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The 800,000 Pound
Gorilla Shows His True Colors
So Now Is The Time To
Unmask Him
And Let You See Him For
What He Really Is!
By William Trillo
Photo: John Hornewer
Folly: Bret "The Threat" Newton
I know you'd like to think
your sh*t don't stank,
But lean a little bit closer See that roses really smell like poo-poo-ooo - OUTKAST
This past Saturday evening at The Grand
Garden Arena at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas all the media
fortunate enough to get a credential for the Floyd
Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton bout was hard at work and
getting ready to cover the highly anticipated show to the
best of their ability. Well almost all the media, because
while every other journalist was grabbing their spot in the
arena, The Gorilla, better known as Fightnews.com was busy
pitching a serious fit with the promoters publicists because
they were not given a ringside photo spot and unless
something was done, well... they proceeded to do some pretty
slipshod coverage of the fight, posting barely a picture or
two with a smattering of less than stellar blow by blow
coverage.
My guess is The Gorilla assumed that
this was his way of punishing Golden Boy, but during a
discussion this week with one of the upper brass at The
Promotion Company I was given the impression that they
couldn't care less, they don't do business with The
Gorilla now and surely they won't be anytime soon.
That's all well and good and I applaud
GB's stand, but that still leaves asking more than a few
questions.
First of all, what about The Gorilla's
readers?
The answer is simple, The Gorilla does
not care one bit about his readers. We have told you that
since day one. If he did really care then his
"UNDEFEATED" fight coverage wouldn't have been the dribble
he posted, along with that one low resolution photo. He
would have given you complete and comprehensive coverage
complete with a photo gallery, but because his readers mean
nothing to him, he did not.
There is no other way to spin that, so
don't try.
A wise and seasoned journalist from the
East coast told me long ago, "Your readers don't care if you
are sitting ringside or in the last row of the building, all
they want is good comprehensive and educated coverage of the
battles, and they want it quickly". Furthermore he
said, "Your readers don't care about you and where you
stopped for lunch on your drive to Las Vegas, they care
about the fighters and the fights, and that's all the
information they require."
We have taken those words of wisdom to
heart at Pound4Pound and whether we are sitting in Media Row
D with a ringside photographer (which we have), or we have
one writer credentialed in the last row of the building with
no photographer (which we also have), we ALWAYS bring you
the best fight report and analysis possible. We do that
because we care about or readers and we want them to come
back. We had one writer credential last week and Oliver
Smith did a great job bringing our readers photos and
video's of the press conference and weigh-in along with a
nice post fight video and a comprehensive fight week report.
If The Gorilla cared one bit about you,
his readers, he would have done the same this past Saturday
night.
He didn't, the readers are the last
thing on his mind.
The photos we posted on our site of the
fight were sent to us from The WBC's own photographer and as
you have seen he was not sitting ringside, and it was their
own WBC belt on the line!!
Do with that information as you will.
Second, what about The Promoters, Golden
Boy and the media company, in this case Magna Media, who
gave these credentials to The Gorilla expecting complete
coverage, only to find out The Gorilla pouted and gave
substandard fight reports from the evening, with one
lousy photo?
Are they going to take this abuse over
and over again?
Even if this was the first time The
Gorilla pulled this stunt it would be unacceptable, but it's
not. They pitched the same fit back in Los Angeles when
Bernard Hopkins fought Howard Eastman on yet another Golden
Boy card. They didn't get a ringside photo spot and they
didn't post decent coverage of that fight, that's fact. I
witnessed it personally.
Who knows how many other times they have
pulled this nonsense?
How many times does this Gorilla have to
pull this garbage before he and his company are denied
credentials for the next big show?
I personally would not stand for it and
if it were my decision they would be covering all of 2008's
events from the comfort of their living room.
Third, what about the rest of the media
who were denied a photographer credential as we were? Those
spots The Gorilla whizzed away could have been used by
someone who would have just been honored to be in the arena
and allowed to shoot photos, but instead they went to waste,
right down the toilet.
As little as The Gorilla cares about his
readers, in like fashion he cares just as little, if not
less about his peers who are trying to put in an honest days
work.
When Bret Newton and I left Fightnews
back in 2004 to start our own site I was asked by a
Fightnews flunky named Lisa Scott why in the heck I would
leave? I uttered the now infamous phrase, "Because I am
tired of dragging that guys fat carcass around to every
event I go to!" Scott immediately ran to The Gorilla with
that quote and our relationship has went accordingly ever
since. If Scott reported the news as quickly as she ran to
The Gorilla with that quote...well...slowly I digress.
My point is this, those actions
perpetrated by The Gorilla this past weekend is exactly why
I left! I would be embarrassed to be a part of any
organization that acts like that and I hope Promoters, Media
Company's and venues like The MGM Grand & Mandalay Bay will
think twice and remember this past weekend when they are
sitting at their next credential meeting deciding which
media affiliates will be allowed to be a part of their next
event.
More importantly I hope the boxing fans
who come to the internet for their dose of Pugilistic news
will remember this and think twice before they give The
Gorilla the time of day.
They don't care about you guys, they
never did and they never will!
Questions Or Comments? Email Will "The Thrill" Trillo |
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