Billy’s Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

When it comes to describing the goings on in boxing this weekend, most notably in the heavyweight division, you have to reach way back to the 1960′s slang word for the term “heavy”. When the hippies back in the day said something was heavy, they meant it was either, deep, cool, chaotic, sad and/or controversial.

I can’t think of a better way to describe the events that went down this weekend.

Deep

I am not sure what Jesus “Martillo” Gonzalez was thinking last week when he called out the background and criminal past of his foe Adonis Stevenson. Maybe he was trying to get deep inside the head of “Superman” in the hopes he could take him out of his game. That obviously did not work as Stevenson brutalized Gonzalez before he knocked him out before the first round came to an end.

Cool

As a fan of Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko I am glad that the big guy did not allow an early shoulder injury against Chisora from stopping him from winning a clear unanimous decision. Since the shoulder injury to Chris Byrd back in 2000 there are more than a few haters who labeled Vitali a quitter. By working through the pain I believe this should shut a lot of Klitscko haters mouths, and to me that’s pretty cool!

Speaking of cool…I do not know how Vitali’s brother Wladimir kept his after Chisora spit a mouthful of water in his face from point blank range only moments before the fight began.

Chaotic

The post-fight press conference in Germany this weekend was the epitome of chaos. While Vitali and Chisora were at the podium, former champ David Haye started mouthing off to Chisora. Not being shy Chisora left the podium and made his way toward Haye who was barking from the back of the room. The fisticuffs ensued and it seemed like a full round of action took place before the room was restored to order. In the melee Haye landed one of the best blows I have seen him land in quite some time.

Sad

I don’t know if any one saw the post fight interview with Cristobal Arreola since it was buried on Showtimes “Extreme” network. If you missed it, in an interview with Jim Gray, Arreola tried to close by slipping in the fact that he thought, and I quote, “Don King is an f…ing racist!” Gray tried to cut off Arreola before he could spout his thoughts but the words were clearly audible.

I am sure that there are a handful of thugs and Raider fans who think Arreola is pretty funny, but the fact is his actions are very sad.

Here is a guy who I once thought was America’s hope for a world champion. But sadly Arreola remains his own worst enemy and it’s actions like that, that will keep him fighting on second rate networks for much less than six figures.

It doesn’t do him any good to surround himself with a posse that not only condones his actions but joins in on his “fun”.

Sad…very sad!

Controversial

If you are looking for controversy you need look no further than the decision rendered in the Tavoris Cloud vs. Gabrial Campillo Light Heavyweight title fight on Saturday night.

After going down twice in round one Campillo regained his composure and schooled Cloud over the next 11 rounds. He was clearly in command and a bloody Cloud had no answer for the repeated combo’s that were landing of his face.

Yet, when the fight went to the scorecards somehow the judges in the great state of Texas gave Cloud a split decision victory.

They say things are bigger in Texas and I am sure if you ask Tavoris he would have to agree. He was given the biggest gift possible when his hand was raised in victory.

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

By William Trillo

I had so much fun with our little pop quiz yesterday I couldn’t help but go back to back and give you another one. Considering the antics that went on in boxing over the last 24 hours putting this one together was a breeze. Put on your thinking caps class.

Question # 2: As a true lover of the sweet science which recent true fact offends you the most?

A. Jesus Gonzalez spitting on Adonis Stevenson at their pre-fight weigh-in.

B. Derek Chisora slapping Vitali Klitschko at their pre-fight weigh-in.

C. Watching Texas allow fighters to do their work in that phonebooth-like 15 x 15 foot ring. (skip this answer if your last name in Margules).

D. Reading stories about Cristobal Arreola’s new found focus and drive only to see him show up for Saturday nights rumble heavier than his last time in the ring, (which is becoming a recurring theme), or as Yogi Berra would say,”It’s deja vu all over again.” 245 pounds is a lot closer to 250 than 230 and when “The Nightmare” hits the 250 mark we know what his chances at getting a world title are…ZERO.
( Is that a leading question?)

