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A Losers Litmus Test

Monday, May 22nd, 2023

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.

Posted in Boxing | 2 Comments »

Canelo Underwhelms In Mexico

Monday, May 8th, 2023

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.

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Did Golden Boy Promotions
Throw Ryan Garcia Under The Bus?

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

By William Trillo

Apparently, we were not the only ones who found the absence of both Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins at the Ryan Garcia post-fight press conference a little bit more than curious. As it turns out, numerous websites and blogs questioned Oscar and Bernard both going ghost after the fight. In a not very surprising move, both The Golden Boy and B-Hop came up with their versions why they did not attend the late night festivities.

That being said, we are posting this little quiz to let you decide why you think Ryan Garcia got thrown under the bus by his promoters after the fight.

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Random Tank vs. Garcia Thoughts

Monday, April 24th, 2023

Photos: Esther Lin – SHOWTIME


When you anoint yourself “King” and laugh at all your subjects as you attempt to ascend to the top remember this, when that phony crown is knocked off your head you are going to have to look at those same faces on your way down. It’s not going to be pretty.

On that note: I’m wondering why so many journalists are still calling Garcia, “KingRy”, coming off that less than noble losing performance? To that matter I am wondering why they ever called him that at all? Stop it already!

As I stated in my post-fight report, those Liver shots are a Booger. That delayed reaction is hard to explain, but it’s real and it’s no walk in the park. That being said, the question will always remain whether or not Garcia could have gotten up. Garcia didn’t do himself any favors at the Post Fight press conference when asked about getting up or not when he said, “I was close to getting up, for sure…I mean…I ain’t got no excuses, I just couldn’t get up.” Huh?

Speaking of that Post Fight presser, am I the only one that found it curious that neither Oscar De La Hoya nor Bernard Hopkins were in attendance? I mean, they both went over and above the call of duty to make their annoying presence known during fight week. Now suddenly they are both a No Show? Maybe they were having a late-night meeting with Don King and Adrien Broner.

On the topic of The Golden Boy Promoters, whose idea was it to put Yamaguchi Falcao in a title match with David Morrell? Having seen Yamaguchi in the ring live on numerous occasions it was clear to me he was far from a World Class fighter. Heck, he was barely holding his own at club fights. Are you gonna tell me Golden Boy Brass did not know this? Of course they did. And yet they threw him in there with that beast Morrell. I hope that pocket change they picked up was worth almost getting their fighter killed. Despicable and irresponsible act.


Hey, here’s a question for ya. Did you see the official scorecard for the Tank vs. Garcia fight? Does someone care to explain to me the scoring in the second round? And before you try to give me your Marques of Queensbury lesson…yes, I know Garcia was winning the round. But that knockdown by Tank was no fluke, he ducked a shot and countered with a sweet left hand that dropped Garcia like a sack of potatoes. It wasn’t a slip, it wasn’t a trip. That was a legit knockdown. That’s a 10-8 round in my book every day of the week. So…explain the scoring in round two. Someone? Anyone? I didn’t think so.

Lastly, allow me to say that 2023 has already been a great year for boxing and it hasn’t even hit the month of May yet. Why, you ask? Because those two so called Social Media stars, Ru…err…Jake Paul and now Ryan Garcia have been exposed and put in their place. If these guys want to keep their Social Media follower count in the millions that’s fine by me, knock yourselves out, so to speak. Just get your butts out of the sport I love and let’s get back to the business of boxing. (And take all those so-called “Influencer” journalists who don’t seem to be doing anything but taking up space with you).

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

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Time To Cancel Zzzurdo For Good

Saturday, March 18th, 2023

By William Trillo


When Oscar De La Hoya said of his newly found “Meal Ticket”, Zzzurdo Ramirezzz, “Ramirez is on his way up, Ramirez is hungry”, The Golden Boy wasn’t kidding. On Friday afternoon we found out Zzurdo was so hungry he was on his way up to a whopping 183 pounds. That’s a full eight pounds over the contracted weight for his match with Gabe Rosado. As such, the fight has been cancelled. There is simply no excuse for this.

During the same interview De La Hoya also said, “Ramirez is a fighter who wants to taste glory.”

Correction…the only thing Zzzurdo wants to taste is a hot Chimichanga from an Alberto’s Drive-Thru.

