Why The Global Supply Chain Is Broken And How To Fix It

By

-

November 4, 2021

Containers stacked up at the Port of Los Angeles in December 2020 as the pandemic and other factors contributed to supply-chain challenges. (Barrett Ward/Unsplash)

By Abigail Klein Leichman

Eytan Buchman calls it a “shipstorm.”

Speaking from the Israeli headquarters of shipping firm Freightos, the chief marketing officer is referring to the confluence of events behind a global supply-chain crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered many of these events, such as increased online purchasing, labor shortages, port shutdowns and passenger flight cancellations.

There is a severe backlog at the world’s biggest ports, long delays in getting goods to consumers, and skyrocketing costs at every point along the way.

“It’s never been more expensive to ship and never less reliable to get there,” says Ami Daniel, CEO of maritime intelligence company Windward.

This is a problem of gargantuan proportions, with some $19 trillion worth of goods shipped annually across the globe. About 90 percent, by volume, travels aboard container ships.

Ffreight industry experts talk about the crisis and how Israeli technology can help.

Crazy logistical challenges

The ship began hitting the fan, so to speak, when the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spread in countries where much merchandise originates.

**Eytan Buchman, CMO of Freightos (Courtesy of Freightos)**

“In January and February 2020, the freight industry started to be impacted as we saw a drop in manufacture and export from Southeast Asia,” says Buchman.

“The biggest initial impact was on air cargo because there was less space and more demand. Half of air cargo travels on passenger planes and nobody was flying, but the need for medical gear and increased ecommerce spiked demand,” he said.

“Costs for air cargo increased 400 percent within weeks, and airlines had crazy logistical challenges because of quarantine requirements for crews.”

**Air cargo was impacted when the pandemic hit because there was less space for goods and more demand. (Raimond Klavins/Unsplash)**

By summer, ocean cargo was in crisis mode due to “a massive shift from consumption of services to consumption of goods during lockdowns. Everyone was spending more on actual products, and more imports were needed,” says Buchman.

“Home Depot shelled out for their own chartered container ship. When Peleton wanted their bikes quickly, they flew them. Smaller companies have shifted sourcing. But everyone’s getting hit.”

Accidents, illness

Accidents, like the container ship stuck in the Suez Canal, and COVID-caused personnel shortages and port closings, led to unprecedented bottlenecks.

As a result, “If it used to take 35 days for items from a warehouse in China to reach the U.S., now it takes 71 days. If it used to cost $1,800 to ship a 40-foot container from China to the U.S., now it costs $22,000,” Buchman said.

**Nir Gartzman, co-founder and managing partner of Israeli maritime startup accelerator theDOCK (Courtesy of Nir Gartzman)**

Importers and consumers are willing to pay double or triple to make sure their merchandise arrives on time, said Nir Gartzman, co-founder and managing partner of Israeli maritime-focused venture capital firm theDOCK.

“The one industry that benefits most is shippers, with a huge peak of demand and willingness to pay,” says Gartzman.

“The 10 biggest shipping companies got tens of billions in net revenues this past year, more than their entire revenue for the past two decades. This is insane.”

The long-term solution, Gartzman said, “is more capacity and more containers, which is already happening. But it will take two or three years to build these vessels.”

Meanwhile, innovations from Israel are helping items reach their destination more efficiently and inexpensively. This is a critical issue with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the December holidays fast approaching.

**Container loading in Rotterdam’s port. (Bernd Dittrich/Unsplash)**

Travel agents for freight

Seven-year-old Freightos, now the largest freight marketplace in the world, pioneered pricing digitization for freight forwarders — the “travel agents” of freight.

Then Freightos began connecting freight forwarders directly to importers and exporters for price comparisons, bookings and shipping management.

The pandemic “woke up customers to the urgency for digitization, accelerate a trend that was already happening,” says Buchman.

**Port of Marseille, France, in October 2021. (Jeremy Bezanger/Unsplash)**

Now, he says, “We are building one global freight booking platform that connects all players in the international freight industry,” including importers, exporters (from giants like IKEA to individuals selling on Amazon from their basement), airlines, ocean liners and trucking companies.

“While airline passenger seats have been digitized for decades, there was no digitization on the same plane for cargo space. Airlines sell 85 percent of passenger seats while cargo holds are half empty,” says Buchman.

Through WebCargo, which Freightos acquired five years ago, the company also helps airlines manage and sell their space in real time. “You can lower the price for importers and improve revenue for airlines if you can improve space utilization in the hold.”

Data helps avoid bottlenecks, accidents

Gartzman says streamlining the shipping process “requires a lot more transparency and data sharing between stakeholders that didn’t collaborate in the past — such as shipping companies, freight forwarders and ports — about which container should go where, when.”

Some solutions target specific choke points.

One of theDOCK’s portfolio companies, WaveBL, built a blockchain-backed digital shipping platform to provide an electronic alternative to printed documents such as bills of lading.

The platform has been adopted by Israel’s ZIM Lines, Germany’s Hapag Lloyd and Ocean Network Express of Japan to shorten document issuance times, streamline cargo release and reduce administrative costs for customers.

