Following a two weeks hiatus, the ESPN Tuesday nite fite offerings returned from somewhere out in the flats of suburban Albuquerque ... not far enuf west considering what was on display.

Club fights or not, this one was a bummer from the get-go ... an off-B'way fistic floperoo that carried zero redeeming value ... unless it scores a point or two for that Ray Austin-Jo-El Scott heavyweight semi-final ... not for the fistic content, but more for proving once again that in pro boxing bigger is anything but better.

Austin enters at 18-3 with 13 KOs ... Scott at 20-1 and 19 stops ... and then the opening bell of a scheduled 10-rounder - thru four candles it is all Austin ... easy to score since reluctant Jo-El was playing the defensive mode.

Now it's round five ... a wake-up call of sorts with Scott giving the offense a try while the oversized, larger Austin opted for a breather ... and a slowed version of the awkward Austin found Scott drawing close thru seven candles - at this point, my card between snoozes, had it Austin 67-66 or 4-3 in rounds.

But then it is stanza eight ... and Austin opts to give it a final hurrah ... with gas tank near empty he rallies late in round ... and Jo-El catches a nasty "Hail Mary" right hand uppercut flush on the kisser ... message delivered without a receipt.

Scott "retires" between 8 and 9 ... word is he cannot continue because his jaw hurts ... Austin is seen rejoicing over the news - Scott drops to 20-2 and hopefully out of sight ... Austin improves to 19-3 with 14 KOs ... bad news he no longer qualifies for amateur status.

And then the lightweight main event of the evening ... Alex Trujillo facing Luis Villalta ... for what it's worth on paper Trujillo enters at 22-1 and 16 KOs while Villalta sports a dandy 290-4 with 24 stoppages ... so much for resumes.

Old veteran Villalta claims opening stanza in a round that earned a "Waltzing Matilda" background music ... Luis baby displayed his age more than any boxing skills ... and at this point, less said about the younger Trujillo the better.

Round two sort of a wake-up call ... for both Alex and myself ... Trujillo scored well to body and head and I remained alert enough to catch Luis in deliberate head butt ... referee Tony Rosales missed it but maybe he too found himself wandering.

Round three saw Trujillo scoring with big right hand backed with left hook at 48 seconds mark ... and a good nite sweetheart for Villalta who called it no-mas because of injured knuckle.

Post Scripts:
While I usually enjoy the "extra" nite of televised boxing each week, these ESPN Tuesday traveling circus acts leave much to be desired ... gotta wonder who the victims were on the respective resumes. Trujillo - Villalta combined wins at 52 with 40 knockouts and Austin-Scott collective clouts at 39 with 33 short of distance? And who might be interested in a share or two of that span connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan?

Semper Fi