Earlier this week Zzzurdo was quoted as saying, “Everything was good in camp. I’m ready…After the last fight, I want to prove myself. I was in a dark place but now it’s a new start and I’m ready.”

Bull Puckey!

After tipping the scale at 183 pounds Friday he stated, “No excuses. I had never missed weight in my 45 pro fights. This is the first and last time.”

One can only hope this is the last time. I personally don’t ever want to see this guy in the ring ever again. He is a disgrace.

Something about a guy who claims he wants to be a champion but not even coming close to the contracted weight that really irks boxing fans.

Speaking with another boxing journalist about this situation the scribe said, “Ramirez is lazy. He fights lazy, and now we find out he trains lazy. This really is no surprise.”

Truer words cannot be spoken.
Hence forth he shall be known as “Lazzzy Zzzurdo Ramirezzz”

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

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The Truth?

Monday, February 27th, 2023

By William Trillo


The truth is, up until Sunday afternoon I have never had the slightest interest in watching any fight that featured Ru Paul, Jake Paul or whatever that other one’s name is. But because of my morbid curiosity and hope that Paul would finally be exposed for the Charlatan that he is, the truth is I streamed his fight, (volume down), against Tommy Fury that was aptly named, “The Truth.” Let the record reflect the truth that there was no way I was gonna shell out the $49 PPV fee the promoters demanded. The truth is I found an illegal stream (shhh). I’m happy to report that everything I knew and believed was true. Paul is at best a D level club fighter, nothing more. Along my little pirate streaming journey I was hit with a few other truths that I would like to share with you now.

Truth: First and foremost, if you have considered yourself to be a boxing journalist of any repute over the New Millennium but have for whatever reason followed the Paul saga like a Pavlovian Dog, feel free to turn in your boxing writer’s badge. You don’t belong at real boxing events and quite frankly I don’t want to sit next to you. And don’t come at me with your, “But I got thousands of Instagram hits yesterday,” garbage. You’re part of the problem. Please go away.

Truth: Seeing WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman in the ring prior to this charade of a fight was an embarrassment and a slap in the face to everyone involved in boxing. And stating that you were ready to rank Paul in The WBC if he won the fight speaks volumes. Lining your pockets with this kind of money is foul and real boxing fans know it. How do you sleep?

Truth: I’m sure the Fury connection had something to do with Top Rank being part of the show, but even at that, it was hard to swallow seeing the Top Rank name associated with this event.

Truth: As I stated in my opening diatribe, Paul has the skillset of a clumsy gym rat at best. Wild swinging shots with your head down followed by holding and clinching are far from the makings of a contender, never mind a champion. It’s laughable to me you have garnered the attention you have. But hear me loud and clear, your fans are nothing more than a bunch of tools who spend an inordinate amount time on TikTok while living in their Mothers garage. Real boxing fans want nothing to do with you. Hear what I say!

Truth: Fury may not go on to equal the fame of his brother Tyson, but he is the first real boxer that Paul faced, and we all saw the result. A huge thank you to Tommy for ridding boxing of this circus freak show we have had to deal with for far too long.   

Truth: No one wants to see a rematch…NO ONE. Turn out the lights, the party’s over!

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

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Random Musings From A Busy Fight Weekend

Monday, January 30th, 2023

By William Trillo


From The United States to The United Kingdom, it was a big boxing weekend that left us with more than a few topics to discuss, both inside and outside the ring. In fact, there were so many trinkets I just don’t know where to begin. So, without further Doo Doo, here we go;

Before I could get to my media seat ringside at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, photos on Twitter of Oscar De La Hoya posing with Terrance Crawford were making the rounds amongst my peers. Speculation and innuendo were all we had to go with, but everyone to a man knew…considering the state of the business of boxing and all the Horse Hockey that comes with it, this was gonna be good.

In the moments prior to the main event featuring Alexis Rocha vs. George Ashie, De La Hoya stated that he had spoken with Terrance Crawford. The gist of the interview was, if Rocha did well against Ashie a title shot versus Crawford would be on the table.

OK boxing fans, I will leave this up to you…did Rocha do well? Coming off that performance should he now get the Crawford title fight?

And what about the undefeated Vergil Ortiz? Golden Boy Brass can spare me the canned answer that “Vergil is already set to fight Eimantas Stanionis”. A bout like that could be scrapped in the blink of an eye, it happens all the time.

