/cdn.vox-cdn.com/imported_assets/230768/karoly-balzsay-robert-steiglitz.jpg)
Nothing at all going on on Friday this weekend, but there are three good cards on Saturday. Unfortunately, one of them is only televised in Germany, and one of them is on Azteca, meaning that only a limited number of markets in the southwest will get it.
Saturday, August 22
ZDF (Germany), 3:00 p.m. Eastern, Karoly Balzsay vs. Robert Stieglitz (for a SMW trinket); Jurgen Braehmer vs. Aleksy Kuziemski (for a vacant LHW interim paper title). Stieglitz and Braehmer are both native German fighters who are very popular over there but also very physically limited. Stieglitz was last seen by American viewers getting his ass kicked by Librado Andrade, and while Balzsay doesn't turn on the pressure like Andrade, he's a much better boxer than Andrade and it's hard to imagine that the results will be all that different. Braehmer has beaten a who's who of Euro level fighters, but lost in his only previous title shot against Hernan Hugo Garay. Kuziemsky is a Polish Olympian Sven Ottke clone who's technically sound and undefeated, but doesn't throw many punches and couldn't crack an egg with his punches.
HBO, 9:45 p.m. Eastern, Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi; Malcolm Klassen vs. Robert Guerrero (for Klassen's SFW trinket); Daniel Jacobs vs. Ishe Smith. BLH will have round by round coverage of these fights. Klassen vs. Guerrero is the most interesting of these fights to me. Klassen has never been on US TV before (and doesn't even have any fights up on Youtube), but he's consensus top 2 in the weight class and fights like a miniature version of Timothy Bradley.
Azteca America, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Sergey Gulyakevich vs. Humberto Mauro Gutierrez (for a SFW interim paper title), Raul Garcia vs. Sammy Gutierrrez (for a minimumweight title).
Elsewhere in the boxing world:
- While the main events aren't necessarily fights that look like barnburners on paper, you can't fault Golden Boy for not stacking the card with prospects. It seems like half their young guys are fighting on this card. Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner, Kelvin Price (the former All-American basketball player at UNC-Charlotte who's gone pro in boxing) and Mike Perez are all scheduled to fight on the card.
- Oliver McCall is trying to piggyback a career for his son Elijah, while he can still fight. The two face weak opponents on a Friday card in Vegas.
- Andy Lee is back in action stateside, and is back to facing softer touches. He'll take on 20-6 Anthony Shuler. Antwun Echols and Owen "What the Heck" Beck will also be featured on the card.
- The drunken master of boxing is back after mearly a year off. In his 75th pro bout, Emmanuel Augustus will be facing undefeated prospect Oyewale Omotoso in Australia. Omotoso's been knocking out cans, so I guess his promoters figure that Augustus will get him rounds, but he's not the first guy I'd choose to have an inexperienced prospect face. Augustus doesn't make anyone look good, and he has more than his fair share of upsets over the years.
- Deandre Latimore will try to bounce back from his recent title bout loss to Cory Spinks against rugged vet Sammy Sparkman. Elsewhere, Grady Brewer will be keeping busy in Oklahoma.