VASSILIY JIROV vs LUKE MUNSEN

After being in big fights on HBO and pay-per-view, Vassiliy Jirov finds himself struggling at the age of 32. He has fallen off the boxing radar to some extent and his next fight sees Jirov in the boxing outpost of Worley, ID, when he meets local-area slugger Luke Munsen in a 10-rounder. The fight is interesting in that it marks Jirov’s move back to the cruiser division after having boxed as a heavyweight for the last couple of years.

This fight is a long way removed from Jirov’s prime years when he was IBF cruiser champ and fought that gruelling 12-rounder with James Toney.

Getting knocked out — after leading widely on points — by a supposedly “shot" Michael Moorer was a big setback for Jirov while in his last fight the Arizona-based Kazakh southpaw could only get a draw with a 39-year-old Orlin Norris although I thought he had outhustled his aging opponent in a meeting of ex-cruiser champions.

One thing about the big-hearted Jirov is that he always makes for good fights with his hard-working, pressure-fighting style. He is still what we call a “name" fighter and perhaps he can come again in what I think is probably his natural weight class: I always thought he looked a bit soft in the body as a heavyweight.

It is, of course, essential that Jirov beats Munsen, and he should do so. The 25-year-old from Spokane, WA, does not seem to be in Jirov’s class. Munsen has lost four of his last six fights but he is a game, crowd-pleasing type. He was involved in a war with the then-unbeaten Chad Van Sickle on an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card from Tacoma, WA in July 2004, when Munsen was down in the eighth but came back to knock Van Sickle down and almost knock him out in the ninth. Although Munsen lost the decision he seemed just a few punches away from winning in that exciting ninth round.

Munsen is stepping up to a new level against Jirov, though. Jirov seems to be the better fighter in every area and is vastly more experienced against a much higher level of competition — not to mention that he was an Olympic gold medallist.

I expect Munsen, with the local crowd right behind him, to give it a spirited effort but Jirov is likely to break him down and halt him at some point after the middle rounds.