Archive for June, 2010

Of Hell Freezing Over & Flying Pigs

Monday, June 28th, 2010

By William Trillo

If someone had told me back in December of 2005 after an out of shape and gassed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. embarrassingly stumbled his way to a draw with Carlos Molina that one day I would be writing that Junior was worthy of a shot at the Middleweight title of the world, I would have laughed and told them to stick their head out the window to keep an eye open for flying pigs.
 
Well ladies and gentlemen…..turn your eye to the sky for those oinkers, and if you think your eternal destination is hell, I suggest you take a jacket.
 
This Saturday night on another Top Rank promoted “Latin Fury” card, Julio Cesar Chavez not only took a huge step toward a shot at the title, but with that step he may have finally got out from under the shadow of his Father, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.  
 
In a fight that was the seen as final proving ground for both Jr. and his foe John Duddy, it was the young Chavez who outlasted Duddy in a fight that was a very entertaining give and take battle for the entire 12 round affair. Don’t let the 120-108 scorecard fool you, the fight was far from being that one sided and the 116-112 score is a much better indication of what transpired in the San Antonio ring.
 
Duddy came into this fight to win and he did everything he could to defeat Chavez Jr. At one point a strong right hand buckled Jr.’s knees and it appeared as though maybe Duddy might be able to do it. But something was different about Chavez Jr. on Saturday night. Most noticeably he was in top shape and showed none of the pudge around the middle that we have become acustom to seeing. The other obvious change was Freddie Roach in his corner and it wasn’t just Freddies physical presence. Chavez Jr. was a different fighter with a different mindset and Roach showed him how to display skills I was always sure he did not posses.
 
I was wrong. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has turned the corner and has become a legitimate top 10 and world class fighter.
 
With that said I am not sure if the comments by his promoter Bob Arum after the fight about Julio becoming a Super Star who could beat any fighter in his weight class are not a bit grandiose, but hey who can blame Arum. Bob has stuck with this kid through thick and thin. He held onto Chavez Jr. when most reasonable and “knowledgeable” men had long written Chavez Jr. off as nothing more than a spoiled and lazy son of a legend. So if Arum wants to shout from the rooftops that Julio Cesar Chavez is going to be the next great Middleweight Champion of the world…let him have his brief moment, he deserves this one.
 
Furthermore, as I was doing my research for this article I found that phrases like “Hell Freezing Over” & “When Pigs Fly” are found all over the world. Having learned my lesson with the Chavez Jr. blight I would like to share some of these Idiom’s from different countries with you and how I might need to use them in the future:
 
In Spain they use the term “When Frogs Grow Hair“. Apparently I didn’t listen to anything I just said because I will be happy to run with that one if Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. thinks he can defeat Sergio Martinez in a Middleweight title fight.
 
In Tagalog it’s “When The Heron Turns Black“. Keep that one handy when you think Floyd Mayweather Jr. will decide to give up on his drug testing demands with Manny Pacquiao.

In France the term is “When Hens Grow Teeth“. I will store that one when Jean-Paul Mendy and Sakio Bika fight in front of a sell out crowd.
 
In Russian the expression is “When The Crawfish Whistles On The Mountain“. Remind me about that one when Don King convinces Vitali Klitschko to honor the 2.5 million dollar offer he made to Nicolai Valuev before he lost to David Haye.

In Turkish the expression is “When Fish Climb Trees“. Go ahead and break that bad boy out right around the time Selcuk Aydin not only agrees to give Jo Jo Dan a rematch but is happy to travel to Dan’s Canadian home to do it.
 
The Ukrainian term is “When Fish Speak“. Have that one ready in case you think David Haye will stop speaking and actually climbs into the ring with Klitschko…either one of them.

The Polish term is “When The Cactus Will Grow On My Hand“. I would have loved to have that one right around the time Arreola tipped the scales at over 250 pounds AGAIN, and people still insisted he would beat Adamek.
 
In Romania it’s “When I’ll See The Back Of My Head“. That’s a term I will keep handy if and when the eventual Super Six winner says he will fight and beat Lucian Bute.

Also in Brazil, a common expression is “When Snakes Smoke“.  O. K. …a Latin Country and a term about snakes. You gotta know where I am headed with that one. Let me know when that Season One Contender Champ is not picking on a fighter from a weight or two lower than his own division.
 
