Boxing: Antonio’s Reliable Source on Lil’ Wayne, Twilight, Abbie Cornish, Jon Gosselin, Britney Spears and yes, Boxing!
By Antonio Santiago, Doghouse Boxing (Aug 26, 2009)  
Have you ever heard the song “And Then Along Comes a Woman” by Chicago? I’m going to admit that I am a fool for love songs, whether hard rock, pop or hip hop. “Roxanna” and “Africa” by Toto are two other great examples of 1980s romantic rock songs. Then there is the Cherry Cola song, by 1990s Australian group Savage Garden, and even Quiero Ser, by Puerto Rican teen rock sensation Menudo.

So what’s my point in remembering all those great songs, you may ask? Simply, that love is something that it’s so strange and we are usually on the constant look out for it, even sometimes when we are already dating or married to someone. I can tell you that I think I found the love of my life at the age of thirteen, in a girl named Thelvenetsy. We never actually split. Just like parents usually do, mine decided to move without ever telling me and the last day I saw her, was the very day that we moved to another city. But I have never felt anything like I felt for Thelvenetsy, the “Pilly” that I have tattooed on my chest, and hopefully someday we may run into each other again, even if just to see how we are doing. Love, I think, is one of the constants that human beings have to have in order to find themselves, religion being another one of those constants.

Unfortunately, at the same time, in that quest for love, we get ourselves into less than desirable situations, like domestic violence and betrayal. Because of that, the first step we have to accomplish to find that everlasting love, is loving ourselves. Because, let’s say, if you either dish or receive punishment to or from your partner, and you keep in a relationship like that, you don’t love yourself.

There lays, I believe, the principal rule towards finding that which we all desire to find and which is everlasting love: when you love yourself, somebody else will love you. That person, the one who will truly love you and treat him or herself with respect as much as he or she will respect you, will love you forever, in the good ones and the bad ones. And then, you can go on listening to your favorite romantic songs.

Just remember: love yourself first, and eternal romance will eventually knock on your door!

Britney Makes The Top Ten

I think the David Letterman Show is plain boring. I never, in fact, watch it, and have not seen it since I was 12 and it was shown on Channel 18 in Puerto Rico. But this week, had I known what was in storage, I would have watched.

You see, what was in storage was exactly, Britney Spears in a bikini. According to pop eater.com, she was seen wearing a bikini on Letterman’s show. And say what you want about the “not that innocent” girl, she looks eatable in a bikini and still has a great body! Spears read the “Top Ten Ways The World Would be Different if Britney Spears Were President”, and I found three of them to be very funny: #9, We would only invade fun places like Cabo, #2, Three words: Vice President Diddy, and #1, Finally the media would pay some attention to me (Britney). Like if she reeeeally needed more media attention!!

Well, in boxing we have the top ten this and top ten that, like top ten Heavyweights, top ten tomato cans of all time, top ten knockout artists. Guess what? Britney Spears makes my top ten of fine looking bikini babes!!

Lil’ Wayne Gets two Lil’ Ones!

Remember back in the days when we had Lil Bow Wow, Lil Romeo, Lil this and Lil that? (a shout to Bow Wow, by the way, I once met him in person and he’s the most down to earth guy you can imagine!!).

Well, they ain’t so little anymore, and one of them is about to get two lil’ ones of his own! You see, Lil’ Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., is having two children, one with his girlfriend Nivea and the other one with actress Lauren London. The news about London’s pregnancy were broken by Los Angeles jock Fuzzy during an interview with L.A. radio station Power 96.

I want to wish Lil’ Wayne, the two mothers-to-be and the babies the best of luck and a great future. And, hey, can anybody say “Double Knockout”??

A Genesis on the set of Twilight??

You know, in the Bible, Genesis is the first book, and so because of that, every time that something is beginning, people may call it the genesis of this or the genesis of that, etc. Well, enough with the history lesson, because I always hated the history class anyways. Now, let’s talk about the present.

There seems to be a romantic genesis happening on the set of the Twilight movie series. And, who is involved? Yep, you guessed it, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Steward! Sorry, fans of both actors, but I must say the news the way they are printed! And I know how you feel because Pattinson taking Steward off the field is hard to swallow for me as well, I kept hope she might crawl into my (computer desk)! According to Life and Style Magazine, Pattinson says that the couple are back on.