**An Ocean Network Express container ship at Port Kelang, Malaysia, August 2021. (Fredrick Filix/Unsplash)**

Another portfolio company, DockTech, enables real-time dynamic mapping of depth in canals and shallow ports. This helps ships avoid grounding accidents such as happened to the Ever Given in the Suez Canal.

“This was never a digitized landscape,” says Gartzman. “Today, with applications like DockTech, you can use ships’ sensors to extract data and aggregate that with external sources to map the depth below each vessel in different waterways, from the Rhine to the Mississippi.”

AI to predict arrival time

One of the risk-management tools developed at Windward uses artificial intelligence to predict when a shipment will arrive. Arrival time fluctuates depending on conditions along the route.

“No human knows how to predict arrival,” says Daniel, “and yet 47,000 ocean freight forwarders are doing this pretty much manually.”

Automating estimated times of arrival can cure lots of headaches in the current delay-plagued system.

“Two thirds of containers in the world are transshipped, meaning they’re moved from one ship to another ship when there’s no direct line. From the port, trucks pick up the boxes. Because of the interdependent nature of the supply chain, when there are delays many of these connections get missed,” said Daniel.

“If you can properly predict, you’ll know you are missing connections and you can pre-rebook those connections, or you could switch from truck to rail. There are many actions you can take with the right data and an accurate prediction.”

To sum up, Gartzman says Israeli innovations offer valuable solutions for today’s shipping crisis.

“I truly believe there is something unique in the Israeli solutions, even though there are such technologies being made around the world,” he said.

“We leverage and harness the innovative, vibrant ecosystem of Israel to address all challenges in the global supply chain, help the global market and do good for all the founders and employees.”

Produced in association with Israel21C.

The post Why The Global Supply Chain Is Broken And How To Fix It appeared first on Zenger News.

Higher Prices At The Pump May Be Around For A While

By

Birmingham Times

-

November 4, 2021

0

AAA listed a national average retail price of approximately $3.40 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline for Nov. 2, the highest it’s been since late 2014. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Daniel James Graeber

The price at the gasoline pump is not expected to move substantially lower any time soon, though analysts told Zenger they can’t rule out some big ups and downs in the future.

Travel club AAA listed a national average retail price of approximately $3.40 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline for Nov. 2, the highest it’s been since late 2014.

Prices tend to move lower during the fall and winter because of lower demand and because refineries start making a different seasonal blend of fuel that’s cheaper to produce. But because oil prices are high, along with prices for some components needed to make gasoline, consumers haven’t had any relief at the pump this year.

**Gasoline prices are higher because many other commodities, notably crude oil, are also higher. (Courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration)**

Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy, said gasoline prices are stuck at elevated levels due to a myriad of factors. At a time when the shift to cleaner fuels dominates the news, British oil and gas company BP said in its quarterly report that it expected global crude oil demand to go beyond 100 million barrels per day. That’s higher than many analysts had expected.

Meanwhile, OPEC members may brush off calls for more oil when they meet virtually on Nov. 4 and deliver only the planned increase of 400,000 more barrels per day to the market.

A healthy level of demand and a lack of new supplies mean higher crude oil prices, which in turn trickles down to the consumer level.

“I don’t expect we’ll see meaningful, nationwide relief from these higher prices for weeks if not longer,” DeHaan said.

It could be an early winter for some parts of the United States, with some northern parts of the country already seeing several inches of snow. That, along with moving the clocks back an hour this weekend, may keep some would-be drivers at home, limiting some of the demand pressures.

But that’s only part of the story. Tom Kloza, president of the Oil Price Information Service, said “linger for longer” may be in play for gasoline prices considering the long stretch of levels above $3 per gallon.

However, markets can move quickly. A small decline in natural gas prices could spill over to crude oil prices and influence the direction for RBOB, a fuel product made from refined crude oil, listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a futures contract.

**Retail gasoline prices have been on the rise for much of 2021, federal data show. (Courtesy of the U.S. Energy Information Administration)**

As broader commodity prices go, so too goes the price at the pump.

Crude oil prices, natural gas prices and RBOB have all run hot in recent trading sessions. Retail prices may be influenced, meanwhile, by maintenance work at key refineries in the United States and Canada, as well as by lower refinery activity in Europe, which sends gasoline to the U.S. East Coast.

“One or two corners of the triangle (of the above factors) should be removed in the next 10 days,” Kloza said. That would take some of the wind out of the sails for higher retail gasoline prices.

“Because of logistical, regulatory, and quality considerations, exporting some petroleum is the most economical way to meet the market’s needs,” the Energy Department said. “For example, refiners in the U.S. Gulf Coast region frequently find that it makes economic sense to export some of their gasoline to Mexico rather than shipping it to the U.S. East Coast because lower-cost gasoline imports from Europe may be available to the East Coast.”

Patricia Hemsworth, a senior vice president at Paragon Markets, said ups and downs may be in store in the broader market and any price direction may be influenced by what the Europeans send across the Atlantic.

The federal government last month said it expects the national average price of gasoline to move to approximately $3.05 per gallon by December.

