ShoBox middleweight box-off Friday night

The Showtime super middleweight box-off kicks off tomorrow night at 11 PM, so set your DVR if you’re going to be out and about on the town and want to see the action.

There are eight fighters in the contest, which will culminate in the tournament finale on Jan. 5.

The opening round, from the PFTC Sports Center in Las Vegas, features Jean Paul Mendy of France, (21-0, 11 KOs) against Dallas Vargas of Ohio, (21-2, 15 KOs) while Henry Buchanan of South Carolina (13-0, 11 KOs) will meet Lucas Green-Arias of Costa Rica (11-0, eight KOs).

On Aug. 4, Anthony Hanshaw of Ohio (19-0, 13 KOs) will take on Esteban Camou of Mexico, (18-1, 15 KOs) and Sakio Bika of Cameroon, (20-1-2, 14 KOs) will square off against Jose Luis Herrera of Colombia (14-1, 14 KOs).

At 32 years old, Jean Paul Mendy is the oldest of the tournament participants. The southpaw, who turned pro in 2000, recently relocated to Las Vegas will be fighting in the States for only the third time. The Frenchman has fought truly anonymous competition, so his pedigree is still TBA…

Vargas, age 29, is most notable for his disability; he was born hearing impaired. He’s fought more than 300 amateur fights and turned pro in 2001. His opposition to this point has been comparable to Mendy’s. Vargas is the older brother of 2004 U.S. Olympic team captain Devin Vargas. His nickname is “Deaf Pride,” and the proud eyes of his hometown, Toledo, Ohio, will be fixed upon him tomorrow.

The Maryland native Buchanan, nicknamed (yuck) Sugar Poo, turned pro on March 27, 2004. He doesn’t have as much pro experience as one would hope to have at 27, so Buchanan should be motivated to move forward in the tourney.

The Costa Rican Green-Arias is also a relative greenie. His nickname is priceless: he’s called “El Pirata,” or “pirate cabbie.” This will be his first time fighting outside of Costa Rica, so he’s another wild card.

Me, I’m rooting for “El Pirata,” based on nothing more than the fact I think he has the coolest nickname…