The magazine also says that Nikki Redd was overheard saying “I saw the pictures! Getting in cabs together, going for lunch….I thought you were going to keep it undercover!!”

Keep what undercover? Come on Rob and Kristy! We want to know what’s the deal? Is it, or is it not? You guys are starting to sound like the WBA’s Bantamweight division, where a guy from Venezuela says “I’m the Champion”, he’s overheard by one in England who says “No, I am!” and finally, one from Alabama yells “move over, ya’ll Bubbas, I’m the real Champion!!”. So, what’s the real answer then, Rob and Kristy??

Talking of Teen Idols…

There was a time, about 10 years ago, when my sister’s room was adorned with posters of The Backstreet Boys, N’SYNC, No Authority, 98 Degrees, Westside, and all the other boy bands of the time. I’ll be honest with you, I even liked some of those bands’ music, like the Boys’ “As Long as You Love Me”.

Well, anyways, one of those bands was BB Mak. Do you remember them? Well, if you are around 24 years old now, chances are you do. Christian Burns certainly does. He was one of them.

Burns was seen at the Big Apple, New York, recently, according to Popeater.com. He now leads a new band, named Bleach Works. Burns recorded his visit to “Nueva York” and posted a video of it on the Internet. Burns promises that Bleach Works’, well, work, is more mature than what he had his fans used to at BB Mak.

You know, I have to ask this: why do all former child star singers say that their new work is more mature as often as boxers say that they will break each other’s teeth, but fail to deliver on their promises much more often??

Ryan Phillippe Dating Difficulties?

Abbie Cornish (Pictured at the top of this article) is an up and coming actress whose movie, “Bright Star”, is about to hit a theater near you. And she also happens to be the girlfriend of Ryan Phillippe, he of the classic teen movies such as “Cruel Intentions”.

And it just happens that Cornish recently opened up (no, not in that way, although if she did, I’d be the first to run and get my Playboy copy!!) to the W Magazine and spoke about the beginnings of her relationship with Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon's ex. She said that press attention at the start of their relationship was particularly difficult, expressing that “It was a really difficult time for me. It was just this world of tabloid magazines that I’d never been exposed to”.

Of course, I say, there are two sides to what she is talking about. Because if you don’t want the attention she is talking about, you simply just stay at home or go and make some community plays, not a full length, Hollywood movie! So, some people don’t get what they want. On the other hand, like Phillippe with the two women that so far have been in his life, some others get what we all want!!

One more thing: what a terrible last name to have! The last name Cornish, sounds, well…..”Cornish”! I’d even prefer “Lyakhovich” to that!!!

Man Of The Year

Jon Gosselin has been making a lot of news lately, mainly for doing what most of us men want to do both also for his split with his wife (and many of us do want to do that too!). Things have been said about Jon. That he doesn’t see his children. That he’s a cradle rocker with a younger girlfriend, that he this or that. Whatever of that is true or not, there is one thing we can’t say about Jon: he apparently is not a careless, heartless person. According to US Magazine, he earned his brownie cookies recently by visiting children with Cancer.

Gosselin was seen on Tuesday, August 18th, visiting children with that terrible disease at New York’s Morgan Stantley Children’s Hospital, according to the magazine. A source who spoke to the magazine about the deed also slammed a former tabloid reporter, Kate Major, who told Life and Style Magazine that Jon used to whisk her into his house when his kids were asleep.

To me that all of that, just like Morales-Barrera I, is just the beginning of a thrilling set of events!!

Going at it Like a Wolf?

Singer Patrick Wolf seems to be living up to his nickname lately. He has been having some personal troubles, and he has let the wolf come out. Literally.

According to Spinner.com, the singer was at a concert on August 13th, which also happens to be my birthday by the way, in Cologne, Germany, when he lashed out at the fans. Wolf spat, he said “(bleep, bleep, bleep!)” and he even tried to invent an Olympic sport just in time for when the International Olympic Committee admitted Women’s Boxing as one, by hurling instruments across the stage. Give him a gold medal. He also deserves a gold medal on archery, as he did not hit anyone around him. Or, wait, maybe he doesn’t, maybe he did want to hit someone and missed!!!

It Was The Mountain Dew

Jeanne Schnepp of Iowa deserves to be awarded with a supply of Mountain Dew sodas every week for the rest of her life. Because it was that, her life, which she precisely almost lost during a fishing trip, but she survived. By drinking Mountain Dews.

