Billy’s Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

As defined by usingenglish.com:
The Penny Dropped: When the penny drops, someone belatedly understands something that everyone else has long since understood.

In my short blog titled “The Show Must Go On” I quickly wrapped up my thoughts on this Andre Berto drug test situation by saying it was a catastrophe of epic proportions that I would have more comments on later. One of the responses to that blog came from Pound4Pound’s faithful reader David McGarry who stated:

A partial solution would be to avoid promoting any boxer who has any connection to Victor Conte. Surely the penny must have dropped by now.

And while we’re at it, test Andre Ward. If he refuses to be tested, strip him of his titles and invalidate every fight he has had since he first started taking Conte’s “supplements”.

I must admit that much like McGarry, once I heard Victor Conte was involved with Berto all kinds of red flags went up. Then when I heard that within hours of Berto’s dirty test being revealed Conte “Tweeted” he was “innocent”, I pretty much named him as the leading candidate for the Berto PED peddler.

We all are aware of Conte’s past, he served time in prison in 2005 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering. I mean let’s face it, the guy is an admitted and convicted PED pusher. Why would any world class athlete allow this guy anywhere near them?

As boxing fans know Lamont Peterson was also busted taking the juice recently and although Conte has no ties to Lamont, (that I am aware of), it was a comment made by Conte right after that incident that left me scratching my head. When asked about the Peterson situation Conte said, “My opinion is that Lamont Peterson’s use of synthetic testosterone could be a smart method of doping and beat almost all test methods.”

What?

Smart method of doping?

This is a convicted criminal who was now giving the thumbs up to someone who was up to the same illegal tactics that put him behind bars!

If Charlie Manson approved of the methods of the latest serial killer and called his methods smart, what would you say? Would you buy into his load of rubbish and be sympathetic to his cause?

Highly doubtful!

Here is how Conte described his role in the Berto Camp:

“I had absolutely nothing to do Andre Berto’s positive drug test for nandrolone,” stated Conte. “Andre enrolled in the VADA drug testing program in early 2012. While using my nutritional products and protocols Andre’s blood and urine were randomly tested twice before his recent bicep injury and all tests were negative. After his positive test was revealed, Andre admitted that he recently took some supplements that were not provided by me and did so without my knowledge. It is possible that one these supplements was contaminated with trace amounts of nandrolone and caused his positive test result. My understanding is that an investigation is being conducted in an attempt to determine the culprit. I was the person who encouraged Andre to enroll in the VADA program and I will continue to encourage athletes to do so. There have been hundreds of nandrolone positive drug tests in the past that I believe were a result of contaminated supplements. Nandrolone is the longest lasting anabolic steroid known to man and therefore it is unlikely that any elite athlete would ever use it in an attempt to cheat. However, the strict liability rule makes an athlete responsible for whatever is in their body regardless of how it got there. I do my best to help athletes to make good choices, but unfortunately they do not always listen to my advice.”

Given Conte’s denials here is a thought. In horse racing, there are numerous drug violations, it happens all the time, sometimes to A-list trainers. Probably half the time it wasn’t the trainers fault, a worker inadvertently or on purpose to cash in on a wager on the horse put something in the horse’s feed. Even if the racing commission finds that it was probably a worker, the trainer gets fined and is suspended, because in horse racing, the trainer is responsible for any violation in his barn. In that vein, while Conte may not have put the substance into Berto, he was in charge of his nutrition/conditioning, and like the horse trainer he should be held responsible, liability rule or not. Conte said he thinks Berto took a supplement from someone else. Well, it is Conte’s responsibility as the nutritionist of record, to make sure his client knows from the beginning to only take things from him.

Liabilty rule?

If Berto pays, then Conte must pay.That is the way I see it.

And speaking of Berto, trust me, I am not trying to absolve him of any blame. These guys that say they didn’t know or they don’t remember getting shot in the ass with a hypodermic needle are being less than truthful…some might even call them liars.

And as I said in my piece on Peterson, it seems and odd coincidence that Lamont, and now Andre, were the ones barking the loudest about the Olympic style drug testing and now were the ones who got busted…OR DOES IT?

Maybe someone convinced them that they knew a “smart way of doping” that would go undetected. Now, I don’t know who would say something like that but I have a darn good idea!

