Al Bernstein's Blog February 18, 2009 Boxing Goes to the People This weekend in a pay per view boxing doubleheader that I’ll get to participate in, boxing continues it’s recent trend to go beyond the casinos to arenas where fight fans have a rooting interest. On Saturday, Feb. 21st, I will be at Madison Square Garden to call the Miguel Cotto-Micheal Jennings welterweight title match. Cotto has a huge fan base in New York and has sold out the Garden on several occasions. The excitement will be palpable and this is an important fight for Cotto, coming back from his first loss at the hands of Antonio Margarito. Jennings, a 31 year old Brit, will be making his first appearance in the United States. He will walk into a hostile environment, but he’s a good fighter and a live underdog. The second part of this pay per view also takes boxing to where fans care about a fighter. Middleweight king Kelly Pavlik takes on Marco Antonio Rubio at the Chevrolet Center in Pavlik’s hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. That arena has been sold out for weeks and it is a greatly anticipated homecoming for Pavlik. Creating interest in areas beyond the casinos that offer big site fees, is really a key for boxing, and this weekend demonstrates a willingness for the sport to takes some risks and do just that. For me it will be a fun endeavor because I will be re-united with Charley Steiner, who was my partner for many years covering major matches on ESPN’s Sportscenter. Charley will be calling the action at ringside with me in New York. He now is the play by play voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. (This blog is written exclusively for USSportspages.com readers. To see more of Al’s coverage of boxing go to the Al Bernstein Boxing Channel at ibnsports.com. To contact Al call Adie Zuckerman at the Al Bernstein Live offices at 847-827-9212 or e-mail to adie@albernsteinlive.com). Archives: January 14, 2009 January 19, 2009 January 27, 2009 February 4, 2009