billyc
Steven Bang Bang Butler Returns to The Ring June 6
STEVEN BUTLER VS. PATRICE VOLNY; ONLY ONE WILL REIGN OVER MONTREAL ON JUNE 6
Montreal, Friday, April 12, 2024 — Patrice Volny has sharply asserted his intention to live up to his nickname “Vicious” on June 6, setting the stage for one of the most anticipated duels in the country in recent years; a showdown of national significance against Steven “Bang Bang” Butler. The two Montreal titans will clash in the arena of the Cabaret du Casino de Montreal in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds aimed at determining once and for all who is the master of the house. Furthermore, with the WBC Francophone middleweight title also on the line, the winner will once again be propelled onto the world stage. This latest chapter of great Quebec rivalries will be broadcast starting at 7:00 PM on the Punching Grace and ESPN+ channels.
“We’re talking about a local fight, an international-scale fight, and above all, a fight our fans have been clamoring for for some time, so we are more than happy to finally offer it to them. For our team, it also fits into the desire to bring Steven Butler back to the top, but this time, by first cleaning up our own backyard,” says Camille Estephan, president of the Montreal-based company Eye of the Tiger.
His protege, Quebec slugger Steven Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs), is on a mission in 2024. Ranked first in Canada at 160 lbs according to Boxrec, it took him only 65 seconds to defeat the then #2 in the country, Ontario’s Steve Rolls, last March. Now that this matter is settled, “Bang Bang” wants to climb the world rankings again, and to do so, he aims to definitively settle the debate with his Canadian, Quebecois, and Montreal compatriot, Patrice Volny.
“It’s nothing personal, but our paths cross. I’ll simply show everyone who is the king of the mountain at 160 pounds in Quebec,” says Steven Butler.
The task ahead, however, looks daunting, as while BoxRec considers Butler the 14th best middleweight in the world, Patrice Volny (18-1, 12 KOs) closely follows at 20th. Like his rival, he scored his most significant KO in his last fight, stopping American DeAndre Ware in the 10th round last February in Halifax. However, in June, the former NABA and WBO NABO 160-pound champion will box in Montreal for the first time in nearly seven years, returning home with the iron will to make an important point:
“I’m not nicknamed ‘Vicious’ for nothing,” asserts Patrice Volny, equally eager to take control of the Quebecois 160-pound mountain…
Blair “The Flair” Cobbs Joins Forces with Justin Gamber
Blair “The Flair” Cobbs Joins Forces with Coach Justin Gamber
LAS VEGAS, NV (March 26, 2024) – Don King’s newly signed welterweight, Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs), has officially teamed up with esteemed boxing coach Justin Gamber. Together, they are working in harmony and the two seem to be a perfect fit for each other.
Known for his flashy style and explosive performances in the ring, Cobbs brings his unique flair to the partnership, while Coach Gamber provides the technical expertise and strategic guidance needed to take Cobbs’ career to new heights.
“I’m really liking the way things are going with Coach Justin,” stated Cobbs, who is a native of Philadelphia, PA, but now training out of Las Vegas. “We’re putting in the work, day in and day out, and I can feel myself improving with each session. Together, I believe we’re unstoppable.”
“Blair has all the tools to compete at the elite level of boxing,” said Coach Gamber, seeing Cobbs’ unique talent. “He’s really hungry to get back in the ring and show everyone he still has a lot of fight left in him. I’m confident that we can achieve great things together.”
“Blair and Coach Justin make a dynamic team, and I’m thrilled to see them working together towards their shared goals,” Greg Hannely, CEO of Prince Ranch Boxing and Cobbs’ manager said. “There’s no limit to what they can achieve in the ring.”
The boxing world eagerly anticipates witnessing the progress of Blair “The Flair” Cobbs under the guidance of Coach Justin Gamber, as they continue to make waves in the welterweight division. A fight with Adrien Broner is being worked out behind the scenes and an announcement on who Blair Cobbs will fight next will be revealed shortly.
