Archive for November, 2020

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Monday, November 30th, 2020

By William Trillo


By now you have probably taken in more Thanksgiving weekend fight reports than you can stomach. You have sliced it, diced it and digested more than a mouth full. And now that you have had more than your fill it’s my turn to give you one more helping, because… hey, that’s what I do.

Before I recap the fights, I have to come clean and apologize to everyone for my less than spot on predictions on how the weekend would go. Not only did I say Danny Jacobs (37-3,30 KO’s) vs. Gabriel Rosado (25-13-1, 14 KO’s) promised to be a fan friendly war but I also stated that Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones was nothing more than a farce.

I stand corrected.

Jacobs vs. Rosado was as dull a fight as I have seen in quite some time. This was not the way a couple of heated rivals from east coast neighborhoods should have handled their business. Fans who were expecting fireworks got nothing more than a dud.

For Jacobs this was problematic on so many levels. He needed to shine in this one as big money fights were there for the taking if he performed well. But alas, he did not.

For Rosado, the uglier the fight the better it was for him. Trust me, this fight was as ugly as could be. But that was just fine for Rosado whose confidence grew with each and every round.

For what it’s worth, when the final bell rang Jacob’s body language was that of a loser while Rosado had the look of a man who pulled off the upset. And yes, it was that close. Personally, I thought Rosado did enough to get the victory.

In the end the judges saw fit to give Jacobs a merciful razor thin split decision win. Whether or not Jacobs hurt his future purses with this poor performance is anyone’s guess. For Rosado this one had to sting a lot. That said, I am willing to bet we see this consummate warrior in the ring long before Jacobs can figure out exactly what it is he wants to do, if anything at all.

Regarding Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones, I will make it short and sweet.

Look, no one is ever going to mistake their performances as anything other than an exhibition. That being said, for these two mid-fifty year old fighters to go out their and give us eight rounds (2 minutes each) of boxing is to be respected. Anyone who has ever gloved ‘em up and jumped into the ring for even three minutes knows it is no small feat.

Truthfully, Mike looked pretty good, moved well and put together some pretty nice body work. Roy on the other hand looked like he was in survival mode before the opening bell rang. But give him credit to know what to do to last the eight rounds in front of him.

Tyson and Jones was a nice holiday treat that gave hungry boxing fans a glimpse of those glory days that have long gone by.

As soon as Ru Paul steps up and fights a legitimate boxer he is going to get his head handed to him in quick fashion. I am hopeful this will happen sooner rather than later.

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

Trending: Refusing To
Concede When Defeated

Monday, November 16th, 2020

By William Trillo
Photo: Mike Williams – Top Rank



No, conspiracy theorists, I am not going down “that” road. Instead allow me to take you down another rocky path. That being the one that ran through “The Bubble” in Las Vegas in the semi-main event on Saturday night.

Allow me to cut to the chase. Super Flyweight Andrew Moloney was unceremoniously screwed out of not only revenge but regaining his WBA World Super Flyweight Title when referee Russell Mora and The Nevada State Boxing Commission blundered. By not reversing the ruling by Mora that Moloney unintentionally headbutted Franco, causing immediate blinding swelling to his eye, they allowed Franco to keep his title by declaring a No Contest. As Bob Arum shouted from the rooftops after the fight, “This is an absolute disgrace.”

Just as disgraceful was the act displayed by Team Franco after the fight. As ESPN was getting ready to interview a visibly shaken Moloney the camera clearly caught a classless Team Franco taunting Moloney as they hightailed it out of the arena. If anyone on that team had any amount of decency, they would have quietly left the building and be glad they basically got away with highway robbery. I’d like to say I am surprised at the actions of Team Franco but the truth is this is not the first time I have seen less than a sportsmanlike attitude coming out of that stable.

As I am writing this article I have not seen Franco or anyone from his team apologize for their behavior or at the very least say they honor the difficult decision made by The Nevada Commission. That they abide by the ruling and are willing to give Moloney an immediate rematch as soon as Franco heals.

I won’t be holding my breath waiting for either one of those things to happen.

The fact of the matter is Moloney was handing Franco his head on a platter. In less than one round Moloney had marked up Franco’s face pretty good. All, I repeat ALL the damage was done by pinpoint jabs that were splitting the guard of Franco over and over again. There was no headbutt or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Meanwhile Franco was doing literally nothing. Unless his game plan was to stand there and take a beating, it appears any work he did in the gym went all for naught.

On a side note; if you are wondering how or why Russell Mora called an unintentional headbutt or how after 30 minutes of reviewing the video the Nevada State Boxing Commission didn’t have the wherewithal to reverse that decision, you are not alone. Their non-decision screwed Moloney out of a deserved victory and World Title.

Covering fights almost exclusively in the Southern California area I have watched Franco grow up in the ring. He always had the reputation for being a very stand up young man who gave his very best in the ring. I am not sure what happened to him on Saturday night, but I have my suspicions. From his performance falling flat in the ring to his act after the fight, Franco leaves many questions unanswered. I’d love to see him make some kind of face-saving statement soon, but….

What have I done to deserve such a fate?
I realize I have left it too late,
And so it’s true pride comes before a fall,
I’m telling you so that you won’t lose all…
…I’m a loser, and I’m not what I appear to be – Lennon/McCartney

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