. It will be said how the first fight was only a split decision loss for him and by just a few adjustments in the corner this time will be the difference and why he'll win. Shortly after De La Hoya is finished talking to either Larry Merchant or Max Kellerman, Steve Forbes will be yesterdays news. So I hope that he's making a ton of money, and I don't think it'll be a bad thing if for some un-forseen reason the talk is about Forbes next fight, and De La Hoya being yesterdays news.

April 12: Good, But Not The Best

Baseball, for those who still believe in it, is back with yet another season set to culminate in a World Series, as happens every year (except 1994). American football is still buzzing about the upset victory in the Super Bowl by the Giants. Other professional sports, including NBA basketball and NHL hockey, are gearing up for their playoffs. Boxing, as we know, has no season and rarely has organized elimination tournaments.

The two televised boxing cards scheduled for this Saturday, April 12, on HBO and on Showtime, at times which deliberately overlap, each feature two fights in the same weight class on their respective shows. While several of the top fighters in these divisions will appear on these shows, none of these fights pits the best against the best at those weights.

HBO has a welterweight doubleheader from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In their two title fights, WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto (31-0, 25 KOs) will defend his belt against the popular but limited Alfonso Gomez (18-3-2, 8 KOs) of “The Contender”, and IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (29-1, 27 KOs) will try to avenge the only defeat of his professional career when he fights Antonio Margarito (35-5, 25 KOs).

The best in this division is Floyd Mayweather Jr. He is more or less taking a sabbatical, appearing on BET’s “Iron Ring” mixed martial arts series, acting on the disgraceful pro “wrestling” circuit, and then likely having a highly unanticipated rematch with Oscar De La Hoya in September which will be hyped as another chapter in “The Mayweather Family” soap opera, focusing on which Mayweather is training whom, and so on.

In Mayweather’s absence, Cotto, after KO’ing Zab Judah and decisioning Shane Mosley last year, is also trying to take a breather. After Gomez, he likely will face Ricardo Mayorga in the summer. Mayorga has fought just once in 2005, 2006, and 2007, getting stopped by De La Hoya in his 2006 cameo. Cotto-Mayorga may be an entertaining slugfest while it lasts, but it is certainly not the best against the best.

Cintron was taken apart three years ago by Margarito. Since then, he has stopped all five of his opponents and claims to be a more mature and improved fighter. But none of his victims has been top-tier welterweights. Margarito, destroying Golden Johnson in one round after dropping a close decision to Paul Williams last year, may have slowed a bit since first facing Cintron, so this fight has the potential to be more competitive than their first. In any case, while a good matchup, it still is not the best against the best. Even if the winner faces Cotto in a partial unification bout, we should not have to wait another year or even more for a welterweight World Series.

The light heavyweight fights on Showtime are being billed as featuring the best in that division. Almost, but not so. Their April 12 card, from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida, features former undisputed light heavyweight champion, 39-year-old Antonio Tarver (26-4, 19 KOs), against IBF light heavyweight champion, 35-year-old Clinton Woods (41-3-1, 24 KOs), and one of the rising stars in boxing, 25-year-old WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (25-0, 17 KOs), against former world champion, 39-year-old Glen Johnson (47-11-2, 32 KOs).

Clearly this is being staged as some sort of limited playoff, with the winners advancing to a partial unification. The Tarver-Woods winner has the IBF belt, and will likely next face the Dawson-Johnson winner, who will hold the WBC belt. Again, however, it is not the best against the best.

The linear light heavyweight champion is 43-year-old Bernard Hopkins, who faces super middleweight king Joe Calzaghe the following week, and on HBO. The undefeated Dawson is clearly the future of the division, but he needs a marquee opponent to gain recognition, both from the public and the slow-witted boxing media. If, as expected, Dawson wins Saturday’s fight, and impressively enough, he can next get a partial unification fight and then stand in line for whatever is left of the division after Hopkins-Calzaghe – and perhaps have to jump to HBO as well.

So Saturday’s cards overall should be good and interesting, and be viewed by all boxing people, despite the stubborn network war which has these being shown live at almost the same time. Both networks offer replays, or you can record one while watching the other live.

I will be in Atlantic City this weekend, first covering the YAMMA Pit Fighting mixed martial arts show Friday and then the boxing Saturday. I’ll tape the Showtime card and watch it when I return home. Hopefully some of you reading this will be at one of these shows.

If you are in Atlantic City, let me know when you are going to the Mountain Bar at Bally’s Wild Wild West. That bar also may not be the best, bit it is still plenty good.

By The Way, Pacquiao vs. Marquez 2 Saturday

Is it just me, or is there a surprisingly little amount of buzz for Saturday’s long-delayed rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez? There has been the requisite number of news releases, teleconference calls, e-mails, articles, and even a countdown show, but the anticipation you would think a rematch involving these two top ten fighters, who fought to a split draw almost four years ago, seems lacking.