E. All of the above

F. None of the above

The answer to yesterday’s quiz was A.

Brandon Rios is an extra large lightweight who can not only take a good punch but has the heart of lion who knows no fear. Yuriorkis Gamboa is a small featherweight who has a chin of glass. No one will question his heart either, but that heart is going to become a big problem for him in the Rios fight. He will walk right into danger and Rios will roll him up and smoke him like a fine Cuban Cigar.

The one question I can’t answer though is how is this being called a title fight? Gamboa has never fought at 135 and Rios gave up his version of the title when he was too disinterested and disrespectful to make weight. I understand the WBA belt is vacant but there are lot of other fighters at 135 who are a lot more deserving at the present time.

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

By William Trillo

Well class, the weekend is upon and before you think you are off scott free… I have a little quiz for you all. It’s pretty much a no-brainer and is a multiple choice doozy so you shouldn’t feel like you are in a 15′ x 15′ ring with your backs are up against the ropes.

Question # 1: Of all the boxing stories you heard & read going into the weekend which is the most ridiculous sweet science news breaker.

A. Brandon Rios, the man who recently lost his lightweight title belt at the scales because he was too fat and/or lazy to make weight will take on the never above 130 pound Yuriorkis Gamboa in a scheduled lightweight bout in Las Vegas this April.

B. Texas is allowing a bout that was set at 172 pounds to take place tonight even though one of the contestants, Shawn Estrada, weighted in at a whopping 196 pounds.

C. The Pacquiao vs. Bradley press tour is set to take off next week and we still (mysteriously) have not heard one thing about a press tour for the Mayweather vs. Cotto press tour even though their fight is scheduled to take place a month earlier.

D. Warriors Boxing Promoter Leon Margules, who unceremoniously yanked his fighter Donovan George out of an IBF Super Middleweight title eliminator fight with Librado Andrade in December and then completely reneged on his personal vow to reschedule the bout, saying of his fighter George and his new foe Edwin Rodriguez, “Edwin and Don will FIGHT ANYONE, they are fighters.”

E. None of the above.

F. All of the above.

I told you it would be easy.

Now if you excuse me I am going to go look for someone streaming the Adonis Stevenson vs. Jesus Gonzalez battle that is for the IBF # 2 Super Middleweight ranking…now if we could only find someone willing to fight Librado Andrade for the # 1 IBF spot.

With all the subtle hints I gave you the correct answer to today’s quiz should be a cinch!

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

By William Trillo

It was nice to get an email today from one of our faithful readers, David McGarry. Although David is more prone to coming in here and telling everyone I am like a blind squirrel in the woods who luckily stumbles across a nut now and then, this time David wrote a bit about Vitali Klitschko’s title defense against Dereck Chisora this weekend. We are happy to post his thoughts:

Dear William,

The champion goes into this contest as the heavy favourite, and rightly so. But could February 18 be the night his reign as world champion comes to an end?

McGarry,

Suggesting I may not know about a Vitali Klitschko fight tells me you have not been a reader of mine since my fledgling career began in 2001. That’s OK, you are probably a lot better of for it.

Seriously!

The first Klitschko fight I covered was against Lennox Lewis. It was my first heavyweight title fight I attended as a journalist. I also was the lead writer when Vitali fought and beat Corrie Sanders. It was at that time I became friends with Tom Leffler at K2 and we have had a great relationship since then. After Vitali fought Danny Williams, another fight we covered, it appeared Vitali’s career was coming to an untimely end we put together a special tribute video for Vitali. http://www.pound4pound.com/FightReport/2006/TributeToVitaliKlitschko.htm

Vitali was so impressed with the video footage I gathered and how Bret Newton put it all together that he had Tom Loeffler invite us to a breakfast with Vitali so he could show us his gratitude. Of all things it was Vitali’s birthday that day.

http://www.pound4pound.com/FightReport/2007/HopeDiesLast.htm

Needless to say it was a truly unforgettable day.

