Archive for April, 2010

Shock The Monkey: Clearing Up The WBC Diamond Belt Questions & Arreola’s Potty Mouth Turning Off Fans

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

By William Trillo  

Shortly after Floyd Mayweather announced he would not be fighting to capture Shane Mosley’s WBA 147 pound strap, the WBC stepped up to the plate and proclaimed their prestigious Diamond Belt would be up for grabs this weekend. It was then that the Gorilla somewhat ignorantly posed the question, how can Mosley vs. Mayweather be for the Diamond belt when the WBC had already awarded it to Manny Pacquiao after his victory over Miguel Cotto, a fight that also took place at 147 pounds?   I was very certain I knew the answer to that question since the WBC made it very clear before the Paq vs. Cotto fight but I fired off an email to our friend Jose Sulaiman, president of the WBC just to make sure. It went something like this:   Dear Sir,

F…tnews has questioned how the WBC is awarding the Diamond Belt to  Floyd vs. Shane winner when you have already awarded it to Manny Pacquiao who  is also in that same 147 pound division. Their suggestion is how can there be 2 Diamond Belts in the same division?

If I am not mistaken the Diamond Belt is a belt to recognize the winner  of a matchup of great fighters and once the fighter has the belt it is his  forever. There is no defense of that belt as it is only awarded for special fights and it does not matter if the belt has already been awarded this belt  in any particular division.
 
It is my opinion that F…tnews thinks they are smart by pointing out a mistake, when the fact is they are the ones that are clearly mistaken!
 
Can you confirm this for me and our boxing fans please?
 
Sincerely,  William Trillo   Sulaimans response goes as follows:  

My dear friend Mr. Trillo:
      You have pointed out exactly what the DIAMOND WBC BELT is.  It is a historical recognition to the greatest boxers in the ring of today and the future…….. They have to be elite boxers and whoever wins it, keeps it forever.
     We do believe that promoters are free to decide what their promoted fights are for, but the organizations are also free to award recognition to their boxing heroes. 
Best regards.  José Sulaimán   

Shortly thereafter I received this email from Mauricio Sulaiman:    DEAR FRIEND,
 
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT . THE DIAMOND BELT IS SOLELY A RECOGNITION TO A GREAT FIGHT BETWEEN 2 ELITE BOXERS , A TROPHEE TO THE WINNER OF THE FEW GREAT MEGA EVENTS THAT OCCUR.
 
THANK YOU VERY MUCH   So this weeks fight will have the WBC Diamond belt as a prize and the winner will get to keep that award forever, IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A DEFENDABLE TITLE!    

Potty Mouth Chris  

As I made my way around the offices I call on today, those in tune with my boxing gig chimed in on Saturday nights fight and everyone to a man started the conversation with comments about Chris Arreola’s foul mouth in front of the camera. “Who does this guy think he is,” stated one fan. Another said that he was tired hearing Chris swear whether he won or lost and yet another said it embarrassed him because people across the country assume everyone from Southern California is like that.   Then when I got home I opened my email and had this comment/question sitting in my inbox:

Just wondering what your thoughts are on the Angulo fight. I loved it, and there is no comparison to the way he conducts himself compared to Arreola. I’ve heard Arreola before, both when he wins and loses – can’t say I love him much. Just curious.  

In all honesty, Chris could stand to clean up his act a bit in front of the camera in my opinion. I heard he was a bit frustrated on Friday because he heard ticket sales for his fight were not as expected. If the reaction I got today about his demeanor is any indication, I do not expect those numbers to climb anytime soon.  

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Pol’ Dancing

Monday, April 26th, 2010
By William Trillo

The only thing more impressive this past Saturday night than the heavyweight fight between Adamek & Arreola was the Polish contingency that came out in full force to back their man and eventual winner Tonasz Adamek. The fight was in Arreola’s back yard but you would have been hard pressed to say that the Polish fans didn’t make a huge difference as the toe to toe and close fight went down. It may be hard to fathom but it is very likely that the biggest draw in Heavyweight boxing in the USA is the Polish born Tomasz Adamek.
 
Smoke and Mirrors?

