Item Number One: Kelly Pavlik, the Leading Man in American Boxing?

If Floyd Mayweather, Jr., is really done with boxing, and with Oscar de la Hoya on the final road of his long journey, American boxing is going to need a new headliner. There isn't a whole lot to choose from. Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Philippines, the former Soviet Union countries, etc. -- those are the nations dominating professional boxing. It'll most likely stay that way, too. And that's fine by me, I don't really care where anyone's from as long as they can fight.

But promoters and TV people and even some fans need that American boy to root for. Who better than Kelly Pavlik? What fighter better embodies the "American dream" than the humble, hard-punching, workman-like dude from the fallen midwestern steel town? (By the way, I'm as sick of hearing about the ailings of Youngstown as anyone else is, and I'm sure Pavlik is, too. Not that he's not proud of where he comes from, but you'd think it's the worst city on earth.)

Not only is Pavlik a good story, though, he's an exciting, dynamic fighter that is guaranteed good TV. He's not had a ton of television exposure, but I've never seen a Pavlik fight live that was a bore. His wins over Lenord Pierre (Vs.), Zertuche, Miranda, Taylor (HBO and PPV) and now Lockett have all been good watchin'.

He's charismatic. He's humble. He's a gracious winner. He's a knockout puncher. There isn't a whole lot more you need than what Pavlik has. He's got Top Rank behind him. Hell, he even has an interesting, loudmouth trainer to speak up and create some sparks before the fights when Kelly doesn't want to take it too far.

Honestly, even if Mayweather returns or Oscar decides to fight another three years, you're looking at the new face of American boxing. I think a lot of people are happy to welcome him as such. 100% fighter, 0% bulls--t.

Item Number Two: Well, that didn't last very long at all!

Is an early KO/TKO good, bad, or neither for televised boxing, and the hope that fans will come back the next time around?

I'm no scientician, y'all, so it beats me. I do know that of the four big fights last night, we had two TKOs in the first round and one in the third that easily could have been stopped in the second. Carlos Quintana and Daniel Ponce de Leon are really good fighters that got bombed out in less than three minutes last night. Do you think that diminishes their appeal from here on out?

Of course, there are a good amount of MMA bouts that end within the first round, via TKO or submission, and that sport's popularity and appeal dwarfs boxing's right now, even though boxing has been on an upswing. While boxing's popularity has come back some, MMA's has just gotten bigger during the same time.

Most common answer from your average MMA fan on why they watch that sport but not boxing: "More exciting. More action." Hey, fair enough. Whatever floats your boat, amigos.

How much more action-packed can you get than watching Juan Manuel Lopez light up Daniel Ponce de Leon with short punches, bloodying and dazing him with two knockdowns and a stoppage in two minutes and change? Paul Williams' destruction of Quintana was much the same. And Kelly Pavlik beating the crap out of Gary Lockett may have taken a little longer, but was just as definitive.

Of course, it all adds up to a rare night for championship boxing. To try to sell this as an example of what you're going to see on any other date would be stupid. I don't even really have a point with any of this. Dudes got their asses kicked last night, though, didn't they? Jeez.

Item Number Three: Showtime versus HBO!

Forget the ratings, because I only care about the ratings in the hopes that they're good for either network or anyone else showing boxing on TV. Who wins the fan battle head-to-head last night?

With the type of night it was, hard to say, right? HBO had less than four rounds, total, of boxing. But it was exciting. Showtime's first fight went less than a round itself, then came the Forrest-Mora 12-rounder, which produced an upset that vindicated Sergio Mora, Jeff Wald, and "The Contender" as a whole. Finally, one of these guys did something on a world class level.

The production for HBO has to be taken into account, and as usual, it was stellar. Great feature on Pavlik, great hype and atmosphere from the network, which lends a lot to a card. Showtime just doesn't do that stuff. A lot of it is budget; they don't spend as much on boxing as HBO does. And I'm fine without it, but there's no denying that HBO adds a little something extra to the presentation of a fight.

So, which show produced the more significant results, since the head-to-head action is tough to call? Mora's winning of Forrest's 154-pound strap is pretty big news, and was a big upset. Williams regaining his welterweight title was also meaningful. On HBO, you had Pavlik beating Lockett, as expected, to retain, and Lopez waxing Ponce de Leon to announce his arrival -- loudly -- into the elite ranks of the 122-pound division with the WBO title around his waist.

I do believe that long-term, the most significant thing to happen last night was Juanma Lopez's win. He's going to be around a long time. Williams' win was a return to normal after four months of living with the Quintana loss, and Mora's win, while special for a lot of people...I don't see this going down in history, necessarily.

The truth is, HBO was handicapped from the first minute by a weak main event. Pavlik is a star, a legit champion, and a great guy that it would be damn hard to not like. He's must-see TV. But that fight was a joke. Lockett had absolutely no business in the ring with him. Shame on those that made him a mandatory. Advantage: Showtime, slightly.

Item Number Four: "Viper" gets snake-bit

Oh, Mr. Big Stuff. Who did you think you were?

