Billy’s Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

You have to hand it to Showtime for trying to move their Super middleweight Super Six Tournament to the Semi-Final round after Mikkell Kessler pulled out due to an eye injury. But as fate would have it, Carl Froch postponed his October date due to injury and that gave the promoters involved time to realize they were missing out on the money they could stuff in their pockets if the Stage 3 portion of the tournament was axed.

According to an article posted on Boxingscene by George Kimball the promoters decided they wanted to find an opponent to face Allan Green and it looks like a replacement for Kessler is days away from being announced. Get ready for Stage Three.

Great!

With the Stage 3 bouts between Froch and Abraham and another with the fighting Andre’s set to take place sometime before the end of the year, and now the Green fight, it seems pretty clear this tourney will be lucky to come to a conclusion sometime before 2012 ends…hopefully.

When I speculated way back when that this format was fraught with casualty possibilities, injuries, retirement forced beat downs, bizarre endings and greed, I never thought every single tournament delaying scenario would play out…but they did.

I guess I have to congratulate Showtime for seeing this thing through to the finish, but at this point I have to wonder if boxing fans even care about it anymore.

Raider Nation Takes A Left Hook And Goes Down

It all looked good  for The Oakland Raider faithful on Sunday. With the game in its closing seconds they put their kicker Sebastian Janikowski a chip shot away from winning the game. But as soon as the ball left his foot it was clear he had hooked the chip shot wide left and The Raiders fell victim to The Arizona Cardinals. The audible collective gasp was heard up and down the California coast as their commitment to excellence currently stands at 1-2. Lock up the liquor cabinets and keep you cars in the garage, the natives are getting restless.

By William Trillo

It’s been widely reported that Jr. Middleweight star Alfedo Angulo is facing deportation issues and may not be allowed to fight in the USA ever again. As far as HBO is concerned, they want no part of the budding star. Hard to blame them considering immigration is a hot button topic in America these days.

Pound4Pound placed a call to his promoter Gary Shaw to get some answers to this situation, but as it turns out Shaw is looking for some answers of his own.

Said Shaw, “I didn’t realize he (Angulo) was here illegally until I got a call from HBO. Basically they said that they got a call that said he was here illegally and if I knew anything about it. Obviously my answer was, No! It was then they said we can not put him on again until you show us documentation.  I did my due diligence and I can not support it, I can not get a document. I called immigration to find out what was going on, then I called Angulo that he had to go down and see them, and I have not seen him since then.”

It’s unclear to Angulo’s physical whereabouts right now but it has been very clear that he was on his way to becoming a star. It’s a crying shame this had to happen but it seems there could be a lot more to this dilemma than meets the eye. And if Angulo gets stuck in Mexico he can flush his future down the toilet.

Shaw added, “It’s amazing that after all I did for this kid he is avoiding me, he is acting like I dropped the dime, I am telling you, it wasn’t me that dropped the dime.”

At the end of the day Shaw has every right to ask why. Why would a fighter who Shaw has put time and money in suddenly go AWOL.? Why would anyone knowing the immigration issues today put himself in this precarious situation?

Will we get all the answers?

I am sure at some point Angulo will surface and try to explain his side of the story but without a way to apply his craft in the country that was ready to embrace him, it seems any answer will ring very very hollow.

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

By William Trillo

When it was announced that Shane Mosley would take on Sergio Mora in a meaningless catch weight bout I decided to put this fights coverage in the capable hands of our L.A. team of Roy & Marlene Marquez. Not only did I know they would do a fine job, but in all honesty I had no interest in this fight whatsoever. I had more than a few reasons, but in fairness to the fighters and promoters I chose to leave this card alone, I kept my comments to myself. After the fight I had plenty to say but again I thought it best to stay away from giving my thoughts.

With that said, as it turn out 3 different media members contacted me and told me what they thought of Saturday night’s main event. In a message on the phone one L.A. member commended me for my decision not to cover the fight and he wished he had followed my lead.

I also received two separate emails that I would like to share with you. The first email read:

…the reason I’m writing is to let you know that I am not a blind Mora fan – OMG what an abortion that was!!! Mosley tried to fight somehow, but wow! No way! Sergio got a huge gift, plain and simple. At the press conference someone asked Shane about a rematch, and he said that he didn’t think anyone would really want to see it, and that he had bigger fighters in mind. Ouch!

The second email from another media member read as follows:

Mosley – Mora, what a let down. Looked more like the GB Two Step!!! Fight? What fight? You would think having lost to Mayweather he would come back battling to prove he was a viable entity still. Mora looked afraid of Mosley most of the fight. I thought he was sand bagging and waiting to tire Mosley, but that was not the case. He did not capitalize on Mosley’s engine pumping smoke in the later rounds. Curious point, Shane came into the ring looking dry, he didn’t look like he even warmed up. At the post fight conference I didn’t see a scratch on him. If this is his best effort, it’s time to retire. No shame it that. Someone asked about a rematch. I hope not! Was there a first fight? If someone believes there was, I have some ocean beachfront for sale in Arizona!!!

Need I say more?

During the Main Event broadcast the HBO crew called the fight pathetic and suggested anyone who saw Mora winning was a candidate for a full frontal lobotomy. In his closing thoughts Larry Merchant said he wished Sergio Mora well but had no desire to ever see the season one Contender Champion fight again.

I could not have said it better myself!

For more boxing news log on to www.Pound4Pound.com

By William Trillo

It’s been almost 3 years since their fight captured worldwide attention and in an ironic twist of fate both Floyd Mayweather Jr. & Ricky Hatton had videos posted on the internet in the last week that may have brought their careers and lifestyles to a grinding halt.

It’s been widely reported by now, Mayweather’s racially insensitive tirade and Hatton’s drug use have been spread all over the internet and in both cases the outcry has been the same…these guys need help!

It’s not for me to say how they go about seeking a change, but the fact is change is in order for both men. To go on living the way they are now is pure insanity. For those of us who have been there, we know the definition of insanity. It’s to go on doing the same things and expecting different results.

Neither Floyd nor Ricky can continue living the way they are now and it’s time for those close to them to put their foot down and demand they seek the help they so desperately need.

Anchondo’s Showtime

This Friday night former Super Featherweight Champion Mike Anchondo will go up against Freddie Hernandez on the Shobox Main event. In another do or die situation Anchondo is going to have to perform at the top of his game otherwise the highly touted Hernandez will put an end to the California fighters’ hopeful comeback.

We spoke to “Mighty Mike” last week and he is brimming with confidence. Said Anchondo, “Freddie is not all that, he is good, but he does not have all the tools he needs to beat me. I like fighting and I like winning!”

Gamboa Was Hurt!

I don’t care what Gamboa told the HBO crew after his fight with Orlando Salido when he said he wasn’t hurt when he was knocked down. I have seen his act too many times to believe him for one second. I have seen him go down multiple times and the scenario is always the same, he gets hit and pauses for a second before he hits the deck, it’s seemingly always the same. And if he wasn’t hurt this weekend then why was he holding on for dear life for the remainder of the round?

Oakland’s Faders

After a 3-1 pre-season stint Raider fans had already made plans to see their Raiders in the Playoffs. Raider fan can’t help himself, his blind allegiance to the Al Davis owned team is without compare. Hopefully the drubbing they took at the hands of the Titans on Sunday will be a reality check for the Oakland faithful.

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