Edited by Bryan Wilkes and Judith Isacoff

The post Higher Prices At The Pump May Be Around For A While appeared first on Zenger News.

Cartel Head Otoniel Could Reveal Drug Secrets In U.S. Court

By

Birmingham Times

-

November 4, 2021

0

Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, aka Otoniel, the head of the Gulf Clan cartel, was captured in Antioquia, Colombia. Two New York courts await his extradition to try him for conspiracy and cocaine trafficking. (Karen Salamanca/Courtesy of Colombia's Mindefensa)

By Edelmiro Franco V

The capture in Colombia of Dairo Antonio Úsuga David, aka “Otoniel,” the head of the Gulf Clan cartel, was a targeted blow to international drug trafficking. Two New York courts await his extradition to try him for conspiracy and cocaine trafficking.

But national security experts told Zenger that the crime lord’s arrest would not spell the end of the cartel. The organization responsible for 80 percent of the cocaine that Colombia exports to America has an army of about 1,900 men scattered through strategic areas in Colombia, including Nariño, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, the Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama borders, and the Caribbean coast.

Otoniel was captured at the Paramillo Massif in the northwestern province of Antioquia. At that time, he had 128 arrest warrants, seven convictions, several Interpol red notices, and an extradition request from the United States, which offered a $5-million reward for information on his whereabouts, according to the Colombian Anti-Narcotics Police.

From the Tolemaida military base in the central province of Cundinamarca, Colombia’s President Iván Duque said on Oct. 23 that Otoniel was seized during a “joint and meticulous operation” named Osiris. The leader of the Gulf Clan is 50 and has 34 years of criminal experience.

Duque said that Otoniel’s arrest “is the hardest setback that drug trafficking has dealt with in this century in our country. We can only compare the blow to the fall of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s.”

The drug business will keep working

Oscar Julián Palma, a national security expert and professor at El Rosario University, told Zenger that the capture of the Gulf Clan’s leader was “a great blow. … Otoniel was one of the most sought-after in the country. He is a drug lord.”

From his perspective, the arrest “is an achievement of the Military Forces, their operations, intelligence, processes, and fight against organized crime, none of which can be ignored.”

Colombia’s Defense Minister Diego Molano (left, next to the window) flies over the Paramillo Massif with military leaders. Otoniel, the head of the Gulf Clan cartel, was captured in the area. (Karen Salamanca/Courtesy of Colombia’s Mindefensa)

But the drug lord’s arrest “will neither affect the Colombian nor the international drug market. Cocaine flows will continue. It will still be produced, exported, and consumed in foreign markets,” said Palma.

“The impact is still meager, and yet we cannot ignore the fact that Otoniel was captured,” he said.

National security consultant and former director of Colombia’s Presidential Program for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Carlos Franco Echavarría also described the capture of Otoniel as “a hard blow.”

“The Gulf Clan’s structure has been unquestionably hit. What remains untouched is the drug business, which depends on several factors: demand, the Colombian government’s lack of control of its land, and corruption,” Franco told Zenger.

In his opinion, the drug trafficking business can continue to operate because its chain remains unbroken: there are people harvesting coca leaf, making cocaine, distributing it, selling it, and finally consuming it. The Gulf Clan leader’s detention will not affect the work of cartels in Mexico, the United States and Europe.

“I believe this will impact more the Gulf Clan than the overall drug business and [Colombia’s] security,” said Franco. He explained that things may change in the country if the government increases its capacity to control the land and works on a comprehensive strategy to impact the whole chain, which is not happening today.

He recalled the case of drug lord Pablo Escobar, who died in a police operation in Medellín on Dec. 2, 1993. The authorities managed to dismantle the Medellín Cartel at that time, but drug trafficking did not stop.

“The coca cultivation and cocaine production numbers reached a record 245,000 hectares [605,408 acres] and 1,010 metric tons [1,113 tons], respectively” in 2020, according to the U.S Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The Colombian National Army reported in a statement that it seized 146.8 tons of cocaine hydrochloride and 46.2 tons of marijuana in the Pacific area this year, hitting the finances of drug traffickers by approximately $5 billion.

**Colombian President Iván Duque said he would work to guarantee Otoniel’s extradition to the United States. (Karen Salamanca/Courtesy Colombia’s Mindefensa)**

Extradition and truth for the victims

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Colombia’s Defense Minister Diego Molano on Oct. 29 that Washington’s commitment is to strengthen the bilateral relationship on defense issues.

President Duque made it clear that he would work to guarantee Otoniel’s extradition to the United States. Otoniel should appear before two New York courts to answer for conspiracy, murder and cocaine trafficking.

The drug lord knows about narcotic flows, routes, amounts of trafficked drugs, and people involved in the business. This information is “of interest to U.S. authorities, which face a public health crisis due to drug use,” Palma told Zenger.

Palma said that even if extradition is a valuable instrument for Colombia-U.S. bilateral relations, “we should consider the benefits that Otoniel and other extradited drug lords receive there [in America] and the information that the country of origin loses when carrying out the extradition.”

