Billy's Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

When I made my routine visit to my local Barber Shop last week I was expecting to get the usual dose of political mumbo jumbo along with the obligatory sports talk which always includes a trip around the boxing bend. The guys in the shop know I moonlight as a boxing scribe so there is always something they want my opinion on so they know how to bet. It’s a compliment of sorts and although I have warned them time and time again I really don’t know what the heck I am talking about I normally field a question or two…and this visit was no different.

“So what do you think about the Mayweather-McGregor fight? Who do you think is going to win?” asked the pudgy barber in the corner.

In my most exasperated tone I answered, “Look, are you still buying into that crap? The fight is never going to happen and I hate to waste my time talking and/or writing about it. If you are looking for some insight on how to bet on MMA fighters in a boxing ring you are barking up the wrong tree.”

The guy cutting my hair chimes in, “No I think you are wrong, I read they signed the fight today!”

Taking into consideration this guy was working with sharp instruments around my jugular I was a little more reserved when I corrected him.

“I don’t know where you read that but all this talk is nothing more than attention whores looking to keep themselves relevant. Floyd is retired and no one wants to see him ever again and McGregor is just hoping that somehow he can smoke and mirror his way into a hefty payday…I am telling you right now it’s never going to happen, never mention it to me again,” I said.

With that ol’ pudgy in the corner couldn’t wait to ask the next question and apparently everyone in the shop wanted to know the same thing. He asked, “OK, what I really want to know is your take on Chavez vs. Canelo. I’m going to put a big bet on Canelo…what do you think?”

Like a page out of that old EF Hutton commercial literally everyone in the shop stopped what they were doing, all eyes and ears were on yours truly. Even the lady barbers poked their heads out from behind the magazines they were reading.

First I told them to log on to www.Pound4Pound.com and go find the article I wrote but from the looks on their collective grills I had a feeling I was speaking a foreign language to them. So told them I was going to say this one more time and you could do with this information as you will, “Chavez Jr. has no intention of making the 164.5 pound catch weight and if he trains hard and comes into the weigh-in at around 169 pounds he still stands to make 2 million dollars plus a percentage of the PPV which is a hefty sum. By fight night he should be close to 180 pounds and that is going to be a huge problem for Canelo. I am not saying Chavez Jr. is going to win but I am saying it makes him a live underdog.”

Pudgy immediately disagreed with me which begged me to ask one simple question, “THEN WHY DID YOU ASK?”

The conversation then switched to the worthlessness of our Heavyweight Champ Beyonce Wilder to which we all agreed wholeheartedly.

In this world of smart phones and iPads the local barber shop is the one last sanctuary for guys to just be guys and discuss whatever they like without worrying about getting liked or deleted.

Long live the Barber Shop!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 21st, 2017 at 3:18 am and is filed under Boxing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.