Like a traveling salesman displaying his wares, Don King returns to Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. This time, he’s offering a rarity for boxing: four competitive heavyweight fights, two of them championships. And while it can be argued that the championships are as fake as the diamonds and rubies in today’s title belts, the wisest course of action is to sit back and enjoy the show.

The first title up for grabs is the World Boxing Association heavyweight crown, which will be contested by John Ruiz (40-5-1, 28 KOs) and challenger Andrew Golota (38-4-1, 31 KOs).

Ruiz-Golota shapes up as an ugly fight. Both men are slow, plodding, foul-prone pugilists. In Golota’s two most memorable outings, he was disqualified for low blows inflicted upon Riddick Bowe. But Sam Colonna, Golota’s trainer, has tried to shift the burden of proof.

“John Ruiz is a dirty fighter,” Colonna complains. “You have to be careful. He hits behind the head; he hits low. When Andrew does that, he gets disqualified. When Ruiz does it, he finds a way not to get disqualified and win the fight.”

Ruiz is the mentally stronger of the two. Looking ahead to Saturday, he declared, “It’s going to be tough. But like you’ve seen in a lot of other fights, Golota just ends up quitting. What better opponent to have than someone who is going to end up quitting on me as soon as I put the pressure on. Either he quits or I knock him out.”

The other “championship” fight is Chris Byrd (37-2-1, 20 KOs) defending his International Boxing Federation heavyweight title against Jameel McCline (31-3-1, 19 KOs).

McCline is a huge man (6 feet, 6 inches, 270 pounds), who thinks like a small heavyweight to the point of being intimidated by his opponent’s punching power. But Byrd is a small heavyweight who doesn’t hit hard enough to knock McCline out. That should give Jameel confidence.

Also, Byrd is 34, which isn’t particularly old for a heavyweight. But fighters who rely on reflexes and speed (as he does) age more quickly in the ring than punchers.

In the first of the non-title bouts, Hasim Rahman (39-5-1, 32 KOs) takes on Kali Meehan (29-2, 23 KOs).

Rahman has had five trainers since he won and lost the real heavyweight championship in back-to-back fights against Lennox Lewis three years ago. That speaks to a lack of continuity and, in Hasim’s case, a poor work ethic.

Meehan is being touted as the “uncrowned World Boxing Organization champion” by virtue of his controversial loss on points to Lamon Brewster in September. But that credential will hardly strike terror into Rahman’s heart. Hasim has skills and a pretty good punch, while Meehan’s chin is suspect. Three years ago, he was knocked out in 32 seconds by Danny Williams.

And then there’s the saddest fight of the night: 42-year-old Evander Holyfield (38-7-2, 25 KOs) against Larry Donald (41-3-2, 24 KOs).

For two decades, Holyfield has been one of boxing’s most compelling figures. But he has won only two of eight fights over the past six years, and this is the first time since 1986 that Evander has graced a fight card without being in the main event. Yet Holyfield says he will continue fighting until he reclaims the undisputed heavyweight championship.

“Don’t sit here and make people feel sorry for me,” he said. “This is what I’ve decided to do. At one time, they said I shouldn’t be in the game because I was small, and then they realized that size don’t make a difference. Now, they’re looking at my age, and I’ve got to show them that age don’t make a difference as long as one is willing to pay the price necessary to be the best.”

“The best is yet to come,” Holyfield continued. “You ain’t seen the best yet.”

Those thoughts strike many as delusional. In truth, the best thing that Holyfield will have going for him Saturday is that he’s fighting the 37-year-old Donald, who has a questionable heart.

“A lot of people may think Holyfield don’t have it anymore, but he do,” Donald said. “When he comes to fight, he comes to fight. Anybody who goes in with him and expects him to lay down has a problem. Champions don’t die easy.”

The fights will be televised by HBO Pay-Per-View. The picks here are Ruiz, McCline, Rahman, and Holyfield. But these are heavyweights: Anything could happen.