Whenever someone asks me who my favorite fighter is I tell them Vitali Klitschko.

Having watched Vitali take that fight with Lennox on short notice and do as well as he did got my attention. His destruction of Corrie Sanders was great to see. Watching him launch the behemoth Danny Williams with one punch, literally taking him off both his feet was unbelievable. When he came back after that huge layoff I am 100% sure there was not a bigger fan of Klitschko to be found. I am so happy for him and I hope his career ends on a happy note.

Your thoughts on Chisora are duly noted.

He did catch my eye in his last fight with Helenius and he is a tough customer. That said I don’t see him with a snowballs chance in hell this Saturday.

I really appreciate you taking the time to write and hope you will do so for years to come!

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

By William Trillo & Charles Presnell

Forward: Quite frankly I was going to let the latest “Pretty Boy” comments go by without saying a thing. Personally I have had it with his verbal lunacy and hate to give him the time of day. I had a couple of idea’s that included artwork, Floyd Is In An Ass Wipe, etc. But I just couldn’t do it. Then I received this email from one of our contributors, Charles Presnell, and I thought I would run this finely crafted piece for both Mayweather haters and lovers alike. Take it away Charles…

So tonight I logged onto the internet where my front-page had a feature article regarding Floyd Mayweather’s comments on Jeremy Lin. Rarely these days does a statement by a boxer, even Floyd Mayweather, make to the front-page of the website I choose to open up to first so I decided to read the article. It makes it especially dicey when the headline reads, “Boxing Star Rips on NBA Phenom.” Upon opening up the article I read the Tweet from Money stating, “”Jeremy Lin is a good player, but all the hype is because he is Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.” After reading the Tweet, I did not feel like Mayweather was “ripping” on Jeremy Lin. I sat there and examined the comment a little and broke it down a little and drew my conclusions on what exactly he was saying.

The premise of the statement could have very well came from several other media outlets, including ESPN, bringing up the subject of Jeremy Lin’s race. These outlets have been discussing Lin’s race on several different mediums, especially since he scored his forty points against the Lakers. Several commentators have mentioned the fact that Lin is exciting the Asian American Community and bringing focus to the NBA from people who normally would not pay attention. So I can understand Floyd Mayweather, a sports celebrity coming out and voicing his opinion. Several people in sports are doing the same.

Upon examination of the Tweet, the first part of the statement I found no racially insensitive material. Saying that “Jeremy Lin is a good player, but all the hype is because he is Asian,” in reality is the partial truth. There is a big demand to see him play because he is Asian American. I understand that as an Asian American myself I am a fan of Jeremy Lin partially because he is Asian American. Nonetheless, I would not say all the hype is because he is Asian American because they would be hyping any player that goes out against one greatest of all time (Kobe Bryant) and outscores him. Especially since this is just Lin’s second year in the league. That is why I say the statement is partially true, nevertheless, it is not something that is not being said.

To add to that thought, several media outlets reported that Victor Cruz has become a superstar in the Latino world because of his success this year and the success of the Giants. Cruz is bringing a new fanbase to the NFL from the Latino culture was the focus there. Add to that the big story in the NFL was Tim Tebow’s rise to stardom based on his faith. Christians that might not pay as much attention to football were tuning into see if Tebow’s streak was still intact or if Tebow would guide the Broncos to the playoffs. My basic point here is that the media will run with something and try to have it appeal to a certain base of people. Right now the sports media is running with Jeremy Lin firing up the Asian American community. Nonetheless, there really is not any harm in bringing a positive light to the NBA and at the same time there is not a problem with someone within sports calling the media out on it.

