Steve Cunningham vs Troy Ross Preview

Joseph R. Holzer previews today's cruiserweight match-up between Steve Cunningham and Troy Ross.

While most of the buzz in boxing surrounds the sport's return to Yankee Stadium, a cruiserweight title bout on the other side of the Atlantic has slid under the radar. This afternoon in Neubrandenburg, Germany, Steve Cunningham seeks to regain the vacant IBF belt against southpaw Troy Ross.

This is Cunningham's first fight of 2010, and it's only his second bout since losing the title in an action-packed split-decision loss to Tomasz Adamek in December 2008. He has since campaigned for a rematch, having it fall through when Adamek decided to test the waters of the heavyweight division. He easily outpointed Wayne Braithewaite last July, but negotiations for an April meeting with Matt Godfrey went south.

Cunningham (22-2, 11 KOs), whose "USS" nickname is a product of his time spent in the Navy, is a veteran of competing overseas. He scored a 12-round TKO over German resident Marco Huck in December 2007. The Ring magazine No. 1-ranked cruiserweight has also fought twice in Poland (splitting bouts with Krzysztof Wlodarczyk) and once in South Africa.

The difference now is Cunningham doesn't have to worry about the dangers of infiltrating enemy territory. His opponent, Ross, is also on foreign ground.

Ross (23-1, 16 KOs) won the fourth season of boxing reality show The Contender a couple months after Cunningham lost his strap. The Canadian has been slightly more busy, delivering an easily won snoozer against journeyman Michael Simms last June and following it up with a first-round blowout of relative punching bag Daniel Bispo in December. Both bouts were in Montreal.

Surely each would rather enjoy the exposure brought with battling in the modern version of "The House That Ruth Built," but the cruiserweight division -- though talented -- isn't the most popular of weight classes. And neither man is getting any younger, with Ross at 34 and Cunningham at 33, and both approaching birthdays in July. It's a now-or-never atmosphere.

This is, however, competition at a high level. Between the two, there are three losses -- two by split decision and one by majority. The names of their opponents are a who's who list of cruiserweight mainstays: Adamek, Braithwaite, Huck, Hino Ehikhamenor, Guillermo Jones, Kelvin Davis, etc.

Cunningham's crowd-pleasing and busy style would make the affable Philadelphian a popular champion. He's a boxer, a model and an artist. He also raps. In this crossover-appeal generation, the former petty officer should be a major star. Right now, he just wants what he believes is his returned. After defeating Braithwaite, Cunningham said he felt like a champion without a belt.

Like Cunningham, Ross also has a career to fall back on once his career as a prizefighter ends. He has appeared in movies, including Cinderella Man, and started his own clothing line. His focus, though, is adding the IBF trinket to his mantle of accomplishments.

Cunningham will have about a five-inch height advantage over the five-foot-eleven Ross, who is a southpaw. If it wasn't for the slight differences, each could appear as a mirror image of the other. Hopefully the next step for the winner will be a bout in the Bronx.

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For more from Joseph, check out his blog: Pugilism 101