The Showdown 02.05.10: Big Weekend of Televised Fights

Posted by Patrick Cassidy on 02.05.2010

Patrick Cassidy breaks down this weekend's upcoming fight cards which feature five separate boxing cards filled with closely matched fights and interesting storylines.



I've always been a fan of the theory that Boxing has suffered in the past few years more in part to the lack of exposure the sport has seen due in part to the relative cost of putting a boxing card on TV as compared to some of the cheaper sporting events. Thankfully, the past year has reversed the trend of disappearing televised boxing and has saw the debut of two new boxing shows which feature quality action fights that can attract and build new fight fans.

In simple terms, the sport is much healthier than a year ago when we faced the demise of ESPN's Wednesday Night Fights and Telefutura boxing. Since that time Top Rank Boxing and Telefutura have picked up the slack and are delivering us some quality fights on multiple nights of the week which is reminiscent of the days when you had USA's "Tuesday Night Fights" followed by ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" and tapped off with Showtime/HBO Boxing. This weekend will be more of the same as we have five significant boxing cards at your disposal. I can promise you that much of this weekend will be spent by yours truly firing up the DVR with a few cold ones and enjoying some quality action. Let's take a look at the upcoming bouts for this week and which ones are worth keeping an eye on.



Friday Night Fights: Friday, 9PM on ESPN2
Main Event: Glen Johnson vs Yusaf Mack
This fight certainly ranks as a major coup for Friday Night Fights which managed to snag the fight after the demise of the Andre Berto/Shane Mosley fight where the fight was initially set to take place. It's a matchup of two active fighters who are currently at opposite ends of their respective careers. Mack has been on a roll since losing to Librado Andrade in 2007. He's turned out five consecutive wins against solid opposition, most notably former world title challenger, Chris Henry. Mack could be on the verge of his first title shot if he can manage to stop the swarming offense of Glen Johnson. Johnson is on the other end of his career and he's hoping as it winds down there is another major pay day to be had. Johnson is coming off a lopsided defeat at the hands of current light heavyweight king, Chad Dawson and it doesn't seem feasible to think that he's going to be getting another crack at the title in the near future. So this fight with Mack is almost an eliminator for him, a win and he moves on to a bigger pay day while a loss almost certainly puts him in the dangerous territory of opponent. Expect an action fight that delivers for the audience. Also the undercard is quite solid as well. Local prospect Joey Hernandez will square off with Ed Paredes looking to avenge an earlier draw in a fight that was heavy on the action and promises to deliver once again. Also be on the look out for uber-prospect Guillermo Rigondeaux who will likely counter punch his way to an easy victory against the overmatched Adolpho Landeros.

ShoBox: The Next Generation: Friday, 11PM on Showtime
Main Event: Freddy Hernandez vs Demarcus Corley
Freddy Hernandez's career has taken a strikingly different path than many of his Mexican compatriots, he's been brought along slowly stepping his opposition up at a calculated pace. He's fought and beat some notable opposition including Jesus Soto Karass, Hicket Lau, Ben Tackie, Norberto Bravo, and Damian Frias. He'll be taking another major step up when he takes on perennial gate keeper, Demarcus "Chop Chop" Corley. The former WBO champion has proved to be a strong test for many of young fighters in the past ten years and he'll certainly test Hernandez in a main event that could spell riches or ruins for Hernandez. Don't let Corley's record fool you, he's going to bring it to Hernandez and it's now up to him to pass this test.



Showtime Championship Boxing: Saturday, 9 PM on Showtime
Main Event: Edwin Valero vs Antonio DeMarco
This fight certainly represents the most intriguing bout of the weekend and one that could easily contend for Fight/Knockout of the year honors. Valero has built a cult like status on the internet and in his native Venezuela and yet he's a relative unknown in the States due to a previous brain bleed as well as several own personal demons which has sabotaged some of his opportunities to be licensed in America. However, American fans will get another chance to see this truly must – see fighter in the main event of a fight that represents a serious step up for both men. Valero's 26 wins and 26 knockouts has been built on mostly flimsy opposition who could not withstand his crushing power. That's unlikely to be the case with DeMarco who is far more skilled than Valero's previous opponents and is known to brawl himself which has left himself exposed to some power shots. If DeMarco can withstand Valero's early power surges we could be in for an absolute classic. DeMarco has slowly improved as a fighter and he'll need to use those skills to keep the overwhelming offense of Edwin Valero at bay. I'm taking Valero just because his offense is something that needs to seen to believe but I won't be shocked if the hungry and talented DeMarco finds a way to expose the Wildman from Venezuela.

Top Rank Live: Saturday, check local listings, Fox Sports Net
Main Event: Brandon Rios vs Jorge Teron
It's the classic match up of two hungry and highly touted prospects facing off against one another in a fight that will push one into contender status and the other back to the drawing board. Brandon Rios is one of the prized young fighters from Oxnard, California whose been brought along slowly by his handlers and promotional team. He's taking a major step up in Teron who himself is a prospect whose career has to feature many major challengers. Both have also had their slip ups along the way, Rios has a draw against the pedestrian, Manuel Perez while Teron sports a loss that he later avenged against the decidedly average, Aldo Valtierra. Both fighters will need to prove there is substance behind their early hype and both will also have to use their advantages to their favor. Teron is a wiry lightweight with an amazing 74 inch reach, unfortunately he has pillows for hands and is going to have to manage to keep the much harder hitting Rios at bay. If Rios gets inside, the fight is unlikely to go long. Teron had trouble with Valtierra in their rematch as he again was unable to keep the fighter away from him, as I sat ringside most on press row agreed he had some help on the scorecards. He won't in this fight which makes it imperative that his jab is out in full force. It should be a fun and intriguing fight to watch unfold.



GoFightLive: Saturday, Internet, 8 PM
Main Event: Tomasz Adamek vs Jason Estrada
Tomasz Adamek continues his campaign at Heavyweight when he steps into the ring with decorated amateur, Jason Estrada in a 12 round bout that could turn interesting. Luckily for Adamek, Estrada does not pack a significant punch but he is a cagey fighter who recently gave top ranked contender, Alexander Povetkin some early problems. That's not to say anyone really expects Estrada to walk away with a W in Adamek's adopted hometown of Newark, New Jersey but it should be an interesting fight. What really excites the fan is the fact that if Adamek can look impressive it'll likely set up an April showdown with one Cris Arreola on HBO in a fight that most hardcore fans will be drooling over.

Also watch out for an excellent undercard bout as local prospect Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin takes a big step up in his career by stepping into the ring with Fernando Zuniga. Quillin has looked quite impressive to this point in his career and we'll be able to further gauge the kids prospects following Saturday.

Like I said, it's going to be a very exciting week of fights with some match ups that may be short on star power but feature excellent matchmaking and fighters at various levels of their careers. It will certainly be a fun weekend for the hardcore fan.