Boxing Rankings Have Become Hard To Stomach
August 1, 2022
Boxing Rankings Have Become Hard To Stomach
By: Bill Calogero
There used to be a time when a top-ten ranking really meant something. Back in the days when we had only one world and only one World Champion, to be rated at number ten in any of the eight original weight classes was great for the fighter and the fan. It meant something! If you were a Heavyweight and you were ranked at number ten, you got respect. People knew your name. It was an achievement to be a top ten fighter. Being a top-ten fighter meant you could get a shot at being a Champion. A Champion that was the only person in a weight class who WAS a Champion. There were only eight World Champions at a time. AND, there were way more fighters competing for that title! Stop and think about that. Eight weight classes. Eight World Champions.
Times have changed. Today we have eighteen weight classes. We have FOUR major sanctioning bodies and we have a fraction of the fighters. It gets worse. Of the four major sanctioning bodies, most have at least two champions in each weight class. Whether they call it a Super Champion, or a regular Champion, or Gold, Silver, upcoming, champion in recess, or whatever Champion, they have multiple champions in eighteen weight classes.
As far as I know, we still only have one world, but I guess even that could be debated depending on what side you are on politically, but now we have potentially at least thirty-six World Champions and that’s assuming we are only counting two per weight class. THIRTY SIX World Champions. LESS fighters competing. Come on, what does that mean? YOU KNOW what it means. You know you do. It means that the caliber of the Champions is at an all-time low. Don’t get me wrong here. There are some great fighters and of course Champions out there today, but thirty-six?
No wait…there’s more! When there were eight weight classes and eight World Champions it was cut and dry who the number five ranked contender was in a specific weight class. Today, with the four-headed sanctioning body monster we have today, there are potentially FORTY different top ten fighters in each division. Do the math. Four sanctioning bodies’ times ten top-ten fighters equals forty. Can that get worse? YES because there are sixteen weight classes, so we can potentially have six hundred and forty ranked fighters!!!
OF COURSE some of the sanctioning bodies have the same fighters ranked but the ranking number are all over the place. Is there value in being ranked today? The answer unfortunately is yes. The reason is because if you have a ranking, no matter how many other fighters that are in your weight class with the same ranking, promoters and networks will use that. Why? Because they have bamboozled the boxing fan into believing that the fighter is a quality fighter if they are ranked even though there could be thirty or more other fighters in the same weight class with the same ranking with one of the sanctioning bodies. It’s the same with the champions. Promoters and the Networks feel they can sell a fight if there’s a World Title on the line. It doesn’t matter who has it, or how good the fighter is as long as there’s a title involved, the boxing fan will watch it. Personally, in my opinion this is the biggest problem with boxing today. It goes hand in hand with the 0.
There are plenty of good fighters out there that have a loss or two, but because if it, they may never get the shot. Promoters don’t want to risk that so what they do is feed their fighters a steady diet of winnable fights to preserve the 0. This may help them with the networks and sanctioning bodies but I will tell you this; it doesn’t help the fighter. Why you ask? Because today it’s easier to win a title than it is to hold onto it. If a fighter fought progressively harder opposition they would have the opportunity to improve. We don’t get to see that today until after they lose their title. Then it becomes the marketing of the comeback. It’s the business of boxing, like it or not. As long as fans are willing to buy a ticket, or an event, this is how it will be.
This past Saturday night we saw Danny Garcia fight a beautiful fight against Jose Benavidez Jr. after a nineteen month layoff to win his first fight ever in the Jr. Middleweight division. I’m a fan of Danny’s and I thought he looked sharp and was happy for him. During my post fight show I mentioned that I felt that he should fight another Jr. Middleweight right away but he should not focus on a top-ten fighter. EVEN with all the top ten fighters out there, in my opinion he should fight another legit Jr., Middleweight before he steps in the ring with a real top-five opponent. He still needs to adjust to the weight class.
HOWEVER, being out of the ring for nineteen months, coming off a loss in the welterweight division, he was STILL ranked at number five in the Jr. Middleweight division by the WBC. If this doesn’t back up what I am saying here, nothing will.
I took the four major-sanctioning bodies rankings for the Heavyweight division. Like I said earlier, they were all over the place. Even ESPN’s rankings for the Heavyweights were a little off in my opinion as were BoxRec’s, who bases their ranking (supposedly) on the guy who beat the guy and who that guy beat system that they somehow feed into a computer and spit out their top fifty.
