Billy's Boxing Blog

By William Trillo
Photos: Melina Pizano/Matchroom & Michael Owens/Matchroom

As the story goes, it was in the 16th century that Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon went to Florida in search of “The Fountain Of Youth”. His search came up empty. But…some 500 years later while on his travels to Florida it appears Gennady Golovkin has not only found, but drank from the elusive regenerating fountain.

After a fourteen-month absence from the ring the big question to be answered was whether or not “Father Time” had finally caught up up with GGG. Maybe he was now only a shell of his former self.

That notion was laid to rest on Friday night as Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KO’s) looked to be in the best physical condition of his life as he took on the mandatory challenger Kamil Szeremeta (21-1-1, 5 KO’s) in defense of GGG’s IBO and IBF middleweight belts.

Looking like a man on a mission Golovkin opened the show working behind a stiff left jab that opened the door for unrelenting punishment that he would hand to Szeremeta all night. Before the round would come to its conclusion a left hand delivered by GGG sent Szeremeta crashing to the canvas. He arose to finish the round but it would be far from the last time Szeremeta would kiss the mat again.

In round two Golovkin stayed the course using that stunning jab once again as he was making easy work of the overmatched Szeremeta. With 30 seconds left in the round GGG uncorked a right hand that sent Szeremeta down. The tough fighter would again get to his feet and finish the round.

A left hand uppercut did the huge damage for Golovkin in round four. Szeremeta never saw it coming and again he was getting acquainted with the canvas.

Golovkin appeared to take his foot off the pedal for a round. For what it’s worth it gave Szeremeta a chance to save face, but with no power in his punches to get the attention of GGG his minimal efforts went all for naught.

To put an exclamation on the night as round seven was just one-minute old Golovkin used one of those piston-like jabs to set Szeremeta down on the seat of his pants once again. Over the course of the remaining two minutes of the round GGG was dominant. He battered his foe from pillar to post. To his credit a tough Szeremeta was able to weather the storm and he survived another round.

With discretion now being the better part of valor the corner of Szeremeta said their fighter had enough. With that the ref waved the fight of in between rounds seven and eight.

With the victory Golovkin had now defended his title for the 21st time but more importantly he catapulted himself into some very high-profile fights for 2021. DAZN was already laying bait for a Cinco De Mayo bout against Canelo Alvarez, who by the way is conveniently fighting 24 hours after Golovkin proved he is still a very worthy and credible foe.

When Golovkin was asked about his performance after the fight he stated, “This was a great show! A great event! I am still a very smart fighter. I was very comfortable in the ring. I did good smart work tonight.”

When asked what is next for him GGG smiled and said, “I am open for anybody! And trust me it will be the best fight next time!”

The boxing world can only speculate as to what Golovkin means when he says “best fight.”

Over the next few days it’s a sure bet armchair cornermen and naysayers will question the worthiness of Golovkin’s opposition in Szeremeta. Was he strong enough? Was he talented enough? But the fact will remain that Szeremeta was the mandatory challenger for GGG and the Champion did what he had to in order to defend his crown.

Over the last year Golovkin was flying well below the radar, a blip on the screen so to speak. But after one drink from that mythical fountain Golovkin’s impressive performance has reminded us all that he still is one of the top fighters in the world and well worth the price of admission.

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

By William Trillo

As defined by Freedictionary.com
No-brainer: Something, especially a choice or decision, that is so obvious or easy as to require little or no thought.

As the WBC and IBF Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr. was dismantling Danny Garcia on Saturday night the PPV broadcast cut away to a shot of probably the most interested customer in the house, that being WBO Welterweight Champion Terrance Crawford. Like an angler baiting the hook with a juicy worm, the powers that be at PBC just cast their line in the hopes of landing a whopper. Let’s hope they don’t let the big one get away.

As the camera zoomed in on “Bud” in between rounds he was leaning over talking to his posse. With a confident smile on his face, you just knew Crawford was pontificating about how he would handle and dominate Spence.

As we know, Spence went on to defeat Garcia to retain his titles giving boxing fans the hopes that somehow, someway a Spence vs. Crawford Super Fight is looming on the horizon. Like back in the day when boxing gave us fights like Leonard-Hearns, Duran-Leonard, Hagler-Hearns and Leonard-Hagler the matchup between Spence and Crawford must be made.

Of course, there will be hurdles to clear but don’t tell me it can’t be done. Any excuse will be pure horse hockey. Do not tell me that the respective promoters, that being PBC’s Al Haymon and Top Ranks Bob Arum can not do business together. That too in manure.

If the two can put their disdain for each other aside to facilitate Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder there is no reason they can’t do the same for Spence/Crawford. PERIOD. End of discussion.

Logistically, the fight might be a bit more difficult to put together because of the pandemic, but at the end of the day it can be done.

Now let me tell you how.

First of all, you do everything in Texas. From the World Series to Championship boxing The Lone Star State has shown they are ready, willing and able to hold major sporting events with fans in attendance. And yes, I know Texas is the home state of Spence, but I am very sure Crawford would be more than willing to face Errol in his backyard, in fact I think he would relish the idea.

Next, this is going to take a lead up to the big event. So somewhere around May, heck even a Cinco De Mayo battle featuring both fighters in separate bouts in Texas would start the promotion rolling. Don’t worry that you might be stepping on the toes of the usual Cinco De Mayo fight day promoter. With his mainstay long gone what is he going to do? Try to entice you with Ryan Garcia? (Insert LOL emoji here).

I can even give you their opponents.

For Spence it’s easy. Josesito Lopez looked pretty darn good on Saturday night and earned a shot at a title. There is your Main Event.

For Crawford, it would be nice to see how he looks in the ring against a southpaw. I’m sure that would be a test the fans would like to see since Spence is a lefty. Enter the # 6 WBO undefeated contender Michael McKinson (19-0, 2 KO’s). And yes, I know, not exactly a household name, but he is ranked in the Top 10, undefeated and a Southpaw. There’s your Semi-Main.

You build a Spring card around that and make it clear the winners of the Main Events will face off in a Texas summertime spectacular. Of course, you have all parties concerned contractually obligated to this and then you let the fisticuffs begin.

You can promote both dates at the same time. Call the tandem fight cards, “The Texas Two-Step”…not bad, huh?

Assuming Spence and Crawford both get by their Cinco De Mayo opponents, the interest generated around this showdown would be off the charts. A summertime battle in Texas would have the Fight of the Decade written all over it.

Navigating through the World Wide Web the day after Spence/Garcia it’s pretty clear that every boxing scribe on the planet will take nothing less than a 147 pound title unifier before the end of 2021. Any excuses or BS will be met with well-deserved harsh criticism that will be pointed directly at the promoters.

Boxing needs this match-up more than any other fight on the horizon. Boxing fans not only deserve this fight but will be looking for blood if it doesn’t happen. And who could blame them.

Make this happen Mr. Haymon and Mr. Arum or there is going to be hell to pay.

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