“The level of corruption in Colombia’s prison system allows [drug lords] to run their businesses from jail. The best way to avoid that is to extradite them. But doing it has consequences on victims’ rights in Colombia and many other issues,” Franco said.

Otoniel’s primary operation center was the Urabá area. Gerardo Vega, a defense attorney for farmers who have been dispossessed of their lands by organized crime in Urabá, said that if the drug lord is extradited to the United States, the Colombian government must guarantee comprehensive security for the region’s civilian population.

After Otoniel’s arrest, Urabá experienced “a tense calm. There are tensions, pressure, and attacks on the authorities. Citizens are waiting, and that is why the government must guarantee the population’s integrity and safety in the face of possible threats and retaliation by the Gulf Clan,” Vega told Zenger.

“If the extradition is carried out, the government must ensure that Otoniel speaks the truth of what he knows as the leader [of the Clan]. … The Gulf Clan has long hit the Urabá region, its population,” he said.

He was emphatic about the importance of the truth “to prevent impunity. Urabá has always had an apparatus of criminal power behind the desks, which has benefited from acts of war.”

Felicito al gobierno del Pdte. @IvanDuque por la captura de “Otoniel”, máximo líder del Clan del Golfo.

“Otoniel” debe rendir cuentas ante la justicia por los cientos de crímenes cometidos bajo su mando. Las victimas merecen justicia.

— José Miguel Vivanco (@JMVivancoHRW) October 23, 2021

Human Rights Watch Director for the Americas José Miguel Vivanco congratulated President Duque for the arrest and joined those who support the right of Otoniel’s victims to know the truth.

“Otoniel must be held accountable for the hundreds of crimes committed under his command. The victims deserve justice,” Vivanco said on Twitter.

Translated by Gabriela Alejandra Olmos, Edited by Gabriela Alejandra Olmos and Kristen Butler

The post Cartel Head Otoniel Could Reveal Drug Secrets In U.S. Court appeared first on Zenger News.

Viva Mexico! Canelo Alvarez Is On The Verge Of Becoming His Country’s Greatest Boxer Of All Time

By

Birmingham Times

-

November 4, 2021

0

“Being the undisputed champion is huge for my legacy. Now we’re one fight away,” said WBA/WBC/WBO champion Canelo Alvarez (center) who can become Mexico's first undisputed 168-pound title winner with a victory over IBF counterpart Caleb Plant on Saturday. (Sumio Yamada/WBC Images)

By Lem Satterfield

Canelo Alvarez was ringside at Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, in June for a “Tribute To The Kings” exhibition featuring Héctor “Machito” Camacho Jr. and three-division champion Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

Chavez Sr. summoned Alvarez after the event, pulling him close, offering praise and appearing to pass the torch.

“Julio Sr. asked Canelo to step up to the apron at the end of the exhibition as I was getting ready for the postfight interview,” recalled Claudia Trejos, a sports anchor, journalist and reporter for DAZN and Telemundo Deportes among other affiliations. “Julio Sr. grabbed Canelo by the head and told him, ‘My time has passed, but yours is NOW! My history and legacy are already written. You are now the greatest Mexican fighter.’”

Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) is predicting an eighth-round knockout and his third straight stoppage against IBF 168-pound champion Caleb Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) during their unification bout on Nov. 6 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

By adding Plant’s IBF crown to his WBA/WBC/WBO versions with his fourth fight in 11 months and a victory over an undefeated rival for the eighth time in his career, Alvarez would become the first undisputed super middleweight champion from Mexico.

“Being the undisputed champion is huge for my legacy. Now we’re one fight away,” said Alvarez, a unified champion at 154, 160 and 168 pounds. “Not only would it be an honor to be the first Latin American fighter to do it, but there’s only a select club of fighters who have achieved this [in other weight divisions].”

Alvarez would become the sixth fighter to reach the undisputed plateau during the four-belt era, joining Oleksandr Usyk (cruiserweight), middleweights Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor and junior welterweights Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor.

“Mexican champions are traditionally flyweights, bantamweights, featherweights, super lightweights. Chavez couldn’t win at welterweight,” said Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the Mexico based World Boxing Council.

“But Canelo being a champion at super welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight is as unique feat of boxing greatness. Canelo is as great as any Mexican champion you can mention, and he is still building his legacy.”

Three-division champion Abner Mares already rates Alvarez ahead of Chavez, who was 89-0-1 before losing his first bout and retired with a record of 107-6-2 (86 KOs).

Mares also believes Alvarez has surpassed fabled Mexican icons including three-division champion Marco Antonio Barrera, four-division title winners Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales, two-division champ Ruben Olivares, and long-reigning champions Ricardo Lopez, Salvador Sanchez and Carlos Zarate.

Zarate put together a run of 55 consecutive victories and two streaks of 20 or more consecutive knockouts. Olivares was a three-timer with a record for most victories in unified title bouts in bantamweight history. Sanchez was once-beaten when he died in a car accident in August 1982, and Lopez retired undefeated.

