Showtime Boxing: Jhonny Gonzalez and Leo Santa Cruz Stop Their Opponents

I missed he fights last night because Time Warner cable is no longer carrying Showtime (along with CBS and several other channels). I was shocked to hear that Jhinny Gonzalez KO'ed Abner Mares. My pick was Mares, I thought he would prove to be too much for Gonzalez. You just never know. Kudos to Gonzalez, one tough kid!

Leo Santa Cruz just continues to impress. Showtime continues to move ahead of HBO in the quality of matches they have given us over the last couple of years.

A post fight interview with Abner Mares. One classy guy. He makes no excuses. He'll be back. He was asked what he needs to work on. His answer was "Everything". He got caught, it happens. It's a learning experience. One thing I notice about a lot of young fighter, is that they keep their hands too low and their chins too high. Whatever happened to keeping your chin tucked behind your shoulders? Keeping your hands up? These are the basics.

Post fight interview with Leo Santa Cruz

Recap: Canelo Alvarez vs. Austin Trout - SHOWTIME Boxing - Omar Figueroa vs. Abner Cotto

Showtime Boxing : Khan vs. Molina Recap - Amir Khan, Carlos Molina, Alfredo Angulo, Deontay Wilder

Fight Night: Trout vs Cotto

Austin Trout vs Miguel Cotto - Recap - Showtime Boxing

Miguel Cotto: A Fghter and His Son!!

Miguel Cotto doing his best to console his son.

By Randy De La O

The hurtful downside of boxing. I feel for his son. You know his father is his hero. Man, this photo really touches me. To Miguel Cotto, nothing to be ashamed of, you fought the good fight. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose, you've had a great career and you are a shoo in for the Hall of Fame! To his son: Your Pops will always be a hero, nothing can change that!! He did things most men couldn't or wouldn't.

Now I understand why Cotto was in a hurry to leave the ring. He had bigger things to contend with. Family will always come first to a real man!

Austin "No Doubt" Trout vs Miguel Cotto: Trout by Unanimous Decision

Miguel Cotto,  Louie Burke and Austin "No Doubt" Trout at the end of the 12th round.
At Madison Square Garden, New York

By Randy De La O


Last Saturday night, December 1, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Austin Trout, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, successfully defended his WBA Super welterweight/junior middleweight title against always tough, former champion Miguel Cotto, of Caguas, Puerto Rico, with a 12 round unanimous decision. Trout was the champion but he was definitely the underdog going into this fight.

In the weeks leading up to the fight Trout and his trainer Louie Burke expressed their confidence in a victory. Trout, who has made it a habit of beating fighters on their home turf seemed undisturbed with fighting Cotto at the Garden, where Miguel Cotto is so popular he has out sold Muhammad Ali as a headliner.

Cotto, recently coming off a successful rematch with Antonio Margarito and with an exceptionally strong performance in his loss to Floyd Maywether was equally confident. Perhaps a little too confident and thinking ahead to a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Still, you could hardly blame him, he was building momentum leading up to this fight.

I personally took some exception with certain boxing customs and protocol that were broken leading up to the fight. The fight was billed as Miguel Cotto vs Austin Trout. Traditionally, it is the champion who receives first billing. A minor gripe maybe, and a far second to entering the ring first, as well as being introduced first. These are privileges given to a reigning champion. Privileges that have been earned. I have no doubt that was negotiated but it's a safe bet it will never happen again.

Trout, who is known as an defensive fighter came out aggressively in the first round, and maintained that aggressiveness throughout most of the fight. It was no surprise to anyone that Trout would use his jab, hand speed and counter punching abilities in his fight with Cotto. What was a surprise was his willingness to trade punches on the inside and even more surprisingly, beating Cotto on the inside. Trout was consistently going to the body and using effective combinations throughout the fight.

Cotto had his best rounds in the middle of the fight where, for a time, he seemed to be gaining some momentum in the fight and possibly turning things around. By round 7 Trout seemed to regain control of the fight and was again dictating the tempo. He maintained control for the remainder of the fight.

That's not to say Cotto did not have his moments, he did, but overall Trout never seemed hurt or in trouble during this fight. Trout, maybe remembering where he was, closed the show with a strong finish in the 12th round. When the fight was over I don't think even the biggest fans of Miguel Cotto were in doubt of the outcome. Judges Steve Weisfeld and John Poturaj had it 117-111 in favor of Austin Trout, judge Adalaide Byrd also had the fight in Trout's favor with a score of 119-109.

