Billy’s Boxing Blog

Well I thought the only 140 pound fighters I would be talking about would be the ones fighting on Friday night but as it turns out the story that raised my dander the most today was the little gaff printed that said Timothy Bradley was stripped of his 140 pound WBC title. I may not have given it a second thought until I saw a letter from Bradley posted on the site that was obviously not meant to be seen by the general public.

That’s when the stink-o-meter went on Red Alert and I let my sniffer take over.

The question was simple.

Why the heck would the prestigious WBC put their Champion in a position to either relinquish his belt or be stripped? I mean, if memory serves me correctly Bradley earned his title the good old fashion way…he earned it. He traveled across the pond to dismantle Junior Witter and he went to Canada to successfully defend his belt against Holt, and oh yeah, he picked up another belt along the way, the WBO version.

To fill the void left by Bradley at the WBC the powers that be decided to let the afore mentioned Junior Witter back in the hunt and he is set to face the Don King promoted Devon Alexander.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!       WARNING WARNING!     FOUL  STENCH APPROACHING!

Now this is merely speculation on my part but if memory serves me correctly El Presidente Don Jose Sulaiman and Don King have been bedfellows for longer than most of us has been alive and their relationship has always raised more than a few eyebrows. Especially where title belt$ are concerned.  

And although I am certainly trying to insinuate any impropriety in this Bradley dilemma, I must tell you the Stink-o-meter will need to have it’s springs changed when this diddy is over. 

I mean…c’mon….Alexander is not rated by darn near every other sanctioning body (WBO has him at 8). Yet, the WBC sees fit to put him in a title fight against the guy Bradley beat handily to take his title.

It all stinks if you ask me…errr..I mean the Stink-o-Meter.

I asked Jose Sulaiman to help me better understand this situation and he wrote this kind letter of response:

Dear friend Mr. Trillo:
     I believe that the press release sent yesterday explains the case very clearly.  He relinquished his WBC title and refused to fight the WBC’s mandatory contender Devon Alexander.  I am sending to you separately a couple of documents that explain better this situation.
    In the past no other organization had given Bradley the merits that he had,but the WBC rated him as  # 1 and ordered a final elimination with the former super lightweight champion José Luis Castillo, who couldn’t make the weight and did not fight due to medical recommendations here in Mexico.  Even without a fight, we appointed Bradley as the official challenger to fight Junior Witter in England, who he beat by decision !!!
   We approved his fight against Holt with the condition that the winner would accept to fight the WBC’s official challenger next, and he sent a letter that I will be sending to you separately, where you will find that he stepped on his word and on his commitment and relinquished his WBC title.
   The WBC will not allow chaos in our organization, which would happen if we accept champions to rule the WBC, as if so, we better close our tent. 

                                          PLEASE ACCEPT MY BEST REGARDS.   José Sulaimán

We thank Jose for the quick response.

Here is my next concern.

Rumors abound that the winner of this weekends battle between Manny and Ricky will be thrust into the WBC number one position. Junior Witter will then be dropped in the rankings and Devon Alexander (Don King’s fighter) will be in the position to get a crack at the new Pound4Pound king.

It just seems to me the WBC could have waited a few more days to let the Pacquiao vs. Hatton battle play out and then let Bradley decide if he would face the winner and new WBC # 1. Instead, Bradley was put in a position where he felt he had no choice but to relinquish his belt.

Now you tell me….Does that stink or what?

With the most exciting NFL draft as a backdrop to the big sports weekend I thought I would rip a page out of Chris Berman’s book and go for the quickest wrap up of this weekends boxing highlights that I could.

So here we go:

Friday night saw perennial yawner Cory Spinks get put to the test by young Deandre Latimore who not only dumped Spinks in the first round but kept the fight interesting as it went nip and tuck down to the wire. Spinks pulled out a split decision and earned himself another 154 pound belt, this time being the IBF version.

On the same night Middleweight John “Rhymes with Cruddy, Muddy & Bloody” Duddy ran out of the “Luck o’ the Irish” as he was spanked by a Youngstown Ohio Middleweight by the name of Billy Lyell…and Duddy wanted to fight Youngstown’s other 160 pounder too?  PLEEEZ!!

We all love Kassim “The Dream” Ouma but with his loss on Friday night it looks like the happy go lucky kid from Africa might have to reconsider and change his career plans.

Carlos “No Sugar Tonight in My Coffee” De Leon had little or no business in the ring with Allan “Mean Joe” Green. Green deposited De Leon to the seat of his pants 4 times in one round and that was more than enough. It’s hard to figure Green at times but any time he fights there is sure to be some crazy action going down.

With IBF Super Middle Champ Lucien Bute watching closely from ringside, (and oh by the way, why the heck was he there scouting fighters? Doesn’t he have a mandatory obligation with one Librado Andrade? Don’t tell me Bute is looking elsewhere!!), WBC Champion Carl Froch made his trip across the pond to face former Middleweight honcho Jermain Taylor. This fight was just about everything you figured it would be and although Jermain “Bad Training Habits” Taylor had a good start he gassed out once again and in the “championship  rounds” he succumbed to Nottingham’s newest version of Robin Hood.

