New York’s boxing renaissance continues this week with two more fight cards in Manhattan. The big one occurs on Saturday night when Miguel Cotto (23-0, 19 KOs) defends his World Boxing Organization 140-pound title against Mohammad Abdullaev (15-1,12 KOs) at Madison Square Garden.

Promoter Bob Arum has penciled in 2005 as Cotto’s breakout year,and Saturday is an important building block in that process. Cotto is from Puerto Rico; New York’s annual Puerto Rican Day Parade is slated for Sunday. Arum is positioning Miguel to become a Puerto Rican hero, and there will be a large pro-Cotto crowd at the Garden on Saturday night. If all goes as planned, the electricity will be apparent to those watching on television. That, in turn, will create more Cotto fans.

Just as crucially, Cotto and Abdullaev have an interesting history. Abdullaev represented Uzbekistan at the 2000 Olympics and defeated Miguel en route to the 141-pound gold medal. But that was five years ago. Cotto is now a better boxer than Abdullaev, and he hits harder than his former nemesis. He should stop Abdullaev late. Abdullaev can be expected to move forward in an effort to pressure Cotto and smother his punches. But Miguel will hit him hard enough and often enough to stop Abdullaev late

The undercard features an attractive matchup between former 130-pound champion Joel Casamayor (31-3, 19 KOs) and Almazbek Raiymkulov (20-0, 12 KOs). Casamayor is a clever, experienced boxer on the downhill slide, while Raiymkulov is a fighter on the way up who fights under the moniker “Kid Diamond.” This will be Kid Diamond’s toughest test to date. But he’s younger, stronger, and hits harder than Casamayor and should prevail. Both bouts will be televised by HBO.

Meanwhile, boxing returns to the Manhattan Center (311 West 34th Street) tomorrow night, when Lou Di-Bella promotes his monthly Broadway Boxing show. In the main event, 140-pound Dmitriy Salita (21-0, 12 KOs) puts his undefeated record on the line against Louis Brown (14-1, 10 KOs). Brown lost the only time he entered the ring against a quality opponent. Last year, Cesar Bazan knocked him out in two rounds. Salita should do the same, although it will take him longer.

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“Cinderella Man,” starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, opened last week to a barrage of promotion. But a recently published biography of James Braddock merits equal attention.

Jeremy Schaap, in a book also titled “Cinderella Man,” has done a fine job chronicling Braddock’s rise to the heavyweight championship at the height of the Great Depression. Schaap succeeds particularly well in two areas where the movie fails. First, he paints a vivid and honest portrait of Max Baer, who was dethroned by Braddock in 1935. Second, he explains how important the heavyweight title was 70 years ago.

“At that time,” writes Schaap, “the heavyweight champion of the world mattered in a way in which no athlete now matters. He wasn’t just the best paid or the most significant athlete in the world. He was, with the possible exception of a few world leaders, the most famous person on the planet. To climb to the top of the heavyweight division was to ascend to the highest peak in sports, both in popularity and financially.”

To prove his point, Schaap notes that, on September 22, 1927, Gene Tunney made $990,445 for 30 minutes work in his second fight against Jack Dempsey. That was more money than Babe Ruth had made in 14 major league seasons.

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On Saturday night, Ricky Hatton overcame 4-to-1 odds to seize the International Boxing Federation 140-pound title from Kostya Tszyu on an 11th-round stoppage. Hatton applied constant pressure and bulled forward all night. He fought every second of every round, staying on top of Tszyu and smothering his punches. Kostya could never get the right distance between them to counter effectively. When he did land, Hatton showed a good chin.

Tszyu could have come out for the 12th round but chose not to. “I think I was three or four points behind,” he said. “It was impossible for me to win. I am a proud man. It’s a shame for me to say this. But today, Ricky was better than me in every way.”

Now the world is Hatton’s oyster. He could go in easy in his next fight or opt for a bigger payday against a big-name opponent. His most lucrative options at 140 pounds are a rematch against Tszyu and a fight against the winner (or loser) of the June 25 match-up between Arturo Gatti and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Most likely, he’ll steer clear of Miguel Cotto.

Alternatively, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo could come up from 135 pounds to face Hatton. Or Ricky could journey to 147 pounds and challenge welterweight champion Zab Judah without risking his own crown.