The thing about scores is they don't always tell the whole story. I think Austin won most of the rounds but a few of them were close. They were hard fought rounds by both fighters. Both fighters had to dig down but in the end Trout dug a little deeper. Both fighters are deserving of respect. I don't know if this was a “Last Hurrah” for Cotto but if it was it was the only good way to go out, still on his feet, against a young strong champion out to prove he is the best, not unlike the Miguel Cotto of a few years back. It was the passing of the torch. Best of luck to both fighters in all they do and thanks for a great fight!!

Congratulations to Austin Trout for a great performance, as well as trainer/cornerman Louie Burke, Randy "Moose" Gomez and the rest of Team Trout. Congratulations Las Cruces, New Mexico!

Showtime Boxing : All Access: Miguel Cotto vs. Austin Trout - Premiere Tease

Austin Trout Defeats Delvin Rodriguez: 12 Rounds

Austin and Team Trout making their way to the ring at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California

By Randy De La O

Last Saturday, June 2, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, Austin Trout successfully defended his WBA Light Middleweight title, winning a unanimous decision against the always tough Delvin Rodriguez. The fight was shown on Showtime Boxing and was part of four main events, entitled “Four Warned”, also  featuring; Leo Santa Cruz vs Vusi Malinga, Winky Wright vs Peter Quillan and Antonio Tarver vs Lateef Kayode.

Austin Trout vs Delvin Rodriguez at The home Depot Center, Carson, California

The first few rounds were fought mostly in a defensive mode. It was expected that Rodriguez would come out aggressively but that never happened. Austin, an excellent defensive fighter made good use of his superior jab and hand speed. Still, Delvin is a stubborn fighter and one with a good chin and was determined to make a fight of it. In the middle rounds Trout began to pull away and began to dominate the fight. Delvin seemed to tire in the later rounds. Trout, always in top shape, stuck to his game plan, gave a workmanlike performance and pulled out a victory.

Las Cruces fight fan showing his support for Trout.

The win was critical for Trout. With Saul “Canelo” Alvarez sitting ringside, Trout wanted to send a message that he was more than ready to unify the title. During the post fight interview he called out Alvarez, respectfully and without the usual braggadocio seen by today's fighters. Alvarez was scheduled to fight Paul Williams in September but that fight is no longer an option due to Williams recent motorcycle accident and severe injuries which may leave him paralyzed from the waist down (We wish him well).

Will they fight? I hope so. Personally, I believe that Austin Trout  has the right stuff to beat Alvarez. We'll see.

Congratulations to Austin Trout, trainer Louie Burke, assistant trainer Randy “Moose” Gomez and manager Bob Spagnola, on their victory.

Austin Trout vs Delvin Rodriguez: The Complete Fight

Four Warned: Austin Trout vs Delvin Rodriguez

Austin Trout winding down training camp.

By Randy De La O

Jeri and I drove over to the Torrance Marriott South Bay yesterday evening. My cousin Louie Burke, along with his fighter Austin Trout, and the rest of Team Trout, all from Las Cruces, are in town this weekend for Austin's title defense against Delvin Rodriguez. Austin's family are also in town and we had a chance to sit and talk with them for a while. Great people.

I've been a fan of Austin for a while now but yesterday was the first chance I had to meet him. To use the words of my old trainer Mel Epstein "He's a deserving guy". There was a certain humbleness and quiet confidence about him. Two qualities that I like in a fighter. We got to watch his final workout in his preparation for Saturday's fight with Rodriguez at the Home Depot Center. It was a light workout with a few rounds each of shadowboxing, hitting the mitts with Louie and skipping rope. Just enough to work up a good sweat and keep him sharp. Austin looks loose, relaxed but very sharp and ready.

Austin will be defending his WBA World Light Middleweight Title against Delvin Rodriguez as part of the "Four Warned" card at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Also headlining Saturday's card will be Antonio Tarver vs Lateef Kayode, Winky Wright vs Peter Quinlon and Vusi Malinga of South Africa vs Leo Santa Cruz from Lincoln Heights, California. The fights will be shown on Showtime Championship Boxing.