The heroic woman was caught in the middle of tangled river bush as she fished near Iowa City. According to AOL.com, she heard raging waters and decided to move her raft to the side of the river, thus becoming invisible to the rest of the population and surviving on heart and the iconic lime soda alone.

And the next modality in boxing? Give Mountain Dews at the corner to boxers who are about to be finished. They seem to be good at revitalizing you!

Boxing Anniversaries

It seems like it was yesterday, but it was actually 25 years ago when two fantastic dynamos, Jung Koo Chang of South Korea and Katsuo Tokashiki of Japan, met for Chang’s WBC world Junior Flyweight title on August 19th, 1984, in Japan. Tokashiki and Chang should both be in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and to me it’s just as mysterious that they aren’t as it is that people in baseball’s Hall of Fame won’t stop being childish and let Pete Rose in that Hall of Fame.

Well, in a great fight, Chang knocked out the former WBA world Junior Flyweight Champion Tokashiki in nine spectacular rounds to retain his belt, with a knockout that if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you visit you tube.com right now and check it out. You Won’t be sorry you did!!!

R.I.P.

Jasmine Fiore. The 28 year old swimsuit model had been reported disappeared over the past weekend, but now, according to AOL.com, a body that was found inside a suitcase has been identified as hers. A person of interest in the police’s investigation is Ryan Alexander Jenkins, a Canadian, whom Fiore’s mother identified as a man she had been dating. The pair may have secretly wed in Las Vegas. Jenkins was a contestant in the television reality show “Megan Wants a Millionaire”.

According to investigations, Jasmine Fiore was strangled somewhere after attending a poker party with her alleged boyfriend on Saturday night at San Diego, California.

May she rest in peace.


Sometimes I question the motives behind peoples’ dreams. Some dream of being a ballerina, while others dream of breaking rival bones. Yet others want to graduate with a degree in business management
from a college, or to be a world Champion at a game played with a ball, or a nail specialist in a beauty saloon. But what makes us dream about one thing in specific? Well, often, we can find the answer to that question in our childhoods. Many times, we can trace our life’s dreams to a moment in which someone told us we were good at something, or to another person in our family whose own dreams were frustrated but who tried to make those dreams come true through us. Maybe there is a Latino, Arabian American or Asian American kid out there who has heard that Barack Obama is the first Black President in the United States enough times that he or she is dreaming about becoming the first President of his or her race. Obama has become an inspirational figure to many.

Then, there are those who had their dreams and aspirations frustrated. Many of them did it to support their children and make sure that we had a better chance in life than they did.

Well, because of those who could not reach their dreams, I will tell you this: In order for you to be a complete person when you grow old, you should go ahead and start making your dreams come true from this moment on, whatever that dream is. Do it for the future of the world. Do it for the past of your family, so that your parents and your grandparents' effort did not go in vain. Do it for your family. Most importantly, do it for yourself.

Go do it!!

Ultimate Britney

Well, what do you do when you are watching the Teen Choice Awards and want to know who will take home the trophies before they actually handle them? You go to Antonio’s Reliable Source at Doghouseboxing.com, of course!! Well, some of the awards, anyway!!

And so we have found out that the event, which airs on Monday night on television, will honor Britney Spears with their “Ultimate Choice Award”, according to US Magazine. Other people who are scheduled to perform include Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and The Black Eyed Peas.

I just wonder which choice is she being awarded for? Shaving her head? Maybe. Getting married to, huh, who was that dude? Oh yeah, Kevin Federline? Can’t be. Her music? Not likely.

I guess it’s like when Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya had their rematch, in which the one who was “awarded” did not deserve to be!

She Should Have Known…

Puerto Rican actress Vanessa Hudgens is hot. And she is mad. And now, she is red hot mad about some photos that have surfaced on the Internet, with her supposedly naked. So what’s the big deal, you may ask? Well, nothing, if you count invading a person’s privacy and exposing someone nude when she was a minor as small deals, anyways.

Hudgens, according to TMZ.com, had naked photos of her as a teenager distributed over the Internet to many websites, including TMZ, which declined the pictures. She may have been the victim of a hacker who penetrated her computer, the site claims.