I think England’s Carl Froch is going to be a force in the future and his “steal from the rich to give to the poor” mentality impressed Lucien Bute. You didn’t see Canada’s Golden Goose calling out Froch’s name afterward did you? I think Bute sees way to much of Andrade in Froch’s artillery and one Librado is more than enough for Bute.

Tito Trinidad is passing his torch to Juan Manuel Lopez, it’s becoming more than obvious now. And why not? Juanma is blowing out anyone put in front of him and outside the ring he is personable and has that million dollar smile, (unlike another Puerto Rican Champ who is now being called “dour” by his own promoter).

Webster’s On Line Dictionary defines it like this:

dour:
1 : stern, harsh
2 : obstinate, unyielding
3 : gloomy, sullen

I’ll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count!!

tick tick tick tick tick tick

Wait… one more….

It’s East vs. West week!!

Vegas is gonna be Rockin’ on Saturday night.

I’m picking Manny simply because I don’t want to have to sit through Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s blatherfest if Hatton should win.

Manny by 8th round KO……for the love of everything that is good……

Call me insane but I went on a solo suicide run this past Friday traveling from my Southern California home to the Nevada State line via Highway 15, covered the Shobox card at Primm Valley’s Buffalo Bills Casino then hopped in my square ride and double coffee’d my way back home. I normally like to spend the night and get a nights rest while in Nevada but in all honesty, the economy has me by the seat of my pants and somehow I could not justify the night in the wanna be Las Vegas nightlife.

In all honesty it was a worthwhile trip and one I would do again if the opportunity presents itself. Nothing like a night at the fights for me and Friday nights card was as fun as a barrel full of overgrown monkeys. 

I don’t know if Gamboa is really ready for the big time yet, but as I was telling one of my peers moments before his fight, “this kid is all flash and action, expect something crazy to happen..I just don’t know what.”

What it was in fact was a beat down of epic proportions and I don’t know from where they found this Rojas kid from Venezuela but I hope they got a good plastic surgeon down there…his nose is in need of major reconstructive surgery.

Gamboa took the fight and stopping it in the 10th round was 3 rounds too late, Rojas had no chance.

Look for more of Gamboa coming soon to a TV screen near you. And be ready for something crazy to go down. This flashy Cuban dynamo is all over the place but if he can figure out a way from kissing the canvas in darn near every fight he just might catch on as a fan favorite.

By William Trillo

The very first time I saw Paul “The Punisher” Williams live was in May of 2006. He was taking on Walter Matthyse at The Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. I remember thinking to myself back then, “This guy should be illegal.” The long, high work rate, power to spare, tough whiskered south paw got my full attention back then and I have not changed my opinion one single bit. Since that fight back in 2006 I have had the privilege to cover 5 more of Paul’s fight and with each and every performance I learn something new about this young man and this weekend in Las Vegas was no different.

Williams came into the fight slightly favored over his latest foe Winky Wright, but when the scorecards were read there was nothing slight about his victory. Tall Paul dominated the crafty Wright over 12 rounds and came very close to pitching a complete game shut out.

Throwing over 1,000 punches once again Williams proved that no matter how slippery you are, if 1,000 bombs are coming your way plenty of them are going to land…no matter what.

Speaking with William’s Trainer George Peterson before the fight the polite coach told me, “They say Winky’s got a great defense, but he better bring a whole lot of offense if he wants to beat Paul!”

Winky brought offense, in fact he did more than I think most people expected him to do after a 2 year lay off. But with 1,000 punches coming at him from all angles and distances Wright was in for more than he had bargained for. “He’s just so dang long,” said Winky after the fight.

Props go out to Wright though who didn’t make it the borefest many thought the fight might turn into. I think Winky has got a lot of fight left in him and so does he. You can expect to see him back in the ring soon.

And the same goes for Williams, we should see him back in the ring…as soon as they can find someone willing to fight him.

I Don’t Hate Heavyweights
“I Just Seem To Feel Better
When They’re Not Round”…

Okay, I stole that line from the movie Barfly, but even the star of that flick, Mickey Rourke, has to be disgusted with the shape of the heavyweights who have been climbing into the ring these days.

When Jameel McCline layed down in round 4 and took the ten count for Chris Arreola on Satuday night the last word that came to my mind was impressive, yet I heard that term used over and over again during Saturday nights post fight press conference and I have seen it posted in stories across the internet since then.

Come on guys…were you really that impressed?

Thank goodness that we have recently hooked up with writer Dave Wicox who was there on Saturday night. He submitted a brutally honest report that among other things stated,  In the co-main event of the evening we got to play yet another one of our favorite games of “Watch Two Fat Guys Fight”.

I love the honesty but I must admit I am not as amused and watching Fat Guys fight is becoming a very tired act.