It looks like science has caught up with the PED cheats again and I wouldn’t be surprised if a number of high profile athletes turn up dirty or suddenly fall off the radar while the “roids” cycle out of their system or someone like Conte figures out how to get a few steps ahead of science again.

He did it before and although I won’t say he did it again, I am very suspicious of anything this pencil mustached convicted criminal does or says.

The penny has not officially dropped on Conte yet but if I am any high profile athlete or boxer I stay as far away from this guy as possible. There is just something about the things he does and says that makes me very uncomfortable.

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

By William Trillo

I am still putting together all the facts right now and trying to figure out exactly what the heck is going on with this Andre Berto situation and as soon as I do you can rest assured I will have plenty to say.

With that said I got in touch with Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer and got down to the brass tacks.

Simply put I asked him, ” Will you go on with the show and will Berto be scrapped? Can you find another opponent for Victor Ortiz?”

Just as simply Schaefer answered by saying, “Yes the show will go on. We are working on a replacement opponent for Victor.”

That pretty much tells me and boxing fans what we wanted to know. It looks like Berto is out and Golden Boy is put in an unenviable position by having to find a suitable opponent to fill in for a fight that seemed to be a fight of the year candidate in the making.

If I am Schaefer, Oscar or darn near anyone else at Golden Boy I would be foaming at the mouth right now. That’s two fights down the tubes due to these failed drug tests. Like a rabid dog I would be looking to be biting someone on the ass right now.

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

By William Trillo

On June 2nd in at The Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas Beibut Shumenov (12-0,8 KO’s) will put his WBA & IBA Titles on the line when he faces the tough and battle tested Enrique Ornelas (32-7,21 KO’s). The Golden Boy promoted card is a surefire hit and it’s likely this one will be a fan pleaser that will not go the distance as both fighters are big punchers.

Pound4Pound spoke to Ornelas about the fight and his second shot at a world title belt.

Pound4Pound: When and where were you when you first find out about the Shumenov fight?

Enrique Ornelas: I was up in Big Bear helping Shane Mosley when I found out about the fight. It was around the last week or two of his camp when I became aware of the Shumenov fight. At first I thought I was going to fight with along my brother on April 21st but they got a hold of me and said there was something in the works that could involve a world title. Of course I said if there is a world title fight available then let’s do it! Who can say no to a shot at the title?

P4P: So obviously being up in camp with Shane and already sparring it’s helpful for when they call for something like this.

EO: They always say they will call you when you least expect it so stay in shape. So I was already working out with the guys up in camp, it feels like I am always in training in some way or another. And when they tell me something like this, I modify things and train harder and get ready to do my best. Once I found out about June 2nd I started getting ready to perform at my top level.

P4P: You have put together three wins in a row fighting over the super middleweight limit but spent most of your career at 168. Was there any surprise when they told you about this chance at a Light Heavy title?

EO: No, not really. I can fluctuate between 168 and 175 pretty well so I can do whatever I have to. But this came as no surprise and I feel good at 175. I will be comfortable and strong at this weight.

P4P: I have been at your last three fights and of the three although you would not say these guys are household names but 2 the three fighters you faced were tough customers who brought everything they had on that night. In hindsight it looks like these were good fights to prepare you for Shumenov.

EO: Mexican fighters go out there and give everything they have and that is exactly what these guys did. Win, lose or draw it does not matter, they give everything they have. So like you said, yes, these fights that I had were getting me ready, it was perfect. They are tough busy fighters and they want to win.

P4P: Of course you didn’t know it at the time but if you were looking for fighters to get you ready for a style like Shumenov it was these guys, fighters that bring it all to the table.

EO: Exactly. And you know you can never really find guys who will perfectly match a certain fighter you are going to fight but in these instances it was good preparation for what lies ahead. You get what is put in front of it and you make the best of it, which is just how life works sometimes.

P4P: What do you know about Shumenov? Did you know of him and what are you thinking about him now?

EO: I did not know of him when they first mentioned his name to me but as soon as I found out I started getting all the information I could. Now I know he is a very good fighter who throws a lot of punches. I don’t know if he really commits or focuses on them though, it seems like he just throws and throws. And that’s OK with me…I like to fight.

P4P: That’s what I was telling guys in Las Vegas last weekend. They were saying how intimidating this Shumenov can be with those yelling punches he throws but I said I am sure you won’t let all that yelling he does take you out of your game plan.

