This Week in Boxing.

Prepare yourselves this week for a bumper edition of “This Week in Boxing” beginning on Thursday in the super middleweight division. England’s Carl Froch is known as “The Cobra,” and indeed, his forked tongue precedes his boxing appearances these days as his many taunts and

challenges to the world’s top super middleweights keep him in the headlines. Costa Rican fighter Henry Porras finds himself in the position to do that which WBO champion Joe Calzaghe and former IBO champion Brian Magee seem reluctant, and that is to shut Froch up once and for all. However, easier said than done is a phrase not quite adequate to describe Porras’ plight. Despite his inexperience, Froch is a fighter of considerable ability, perhaps even dwarfing that of Porras who knows the mettle of the likes of Otis Grant, Danilo Haussler and Mikkel Kessler. A win is expected for Froch who, if not overwhelmed by his opponent, will likely enjoy demonstrating his skills in sunny California. From America, it’s please fasten your safety belts and prepare for landing in Romania to catch the latest episode of the Lucian Bute story. Donnie McCrary provides the opposition for the rampaging Romanian this time. Known as “The Savage,” McCrary will need to have something sinister in his repertoire of punches to stop Bute in his own territory.

It’s a huge week in the world of boxing, so do not miss the comprehensive breakdown of the week’s events, only at SaddoBoxing.com

Friday is a big night for boxing worldwide and we begin our coverage of it back in the USA at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez where “The Punisher” will be in action. And no, that does not mean that in the middle of the fight card, a man will rip through the arena chasing a maniacal mob boss to avenge his mangled loved ones, although that would be a change eh? Paul “The Punisher” Williams engages Terrance Cauthen in a welterweight contest at the head of Showtime’s night of boxing that also features Rolando Reyes against Jose Ojeda. Williams is undefeated at twenty-five wins and impressed me on previous occasions with his rangy, southpaw style. Much is expected of Williams but he must get by Cauthen who, despite two career blemishes, knows a higher class of competition.

Dominick Guinn attempts to get back to winning ways on Friday, against Friday, Friday Ahunanya that is. In 2003, Guinn emerged as somewhat of an heir apparent, or at least, a very good heavyweight tipped to make some noise in the division. In 2004, all of the above fell apart, cracked into tiny pieces and has laid there ever since. In 2005, let’s see if Dominick Guinn can put his career together again.

Then over in Las Vegas, Jason Litzau looks to extend his undefeated thirteen-fight streak with as many knockouts against Idelfonso Martinez. “Poncho” Martinez gained a trio of return wins since a decision loss to former Olympian Clarence Vinson and the twenty-four-year-old from the hot Texas boxing scene may push Litzau to a very hard fight indeed.

Meanwhile, at the Cicero Stadium in Illinois, USA, Jose Armando Santa Cruz takes on Justin Juuko in an interesting super featherweight clash. Juuko, of Uganda but fighting out of England, has eight losses on his record, but they have come against some of the most esteemed company. Diego Corrales, Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. all make appearances on the Juuko resume, and while it seems that Juuko’s best days are behind him, the power that brought him twenty-eight stoppages may well resurface and surprise the undefeated Santa Cruz.

Joan Guzman also defends his WBO super bantamweight title against Fernando Beltran Jr. in Hidalgo, Texas the very same night. As the son of illustrious fight manager Fernando Beltran, Junior sports a twenty-four win record blighted only by one technical draw. Evidence enough to prove that he has not acquired his position through some nepotistic maneuvers on his Father’s part? It’s hard to say. Certainly, no outstanding names jump out at you in Beltran Jr’s. record, but he has the perfect opportunity to earn his stripes against a quality fighter in Guzman. It has not been easy going for Guzman, what with contractual disputes and mud slinging in the press distracting attentions from his true abilities. However, all that could change soon as it is rumored that Guzman may be considering a move up into the featherweight ranks where competition and opportunities are plentiful. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. takes the next step in his career on the under-card against Travis Hartman. We have no need to argue whether young Chavez deserves his position at the moment, having witnessed him dispose of several opponents in fine style. Hartman is undefeated with five wins, but probably not for long.

The Ibragimov cousins are in action again this week, this time in Atlantic City where Sultan Ibragimov faces Zuri Lawrence in a scrap for the WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title. The identity of Timor Ibragimov’s opponent is unknown, but what is known is that these two fighters are undefeated, ready, willing and able to do some business in the heavyweight division; let’s see how their careers develop over the next couple of years.

Colombian light welterweight Juan Urango also returns to the ring in Hollywood, Florida this week against Francisco Campos. An impressive showing late last year against Ubaldo Hernandez in which Urango stopped the veteran in the second round could be a prelude to what just may be a pivotal year in Urango’s progression. You could say that one true fight already counts in Urango’s experience, having shared a drawn verdict with fellow light welterweight star “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis from Greece. In his first action of 2005, Urango comes up against Francisco Campos who has only two defeats on a twenty-fight ledger; the trouble is that both of those losses came in his last two fights.

Syd “The Jewel” Vanderpool attempts to rebound from his disappointing loss to current IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy. In line for Vanderpool to take his frustrations out on is Alejandro Berrio. Certainly, Berrio experienced a loss each and every time he stepped up his opposition level, and Vanderpool is a skilled operator on the comeback trail. But, twenty-one knockouts in twenty-two wins against three losses is not to be sniffed at and Vanderpool should adopt caution if he is to navigate his way safely through this treacherous first return bout.

