Billy's Boxing Blog

By William Trillo

The first two fights in this pugilistic series were akin to cinematic gems. But the question remains if the threequel will live up to the hype or will this cliffhanger fall flat at the box office and become a huge disappointment. With those thoughts as a backdrop it was only fitting that the Kickoff press conference for Canelo vs GGG 3 was held in Hollywood, California.

As hot as it was on Highland Blvd. things would really begin to heat up inside The American Legion Theatre as the press conference began. Speaking to the media in attendance Canelo said of Golovkin, “He’s two different people. He pretends to be a nice guy but he’s not. He’s an a**hole. He really is. He pretends to be a nice guy for the fans but in other places, he just talks a lot of sh*t, that’s why it’s personal for me.”

To no one’s surprise a composed Golovkin said through an interpreter, “If it’s so personal for him, my question is why was he putting off the third fight for so long?” If it’s personal, you should ask him why.”

Make no mistake, this one is very personal for Canelo, and he plans on making things right by knocking GGG out and putting an end to his career. And if he does Canelo says, “That will taste very sweet.”

To GGG’s point, it has been four long years since the last fight and whatever the case may be, one has to wonder if the fight will still generate the same amount of interest it did back in the day when both men ruled boxing with an iron fist.

The reality is Golovkin just celebrated his 40th birthday and Canelo is coming off a stunning loss to Dmitry Bivol only a few short months ago. Spin it any way you want, but some of the luster has gone off the fight. Only some elbow grease and heavy polishing from Matchroom and DAZN will be able to shine it back up before Canelo & GGG step into the T-Mobile Arena ring in Las Vegas on September 17th.

With a press conference this Monday in New York and all the obligatory pre-fight hype you can rest assured the powers that be will hype this third installment with all the bells and whistles available.

Lights, Camera, Action!

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

By William Trillo
Photos: Mikey Williams – Top Rank

I am curious how many gambling degenerates lost their butts Saturday night while making last minute bets on Joe Smith Jr. after watching ESPN’s extremely slanted pre-fight hype before the Artur Beterbiev vs. Smith Jr. Light Heavyweight title unifier. Seriously, it seemed as if the entire cast and crew of the broadcast team were ordered to shill for Smith Jr. and say little or nothing about the undefeated Beterbiev. It was blatant and annoying.

After the fight, which Beterbiev won in a destructive performance, my phone began to light up with calls as well as texts from irate fans and more importantly fellow journalists.

“I am tired of the ESPN announcers,” said one of my peers, “They are full of sh*t. I think they should just shut up and watch the fight!”

Another chat with a fellow journalist read, “ESPN was all over the Smith Jr. bandwagon. Kriegel is an arrogant (expletive deleted).”

Another note from a highly respected boxing insider stated, “ESPN’s coverage was heavily slanted towards Smith. That was a poor decision on their part.”

Those conversations put an exclamation point on the way I was feeling during the broadcast. For whatever reason ESPN decided to make “The Common Man” Smith their poster child as they cast Beterbiev as the “opponent”. Considering Beterbiev was, and still is, the only World Champion with a 100% KO ratio, it was questionable way to go.

Equally as curious is the fact that Beterbiev’s promoter Bob Arum from Top Rank and ESPN are doing business at an impressive and lucrative clip. Although I am highly against the practice, it is very commonplace for a network to climb on board the bandwagon of the promoter they are in contract with. Which made the networks broadcast Saturday night that much more of a head scratcher.

But as we know, Beterbiev bludgeoned Smith Jr. and stopped him inside of two rounds. They may not want to admit it, but the network left Madison Square Garden with egg all over their faces.

Not to go unnoticed on the broadcast was Anthony Yarde who is the mandatory challenger for the WBO title Beterbiev just won. Come to think of it, he almost did go unnoticed. When the camera caught Yarde after the fight he was sitting in the back of the house, in the dark, and was uttering nary a peep. He certainly didn’t look like a guy who wants any part of Artur Beterbiev. And who can blame him?

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

By William Trillo
Photos: Naoki Fukada

Naoya Inoue’s (23-0, 20 KO’s) second-round stoppage over Nonito Donaire (42-7, 28 KO’s) should leave no doubts as to who is the current “King of the Hill” on the always subjective Pound4Pound list. As we all know by now, “Monster” decimated “The Filipino Flash” in just under a round and a half of work. It was a surgical and convincing performance.

Inoue easily walked straight through Donaire’s early artillery fire and then in the blink of an eye a laser like right hand to the temple put Donaire to the canvas as Round One ended.

Not wanting to let Donaire get his faculties in order, Inoue kept up the brutal attack in round two. Sharp blows had Donaire on rubber legs, yet somehow the rugged warrior was able to survive…for a moment. Proving he is a finisher Inoue pounded Donaire into the ropes. That is when a crippling left hook sent Donaire down for the final time.

If there were any questions left over from their first bout, this KO performance from Inoue should answer them loudly and clearly.

As far as the Pound4Pound question goes, well of course there will always be personal tastes and opinions. But at the end of the day, I firmly believe that in this moment in time, Naoya Inoue stands alone atop the hill of boxing’s elite.

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

By William Trillo

As the winds whipped across the Coachella Valley, Singer/Songwriter Boz Scaggs was busy whipping up a musical storm inside Indio’s Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino. Mixing in some classic Blues along with his Classic Silk Degrees tunes, Skaggs gave the near capacity crowd a very enjoyable evening.

The highlight of the show was Skagg’s rousing rendition of Loan Me A Dime, a tune Skaggs recorded back in 1969 with Duane Allman. That song brought the house down as it displayed some fine musicianship from his entire band.

Of course, no Skagg’s setlist would be complete without performing his signature tune Lowdown. Needless to say, almost everyone in the house got on their feet and danced as Boz performed his mid-seventies classic.

With well over 50 years of performing under his belt, Skagg’s proved he has not missed a beat.

To find out more about the superb live entertainment at Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino check out Entertainment | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino | Concerts Coachella Valley