Billy's Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

If you have seen the movie Beverly Hills Cop you know things aren’t always Bentley’s and Diamonds in the 90210. Such was the case Tuesday afternoon as the press conference to announce the Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant title unifier quickly erupted into a donnybrook when the fighters’ exchanged blows during the face off.

Really, the November 6th fight in Las Vegas didn’t need much in the way of hype. Canelo, who is the biggest star in boxing right now is a 168-pound division Champion. Actually, he owns all the belts…except for one, and that is the belt that Plant has around his waist. There has never been a true undisputed champ at 168, but when the night comes to an end on that November date in Sin City, one man will reign supreme.

There is already an inordinate amount of interest in this fight, but what the heck, if you want to sell a few more tickets and PPV’s then go ahead, let the fists fly. Even better…let’s see some blood!

Fans got all that and more.

To quote the Glenn Frey song that opened that Beverly Hills Cop movie;
You can make a break, you can win or lose,
That’s a chance you take, when the heat’s on you,…The Heat Is On!

“You can say whatever to me, but not to my mom,” said and irate Canelo. “I’m going to fight anyone who says something about my mom. And he swung first. I just pushed him. He swung first, and I do what I do. He crossed the line.”

In a subdued response Plant said, “We just had some normal back-and-forth banter up there and then whatever happened, happened. It’s none of my concern though. I’m focused and locked in on November 6.”

Whatever the case may be, both men where bleeding after the skirmish. Let the proverbial chips fall where they may.

If you are asking Canelo, he plans on cashing in those Las Vegas chips early, “It will be over in eight rounds or less. I’m going to knock out this guy. Easy.”

On the other hand, Plant is looking to beat all the odds, “I know that people don’t believe me when I tell them I’m winning on November 6…. Those people who doubt me are the very reason that I’m here.”

Now we got a fight!

Oh sure, Canelo is sure to be the odds on favorite, but after this “Dust Up” in Beverly Hills even the most casual boxing fan is going to want to see what goes down when these two step into the ring in November.

Tickets for the live event are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com. The event is promoted by Canelo Promotions and TGB Promotions and sponsored by Hennessy and Value.

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

By William Trillo

Over the past week a couple of Oscar’s, Valdez and De La Hoya respectively, have made some pretty loud noise in the boxing world and the news wasn’t necessarily pretty. Try as I might to stuff it and pretend the problems didn’t exist, I made every effort to keep my big mouth shut. But…in lieu of either having a complete nervous breakdown or suffering from a duodenal ulcer I thought it best to let off some steam.

Big surprise, huh?

Let’s start with Valdez, as we all know the undefeated WBC Super Featherweight Champ tested dirty for a banned performance enhancing substance. Both his A and B samples turned up tainted prior to his title defense that is set to take place this weekend.

The obvious question is why is he still fighting this weekend to defend his title? In fact, why is he still fighting at all? How is it that other fighters caught in the same situation were banned from boxing for a determined amount of time, but Valdez is seemingly walking away with nary a slap on the wrist?

At the very least Valdez should have been stripped of his title, fined and MAYBE allowed to fight but unable to regain his title with a victory. Should he lose, the title should have been given to his opponent Robson Conceicao. Along with that, Valdez should have not been ranked anywhere in the Top 10 in his weight and forced to fight his way back in.

But that is not the case.

The WBC in their “infinite wisdom” are allowing the title fight to take place as scheduled and said they will keep an eye on Valdez over the coming year to make sure he doesn’t violate the PED rules again.

Horse Hockey!

The WBC has long been suspected of some less than underhanded shenanigans when conducting their so-called business. With this decision in the Valdez situation, we no longer have to “suspect” anything. President Sulaiman and his entire organization are guilty as charged.

Furthermore, if you don’t think this taints the Valdez victory over Miguel Berchelt then you might want to be remember that Sulaiman likes fabric Softener when you are rinsing his Chonies.

No one on the planet thought Valdez had a real chance against the beast Berchelt. Let’s be real here, two fights ago Valdez was sent to the deck by last minute substitute Adam Lopez, who isn’t considered a KO artist at all. How could Valdez now summon up the power to steamroll a destroyer like Berchelt?

I will let you answer that one for yourself.

And now the other Oscar, De La Hoya.

Look, I may not have the College Degree that many of my peers have but when it comes to dysfunctional behavior and the issues that cause it, I have a Masters Degree. I am not proud to reveal that but with my experiences, which have included some 20 years as a counselor, I am pretty good at picking up the warning signs of someone heading down a pretty rocky path.

Let’s be honest, the atmosphere surrounding this “Most Anticipated” comeback appeared more like a circus than it did a professional prize fight. Something just seemed askew from the get-go.

Photos circulating of Oscar working the mitts at his open workout were less than flattering. Video interviews with The Golden Boy were uncomfortable to watch.

Honestly, it came as no surprise to me that Oscar pulled out of the fight a week before it was scheduled. I expected that all along. The video he posted on social media announcing he had Covid was odd. Amongst my peers it garnered skepticism. In fact, the next person that says they believe Oscar has Covid will be the first.

24 hours later Oscar revealed he was raped when he was 13 years old. The timing of this revelation is troubling at best.

Listen, I am not saying Oscar does not have Covid. I am not saying he wasn’t sexually molested as a pre-teen. What I am saying is all these things being announced at the same time by one person sends up a lot of red flags.

Mix in that abysmal appearance on that Triller card a while back when he was obviously intoxicated and what we have here is all the signs of a powder keg that is ready to blow.

Now, I could be completely wrong about my suspicions and totally out of line here, but if I was someone close to him, I would express deep concern and do whatever it takes to help stop this apparent downward spiral.

He is The Golden Boy for “Chrissakes.” If even a smidgen of what I believe is taking place, then someone needs to step in and save him from himself before something very bad happens….

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