There's a hell of a lot going on in that music video, just like there's a hell of a lot going on in this week's boxing sched… OK, I give up on grasping at ways to make the video at the top of the schedule somehow related to the schedule. It's just some cool stop motion.
It's something of a middling week in the boxing world, with ESPN2 and Showtime offering shows that aren't great, but aren't terrible either.
- Lucas Matthysse vs. Mike Dallas, Jr., Saturday, Showtime, Las Vegas. Fight fans rejoice! Argentine junior welterweight slugger Lucas Matthysse (32-2, 30 KO) is back. I could tell you how much of a badass he is, but you either already know or YouTube will do a better job than me. He's up against Mike Dallas, Jr. (19-2-1, 8 KO), who's a little bit of a step down. That's because there were some troubles in getting Matthysse a fight. Bakersfield's Dallas just doesn't offer anything to trouble the Argentine who, apart from having hands and cojones of stone, is also a relatively technical boxer. Early stoppage all the way. On the undercard, Turkish welterweight Selcuk Aydin (23-1, 17 KO) fights indefatigable Mexican brawler Jesus Soto Karass (26-8-3, 17 KO) in what might end up being one of the dirtiest fights of the modern era. Neither Aydin nor Karass is afraid to let the Queensberry Rules get in the way of a good tear up, and elbows, foreheads and shoulders will be flying. After a long and bloody career featuring a couple of recent stoppage losses, Soto Karass isn't quite the same as he once was. That's why I'll take the young Turk in an ugly fight that features as much wrestling and fouling as it does actual punching.
- Sergiy Dzinziruk vs. Brian Vera, Friday, ESPN2, Verona N.Y. Along with Jonathan Gonzalez, his partner in crime in last September's excruciatingly boring draw, many said that Ukrainian junior middleweight Dzinziruk (37-1-1, 24 KO) would never be allowed back on TV again. But like Gonzalez, who fought two weeks ago, Dzinziruk is back on the box. He's fighting faded pressure machine Brian Vera (21-6, 12 KO), who got a bit of steam back by beating his old nemesis, Sergio Mora, last time out. I suspect that Dzinziruk will be on another level, though, and I expect him to jab Vera to pieces over the course of the fight. Mind you, if Dzinziruk is as lethargic as he was against Gonzalez, he will certainly lose. On the undercard, Canadian junior welterweight prospect Tony Luis (15-0, KO 7) fights a TQBR favourite, Jose “El Loco” Hernandez (13-6-1, 5 KO). Despite being a good combination puncher, Luis is still quite raw and this is a winnable fight for “El Loco,” despite being called up on a week's notice.
- The Rest. Friday night's ShoBox card has fast, skilled and boring junior middleweight prospect Demtrius Andrade (18-0, 13 KO) stepping up slightly against Freddy Hernandez (30-3, 20 KO). Hernandez isn't a bad fighter, but he's not cracking the elite any time soon. Andrade is… Mexican former junior bantamweight titlist Hugo Cazares (37-7-2, 26 KO) faces Rey Perez (17-2, 3 KO) of the Phillipines in Chihuahua, Mexico on Saturday night.