EO: That’s just his style, just because he yells doesn’t mean he hits any harder, he’s just putting extra butter on it, but it’s not going to scare me.

P4P: You have been in title fights before so this should not be overwhelming for you to be in a title fight.

EO: No, I know what this is all about and the bottom line is I have to be better than him, that’s what I have to do. Nothing else matters.

P4P: Bottom line, it’s a world title fight in Las Vegas, the boxing capital of the world, you can’t ask for more than that.

EO: That’s right, we are fighting for a world title and not many people get that chance, so the way I see it, we are already ahead of the game. I am fighting for a chance at the world title for the second time. I am blessed and ready to give everything I have.

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

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

Like everyone else I was somewhat surprised by the news of Light Welterweight title holder Lamont Peterson being involved in a Performance Enhancing Drug debacle that would in a matter of days destroy the much anticipated title rematch against Amir Khan. The fight that was set to take place in the gambling city of Las Vegas on May 19th crumbled like a deck of overused cards when the Joker was exposed.

Of all the people that were surprised by the revelation that Lamont was injecting time-released steroids into his body a month before the first Khan fight, it was Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer who was the most upset, and rightly so. “The lack of transparency from Peterson not disclosing the positive test is shocking, but what is further shocking is that VADA did not inform us,” said Schaefer. In an interview conducted later Schaefer said of this situation, “stop spinning the bullsh*t.”

I could not agree with the Golden Boy CEO more.

Only hours before the fight was officially cancelled I had a nice telephone chat with Nevada State Athletic Commissioner Keith Kizer. When I told him that not one bit of this situation made sense to me he could not and would not disagree.

I asked Kizer about these so-called testosterone pellets and he told me it was his understanding that the time released concoction was injected into Lamont’s hip one month prior to the initial fight and that’s what he was told was still in his system when the random April tests came back dirty.

Let me speak frankly here, in my opinion this entire situation stinks to high heaven and considering everything that went down before, during and after the December fight in D.C….well let’s just say someone has a heck of a lot of nerve.

That fight was shrouded with controversy and Peterson was lucky to get out of there with the win. The two points taken away from Khan were always a point of contention and we don’t have to mention the mysterious man in the black hat do we? Protests were filed and anything that could hit the proverbial fan was flung all over the already tempestuous situation.

Now, amid all this controversy someone or everyone on Team Peterson knew about this PED skeleton still lurking in the closet. I personally don’t know how any of them had a decent nights sleep.

Another interesting note is that it seemed to be Peterson who was pushing for the Olympic style drug testing. Considering he knew full well what he was up to behind closed doors I can only speculate that someone convinced him this time released cocktail was going to fly well under the radar like a Stealth bomber.

Oops!

What is even more disappointing and upsetting is the back story we have been told about Lamont Peterson and his brother Anthony. The Petersons were left without parents at an early age, with their father in prison and their mother suffering personal issues. The brothers were reportedly homeless on the streets of Washington, DC for several years. While homeless at age 10, they were noticed by Barry Hunter, a boxing coach. Over time, Hunter developed their boxing skills while mentoring them and both brothers morphed into amateur boxing stars and carried their success into the pro ranks.

Who couldn’t love that story and root for these kids?

We all love it when people defy all the odds and become more than anyone could have ever imagined or dreamed. I doubt that many saw this coming and at first it seemed almost too hard to believe. But as we now know it’s all too real. Any love Peterson was receiving for his touching childhood story is now destined to get overshadowed by this lurid tale.

Yes it’s sad, but it is also cheating and lying.

There is no way to excuse taking the steroids and it’s harder to excuse the cover-up. Why Richard Schaefer was not informed until the rematch was less than two weeks away is ridiculous and wrong on so many levels.

Admittedly, I have never been close to being on board with the Amir Khan bandwagon but on this one I think everything I have heard coming out of his camp is dead on point. In fact if they don’t petition to have that steroid tainted fight declared a No Contest and demand his belts back I will be very surprised and disappointed.

Along with that I think a large fine and a suspension of at least one year should be considered as a penalty for Lamont and anyone on his team who was in cahoots with this fiasco.

I am glad Keith Kizer took such a hard stand in this matter when before the fight was officially scrapped he said of Peterson who had yet to be licensed in Nevada, “At this point, Peterson is not licensed to fight in Nevada and we have not received his medicals or paperwork, which is not that unusual as a lot of fighters wait until the week of the fight. But given the circumstances, I have no plans to license him at this time.”