Y'know, I'm one of...well, everybody, that thought Sergio Mora would get outclassed by Vernon Forrest. That doesn't mean that I didn't find Forrest's trash-talk leading up to the fight a little past good taste and even venturing into disgusting and totally out-of-line. Threatening to send someone home on a stretcher is all well and whatever in the world of pro wrestling, when over-the-top promos and drama are the way to sell a fight. But in boxing, or MMA, or any other sport? Imagine if Richard Seymour threatened to break Peyton Manning's neck with a sack, you know? It's just classless.

Forrest is eating his words today. He has had his mouth shut, and I don't know where he's going with his career right now, but losing to Mora, who came in with very little respect among journalists and fans and other fighters, is a big, big deal. Vernon's 37 years old. How much more working back up the ladder does he have left in him?

He gassed. He was outworked, his hand speed didn't look any sort of special against Mora as opposed to stand-and-take it guys like Baldomir and Piccirillo, and he got out-thought all night. I thought he was winning the fight early, and through eight rounds. After that, as I watched rounds nine through 11 today, he lost. He lost the fight because he wasn't good enough. Good for Mora. He understandably came in with a chip on his shoulder, and despite all the weird mistakes he's made, and despite the fact that he comes off poorly a lot of the time, he won, and he should be proud of that.

Mora will move on. His mandatory is Sergio Martinez, the Argentian myth, but apparently Mora has no plans to defend at 154. Again, I think that's lame, but whatever. It's not like I'm dying to see Mora-Martinez.

Though, picture this one: Mora-Spinks. Who's on board?! Come on!

There was really no more clear example of the fresher, better fighter last night than the start of the 12th round, when Mora looked to have reserves left in the tank, but Forrest had to be helped off his stool to start the round by trainer Buddy McGirt.

Item Number Five: "Israel! Rafael! Celestino! There's someone here to see you!"

Remember when you were a kid, and a new dude would move to town in the middle of a school year, and everyone was infatuated with the new guy? All the girls found him cute and interesting, trying to jockey themselves into position as to which would get the honor of being his girlfriend for the first one-to-two weeks before relinquishing her position to another?

It didn't even matter if the guy was butt ugly and had all the personality of not just paint drying, but the sign that alerts you to the fact that there is, in fact, wet paint. He was the man for a little while. At the end of it all, when the luster wore off, that guy usually wound up where he belonged, no matter if that was popularity or secluded geekdom in the library, playing Magic: The Gathering. (If anyone thinks I'm being jock-ish and making fun of geeks or dorks or nerds, listen, I play World of Warcraft. And I do not play PvP. OK? There.)

Juan Manuel Lopez is entering Super Bantamweight High School, and he's no doubt striking some amount of fear into the hearts of the big dogs, names like Israel Vazquez, Rafael Marquez, and Celestino Caballero (who won last night, by the way, when Lorenzo Parra's jaw was broken in the 12th round).

The thing is, Lopez is the real deal. This is a new kid that comes to school and winds up as the starting quarterback and prom king. Even the Magic kids think this guy is cool, because -- get this -- HE PLAYS, TOO.

I'm hoping that the Puerto Rico-Mexico flames were stoked by Lopez's manhandling of Ponce de Leon, and that if we aren't going to get Vazquez-Marquez IV as a next fight for either guy, we could perhaps see Marquez-Lopez. Probably more likely for now that were he to face another Mexican next, it'd be someone along the lines of Genaro Garcia, but it's fun to dream. Sometime soon, though, one of the big dogs is going to have to face Lopez, because now Lopez is a big dog, too. BoxRec is already listing August 30 as Lopez's return date, not that that means anything concrete.

Item Number Six: The Challenger That Didn't Challenge -- The Gary Lockett Story

Lockett's first round went OK. He hit Pavlik a couple times. He stood his ground. If I learned one thing about Gary Lockett as a positive last night, it's that he wasn't scared of Pavlik, and if you're not scared of the best guy in your division, you've got something going for you.

But the biggest lesson learned is that Gary Lockett was a pathetic challenger forced upon Pavlik and the viewing public. I don't blame Pavlik for fighting him, he was a mandatory and Kelly didn't want to just give away a title. He was presented with an opponent he had to fight, and he fought him. And beat the crap out of him.

Pavlik was a -2000 favorite. You had to bet $200 to win ONE DOLLAR on Kelly Pavlik's victory last night. Lockett was so grossly out of his depth that by the third round, I just felt bad for him. Thankfully, Enzo Calzaghe tossed the white towel of surrender into the ring after Lockett took a knee for the third time. He was horribly discouraged, being battered, and clearly wanted no more of Pavlik's punishment.

It was a sham, and now no one can defend it. It was everything that it was supposed to be, which was worst-case scenario for Gary Lockett. He'll now return to obscurity, most likely, back to the grind of small fights in Europe, out of the public eye, probably never to really return. He seems like a really good guy, but there are lots of good guys in the sport that just aren't top-class fighters. He joins a non-exclusive club.