Canelo Alvarez (right) became a three-division champion following a four-knockdown, third-round TKO of WBA “regular” super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding in December 2018. (Courtesy of Ed Mulholland)

“Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was a three-division world champion. I’m a big fan of Chavez, Salvador Sanchez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and [Ricardo] El Finito Lopez,” said Mares, who is 0-2 against four-division champion Leo Santa Cruz.

“Canelo’s legendary as a four-division world champion who is known worldwide. Canelo has done a lot more than any of the ones I just mentioned,” Mares added. “He’s surpassed them all in name and actions, and he’s looking to conquer a lot more.”

Ray Flores also puts Alvarez on the same level as Chavez Sr.

“I never thought that anyone could mean what Chavez has meant to Mexican fight fans,” said Flores, boxing analyst for Premier Boxing Champions, TGB Promotions and Triller.

“It’s already unreal when you look at Canelo’s resume and consider the guys that he’s beaten, but Canelo is so young and has a desire to really claim his legacy by defeating Plant to become undisputed.”

The resume of four-division title winner Canelo Alvarez (right) includes decision victories over former champions Daniel Jacobs (left), Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, “Sugar ” Shane Mosley, Erislandy Lara, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Callum Smith. (Courtesy of Ed Mulholland)

As a 20-year-old, Alvarez earned his first crown and the WBC 154-pound championship by unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton in March 2011.

Alvarez’s second title in as many divisions came via unanimous decision over four-division champion Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico in November 2015, and he was a three-division champion following a four-knockdown, third-round TKO of WBA “regular” 168-pound champion Rocky Fielding in December 2018.

“Canelo” is facing Plant nearly two years to the day after rising two weight classes in November 2019, supplanting WBO 175-pound titleholder Sergey Kovalev via spectacular 11th-round knockout to become a four-division champion.

But ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna isn’t sure Alvarez has attained Chavez Sr. ‘s status.

“Surpassing the feeling of pride and special connection that Julio Cesar Chavez had with Mexican fight fans is difficult,” Osuna said. “It’s like having that rich uncle that buys you cool things, but liking the one who played catch with you in the park more. Shiny things are great, but it’s that ‘feeling’ that you just can’t buy.”

Four-division champion Canelo Alvarez (right) won a majority decision that dethroned then-undefeated WBA/WBC super middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin in a September 2018 unification rematch of their draw in September 2017. (Sumio Yamada/WBC Images)

Alvarez made six title defenses at 154 pounds before falling by majority decision to five-division champion Floyd Mayweather in September 2013. The then-23-year-old Alvarez was dethroned as WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion.

Canelo is 14-0-1 (8 KOs) since the Mayweather fight. His final defense of his initial crown was a unanimous decision unification victory over southpaw Austin Trout in April 2013, which added Trout’s WBA crown to his WBC title.

Alvarez owns unanimous decisions over three-division champion and two-time Oscar De La Hoya-conqueror “Sugar” Shane Mosley (May 2012), former champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (May 2017), ex-titleholders Daniel Jacobs (May 2019) and Callum Smith (December 2020), and a split-decision over two-division champion Erislandy Lara (July 2014).

Alvarez’s stoppages of former titleholders include a sixth-round knockout of Carlos Baldomir (September 2010), a one-knockdown, fifth-round TKO of Kermit Cintron (November 2011), a 10th-round TKO of Alfredo Angulo (March 2014), a sixth-round knockout of Amir Khan (May 2016) and a three-knockdown, ninth-round KO of Liam Smith (September 2016).

In May, Alvarez’s eighth-round stoppage of Billy Joe Saunders added the previously unbeaten southpaw’s WBO title to his WBA/WBC crowns.

“Canelo has mastered technique, power, precision and great strategy,” Sulaiman said. “Canelo can still bring the pressure and go toe to toe, but he also has a great combination of skills never before seen in a Mexican fighter.”

Barrera won two of three bouts against Morales, and Marquez was 1-2-1 against eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao, stopping him once in the sixth round. But Alvarez’s closest thing to a rivalry was his majority decision unification victory over then-undefeated WBA/WBC titleholder Gennady Golovkin (September 2018) in a rematch of their draw in September 2017.

“[Alvarez] has denied himself the opportunity to settle the [Golovkin] debate with a definitive win, which I think could come if they fought for a third time,” Osuna said. “At age 31, Canelo has many chapters yet to write in his already illustrious story.”

However, Mares challenged Osuna’s assertion.

“Floyd Mayweather is a legend who made Canelo look like the kid that he was,” Mares said. “But since then, Canelo’s beaten champions who are Hall of Famers like Golovkin, Kovalev, Cotto, Mosley, Lara and Jacobs. Canelo’s already a legend.”

Trainer Abel Sanchez said Alvarez hungers for legacy fights against undefeated WBC 160-pound champion Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), WBO counterpart Demetrius Andrade (30-0, 18 KOs), WBA 175-pound titleholder Dimitry Bivol (18-0, 11 KOs) and IBF/WBC counterpart Artur Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KOs).

“Canelo’s willing to face guys who will fight for a reasonable price. He’ll fight anybody whereas other guys won’t,” said Sanchez, Golovkin’s corner man against Alvarez. “Canelo is like the Sugar Ray Leonards, Marvin Haglers, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Wilfredo Benitezes in the 1980s who were always fighting each other.”

