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Pacquiao and Marquez Bonded By Rivalry, PED Accusations
On the subject of performance enhancing drugs at least, Manny Pacquiao doesn’t believe what goes around should come around.
Pacquiao is on the opposite side of the steroids debate this week but has found it no more comfortable to see his Saturday night opponent, Juan Manuel Marquez, being questioned about his possible use of PEDs than it was to be the subject of such accusations from Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the rapper 50 Cent and other members of Mayweather’s entourage over the past two years.
There is no more evidence that Marquez has used PEDs to prepare for the final fight of their trilogy at the MGM Grand Garden Arena than there was that Pacquiao used artificial means to successfully jump from 106 pounds to his present 147 while retaining both his power and his speed but the issue was raised after it recently came to light that Marquez hired a strength and conditioning coach, Angel Hernandez, with a checkered past.
Hernandez was once known as Angel Heredia but apparently was never an angel with either sobriquet. A physical trainer by trade, Hernandez while still Heredia admitted to delivering illegal steroids to disgraced track coach Trevor Graham and to an involvement with BALCO, the now defunct supplements company run by Victor Conte that was in the middle of the steroid scandal that exposed baseball’s decade-long home run explosion of the late 1990s as having been artificially fueled.
Marquez has packed on added and obvious muscle in order to compete with Pacquiao at 144 pounds because even at 38 years old his normal fighting weight remains what it has been for years, which is to say between 130 and 135 pounds. The added muscle, coupled with Hernandez’s sudden appearance for the first time in the Marquez camp, naturally resulted in speculation that the two were chemically bonded.
When Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach was apprised of those charges this week after they were first leveled by, of all people, Conte, even though they were not directed at his fighter his normally affable demeanor quickly darkened. Certainly PEDs have begun to appear in boxing, as they have in all sports, and in fact several fighters based at Roach’s gym in Hollywood have tested positive for them in recent years.
Yet Roach strenuously maintained this week both that muscle is overrated in boxing and that raising questions about fighters like Marquez and Pacquiao are unfounded and unfair.
“I’m so tired of that b——t,’’ Roach said of the suggestion Marquez is a tainted warrior. “You work hard with a fighter. You make him get in shape and he’s got to be doing something funny. I’m tired of it.
“We’ve had it done to us. I’ve certainly had it done to my gym (the Wild Card). I don’t want to do it to them.’’
Neither does bombastic promoter Bob Arum, who has vehemently defended Pacquiao’s reluctance to agree to random blood testing right up to the fight to secure a match with Mayweather, pointing out that Pacquiao has never tested positive for anything in his 17-year boxing career and that a powerful fighter with vast box office appeal like Mayweather should not be determining what fighters are and are not tested for.
Oddly, this week he has found himself defending Pacquiao’s opponent rather than Pacquiao himself of similar guilt by innuendo and association, a process that began after Conte first spied Hernandez in Marquez’s camp during one episode of HBO’s 24/7 pre-fight reality mini-series and went public with the suggestion the man who once fed steroids to disgraced Olympians Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery was now in the lightweight champion’s corner as he prepared to fight a bigger man for the welterweight title.
“I think it would behoove all of the press to stop dealing in generalities,’’ Arum said. “First of all, the way I run an operation, the fighter can hire anyone he wants as a trainer and a conditioner. For a period of time, people like Victor Conte and this guy Hernandez dealt in steroids with major athletes but that’s old news in this sense: most of the intelligent people can see that when (Conte) was handling (Nonito) Donaire and this guy who is now with Márquez know that you can achieve all of the benefits that you used to achieve with steroids with natural supplements without any risk of illegality or without any dangers that steroids caused, like steroid rage and other long-term problems.
“If Conte and this guy (Hernandez) were dealing with steroids with anybody, to me, it makes no sense because they have been through the legal system in the U.S. – Conte was in jail and this guy apparently testified and got a suspended sentence and the last thing they would do is deal in illegal substances (again).
