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This weekend there are a number of good fights on ESPN, Showtime, and HBO. Here is a list of the fight cards that boxing fans can watch:
FRIDAY - at Uncasville, Connecticut (ESPN2) - 12 rounds, cruiserweights: Matt Godfrey (14-0, 8 KOs) vs. Felix Cora Jr. (18-1-2, 9 KOs).
FRIDAY - Minneapolis (Showtime) - 12 rounds, heavyweights: Travis Walker (22-0-1, 17 KOs) vs. George Garcia (13-0, 4 KOs).
SATURDAY - at Cardiff, Wales (HBO) - 12 rounds, middleweights: Joe Calzaghe (42-0, 31 KOs) vs. Peter Manfredo Jr. (26-3, 12 KOs); 12 rounds, cruiserweights: Enzo Maccarinelli (25-1, 19 KOs) vs. Bobby Gunn (16-2, 13 KOs); 12 rounds, welterweights: Mehrdud Takaloo (25-5, 17 KOs) vs. Michael Jennings (29-1, 14 KOs); 12 rounds, light middleweights: Bradley Pryce (23-6, 14 KOs) vs. Thomas Awinbono (6-1-1, 3 KOs); 12 rounds, middleweights: Gary Lockett (28-1, 19 KOs) vs. Ryan Rhodes (35-4, 23 KOs).
SATURDAY - at Springfield, Missouri - (Showtime) - 12 rounds, light welterweights: Diego Corrales (40-4, 33 KOs) vs. Joshua Clottey (30-2, 19 KOs).
This will be a tough weekend for me. My younger son was scheduled to fight in the finals in the NYS Eastern Division of the Golden Gloves. However, I made the decision to pull him out, because he had a serious case of the flu. It left him too weak too close to the fight. He's not happy with the decision, but I think he knows it is correct.
Instead of traveling to Plattsburgh, we'll watch the fights on television. Each of the four fight cards offers quality competition. The Friday night cards are interesting. ESPN has been trying to have more evenly matched main events, and on paper, this one is. The "ShowBox" fights are, in my opinion, some of the best fights on tv. They are a throw-back to the old Gillette Friday Night Fights, with "hungry" young contenders looking to make a name for themselves on national television.
Saturday's cards are interesting. Calzaghe is heavily favored to beat Manfredo. However, Sugar Ray Leonard is pretty invested in preparing Manfredo. While Calzaghe was outstanding versus Jeff Lacy, he is of an age that he isn't "up" for every fight. He may be looking past this fight, and thinking of the next potential "super fight." There are a few good options for him. He should win convincingly Saturday. But he can't take this kid for granted.
The most attractive fight of the weekend features Diego Corrales battling Joshua Clottey. Corrales is one of the most exciting warriors in the sport. He is somewhat like Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns: a tall guy with explosive power, who too often ignores his ability to outbox almost everyone, because he loves to slug it out anyone. And, like Tommy, he does not have a great chin. Unlike Hearns, Corrales does not have a long reach, and this makes slugging a dangerous game for him. This weekend, he moves up two weight classes, to fight one of the most dangerous men around. Clottey recently appeared to be on his way to an upset victory over hard-punching Antonio Margarito, until suffering an injury that prevented him from competing.
Corrales recently separated from his longtime trainer. It could be a difficult time to make two big changes: moving up two divisions, and having a new trainer/cornerman, seems to increase Diego's chances of having a very difficult fight on Saturday. And as much as the guy has welcomed tough fights over the years, I think it is going to catch up to him in 2007.
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