What made me feel sorry for him was that he looked helpless. Pavlik was non-chalantly blocking shots, picking them off, and then delivering combinations with ease. Lockett said after the fight that he "couldn't see the punches coming" and that he was surprised by Pavlik's power and speed. The latter is hard to believe, all things considered, but that's what he said.

Item Number Seven: Enzo's tough year

It was always going to be hard for Enzo Calzaghe to top his 2007. In '07, he was Trainer of the Year and was heading up his world champion son, Joe, as well as titleholders Enzo Maccarinelli and Gavin Rees, plus he had Lockett and some others on board.

Macca was thumped by David Haye in two rounds. The perennial underdog Rees' Cinderella story (of sorts) ended at the hands of Andreas Kotelnik. Now Lockett has been thoroughly debunked.

What's he got going for him right now? Joe. That's about it. And if Joe fights Kelly Pavlik, that could come to an end (again, of sorts).

It's always easy to overhype a trainer's effect, the same as a manager or coach in any sport. Tony LaRussa wins when he has good players playing well. Bill Parcells won Super Bowls when the teams were Super Bowl-caliber. It's not rocket science. Enzo Calzaghe's fighters are only as good as they can be. And if you compare them all to Joe Calzaghe, of course they look bad.

No trainer in the world could have gotten more out of Gary Lockett last night. And I dare say no trainer in the world could have gotten more out of the limited Rees than Enzo has. He's still a good trainer. That didn't end.

Item Number Eight: "Is that what you want to see?"

When Max Kellerman spoke with Kelly Pavlik after the fight about what was next, a few names popped up.

Arthur Abraham was one. Arthur has plenty on his plate with the upcoming Miranda rematch. But that would be a good fight.

Joe Calzaghe was another. And that was the name that got the reaction from the fans, to which Pavlik responded with a question to all 7,168 of them (an estimated 75% of them had travelled from Ohio): "Is that what you want to see?"

Well, yes. Bob Arum and Frank Warren have had preliminary talks, and I think now it's getting to the point where there's a real sense of anticipation going on. The fight would take place at 168 pounds, which Calzaghe has no problem with doing for the right opponent. Were Pavlik to defeat Calzaghe, he would simultaneously hold the Ring Magazine middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight championships. He would be the legitimate champion of three weight classes. That would be very, very special.

And it's win-win. It's the biggest possible fight for Pavlik, and I don't think it's any stretch to suggest that it's the biggest fight for Joe, either. Pavlik is a lot more relevant and hot than Roy Jones, Jr., or Antonio Tarver or anyone else. It would be a mega-event, either in the States or in Wales.

There's never a better fight than the one that makes the most money in a promoter's mind. And in the case where it's also the best fight, you can't go wrong. When boxing fans are given what they want, they respond with their hard earned money.

Item Number Nine: Redemption!

Paul Williams redeemed a poor February performance (which I still think was just as much a great Quintana performance that night) with his wipeout of Carlos Quintana last night. So where does HE go next?

With Floyd out of the way, there are openings at 147. He could try to wait on the Cotto-Margarito winner. He could revisit that idea he had to fight Shane Mosley.

Or, he might try to edge his way in against Oscar de la Hoya in September. What better time for Oscar to fight Paul Williams than right now, when he looks once again like a very real force in the division?

It's not like September would be too soon. Paul's in shape and fought less than a round last night. He took no real punishment. He dished out plenty, though.

Oscar's choices are pretty limited. He's set on fighting on September 20. He could fight Winky Wright or someone. If you put it as a Winky Wright v. Paul Williams scenario, both present very difficult stylistic matchups. But a fight with Williams would show Oscar willing to fight a young guy rather than a post-prime Wright. It would feel a lot more like a FIGHT than a bout with Wink would. Fighting Winky Wright would feel like an event, built around boxing. It's an interesting matchup.

Item Number Ten: Even the losers...

What's next for these guys?

Vernon Forrest is 37 and looked bad against a younger man. It's going to be hard for him to find a fight. Ricardo Mayorga is always available, as is a fight against Cory Spinks, I'd guess, another name fighter that dropped his last bout. The latter would have a hard time finding a TV home. It's tough to go back to the drawing board at Vernon's age, but he's been back to that board before.

Carlos Quintana is a 31-year old spoiler. Too good on the right nights (Julio, the first bout against Williams) for a lot of guys with reputation to lose to want to take him on. He's going to have to force himself back into the picture, which is a shame. He's going to be in the same position Luis Collazo is, probably. Outside looking in, with plenty of talent. Collazo-Quintana wouldn't bother me at all. Paul Williams sparred with Collazo to prepare for last night. Served him well.

Daniel Ponce de Leon will be back. He's too exciting to fall off just because of this loss. But he's had two shots against top-tier fighters and lost both times. That lack of technique and know-how will doom him against against guys like Lopez. I think we can now say he'd get creamed by Vazquez or Marquez, too.

Gary Lockett? Nice to meet you. Probably won't ever see you again.

Blowouts are so in right now.

But the biggest news of the night (well, sort of) came in the only fight that went the distance, or even went past the third round. In Uncasville, Conn., Sergio Mora scored a majority decision upset over Vernon Forrest to win the WBC junior middleweight title, which he's said this week he plans to vacate immediately to move back to 160 pounds.