If anyone in the Golden Boy stable deserves a fight with Crawford, it’s Ortiz. Taking that one step further, if anyone in the Golden Boy stable has a sniff of a chance to defeat Crawford, it’s Ortiz. Period.

Circling back to Rocha, that KO was impressive, but the performance was not. Taking into consideration the amount of leather that hit Lex in the face, I would at best grade his night a B-. A guy the likes of Bud Crawford would make Mincemeat out of Rocha if he can’t do better than that.

On the topic of Rocha vs. Crawford, one of the most respected and knowledgeable boxing scribes on the planet said, “Look, there is no one at 147 pounds that can beat Terrance Crawford right now. Rocha might as well fight him next. Why not?”

George Ashie wasn’t even a blip on the radar screen before Saturday night. After a tough and gutsy performance against Rocha he has now made himself a known and formidable presence. Hopefully for Ashie, he will earn a few more decent paychecks for himself after his eye catching performance.

Venturing across The Pond, that Light Heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev vs. Anthony Yarde was better than I expected. Yarde did well hanging in there for as long as he did and should be commended. But truth be told, Artur Beterbiev is a fully loaded freight train running downhill without any brakes. If you don’t stop him right away, he is going to get a full head of steam and punish you severely. It’s hard to argue a record of 19-0 with 19 Knockouts.

Speaking of Beterbiev vs Yarde, did you happen to see the scorecards at the time of the stoppage? Are you sitting down? The judges had Yarde ahead on two of the three scorecards. Two judges had Yarde winning with scores of 68-65 and 67-66, while one judge had it 67-66 for Beterbiev. Talk about some Home Cooking! Fighting in Wembley Stadium, Yarde, who hails from London, was on his way to an undeserved serving of Yorkshire Pudding had the fight gone the distance. But as we know, Artur has yet to let the judges come into play when he is doing his work in the ring.

On a side note to that fight, thank goodness for streaming on the internet and ESPN+. Without that I would not have been able to watch that fight live as I was just arriving at my duties in Los Angeles. Glad I was able to check it out.

That being said, I wish ESPN+ would give us the option of watching the fight without having to listen to the announcers. Excuse me for thinking out loud but, “Woooooo”, “Ooooooh” and WooooHoooo”, are neither blow by blow or commentary. It’s a screaming and somewhat irritating former fighter turned fan who just happens to have a microphone in front of his Pie Hole.

I really wish either one of the streaming networks, ESPN+ or DAZN, would consider giving fans the option to get the live feed, with all the sounds from the arena but without the droning on of the now umpteen announcers that are getting shoved into our living rooms. Trust me on this, I think the networks would be surprised to find out how many fans would pull the plug on the Gum Bumpers.

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

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I Hate To Say I Told You So, But…

Thursday, December 29th, 2022

By William Trillo
Photo:-Chop: Bret “The Threat” Newton


No sooner than the Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia April fight was announced, I penned a little article with a not too subtle warning. You can read that November 18 post here:
Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia: Initial Thoughts and Concerns « Billy’s Boxing Blog

My concerns were simple. Outside of the ring both Garcia and Davis are less than Phi Beta Kappa when it comes to handling their business. First it was Garcia who scrapped a tune-up bout with the faded and soft punching Mercito Gesta. It was a move that Garcia’s own promoter Oscar De La Hoya said, “I strongly feel it’s a big mistake!”

It’s hard to say with any certainty why Garcia bypassed the Gesta fight, but we have seen Ryan wander in the past and can’t help but wonder if the same issues are rearing their ugly head again, so to speak.

Then, in a surprising but not so surpriing turn of events, Tank was arrested on yet another domestic violence charge. Davis was less than two weeks away from his title defense againt Hector Luis Garcia. Bad timing on Tank’s part, very bad timing.

So, now not only is the Davis ttitle defense scheduled for January 7th in jeopardy, but the much anticipated April grudge match between Tank Davis and Ryan Garcia appears to be on shaky legs at best.

Nice work fellas. This is exactly what I was talking about.

To be fair, both fighters have reasons, (read excucses), for their transgressions. For Garcia he claims he simply did not want to take a lesser fight, but instead he would rather save himself for the big battle fight fans have been clamoring to see. For Tank, yes he was arrested on a domestic violence charge, but he claims he did not lay hands on anyone. Let’s go with the “Innocent Until Proven Guilty” motto here.

To be honest, we have seen this act from both men before, so if we are looking at their track records…well you get the picture.

