HBO is breaking out a tripleheader on July 14th, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. It is a rare fight card in that one of the three fights is being broadcast from a different venue from the other two. The main event will be Antonio Margarito versus Paul Williams in a grudge match that eminates from the West Coast. The undercard for HBO’s televised card will come from Atlantic City where Arturo Gatti will take on Alfonso Gomez of The Contender fame. The third fight also comes from Atlantic City and will feature Kermit Cintron against Walter Matthysse.
Margarito/Williams is a fight that could emerge as the fight of the year and the two have legitimate beef with each other. Margarito claims he is the most ducked welterweight in the world despite the fact that Williams has been calling him out for two years. Williams is now the mandatory challenger for Margarito’s WBO belt and the bout will go down on July 14th. I rarely go out of my way to recommend fights to those that aren’t familiar with boxing but this is a fight that everyone should see.
Arturo Gatti never ceases to give a good show and is matched up with a good opponent in Alfonso Gomez. Unlike Floyd Mayweather Jr, who exposed Gatti’s weaknesses with his quickness, Gomez fights a similar style to Gatti and it should produce an exciting brawl. Gatti is in the twilight of his career and hopes to go out with victories while Gomez would greatly benefit from a win over a big name like Arturo Gatti.
The third fight is no snoozer either. Kermit Cintron makes his first IBF Welterweight Title defense against Walter Matthysse. Coincidentally, Cintron’s only loss came to Antonio Margarito while Matthysse’s only loss was to Paul Williams. Both guys have crazy knockout power. As a whole, this is perhaps the best night of televised boxing for the year.