First of all, that's a terrible idea. I watched the first eight rounds and the 12th round, and while Mora was still nothing exciting or captivating, he was definitely a more effective, sharper fighter at 154 than he has been at 160. His lack of punching power is one thing, but his digging body shots seemed to wear Forrest down. When I left the fight, I had Vernon up 77-75, but he had lost much of the momentum he built in the first four or five rounds.

Talking to others that stuck around to watch the rest of Forrest-Mora, it sounds as though Mora simply outlasted Vernon and outfought him down the stretch. That was certainly what looked like might happen.

I am not going to suddenly tell you I'm a Sergio Mora fan. I think fighting for a title you plan to simply give away is another sort of faux pas in what is becoming a long line of obnoxious B.S. that comes from him. But I couldn't help but kind of feel good for Mora, who was verbally abused to an obscene degree by Forrest in the build-up to the fight.

So much for taking Mora out on a stretcher. So much for a boring, wide unanimous decision. Mora's style gave Vernon fits, as the 37-year old Forrest looked slow even at the points he was winning. That's the difference that a 28-year old Mora makes as opposed to Carlos Baldomir or Michele Piccirillo. Those guys stood and Forrest could work. Mora's herky-jerky, goofy style of movement, both offensively and defensively, shut Vernon down.

Whether he'd be among my first thousand favorite fighters or not, congratulations to Sergio Mora. He shut Vernon Forrest's mouth tonight.

On the undercard in Uncasville, Carlos Quintana looked great again against Paul Williams...for about a minute. Then Williams caught him with some long left hands and absolutely obliterated the WBO welterweight titleholder. After two minutes and 15 seconds highlighted by Quintana's head rocking around and two trips to the canvas, the strap returned to the waist of "The Punisher." Williams hasn't looked that vicious in a long time, and Quintana just didn't stand a chance from the moment he was first rocked. Great performance by Williams, and right back to the drawing board for the 31-year old Quintana. He's in a difficult career position; too slick, too smart, and too good to get good fights, probably. He's good enough to win big fights (Williams, Julio), but also is vulnerable to being blown out (Williams, Cotto). I like him a lot, but this was a real shot in the groin to his career.

The HBO opener in Atlantic City, N.J., saw Daniel Ponce de Leon look great...for about a minute. Then Juan Manuel Lopez started landing short, precise left hooks, and it was all over for the double tough Ponce de Leon, who suffered his second career loss and first career knockout at 2:15 of the opening round, making Lopez the new WBO super bantamweight titleholder.

Ponce de Leon, like Quintana, was floored twice, and it was clear after the first time that it was all over for him. The super bantamweights at the top of the division -- including Israel Vazquez -- better watch out for Juanma. This kid is explosive, finishes well, has good technique, and just did what no one else ever has. Daniel's a tough, tough fighter. He took shots from Celestino Caballero for 12 full rounds, and we're talking big bombs. Lopez finished him off in a little over two minutes.

The HBO main event went about exactly as planned. Gary Lockett did the very best he could, but was ultimately demolished in emphatic fashion by middleweight king Kelly Pavlik. He had a solid first round, but in the second he was forced to take a knee on two occasions, and after doing so again in the third, with blood coming from his nose and some rising swelling on his face, trainer Enzo Calzaghe threw in the towel, needing to see nothing more. Lockett simply was not in a league that resembled Pavlik's. It was a world class champion wailing on a club fighter, just as advertised.

We'll have more on the fights tomorrow in a 10 Points of Interest article. We'll also examine what could be next for the winners, and even a couple of the losers. It was an entertaining night at the fights.

Big night! Two of these fights are tough to pick and should have some good action. The "main event" in the BLH universe (fight that comes last, which is Pavlik-Lockett) at least has a must-see fighter in Pavlik.

The schedule:

9:00 ET, Showtime: Quintana-Williams II
10:05 ET, HBO: Ponce de Leon-Lopez and Pavlik-Lockett

We will not be covering the Showtime main event of Forrest-Mora live. We'll go from the Showtime opener over to the HBO card at 10:05. Join us for a tripleheader of championship boxing!

KELLY PAVLIK Ring/WBC/WBO Middleweight Champion		GARY LOCKETT
33-0	Record	30-1
30	KO	21
Youngstown, OH	Hometown	Pontypool, Wales
26	Age	31
6'2 1/2"	Height	5'10"
75"	Reach	73"
Jermain Taylor (TKO-7, UD-12) Edison Miranda (TKO-7) Fulgencio Zuniga (TKO-9)	Notable Wins	Lee Blundell (TKO-3) Ryan Rhodes (UD-12) Gilbert Eastman (TKO-1)
	Notable Losses	Yuri Tsarenko (SD-12)

