TV and Internet Fight Schedule - Weekend of June 18

Friday, June 18

gofightlive.tv, 7:30 p.m. Eastern ($9.99), Terrance Cauthen vs. Cleotis Pendarvis, Omar Sheika vs. Jim Strohl.   

ESPN2, 8:30 p.m. Eastern, Sherzod Husanov vs. Jhon Berrio, Demetrius Andrade vs. Quandray Robinson.  Husanov, a 2004 Uzbek Olympian, had been scheduled to make his U.S. debut a few weeks ago against Sergei Dzinziruk.  He had some issues getting a visa in time and was replaced there by Daniel Dawson.  Instead, he gets this fight, which seems to be somewhat of a gimme.  Berrio is 15-6 overall, but only 1-6 against fighters with winning records.  The viewing public was spared the last time Andrade fought, but won't be so lucky this time.  The 2008 U.S. Olympian takes on 15-9 Robinson, who's only fought once since 2005 yet somehow is still a step up for Andrade. 

Telefutura, 11:30 p.m. Eastern, Luis Ramos Jr. vs. Joshua Allottey, Jermell Charlo vs. Stalin Lopez.  Ramos finally gets a card that isn't a Fight Night Club, but making him a headliner in a fight against a faded journeyman is pretty weak.  Charlo vs. Lopez is by far the more interesting fight.  Charlo is 11-0 and highly regarded as a 20 year old, represented by Shelly Finkel and Golden Boy.  Lopez has gone 7-0 as a pro since defecting from Cuba after winning some amateur world championships.

Saturday, June 19

Showtime, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Andre Ward vs. Allan Green.  Check out Waldo's coverage of the presser for this one.  Bad Left Hook will be providing live round by round coverage of this fight.

Fox Sports Espanol, Televisa (Mexico), 10:00 p.m. Eastern Rodel Mayol vs. Omar Nino II.  The first time the two fought, things were just starting to open up when something strange happened.  Nino hit Mayol with a low blow, but as referee Vic Draculich was stepping in to give Mayol his five minutes, Nino clocked Mayol, knocking him out cold.  Because it ended on an unintentional foul, the fight was declared a technical draw.  This one still has the promise to be a good fight, although expect a dirty one - Mayol's last five fights all ended early as the result of a foul.

Azteca America, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Jesus Jimenez vs. Edren Dapudong, Hugo Ruiz vs. Cesar Ricardo Martinez.  Jimenez vs. Dapudong is for an interim flyweight title, which is pretty ridiculous considering that Pongsaklek Wonjongkam is healthy and will be defending his real title not too long from now.  Even more ridiculous is that it's being called the "silver title".  You know what they say about a pig in lipstick.  24-1 Ruiz is the best fighter who's showed up on Box Azteca in a long time.

Televisa (Mexico), 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Alejandro Barrera vs. Christian Solano.  Televisa needs to take a class on scheduling.  Barrera is 13-0, while Solano is a tough journeyman who's lost his last four in a row and 10 of his last 14. 

Elsewhere in the world of boxing...

• On the undercard of Ward-Green, those attending in person will get to see a few decent fights.  Coming off of two straight losses, losing his title, drug-related charges (where he seemed to have been duped by his former manager into transporting product) and getting dropped by Top Rank, Kendall Holt will be moving up to welterweight and facing tough as nails punching bag Jesse Feliciano.  Semi-prospect Steve Upshur Chambers will be fighting recent Victor Ortiz victim Hector Alatorre.  Also, Mark "TNT" Tucker will be making his west coast debut against Billy Bailey.  Unfortunately, the scheduled bout between Tony Thompson and Friday Ahunanya is off. Note: Holt-Feliciano has been canceled.
  
• In South Africa, Hekkie Budler will be rematching Juanito Rubillar for the fringe IBO light flyweight title.  In their first fight, Budler won what was widely reported to be a robbery, though at only 22 years old, it's more likely to be a learning experience than anything.  On the same card, Isaac Chilemba will be facing Aussie Michael Bolling for the fringe IBO super middleweight title.  South Africa and Australia are the two places where this title is taken the most seriously, so from that perspective, the matchup makes sense.  Both fighters are young and have beaten some solid opposition, so while this fight is probably off most people's radars, don't discount one or both of them from becoming something in the future. A third IBO title fight will also be on the same card when Gideon Bulthezi takes on Ronelle Ferreras for their minimumweight strap.
  
• As if Oliver McCall, Evander Holyfield and Franz Botha continuing to fight wasn't enough - Bert Cooper will be fighting for the first time in eight years.  Sure, the guy he's facing is only 3-6, but Cooper was only 7-13 in his last 20 fights BEFORE he retired in 2002.
• On Thursday in Duluth, Andy Kolle will take on Matt Vanda for the third time.  Kolle won unanimous decisions in each of the two previous bouts, but they were both good, close fights
• Also in smaller fights this weekend - Martin Castillo, Hasim Rahman, Adrien Broner, Hector Serrano, Tommy Karpency, Yassine El Maachi, Mateusz Masternak, Juan Carlos Reveco, Ivan Valle, Jorge Paez Jr. and Walter Tello.