Tonight's special Shobox lived up to its knockout hype and set the stage for tomorrow night's card with a great start to the weekend.

Cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek ate some shots early against challenger Johnathon Banks, but he drilled Banks down in the eighth with a right to the temple. Though Banks got to his feet, he was knocked out brutally with a corner flurry moments later. Adamek (37-1, 25 KO) took control of the fight after the first few rounds with effective aggression. Banks (20-1, 14 KO) is back to the drawing board, but with some fixes could be a contender for a good while. Losing to the tough, vastly more experienced Adamek is no shame.

In the opening bout, Giovanni Lorenzo (27-1, 19 KO) stopped Dionisio Miranda (19-4-2, 17 KO) with one punch in the second round, a perfect lead right hand that turned the Colombian's lights out for the evening. Lorenzo was so much bigger than Miranda it was ridiculous; just a huge frame for a middleweight on that guy, sort of like a bigger Juan Urango. Thick, sturdy and wide-shouldered.

Lorenzo's win puts him in line for a shot at Arthur Abraham. I think he gets destroyed by King Arthur and may want to wait a little while before exercising his right, but he probably wants that payday.

In ESPN2's Friday Night Fights main event, Daniel Judah was completely outlcassed by Glen Johnson, losing a wide ten-round unanimous decision and going down in the first round.

We'll be back tomorrow night with the massive fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz for the world lightweight championship. Join us then!

Tonight's fights start at 11pm ET on Showtime's Shobox. This is a legitimate world championship fight, plus what promises to be an exciting IBF middleweight title eliminator on the undercard. And this is all just whetting the appetite in anticipation of tomorrow's lightweight championship showdown.

Join us tonight!

Week three begins! We've got two major cards, one on Friday and one on Saturday. You don't have to pick every fight...but it's recommended. Let's see if I can avoid a genuine boner of a pick this time around.

Friday, February 27 -- Showtime

Tomasz Adamek v. Johnathon Banks (Cruiserweights - Adamek's Ring Magazine world championship and IBF/IBO titles on the line)

Manny Steward has said nice things about Banks, and I love the fact that he's trained and sparred with Wladimir Klitschko, who by all accounts is one of the hardest-working fighters in the sport. For all the talk of the flabby heavyweights of recent years, neither Klitschko brother has ever fit that mold. They are rocks.

Though Banks is the American and Adamek was born in Poland, Newark is Adamek's town. They overwhelmingly supported him when he beat Steve Cunningham (a Philly fighter) in December. Adamek has lived in Jersey for years and is very, very popular there. He'll have home field advantage in a big way.

This is also Banks' first huge test. The best fighter he's beaten is probably Eliseo Castillo, a small Cuban heavyweight that once lost to Wladimir himself and thought coming down to cruiser might do the trick in 2006. Banks knocked him out in the fourth round, after picking himself up off the canvas twice in the first.

The good news for Banks is he's shown resilience, has great training and preparation, and has sound folks that believe in his chances in this fight. The bad news is that Adamek is a well-rounded fighter that has the ability to box circles around him if he chooses to (Banks is no Cunningham in hand speed or movement), and will be more than happy to bang with him if it comes to that, too.

I just don't see this one ending well for Banks at all. Adamek KO-6

Giovanni Lorenzo v. Dionisio Miranda (Middleweights - IBF Eliminator)

The winner of this one gets the chance to fight Arthur Abraham if (snickersnicker) Abraham can, uh, "get by" the dangerous challenge of Lajuan Simon. Lucky winner of this fight...

Lorenzo was last seen in June getting outfoxed by veteran Raul Marquez in what was also an IBF eliminator, which Lorenzo lost handily even though the scores were 114-113 Marquez across the board, and Marquez technically only won because Lorenzo was docked a point in the 10th for a headbutt. Thank goodness that referee Jorge Alonso made that call or poor Marquez -- who retired after a whomping against Abraham -- would've been robbed of a win.

Lorenzo better be improved as far as movement goes, because Marquez hit him plenty and Marquez doesn't hit like Dionisio Miranda does. Miranda has 17 knockouts among his 19 wins, and out-fought Sebastien Demers to earn a road win split decision in Montreal last August.

