If The Mayweathers Played Up That Beef For The Cameras, Give ‘Em An Oscar…WOODS

Published

13 years ago

August 31, 2011

There were those that thought HBO’s 24/7 franchise had run its course, that there would be no fertile material to pluck. Those doubters swallowed their theory when they watched the jaw-dropper of a final scene in the first installment of the Mayweather-Ortiz 24/7, which is now running on HBO and HBO.com.

The confrontation between Floyd Mayweather Junior and Senior looked like something which called for the presence of Dr. Phil, or maybe Joe Cortez, because one sensed that violence, if not imminent, wasn’t out of the question.

Before that crackerjack ending, viewers saw the Mayweather they’ve come to love, or loathe, depending on how much his brand of braggadocious loquacity is your thing.

He of course proclaimed his superiority, asking rhetorically what other athlete works as hard as him, and what other sportsman has been at the top of his heap for 16 years.

His manner contrasted mightily with Victor Ortiz, who was presented as a work in progress, a man not too far from the humble origins of his youth, when he was treated with the care reserved for an old sofa scarred with too many stains, cat-scratches and too-compacted springs. One parent blew Ortiz off, then another, and he was left to his own devices much more so than any youth should be as he exited a hellish childhood, and clawed his way to become the WBC welterweight champion.

“I’m a very positive person,” the 24-year-old Ortiz told us, and had us rooting that much harder for this massive underdog, as we learned that most of his training team works 9-5 jobs, and then comes to the gym for their second shift. Who wouldn’t root for this kid, who told us how his family fractured. “What would you do if I were to leave you guys?” his mom asked him. “You wouldn’t do that,” little Victor said. But she did, she left a 7 year old boy. A few years later, dad bolted the kids, left them in a trailer without food or electricity. Victor and siblings fended for themselves for a few years, staying with friends, before they entered the foster care system. Again, I ask, who wouldn’t be rooting for this good to pull off a massive upset after hearing about that ordeal…even if you’ve already heard the tale.

The contrast between Ortiz and Mayweather, who refers to his crew, which includes the rapper 50 Cent, as “The Money Team,” was skillfully rendered by the HBO artists. No, there’s no one like Uncle Roger on Team Ortiz. “Why would I give a f— about Victor Ortiz, he don’t mean s— to me. Victor Ortiz ain’t no kin to me. I wouldn’t know him from another bag of white rice,” Floyd’s trainer said.

How you respond to such rhetoric I guess it all depends on what sort of behavior appeals to you, and perhaps, what side of the tracks you grew up on. Someone coming from hardscrabble origins might be more inclined to identify with Roger’s manner, see it as totally understandable, while some would label crude and dismissive.

Viewers then saw Floyd Senior visit Junior in the gym. “At the end of the day, he’s a son, it’s your blood, blood is thicker than mud. If he wins, I win. His name’s Floyd Joy Mayweather…Junior, I’m Senior.” The implication is clear, that these two are still hashing out a turf war, still clarifying their position in the familial pecking order, with the dad trying to elicit some credit from the son for being responsible for his presence, and the son sending the return message that his status derives not from a genetic gift, but from self determination.

“It all started with my father,” Floyd allows, but anyone that has followed the saga knows that the active fighter is not beneath tossing a barb at dad which diminishes his role in the success of the son.

There is no absence of psychic drama in the mind of Ortiz, mind you. Viewers were reminded how Victor’s ‘no mas’ against Marcos Maidana shaped him. “I don’t regret anything I did in my life,” he said, when asked about the night he quit. He redeemed himself, of course, when in late spring he took down Andre Berto. One had to be struck by his vehement belief in himself, and the dripping contempt he shows for the opinions of others. If you saw him as an 8-to-1 underdog, maybe you dropped him down to 7-to-1 as you saw the embers in his eyes.

And what if Mayweather’s sparring with the law–he’s a defendant in six different cases currently–affects his focus as he readies himself for Sept. 17? “Eff it, it’s going to be what it’s going to be,” he said when asked if the law woes will drain him. It’s of course impossible to know if he’s fronting, playing the role of the intrepid rebel, and actually lies awake at night pondering an iffy future and if that future might include time behind bars. That’s part of the fun of immersing yourself in the Mayweather maelstrom, sifting through what is likely BS and what is real.

Speaking off what is real, viewers saw footage of Floyd’s fiancee, who was ID’d as “Miss Jackson.” Her real name is Shantel Jackson, a model and aspiring actress from Miami. She flashed a massive rock, and dimples to die for. Ortiz probably hopes Floyd spends too much time admiring all her dimples and crannies, and neglects training…

It doesn’t look like Ortiz is neglecting the grunt work before the big day. Trainer Danny Garcia oversees Ortiz, and there is drama in that relationship, as well. His kid brother Robert used to train Ortiz but Victor dumped him, and asked Danny to helm his ship. Things aren’t right to this day in the Garcia family because of that development.

Mayweather father and son, though, their division is at a whole ‘nother level. Viewers saw disturbing evidence of this, when Junior said “You can’t train nobody when you’re locked up” when Senior looked to get credit for crafting Junior. Junior then tells his dad that Roger is the best trainer, Senior says he’s the best, and an average viewer shakes his head and wonders how people harboring such animus and immaturity have been able to make such professional headway.

“Tell me one champion you got right now,” Junior asks Senior, who sputters. “You ain’t got none…De La Hoya left you, Hatton don’t want to be with you…Roger’s the one, this is my trainer right here…We don’t want anybody interfering while we’re working…Get out of our way…This is our gym.” At this point, the juicer bodyguards slide into the picture, and look to de-escalate the whole fracas, which of course none of us know is the real deal, or played up in the style of “Jersey Shore,” or “Housewives” or any of the other “reality” series which feature beefs just like this one to boost ratings.

Junior tries to toss his dad out of the gym and dad tells him to “push me out, emeffer.” The “emeffer” in case you lost track, is his son.

“I’ll beat you’re mothereffing a–,” the father screams, and then yells, “41-1,” apparently implying that he’d hand Floyd his first loss. “You couldn’t fight worth s—,” Floyd responds. “You weren’t nothing but an emeffer cab-driver.”

Bottom line, if this was a put on, or even deliberately escalated to amp the show, then some Grade A acting was going on. It looked like tempers were flaring like herpes; neck veins bulged everywhere and onlookers looked horrified.

Floyd cools down with an explanation, saying that is all paid up on his houses and cars, and that he could retire after the Ortiz fight if he wanted to. “Roger Mayweather made the Mayweather name and I took it to the next level,” he said, finishing that only he and Roger are the Mayweathers that matter in the boxing universe, and for that matter, “I’m not no Junior.”

And you were worried that 24/7 wouldn’t be able to muster compelling material?

One can argue that such squabbles shouldn’t be fodder for drama, that the father-son faceoff is nothing but a sad commentary on a mega-dysfunctional family which needs ample therapy to heal their wounds, instead of cameras to inflame and exploit. One can’t argue that Mayweather isn’t a compelling character, and that without him, boxing is a much more boring place.

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Michael Woods

Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

5 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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