DANIEL PONCE DE LEON WBO Super Bantamweight Titleholder Ring Magazine No. 3 Contender		JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ
34-1	Record	21-0
30	KO	19
Huntington Park, CA (Cuahtemoc, Mexico)	Hometown	Caguas, Puerto Rico
27	Age	24
5'5"	Height	5'7"
70"	Reach	68"
Rey Bautista (TKO-1) Gerry Penalosa (UD-12) Sod Looknongyangtoy (UD-12, KO-1)	Notable Wins	Jonathan Oquendo (TKO-3) Hugo Dianzo (TKO-10) Giovanni Andrade (TKO-1)
Celestino Caballero (UD-12)	Notable Losses

CARLOS QUINTANA WBO Welterweight Titleholder Ring Magazine No. 3 Contender		PAUL WILLIAMS Ring Magazine No. 4 Contender
25-1	Record	33-1
19	KO	24
Moca, Puerto Rico	Hometown	Augusta, GA (Aiken, SC)
31	Age	26
5'9 1/2"	Height	6'1"
72"	Reach	82"
Paul Williams (UD-12) Joel Julio (UD-12) Francisco Campos (TKO-6)	Notable Wins	Antonio Margarito (UD-12) Sharmba Mitchell (KO-4) Walter Matthysse (TKO-10)
Miguel Cotto (RTD-5)	Notable Losses	Carlos Quintana (UD-12)

All odds are taken from the book over at Bodog.

I'm not generally a betting man. For one thing, I don't have the dispensable money. For another thing, every time I start to sort of hint that maybe I'd like to put a little bit down on this fight or that, I get told that it's a bad idea. You know how it goes. My trips to the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich., have taught people that I'm bad with money. I try to argue that slot machines and rigged card games tended to by dealers and overseers who are nothing but absolute criminals and schysters are not the same as betting on fights. I don't run a cheating, lying, bunch of a-holes at the Four Winds Casino blog. Stupid motherfu--

...

Anyway, I do follow the odds, mostly to see what the books are thinking, what kind of bets the gamblin' men and women of the world are throwing down, and to point out to people the kind of money I COULD have made.

For those unfamiliar with how the game works, it's pretty simple. If, for example, a fighter is -300, that means you have to bet $300 for every $100 you want to win. A $30 bet would net you $10 if that fighter won. If a fighter was +300, that means you bet $100 for every $300 you want to win on the underdog. And it goes on like that.

Sergio Martinez -1500
Archak TerMeliksetian +800

Given how untested Martinez is, this is a sucker's bet. Actually it's a sucker's bet either way. TerMeliksetian will probably do his duty and lose a wide decision. But if he does win, someone might make some nice bank off of Archak TerMeliksetian.

Celestino Caballero -500
Lorenzo Parra +300

As good a flyweight as Parra was at one point, I can't see him winning this fight under any circumstances. How's he going to work against someone with such a gross reach advantage?

Daniel Ponce de Leon -175
Juan Manuel Lopez +145

Close fight on paper, close fight in the books. Ponce de Leon's name recognition and experience and status as defending titlist makes him the betting favorite. If I was betting on just one of tonight's bouts, it'd be this one. I'd put a few Franklins down on Lopez, and pray that he doesn't get knocked out early.

Vernon Forrest -500
Sergio Mora +300

I think most journalists or experts or insiders or even dillweeds like me would consider Mora a bigger underdog than +300. Never discount the effect of celebrity and a 0-loss record. The line tempts you to consider Mora winning. He won't.

Paul Williams -155
Carlos Quintana +125

Despite losing to Quintana the first time, Williams on fight day is the favorite. Both sides of this bet are dirty, nasty temptresses. Alluring, yes, but really the type of fight I'd stay away from.

Kelly Pavlik -2000
Gary Lockett +1000

This line represents a giant, "F--- you!" to anyone that thinks they'll win easy money, obviously. Pavlik at -2000 is just a massive favorite. Lockett at +1000 is a gargantuan underdog. Even though everyone and their dog thinks Pavlik will lay waste to Lockett, you have to have some stones to lay down any money on the dude with the return so minimal. A Lockett upset would not only be shocking and shake the world of boxing, but it would fill some high-roller's pocket.

We've talked in-depth about Saturday's two undercard bouts (Quintana-Williams II and Ponce de Leon-Lopez), and now we might as well go ahead and make some picks for the weekend's four big fights on Showtime and HBO.

WBC Junior Middleweight Title: Vernon Forrest (40-2, 29 KO) v. Sergio Mora (20-0-1, 5 KO)

The much-maligned main event for the Showtime card pits the WBC's 154 pound champion, Forrest, against "Contender" season one winner Sergio Mora.

Most of the talk about this fight has centered on Forrest's strangely out-of-character, vicious trash talk, but there are some elements that make this an interesting fight.

First of all, Forrest is 37 years old, and all fighters hit the real wall eventually, most often due to age and body deterioration. We all know that "The Viper" has struggled mightily with injury over his career; a career which I recently sort of chided Yahoo! Sports analyst Kevin Iole for deeming a "cinch" to get him into the Hall of Fame.