Neither of these guys are top-flight dudes, really, and it'll probably be a slugfest. Miranda has been knocked out twice, and that alone is making me lean toward Lorenzo even though I don't think Lorenzo is all that great. Both have heavy hands -- we know Miranda can be torched on the chin. Lorenzo TKO-7

Saturday, February 28 - HBO

Juan Manuel Marquez v. Juan Diaz (Lightweights - Marquez's Ring Magazine world championship, Diaz's IBO title, and the vacant WBA and WBO titles on the line)

This one is for all the marbles at 135 pounds as far as anyone that matters is concerned. When two sanctioning bodies agree to put up vacant titles in a single fight, you've got something that can't be argued with. Marquez is the lineal champion, and Diaz was reigning as the people's champ before losing to Nate Campbell a year ago. With Campbell gone to 140, these are the two top dogs at lightweight. You don't get championship fights any more legit than Marquez-Diaz.

Add to that that this one promises to be a hell of a scrap and you've got something that is must-see for a fight fan. Marquez is a counter-puncher, but he's one of the most fiery, ready-to-throw counter-punchers you're ever going to see. Diaz is a workrate machine. Put those two together. The keg's gonna blow, y'all.

Marquez has been hurt by Manny Pacquiao in two of the best fights of the decade, but Diaz is not a puncher like Manny is. Marquez may be getting older, but he picked himself up off the mat last year against Pacquiao and fought him tooth-and-nail for 12 grueling rounds. When you look at what Pacquiao did to David Diaz (KO-9) and Oscar de la Hoya (Oscar quit after eight) later in the year, it's even MORE impressive now.

Diaz has good wins. He does not have a great win. Popo Freitas was past it and didn't have the heart anymore by the time they fought, and while Julio Diaz is a heck of a good fighter, he's not someone that's going to be remembered for all times. Marquez is. If Diaz beats Marquez, he instantly leaps into the top 10 pound-for-pound. That's how big of a win it is for him.

And that's all well and good, but I have some questions, and they center on Diaz's heart. Look, the cut man sucked against Campbell, but Diaz crumbled in that fight. Campbell went hard at him from the opening bell, got in his face, talked trash, showed him he wasn't afraid of a go-go-go fight, and when the cut opened up and Diaz's terrible corner didn't take care of it, Diaz lost control of the fight entirely. Nate took him apart in the latter half of that bout. Diaz was totally in it before then.

It's not a question of talent. But what's Juan gonna do when it's not easy? Yeah, he beat Freitas, and Freitas made it kind of easy after the first few rounds. Julio Diaz for whatever reason gave him no resistance. And Michael Katsidis came out and tried to box, which is like Evander Holyfield not bulling with his head.

I think Marquez forces Diaz to work harder than Juan might be prepared for. I'm not big on the "spoiled" B.S., or the "kid" B.S. either. Juan's a grown man and a tough guy. But he's yet to prove a lot of things. I don't think he can beat Marquez. I don't think he has the resolve. Marquez UD-12

Chris John v. Rocky Juarez (Featherweights - John's WBA title on the line)

And making his first trip ever to the U.S. as a fighter, Chris John everybody!

John's taken his shot from hardcore American fans in the past, including me, because he's refused to travel to the States. There are good fighters in his class over here. Now he shuts us all up by taking not just a fight in America against a legit challenger, but he's facing Juarez in Juarez's backyard to boot. Good on John and Golden Boy for making it happen. As one of those that maybe bashed John a couple times for the home field fights, I'm appreciative, because one of the reasons I did it was that I want to see him fight. He's a world-class fighter.

And that leads right into my pick. Juarez is a great guy who gives it his all. He's got trigger problems, and against a guy who has faster hands, that might not be so hot for him. As much as I like Rocky and do openly hope he wins so he can say he was a world titlist at one point, I have the feeling he peaked with the first Barrera fight. He's been jumping back and forth between 126 and 130, and the last time he fought a top opponent (Marquez at 130 in '07) he was torn to pieces.

There is the chance that John kind of wilts finally fighting out of his comfort zone. It's a real possibility. I think Rocky might hang for a bit, but by the middle rounds the cream will rise to the top, and Juarez will be hitting reset yet again. John UD-12

Though the week has started off fairly slow with news and all we learned in the last big card is that Marco Antonio Rubio and Michael Jennings predictably aren't on par with Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto, that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about or nothing to be excited for.

This weekend two of the legitimate, lineal championships in boxing will be contested, and Bad Left Hook will have live, round-by-round coverage of both fights.