For me though, the real main event will be the Trout vs Rodriguez fight. Rodriguez, who has been an ESPN mainstay, is a proven contender. Since 1999 he has racked up 26 wins, with 14 KO's and 3 draws. He has lost five fights with all but one going the distance. His lone KO came at the hands of Jesse Feliciano back in 2007. Rodriguez has had  a total of 34 tights.

Austin is undefeated in 24 fights with 14 KO's to his credit. He won the vacant WBA Light Middleweight title by fighting tough Rigoberto Alvarez in Alvarez' home country, winning a hard fought 12 decision.. He returned to the lion's den a year later to defend his title against David Lopez, also of Mexico, again winning a 12 round decision.

Both Trout and Rodriguez have the potential.to produce a great fight and steal the show. Here's hoping for a controversy free fight with a straight forward and honest decision, or better yet a KO win by Austin Trout.

Austin Trout
Hometown Las Cruces, NM
Age 27
Height 70 in.
Weight N/A
Reach 72 in.
Record 24-0, 14 KOs

Delvin Rodriguez
Hometown Danbury, CT
Age 32
Height 72 in.
Weight N/A
Reach N/A
Record 26-5-3 (14 KO's)

Chris Arreola KO's Eric Molina in 1st Round

Chris Arreola stopped Eric Molina last night on the undercard of Paul Williams vs Nobuhiro Ishida at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was actually a good victory for Arreola, and he was giving a fine interview up until the final few seconds. I think it's safe to say he won't be showing up on any of Don King's productions anytime soon, unless there's some real money to be made. No one can accuse Arreola of being a liar.

Paul Williams & Tavoris Cloud - Recap - SHOWTIME Boxing - Nobuhiro Ishida, Gabriel Campillo

Paul Williams, Gabriel Campillo and Chuck Giampra on ShoBox

Chuck seems to be getting a lot of flak for having a less than stellar debut as a fight analyst on ShoBox that takes us into the mind of a boxing judge. Lots of respect for Chuck Giampa here, and empathy. It could happen to anyone.

 To be honest though, this was not the worst thing that happened last night on ShoBoxs broadcast. That would be former WBA world champ Gabriel Campillo's getting screwed over (I'm using the nice word) by the boxing judges last night, big time. I would like to know what was going on inside the head of theses judges. Tavoris Cloud clearly got beat by Campillo. Another blatant "Screw you" (again, the nice word) to fighters and the fans. What made the matter worse was Clouds insistence that he won that fight. Unbelievable. Campillo gave a really good, old school performance against Cloud, lot's of crisp, accurate combinations, effective body punching, and effective aggression.Campillo was knocked down twice in the first round but recovered nicely and went on to dominate the fight. He should have been rewarded the victory.

 Paul Williams won his snorefest against Nobuhiro Ishida. Despite knocking out James Kirkland last year, in what now appears to be an anomaly, Ishida was clearly not in the same class as Williams. Ishida's heart however was another thing altogether and he proved himself to be a game ring warrior. no shame in this loss.

Joseph Agbecko vs Abner Mares: The Complete Fight

Recap: Agbeko vs Mares - Bantamweight Tournament Final - SHOWTIME Boxing

Showtime Bantamweight Tournament: Joseph Agbecko vs Abner Mares

Courtesy of Showtime Boxing

Courtesy of Ringtv.com

By Randy De La O

Wow, I hardly know where to begin. Last night's fight, low blow's and questionable referring aside, was actually pretty good. Lot's of action and a good performance by both fighters, though for the most part the fight was dominated by Abner Mares. Joseph Agbecko, for his part, started coming on in the late rounds, though it was, perhaps, a case of too little too late.

 Mares, a bold fighter by nature, immediately took the fight to "King Kong" Agbecko, working the body (and more) with left hooks that would take their toll on Agbecko. Mares showed a good set of whiskers in the fight, especially in the fourth when Agbecko landed his best punch, a right hand flush on Mares' kisser, buckling him. His knees buckled but his will stood and Mares never lost a beat. Mares was simply in better form last night.

 Still, you can't get away from the low blows by Mares or the lousy referring by Russell Mora, Agbecko is correct when he says he was fighting both Mares and the referee. It eventually became uncomfortable to watch. I like Mares and I think he is a terrific fighter. It pained me to see him win like this. I don't think it was done intentionally and I do think that some of the low blows were caused by Agbecko holding Mares' head down, some of them were borderline, landing just at or below the belt line. Still, there were just too many actual low blows to ignore and Mares should have had a point or two deducted.