Look, if Vernon Forrest had never been so overrun by nagging injuries and several pretty major injuries, we really might be talking about a potential Hall of Fame candidate. Let's not forget that this man beat Shane Mosley twice when Sugar Shane was atop many pound-for-pound lists. Vernon was a hell of a fighter, and dominated in two bouts last year, against Carlos Baldomir and Michele Piccirillo. The rugged, durable Baldomir took Forrest the distance, but Piccirillo was slaughtered by Vernon.

I do not think Vernon is fighting as well as ever. That'd be really hard, because his peak -- though short -- was very impressive. But he is certainly fighting much better than I think any of us thought he would since his 2006 comeback, which culminated in a gift decision going his way against Ike Quartey.

As for Mora, it seems there are few fighters more disliked than "The Latin Snake," known to many hardcore fans as "The Latin Fake." But let's not ignore what he does do well, which is take a punch and box with a fair amount of slickness. He's not untalented, but is he world class? Fellow season one "Contender" alums Alfonso Gomez and Peter Manfredo, Jr., surely did not fare well in their world title shots. Gomez was mercilessly pounded by Miguel Cotto until it was thankfully stopped, and Manfredo absorbed a lot of punches without fighting back against Joe Calzaghe. He's also lost to Jeff Lacy since then.

There's a reason these guys were on "The Contender," is my point. They are not world-class fighters. If they were, going that route wouldn't have been necessary. Even if you got a higher opinion of the program thanks to last year's much-improved lot of fighters, we're still talking about the likes of Sakio Bika and Sam Soliman, veterans who have had chances and fallen short, and guys like Jaidon Codrington and Brian Vera, entertaining TV fighters that just don't seem destined for the upper echelon of the sport.

Forrest would have to get really old, really fast to lose to Mora. Sergio is absolutely not going to knock him out, and I don't think Forrest will knock out Mora, either, despite his promises and guarantees. I look for Forrest to win a wide decision.

WBO Welterweight Title: Carlos Quintana (25-1, 19 KO) v. Paul Williams (33-1, 24 KO)

Williams is the odds-on favorite again, despite being outboxed and beaten over 12 rounds by Quintana the first time they fought. I'm sure Quintana and his team like their chances at repeating.

Williams claims that he "wasn't Paul Williams" in the first fight, that he was just "off" -- that's great. He might be right. Those betting on Williams are betting on just that philosoph, that "The Punisher" had an off-night, which all fighters will endure at some point, and that he will be THE Paul Williams again, and this time use his reach to befuddle Quintana and win the fight.

The other big school of thought right now is that Quintana is simply a horrible matchup for Williams. Guys like Antonio Margarito can fall victim to Williams' preferred method of fighting, which is to pepper the jab heavily and work in the rest of his arsenal to keep the other guy guessing just enough. Using his astounding range, it was effective for 33 fights.

In the 34th, he met the crafty Quintana, a fellow southpaw who likes to move, counter punch, and pull out sneaky overhand lefts as a lead punch. Make no mistake about it, he tagged Williams a LOT in their first encounter. He was the clear victor.

I just don't see it changing. If it does, I won't be stunned or anything. But Williams' supporters are working off of a hope. Those of us picking Quintana are working off of something that happened. Quintana via hard-fought decision.

World Middleweight Championship: Kelly Pavlik (33-0, 30 KO) v. Gary Lockett (30-1, 21 KO)

If Gary Lockett, who is undersized, underskilled, underpowered, underqualified, and overranked as a mandatory, were to beat Kelly Pavlik on HBO this Saturday, it would be pretty damn hard for any upset this year to top it.

Lockett would be a lock for Upset of the Year. The fight would go down in the history books. It would be, arguably, the sport's biggest upset since Carlos Baldomir shocked Zab Judah and the boxing world in 2006.

It won't happen. Lockett seems like a nice guy that undoubtedly is working his ass off to get prepared for the biggest fight of his career. But I get the sensation that this will forever be the biggest fight of Gary Lockett's career, too. Watching him fight, it's clear that he doesn't have the right tools to knock off the aggressive, skilled, and very powerful Pavlik.

If flush power punches from Edison Miranda couldn't back Pavlik down, what will Lockett do? If a focused, re-energized Jermain Taylor couldn't ultimately outbox Pavlik in their rematch, how is Lockett going to do that?

Lockett's only hope is that Pavlik is looking past him, but that would be a real surprise. Pavlik is working toward being one of the biggest draws in boxing. He knows that this is a tune-up fight, I'm sure, but he also knows it's a fight he cannot in any way afford to lose. He's going to come at Lockett hard from the opening bell.

The 6'2 1/2" Pavlik has a big size advantage on the 5'10" Lockett, who really looks more like a junior middleweight by trade, whereas Kelly seems to have the sort of broad-shouldered frame that will make it easy for him to move up to 175 someday, maybe even cruiserweight. Hell, he's talked about going up to heavyweight, and some don't think it's that crazy of an idea.

And if nothing else, look at the last fight fights for each guy -- all wins on both sides. Pavlik took down Lenord Pierre, Jose Luis Zertuche, Edison Miranda, and Taylor twice. Lockett has been fighting the likes of Gilbert Eastman, Ryan Rhodes, Ayitey Powers, Lee Blundell and Kai Kauramaki. Pavlik via highly one-sided TKO in the fifth.

