Fight! Fight!

THURS 5/22

Ah, manhood. There are few things left for us men to enjoy in this PC world of diplomacy and chivalry. Midget wrestling, garlic fries, watching 140-pound hotheads whack each other in the face with padded mitts ... that's pretty much all we have left.

So if you're a husband-friendly woman, please let hubby make a trip to Fight Night at the Tank, in this case the North American Boxing Association Jr. Welterweight title defense by Puerto Rico's Henry Bruseles, the man they call "Nitro." He's an impressive specimen of pugilist, at 18-1 with 11 KOs, his last bout going the full 12 rounds and ending in a unanimous decision against the unfortunately named Hicklet Lau. Bruseles' title will be contested by Ernesto Zavala, of boxing hotbed Burbank, Calif. There are five fights on the menu, one between chick cham-peen Wendy Rodriguez and Anastasia Toktaulova of Moscow. HP Pavilion, 525 West Santa Clara, San Jose. Admission is $20-85; call (408) 999-5797 or visit www.hppsj.com. -- Kevin Chanel

No Pain, No Gain
Skip the gym

WED 5/21

Whether you're partial to the Atkins Diet or a slave to the Zone, chances are you've counted calories -- unless, that is, you're one of those mutants who can eat whatever they want and still maintain washboard abs. Regardless, the abundance of exercise theories is enough to make most of us give up on crunches and hunker down with a tub of lard.

Fortunately, New York Timesscience reporter Gina Kolata gets to the bottom of conflicting health studies in her book Ultimate Fitness, an investigation of the exercise industry that debunks popularly accepted notions about exercise. She shares her findings at tonight's lecture, "The Truth About Exercise and Health,"which starts at 6 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club, 595 Market (at Second Street), S.F. Admission is free-$15; call 597-6705. -- Lisa Hom

Aye, Aye Skipper

THURS-SUN 5/22-25

The folks at the San Francisco Model Yacht Club are most likely an affable bunch, but don't let them hear you describe their miniature vessels as toy boats. Such a slip could land you in the doghouse, a place you don't want to be during this week's Challenge Cup. Most of the competing crafts -- 36R-class free-sail model yachts, for those of you who know what that means -- weigh only about 10 pounds, but this regatta is serious business, the culmination of a friendly rivalry between local sailors and British captains. All events happen at Spreckels Lake, a man-made pond created specifically for sailing model boats. Practice sessions take place Thursday and Friday, the official races on Saturday and Sunday. Everything begins at 1 p.m. at Spreckels Lake in Golden Gate Park, 36th Avenue & Fulton, S.F. Admission is free; call 665-1976 or visit www.sfmyc.org. -- Lisa Hom