To conclude on the first part of the statement, no harm, no foul. As it would come to pass, that is not Mayweather’s full statement. Floyd would also Tweet, “Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.” Honestly when I read this part of the Tweet I do get a bit offended. Not as an Asian American, but as person with intelligence. Let me elaborate a little. When I turn on Sportscenter and watch the highlights, I see all kinds of praise for; Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, CP3, Tim Duncan, I think you get the point. The summer before last all you heard in sports was where would LeBron play? This year after the lockout all the fuss was about Chris Paul and where he would end up. Then there was all the coverage on Dwight Howard. If Charles Jenkins were to outscore Kobe in a game and carry the Golden State Warriors to five straight wins and put up the numbers Lin has then he would get all the praise that Lin is getting as potential superstar. As I see it, gifted players get the equal praise. So is Mayweather’s Tweet racist? No, it is more insensitive than racist.

At the end of the day I look at it like this, Jeremy Lin got another headline; Floyd Mayweather Tweeted something else that could be considered offensive. If people did not know who Lin is or how well he is doing or what he means to the Asian American community, well now they do. Really how many people would read a headline about Jeremy Lin compared to how many would click on an article the puts a sports celebrity saying something insensitive towards an Asian American? Should we be surprised that a celebrity Tweets something offensive? Is the criticism that Floyd is receiving fair? You probably do not need me to tell you the answer to the first two, nonetheless, I do believe we all need to take responsibility for the things we say. We all say stupid/insensitive things and Floyd probably did not know he would offend so many people or maybe he did, nevertheless, he is being held accountable.

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

IF Bob Arum and Top Rank think they are doing anyone any favors by offering Manny Pacquioa vs. Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas on June 9th to “Sin-City” high rollers & PPV customers only, they are gravely mistaken.

IF the promoters don’t want to admit it someone has to. Boxing is threatening to become a niche sport and it desperately needs to build a new fan base.

IF the two biggest stars in boxing, Pacquiao and Mayweather only fight on PPV, and once or twice a year at best, how will boxing climb out of the deep hole it has dug for itself?

IF they, (the greedy promoters), keep holding fights in Las Vegas, where the majority of tickets go to the wealthy and high rollers on casino comps, and they take virtually every big fight and put it on PPV in an economy that is hurting, how can they rebuild their fan base?

IF they keep putting the sport behind the green wall of ca$h where only the rich and well off will be able to climb over it, how will good World Championship boxing become accessible to fans from every class of every demographic?

IF they put more top fights on regular HBO & Showtime, fans will flock to the screen and interest and the much needed buzz will build.

Ands

AND correct me if I am wrong, but the Super Bowl and the NFL playoffs are not on PPV. Ditto for the MLB playoffs and the NBA. The biggest events in those sports are free. Is it any wonder that over 100 million watched the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl, and new fans were created in droves?

AND it’s hard to question that boxing is the worst run sport in all of sports, even worse than the NCAA. The inmates (promoter’s & fighters) are running the asylum.

AND for all the power of HBO, the greedy fighters and promoters force them into putting fights on PPV and are ruining the sport.

AND every city in America is filled with young kids, ghetto kids, trying to escape, and they fall in love with boxing. How ironic and despicable it is that these kids, who adore boxing, cannot watch the best fights because they can barely afford to buy food. Wake up Boxing and smell the thorns.

Butts

BUT, boxing will not learn from its mistakes and will keep putting shows like Pacquiao vs. Bradley on PPV. Does anyone think this fight will not end badly? If I was a betting man I would put my hard earned money on this fight ending by a technical decision because it ain’t going the distance. I fully expect Timothy Bradley to do what he does best, and that’s using his bulbous head as a battering ram that will butt and open up a vicious cut over Pacquiao’s eye that will force an early stoppage. This fight is destined to go to the scorecards early and boxing fans who shell out their dollars will have to suffer through another fight that will come to an untimely and controversial end.

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

By William Trillo
Photo-Chops: Bret “The Threat”

Okay, I was wrong about referee Lupe Garcia interfering in the Chavez Jr. vs. Rubio fight this weekend but that does not mean I still don’t think the deck was heavily stacked by Jose Sulaiman and The WBC in that fight. First I want to apologize to Garcia who had his hands full of Rubio low blows and Chavez Jr. elbows all night long. All things considered he did a fine job.

