Kos

A former bingo hall tucked underneath a rumbling I-95 overpass and located just a short walk from the city's shipping docks might be where boxing receives a needed jolt of rejuvenation. Known infamously for its role in the rise of "extreme" professional wrestling more than a decade ago, the small, gritty Asylum Arena in South Philadelphia aims to fill the city's boxing void created by the shuttering of the legendary Blue Horizon on North Broad Street. And on Saturday, live on the newly minted NBC Sports Network, the arena will be displayed as a stepping-stone for a sport in need of a comeback.

It is standard operating procedure in professional boxing to feed up-and- coming fighters a steady diet of cream puffs, making it easier to assemble a glossy record and zoom toward a world rating with a little resistance. By all rights, Ivan "Mighty" Robinson, the near-Olympian from Nicetown, should be chowing down on hapless opponents fresh from the bakery oven at this comparatively early stage of his career. He ought not to have to step up in class to guys who might actually give him a fight until he'd polished off, oh, 15 or 20 empty-calorie snacks.

Here is a list of the boxers for the third season of 'The Contenders,' which begins Sept. 4 on ESPN2: Max Alexander (14-1, 2 KOs), 26, Camden David Banks (14-2-1, 2 KOs), 24, Portland, Ore. Saiko Bika (22-3-2, 14 KOs), 28, Cameroon Henry Buchanan (14-1, 11 KOs), 28, Capitol Heights, Md. LaFarrell Bunting (16-3-1, 16 KOs), 27, Las Vegas Jaidon Codrington (16-1, 12 KOs), 23, Queens, N.Y. Miguel Hernandez (20-5, 10 KOs), 32, Chicago Wayne Johnsen (16-1, 9 KOs)

Analyzing Saturday night's HBO-televised bout between champion Bernard Hopkins and challenger Chad Dawson for the WBC and The Ring magazine light-heavyweight titles. AGENDA When: Saturday, 9 p.m. Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City At stake: Hopkins' WBC and The Ring magazine light-heavyweight titles. TV: HBO -- BERNARD HOPKINS Hometown: Philadelphia Age: 47 Record: 52-5-2, 32 KOs (2 NC) Height: 6-1 Weight: 175 pounds (prior to Friday's weigh-in)

ATLANTIC CITY - Maybe Bernard Hopkins didn't get old all at once. Maybe his boxing mortality crept up on him, on little cat's feet, the gradual erosion of his marvelous skills taking place over years, sliver by sliver, tiny piece by tiny piece. But, at 47, all those missing pebbles tend to add up. And Saturday night, against a talented and committed opponent 18 years his junior, the aging master finally found out what it was like to peer into the future and see . . . well, maybe the retirement that should have awaited him years ago. Dawson wrested the WBC and The Ring magazine light-heavyweight championships from Hopkins here Saturday night in Boardwalk Hall, by scores of 117-111 (judges Steve Weisfeld and Kevin Flaherty)

HOUSTON - What potentially could be the biggest all-Philadelphia boxing event in decades is only two unclaimed world-championship belts from coming into sharper focus. The first of those belts could be cinched around Danny "Swift" Garcia's waist late Saturday night, when the WBC's No. 4-ranked contender from Juniata Park challenges WBC super-lightweight titlist Erik Morales at the Reliant Center. The scheduled 12-round main event is part of a doubleheader to be televised nationally by HBO, the lead-in of which is a 10-rounder pitting middleweights James Kirkland (30-1, 27 KOs)

WITH THE obvious exception of college football and its computerized BCS shenanigans, sports championships are determined solely by merit. There are established formulas to crown the winners of the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup playoffs and Final Four. A favorite might be upset somewhere along the way, but a really good team can't duck a particularly difficult opponent simply because its decision-makers don't like the way the respective rosters match up. Professional boxing, of course, is a different animal.

Harold Brazier, of South Bend, Ind., stopped Philadelphia's Brian Baronet at 2:02 of the 10th round to capture the vacant North American Boxing Federation junior welterweight championship at the Sands Hotel and Casino last night. Brazier raised his record to 38-7-1 (26 KOs) while Baronet, who had been rated as the No. 10 contender by the International Boxing Federation, fell to 32-3 (18 KOs).

MAIN EVENTS president Kathy Duva and matchmaker J Russell Peltz have come up with late substitutions for Saturday night's featured bout at the Asylum Arena, which was to have paired heavyweight contenders Eddie Chambers (36-2, 18 KOs) and Sergei Liakhovich (25-4, 16 KOs). That fight went by the boards when Chambers suffered cracked ribs in training last week and was forced to withdraw. The new 10-round main event for the debut event of four 2012 cards to be televised by the NBC Sports Network pits Maurice "Freight Train" Byarm (13-0-1, 9 KOs)

While recovering from injuries suffered in a 1993 automobile accident, former welterweight contender Glenwood "The Real Beast" Brown consoled himself by stuffing his face. "The Real Beast" became "The Real Feast" as he gained nearly 100 pounds, topping out at an unseemly 240. George Foreman might feel emaciated at that weight, but you have to consider the built-low-to-the-ground Brown is only 5-7 1/2. "It was very hard trying to get back into it," Brown said of his return to training after a 14-month layoff from the ring.