WBO Super Bantamweight Title: Daniel Ponce de Leon (34-1, 30 KO) v. Juan Manuel Lopez (21-0, 19 KO)

Sometimes Ponce de Leon's awkward fighting style can be a blessing for him. He comes at unconventional angles, allowing his wild, unorthodox punches to find their home.

Other times, Ponce de Leon is made to look foolish and slow.

I think this is going to be one of those nights where the latter occurs.

I like Ponce de Leon, and will always sit down to watch him fight. But Lopez is a really good-looking young fighter who has the sort of natural ability that Ponce de Leon lacks, and that can really thwart the attack of a fighter like Ponce de Leon.

The two southpaws will slug it out, of that I have no doubt. We will not see this one go the distance, and if it does, we could have a real hell of a fight on our hands. I don't think this one will be especially pretty, and I could see both guys going down. No matter who he fights, Ponce de Leon will always have a puncher's chance. But the same looks like it can be said for Lopez, too.

Every fight is supposed to be the one where Ponce de Leon "puts it all together." Frankly, I think he's put it all about as together as it's going to get. The guy is never going to be good with footwork, is always going to be vulnerable to fighting wild and crazy, no matter how hard they try to make him stop, and will never show up and work off the jab and box. It's just not his style. It's not in his mental makeup.

It's the toughest pick of the weekend, if you ask me, and has a high chance of also being the best fight. It's a top-heavy division loaded with Vazquez, Marquez, Caballero, Ponce de Leon and Molitor. I think they better get ready to welcome Lopez via eighth round TKO.

On February 9 in Temecula, CA, Carlos Quintana was a 6-to-1 underdog to unseat Paul "The Punisher" Williams as the WBO's welterweight titleholder. Williams -- a 6'1", 147 pound puzzle -- was coming off of a win over rugged thumper Antonio Margarito the previous July to win the strap. More than a few considered him the REAL threat at 147 pounds to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

That line of thinking was even echoed prior to the bout by HBO's Max Kellerman. By the end of the night, no one thought of Williams as a Mayweather challenger anymore.

It took only one round of action to find out which fighter had a puzzle to solve that night, and it wasn't the challenger. It was Williams, who had already been talking of fighting Shane Mosley next. And after two rounds, "The Punisher" looked befuddled.

Eventually, Williams made it more competitive. He never truly roared back into the fight as Margarito had done against him; instead, he started finding some semblance of timing, and also benefitted from Quintana getting tired. Quintana came in with the plan to simply outhustle Williams all night. And he did it, though there were moments when it looked like the pace might wind up being too much for him.

Quintana outlanded Williams. He landed at a notably higher percentage. And he landed the harder, cleaner shots overall. What more could he have done?

Still, it was the type of fight where the moments seemed long and cloudy. Waiting for the scores to be read, the scene from Cinderella Man was going through my mind, where they're waiting on the cards of the Baer-Braddock fight, and one of the sportswriters says at ringside, "They're gonna rob this poor bastard."

The scores came: 116-112, 115-113, 116-112, all for the winner and new WBO welterweight champion, Carlos Quintana. I said it wouldn't stun me if Quintana won the fight, though I admittedly thought Williams would be too much for him. It turns out that it did surprise the hell out of me when it really sunk in.

Above all the upset shock and the fact that Quintana had taken Williams' "0" was the fact that it was a good fight, one that was perfectly deserving of a rematch. This Saturday in Uncasville, CT, Quintana will put the strap on the line against Williams again, a mere four months after their first bout.

Can Williams revive himself in the welter ranks? Can Quintana repeat his masterful performance from February?

Williams seems to be the favorite among most once again. Many are chalking it up to an off-night for Williams, one where he didn't find his rhythm, didn't land his jab, didn't fight the gameplan, and got flat-out beaten by a good fighter that he should have been able to handle.

The Williams camp says that the weight is not an issue, but how can it not be? Williams is 6 feet, 1 inch tall. He's fighting at 147 pounds. It's not quite as freakish as Celestino Caballero, but it's pretty wild. He's a physical mutant in some ways.

Quintana came off in February as the man more prepared to go to the depths of his heart and soul to win the fight. Williams seemed off-track from the opening bell, and never fully recovered. He also made no excuses, accepting his loss like a true champion, and his desire to jump back in with the man that beat him is quite admirable. Paul Williams has acted like nothing but a gentleman this entire process.

But let's get past all the feel-good B.S.

Who's going to win this fight?

Williams will have to get back to what he does best, and what he does best is jab and land flurries. His KO rate is nice, but he's not a big puncher. Think of him sort of like Joe Calzaghe. Quintana, too, is no one-punch guy. He counter-punched Williams well, and also beat him to the punch -- that's what really won him to the fight. He landed sneaky punches from both sides that connected clean and stung Williams repeatedly. Just when Williams might have thought to pounce on an opening, he ate leather. It's hard to beat a guy that has your number.