And now, we come to Saturday, and if you thought Friday was good, get a load of this. In the very first ESPN pay-per-view event, Juan Diaz was scheduled to face Ebo Elder for the WBA lightweight title. Now, that fight represented fight of the year potential, and the fact that not as many people as you would expect are sniffling about its cancellation comes down to the fact that Antonio Margarito and Kermit Cintron will definitely be getting down to it for the WBO welterweight championship of the world. Margarito brings power, intensity and volume punching as well as the trademark Mexican toughness while Cintron has youth and a phenomenal amount of punching power at his disposal. Cintron holds the interim championship while Margarito is the WBO champion proper. No more rescheduling, no more waiting, this is it, the final collision for the title, the recognition and to find out exactly who will be left standing for the big money fights in the future.

In a significant heavyweight fight on the under-card, perennial contender Jameel McCline faces former Olympian Calvin Brock. Not too many observers are overwhelmed by Brock’s achievements to date, however, when there is an undefeated heavyweight about to take on a tough assignment, most of those observers are open to persuasion. And a tough assignment is what Jameel McCline certainly represents for Brock. Having come up short against Wladimir Klitschko and Chris Byrd, McCline knows he has one last chance to stake a claim for the heavyweight championship, and Brock is in the way of that. In a fight that means so much to both men, it will be fascinating to see who puts it all on the line for the win.

Former three-weight world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley returns to the ring in the welterweight division against David Estrada. Mosley, considerably less successful in the light middleweight ranks understands his limitations and seems happy to be back in his old stomping ground of the 147-pound class. Whether Estrada will be as glad to see Mosley back is another matter. A loss to current “Contender” star Ishe Smith separates Estrada from an unbeaten record, and Estrada separates Mosley from getting back into the star-studded company to which he is most definitely accustomed. All of the pluses point to Mosley in this fight, and I think it is safe to say that we would all be surprised at being surprised at the outcome here.

Over in Dortmund, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko tries to make his way back from relative obscurity by taking on undefeated Cuban fighter Eliseo Castillo. Castillo spent much of his career until now feasting on a host of the usual suspects in the heavyweight division, until he came up against former multi-weight champion Michael Moorer. Castillo did a number on Moorer throughout their ten-round fight and emerged with the unanimous decision victory. Klitschko appears to be on a downward spiral and unable to keep himself off the canvas in the majority of his recent fights. The once dominant WBO heavyweight champion of the world bemused most fight fans with his sudden capitulations against Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster. Furthermore, Klitschko merely scraped win against fringe contender Davarryl Williamson last time out; a fight in which Klitschko hit the deck once also. Legendary trainer Emanuel Steward is on the case and trying to offer Klitschko some kind of future, but if the younger Klitschko brother fails to get the job done in the ring once again, all eyes will be on Castillo and the matter of his potential.

Another heavyweight contest takes place on the under-card of the Klitschko-Castillo confrontation, as Germany’s Cengiz Koc takes on England’s Michael Sprott. You really have to think that Sprott is something of a glutton for punishment as he makes his way back to Germany for what may be a mission impossible. Sprott’s fight with Timo Hoffman in Germany some years ago stands in my mind as one of the more blatant robberies committed against a foreign fighter in that territory. Sprott virtually dominated a listless Hoffmann only to be declared the loser after the eight-round distance fight. Regardless, Sprott went on to greater things including a famous win over Danny Williams for the British and Commonwealth titles, so a gritty performance is not beyond him; let’s hope that scoring the fight appropriately is not beyond the judges.

In Bayreuth in Germany on the same night, heavyweight giant Nicolai Valuev makes his latest appearance against former Mike Tyson opponent Clifford Etienne. Known as “The Black Rhino,” Etienne was once known as something of an endangered species amongst the heavyweights because of his love for the business, the training and his tireless combinations inside the ring. However, these days it looks like the days of the rhino are numbered and this latest excursion against Valuev may well see him become extinct altogether. For his part, Valuev, a fighter of truly extraordinary size in comparison to his heavyweight peers, is still unheralded in the boxing industry at large thanks to his willingness to remain fighting outside of America. However, the results speak for themselves and in recent times, Valuev disposed of formerly undefeated Gerald Nobles, former Olympian Paolo Vidoz and once considered prospect Attila Levin. Etienne may just be another steady step for Valuev, but his physical size alone will stir the masses in America should he ever fight there; perhaps he will bring performances as momentous.

On the under-card, Danilo Haussler meets Cristian Sanavia for a fringe WBA title. With the achievement of a world title under his belt, Italy’s Sanavia seems to represent the more seasoned fighter of the two, and his increased number of stoppages would appear to accentuate that claim. Haussler operates mainly at European level and can claim some decent wins to his credit, and while this fight should, at the very least be interesting to behold, it is one that will not catch the attention of many of the super middleweight titleholders on the world scene.

And finally, the final leg of this exhausting globetrotting tour de force takes us to the unlikely setting of Indonesia. We finds ourselves there as it is the home of WBA featherweight champion Chris John and the site of his title defense against former champion of the same hardware, Derrick “Smoke” Gainer. You may as well have called him “Up In Smoke” Gainer against Juan Manuel Marquez, as fighting did not seem to be on Gainer’s agenda that infamous night; Gainer actually resembled a man who had just woken up and realized to his surprise that he was a recognized world-class boxer. At just twenty-five-years of age, John, known as the “Indonesian Thin Man,” already boasts record of thirty-four wins, albeit against unheralded opposition, but this is his chance to prove that he has a legitimate claim to recognition as a true force in the featherweight division.

And that is where we finish for this week. Please check back to the site for results of all the aforementioned fights as they happen and don’t forget to tune in next time for the next installment of “This Week in Boxing.”

Jim Cawkwell can be reached at jimcawkwell@yahoo.co.uk