What if you threw a superfight and nobody came? Well, maybe not a superfight, but a big, important fight. A championship fight.

	Forrest suffered the first loss of his career against Mayorga, but Kellerman predicts he'll avenge it.

Vernon Forrest will attempt to win back the welterweight title from Ricardo Mayorga this Saturday night. Forrest was an undefeated champion and two-time conqueror of pound-for-pound entrant Sugar Shane Mosley when he was knocked out by Mayorga in three rounds this past January. Mayorga is a power-punching, smack-talking, wild man. Seems like their rematch would garner a lot of attention in the boxing media, if not in the mainstream sports media.

It has not. Sure, the bout is being held in Las Vegas, but it's not at Mandalay Bay or the MGM or even Caesars Palace, which lost its distinction as boxing's premiere big-fight site over a decade ago. No, this fight is being held at the Orleans. Could this mean the Orleans is making a big-time push into big-time boxing? Maybe. But more likely it is the case that Forrest-Mayorga is not perceived as a first-rate fight, not even by boxing people.

The truth is, this fight will raise as many questions as it answers. On the one hand, we should learn whether or not Mayorga's upset in their first go-round was a fluke. Likewise, we should learn more about whether Vernon was simply a bad match-up for Mosley, or whether he is something more.

On the other hand, should Mayorga win again, how do we know that he does not simply have Forrest's number in the same way that Forrest had Mosley's? And should Forrest avenge his defeat, might that not be seen by many as more of an indictment of Mayorga (and therefore of Forrest's knockout loss to him) than as an indication of Forrest's level of competence?

How can we consider Vernon an elite pound-for-pound type of guy until he beats a non-Mosley elite fighter? How do we know that Mayorga is an elite fighter until he beats someone other than Forrest?

Paradoxical riddles aside, let's remember that this fight is for the one and only, legitimate, Ring Magazine welterweight championship of the world. And while the welters themselves are not the most intriguing bunch, they are sandwiched between two big-money weight classes.

To the south, the junior welterweight division is the deepest in boxing, and its champion, Kostya Tszyu, could always rise seven pounds and challenge whomever is left standing after Saturday night. Tszyu beat Forrest in the amateurs, so there is a compelling storyline to a pro meeting.

Mayorga is an exciting action fighter with a big punch, and a showdown with Tszyu would not only be a match between the legit welterweight and junior welterweight champs, but it almost certainly would wind up a candidate for Fight of the Year.

To the north are the junior middleweights. Oscar De La Hoya and Mosley will rematch later this year, this time with Oscar's Ring Magazine 154-pound title on the line. Should Mosley win again, then, just as is the case with Tszyu, there is a history there with Vernon and Fight of the Year potential with Mayorga. Should Oscar avenge his Mosley loss, then the biggest meal ticket in boxing south of heavyweight is sitting there, one little half-weight division away.

To the credit of two of the major boxing networks, however, Forrest-Mayorga II is getting the respect a legit title fight deserves. HBO is airing the fight as part of their Championship Boxing series and not simply as a Boxing After Dark episode. We at ESPN are giving the fight SportsCenter coverage. Saturday night, Brian Kenny and I will preview the fight beforehand and give reactions from the SportsCenter desk immediately afterward.

As for my prediction: Forrest will win a sloppy fight on points. He will keep Mayorga at the end of his jab, step around him, and tie him up whenever Mayorga tries to unload. Mayorga already has demonstrated the ability to hurt Vernon with a single shot, so it is likely that, win or lose, Vernon will experience some rough spots. However, his defensive ability, combined with his defensive mindset coming into the fight, should get him through with a big-fight win.

Max Kellerman is a studio analyst for ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" and the host of the show "Around The Horn."