From 2010 to 2020, historian Cliff Rold of boxingscene.com ranked Alvarez ahead of Mayweather as Fighter of the Decade “based on the success and higher activity over the course of the decade.

“When Canelo fought Golovkin, he had to take Golovkin’s right hand, and every single one of those right hands in a gut check,” Rold said. “Canelo had to figure out Golovkin and come up with a completely different strategy for their second fight, and if that’s not a gut check, then I don’t know what is.”

Canelo Alvarez (standing right) became a four-division champion in November 2019 via spectacular 11th-round knockout over then-WBO 175-pound titleholder Sergey Kovalev, rising two weight classes from 160 pounds to do so. (Claudia Trejos/DAZN)

Two-time 168-pound champion David Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) is itching for an all-Mexican clash with Alvarez should he get beyond Kyrone Davis (16-2-1, 6 KOs) on Nov. 13.

“With me and Canelo fighting so close in proximity to each other, that’s the fight to be made,” said Benavidez, 24. “There is no doubt Canelo’s fighting everybody, and he’s the man right now, but he’ll get a lot of backlash from Mexican fans if he doesn’t fight me.”

Flores wants to see Alvarez-Benavidez if the former gets beyond Plant.

“Caleb Plant won’t be an easy fight for Canelo, but Benavidez is a pure savage who loves violence,” Flores said. “If Canelo gets past Plant, Benavidez versus Canelo would be the fight to make, enhancing the legacy of both as Mexican warriors.”

Charlo would rise to face Alvarez, according to trainer Ronnie Shields.

“Jermall can still make 160, but the reason for moving up would be to fight the biggest guy out there, and right now, that’s Canelo. That’s the reason we’re going to Las Vegas this weekend,” Shields said of Charlo, a two-division champion.

“Jermall wants to fight whoever wins. Canelo or Caleb Plant. Jermall was Canelo’s mandatory at 160, but Canelo gave up the title and fought somebody else for it. Canelo refused to fight Jermall at 160 and moved up.”

Osuna said Alvarez needs a definitive gut-check challenge during which he snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.

“Despite all of the names on Saul’s resume, some at the latter stages of their career, Canelo lacks a signature drag-them-out moment in any of his fights because he tends to make them look too easy,” Osuna said.

“Canelo’s talent and power are on par with that of any Mexican fighter that came before him. His discipline and work ethic set him apart as exemplary. Already the current ‘face of boxing,’ Canelo could eventually be recognized as the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.”

Trejos already believes she witnessed Chavez Sr. ‘s passing the baton to Alvarez.

“‘You are still writing your story,’’ Trejos heard Chavez Sr. tell Alvarez. “‘It will be bigger than mine. You are the face of boxing.’”
Canelo Alvarez’s Top 15 victories

1) Gennady Golovkin (MD 12, Sept. 15, 2018)

2) Sergey Kovalev (KO 11, Nov. 2, 2019)

3) Miguel Cotto (UD 12, Nov. 21, 2015)

4) Shane Mosley (UD 12, May 5, 2012)

5) Erislandy Lara (SD 12, July 12, 2014)

6) Daniel Jacobs (UD 12, May 4, 2019)

7) Austin Trout (UD 12, April 20, 2013)

8) Rocky Fielding (TKO 3, Dec. 15, 2018)

9) Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (UD 12, May 6, 2017)

10) Billy Joe Saunders (RTD 8, May 8, 2021)

11) Amir Khan (KO 6, May 7, 2016)

12) Callum Smith (UD 12, Dec. 19, 2020)

13) Liam Smith (KO 9, Sept. 17, 2016)

14) Matthew Hatton (UD 12, March 5, 2011)

15) Carlos Baldomir (KO 6 Sept. 18, 2010)

Canelo Alvarez’s Top 10 Knockouts

1) Sergey Kovalev (KO 11, Nov. 2, 2019)

2) Rocky Fielding (TKO 3, Dec. 15, 2018)

3) Billy Joe Saunders (RTD 8, May 8, 2021)

4) Amir Khan (KO 6, May 7, 2016)

5) Liam Smith (KO 9, Sept. 17, 2016)

6) Carlos Baldomir (KO 6 Sept. 18, 2010)

7) Alfredo Angulo (TKO 10, March 8, 2014)

8) James Kirkland (KO 3, May 9, 2015)

9) Kermit Cintron (TKO 5, Nov. 26, 2011)

10) Josesito Lopez (KO 5, Sept. 15, 2012)

Edited by Stan Chrapowicki and Matthew B. Hall

The post Viva Mexico! Canelo Alvarez Is On The Verge Of Becoming His Country’s Greatest Boxer Of All Time appeared first on Zenger News.

Nadine Velazquez Becomes A Rapper In ABC’s ‘Queens’

By

Birmingham Times

-

November 4, 2021

0

Nadine Velazquez stars in Queens. (JC Olivera/Getty Images for National Hispanic Media Coalition)

By Julio Martínez

Rapping is a new skill Nadine Velazquez is honing on the ABC series “Queens.”

