This Week's Boxing Schedule (Week of January 3rd-January 9th)

Spanning the globe and scaling up and down the seventeen weight classes, here's your look at the week's action and why (or why not) you should pay attention:

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

Central Stadium, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam (77-3-1, 41 KO) vs. Roland Latuni (5-6-2, 2 KOs)

The two-time (and reigning) WBC flyweight champ, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, is slumming it in a non-title 6-rounder against Indonesia's Latuni, who hasn't won a bout since 2007. Easy pickings.

Wanheng Menayothin (14-0, 4 KOs) vs. Remy Cuambot (7-4-1, 0 KOs)

This one is for the vacant WBC International Silver minimumweight title, but it will be merely a coronation for Thailand's hot property, Menayothin. He has been groomed from the very beginning to be Thailand's next world champion, winning the WBC Youth World minimumweight title in his third pro bout.

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Friday, January 7th, 2011

Hyatt Regency Hotel, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Yusaf Mack (28-3-2, 17 KOs) vs. Otis Griffin (23-6-2, 9 KOs)

This IBF light heavyweight title eliminator should be a fairly competitive and entertaining affair. Mack is coming off a tough TKO 6 loss to Glen Johnson back in February of 2010 while the veteran, Griffin, is coming of a 4-0 run following a KO 2 loss to Marcus Oliveira in 2009. The winner gets a shot at Tavoris Cloud.

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Cox Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0, 11 KOs) vs. Mauricio Herrera (15-1, 7 KOs)

The highly entertaining, all-action fighter from Russia, Provodnikov, meets California's Herrera for the vacant WBC Continental Americas light welterweight title and vacant USBA light welterweight title. Herrera is a competent boxer-puncher, but Provodnikov's the one to watch as one of boxing's pound for pound most exciting young fighters.

Demetrius Andrade (11-0, 8 KOs) vs. Alberto Herrera (7-1-1, 5 KOs)

Herrera actually represents a step up in class for the well-regarded jr. middleweight prospect, Andrade. Should be interesting while this 8-rounder lasts.

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Saturday, January 9th, 2011

Ice Mansion, Schymkent, Kazakhstan
Beibut Shumenov (10-1, 6 KOs) vs. Juergen Braehmer (36-2, 29 KOs)

This will be a title unification bout between WBA light heavyweight champ, Shumenov, and WBO champ, Braehmer. Shumenov, being the more talented of the two (and fighting in his native Kazakhstan), is the logical favorite, but Braehmer is a competent fighter and could surprise.

Gayrat Ahmedov (15-0-1, 10 KOs) vs. William Joppy (39-6-2, 30 KOs)

Uzbekistani, Ahmedov is the heavy favorite against American former middleweight champion of the world, Joppy in this 175 lb. encounter. The previously-retired Joppy hasn't won a bout since 2007.

Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Christian Esquivel (20-2, 14 KOs) vs. Eduardo Garcia (21-5-1, 9 KOs)

This should be an evenly-matched bantamweight contest, with a slight edge going to the 24-year old Esquivel. Billed as a "WBC final eliminator," the winner will eventually meet the winner of February's Fernando Montiel-Nonito Donaire contest.