But when it comes to stacking the deck any hardcore cheater will tell you it’s better to load the deck with more than a few Wildcards (no pun intended).

As it turns out Rubio pointed out more indiscretions by the WBC when he said there never was a urine sample submitted by Chavez Jr. for drug testing, a blatant violation of WBC rules. That’s right, the Texas commission never got a urine sample from Chavez Jr. When asked about the oversite, WBC President Jose Sulaiman, who I am told is Chavez Jr.s legal Godfather, (another wildcard), casually said, “We forgot!”

Seriously?

With that said…

Marco Antonio Rubio has no one to blame for this loss but himself. If ever there was a time that a Champion was there to be beat it was Saturday night. Considering the up and down weight of Chavez Jr., the skipped drug test and a drunk driving arrest 12 days earlier, Chavez Jr. should have been an easy mark for Rubio. Instead of concentrating on the fight Rubio spent the entire week complaining. That was most likely Rubio’s last chance and all the protesting in the world won’t change that.

Donaire Fight Coverage

I was really hoping that one of the big changes we would see and hear at HBO, now that Ken Hershman is at the helm, would be the end to the HBO commentators shilling for whatever fighter they deemed to be their future star.

Larry Merchant excluded, HBO went out of their way to tell us how great Nonito is and how powerful he is when the fact of the matter is he looked pretty damn ordinary against Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. It’s amazing how mediocre a fighter looks once he starts fighting guys his own size. Now that Donaire is going to stop having to fight Munchkins, HBO might want to stop trying to shove him down our collective throats. At least they can wait until he proves himself, and he did not on Saturday night.

Jim “Swifty Lazar” Lampley

Do you remember when Jim Lampley was a young and hip commentator who was on the cutting edge of sports journalism and it was always a treat to have him taking lead anchor for all our top sporting events?

Those days are long gone my friend.

If there was any chance for “Lamps” to gain the sports fans confidence and trust again it was shot to hell when Lampley decided to wear those leopard skin eyeglasses in front of the camera on Saturday night.

It was no sooner than Lampley’s first appearance Saturday night that I got a message on Facebook saying, “Holy crap, where in the hell did Lampley get those glasses and did he lose a bet to have to wear them?”

Moments late I received a text message on my phone saying, “Tell Lampley to give those glasses back to his girlfriend!” That was followed by another text asking, “What the hell is Lampley wearing Leopard glasses for?”

I have a suggestion for Hershman that would not only end the shill label HBO has been branded with but it will bring a quick and grinding halt to leopard skin eyeglass frames as well.

Wanna guess what that suggestion is?

Cotto Training Regimen

Miguel Cotto’s training schedule has for whatever reason been released to the media. It looks like Miguel will begin his training very soon in Puerto Rico. I am told from a very reliable source that Cotto is taking on a new strength and conditiong program for this fight. I am not at liberty to say what this new exercise program is but by the time Cotto hits Florida for camp he could already be in the best shape of his career.

Three Champs For Bob

By the end of the weekend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Nonito Donaire and his beloved “G-Men” the New York Giants all held world champion titles. It’s safe to say Bob Arum woke up a happy camper on Monday morning.

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

By William Trillo

As defined by thefreedictionary.com
stack the deck:
to arrange something in a way that is not fair in order to achieve what you want

This Saturday night in the San Antonio Texas Alamodome, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will put his WBC middleweight belt on the line when he faces Marco Antonio Rubio in a bout that puts not two but three Mexicans in the ring. The third Mexican is referee Lupe Garcia and Rubio is not very happy about the appointment. In fact when Rubio first heard who would be the third man in the ring he immediately filed a protest demanding Garcia be removed. Rubio’s fear was that Garcia would still have the great and revered father of Chavez Jr. on his mind and would favor the son of the legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Protest denied!

