Archive for April, 2022

Big Boxing Weekend Thoughts: Don’t Count GGG Out, Not Just Yet

Monday, April 11th, 2022

By William Trillo
Photo Courtesy of Naoki Fukada



The general consensus going into the Gennady Golovkin vs. Ryota Murata fight was an overwhelming concern that Golovkin, who just turned 40 years old, was past his prime and was more than vulnerable facing the rugged Murata on his home turf.

In the early rounds it looked as though those concerns were valid as a nonstop body attack had Golovkin reeling. He was visibly uncomfortable. GGG was wincing and his body language was not good, he was hurt, no one could doubt that.

But Golovkin summoned the intestinal fortitude only a champion can. He overcame the early onslaught. By the time he launched Murata’s mouthpiece into the stratosphere GGG had completely taken over the fight. Shortly thereafter Golovkin put Murata down and his corner didn’t hasten to jump into the ring to save their warrior from further damage.

Now the question is, did Golovkin earn another shot at Canelo with the KO victory? Furthermore, is this a fight the fans want to see?

Personally, I think a lot of people who thought Golovkin’s days were over are now leaning towards wanting to see GGG vs. Canelo III.

Fight Of The Year
Fundora vs. Lubin
Photo By Esther Lin



Going into the weekend I think you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who picked Sebastian Fundora vs. Erickson Lubin to be the Fight of The Weekend. For that matter, with GGG headlining on one card and the return of that Social Media Star on another, Fundora vs. Lubin might have been an afterthought at best.

But truth be told, this Fight of The Year candidate was easily the most compelling fight of the weekend. With both fighters hitting the deck this was a rugged if not gruesome battle. Lubin’s face after the fight was a testament to that. If you didn’t see it I would highly recommend finding a replay. This is must see TV.

Lyin’ About Ryan

In the week leading up to the fight everyone from trainer Joe Goossen to Ryan Garcia himself said they would be surprised if this fight went longer than two or three rounds and that there was no way Emmanuel Tagoe would go the distance.

Immediately after the fight (that went the distance by the way), and in fact during the fight itself, Goossen was playing spin doctor saying what a difficult fighter Tagoe was and he expected this all along.

Huh?

Let’s cut through the BS here and just tell it like it is.

Ryan doesn’t want to fight. Those winging punches that were hitting nothing but air looked amateurish at best. Throwing one punch at a time while pulling your head back because you are afraid of getting hit spells trouble. And the jab. Where was the jab?

I have never been too high on the Instragram sensation Garcia to begin with, but I can say he looked a lot better before his umpteen month layoff than he did Saturday night. Goossen is a proven maker of Champions but from the day it was announced he would take Ryan under his wing I felt it was a very poor fit. I saw nothing in that fight that changes my mind.

Everyone from the DAZN broadcast team to Oscar De La Hoya were trying to put a spin on Garcia’s performance but the fact of the matter is this; You intentionally brought in a “Ham & Egger” that Ryan could get a highlight reel KO on, but when that didn’t happen you suddenly labeled Tagoe as the second coming of Willie Pep.

Boxing fans are a lot smarter than given credit for and in this case they aren’t buying that line of bull.

Ryan don’t wanna fight guys. Quit shoving him out there, you’re going to get him hurt.

Mosley Proves Naysayers Wrong

I got a call from one of our journalists Saturday night who wanted to know, and I quote, “How the hell did Gabriel Rosado lose to Shane Mosley Jr.?”

I am sure that was the question on everyone’s mind.

I am just going to speculate here and say it appeared to me Rosado was just looking for a one punch KO. With visions of Bektemir still dancing in his head Rosado may have felt Mosley was an easy mark. By the time he figured out that the KO was not going to happen it was too late. Gabe came up on the short end of a shocking majority decision at the hands of Mosley Jr.

That’s why they make ‘em fight!

And The Girls
Photo: German Villasenor



I could be mistaken but I believe Mikaela Meyer will become the face of Woman’s boxing before the end of 2022. She is as talented as any female fighter currently fighting, she has a great back story and let’s be honest, she knows how to behave in public. Her being featured in the Main Event versus Jennifer Han on ESPN on the Top Rank promoted card speaks volumes.

And in the “Fact Not Opinion” story, if a male fighter showed up with the same innertube around his waist as Marlen Esparza did Saturday night against Naoko Fulioka, he would have been harshly criticized. Deal with it.

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

Q & A With Gabriel Rosado

Monday, April 4th, 2022

By William Trillo
Photo: Marlene Marquez



This Saturday April 9 from The Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas on The Golden Boy card streamed on DAZN, Super Middleweight Gabriel Rosado (26-14-1, 15 KO’s) will face Shane Mosley Jr. (17-4, 10 KO’s). Riding on a wave of exciting performances Rosado is ready to prove he is still a viable contender. Recently Rosado has been in a Fight of the Year type fight versus Jaime Munguia as well as a KO of the Year performance against the then undefeated Bektemir Melikuziev. We had a chance to speak with Rosado about his upcoming fights as well as his plans for the future. Check out what Gabe had to say.