I hope every sanctioning body and athletic commission will follow suit and not give Peterson the room to move inside the ropes until he comes 100% clean with all the facts in this matter. And even at that I am not convinced he should be allowed to fight any time soon.

Peterson cost a lot of people a lot of money. From Promoters who shelled out a heck of a lot of coin hyping this fight all the way to undercard fighters who are now out of a paycheck, (as Kizer pointed out), there was a lot of revenue lost here and someone needs to be held accountable.

It’s a pathetic situation in front of us and unless someone is punished severely it’s very likely this steroid filled syringe will be shoved into boxing’s backside once again.

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

By William Trillo

For those of you who came here to my Monday blog looking for some angst directed at this weekends show in Las Vegas…well you may be somewhat disappointed. In fact I have more love for the show this weekend than anything.

As PPV events go this one was as close to being worth the price of admission than any other PPV cards we have seen in recent times. That’s not opinion, that’s fact.

Super Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto was well prepared for Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday night and he gave the fans every ounce of himself as he bloodied but failed to defeat Mayweather. Cotto looked strong and his gameplan was on target. The problem is he was taking on one of the most gifted fighters in this era and although many would have liked to have seen get Floyd served up a plate of defeat before he was carted off to serve a little jail time, it was not meant to be. Say what you will about Floyd, the man can fight.

If I did have any problem with the fight it was the quick and silent exit from Miguel Cotto after the fight. Cotto did send out a Twitter note that said, “I feel great. Just resting In my SkyLoft with my family. Nothing to be down about. I respect the judges dec. but I completely disagree.”

You have to wonder if Cotto, who gave Floyd more than anyone has in many years feels like maybe he was snubbed in Las Vegas long before the fight took place.

On my drive home it was pointed out to me by fellow writer Luis Cadiz that Cotto gave Mayweather more problems than Oscar De La Hoya did but Floyd only eeked out a split decision on that night against The Golden Boy. Many experts agreed Saturday night that Cotto was Floyd’s most difficult test. So how did he lose a clear cut unanimous decision by such a wide margin taking the De La Hoya fight into consideration? Looking at things from Cotto’s point of view maybe it’s easier to understand why he bolted with no comment.

Personally, I have no problem with the decision and I am of the opinion Cotto has nothing to be ashamed of, he did way better than anyone expected.

Another 154 pound Puerto Rican was on the card Saturday night and he didn’t have to worry about the judges scorecards. Carlos Quintana proved he still is a very viable opponent as he took a couple rounds to figure out Deandre Latimore and then wasted little time as he blew out the over-hyped Latimore in round 6.

Truth be told, I saw Latimore back in February in Las Vegas and was less than impressed with his decision win over Milton Nunez who dropped Latimore late and almost KO’d him back then. When I saw he was facing Quitana I knew “El Indio” had a good chance to upend this guy and I was right.

Quintana had mentioned if he lost this fight he may have to end his career but all that has changed now. In fact Quintana may have put himself into position for a good payday by taking on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. And before you think this is just a gimmee fight for Alvarez you better think again. It was Quintana who first exposed then unbeatable Paul Williams and came away with a huge upset win there.

I’d love to see a matchup between Canelo and El Indio. It has all the makings of another good Mexico vs. Puerto Rico battle.

Speaking of “Canelo”…that defeat of Shane Mosley was a changing of the guard, out with the old in with the new performance that should not be taken lightly. Shane came to fight and there was no way he was just going to lay down. With one of the most rugged set of whiskers in the biz Mosley made Alvarez earn that hard fought decision. Anyone who is ripping Alvarez for not being able to stop the old man just isn’t very bright. Mosley is a true hall of famer with a world class chin and he deserves a little more respect than he is getting.

With that said I truly hope he retires now. Shane’s day has come and gone and he had a great career. It’s just time for him to step aside and let the youngsters battle it out now.

Over the past year my trips to Las Vegas have been more than exciting and I look forward to the fare that will be served up in Sin City over the next few months. Boxing has been getting trashed by the pundits over recent times but it looks like things are changing for the good.

I for one could not be more pleased.

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

By William Trillo

According to wiki.answers.com, When one is “full of baloney (bologna)” it means the information they offer is nonsense, not trustworthy, foolishness. With that definition in mind I want to ad yet another feature to my weekly blog postings.

