Billy’s Boxing Blog

Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton

It was an Academy Award weekend in “Tinsel Town” but it was nothing more than a couple “Razzies” that were handed out on Saturday night in Youngstown, Ohio and New York City. While Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik were looking to get back on the winning track, their respective opponents Michael Jennings and Marco Antonio Rubio were looking for nothing more than the quickest way out of the ring. Neither fighter was up to the task and they spent most of the night in full retreat before they were stopped, or in Rubio’s case, before he quit on his stool.
 
With Cotto & Pavlik looking to redeem themselves in front of their fans after the first losses in their careers last year, Top Ranks Bob Arum put on a 2 city PPV card that was supposed to give us some previews of coming attractions.

Given the circumstances both fighters left the ring with more questions than answers.
 
For Cotto, the newly tattooed Puerto Rican looked a strong as ever and now it’s just a matter of who will be co-starring in his next feature. Personally I lean heavily to the side of his fellow Puerto Rican Kermit Cintron in June followed by a mega match up with Manny Pacquiao or Ricky Hatton, depending on who is left standing after their May battle.
 
For Pavlik….ugh…for Pavlik I hate to say it but the prospects don’t look near as good. It’s not that there aren’t plenty of big fights out there for “The Ghost”, but it seems those in control of his career don’t want to let him anywhere near the Arthur Abraham’s of the World. Instead his Manager Cameron Dunkin has been quoted as saying guys like John Duddy, Sergio Mora and Vernon Forrest are on his short list….PLEEEZ! The prospect of a decent sequel for Pavlik does not look good if the co-star is either of the Snakes or a Duddy.

By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton

Alfredo Angulo was supposed to fight Ricardo Mayorga but “El Matador” hasn’t been seen since Shane Mosley bounced him off the deck in California. Danny Perez was supposed to step in but he too went MIA. Finally we got the trial horse Cosme Rivera who gave it his best shot but was just too old, slow, weak etc. for “Perro”.

Then of course we had Sergio Martinez, the Marvelous one. First he was set to fight Joe Greene, (not the mean one), but Greene started passing kidney stones and he was shelved. Daniel Santos was rumored to be Sergio’s opponent but he apparently won’t be ready to fight until sometime next fall…maybe. That’s when Kermit Cintron stepped up to fill in and although that seemed like a good match-up on paper, it was a horrendous affair in the ring. Martinez stayed away for a few rounds and when he had Cintron figured out he popped in and out in a bout that was not thrilling to watch, but Martinez was winning easily. So easily in fact he dropped Cintron with a hard left hand that Cintron claimed was a headbutt, it wasn’t. Cintron went down at the end of seven and DID NOT BEAT THE COUNT! Somehow the ref decided he did, or the bell saved him, or something happened…but the fight that was stopped was somehow allowed to continue. It got a little better for a brief moment but then went back to a chess match that Martinez clearly was winning. Another blunder by the ref in the 12th saw him take a point away from Martinez for holding…WHAT??? That enabled the judges to screw everything up and call this a majority draw. Ugh! Martinez won this fight twice but still could do no better than a draw. Memo to the promoters…WE DON’T WANT TO SEE THIS ONE AGAIN!

Lastly we saw Nate Campbell defeat Ali Funeka but lose all his belts because he couldn’t get down to 135 pounds, which is where he held his titles. Basically this fight was a waste of time for fans because it just didn’t amount to a hill of beans. By winning all Nate did was clarify that all the titles are now vacant. Thanks a lot. I’d have been happier if Funeka won, at least we would have a Champ. Now all we have to look forward to is a bunch of underclassmen lobbying for hardware they normally would not deserve to get a sniff of.

Only In America!

Like I said…This St. Valentines Day was Massacred!

It’s been a steady rain in California over the last few days and now it’s getting ready to pour, or at least that is how Antonio Margarito & Javier Capetillo must feel as their hearing in front of The California Athletic Commission is set for Tuesday morning.
 
What we believe is perfectly clear is that the commission confiscated some “tainted” hand wraps that were removed from Margarito prior to his loss to Shane Mosley. What isn’t so clear is what will be said tomorrow by all parties concerned in regard to the evidence.
 
A little bird flew in my window Monday afternoon and suggested that a high priced attorney may be representing Team Margarito. The sparrow also suggested we may not hear a “peep” from Team Margarito and that the attorney may ask for a postponement of the hearing and the suspensions and/or fines.
 
Now, we are not sure how the commission would respond to that request but if they uphold the suspension, (which would be the right thing to do), until the formal hearing, the Margarito vs. Cotto rematch could be in serious jeopardy.
 
In my opinion the best case scenario for “Tijuana Tornado” fans is for Tony to deny any knowledge of the illegal hand wraps and for Javier Capetillo to take full responsibility for the “plastered” wraps and then take whatever medicine the commission dishes out, even if that means a lifetime ban for the long time trainer.
 
Live by the sword…Die by the sword
 
In this case…Fall on the Sword

4 days of rain in Southern California and the last I checked, neighborhoods are flooded out, cars are slip sliding away and there is more to come. On the brighter side we had a stellar weekend of boxing in So Cal. >From the Friday night fights in Maywood, California that launched Top Ranks Azteca TV, to beautiful downtown Anaheim where Vic Darchinyan put a good beating on the tough Jorge Arce, fight fans got more than their fair share of fisticuffs.  

Whoever said boxing is dead better take a good look at the tale of the tape here in the Los Angeles area. Between the show at The Staples Center two weeks ago and the fights at Honda Center this weekend over 25,000 fight fans filled the seats. Don’t leave out an over packed steamy gymnasium in Maywood that I’m guessing the Fire Marshall apparently didn’t know a thing about. 

MMA is taking over boxing….gimmee a flippin’ break!!

Speaking of the fights at Staples 2 weeks ago…Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo will be in front of The California State Athletic Commission this week. This will be the first time we hear from the team since they have been accused of loading Tony’s gloves with a plaster covered wraps. This is going to get very interesting and it’s anyone’s guess what Team Margarito will say in their defense. It’s an ugly situation for all parties concerned and the sooner a ruling is made the better. 

What’s with all the love letters to Joe Calzaghe now that he has announced his retirement? Am I the only one who thinks Joe has been nothing more than a smug ingrate over the past few years? Well just to make it official, we’d like to say good bye to Calzzzzzaghe too.  Auf Wiedersehen, Addio, Ciao, Buona sera, Au Revoir, Shalom, Adios, Paalam, Hasta La Vista…Good Riddance!

And speaking of farewells…

Memo to David Beckham:
Don’t let the door hit you and Posh Spice in the “arse” on your way out of California….

 Never mind the multi million dollar commercials on Sunday’s Super Bowl. Pound4Pound got some serious game time play courtesy of Al Michael’s.
 
 Check Out Our Plug
 
 Well okay, it’s not really a plug but we’ll take it any way we can get it. You didn’t hear ‘em mention any Gorilla’s did ya? 800 pound or White?
 
 I rest my case.