How does a promoter help to make their perpetually overweight fighter look like he is in decent shape? Well, for starters you can front load the card with a plethora of tubby, chubby & flubby fighters so by the time your star walks into the ring he looks like Adonis compared to the previous combatants. It’s hard to say if that was the case on Saturday night, but make no bones about it, the heavyweights who appeared earlier in the night had little or no business showing up in public with their shirts off.
 
Who Let The Dog Out?
 
I must admit I had some concerns about Alfredo Angulo on Saturday night. What with his boycott of the final press conference and his late arrival at the weigh in, I was thinking maybe Angulo was not ready. As it turned out that was far from the case and Joel Julio can attest to that. The one punch KO by Angulo in round 11 was very impressive. El Perro is the real deal and his path at Jr. Middle looks to be on the right track.
 
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Montreal…The Best Fight City In North America; And Valero

Monday, April 19th, 2010
 By William Trillo
 
 It became very clear to me this past Saturday night that Montreal, Canada has become the hottest North American ticket in boxing for more than the obvious reasons, just ask HBO Boxing who has serious plans for their new found star, IBF 168 Pound champ Lucian Bute. Trust me, they have plans to make The Bell Centre a frequent stop.
 
 But as I said, throw out the obvious and I will tell you what truly opened my eyes to the boxing ravenous fans this weekend. This is Hockey Town, no one can deny that. Yet, with their beloved Canadians facing the number one Washington Capitals in game 2 of the first round of The Stanley Cup Playoffs some 14,000 fans chose to pack The Bell Centre to watch Bute do his magic while the overtime hockey game was in full effect. That’s darn near unheard of. For a country of folks who lace up skates right around their second birthday, these people are great boxing fans, they know their stuff.
 
 Unlike Atlantic City who could barely put butts in half the seats this weekend along with Las Vegas who couldn’t sell 2,000 tickets to their most recent “blockbuster”, this city to our North has it going on.
 
 Not to be lost in the fray is the outstanding job done by The Interbox Promotion Team who treats every fighter like a champion, no matter who they are. >From the lowliest journeyman buried on the bottom of the card to the arch enemy coming in to make mince meat out of their hero, Interbox rolls out the red carpet and makes everyone’s stay enjoyable.
 
 Likewise, no one in the media complains because they are all treated fairly and every accommodation is made to make our job the only thing we have to worry about.
 
 Interbox’s peers to the south should take note at what’s going on in Quebec because they are quickly rising to the top and my feeling is they have only just begun.
 
 And Valero
 
 I really don’t know what to say here except what a tragedy this is. It’s not as if all the warning signs were not in place. I don’t know Edwin personally nor have I spent any “quality” time with him, but after a series of alcohol related incidents, someone, anyone who had contact with him should have stepped in and tried to help in some way. Trust me, if anyone knows the insidious disease alcoholism can be it’s me and had it not been for those closest to me….well…you get the picture. The fact is Valero has admitted to murdering his wife and now he becomes another tragic story of someone who had all the talent to get to the top of the mountain but now is in the lowest stage of his life and has little hope of ever climbing out.
 
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Povetkin’s Doping Demand Is Just Plain Dopey

Monday, April 12th, 2010
By William Trillo
 
I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous things in boxing over the past week but nothing is dopier than the statement coming from Team Povetkin in regard to a proposed fight with Heavyweight Champ Wladimir Klitschko. A meeting between Povetkin’s people and Shelly Finkel who represents Klitschko was set to take place last week until the managing director of the promotional company Sauerland Event Chris Meyer got off this diddy,  “The reasons of disagreement in the organization of the bout for the most part lies in the technical side of things. The thing is, Povetkin signed a declaration, which binds him to pass doping tests according to the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) rules. We insist that team Klitschko also keep to the terms of this declaration. And for the moment this is the main question”.
 
Really? That’s the main question?
 
Here’s a better question coming straight out of Team Klitschko’s inner circle, “Since when does the challenger stipulate what the Champion has to do to make a fight? I thought it was a bad idea when Mayweather brought this issue up and I think it’s a worse idea now!”
 
And if my information is correct, Germany, the host country for almost all Klitschko fights, has one of the most stringent drug testing policies in all of boxing. I highly doubt Klitschko is juicing.
 