On Friday night, cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek (36-1, 24 KO) defendds against unbeaten American challenger Johnathon Banks (20-0, 14 KO) in Adamek's adopted home arena, the Prudential Center in Newark. It was in that very arena that Adamek outlasted Steve Cunningham in a Fight of the Year candidate in December. The win over Cunningham was for the cruiserweight championship that David Haye vacated when he moved up to heavyweight.

Adamek is on a five fight winning streak since dropping a light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson in 2007 and moving up to cruiserweight. He has thus far proven he can both box and bang at the weight.

Banks, 26, is a Detroit fighter managed by the legendary Emanuel Steward and trained by Steward's nephew, Javan Hill. In a recent Showtime press release, the network interviewed Steward, who noted that Banks trains extensively with Manny's prized heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, and has sparred many rounds with him and never been hurt. Steward describes Banks as a boxer-puncher who wouldn't jump out at you in most cases. That also describes Adamek.

On the Adamek-Banks undercard, middleweight sluggers Giovanni Lorenzo and Dionisio Miranda will meet in an IBF eliminator.

Saturday night on HBO, lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (49-4-1, 36 KO) makes his first defense of the 135-pound crown when he takes on former three-body titlist Juan Diaz (34-1, 17 KO) in Diaz's hometown of Houston. Marquez won the championship against Joel Casamayor last September, becoming the first man to ever stop the cagey Cuban veteran.

Diaz is coming off of a win over Michael Katsidis, which followed his first career loss to Nate Campbell last March. Along with the Ring championship, Diaz's semi-recognized IBO title and the vacant titles of the WBO and WBA will be up for grabs. Marquez, who is on his way to the Hall of Fame most likely, is looking for career win No. 50 as he also intends to solidify his consensus spot as the world's second-best pound-for-pound fighter.

Diaz, still young at 25, has 10 years of youth on Marquez and will be looking to notch a huge breakthrough victory. He's had several very good wins, but beating Marquez would be a massive feather in his cap.

On that undercard, featherweight titlist Chris John of Indonesia -- who once beat Marquez -- makes his first trip to the States to defend against Houston's Rocky Juarez.

Both cards are important, both cards should be good. We'll include all four fights of the two cards in our ongoing picks competition, and on that note, I'll also be fully updating the standings with a BLH picks recap of the Pavlik and Cotto PPV tomorrow.

We will also have much more on Marquez-Diaz in the coming days. The two best 135-pound fighters in the world are going head-to-head this Saturday night. It's as legit as it gets.

Steve Cunningham had this to say about the upcoming world cruiserweight championship bout on February 27 between Tomasz Adamek and Johnathon Banks:

"I'm looking forward to watching this. It should be a good fight.  Their styles call for action. Johnathon seems like he can crack. He can take them as well as throw them. And Adamek is tough, he's a good, solid fighter.

"The fight could go either way. I know I want the winner of the fight! I'll be rooting for Tomasz. Yeah, I'd want to fight Johnathon if he wins. But, you know, I really want the rematch, I want my title back and I want to take it back from Tomasz.

"I believe I am the best cruiserweight in the world. I know the fans saw that in my last fight. I don't consider that a loss. I feel like I won the fight, but lost the decision. My new motto is Two Time in '09. So I am looking forward to the 27th, just as much as they are.”

Cunningham has a fight coming up with Wayne "Big Truck" Brathwaite with a date to be announced. I don't like to "root" usually, but USS Cunningham and Adamek need to get it on again, so I'm hoping they both win their upcoming bouts and clash in a rematch later this year. That's the cruiserweight fight everyone wants to see as far as I can tell, not that Adamek-Banks and Cunningham-Brathwaite aren't pretty good, too.

Photo credit Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro.

Source: ESPN

Cruiserweight world champion Tomasz Adamek will make his first title defense on Feb. 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Jolene Mizzone of Main Events told ESPN.com on Thursday night.

The fight will be the main event of a special edition of Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation," Mizzone said.

Adamek's opponent has not been determined, but B.J. Flores (21-0-1, 13 KOs) has been in talks with the cruiserweight champion's promoter, Main Events, about the fight for the past few weeks. Main Events has given Flores a Friday deadline to make a decision.

I'm rather certain the fight will be Adamek against the dreadfully boring Flores, which will hopefully result in Adamek scoring a crowd-pleasing win and moving on for a rematch with Steve Cunningham.

Flores has real stinker potential, though, as he proved against usually-exciting Darnell Wilson, a win some debated. He's a solid boxer, which against Wilson is plenty to win. Against Adamek, who has a strong amateur background, I don't think it's good enough.