22.04.05 – By Tyrus Linston: On Saturday night ESPN will do what it has probably wanted to do all along: jump into the PPV pot alongside paying television’s two largest entities, HBO and Showtime. The monies generated from such a move, especially when you factor in ESPN’s deep pool of resources, could be substantial. This particular PPV will showcase four big fights, with all of them having title fight ramifications.. Those bouts are: Cintron vs Margarito, Mosely vs Estrada, and McCline vs Brock. The last of the three bouts just mentioned, Jameel “ Bigtime ” McCline vs “The Boxing Banker”, Calvin Brock, will pit a once promising contender up against a relative unknown, with the winner moving up a few steps on the proverbial heavyweight boxing ladder and the loser dropping down a few. McCline, of Port Jefferson, New York, is 31-4, with 19ko’s and 3 draws. His opponent, Calvin Brock, is 24-0 with 20 ko’s.
McCline’s biggest wins came against Michael Grant in July of 2001 and Shannon Briggs in April of 2002. His career defining losses have come against Wladimir Klitschko and Chris Byrd. Those losses occurred in July of 2001 and November of 2004 respectively. On the other hand, Calvin Brock, who is virtually untested, has but one win against respected opposition: a win over Clifford Etienne, which was in January of this year, a mere three months ago.
This fight will definitely tell us where McCline is in terms of credibility as a world class heavyweight and it will also tell us if Calvin Brock, one of the most protected fighters of the past five to ten years, has a chance in hell of becoming a world class heavyweight. My prediction for the fight: It’s a toss up. It could go either way. Whoever wants it most will win. McCline has the edge in size and experience while Brock has it in power and technique. McCline has fought the bigger names, but he also has a reputation for freezing up in big fights. As for Brock, we know nothing of this young man, but we will after tomorrow night. Stay tuned.