“You don’t have to do that anymore. Wake up and see what these conditioners are saying. They are using natural and totally legal supplements and using state of the art conditioning methods not because of anything other than the fact there have been advancements in the legal methods (to prepare for optimum performance by an athlete). The steroid problem is fading into the past.’’
Bob Arum will be 80 years old next month and is probably not the most knowledgeable spokesman for the passage of PEDs into the sporting past but the larger point is unless and until boxing adopts more stringent testing these kind of charges will continue to be made when a fighter moves up significantly in weight without an apparent loss of speed or power.
For the moment, at least, Roach continues to argue that whatever muscle Juan Manuel Marquez has added – regardless of who it got there – will be of no significant assistance Saturday night except, perhaps, to absorb more punishment.
“Muscle doesn’t help you counterpunch (which has long been Marquez’s forte) or help your speed,’’ Roach insisted. “If he feels stronger and feels he wants to exchange with Manny that’s good for us. I would have worked the other way.
“I know Marquez can hurt Manny. He’s done it several times (in their first two fights). I like Marquez better as a counter puncher. That’s a science of its own. I don’t see muscle helping a counter puncher.’’
If it does on Saturday night however you can bet someone will be suggesting it did.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 308: SoCal Rivals Rocha and Curiel Rumble and More
Decades ago, battles between regional warriors were as common as freeway traffic in Los Angeles during rush hour.
Bobby Chacon repped San Fernando Valley, Mando Ramos came from the docks of San Pedro, Danny “Little Red” Lopez lived in Alhambra and Ruben “Maravilla Kid” Navarro hailed from East L.A. And they rumbled repeatedly with each other.
The boxing sphere in California has grown much larger despite the closure of boxing palaces such as the Olympic Auditorium, Hollywood Legion Stadium, Great Western Forum, the L.A. Coliseum and Wrigley Field.
Those were classic venues.
Today in the 21st century boxing continues to grow.
Golden Boy Promotions presents SoCal regional rivals Santa Ana’s Alexis Rocha (25-2, 16 KOs) facing Hollywood’s Raul Curiel (15-0,13 KOs) in a welterweight clash on Saturday, Dec. 14, at Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. DAZN will stream the main card and YouTube.com the remainder.
Ontario is located in the Inland Empire known as the I.E.
Rocha, 27, has grown into a crowd favorite with a crowd-pleasing style developed by Orange County boxing trainer Hector Lopez. I remember his pro debut at Belasco Theater in downtown L.A. He obliterated his foe in three rounds and the small venue erupted with applause.
Wherever Rocha goes to fight, his fans follow.
“Anyone I face is trying to take food away from my family,” said Rocha.
Curiel, 29, has traveled a different road. As a former Mexican Olympian he took the slower road toward adapting to the professional style. Freddie Roach has refined the Mexican fighter’s style and so far, he remains unbeaten with a 10-fight knockout streak.
“I want to fight the best in the division,” said Curiel who is originally from Guadalajara.
Super welter hitters
Another top-notch fighter on the card is super welterweight Charles Conwell from Cleveland, Ohio. Conwell (20-0, 15 KOs) faces Argentina’s undefeated Gerardo Vergara (20-0, 13 KOs) in the co-main event.
Conwell may be the best kept secret in boxing and has been dominating foes for the past several years. He has solid defense, good power and is very strong for this weight class. Very Strong.
“I got to go out there and dominate,” said Conwell. “This is a fight that can lead me to a world championship fight.”
Golden Boy Promotions got lucky in picking up this fighter who could compete with any super welterweight out there. Anyone.
Vergara, 30, is another Argentine product and if you know anything about that South American country, they groom strong fighters with power. Think Marcos Maidana. This will be his first true test.
“I really hope he (Conwell) backs what he is saying,” said Vergara.
Marlen Esparza vs Arely Mucino
Former flyweight world titlists finally meet, but at super flyweight.
Olympic bronze medalist Marlen Esparza fights Mexico’s Arely Mucino in a fight that should have taken place years ago. Both are both coming off losses in title fights.
Esparza has the “fast hands” as she said and Mucino the “aggressive style” as she mentioned at the press conference on Thursday in Ontario.
