Stacked Saturday
 By Julian Kasdin (July 6, 2007) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME)
Every so often the planets align and the boxing gods bring us a night replete with fights from top to bottom. This Saturday happens to be one of those nights as, for the first time, HBO and Showtime will not clash and will present viewers with four quality matches from flyweight to heavyweight, and all of them involving men with serious knockout power. How did this happen? To be perfectly honest I do not quite know but I am sure glad it did. So by now everyone probably knows the fights that are coming up, but what kind of writer would I be if I did not recount them?
At five in the afternoon, something I really enjoy because quite frankly it enables me to get my quasi-narcoleptic father to actually watch a fight, we have ‘The Steelhammer’ Wladimir Klitschko, 48-3 (43), defending his IBF title against the last man to beat him ‘Relentless’ Lamon Brewster, 33-3 (29), in a fight oozing with back story and questions about each man. On the under card we have a fight featuring possibly the best prospect in the world right now, Zaurbek Baysangurov, 15-0 (12), taking on EBU super welterweight champion Hussein Bayram, 24-2 (13). In the evening Showtime will present us with a truly stacked card featuring two title defenses by two of the game’s most elite and avoided fighters. The headliner is ‘Tremendous’ Travis Simms, 25-0 (19), defending his WBA title against Joachim Alcine, 28-0 (18), while a fight between an elite champion and undefeated challenger is always good, having a fight between another undefeated champion and a solid but underrated challenger makes this card all the better. The chief support for this fight features a boxing fan favorite, ‘The Raging Bull’ Vic Darchinyan, 28-0 (22), defending his IBF title against ‘The Filipino Flash’ Nonito Donaire, 17-1 (10).
So how did this all come about? Well for starters the two networks do not have competing times because the Klitschko vs. Brewster fight is being shown live from Germany and the Simms vs. Alcine fight is being shown live from Connecticut. Obviously the Klitschko/Brewster fight is taking place because these two have a history. Lamon is the last
man to beat Wladimir, and Wladimir desperately wants to avenge this defeat. He was easily winning the first fight till he gassed badly, and avenging this loss is clearly of great importance as it can help him build a legacy. Fortunately it is in Germany and that has allowed HBO to broadcast a fight between Bayram and Baysangurov as the location and economics are right to feature this clash. I do not know if any EBU title fights have ever been featured on American television before, but given Klitschko’s drawing power in Germany and his increasing popularity in the United States we now get to see a prospect that is rarely talked about but has done more than any of his peers at welterweight or super welterweight.
Simms vs. Alcine is quite obvious. Travis wants to make up for lost time. Here is a man who won his title, was sidelined for far too long, and was basically brought in as an ‘opponent’ his last fight. Travis did not let that get him down, and instead used it to provide the necessary fire to punish Jose Antonio Rivera to reclaim the crown he should never have lost. He is taking this fight because, once again, he wants to prove to the world that his name belongs there with the likes of Winky Wright, Cory Spinks and Kassim Ouma. His chief support, who really should not be seen as anything but a main eventer himself, Vic Darchinyan has become an absolute terror at flyweight. With his awkward style, explosive power and relentless attitude this man has what it takes to be a fan favorite. He is also very willing to fight having been featured on the same card as many other top fighters, but, unfortunately, always playing second fiddle. He takes on Donaire, the brother of one of his victims, in the hopes of attracting further attention and possibly forcing a showdown with Christian Mijares down the line. Donaire is a solid fighter and his height and boxing ability could pose some problems for the Armenian bull, but if he wins and wins impressively he furthers his case to be the only man left for Mijares to fight.
A stacked Saturday awaits us. With three title fights, two rising stars, and four members of the game’s elite all squaring off on the same night in two continents. The winners will go on to even greater fan recognition and possible mega-matches down the line. We should thank HBO and Showtime for bringing us these fights and, for once, not going head to head. I am looking forward to a Saturday filled with boxing and I imagine the rest of the boxing world is too.
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