“Queens” tells the story of the four members of a defunct 1990s hip-hop female band reuniting in their 40s to recapture their former fame and swagger.

Velazquez is relying on her performing chops to nail her character.

“I’d never rapped ever before the show, never, not once,” said Velazquez, who plays Valeria, a rapper who also goes by the name of “Butter Pecan.” “And now I love finding and listening to the music and studying rappers, and just hearing things that I didn’t hear before. So, I rely on my ability to act because I’m not really pulling from any place other than that.”

The Latina artist joins Eve, Naturi Naughton, and Brandy in a series directed and co-executive produced by Tim Story. His film credits include the comedy/drama “Barbershop” and the superhero “Fantastic Four” franchise. Story has also directed music videos for artists like NSYNC, Tyrese Gibson, and Sonique.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nadine Velazquez (@nadinevelazquez)

Zahir McGhee (“Scandal”) is the creator and co-executive producer of the series, which features original music performed by the stars at the direction of executive music producer Swizz Beatz.

Velazquez is particularly in awe of her co-star Brandy, the actress/singer who plays Brianna, “Professor Sex.” Brandy has had a fantastic music career, starting with her eponymous album in 1994. Years later, she had her breakout starring role in the 1997 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Cinderella.”

“Brandy has moved from Princess to being a queen on this show,” said Velazquez. “She is very powerful, badass, raw, and beautiful. In fact, all three of the women are just so excellent, and it becomes very apparent to me how much I am learning when we are in music and dance rehearsals.”

When asked about her experience with the choreography, Velazquez laughs. “It’s been like having two left feet,” she said. “But I’m getting it. I’m getting it more and more. And I can’t even describe the growth from the pilot to where I’m at right now, just in terms of my comfort and ability to just, like, be free. But you’ll see.”

Born in Chicago, of Puerto Rican descent, Velazquez played Catalina Aruca on “My Name Is Earl” and Sofia Ruxin on “The League.” She is also a model and has appeared in films such as “War,” “Flight,” and “Snitch.” She was a cast member on the TV series “Major Crimes.”

For Velazquez, “Queens” does not deal with the conflict of female friendship vs. rivalry. “It really is strong on both,” she said. “And that’s what makes it so special. The characters had their disagreements in the past, but now they’ve come together to hold each other up.”

Brandy chimes in, “It’s definitely more towards the friendship aspect of it. I think our show is about sisterhood and family. There’s always going to be a hierarchy … but we do want to emphasize the friendship aspect more rather than focusing on rivalry or bickering or backstabbing.”

Co-written by McGhee, the series marries a passion for the female hip-hop legends of the 1990s with an in-depth exploration of womanhood.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nadine Velazquez (@nadinevelazquez)

“What makes this [series] special and [this moment] the right time for it is, number one, we have a lot of the real people who are doing hip hop now, which gives it a certain level of authenticity,” McGhee said. “And we have the opportunity to tell the breadth of stories about the experience of women of color. They are varied; they’re great. And they are beautiful. I think that the time for this show was yesterday, and the time is also today, and the time is even for tomorrow.”

“Audiences are going to get a treat when they see ‘Butter Pecan’ perform. This girl can do it,” said Brandy.

Nadine Velazquez Becomes a Rapper in ABC’s ‘Queens’ is published in collaboration with LatinHeat Entertainment.

Edited by Gabriela Alejandra Olmos and Melanie Slone

The post Nadine Velazquez Becomes A Rapper In ABC’s ‘Queens’ appeared first on Zenger News.

Marcos Hernandez Grateful For Co-Main Event Slot On Canelo-Plant Card

By

Birmingham Times

-

November 4, 2021

0

Marcos Hernandez says he'll need to be at his best to beat former two-time super middleweight champ Anthony Dirrell. (Courtesy of Marcos Hernandez)

By Percy Lovell Crawford

“You’re only as good as your last performance,” a boxing saying holds. In the case of Marcos “Madman” Hernandez, he is still riding the high of his last performance and doesn’t plan on coming down anytime soon.

In September, Hernandez defeated then-unbeaten Jose Armando Resendiz. However, his work will be cut out for him when he faces Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell on Saturday night’s PPV card in a co-main event for the showdown between 168-pounders Caleb Plant and Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez.

Understanding that Dirrell (33–2–2) is his most established and accomplished foe to date, Hernandez looks to string together a pair of victories, something he hasn’t done since 2018. Although his record is (15–4–2), Hernandez said he hasn’t been as consistent as he needs to be in order to be considered a legitimate contender.

That all could change Saturday night with a successful outing against the former two-time super middleweight champion Dirrell. However, Dirrell will be hungry and looking to bounce back from a split draw in February against Kyrone Davis.

Hernandez checks in with Zenger just days before his scheduled showdown with Dirrell to discuss his training camp, the magnitude and importance of this fight and much more.

Percy Crawford interviewed Marcos Hernandez for Zenger.

Zenger: Saturday night will be your third fight of the year, so apparently you didn’t get the memo that this is an inactive era in boxing.