When Povetkin pulled up lame before his scheduled fight with Wladimir over a year ago I never questioned whether or not Alexander was ducking the fight, but now that this doping issue has come to the surface I am having second thoughts…maybe Povetkin wants no part of Wladimir afterall.
 
Speaking of Doping Dopes
 
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal lightweight contender Ali Funeka tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide after his rematch fight with Joan Guzman, which took place on March 27 and was televised by HBO. Simply put, hydrochlorothiazide is a drug that makes you go wee-wee an awful lot, hence making it easier for a guy 6 feet 1 inches tall to make 135 pounds.
 
As it turns out the fight was a waste of everyone’s time and money because as you may recall, his foe Joan Guzman came in some 9 pounds overweight and was denied a chance to take the belt in the ill fated lightweight title scrum.
 
Guzman was fined for his discretion and now Funeka faces not only a fine but a suspension as well. Good work guys, after 2 fights we are no further along than we were before you met in the first place.
 
That’s 1 step backward followed up by 3 more steps in reverse.
 
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Easter Bunny Makes An Early Appearance; Rabbit Punches Galore Delivered By Haye & Jones Jr.

Monday, April 5th, 2010
By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton
 

 

The Easter Bunny arrived early this weekend for boxing fans but this not so cute bunny came in the form of Rabbit Punches that were delivered from one side of the Atlantic to the other. In Merry Ol’ England, WBA Heavyweight Champion David Haye was whacking challenger John Ruiz on the back of the head from the moment the fight started and he didn’t relent until the fight was mercifully stopped before Round 9 came to it’s ugly conclusion. A few hours later in Las Vegas, Nevada a similar fate was in store for Bernard Hopkins as he was tagged behind the head and dropped by Roy Jones Jr. twice, not to mention one shot that hit Hopkins in his “egg” basket.  All the errant blows dropped Hopkins to his knees but Bernard was able to get on his feet and go on to defeat Jones Jr. via 12 round unanimous decision.

In both fights the Rabbit Punches were delivered with a purpose…or should I say they were delivered on purpose?

This is not just my own conjured up speculation either. David Haye himself said that his Rabbit Punches were deliberate and noted the 3 knockdown rule as the reason he was aiming at the back of the head of Ruiz in round 1.

Apparently Haye figured that since inept referee Guillermo Perez Pineda was going to call the cheap shots knockdowns even though he deducted points for the fouls, that surely he would recognize the 3 knockdown rule and wave the fight off, even if Haye blasted Ruiz behind the head again.

Haye would go on to drop Ruiz 4 times in route to his successful defense of his title but it’s hard to give him all the credit he and his fans think he deserves. Yes David won, but he beat an aging ex-champ and he had to rely on illegal tactics to accomplish that task.

Not as impressive as some might want you to believe!
I highly doubt he will be able to employ that same attack on either Klitschko, but he may not have to. Hours later after his victory, Bernard Hopkins, (who happens to have the same promoter as Haye), said he wants a shot at The Hayemaker.  
 
 
And speaking of Hopkins and Rabbit Punches…..

Some 8 hours after the Haye/Ruiz debacle Bernard Hopkins met Roy Jones Jr.  in Las Vegas and in like fashion this fight was filled with more than it’s share of fouls, both high and low. This time the eventual loser of the bout, in this case Jones Jr. would be the one dishing out the early Easter treats.

In the bout of 40 something year olds it was “The Executioner” who was dropped to his knees by shots behind the head as well as one low blow that hit Hopkins squarely in his…ummm…Peeps.

Never to be known as a quitter in anything, Bernard rose to his feet and collected himself and defeated his arch nemesis some 17 years after going down to Jones in the first affair.

Like Haye Jones Jr. didn’t try to deny his fouls, “I was worried the first time. I knew if I was fouled too much I would have been disqualified.”

Fouled too much?

How about don’t foul at all and try to win legitimately Roy?

And that goes for you too David.

  

I was going to close my article with a comparison of fighters who went down from obvious fouls and then got up to fight on and then remind everyone about a fighter who got hit with a glancing blow and chose to lay down and call it a night…..but I decided not to broach the subject …….

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