Many of you are aware of my “Trillo Stink-o-Meter” specials that run whenever something about the business of boxing smells a tad rotten. I also occasionally run my “Go To The Window & Shout, I Am As Mad As Hell” articles that are spurned when enough is clearly enough.

Well boxing fan’s, starting today I will also be running a feature I call, “Billy Baloney’s Delicatessen”. You can look for this feature to rear it’s ugly head whenever ridiculous press releases are sent out touting the accomplishments of some fighter who is far from the star the press release would like you to believe. You also may see the “deli” pop up when fighter themselves make some bogus statement about their accomplishments past, present and future.

So without further ado, we shall begin.

The Hanks Hoagie

Our first heap of Baloney with all the trimmings comes directly from the Jersey Shores and is served up by whoever is trying to shove a fistful of mincemeat by the name of Joe Hanks down boxing fan’s collective throats. Yes this heavyweight has an undefeated record and according to the latest press release he brutally KO’d veteran Marcus Rhode in the first round. What the press releases fails to mention is that Rhode is a broken down 39 year old palooka who has lost 44 professional fights and 38 of those losses were by KO. Rhode has lost 11 of his last 12 fights with most of them coming via KO.

The fact of the matter this is standard fare for Hanks, a fighter who like to call himself, “The Future”. I am not exactly sure how Hanks got that nickname but if the fighters in his “Future” are anything like the ones from his past they will keep getting older, fatter and slower with each and every fight.

Look, if you guys are trying to kid yourselves or Hank’s that he is the second coming that’s one thing. But trying to shove a fistful of that dry baloney sandwich down an unsuspecting boxing public’s gullet is yet another, and I for one won’t stand for it.

Suggestion…a heavyweight fought right there in your Jersey Shores on Saturday night, his name is Seth Mitchell and he also sports himself a very impressive undefeated record. Why don’t you give his promoter a call and tell them you want to serve him up a helping of “The Future?”

Please get back to me when the fight is made and I will take your fighters name off my menu.

The Steiglitz Grinder

Our next grinder comes to you via Russia by way of Germany. Get out the brown mustard and sauerkraut to help wash this one down.

Am I the only one who finds this quote from WBO Super Middleweight Champ Robert Steiglitz a tad humorous and very telling? About finally securing a foe to challenge him, Steiglitz said of Nader Hamdan “Now I feel a tingling excitement, because this is a really good fight,” A victory for me in Erfurt is currently the most important thing in my life. Finally, Arthur Abraham is all lined up to fight me. He’ll have that chance, but I must win in Erfurt.”

A tingling excitement because this will be a really good fight?

Hamndan is a 38 year old has been whose record over the past five years shows more losses than victories. If Steiglitz thinks he is tingling with the thought of this fight wait until he feels the tingle once Arthur Abraham tickles his chin.

Steiglitz has been hiding in Germany ever since he was KO’d by Librado Andrade in 2008. Since then he has somehow grabbed a belt and has no intentions on coming stateside to defend it.

At the very least you would think he would like to avenge that loss to Andrade but numerous sources have confirmed Steiglitz has flat out turned down that fight on many occasions. Maybe now that Andrade has shown he is easier to be hit than back in 2008 Stieglitz will man up and try to even the score with Librado.

But that may be too much for him to bite off and chew, with out without the sauerkraut.

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

By William Trillo

No one really gave Light Heavyweight Rowland Bryant (now 16-1, 11 KO’s) any chance of defeating the tough whiskered Librado Andrade (30-5, 23 KO’s) this past weekend in El Paso Texas. No one but Rowland Bryant that is. The little known fighter from Florida put himself on the radar after his KO victory and we wanted to talk with him about his moment.

Pound4Pound: You came into El Paso ,Texas this past weekend and did the improbable. Congratulations on your victory. Now that you have had a few days to let this sink in how are you feeling?

Rowland Bryant: I feel great. It’s hard to think I got a fight at that level and it went that way. My coach and I keep talking about it and hopefully we get more.

P4P: You came into this fight a virtual unknown. Tell us how it feels to going from the local level to a Showtime national TV broadcast.

RB: It’s a great feeling and like a dream come true. Of course the ultimate dream is to get that title but being known is half the battle.

P4P: Tell us about when you first got the call to fight Librado. Did you immediately accept, did you have to think about it?