Well, two things about this case: Shouldn’t she have learned something from the Miley Cyrus case? If you don’t want your nude photos shown to the entire world, you don’t put them on the Internet! For all we know, the jerk who did this could be the same jerk who posted Cyrus’ photos! Secondly, people, you need to stop being sick and using minors for your own perverted pleasures.

Those who do, deserve to be inside a ring with Chris Arreola. With their hands tied to their back.

Nah Nah Nah Nah, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye!

There are only two reasons I watch “American idol’ sporadically: To see the rejects who sing so bad, they make me feel assured I am not the only one, and to hear Paula Abdul. For sure, she is better to look at than Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson or Kara DioGuardi!

Besides, she is the only one out there who really knows what it takes to be a music star and to stand in front of thousands upon thousands of people every night and sing. And she is also the sweetest of all judges. And guess what? As of American Idol’s next season, she will also be the one that’s gone. According to the Fox Channel, Abdul has announced that she will no longer be there, the network declaring that they are saddened and wish her the best.

Abdul told people on Twitter.com that “with sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL”.

Say it ain’t so, Paula! What, if you leave now, you will only leave us with three judges about as smart about being singing stars as the judges who gave Evander Holyfield a draw in his first loss….ehem, fight, with Lennox Lewis are at judging a boxing fight!!

The Bell Rings for Marky Mark

Mark Wahlberg, rap singing brother of Old….I mean, New Kids On The Block Donnie Wahlberg and movie star of many great films such as “The Happening”, “Max Payne”, “Boogie Nights” and “Rock Star”, has just tied the knot.

Wahlberg got married to long time girlfriend Rhea Durham, according to Popeater.com. The couple did so at a very private ceremony in Beverly Hills. Only a dozen people attended, and I was not one of them. Geez, Marky Mark had promised me an invitation! Oh well!

In any case, I want to wish the couple more than just “12 Rounds” of joy and happiness together!

And So It Does For Cheech

Do you remember “Cheech” Marin? He of the crazy “Cheech and Chong” comedies with Tommy Chong? I certainly do! He was one of my favorite comics when I was a kid with all the movies he and fellow comic great Tommy made in the 1970’s! Oops!, I guess that reveals my age to the ladies, more or less!

Anyways, Cheech Marin also got married. The star of the “Born In East L.A.” movie and video, and of “A Million To Juan” and “The Shrimp On The Barbie”, among many others, got married to Piano player Natasha Rubin on August 8th in Malibu, according to Popeater.com.

To Cheech and Natasha: Make this one last longer than Michael Spinks did against Mike Tyson! And wishes of happiness forever to you as well!

Good News…and Bad News Also

Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who are Koran-American, are champions of another kind: The two are champions of the freedom of speech, and for that, they were jailed in North Korea, where freedom of speech is as honored as the New York Yankees are at Fenway Park in Boston. The two women, who we must admire and look up to, were ultimately liberated this past week, after former United States President Bill Clinton spoke on their behalf with North Korean President Kim Jong II, according to AOL.com.

I am very happy about the two being back at home, but hope that the negotiations did not include a trade-off that could put Americans in harm’s way. After all, you know some of these leaders. They don’t just give away like that!

On the other side, there is Sudanese journalist Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein, who is with the United Nations Mission in Sudan. She was arrested, according to Agence France-Presse, along with 12 other women, for wearing pants! The woman faces up to 40 lashes if convicted.

I know the Sudanese have had the non-sense of committing the much more frivolous crime of punishing women for that many times, so I want to ask them to come to their senses for once and realize how stupid they are when they diminish a woman’s right to do as she wants and make whatever decision she feels like making.

Al-Hussein, for standing up for women and their rights in Sudan by, well, wearing her pants right where they should go, should be considered a hero by all of us.

Break in the Madeleine McCann Case

For those of you who have been following my column since it ran at the former website, you all know that I have been publicly praying for Madeleine McCann’s safe return home for many months now, the same as I did for baby Kaylee (who was sadly found dead a few months ago in Florida).

Well, there seems to have been a break in the McCann case, and it involves a Victoria Beckham look alike. According to AOL News, Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann of Great Britain, claim that two men saw a New Zealand or Australia woman in Barcelona, Spain, days before Madeleine disappeared in Portugal, and that the woman told them some information that has led them to believe she was involved with the disappearance.

