Summer Season gets Underway

Starting Friday night, this promises to be a very busy month for followers of the local boxing scene, with cards, major and minor throughout Southeastern PA and in New Jersey. Here's a rundown of the schedule to date:

Reading, Friday

At the Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading on Friday, in a bout promoted by Bob Arum's Top Rank and televised by Telefutura, unbeaten lightweight prospect Urbano Antillon (22-0, 15 KOs) takes on Jose Leonardo Cruz (12-2-2, 8 KOS) in the main event. Also on the televised portion of the card, veterans Marco Antonio Rubio (41-4-1, 36 KOs) and Freddy Cuevas (26-9, 17 KOs) square off in a middleweight bout. Rubio has been mentioned as a possible Kelly Pavlik world title challenger in the fall.

Antillon, originally from Mexico but living in California, is coming off a first-round KO of Bobby Pacquaio and appears to be a legitimate prospect.

Not sure why this card is in Reading. Of note, however, Harold Cintron, the older brother of former welterweight title-holder Kermit Cintron, who is a Reading resident, will make his professional debut in a junior welterweight bout. Unbeaten featherweight Lucian Gonzalez (5-0, 4 KOS), also a Puerto Rican residing in Reading is on the undercard.

Philadelphia (Blue Horizon), Friday

Unbeaten cruiserweight prospect Adam Harris (10-0, 7 KOs), of Worcester, Mass. but a recent Philly fight staple, headlines against journeyman Harvey Jolley in the eight-round co-feature. Featherweight Jules Blackwell (7-0, 2 KOs), of Phoenixville, Pa, is scheduled to fight in the eight-round co-feature, but an opponent hasn't been named.

On paper, this is not a high-quality card by any means, promoted by Vernoca Michael's Blue Horizon Boxing Promotions, with veteran matchmaker Don Elbaum putting the fights together. At Blue Horizon prices, this is a tough sell with a much better show in Reading the same night, a TV card on ESPN2, and then two TV cards on Satuday.

Atlantic City (Boardwalk Hall), Saturday

This HBO-televised card is headlined by Kelly Pavlik's middleweight title defense against Gary Lockett, a main event that is probably a mismatch, considering that few in the states know anything of Lockett (30-1, 21 KOs), who is from Wales and is promoted by Enzo Calzaghe. This mandatory is supposed to be a breather for Pavlik (33-0, 29 KOs), but who knows? Maybe this turns out to be surprisingly good.

I love the other televised fight, a junior lightweight title bout between Daniel Ponce De Leon (34-1, 30- KOs) and unbeaten challenger Juan Manuel Lopez (21-0, 19 KOs). This is a classic matter of top-flight Golden Boy Promotions young champion (Ponce De Leon) against rising young Top Rank prospect (Lopez).

Off TV isn't so bad either. Unbeaten junior lightweight Kevin Mitchell (26-0, 19 KOs), of Great Britain, fights in a 12-rounder with Walter Estrada (34-5, 23 KOs) in Mitchell's first fight in the U.S. Unbeaten prospects like Demetrio Soto, Jorge Diaz, Qa'id Muhamman, Hylon Williams Jr. and Danny Garcia are also fighting to be name foes on the undercard. Williams (1-0), of Houston, and Garcia (6-0, KOs), of Philadelphia, are probably the top two products of the American amateur system to turn pro in the last year, and both could easily have been competing this summer in the Olympics in China.

Scranton, June 13

The Catholic Youth Center in Scranton will host a card promoted by Duva Boxing and Northeast Boxing, and televised on ESPN2's Friday night fights. There's not a lot of star power on the card, but it could be a very good bang of the consumer's buck.

Two 10-round co-features fight to be the TV fights, including one featuring welterweight prospect James De La Rosa (15-0, 11 KOs) against a not yet named opponent. A 20-year-old Texan originally from Mexico, De La Rosa, now promoted by Dino Duva, turned some heads in his last fight, a fourth round TKO of veteran James Webb in Harlingen, Texas.

Also, cruiserweights Francisco Palacios (14-0, 7 KOs) and Ola Afolabi (12-1-3, 5 KOs) square off in a 10-rounder. Puerto Rican Palacios is considered a prospect, with an impressive win over former contender Louis Azille on his resume. Afolabi, of London now living in California, ended a two-plus year layoff with a win over Eric Fields in April.

Twenty-year-old middleweight Mike Tiberi (5-0, 3 KOs), of Smyrna, Del., will be on the undercard.

NOTE: Also on June 13 in Fort Worth, Texas, on a Telefutura card promoted by Golden Boy, former U.S. Olympian Rock Allen (12-0, 7 KOs), of Philadelphia returns to the ring in an eight-round junior welterweight bout against TBA. Allen hasn't fought since November.

Oaks, PA, June 21

For those wondering where the heck Oaks, PA is, it's located off of Route 422 near Valley Forge and Phoenixville. The card, promoted by Greg Robinson's Power Productions, will take pace at the Cisco Arena.

In the main event, Philadelphia featherweight Rashiem Jefferson (15-1-1, 6 KOs), looks to rebound from his first loss in an eight-rounder. Middleweight Derek Ennis (12-2-1, 9 KOs), also of Philly, will be in a six-rounder, as will Trenton light heavyweight Chuck Cavallo.