I looked at all of them. Then I looked at the fighters, who they fought, who THEY fought, when they fought them and when they fought last. I will be going over the results as well as my overall thoughts of the Heavyweight division and my top ten during my next show, which is schedule to be broadcast live on Wednesday at 5:30 pm EST on www.youtube.com/TalkinBoxing and on www.BillyCBoxing.com.
My thoughts on the Heavyweight division will be available for replay anytime after that at the same locations as well as our podcast.
And We’re Back !!!
July 29, 2022
And We’re Back!
By: Bill Calogero
It’s been an on and off past two years with me and professional boxing, the sport I love and have been involved with for over 35 years as a promoter, manager, adviser, writer, gym owner, commentator and of course a talk show host for TV, Radio and podcasts. I wanted to let everyone know that the passion is back and so is Billy C!
I’ve got to be honest when I say that I definitely had some trouble with the sport and how it is going today verses the past, but I’ve realized that this is really how it’s always been. I think the biggest issue that I’ve have these past two years was the way fighters seem to take the easy way out. I mean this is a vicious sport and throughout its history, most fighters have given more than they have received in financial compensation so in a way, I get it, but I can’t help but feel the result has been a decline.
Add to that that promoters don’t really promote anymore. They want to be like the UFC model; that is a league and what that translates to in boxing is to only promote and support their fighters and not cross over to fight another promoter’s fighter. Everyone knows that Don King and Bob Arum, never really had any love for each other, but when a fight needed to happen and when the fans wanted it, they worked it out. That simply doesn’t happen anymore. Add to that Internet stars getting the love and actually being regarded as boxers just makes me sick.
HOWEVER, when they can generate the money, well, then things happen. I guess for me it was more about the fighters who gave it their all in years gone by and to me it disrespects them. Add to that today’s young boxing fan seems to think they know it all and it also seems that they have no interest in learning about its history, which to me is the most important part of the sport. Boxing and its history is like no other sport and in my opinion, you need to know about it. BUT…that’s me and I think I’ve come to the point where I want to move forward and hope that maybe, just maybe I can sway some of the younger fans into trying to FOCUS and listen to and of course learn about the fighters who paved the way for the fighters of today. The warriors who made the sport.
With that said, I would like everyone to know that the show will begin to come back on a regular basis beginning with a post Danny Garcia vs. Jose Benavidez Jr. fight show. This time around we plan on offering our show exclusively on YouTube and of course our Podcast. The show will be located at www.YouTube.com/TalkinBoxing and BillyCBoxing.com, where you can watch the show or listen to the Podcast through BillyCBoxing.com or of course ITunes. I hope to get some commentating gigs as well, but the phone has to ring for that boys & girls!
Finally, I want everyone to know that I will begin writing again. I will start out with a bi-monthly article posted right here on BillyCBoxing.com. I also plan on writing another book. I currently have several ideas on whom it will be on and hope to make my decision soon.
In the meantime, tune into our post fight show approximately ten (10) minutes after the official decision is announced from the Garcia-Benavidez Jr. fight this Saturday evening.
Danny Garcia has a record of 36-3 (21 KO’s). He’s never been stopped and his only losses are to Error Spence Jr., Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman. He’s former World Jr. Welterweight and welterweight champion. (Note: I have some interviews Danny & I had when he was just starting out that I plan to air soon…they are a MUST to hear all these years later!)
Garcia takes on Jose Benavidez Jr. who has a record of 27-1-1 (18 KO’s). His only loss was a 12th round KO defeat at the hands of one of boxing’s best, Terence Crawford. His last fight was a Majority decision DRAW against Francisco Emanuel Torres (17-3) this past November. It should be a good test for Garcia who hasn’t been in the ring since December of 2020.
The other fight that should be interesting on this card will be the return of Adam Kownacki, who is 20 – 2 (15 KO’s). Both his losses came at the hands of Robert Helenius. The first was a 4th round stoppage in 2020 and the second in the rematch; a 6th round stoppage in 2021. He’s looking to rebound against the 16-1 (12 KO’s) Al Eren Demirezen. His only loss came in 2019 against Efe Ajagba. Since that loss, he has rattled off five consecutive wins.
The results of both of these fights should determine the futures of both Garcia and Kownacki, both fan favorites.