Billy's Boxing Blog

By William Trillo
Photo: Raymond Spencer

As defined by merriam-webster.com
litmus test: a test in which factors (such as an attitude, event, or fact) are decisive.

Do you want to know who really won the battle between Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday night? What would you say if I told you I can tell you with a 100% degree of certainty who was truly victorious? You would probably say, “Here he goes again, what kind of rhetoric is he going to spew this time?”

Just hear me out boxing fans. The Trillo Litmus Test is actually pretty simple and it’s going to be almost impossible to argue with.
Ready? Here we go;

The first thing I want you to consider is the body language of the two fighters when the final bell rang. Lomachenko was jubilant, certain of a victory as he darted to his team’s corner. On the other side, Haney slunked over as he wandered to his corner, there was not an ounce of joy or confidence in his steps.

Next, did you see the looks on the faces of the fighters while the ring announcer was reading the scores of the fight before he declared the victor? Again, Loma was confident and looked relaxed as he was fully expecting to get the nod. On the other hand, Haney looked like he was about to cry, and I am not talking about tears of joy. He looked like he was expecting some very bad news.

And last but not least, whenever I hear a fighter who won the fight making excuses after the fight, I know deep down inside that fighter knows damn well he lost, no matter what the judges card rendered. At the post-fight press conference Haney stated, “I’ve been at 135 for a long, long time….It’s always been tough for me to make weight.” Why the excuses Devin? Didn’t you win?

Bing, Bang, Boom!

Told ya’ that was gonna be easy.

We can argue all day about who really won that fight. We can discuss Moretti’s scorecard and how he botched that tenth round and wonder if the fix was in. At the end of the day, it’s not going to matter, and as per usual, boxing will move on.

But in the meantime, if you really want to know who the loser in Las Vegas on Saturday night was…Look to the Litmus Test my friends, it’s foolproof and always 100% accurate.

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

By William Trillo
Photos: Melina Pizano – Matchroom

By now we have all read the reports, Canelo Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) looked far from a World Beater in his unanimous decision victory over John Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) on Saturday night. The question is why?

Did his performance show that he is now on the downside of his career? Did the injury to his recently repaired wing resurface? Did his inability to handle southpaw fighters rear its ugly head again? Or was Ryder more than he, or anyone else for that matter, bargained for?

The jury remains out on this one, but whatever the case may be, Canelo looked pedestrian at best in front of his hometown audience.

Regardless of the reason, Canelo was victorious and now he says he wants another shot at Dmitry Bivol in a 175-pound rematch. That’s all well and good, but Bivol has made it clear a rematch will take place at 168 pounds for all Canelo’s belts.

It’s doubtful Canelo wants to put his stranglehold on the 168-pound division on the line, so we will see if and when a rematch is made…if ever.

I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to Ryder who came to fight, and though bloodied and down in round five, Ryder managed to get up and make a decent showing for himself in going the 12-round distance. Good on you John

Scorecards that read 120-107, 118-109, 118-109, all in favor of Canelo, were generous. Ryder won at least three rounds, maybe four.

Dipping into the undercard, no one is ever going to put WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (20-2, 14 KOs) on their Pound4Pound list, but this little guy is always fun to watch. His 11th round KO victory over Ronal Batista (15-3, 9 KOs) put him on the must-see radar.

Don’t look now but “The Nail” Gvozdyk (19-1, 15 KOs) is back!

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