 The first knockdown by Mares, of Agbecko, was somewhat questionable but both sides could make a case for it's legitimacy but it was not the worst call I've seen. The second knockdown in the 11th round was too obvious to excuse. Not only was a point not deducted from Mares but it was called a knockdown by the usually competent Mora. That Mora allowed the fouls to continue without a point deduction was inexcusable and beyond belief. It was almost surreal.

 I don't know how the fight would have turned out if a point had been taken away from Mares. He might have become more aware and kept his punches up or he might not have, maybe Agbecko would have fought differently not having to worry about being hit low but we'll never know because Mora did not do his job. It was a bad night for everyone, though Mora was not without his own culpability, I couldn't help feel for him when he said, almost pleadingly to Jim Gray, "Hey, don't ruin my night for me". It was definitely a bad night for Agbecko who feels, and rightly so, that he unjustly lost his title. It was a bad night for fight fans at the Hard Rock Casino and at home watching the fight. Mora himself seemed almost puzzled by the questions from Jim Gray. Everyone was cheated out of a good and fair outcome. No pun intended but it was a low blow for boxing last night.

 Mares said he would give Agbecko a rematch. Let's hope that he's man of his word and that it happens soon. If ever a fighter deserves an immediate rematch, it's Agbecko.

Brandon Rios vs Urbano Antillon - Complete Fight (In 2 Parts)

Part 1

Part 2

Videos Courtesy of nahblud on Vimeo.

Recap: Brandon Rios vs. Urbano Antillon - SHOWTIME Boxing

Brandon Rios KO's Urbano Antillon, Paul Wlliams Loses to Erislandy Lara but gets the "Win"

Chris Farina/Top Rank

By Randy De La O

Kudos to Showtime. Saturday night's fight at the Home Depot Center between WBA Lightweight Champion Brandon Rios and Challenger Urbano Antillon represented everything that is good about boxing; good matchmaking, a real rivalry, two likable opponents, great action -while it lasted - and a definitive, no-nonsense and indisputable win, a spectacular third round knockout of Antillon by Rios. It just doesn't get any better than this. Both fighters had an old school persona about them. Neither guy is afraid to mix it up, both can punch and both can take it. Last night though, Rios just took it better.

Going into the third round, it was still a close fight and living up to everyone's expectations, until Rios landed a right hand that put Antillon on the canvas. He did it again a little later in the round. Antillon got up and was about to resume fighting, until he started to stagger across the ring, prompting referee David Mendoza to halt the fight at 2:49 of the third round.

It's hard not to like a guy like Rios. He never stops fighting but he does get hit a lot. I hope he tightens up his defense, even a little bit. Guys like Rios never come out of the fight game undamaged over the long haul. I don't really expect Rios to fight any other way. It's not in his nature to fight any other way. Rios is my kind of fighter.

Congrats to Carlos Molina on his upset of Kermit Cintron last night. It was his will to win and his big heart that won the fight for him.

Photo: Emily Harney

If the Rios vs Antillon fight showed the best side of boxing, than the Paul Williams vs Erislandy Lara fight, at the Boardwalk Hall in New Jersey, showed the worst side. Not so much the fight itself, which, while not spectacular and certainly anti-climatic after watching the Rios vs Antillon fight, was at least a good performance by Lara, who dominated Williams for most of the fight. What was bad, and bad for boxing was the judging. In a fight that was clearly and indisputably won by Lara, the judges awarded the fight to Williams. The judges should be called to the carpet for this fight and than tarred and feathered. Judge Al Bennett had the fight even at 114-114, Judge: Hilton Whitaker III had it115-114 in favor of Williams and Judge: Donald Givens had it116-114 for Williams. .

Williams had absolutely no answer for Lara's left hand. Lara, a southpaw, almost couldn't miss. Kudos to the HBO broadcasting team of Max Kellerman, Bob Papa and Roy Jones Jr. for making it clear that Lara was the real winner of the fight. I don't expect Williams to give Lara a rematch but overall I don't think the "loss" will hurt Lara's career.

Credits:
Brandon Rios vs Urbano Antillon photo courtesy of ESPN
Paul Williams vs Erislandy Lara photo courtesy of Fightnews.com