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
 
 

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A Super Six Toast In Honor Of The World’s Best 168 Pound Fighters

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
By William Trillo
 


Pound4Pound can not confirm that IBF Super Middle Champ Lucian Bute & WBO Super Middle Champ Robert Stieglitz got together this weekend to congratulate each other for being the best 168 pound fighters in the World, but we can tell you this, if they didn’t they should have.
 
As we told you yesterday, if Bute was getting points for his fights since the Super Six began his 2 KO’s would give him 6 points and put him in the clear lead. Upon further review it should be noted that if Steiglitz was getting points for his fights in that same time frame, his KO victory in one battle and his unanimous decision in the other would give him 5 points and he would be sitting all by himself in second place. Ward, Dirrell and the rest of that motley crew would be picking up the end trails.
 
If by chance Bute & Steiglitz did get together to toast their accomplishments it would be interesting to find out if they saluted each other with a fine Canadian Lager or a hearty German Bock.
 
One thing we can be sure of is that they would not have been drinking any of that swill produced by microbreweries in either Oakland or Detroit.
 
For More Boxing Truth Check Out www.Pound4Pound.com

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Every Picture Tells A Story (or “Much Ado About Nothing”)

Monday, June 21st, 2010

By William Trillo
Photo By Ray Flores
 


For those of you who may have missed this past Saturday’s Super Six battle in Oakland, and are now thinking to yourselves, “Gee, I wonder how that fight between Ward & Green really went?”, you need look no further than the picture that goes with this article to get a microcosm of the entire night.

For all the hullabaloo that this Super Six Tournament is so desperately seeking this fight came down to nothing more than Andre Ward bull rushing in head first (as always) and then crowding Allan Green who backed up all that brash talking he did by doing exactly zero. In the meantime the usually good Referee Raul Caiz Sr. stood by and did less than Green during the entire fight. No warnings for head first tactics, no nothing.
 
Multiply that by 12.
 
Ward had stated before the fight that he wanted the 3 points a KO victory would have given him in this Round Robin affair and truth be told he may not have had a better opportunity to grab that KO brass ring with a sedate Green throwing no effective punches whatsoever.
 
Ward, the so called leader in round 2 could not drop or stop a fill in fighter who came into this fight by way of Jermain Taylor dropping out of the tournament. I repeat, THE NUMBER ONE GUY IN THIS TOURNAMENT COULD NOT STOP A FILL IN FIGHTER WHO WAS THERE FOR THE TAKING!!
 
If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about this Tournament then like many others you too have been brainwashed by the talking heads who are trying to convince the world that this is the greatest thing since sliced bread….IT’S NOT!!
 
When this tournament was announced it’s claim was that when it was over we would know who the best 168 pound fighter is. The tournament brass then picked 6 guys to fight and none of them were named Lucian Bute. In my book that makes the “best 168 pounder” claim” a farce.
 
In relatively the same time frame Bute has defended his title twice and both victories came via early round KO’s. That would give Lucian 6 points and make him the clear leader of the tournament if your are counting…but who’s counting? :)
 
Since it’s inception the Super Six has produced one fighter who quit, another losing by DQ, has had two fights postponed due to injury,one venue change because of said “injury” and oh yeah… 1 KO. Super?
 
I can only assume that the round-robin format was adopted mostly for financial reasons: if fans were assured of seeing their favorite fighters at least three times, then the promoters would figure to prosper at the box office, and when all is said and done that’s what this thing is really all about, the promoters filling their pockets full of fight fans money and then putting on cards like the debacle that went down this weekend.
 
It was not good nor was it World Class, never mind Super.
 
And if you don’t believe maybe you should consider what Andre Wards trainer Virgil Hunter had to say after the fight…he gave his fighter a B.
 
So in a nutshell you got a B fighter who couldn’t stop a fill in fighter who had no business being in this tournament in the first place.
 
That B fighter boxing fans is your current leader in The Super Six Tournament.
 
Need I say more?
 
For More Boxing Truth Check Out www.Pound4Pound.com

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Laughing Out Loud

Friday, June 18th, 2010

By William Trillo

It never ceases to amaze me how often the press releases that get sent to us for posting look as if they have been penned by an out of work comedy writer. What amazes me even more is how often these press releases get posted on websites across the world wide web. Quite frankly I know we have been guilty of posting some of those hilarious press releases but this week we were on our toes and hit the delete button before they saw the light of day.
 
One press release that was particularly funny was about a certain unnamed serpent of Hispanic origin. The release started out by saying, “After an impressive seventh round technical knockout of Calvin Green…”
Okay, stop already, I am going to wet my pants.
 