As far as the big fights in 2023 go, we have one that can’t seem to be made, (Spence vs. Crawford), another that has been postponed due to injury, (Charlo vs.Tszyu), and in what appears to be a horrible trifecta, Tank vs. Ryan looks to be falling apart at the seams.

Long gone are the days of “The Four Kings” taking turns battling it out with each other. It’s a pity fight fans are left to scratch their heads and wonder if the days of Mega-Fights are nothing more than a distant memory.

Still, like most boxing fans around the globe, I can’t help but hope that all these wrinkles get ironed out and we can have a blockbuster year in 2023.

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

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2022 Turkey Of The Year Award
Zzzurdo Ramirezzz

Thursday, November 24th, 2022

By William Trillo
Photo-Chop: Bret Newton


If ever there was a fighter in 2022 that could give the post-Thanksgiving Feast “Turkey Coma” a run for its money, it is none other than Gilberto “Zzzurdo” Ramirezzz. For the better part of his career most of this guy’s fights have been as dull as the back side of a butter knife.

That said, somehow this guy sleepwalked his way into a world title while feasting on a table full of broken-down Palooka’s whose better days were far behind them. Good for him, I suppose. (Snore).

In 2021 Zzzurdo began what I like to call his “L-Tryptophan Tour”. His dispatching of a couple of Tomato cans in ‘21 culminated in what earned him The Golden Bird in 2022.

After defeating Dominic Boesel (who?) in May of ’22, the amount of press releases sent out expounding on the virtues of Zzzurdo was endless and tireless. Apparently, the sender was not privy to the effects of witnessing a Ramirezzz fight for himself.

Thankfully, Dmitri Bivol exposed Zzzurdo in November. One can only hope we are rid of the sleep-inducing pugilist once and for all.

I know this may seen a bit harsh, but seriously, have you ever seen an entire “Zzzudo” fight? Check it out and then get back to me. I am sure you will see things my way… If you can stay awake that is.

Warning, side effects of watching a Ramirezzz fight may include:

· * Blurred vision
· * Dizziness
· * Drowsiness and fatigue
· * Head twitching
· * Nausea

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing truth.

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Zzzurdo Ramirezzz

Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia:
Initial Thoughts and Concerns

Friday, November 18th, 2022

By William Trillo

I was pleasantly surprised when I read the breaking news that Gervonta Davis (27-0, 25 KO’s) vs. Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KO’s) was signed and sealed. Finally, top tier fighters were able to cut through the constant Social Media bickering and proceed with a fight the fans have been clamoring for. Likewise, it was good to see promoters and networks quit the endless posturing in order to get things done, for once. Their 12-round fight, which will be contested at a catch weight of 136 pounds, will be a Showtime Pay-Per-View main event from a yet to be determined venue, most likely in Las Vegas.

This is the kind of news boxing fans need to hear. After the long drawn out and unfruitful process that is the Terrance Crawford vs. Erroll Spence soap opera, finding out these two lightweights should be getting it on in April of 2023 in a catchweight Mega-Fight is refreshing.

Should be?

Yeah, Yeah. Before you think I’ve gone all nicey nice on you, allow me to give you my somewhat caustic opinions. May I remind you that April is some five months away. In any other sport that would just be the off season before spring training. But this is boxing… a lot can transpire in that five-month period. For instance, Tank has already stated he will be a taking tune up fight in January. I don’t have to tell you how many times a “Tune-Up” has ruined the best laid plans of mice, men and promoters. Unexpected knockouts and injuries have stopped more than a few Mega-Fights from coming to fruition. Personally, I really wish Tank would drop all this tune up fight nonsense.

Another concern is the fighters outside of the ring antics. It’s not like either one of these guys are above doing something that would either postpone or scrap the fight all together. I am hopeful someone close to the fighters will be keeping an eye on them over the next five months and step in if things start going awry, as they have before.

We need this fight to happen. No excuses. No run-ins with the law, no sudden trips to Hawaii to collect your thoughts, none of that.

Tank vs. Garcia is the kind of fight that could open the doors to a lot more Super Fights in the future. Boxing needs this one to get to the finish line.

Let’s hope these guys do what they gotta do so they are both healthy and ready to step into the ring in April.

Congratulations to all parties involved for getting this one down on paper,(Hypothetically or in theory).

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

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Initial Thoughts and Concerns

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