RB: There was nothing to think about, I don’t turn fights down. When I heard about that fight I was more excited than anything. It was my chance to be known and I felt I could win that fight. I saw him fight Bute and I sparred with Bute a couple of times. I knew I could do this.

P4P: How much preparation time did you have?

RB: Around 3 weeks to a month maybe.

P4P: That’s relatively a short time. But you look like someone who stays in shape all the time.

RB: Yes I love to work out. And you know how boxing is; it’s not a seasonal thing so you always have to be in shape because you never know when you are going to get that call.

P4P: Going into the fight were you looking to jump on Andrade and get a quick KO or was that merely cause and effect from the way the fight went down?

RB: I was planning on knocking him out but I wasn’t expecting it to happen in any certain round or anything like that. I was just trying to be patient and not fighting all crazy throwing unnecessary punches and tiring my self out because we know what kind of fighter he is. He is a distance fighter that throws a lot of punches, so I must wanted to take my time and wait to see that window open where I could get a shot in, then I wanted to make sure to land it good and hard. That’s what I did and when I got him hurt I said I got to take him out now.

P4P: The way that fight started out it was obvious it wasn’t destined to go the distance. Correct me if I am wrong but it seems maybe you were hurt in the second round.

RB: I would say that I wasn’t hurt more than I was nervous. It’s hard to explain, but being nervous and trying to fight at the same time is very difficult.

P4P: You guys are in there trying to take each others heads off; there is nothing wrong with being nervous.

RB: The fight was on Showtime and everything like that. It was a real big step up for me. Some fighters can’t take it to the next level being out there and having all that pressure. When you are nervous certain moves may affect you more. If you look at me in the third round I woke up and all my nerves were gone.

P4P: There has been some talk that maybe the fight should have went on when you had Librado hurt and the ref may have stopped it too early. What were you thinking when the ref jumped in? Did you think it was the right thing to do?

RB: I felt it was extremely the right thing to do. I was catching him with some hard shots and I wasn’t going to stop throwing those shots until he went down. I thought it was the right thing to do. A fighter will never admit it’s the right thing to do and most spectators would not know if it’s the right thing to do, but fighters know.

P4P: I have noticed looking at your record that there have been periods of inactivity. I hope whoever is guiding your career will look at this moment and realize you should do everything to capitalize on this right away.

RB: That’s what the plans are. We have some things working right now. We will not let this win go to waste.

P4P: I want to compliment you and everyone on you team for the way you conducted yourselves in Texas. You came in very quiet and low key, there was zero trash talking and you weren’t demanding attention from anyone. And then you took care of business during the fight. Later that night, I saw you in the hotel lobby and you were still as quiet and low key as when you came in. I thought you and everyone on your team acted like the utmost professionals.

RB: We are a very humble team. I am more of an old school type of fighter. You look back in the days of Marciano and Jersey Joe. They never talked trash about each other before the fight and after the fight they would shake hands, they never had anything bad to say about each other. I am from that old school type boxing, when the TV was still black and white. I think that was the best.

P4P: So where do you go from here. Who would you like to fight?

RB: It’s a little to fresh to say, but whoever has a title, I will fight them.

P4P: The Andrade fight was kind of a catch-weight fight. Do you want to fight at Light Heavy or Super Middle? Do you have a preference?

RB: I would rather fight at Light Heavyweight but if the money is right at 168 I would have no problem fighting there.

P4P: Alright Rowland, I am sure I can speak for Librado and his team by telling you congratulations on your victory. You worked hard and came in and did what you had to do. Don’t ever let anyone take that away from you.

RB: Thanks man, I see a lot of different opinions already on the internet but I know the people who really know boxing and understand boxing respect what I did deep in their hearts.

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

By William Trillo

I didn’t know what to expect when I made me journey to El Paso, Texas this past week. I must admit I was a tad leery considering the city is a border town right outside of Juarez , Mexico but after I spent some time in the South west town I was surprised to find it was a great and hospitable place to be.

As far as the fights went, I also had lasting impressions from each of the Golden Boy promoted battles. Here is a quick break down of my thoughts.

Mares vs. Morel

Abner Mares looked tough as he took the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight Title with 12-round unanimous win over Eric Morel. The lopsided scores make it appear on paper that this was a cake walk for Abner, but truth be told he was in a real fight for 12 rounds and Morel was no pushover. Although he won every round Mares was put to this test and this fight will serve him well when he steps it up over his next challenges. If it were me I would give Abner a much needed rest before he steps back into the ring. He has been in some real wars over his last few fights and in my opinion there is no reason to push him into another slug-fest right away.