And I really think that Carlos Quintana just might have Paul Williams' number. The great cliche about styles making fights is also very true, and Quintana's boxer-puncher style just gave Williams fits in February. I try to picture in my mind Williams at his best beating Quintana, and sure I can see it, but it's always close. I can see Quintana frustrating Williams and blowing him out over 12 rounds, though.

Even the greats have guys who just beat them. Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest both had Shane Mosley's number. Ricardo Mayorga had something that was just a little too much for Forrest. Kelly Pavlik outpunched and boxed with Jermain Taylor to two wins.

If I was betting money, I'd put some on Quintana. That's no recommendation to do so yourself, so don't blame me if you lose the rent on Quintana this Saturday. But from where I'm sitting, he's just got the right batch of goods to beat Paul Williams, no matter what.

Vernon Forrest is generally regarded as one of boxing's nicest guys. Right now, though, that's changing.

Forrest's "Viper" nickname has never been more appropriate, as he's been spitting venom at upcoming challenger Sergio Mora, his Tournament of Contenders promoter Jeff Wald, and the TV show that made Mora and Wald famous in the first place.

"If you come to fight, I promise you they're going to take you out on a stretcher. If you do all that running s--t that you normally do, then it's going to be a boring fight and I'll win a unanimous decision. But if you come to fight, they're going to take you out on a stretcher. I guarantee that."

...

"If you come to fight, like a proud Mexican warrior, I'm going to knock your ass out."

...

"The only real fighter you had on 'The Contender' show was the little guy, Stevie Forbes. That's the only real guy you had on your show. ... Now I'm going to beat the dog s--t out of your main pretender on June 7. I want you (Wald) to know that."

Jeez, where to start?

First of all, it's a hype job. If you think Vernon Forrest suddenly went from being one of the most affable fellows in the entire sport to one of the most mean-spirited, you're a sucker. Nothing has really changed about Vernon.

Second of all, I think a lot of this is Vernon speaking for a lot of fighters who had to come up the "right" way, climbing the ladder to world class competition. Mora and his fellow "Contender" alums have been given a free pass into big paydays. While Forrest had to fight his way up, Mora's fame is entirely due to a TV show. He's 20-0-1 without a single notable win if you're the type of person -- like most hardcore fans are -- that doesn't consider the TV series to be a marquee win or anything close to it.

And third, time is running out for Vernon to make good money. He was never a trash-talking fighter of any note before, and we've seen that one of the surefire ways to make money is to position yourself as a villain. Mayweather has become boxing's biggest star that way, Bernard Hopkins did it forever, and Ricardo Mayorga's career has been almost solely built on the idea. I can't blame the guy for doing what he has to do to secure the biggest fights.

Now, I don't particularly like the stretcher talk. If Mora actually did leave on a stretcher, Forrest would probably feel terrible, as anyone would. It is an unlikely scenario, but hardly impossible. It's a risk every fighter takes in every fight. It's pushing it a little too far.

As for looking at what he's saying from a purely analytical standpoint, Forrest is a heavy favorite (which Mora admits, and Mora has been quite respectful of Forrest despite the verbal haymakers coming his way). But will he knock Mora out?

I'm no Sergio Mora fan. At all. He is one of my least favorite fighters for a number of reasons, some of which are just that I'm a fan and I have my favorites and my non-favorites, and Mora's style, attitude, etc., just don't jibe with what I generally like. However, I respect him as a tough dude. No pro fighter is a pansy in a general sense, and Mora has never been knocked out, obviously. He takes a good punch. Does the 37-year old Forrest have the power left to knock Mora out?

Even if Forrest dominates, it's hard to figure where he'll go next. None of the other titleholders at 154 are a big payday, and it'd be hard to get anyone excited about a fight against Cory Spinks. Again, he's just trying to close the last stage of his career with a bang.

One of the most interesting things in the whole talking storm is Forrest recalling a time he sparred with Mora. Fresh off of injury and sparring essentially one-handed, Forrest remembers "lighting Mora up" and laughing while doing so.

Listen, Vernon Forrest is a better boxer than Sergio Mora. In his heyday, this would be an obvious and definite mismatch. As it is, a Mora win would be a major upset, but would come with the limitation of having happened against an aging, injury-riddled Forrest.

But what if Vernon does lose to Mora? How can he really come back from that after this much talking? He's done some potential serious damage to his own career if this goes wrong for him. Before, it would've just been an upset. Now it would be an embarrassment.

For those who don't keep up with the start times for TV cards, there's good news coming out of the July June 7 head-to-head matchup between Showtime and HBO.

Showtime's card will start at 9pm ET, and since they're positioning the Vernon Forrest-Sergio Mora fight as the main event, that will give us all time to watch the welterweight title rematch between Carlos Quintana and Paul Williams before going over to the HBO double-header at 10:05pm ET, which kicks off with the promising Daniel Ponce de Leon-Juan Manuel Lopez 122-pound title fight before going into the Kelly Pavlik-Gary Lockett middleweight championship bout.

Those of us that have little interest in Forrest-Mora will find this to be excellent news, I'd guess. I know I do.