When you beat a guy fighting as a Middleweight, who fought the rest of his career as a Welter & Jr. Welter “impressive” is not the term that comes to the forefront of my mind. Staying on that same path in your next fight is… well…just as funny.
 

The next line that press release starts, “One of the most skilled boxers in the sport today..”  ahem…

Websters dictionary defines skilled this way: having acquired mastery of or skill in something.

 
So, I guess in a sense, if you masterfully duck and dodge every big fight that has been put in front of you and instead have taken on only lesser opponents, well then I guess you are skilled in something. Especially if you can find a way to get those “fixes” and turn them into a title shot. 
 
Next, this wasn’t a press release but I saw a certain promoter professing that his charge was not only going to beat one fighter from Canada, Jean Pascal, but after the fighter was done with him he was going to go back up north and beat Canada’s finest, Super Middleweight Lucian Bute. Struck me as odd coming from a guy who promotes one of the fighters in the much ballyhooed Super Six Tournament that is supposed to crown ‘The World Best” Super Middle. That is of course unless you don’t think your guy in the tourney has a chance in hell of beating Bute…………………….which he doesn’t, as do none of the other five in that Round Robin Tournament.
 
Speaking of that Super Six and press releases…for weeks we got nothing about that tournament because quite frankly, there was nothing going on. Now that there is finally a fight coming up, we and every website on the planet are getting inundated with press release after press release. Fighters in their gym, fighters in their hotel rooms, fighters doing about everything but fighting. OKAY! We get it, there is a fight worthy of note this weekend. What will be more worthy to note is if Allan Green beats Andre Ward, and trust me, I will note that until me, you and everyone at Showtime is blue in the face. DEEP DEEP BLUE! 
 
And lastly to The Los Angeles Lakers. I must admit I was pretty hard on Ron Artest for missing those 2 late free throws in Game 5 and wondered aloud if The Lakers would have not been better suited to still have the services of Trevor Ariza. After seeing how Artest came back in games 6 and 7 of the series against The Boston Celtics I have to say without a shadow of doubt that without Artest The Lakers would not have defeated The Celtics to secure yet another world title. “Ron Ron” came up huge huge and I will never question his abilities again. Congratulations to all The Lakers!
 
On a side note, to everyone outside the L.A. area who are seeing footage of fans going berserk on the street and setting fire to cars and ripping down street signs, let me assure you those are not Laker fans…those hooligans are Raider fan, each and every one of them. They couldn’t afford a ticket to the game so instead they mobilized outside The Staple Center and as soon as the Lakers won they were in position to deploy and set forth with their embarrassing carnage. Nice work Raider fan, no wonder everyone outside of The Valley hates us.
 
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
 
 

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“Boxwork” Orange

Monday, June 14th, 2010
By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton
 
Anyone who has seen the Stanley Kubrick classic Clockwork Orange may have an idea in what direction I am headed here. For those of you who don’t know, the movie is based on an old Cockney expression, “as queer as a clockwork orange”, and alludes to the prevention of the main character’s exercise of his free will through the use of a classical conditioning technique. With this technique, the subject’s emotional responses to violence are systematically paired with a negative stimulation.
 
Like the main character many boxing writers at times feel their free will to write as they feel is taken away by the powers that be classical conditioning technique’s. These techniques can take many forms but the bottom line is it renders good writers incapable of informing the fans the truth. In all honesty I have fallen victim to this lack of expressing myself as I would like to over the past month or so, and I can’t take it anymore, there are some things I have to get off my chest.
 
First and foremost… is this Freekin’ Super Six and the log jam it has created in a relatively sharp and talented 168 pound division over yet? Here we are in the middle of 2010 and as of yet we are not even through round 2 yet and Andre Ward who has fought one time has a fight coming up with a fill in fighter Allan Green and somehow many think he is the odds on favorite.
 
Gimmee a break.
 
In the meantime Andre somehow gets to fight all his fights in his hometown of Oakland while the other Andre (Dirrell) fakes injuries…errrrr…I mean gets hurt and changes venues to his hometown midstream forcing Arthur Abraham to make multiple Trans Atlantic flights until he is so jet lagged he is incapable of performing at his usual level.
 
Anyone who didn’t see through that charade is blind….SHOWTIME!!
 
And now with most of the talent at 168 pounds tied into that disaster of a tournament the real best Super Middleweight in the World, Lucian Bute, is forced to fight guys like Jesse Brinkley and will await the winner of the IBF mandatory fight between the ever pulling out of fights Sakio Bika vs. Jean Paul Mendy.
 
