After a couple of relatively strong weeks of televised boxing, we've hit another lull. ESPN's boxing season is officially over (although there will be a 'special' boxing presentation of a card loaded with Cubans next weekend), and with all the huge fights being made, HBO's and Showtime's boxing budgets are pretty much eaten up for the year.
As an aside, whatever happened to Showtime airing boxing the first weekend of the month? It seems like it's been forever since they've actually done so.
Friday, September 4
Sky (UK), 11:30 a.m. Eastern - John Simpson vs. Paul Truscott. This one's for the BBoC Featherweight TItle, and is a rematch of a bout from earlier in the year where Truscott was leading, but lost the fight on a cut that, on replay, appeared to be caused by an accidental clash of heads rather than a punch.
Saturday, September 5
ITV4 (UK), 1:45 p.m. Eastern - John O'Donnell vs. Tom Glover; Peter McDonagh vs. Lee Purdy.
TSN (Canada), 11:30 p.m. Eastern (tape delay) - Jose "Carita" Lopez vs. Marvin Sonsona; Steve Molitor vs. Francisco Ledezma. Seems like somewhat of a shame that this card couldn't at least land on an internet feed in the US, as this one could be a real coming out party. I've been leading (the only member of?) the Sonsona bandwagon for a while now, and I think this kid could be something special long-term. Lopez is a longtime fringe contender and one of the good guys in boxing. It was nice to see him finally win a title at 37 years old, and he's a better fighter now than he was when he last lost nearly 8 years ago to Fernando Montiel. Still, this is a battle of youth versus experience - Sonsona is literally half Lopez's age and has immense physical talent but has had only 14 pro fights with very little amateur experience, while Lopez has been a pro fighter for nearly 20 years and knows every trick of the trade, plus he's not the type to let up or get discouraged.
Elsewhere in the boxing world...
- The WBA is having one of their massive Panamanian cards on Saturday. This time, Luis Concepcion fights Omar Salado for a completely useless interim title, and Daniel Ponce de Leon faces former title challenger Roinet Caballero in a 126 pound title eliminator. Also on the completely stacked card - 19-0 prospect Austin Trout vs. Nilson Tapia, Fernando Angulo vs. Ameth Diaz and Alberto Mosquera vs. Henry Aurad. It looks like there should be a stream available somewhere for this one if you look around.
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Luis Carlos Abregu goes back to fighting cans in Argentina. While he's been in some exciting fights this year, and shows a little bit of flash, his fight against Irving Garcia showed that he's not quite ready for prime time yet. It couldn't hurt him to try refining his skills in his homeland for a few fights before trying to get a bigger fight in the US. As an aside, I'd love to see him and Andre Berto face off someday.
- Koki Kameda takes on Humberto Pool in a warmup bout for his megafight against Daisuke Naito. Much like next week's Kessler/Ward doubleheader, this is a risky strategy. Kameda-Naito is the biggest fight that could be made in Japan, period, and if Kameda gets cut, that could be a huge payday out the window. Pool is 2-4 in his last 6 fights, but sadly is the best opposition Kameda will have faced in about a year and a half.