It’s a 10-round affair and could mark the end for the loser.
Friday Night Fights
Undefeated middleweight Sadridden Akhmedov (14-0, 12 KOs) headlines a 360 Promotions and faces Raphael Igbokwe (17-5, 7 KOs) in the main event on Friday, Dec. 13, at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif. UFC Fight Pass will stream the event.
Akhmedov hails from Kazakhstan and if you remember legendary Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin also hails from that region. Tom Loeffler the head of 360 Promotions worked with GGG too among other legends.
Is Akhmedov the real deal?
Former American Olympian Carlos Balderas (14-2) is also on the card and fights veteran Cesar Villarraga (11-10-1) who has been known to upset favorites in the past.
Fights to Watch
Fri. UFC Fight Pass 7 p.m. Sadridden Akhmedov (14-0) vs Raphael Igbokwe (17-5).
Sat. DAZN 10:30 a.m. Murodjon Akhmadaliev (12-1) vs Ricardo Espinoza (30-4).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Alexis Rocha (25-2) vs Raul Curiel (15-0); Charles Conwell (20-0) vs Gerardo Vergara (20-0); Marlen Esparza (14-2) vs Arely Mucino (32-4-2).
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Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City
Cardoso, Nunez, and Akitsugi Bring Home the Bacon in Plant City
The final ShoBox event of 2025 played out tonight at the company’s regular staging ground in Plant City, Florida. When the smoke cleared, the “A-side” fighters in the featured bouts were 3-0 in step-up fights vs. battle-tested veterans, two of whom were former world title challengers. However, the victors in none of the three fights, with the arguable exception of lanky bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi, made any great gain in public esteem.
In the main event, a lightweight affair, Jonhatan Cardoso, a 25-year-old Brazilian, earned a hard-fought, 10-round unanimous decision over Los Mochis, Mexico southpaw Eduardo Ramirez. The decision would have been acceptable to most neutral observers if it had been deemed a draw, but the Brazilian won by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 twice.
Cardoso, now 18-1 (15), had the crowd in his corner., This was his fourth straight appearance in Plant City. Ramirez, disadvantaged by being the smaller man with a shorter reach, declined to 28-5-3.
Co-Feature
In a 10-round featherweight fight that had no indelible moments, Luis Reynaldo Nunez advanced to 20-0 (13) with a workmanlike 10-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Leonardo Baez. The judges had it 99-91 and 98-92 twice.
Nunez, from the Dominican Republic, is an economical fighter who fights behind a tight guard. Reputedly 85-5 as an amateur, he is managed by Sampson Lewkowicz who handles David Benavidez among others and trained by Bob Santos. Baez (22-5) was returning to the ring after a two-year hiatus.
Also
In a contest slated for “10,” ever-improving bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi improved to 12-0 (3 KOs) with a sixth-round stoppage of Filipino import Aston Palicte (28-7-1). Akitsugi caught Palicte against the ropes and unleashed a flurry of punches climaxed by a right hook. Palicte went down and was unable to beat the count. The official time was 1:07 of round six.
This was the third straight win by stoppage for Akitsugi, a 27-year-old southpaw who trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in LA under Roach’s assistant Eddie Hernandez. Palicte, who had been out of the ring for 16 months, is a former two-time world title challenger at superflyweight (115).
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Introducing Jaylan Phillips, Boxing’s Palindrome Man
On Thursday, Nov. 28, as Americans hunkered down at the dinner table with family and friends for our annual Thanksgiving Day feast, junior welterweight Jaylan Phillips and his trainer Kevin Henry were up in the sky flying from Las Vegas to Rochester, New York. For their Thanksgiving repast, they were offered a tiny bag of peanuts.
Phillips would not have eaten too much had the opportunity presented itself. The next day was the weigh-in. On Saturday, the 30th, he would compete in the 6-round main event of a small club show.
Phillips wasn’t brought to Rochester to win. His opponent, Wilfredo Flores, had a checkered career but he had once held a regional title and he lived in the general area. In boxing parlance, Jaylan Phillips was the “B” side. His role, from the promoter’s standpoint, was to fatten the record of the house fighter.