Thank the Super Six for that mess.
 
Speaking of Bika & Mendy, this fight is so meaningless that at the purse bid only one promoter showed up and the bid was a whopping $30,000. I don’t know what the split is here but let me tell you right now that Bika who fought a bunch of stiffs to take The Contender # 2 title won a pretty half million dollars will not be fighting for the chump change he could earn in this mandatory battle. No way, no how!!
 
Moving down a division we have a few things that caught my eye as well.
 
It has been announced that on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz rematch, Danny Jacobs will be taking on Dmitry Piorog in a battle for the vacant WBO 160 pound belt. Now hear me loud and clear when I say I really like Danny Jacobs and I believe one day he will be a Champion. Unfortunately coming off his last few performances I am not so sure he is ready for a fighter the likes of Pirog. The undefeated Russian is not a household name in the USA but with an almost 90% KO ratio this may be too big of a test for Jacobs. I have heard some quiet rumblings that this fight is not yet official and may get scrapped, but if it goes down there could be some disappointment in store for team Jacobs.
 
On the heels of that news our buddy over at ESPN, the Fat Man, reported that Sergio Mora will be taking on the consummate journeyman JC Candelo on an ESPN televised card from Temecula. Mora’s manager, Cameron Dunkin said that if Mora wins he wants a shot at the winner of Jacobs and Pirog. Apparently fearing some of the aforementioned negative stimulation the report did not mention that Candelo has spent most of his career at 154 or lower. Not fearing the negative conditioning technique I have to ask how beating a journeyman 154 pounder puts you in line for a 160 pound World title shot. 
 
And if Pirog beats Jacobs like I expect, I predict Mora will find a way to slither out of that fight like he has done multiple times in the past.
 
Lastly, I know that Ron Artest is a huge boxing fan and having him on the Lakers has given us a toughness we lacked in prior years. But putting that aside I can’t help but wonder if Trevor Ariza would have sank those 2 late free throws that Artest botched, thus helping Boston win the game and putting the Lakers in a do or die 3-2 hole.
 
I’m singing in the rain, singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again.
 
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.
 
 

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John Wooden’s Pyramid Of Success; Boxing Should Take Notes

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
By William Trillo
 

Growing up in Southern California as a sports loving child had a number perks, one of them was college basketball season because that is when we would watch the late John Wooden take his UCLA Bruins to the top of the NCAA Tournament year after year. Actually he did it 10 times and 7 of those came one right after the other. It’s safe to say no one will ever match that feat.
 
With the passing of “The Wizard of Westwood” this weekend we all were reminded of how special and great Mr. Wooden was and how much he left behind for all of us to study and learn. One of those reminders Wooden left behind was his “Pyramid Of Success.” That Pyramid consists of philosophical building blocks for winning at basketball and at life. In fact The Pyramid became building blocks for not only basketball but all walks of life. Wooden’s philosophy was a big hit on the lecture circuit from sports to business because those who heard and followed it found their own successes thanks to Wooden.
 
I have to scratch my head and wonder if boxing has ever heard of Wooden’s Pyramid and if they haven’t, can someone point them in that general direction please? As reported in the L.A. Times, “Elementary school students embrace the values of the pyramid easily.”
 
If grade schoolers can grasp this idea I know boxing can.
 
The Pyramid contains fifteen habits that Mr. Wooden’s players developed through daily basketball practice. The foundation is “industriousness,” then “friendship, loyalty, cooperation, and enthusiasm;” in short, the foundation of the Pyramid is the knowledge that life, like basketball, is a team game. “The main ingredient in stardom,” Mr. Wooden told his players, “is the rest of the team.”
 
Ahh…the rest of the team. You hear that Mr. Promoter, Mr. Manager, Mr. Trainer and most importantly Mr. Fighter?
 
Friendship? Loyalty? Cooperation? ….How many of you are cringing right now because those are the last things you know you can expect from your team members and associates, never mind yourselves.
 
I beg all of you, please look at Wooden’s Pyramid and choose one of those building blocks and try to employ it in your life today. You may find that what you have deemed as ”your success” pales in comparison to what Wooden has so clearly spelled out to be true success.
 
Thanks for everything Coach! Your legacy will live on forever! 
 