Perhaps it is because we are still awed by Vazquez-Marquez 3 just two weeks ago, or still disgusted at the two recent heavyweight title fight stinkers. Maybe the incessant use of nationalism to hype fights like this has dampened the enthusiasm of those not from the Philippines or Mexico. Maybe it is a regional issue, with more build-up out West than in the Big Apple, where I roam.

Their first fight, from May 8, 2004, will be replayed in the U.S. on HBO2 Friday, March 14/early Saturday morning March 15, at 12:30 AM (ET/PT), and Saturday, March 15, at 9:30 AM (ET/PT). The rematch, from Las Vegas, is on HBO Pay-Per-View, Saturday night, March 15. It may be expensive, but it should get interesting.

Your Weekend Itinerary for March 7-8

The major fights which will be televised in America this weekend will probably land, both on the sporting and entertainment scales, somewhere between last week’s shining Vazquez-Marquez 3 and the previous week’s stinking Klitschko-Ibragimov 0.

Highly-touted South African featherweight Thomas Mashaba (20-1-4, 12 KOs) makes his American debut Friday, March 7, on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” and at the final fight card at the Fox Theatre in the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. His opponent is Mexican journeyman Cristobal Cruz (31-11-2, 23 KOs), who has dropped two of his last three and four of his last seven fights, albeit against accomplished fighters Zahir Raheem, Francisco Lorenzo (twice), and Steven Luevano. This is a showcase for Mashaba, but what else can we expect from this increasingly dreadful show?

Saturday, March 8, brings a full slate of important title fights on the American premium networks.

Showtime, as usual, has a compelling fight with their telecast from England of the cruiserweight unification fight between David Haye (20-1, 19 KOs), holder of two of these belts and generally regarded as the best in that division, against another titleholder, Enzo Maccarinelli (28-1, 21 KOs), trained by Enzo Calzaghe. This fights starts at 2 AM GMT at the O2 Arena in London to accommodate us Yanks, who will see it live at 9 PM EST. Setanata has the TV honors in the UK. Haye says he will move up to heavyweight after this one. Both men’s knockout power may be especially on display before this international audience. In the U.S., Showtime’s boxing telecast is followed by a mixed martial arts card, also from England.

At basically the same time, HBO gives us more heavyweights. Finally, after many had given up on ever seeing this fight, WBC regular heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev (34-5, 26 KOs) takes on WBC interim heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs) in Cancun, Mexico. Supposedly the winner has WBC heavyweight champion emeritus Vitali Klitschko next, another matchup about which we skeptics shake our heads. With Peter being dropped three times and almost stopped by late substitute Jameel McCline last year in Madison Square Garden, and the 39-year-old Maskaev sitting inactive since Dec. 2006 and postponing this bout a couple of times, it seems best to wonder who will lose rather than who will win this fight.

If these heavyweights manage to deliver yet another performance worthy of purgatory, the HBO co-feature has the exciting and unbeaten multiple lightweight beltholder Juan Diaz (33-0, 17 KOs) defending those straps against the slick and dangerous Nate Campbell (31-5-1, 25 KOs). A lot of the prefight drama has focused on the battle between Diaz’s promoter Don King and his manager Willie Savannah. King announced yesterday that he will no longer promote Diaz after this fight, citing his numerous disputes with Savannah over money, opponents for Diaz, and the like. This controversy may or may not play a role in the fight’s outcome between the 24-year-old college student Diaz and the 35-year-old veteran Campbell, or, if it goes to the judges, their decision. But this one will be televised widely, so whatever happens in Mexico may not simply stay there.

HBO will not be televising the undercard, which includes the return of the vastly underrated heavyweight (and supposedly retooled by trainer Manny Siaca Sr.) John Ruiz (42-7-1, 29 KOs), still just 36, against Jameel McCline (38-3-3, 23 KOs), and a super lightweight eliminator between unbeaten Timothy Bradley (21-0, 11 KOs) and former champion Jose Luis Castillo (56-8-1, 48 KOs).

Ruiz, the victim of questionable decision losses in Germany against Nikolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev in the WBA title roulette game, only fought once in 2007, against journeyman Otis Tisdale. Showing movement heretofore absent or at least underutilized in his approach, Ruiz stopped Tisdale in two. If he is given the chance, and especially with today’s heavyweight wreckage, Ruiz could capture one or more of these belts once again.

If you want to see the undercard on this typically loaded Don King show, you either have to be in Mexico, be in a country where the international feed is available, or know how to watch these things online. The same can be said of Friday’s card in Nottingham, England, featuring unbeaten junior featherweight Kiko Martinez vs. Rendall Munroe; Saturday’s fourth bout between flyweight champ Daisuke Naito and former champ Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in Tokyo, Japan, which should be available both on Japanese and Thai TV; and the women’s fights of Ina Menzer vs. Sandy Tsagouris and Alesia Graf vs. Fatuma Zarika from Krefeld, Germany, which will be telecast there on ZDF (http://www.zdf.de/). The latter telecast will apparently feature just the two women’s fights on that card, but after all, March 8 is International Women’s Day, so what better way to celebrate that than televising women fighting each other?

Now make sure that you do all your shopping and errands before this busy weekend.