Boxing: May 8 & 9

[H2O Man]

FRIDAY - at Fort Worth, Texas (ESPN2) - 10 rounds, middleweights: Craig McEwan (14-0, 9 KOs) vs. Brian Vera (16-2, 10 KOs); 8 rounds, super featherweights: Carlos Ivan Velasquez (9-0, 8 KOs) vs. TBA.

SATURDAY - at Las Vegas (HBO) - 12 rounds, IBF light heavyweight title: Chad Dawson (27-0, 17 KOs) vs. Antonio Tarver (27-5, 19 KOs); 8 rounds, heavyweights: Bowie Tupou (17-0, 13 KOs) vs. Chris Koval (24-5, 18 KOs).

This week lacks the excitement of last weekend, of course. It is difficult to follow one of the most explosive knockouts in what was anticipated as 2009’s "fight of the year." Plus, with Pretty Boy Floyd coming out of retirement, the boxing community has already begun to look past his July fight, and has become more interested in what appears to be an inevitable showdown: Pacquiao vs Mayweather.

The biggest "name" fight of the weekend is, of course, the return match between Chad Dawson and Antonio Tarver. On paper, it does not have much appeal, and that would be true even if it were not coming a week after the Pac Man further established himself as one of the greatest fighters of this era. In fact, some sports writers have noted the fight presents a strong argument against mandatory return matches being part of a contract.

Still, I think it’s worth watching. First, Dawson is an exceptional talent in the ring. Floyd has said he considered Chad to be the best active boxer, during Mayweather’s brief retirement. Second, Tarver has a history of winning return matches. Both men are going to focus on improving upon their showing in the first fight, and I think that could result in a more interesting fight. The first time, Tarver seemed to be trying to survive to fight another day. That’s not an option on Saturday. I’d like to see Dawson win by TKO/KO.

The heavyweight co-feature will give the American viewing audience an opportunity to see Bowie Tupou. His record is impressive in terms of numbers, and he is a big, powerfully built heavyweight. But he has fought very weak opposition. The toughest challenges that he has faced in the ring have been soft, and the majority of his opponents do not even rank that high. When Mike Tyson was building up his record, it was against some moderate-to-fair competition. What is interesting, however, is that Tupou’s manager has attempted to secure fights against better fighters, and other managers have consistently turned these offers down. There is a general consensus that fighting him isn’t worth the risk: Tupou is relatively unknown, hence there isn’t much money or gain involved in fighting him. But Koval is looking to get his career back on track, and it could be an entertaining fight.

The rest of May will include a few decent fights, leading up to the May 30 card in Florida that boxing fans are now looking forward to. It features two bouts with four explosive welterweight punchers: Andre Berto (24-0; 19 KOs) fights Juan Urango (21-1-1; 16 KOs), and Kermit Cintron (30-2-1; 27 KOs) faces Alfredo Angulo (15-0; 12 KOs). Both of these fights are scheduled for 12 rounds. That’s the type of high-quality card that, while no actual world title is at stake (Berto holds a "paper title"), will appeal to most sports fans.