WBC President Jose Sulaiman confirmed he received the letter from Team Rubio but went on to say he was very comfortable with Garcia’s appointment. “The appointment of Lupe follows an agreement that we had with Dick Cole, director of the Texas Commission. They agreed that from now on referees from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas. This is a great opportunity. That is why, in agreement with Cole, we carefully chose Lupe. The truth is, this is the first time that someone rejected a referee with international experience in world championship fights,” Sulaiman said.

Wait a minute! What did he say?

The appointment of Lupe follows an agreement that we had with Dick Cole? Excuse me for thinking out loud but hasn’t the Cole name come up in some other very suspicious goings on in Texas before? And what does El Presidente mean when he says, “They agreed that from now on referees from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas. This is a great opportunity. That is why, in agreement with Cole, we carefully chose Lupe.”

Who is “they”? Apparently Team Rubio is not part of that group.

And to say, “from now on refs from other countries are able to work WBC title fights in Texas,” suggests to me this is the first time this has happened…quite the coincidence….NO?

Am I suggesting blatant impropriety?

You will have to decide that for yourselves.

But if Rubio should get penalized 2 or 3 points for borderline low blows and Chavez Jr. wins a close split decision, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Or if Rubio should go down and take a standing eight count only to see Garcia wave the fight off even though Rubio appears OK, it won’t be the first time Garcia has waved a fight off too early. It was Garcia who was in the ring the night Oliver McCall dropped heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis. Though staggered Lewis got up and took the eight count only to see Garcia controversially wave the fight off.

One person who should not be displeased with the Garcia appointment is Bob Arum. The Top Rank Chief just lost his major Cash Cow Miguel Cotto to free agency and there is no doubt he does not want to see another money maker bite the dust. I am sure this stacked deck in Texas does not bother Arum at all.

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

By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret “The Threat

The boxing fans with broken hearts who saw their Las Vegas St. Valentines Day weekend hopes dashed when Andre Berto pulled out of the Victor Ortiz rermatch,(and I was one of them), can feel a sense of relief now as they mark the next big boxing holiday weekend in Sin City down on their calendars. I could be getting way ahead of myself here but if Miguel Cotto does in fact defend his 154 pound title against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 5th at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas we could easily see one of the biggest live gate and PPV bonanza’s in boxing history.

That’s right!

I, William Trillo am 100% for this fight and I am of the belief the final figure$ could be in the upper stratosphere. Of course there is another fight everyone would rather see, but we don’t talk about that fantasy here.

First of all, I seriously doubt for one moment that anyone would have given a horses rear if Floyd used “his” May 5th date to take on the likes of Robert Guerrero, Saul Alvarez or whatever other boring stiff they may have been able to dig up. Likewise, another installment of Cotto vs. Pacquiao had all the appeal of a second spoonful of Castor Oil. There was no reason to do that again, not without dire and unpleasant consequences.

But Floyd vs. Miguel….hmmmm…I believe we have some serious intrigue here.

Floyd just dusted off a young and strong Champion when he blind sided Victor Ortiz and walked away with his belt. There are a lot of people who would like to see Floyd pay for that “sucker-punch” that got him that 147 pound strap.

Meanwhile, Miguel Cotto just decimated boxing’s newest villain Antonio Margarito. With the beatdown he put on the “Tijuana Tornado”, Cotto’s stock and fan base has risen greatly. And let’s be honest here, the man is never in a bad or dull fight and his PPV numbers are consistently high. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the majority of the boxing public will be hoping Cotto can dispose of another perceived villain.

Next you have to bet that HBO’s new boxing Honcho, Ken Hershman, is going to go balls to the wall on this fight, his first high profile battle on the network…this will be an all out promotion.

I am no math major but I can do the arithmetic here.