Pound4Pound: Hey, what’s going on Gabe? Thanks so much for taking my call today.

Gabriel Rosado: You’re welcome. How you doing? Good?

P4P: I’m great. I’m thrilled to be speaking with you. First of all, I just got to tell you that as far as my mental list of fighters go, I can tell you this…when Gabriel Rosado is fighting, I got to be in front of the TV. It’s guaranteed action! I know you’re gonna bring it and I don’t have to worry about sleeping through a fight.

GR: No doubt, man. Thanks

P4P: Yeah, you’re no ordinary fighter.

GR: I appreciate that.

P4P: So, when I got the initial press release, telling everybody that you are going to be fighting Shane Mosley Jr., well, I’m kind of a knee jerk reaction kind of guy. And I thought, okay, wait a minute. Shane’s got a great pedigree, no doubt. But really, his list of accomplishments is The Contender and I guess he looked okay in his last fight. Now I look at Gabe Rosado. You’ve literally got twice the fights under your belt and you have fought everybody from Danny Jacobs to Gennady Golovkin. And you know, that list goes on and on. Personally, I would say that Shane may have bitten off a little bit more than he can chew on this one. Would you agree with me on that?

GR: Yeah, well, you know, one thing’s for sure is that I’m not gonna take Shane lightly. I’ve had a great, great training camp. But I didn’t have a great training camp because I feel that he’s a threat. I had a great training camp because I want to make a statement. I feel like it’s important that I not only win this fight, but win it in a spectacular fashion. I want to make the statement that Gabriel Rosado definitely has more in the tank. And at 168 pounds he’s a problem and he’s dangerous. I’m chasing a world title in the division.

P4P: That was going to be my next question. Obviously, with the statement you’re looking for bigger and better things. And that would be that that belt.

GR: Absolutely. You know, that’s what keeps me in the game. People have their reasons to talk, they say, “Why is Gabe still fighting?” But look, when I’m putting on performances, like knocking out Bektimir and that Fight of the Year with Munguia. Well… there’s it is, I got a lot left in me, and like I said, the goal is a world title. The money’s good, but, you know, for me, it’s really about putting my name in the history books. And then with that, then comes more money. But that’s definitely what keeps me hungry and keeps me going.

P4P: Right, I think about that question, “Why is his Gabe still fighting?” My answer…All you got to do is turn on the TV and go check out Rosado’s recent fights. That man is going to give you great performances fight after fight. You know he is going to give everything he has! He made that a war with Munguia, there’s nothing to be ashamed of with that fight. So, there’s your answer.

GR: You know, you have you have certain fighters that will fight past their prime and look really bad, but for me, I feel healthy, I feel great. I’m blessed to think God to still be doing this. I am waking up in the mornings and really feeling great and feeling happy about what I’m doing. So, the passion, the hunger and the drive is all there. But most importantly, I’m healthy. I feel I’m doing it all for the right reasons.

P4P: I would never suggest that you look past a fighter or take a fighter for granted. So, forgive me for this next question, but… Did you pay attention to the last fight Bektemir had? I think the first thing he did after that body shot knockout was to call you out. Did you see that and what are your thoughts?

GR: Yes I saw it. You know, that’s a personal issue within him. He’s not in my radar anymore. I did what I had to do in that fight. Of course he’s gonna feel that way. I can ask for a rematch with the guys that I fell short to as well. But you know what? You have got to have like a short-term memory in this sport. And you got to keep moving. I can easily say I want to rematch from Munguia. But look, we did what we did. And one thing’s for sure, I’m not going back down to 160. So Munguia, he did his thing and now I’m going back up to 168. So, for Bektemir, and me winning the fight, that’s something he has to deal with. Because, like I said, there’s nothing in it for me. How can I top that knockout? It’s gonna be really hard to top that. So, I’m good.

P4P: I think that was the reaction on Media row that night. When Bektemir said he wanted a rematch with you everybody kinda looked at each other and shrugged. It was like like, why? We all saw it. We saw the outcome. What’s the purpose?

But listen, before we go, I just wanted to touch on your broadcasting career a little bit, if you don’t mind. You’re doing a great job. Are you planning on transitioning over to that once you feel that it’s time to hang up the gloves?

GR: Yes, absolutely. The commentating, it’s something that I enjoy doing now. And, you know, after boxing, once I’m done fighting if I can do it a lot more I would love to. I enjoy calling the fights. I like seeing new talent. I feel like I bring something different to commentating as far as giving the fans a better insight of the mental aspect of what’s going on in the ring. I can paint a better picture of what’s happening in there. It gives the fan at home a better insight of the action.

P4P: A fresh voice on the box is always nice when you are watching a fight and you’ve added a lot. Of course, I want to see you fight again so I don’t mind waiting , but I look forward to also seeing you behind the mic in the future.

GR: Thank you. I appreciate it.

P4P: You have a great day, and I’ll be in front of the TV, watching Saturday night.

GR: No doubt. Thank you, man. Have a good one.

P4P: Take it easy. Okay, thank you so much.

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