Kermit Cintron Targeting August 12 Return on Friday Night Fights

Kermit Cintron's return to the ring on July 9 didn't go as he might have hoped, but the Puerto Rican slugger is hoping to jump right back into the mix and right the ship. Rick Reeno reports that an August 12 fight on Friday Night Fights between Cintron and Antwone Smith is close:

The ESPN date belongs to Lou DiBella. He advised BoxingScene that a deal for Cintron-Smith is very close and both sides want the fight.

"If we can pull this off, I think it's another great fight for ESPN. They both want the fight. I think it says a lot about Kermit Cintron to take a fight like this on short notice, and Antwone is hungry. I think the winner of this fight factors right back into the mix of the division," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.

Cintron (32-4-1, 28 KO) looked lifeless through much of his loss to Molina, and this would be a nice way to try to come back. Smith (20-2-1, 12 KO) isn't a top-tier fighter, but is credible. The 24-year-old from Miami had dates with Joel Julio this year, but neither came through, with Smith pulling out the first time due to injury, and Julio the second time due to a family emergency.

I also think that DiBella is right about Cintron, a fighter I've never been shy about criticizing in the past: It's a good sign that Kermit wants to get right back in there and fight someone decent, and try to prove that he's better than he was a couple weeks ago. Even as someone who has never been a Cintron fan, I believe he's better than he was against Molina. Smith would be a nice first step back, and taking the fight so quickly would speak well of perhaps a newfound desire, or at least that the Molina fight served as a wake-up call for him.