Moreno vs. De La Mora

Seriously I have no idea what De La Mora was doing in this WBA Bantamweight Title versus “Chemito” Moreno. I mean Moreno had defended his title 10 times prior to this card and only a top notch performance would upset this awkward Champion. De La Mora spent an inordinant amount of time running away from Moreno and the crowd who came to cheer their Mexican hero could only boo as he quit in round nine. It was a pathetic performance by De La Mora.

Andrade vs. Bryant

Fighting at a 175 pound catch weight little known Roland Bryant came to Texas and pulled off the improbable as he stopped Andrade in round 3 of a scheduled 10 round fight. This one was a slug fest from the start and it wasn’t destined to last long. After stumbling to the mat early in round three the fighters got up and after landing a big shot that sent Andrade to the ropes. Bryant seized his moment and started throwing a lot of leather and the referee decided he had seen enough and quickly halted the bout.

There are some who said Andrade deserved to be given more time considering the way he has gotten through similar onslaughts in the past but there were no excuses from Andrade who did not lay blame on the ref but instead said it was his fault for fighting in such a reckless style. ” I should not have fought like that at the start of the fight and I know it was not smart on my part.This guy came here to win and I will not make excuses to take away from his victory.”

Bryant was humble after the fight telling Pound4pound that he worked very hard for this and he came here to get his name put on the map. There is no doubt Bryant is not a secret anymore and he surely has put himself in position for bigger fights in the future.

As to Librado’s future he said, “I am going to take some time off and spend some time with my family. I know I can not fight in that style anymore and I need to think about retooling my style before I make any decision to fight again. If I can do it, I will be back, but if not I will really have to consider where I will go from here.”

Ramos vs. Attah

Lightweight Luis Ramos Jr. got the nod over Daniel Attah over 10. Like his stablemate Mares, this was not as easy as the lopsided final scores appear. Attah was a difficult customer and tagged Ramos late raising a huge lump under his right eye. Ramos fought through the pain and took the fight while gaining some very good experience that will serve him well as his career moves forward.

Escalante vs Camacho

Super featherweight Antonio Escalante KO’d Francisco Camacho in 4 very impressive rounds. I got to watch Escalante in training and he seemed like a very hardworking and likable fighter, and that he is. Escalante has a very fan friendly style and put on a great show for his hometown fans. I look forward to seeing him in action live again.

Vargas vs. Lora

Before the fight between Super featherweight Francisco Vargas and Rafael Lora took place the photographer next to me pointed at Vargas and said, “Look at that guy! He looks like he is getting ready to put some serious hurt on someone!” I looked over to the Vargas corner and sure enough, this guy looked as though he was going to destroy someone. This was one book you could judge by it’s cover as Vargas dismantled Lora and stopped him in 4.

This was very entertaining card thrown by Golden Boy this weekend. With most of the fights being shown on Showtime and Showtime Exteme boxing fans got their fill of really good fights on Saturday night.

For the record, that’s 2 weekends in a row I have had the privelage to cover very well matched fight cards. Let’s home this trend keeps up.

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

By William Trillo

Charles Dickens

As I made yet another road trip from Southern California to Las Vegas to cover fight cards on successive nights I had no idea what was in store for this weekend. On Friday night there would be a small show at The Hard Rock Casino that would be televised by ESPN 2 and on Saturday night we had a big PPV card that would take place in Mandalay Bay’s Event Center.

On paper it looked like any other back to back Las Vegas weekend.

First, a small show of no names to pacify the fight crowd getting into “Sin City” early. That would be followed up on Saturday night by a show full of boxing’s finest and rising Super Stars.

As it turned out, Friday nights show promoted by Millennium Events was a can’t miss event while the show promoted by Top Rank on Saturday night was simply a miss.

The ESPN Friday night show featured lightweights Michael Katsidis vs. Albert Mensah. Not exactly household names but anyone “in the know” in the boxing community would tell you any fight Katsidis is in is sure to be a shootout. Yet, of those scribes who will be happy to tell you they are the ones “in the know” I saw exactly none of them. With the exception of a couple seasoned and humble boxing journalists the media in attendance consisted of a few youngsters and the “hated” internet press. I am sure I can speak for all of us that were there by saying from top to bottom this was as good and entertaining a card as we have been to in a long while.