Floyd + Cotto x HBO/Hershman = Cha-Ching

Of course, I have to remind myself that the last time I was salivating this much over a Floyd Mayweather fight I was brought back down to earth when Mayweather became “Dr. Floyd” and went all Olympic Style drug test on us. So it’s what bated breath that I give this fight my Billy’s Boxing Blog Seal of Approval.

So far Floyd is saying all the right things. He says he will meet the Champ Cotto at his weight so I hope I don’t hear any catch weight demands coming in the future. This fight needs to be at 154 pounds and not one ounce less.

Cotto has accepted the good doctors drug testing demands so there should be no problems there.

Bob Arum and Top Rank are out of this one since Cotto is a Free Agent now . Bob says he will forget about this fight and focus on whatever Pacquiao decides to do. The last thing I need to see is Top Rank filing some paperwork in court claiming some rights to anything to do with Cotto or this May 5th fight. I understand they have no intentions of doing so. I hope that’s true.

My hope is there will be none of the recurring stumbling blocks that seem to get in the way of a number of marquee boxing events. Anything less than smooth sailing to the finish line on May 5th will be unacceptable.

As to the fight itself, I see it like this, Cotto has the first 6 rounds to do some major damage and get Floyd in trouble, if he can do that we have a fight. If he can’t Floyd will run away with this one and will stop Cotto late or win an easy unanimous decision.

Lastly, I know there are websites out there who slobber all over themselves to get news up before it really is news just to close the half baked story with the line, “remember where you heard it first.” Personally I don’t know who had the ealry “scoop” on this Mayweather vs. Cotto Mega fight but you might want to take a look at the following link posted in July of 2010.

http://pound4pound.com/BillysBoxingBlog/2010/07/26/floyd-mayweather-jr-miguel-cotto-set-to-face-off-in-puerto-rico/

Check out www.Pound4Pound latest boxing news

By William Trillo

As I stepped off the apron after taking final posing shots of the victorious Guillermo Rigondeaux I was asked by someone from Team Ramos what happened to their now former WBA Super Bantamweight Champ Rico Ramos. For once I engaged my brain before speaking and I asked, “Do you really want to know my opinion?” The Ramos team member said, “Of course I do!”

So I did.

I told him, “I thought Rico tasted that punch that sent him to the canvas early and made a decision he did not want any more of that.”

With a somewhat sullen look he replied, “Yeah, I think you are right.”

That’s pretty much all I have to say about that bout other than Rigendeaux is the real deal and as pathetic as that fight turned out to be he is one to watch in the coming years.

The undercard was anything but pathetic and I think the fans were treated to some real hard fought and exciting battles.

Undefeated young Super Feathers Joel Diaz Jr. and Guy Robb fought their hearts out. It was a real test for both men. Yes, maybe it was stopped a tad too early but Robb had taken a lot of punishment and I can’t say I am up in arms about the stoppage.

Super Flyweight Matt Villanueva kept his win to KO ratio at 100% as he stopped a very game Mike Ruiz Jr. Villanueva was impressive but he got cracked by Ruiz numerous times and his somewhat accessible chin will need to be worked on. Tighten up that defense Matt!

The off TV bouts proved to be a great warm-up for the crowd at Palms Casino and leading the way was Welterweight Javier Molina vs. rugged Albert Herrera. This was the perfect fight for Molina to build his confidence as he had to wok hard to earn a 6 round unanimous decision. This bout was anything but a “gimme” for Molina.

In a four round heavyweight bout big Romanian Razvan Cojanu racked up his second victory with a unanimous decision over Rodney Hernandez. I’d like to see Cojanu throw his hands more and work behind his long left jab in the future. With his size he has the potential to do some damage on his way up the ladder.

In a four round Junior Middle opener Yosami Abreu did enough to take a unanimous decision over Marcus Robinson.

All in all it was a fine night of boxing on Showtimes ShoBox card that was promoted by Goossen Tutor. With the exception of the Main event of course…but really, that was not anyone’s fault but the former Champion Ramos who seemed to be looking for a way out after he got dropped early with a punch to the top of his cranium.

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