Click Here For Printable Pyramid Of Success
 
 
Statement from Tim Ryan and Jim Sperry Regarding the Passing of Coach John Wooden

Anaheim, CA (June 4, 2010) – Tim Ryan, President/CEO of Anaheim Arena Management and Jim Sperry, President of Pantheon International who co-own the Annual John R. Wooden Classic, released the following statement regarding the passing of Coach John Wooden:

“We are saddened by news of the passing of John R. Wooden but gratified by the legacy of sportsmanship and humanitarianism he leaves for all of us. A true legend, he was an inspiration and a role model. The values and insights of this remarkable man will remain among those who truly respected and admired his skill as a sportsman, coach and human being.” – Tim Ryan, President/CEO of Honda Center and Jim Sperry, President of Pantheon International.

 Proceeds From UCLA Legends Litho
Will Go To Late Coach John Wooden’s Foundation
 
Los Angeles businessman Mike Targon had been working on a 100th birthday celebration special project for the legendary John Wooden and had intended to release a very limited edition lithograph of Wooden plus others featuring Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Walton, Marques Johnson, Gale Goodrich and Keith Erickson. With the sad turn of events Taragon is offering these litho’s up to the public now with substantial portion of the proceeds going to UCLA and Coach Wooden’s foundation. www.uclalegends.net
 
 

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.

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Quintessentially Quebec

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
By William Trillo
 
As defined by Freedictinary.com
Adj. 1. quintessential: representing the perfect example of a class and/or quality
 
After making my fifth venture to the great Canadian Province of Quebec I can say with a 100% degree of certainty that as far as North American fight cities go, both Montreal & Quebec City rank as the Pound4Pound best. That is not opinion, that is fact.
 
Allow me to enlighten you.
 
This past Friday night at the Eric Lucas vs. Librado Andrade card in Quebec City I spoke with ESPN’s Jaime Motta about 2 hours before the Main Event. With the house already over half full (4,000 fans), I asked Motta if he had been up to Quebec before. He answered no and I told him he was going to be in for a treat. Looking around he said he was already impressed with the turnout and the fans enthusiasm. Before he could comment anymore, ESPN’s Joe Testitore, who was within earshot, came over and told Motta that this was one of the premier boxing cities around and that when it came to boxing fans there were few that compared to those in Quebec.
 
Testitore was right. By the time the Main Event was set to start the Pepsi Colisee was 8,100 deep in adoring fans who were there to cheer on their come backing hometown hero Eric Lucas.
 
That’s 8,100 fans on a Friday night to watch a Non-Title bout.
 
To put that into perspective, 6 days prior in Los Angeles the 4th installment of the Rafael Marquez vs. Israel Vasquez series could barely muster up 9,000 fans. A month before that Paul Williams and Kermit Cintron fought in Los Angeles on an HBO card that barely but 2,000 butts in the seats, and the word is most of those were giveaways. And the “highly anticipated” and over hyped Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones rematch couldn’t get 7,000 ticket buyers in Las Vegas, the supposed boxing capital of the world!
 
What is happening up North is not only a credit to the knowledgeable fans but is also a direct cause and effect done by some great promotion companies like Interbox and Gym. These companies are doing it right.
 
From seemingly dozens of well placed Go-Go girls dancing to pumping music in between every round, smoke filled ring entrances, beer in the press room (shhh that’s our little secret), and oh by the way, very exciting preliminary match ups, it’s pretty clear these guys know what the fans and media members are looking for.
 
Be it in the cold of a Canadian winter or a beautiful early summer day like last week, Interbox has found a way to capture the full interest of the fans, and with fighters like Lucian Bute and a bevy of up and comers it is likely they will remain on the top of my best boxing cities list.
 
And then you take a fighter from Mexico like Librado Andrade who on paper has no reason to be popular in Canada, yet by way of his honest and humble personality, a first class rugged boxing style and some great marketing by Interbox, he has become so popular that he can’t go anywhere in Quebec without being deluged by fans, and it is plain to see that Canada is the place to be.
 
After the fight on Friday night I found myself on the same flight as ESPN’s Teddy Atlas who called the action only hours earlier. As with his ESPN counterparts, Atlas was taken by the crowd in Quebec and he too was singing the praises of this dynamic boxing city.
 
Why I have not seen any of my peers from south of the Canadian border in Quebec yet is a mystery to me. I have been shouting from the rooftops every time I come home that they need to get up there and cover a fight, but so far no one has taken my advice.
 
So when Chad Dawson takes on Jean Pacal in Montreal on August 14th and a full house blows the roof off The Bell Center and you are sitting home watching it, don’t say I haven’t told you so.
 
‘Cuz if you don’t, I will!
 
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.  
 
 

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