When discussing my disdain for guys who can’t muster up the will to get in shape, my peers accuse me of only liking fighters with Adonis type physiques.

That’s far from the truth.

I just want and expect fighters to come into the ring in shape.

I want fighters who tell me the are going to come in better prepared for their next fight to adhere to what they say. I don’t want to see them heavier than they were the fight before.

I don’t want to hear that you were sick and I don’t want to hear you tell me I don’t know what I am talking about, especially when you were the ones who promised to take things more seriously.

You know what really is troublesome to me is that coming from Southern California myself, I admit to being a huge Homer and I like Chris. He has all the tools to really make it big in this game. He’s got a great sense of humor and is wonderful with the media, a true quote machine. He also has the skill, when in proper shape, to destroy anyone. Look what he did to Damien Wills and look at the weight he performed at…it’s not a coincidence. The word is Wills, who was sparring with a much heavier Chris in this camp, was giving The Nightmare fits. Again…Not a coincidence.

Back in the day a heavyweight by the name of “Two Ton” Tony Galento was wreaking havoc in the heavyweight division. Galento was one of the most colorful fighters in the history of the sport. Galento was a “no holds barred” brawler, with a wicked left hook, who never let such niceties as the ring rules, or sportsmanship, interfere with his goal to knock out the other fighter. He achieved this level of fitness by eating whatever, whenever he wanted. A typical meal for Galento consisted of six chickens, a side of spaghetti, all washed down with a half gallon of red wine, or beer, or both at one sitting. When he did go to training camp, he foiled his trainers attempts to modify his diet and terrorized his sparring partners by eating their meals in addition to his.

He was reputed to train on beer, and allegedly ate 52 hot dogs on a bet before facing heavyweight Arthur DeKuh. Galento was supposedly so bloated before the fight that the waist line of his trunks had to be slit for him to fit into them. Galento claimed that he was sluggish from the effects of eating all those hot dogs, and that he could not move for three rounds. Nevertheless, Galento knocked out the 6’3″ DeKuh with one punch, a left hook, in the fourth round.

After putting together a string of 11 KO’s in a row Galento got his shot at the Heavyweight Champ Joe Louis. He had his crack at the title. When asked about his chances Galento, a quote machine himself gave the famous line, “I’ll moida da bum!”

History will tell us the tough Galento staggered Louis in round one but then went on to take an absolute pummeling going down 3 times before the fight was stopped in round 4.

The finely skilled and PROPERLY TRAINED Louis destroyed the happy go lucky brawler.

With his number 1 WBC ranking secured it appears Arreola has set the stage to take on Champion Vitali Klitschko sometime this year in The Staple Center in Los Angeles.

Know this, Vitali Klitschko is highly skilled and will be properly trained.

If Chris does not take this fight as seriously and train as hard as he did for Wills, if not harder, he will suffer the same fate as Galento did back on that fateful day in 1939.

One was dropped twice and one dropped his foe twice, but both came out on top when the decisions were read and both Timothy Bradley & Librado Andrade gave the 7,500 plus in the crowd more than their fair share of thrills and spills.

Contrary to the “been in the business so long that time has passed them by ” experts, the fans in Montreal came out in droves to witness the Showtime televised card as well as a sweet under card that featured Adrienne Diacanou in his first appearance in quite some time. With little more than their own bloated egos these “experts” predicted a flop in Canada and the truth is…once again were dead wrong.

Look…Montreal is a great fight town and with Interbox & Gym serving as hometown promoters you can rest assured this town will be rockin’ & sockin’ before the year is out and you might want to pencil in the Bute vs. Andrade rematch as a reason to head to Montreal this winter.  

As to the main events, while going down twice, with the first one looking to take his head off, Bradley was impressive with his focus and aggression. To stay calm during those heated moments is a testament to his Champions heart and he can hold those belts up in his arms proudly. In the meantime, Kendall Holt should have been in the driver seat but due to his lack of aggression and maybe some over confident fans in the peanut gallery leading him to believe everything was OK, Holt allowed this one to slip through his fingers like a fistful of sand.

No doubt the majority of the fans in the house were there to see their adopted son Librado Andrade go up against Vitali Tsypko with the winner becoming the number one mandatory for IBF super middle champ Lucien Bute, who also has been adopted by Montreals fans. With a chance at a rematch of their controversial fight in the balance, it was clear the house, which included Bute himself, was pulling for an Andrade victory.

They would not be let down.

Andrade came out guns blazing from the opening bell and with the tough Tsypko doing his best this fight was a crowd pleaser that had few lapses in the action. Andrade put Tsypko down twice but the hard as nails fighter made it to the final bell but came up on the short end of a wide unanimous decision.

My thanks go out to Librado and Golden Boy for making my trip to Montreal possible. Likewise I would like to thank everyone at Interbox from Ian Edery and David Messier for their hospitality. Also a big shout out to The Bell Center’s Michal Wieglus for securing a great vantage point for us.

With that brief report aside I am heading home and will have more thoughts plus a giant photo gallery of the night from top to (ahem) bottom.