Cliff Rold

Anybody catch Vanes Martirosyan, according to the judges, winning some seven or eight rounds against former Jr. Middleweight titlist Kasim Ouma last Saturday?

All the king’s fall eventually. Whether it’s age, interest, or a well-placed bomb, no one stays around the top forever. Some of them can come back after a fall. Most do not. This weekend, the most popular action fighter of his time makes a return to the ring after almost a year away. Last time he was seen, it was face first and drilled into the floor. Are we at the brink of a new chapter or an epilogue? These are the picks of the week.

Everyone enjoying all that great football action? One would hope so, because there isn’t a heck of a lot of boxing on the tube for the time being. Last week, we had a major title change on a foul. This week, we have two time passing shows as January 18th grows closer. On that date, we get the long awaited Jean Pascal-Lucian Bute clash. On January 25th, HBO and Showtime go head to head with a pair of quality shows. It’s not the best of times, but better times are coming as the 2014 season of Boxing gets into gear. Until then…

Welterweight/Jr. Welterweight: Danny Garcia announced prior to his bout with Paulie Malignaggi his intention to campaign full time going forward as a Welterweight. His stoppage of the former titlist earns him entry to the top ten at 147. After over a year without a title defense, his now clear intentions result in listing the title at 140 lbs. as vacant. Garcia earned near universal recognition as the champion at Jr. Welterweight with a win over Lucas Matthysse after previous title fight victories over Erik Morales and Amir Khan. Garcia was the first man to achieve recognition as Jr. Welterweight champion since Manny Pacquiao abdicated the lineal crown in 2009. Pacquiao’s claim to the title could be traced to the unification of the division by Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu.

One week after a pair of aging warriors got it on in Las Vegas, two aging warriors are gearing up to get it on in Vegas.

With only days until the turkey is carved in the States, Thanksgiving has already begun for fight fans. After all, thank you is the best thing anyone can say after a solid HBO show last weekend and a Wealth TV card that may have been boxing’s best overall televised offering of the year. With a bunch of competitive undercard fights before two blazing title fights, the little guys delivered.

Evander Holyfield knocking out Frans Botha as a headline in 2010 had some people bothered last week but, really, who cares? Hector Camacho fought Roberto Duran when it didn’t matter, Larry Holmes went up 2-0 on Bonecrusher Smith on the AARP tour…boxing survived.

After a week that saw a legend turn Boxing on its ear, again, the sport returns to relative normalcy, away from pay-per-view and back to the fighters hoping to get there. On central display this week, the post-Joe Calzaghe era at Super Middleweight truly begins with three of the top ten in action, two against each other and one in a showcase.

Arguably the best fighter in a sensational 115 lb. division, and regarded by many as one of the sports best pound for pound in general, 26-year old WBC/WBA titlist Cristian Mijares (36-3-2, 15 KO) easily retained his belts on Saturday night at the Monterrey in Nuevo León, Mexico, stopping 38-year old former World Flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul (64-4, 39 KO) of Thailand in three rounds.

Nothing like starting off the week with a bang. On Thursday night, McWilliams Arroyo put himself in serious contention in the deep Flyweight division with an explosive second round knockout of previously undefeated Froilan Saludar. Was it the beginning of an explosive weekend? The way some of the matches lay out on Saturday, it just might be. There is action all over the scale with a solid tripleheader on Showtime to lead the way. These are the picks of the week.