Madeleine McCann would be only 5 years old currently. We keep on praying and hoping for her safe return home.

A Hero Is Gone

Narie Balkaran may not be remembered by many when history’s books are written. But by unselfishly giving away his most important possession, he ensured he will be remembered by those who were most important to him: his wife and family.

Balkaran, 22, died on Monday, August 2nd, after saving his wife Delia, 25, and his daughter Daniela, almost 2, when a dangerous wave of water almost drowned their entire family at Jones Beach in New York City, according to The New York Post, which published the story recounted by Delia Balkaran.

Once again, like in Alexis Arguello’s, Arturo Gatti’s and Vernon Forrest’s case, a truly great one has left us.

Our condolences to the Balkaran family.

Grandma!….Not Again!!!

Many times, we hear from people who have spent half their lives in jail. What we don’t hear much about, however, are people who have spent half their lives in the process of being arrested alone!!!

The last seems to be true of Ella Orko. The 86 year old, from Chicago, is in jail for the 61st time, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She was arrested after trying to steal wrinkle cream, double A batteries, salmon and other items from a supermarket. When arrested, she had $250 dollars worth of items, the report claims. Her first arrest came in 1956.

Well, salmon, batteries….ok, ok. Stealing is not good but at least, she could use those items. But wrinkle cream? Grandma, you’re 86, who are you kidding???

She should just join Don King in retirement.

Seen And On The Sceen

Former four division world Champion boxer and International Boxing Hall of Fame member Pernell Whitaker and former two time WBA world Welterweight Champion Mark Breland were on hand at the ESPN studio as part of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” show on Friday, August 7th, to witness Alfredo Angulo’s wipe out of Gabriel Rosado in only two rounds at Primm, Nevada. The pair is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their being together in the United States Olympic Boxing Team of 1984, where they won gold medals, Whitaker by beating Puerto Rico’s Luis Ortiz, who earned Puerto Rico’s only silver medal at any sport in Olympic history during those games. In that team, they were joined by Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor and Virgil Hill, among many others.

I want to take this opportunity to salute Ortiz, by the way. About two weeks after the games, held in Los Angeles, my dad took me to meet him at his house and I was able to pose with him, that historic silver medal placed on my neck! Great times those were! Wherever he is at now, I want to make sure Luis Ortiz knows he is not forgotten by the fans!

Boxing Anniversaries

Hector Camacho Sr. has double reasons to celebrate in August. Boxing-wise, August seems to be the luckiest month for Camacho Sr. You see, on August 7th, it was the 26th anniversary of Camacho Sr’.s beat down of Rafael “Bazooka” Limon, the all time Mexican great. The fight took place that day, but in 1983, at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the vacant WBC world Junior Lightweight title. Bobby Chacon, another all time great and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and Limon’s conqueror for the title, refused to fight Camacho Sr. in Puerto Rico due to contractual reasons, so the title was then declared vacant. In any case, Camacho Sr. gave Limon a frightful beating, stopping him in five rounds to earn his first world Championship.

Two years later, on August 10th 24 years ago, Camacho Sr. went up in weight to the Lightweight division and challenged another Mexican, Jose Luis Ramirez, for the Sinaloan’s WBC world Lightweight title. That fight took place in 1985, at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Camacho Sr. dropped Ramirez in round three, proceeding to put on a boxing clinic and win the title by a wide unanimous decision. Many of Hector Camacho Sr.’s big fights were against Mexicans, the beating he himself took at the hands of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. also being part of boxing’s lore. The fight against Ramirez was actually the fight where Camacho Sr. first introduced the defensive-first style to which he made us accustomed to the rest of his career.

Our Hearts Are With

Adam Yauch. The member of The Beastie Boys, who is also known as “MCA”, has cancer, according to Spinner.com. He underwent surgery recently at a hospital, and received well wishes from Karen-O and Q-Tip.

Steven Tyler. The lead singer for Aerosmith was lifted to a hospital in Sturgis, South Dakota, after falling off stage during a concert at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally at the Buffalo Chips Campground, the Rapid City Journal reports. Aerosmith was playing “Love In An Elevator” when the stage suffered a system breakdown. Tyler, 61, decided to keep entertaining the fans by dancing, but he fell backwards off stage and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Please send all Questions and comments to Antonio at TJ69662094@aol.com.


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