For those of you who missed the fights for whatever reason, if you need notes or photos from the event…sorry, can’t help ya bro. You snooze or booze…you lose.

Saturday night was a different story all together. The lights were shining brightly for this high profile card and everyone who felt it was time to see and be seen were in attendance.

And why not?

I mean this was a fight featuring a guy who just threw away any chance at a World title 24 hours before the fight because he was too reckless, careless and/or clueless. Whatever the case may be Mr. High Profile was 2 pounds too fat to win the title and the other guy was someone most of us had never heard of. That alone begged for this card to be billed, “A Recipe For Disaster!”

Surely the guy too fat too care about becoming a champion would clean up on the guy no one had ever heard of. Or that was the feeling at ringside…I mean that’s what someone told me.

As it turned out, the fight was not going to go down as an all time classic but the fact of the matter is the guy who nobody ever heard of was schooling Mr. Too Fat to Win a Title.

Funny thing though, a lot of the guys who didn’t cover the fight card the night before, you know, the ones who know way more than I do, they were already scoffing at the way Abril (Mr. No Name) was fighting and they said that style did not deserve to get the win. Personally, I thought that was an absurd way to look at the fight and scored it clearly for Abril at 117-111.

What came as a huge shock to me is that 2 of the 3 judges saw the fight just as the “know it all” scribes and Rios (The Fat One) scurried away like a rat with the victory.

I guess that explains why those “In The Know” guys always get better seats than me.

I digress…

Had it not been for the Alvarado vs. Herrera barn burner this “big” card was far from stellar.

Mercito Gesta showed me nothing and they need to stop with the left handed Filipino just like Manny angle. The only Manny this guy is like is standing next to a couple of guys named Moe & Jack.

In all honesty, the off TV bouts were not bad but since most of the seats in the house were either empty or already folded up at the time…well…if a tree falls in the forest….yada yada.

So the question to ask is, did we learn anything from this weekends Las Vegas fights?

Of course we did.

Or should I say I did.

When it comes to boxing you can NEVER replace having a professional work ethic.

You either have the heart if a lion or you don’t. You either want to give it your all just because you are a fighter and this is your passion or you want to do just enough to get by because the big promoter has dangled a carrot in front you, promising you the world once you get past this one.

As a fight fan it’s pretty easy to know when you paid to watch the latter. The fight will be less than exciting and when is all said and done the judges scorecards will read JUST LIKE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO.

Fortunately on this weekend we had another card chock full of lion hearted warriors that gave boxing fans a brief glimpse of what used to be the norm.

Oh, how those nights are sorely missed.

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

By William Trillo
Photos: Marlene Marquez

About a year ago I was taken to task by one of then Lightweight Champ Brandon Rios’ boys because I wrote an article about how a leopard can’t change his spots. Within the year Rios has made a mockery of the game of boxing by losing his belt at the scales and acting like nothing more than a thug anytime he was given a chance. It should come as little or no surprise that Rios, who has been up to his old bully tactics for the last 2 weeks showed up 2 pounds overweight for yet another title fight. On his first attempt on the scale Rios weighed 137 pounds.

Rios barked about his nutritionist during this camp and made it seem as though weight would not be a problem this time, but the scale speaks for itself. The proof is in the pudding and in this case it looks like Rios had one too many servings of Flan yet again.

ESPN has reported that on his second attempt Rios came in at 139 pounds, 2 pounds heavier! Outside of a faulty scale it seems Rios decided to re-hydrate and blow off fighting for the title again. Apparently the fight will still go on but Rios has forfeited his shot to regain the title.

According to a press release sent out earlier today the winner of the fight was going to get a $50,000 bonus. Win, Lose or Draw there is no way Rios deserves any kind of bonus at all. In fact what he deserves is to pay whatever fine Nevada’s Commission hands down….PERIOD.

What boxing deserves is a fighter who respects the sport, respects his peers and most importantly respect the fans.

The lack of respect by Rios for all the aforementioned can no longer be questioned, not by his trainer, his promoter or clingers on who inevitably will read this truth and pitch a fit because I came down on their boy again.

To them I say get your nose out of those leopard shorts of Rios and take a breath of the air around him,it’s getting very very stale.

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest truth.