Jaylan didn’t follow the script. He won a unanimous decision over his 11-3-1 opponent, advancing his record to 4-3-4, and returned to Las Vegas with a new nickname, albeit not one of his own choosing or intended as a permanent accessory. This reporter dubbed him The Palindrome Man.
A palindrome is a word that spells the same backward and forward. Phillips’ current record is palindrome-ish.
It’s an odd record. One would be hard-pressed to find other active boxers with a slew of draws inside a small window of fights. It harks to the days, circa 1900, when some journeymen boxers accumulated as many draws as wins and losses combined.
A boxer with a 4-3-4 record would seem to be an unlikely candidate for a feature story, but the affable Jaylan Phillips is not your run-of-the-mill prizefighter.
Boxers, as we know, tend to be city folk, drawn from the black belts and the barrios of America’s urban places. Phillips grew up in Ebro, Florida, population 237 per the 2020 U.S. census. Ebro is in the Florida panhandle in the northwestern part of the state in a county that was dry until 2022. It is 23 miles due north of Panama City Beach but a world apart from the seaside Florida resort town and its pricey beachfront condos.
Of those 237 people, only five identified as African-American or black, or so it would be written, but the census-taker was obviously slothful. “That’s a crazy number,” says Phillips. “There has to be at least 40 or 50. And the reason I know that is that we are all related.”
“What does one do for excitement in Ebro?” we asked him. “Hunting, fishing, trapping, that sort of thing,” he said. And what does one trap? “Mostly raccoons,” he said, while adding that some of the elders in his extended family consider it a delicacy.
Phillips fought in Rochester, New York, on Saturday and was back in the gym in Las Vegas on Tuesday. He lives alone and does not own a car. His apartment, near UNLV, is three-and-a-half miles from the Top Rank Gym where he does most of his training. He jogs there and then jogs home again, this in a city where the temperature routinely exceeds 100 degrees for much of the year.
During his high school years, Phillips, now 25, concedes that he smoked a lot of weed and it impacted his grades. His interest in boxing was fueled by the exploits of Roy Jones Jr, another fighter with roots in the Florida panhandle. In his spare time, he enjoys watching tapes of old Sugar Ray Robinson fights which can be found on youtube. “He was the best,” says Phillips of Robinson who has been dead for 35 years, echoing an opinion that hasn’t diminished with the passage of time.
In his second pro fight, Phillips was thrust against a baby-faced novice from Cleveland, Abdullah Mason. Although Mason was only 17 years old, the Top Rank matchmaker did Jaylan no favors. He was still standing when the referee waived the fight off in the second round.
About the heavily-hyped Mason, Phillips says, “He’s a beast, like they say, but I would love to fight him again. I took that fight on two weeks’ notice. I’m confident the outcome would have been different if I had had a full camp.”
This observation will undoubtedly strike some as a delusion. Pound for pound, the precocious Mason just may be the top pro fighter in the world in his age group. But Jaylan isn’t lacking confidence which spills over when he talks about what lies ahead for him. “I will be a world champion,” he says matter-of-factly. And after boxing? “I see myself back home in Ebro living a humble life, hunting and fishing, but with a million dollars in the bank.”
If unswerving dedication and self-confidence are the keys to a successful boxing career, then Jaylan Phillips, notwithstanding his 4-3-4 record, is destined for big things. But here’s the rub:
“In boxing, it isn’t what you earn, but what you negotiate,” says the esteemed British boxing pundit Steve Bunce alluding to the importance of a well-connected manager. In a perfect world, each win would be stepping-stone to a bigger fight with a commensurately larger purse. But in this chaotic sport, a “B side” fighter who scores an upset in a low-level fight may actually be penalized for his “impertinence.” Promoters may be wary of using him again (the old “risk/reward” encumbrance) and, in a sport where it’s important for an up-and-comer to stay busy, his progress may be stalled.
Phillips doesn’t know when his next assignment will materialize, but regardless he will keep plugging along while setting an example that others who aspire to greatness would be wise to emulate.
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