WITH THE obvious exception of college football and its computerized BCS shenanigans, sports championships are determined solely by merit. There are established formulas to crown the winners of the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup playoffs and Final Four. A favorite might be upset somewhere along the way, but a really good team can't duck a particularly difficult opponent simply because its decision-makers don't like the way the respective rosters match up. Professional boxing, of course, is a different animal.

ATLANTIC CITY - Maybe Bernard Hopkins didn't get old all at once. Maybe his boxing mortality crept up on him, on little cat's feet, the gradual erosion of his marvelous skills taking place over years, sliver by sliver, tiny piece by tiny piece. But, at 47, all those missing pebbles tend to add up. And Saturday night, against a talented and committed opponent 18 years his junior, the aging master finally found out what it was like to peer into the future and see . . . well, maybe the retirement that should have awaited him years ago. Dawson wrested the WBC and The Ring magazine light-heavyweight championships from Hopkins here Saturday night in Boardwalk Hall, by scores of 117-111 (judges Steve Weisfeld and Kevin Flaherty)

ATLANTIC CITY - Among the many funny things Yankees Hall of Famer Yogi Berra is alleged to have said is "It's déjà vu all over again. " Maybe Yogi, that master of the malaprop, actually spoke those exact words at some point during his English-mangling baseball career. And maybe he didn't. There are those who will tell you that when boring facts conflict with colorful legend, always go with the legend. It's more interesting, easier to remember and more apt to be believed.

Analyzing Saturday night's HBO-televised bout between champion Bernard Hopkins and challenger Chad Dawson for the WBC and The Ring magazine light-heavyweight titles. AGENDA When: Saturday, 9 p.m. Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City At stake: Hopkins' WBC and The Ring magazine light-heavyweight titles. TV: HBO -- BERNARD HOPKINS Hometown: Philadelphia Age: 47 Record: 52-5-2, 32 KOs (2 NC) Height: 6-1 Weight: 175 pounds (prior to Friday's weigh-in)

Caroline Ouellette and Laura Fortino scored in the first period and Canada beat Finland, 5-1, on Friday to advance to the title game in the Women's World Hockey Championships in Burlington, Vt. Canada, seeking its 10th title and first since 2007, will face the United States-Switzerland winner Saturday in the championship game. COLLEGES: Former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino notified the university he won't appeal his firing nor will he seek any of the $18 million buyout that was part of his contract.

HOUSTON - Erik Morales lost his WBC super-lightweight championship without his Philadelphia challenger, Danny "Swift" Garcia, throwing even one punch. At Friday's official weigh-in, Morales (52-7, 36 KOs) was unable to make the 140-pound limit, coming in at 142. In accordance with WBC rules, the only Mexican to ever hold world titles in four separate weight classes was stripped of his super-lightweight championship. The HBO-televised bout in the Reliant Center will take place as scheduled Saturday night, and Garcia (22-0, 14 KOs)

HOUSTON - What potentially could be the biggest all-Philadelphia boxing event in decades is only two unclaimed world-championship belts from coming into sharper focus. The first of those belts could be cinched around Danny "Swift" Garcia's waist late Saturday night, when the WBC's No. 4-ranked contender from Juniata Park challenges WBC super-lightweight titlist Erik Morales at the Reliant Center. The scheduled 12-round main event is part of a doubleheader to be televised nationally by HBO, the lead-in of which is a 10-rounder pitting middleweights James Kirkland (30-1, 27 KOs)

Katie Uhlaender has given the United States its second gold medal at the skeleton world championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., since the women's competition debuted in 2000. Uhlaender, of Breckenridge, Colo., finished the four heats over two days at Mount Van Hoevenberg in 3 minutes, 42.33 seconds. She beat Mellisa Hollingsworth of Canada by 0.17 seconds on Friday. Uhlaender also won silver at worlds in 2008 in Altenberg, Germany, and bronze the previous year in St. Moritz, Switzerland, when teammate Noelle Pikus-Pace won. Elizabeth Yarnold of Britain took the bronze, 0.36 behind and just ahead of teammate Shelley Rudman , the World Cup champion.

A career milestone and a rare family reunion. All of which left Lindsey Vonn in tears, and it made for a perfect day in Garmisch-Parten-Kirchen, Germany. Vonn captured her 50th World Cup victory Saturday, winning the downhill on the demanding Kandahar course with temperatures plunging to minus 13. "Fifty World Cup wins is a huge mark for me in my career and more than I even thought possible. I just wanted the 50th win," Vonn said. Few skiers reach the 50-win landmark.

GABRIEL ROSADO has seen enough football games on television to know when a coach is trying to "ice" the opposing kicker by calling a timeout just before a potential game-winning field-goal attempt. So when the corner crew for Rosado's bloodied and battered opponent, Mexico's Jesus Soto-Karass, dumped what seemed to be a full bucket of ice into their fighter's trunks before the start of the fifth round - much of which found its way onto the canvas - Rosado and his trainer, Billy Briscoe, knew exactly what was going on. The maneuver wasn't done so much to revive Soto-Karass within the allowable 60 seconds between rounds as to grant him additional time to recuperate.