Chicago fighters face big tests; Harmon meets Roy Jones Jr.(Chicago Tribune)

CHICAGO _ Derrick Harmon, Rocky Martinez, Danell Nicholson and Nate Jones share more than their Chicago roots. In the coming weeks, they are scheduled for fights that could boost or break their careers.

Harmon (19-1-1) gets a major title shot, but it's Mission: Near Impossible. On Feb. 24 in Tampa, he faces Roy Jones Jr., the undisputed light-heavyweight champion rated by many as boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter.

It doesn't look much easier for Martinez (34-4-1). Saturday night in Miami Beach, the junior welterweight takes on unbeaten Hector Camacho Jr. On a 10 p.m. HBO telecast that also features his father, ex-champ Hector "Macho" Camacho, Camacho Jr. expects to enter the nightclub arena on a motorcycle and dispatch Martinez as a stepping stone toward the top of the talented division. That's where title unification fireworks are expected.

Champions Kostya Tszyu of the World Boxing Council and Sharmba Mitchell of the World Boxing Association also square off Saturday night, in Las Vegas (8 p.m. Showtime telecast), with the winner expected to take on the third major titleholder, International Boxing Federation champ Zab Judah.

Nicholson (39-3), a 1992 Olympian, was among young heavyweight prospects until he was beaten by Andrew Golota and Kirk Johnson in 1996. He gets a chance to move back into position as the top contender in the International Boxing Federation. To do so he needs to knock off David Tua, whose championship aspirations were rudely sidetracked by Lennox Lewis in their Nov. 10 title fight. Nicholson-Tua is scheduled for March 23 in Las Vegas and a Showtime telecast.

Nate Jones, whose pro career has moved slowly, could give it boost with a victory March 3 over journeyman Obed Sullivan, who been in against the likes of Tua and Golota. Jones-Sullivan is slated as an undercard bout before the Evander Holyfield-John Ruiz World Boxing Association heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas.

Comeback detour: Michael Grant, the standout Harper High School athlete who rose ...