Hernandez: (Laughing). I have never turned down a fight. I don’t compare myself to others. I just do my own thing and I have never said no to a fight. If a fight gets to me through whoever it needs to get through, through my coach or whoever, I’m going to say yes. My coach won’t even tell me about fights sometimes, the dumb ones that doesn’t make any sense for me because he knows I’m going to say yes. It’s good that I got people that block bad situations for me.

Zenger: You will be facing Anthony Dirrell this Saturday (Nov. 6) on the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant card. This is a huge opportunity for you. How have you prepared to face him?

Hernandez: I’m working hard to be my best self. I know that he is a two-time former champion, so he is definitely the most accomplished fighter I have fought. He has done a lot of things in his long career. I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I’m looking forward to being my best because I’m going to need to be my best to beat him.

Percy Crawford interviewed Marcos Hernandez for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)

Zenger: It seems as if right when the boxing world wants to write you off, you get a spectacular win to keep yourself in the mix. Your last performance against unbeaten Jose Armando Resendiz is a prime example of that. You dropped two in a row, fight Brandon Lynch to a draw, and then defeat a 12–0 fighter.

Hernandez: I’m undefeated versus the undefeated. I don’t know what that’s about, but I feel like when my back is against the wall a little bit, it just brings something out of me. I gotta be more consistent with my performances. I want to be at my best every fight, and I haven’t. I plan to be at my best for this fight. I know this is a big opportunity, and a win would provide more opportunities and lead to even bigger things. That’s what I’m looking forward to, being my best for this fight, and letting that open doors.

Zenger: Your record is deceiving. Dirrell is coming off a draw against Kyrone Davis. Do you feel you were picked as an opponent as a confidence-booster for Dirrell, or was this the fight that just made sense for both parties?

Hernandez: I don’t think I was chosen to boost his confidence. I do think the fight was made for certain reasons. I got the call because they knew that I would say, yes, like I explained earlier. When it came, I was grateful. I’m excited to get it, and I’m going to do my best to win Saturday.

Zenger: To be in a position to steal some of the fans and many eyes that Alvarez draws, how have you approached that aspect of this event? Are you treating this as if it’s just another fight, or do you want to be fueled by the magnitude of the event?

Hernandez: That’s a tough question to answer. I understand what type of opportunity this is. I’m not dumb. I’m going to make the most of it. I was really motivated before I knew I was the co-main. I was happy when I got the call with the details. I’m not sure how to answer that, but all I can say is, I am training as hard as I can, and I will be ready and be at my best on Saturday.

**Despite an overall record of (15–4–2), Marcos Hernandez says he is “undefeated versus the undefeated.” (Courtesy of Marcos Hernandez)**

Zenger: We have seen Anthony Dirrell box from the outside, mix it up on the inside and be a dog when needed. What type of fight are you expecting from him?

Hernandez: He’s definitely versatile. I feel like I’m also versatile. I feel like we are different fighters, but versatile when needed. He’s a good boxer that brawls when he needs to. We’ll see. I got a game plan that I want to execute. We will see what he comes with and what he brings to the fight and go from there. If we gotta adjust, we will and be ready for anything.

Zenger: He’s had several head clashes during his fights. Does that concern you any?

Hernandez: I don’t really think about that. I’ve only been cut once, and it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t really notice it during the fight. You notice it afterwards, but who cares by then? I’m not worried about it. I know he’s had some trouble with that in the past, so if I cut him … with a punch of course, cool.

Zenger: Dirrell has been televised a lot throughout his career. Is he someone you have watched a great amount of footage on?

Hernandez: I’m a big boxing fan. I know I’m a fighter, but I am a big boxing fan. I watch a ton of fights. I’ve definitely been watching him for a long time. I remember him beating Sakio Bika back in the day. I watched that live. They had a few rough fights. He’s been around for a long time. I’m grateful for the opportunity to fight him. I’ve studied some more recent fights. I figure fighters improve from what they showed in previous fights. I always expect fighters to be at their best and not at their worst.

**Marcos Hernandez says he’s never been in a boring fight, and that will continue to be the case in his fight against Anthony Dirrell on Saturday. (Sean Michael Ham/Premier Boxing Champions)**

Zenger: He doesn’t switch as much as his brother, Andre, but he does switch between orthodox and southpaw at times. Have you prepared for both?

Hernandez: Yeah, we got a guy built similar to Anthony in the gym, and he’s been giving me a lot of good work, and he switches, so it’s perfect sparring. If he switches, we’re ready for it. We are ready for whatever he brings.

Zenger: For anyone watching you for the first time on Saturday night, what can they expect? What do you offer?

Hernandez: I’m exciting! I don’t think I’ve ever been in a boring fight. I have had like 10 televised fights, and they have all been fun to watch. I plan on performing to the best of my abilities and winning this fight Saturday, and I don’t expect it to be boring.

Edited by Matthew B. Hall and Stan Chrapowicki

The post Marcos Hernandez Grateful For Co-Main Event Slot On Canelo-Plant Card appeared first on Zenger News.

VIDEO: Wood You Believe It? Shipwreck Reveals Timber Trade Helped Dutch East India Company Dominate

By

Birmingham Times

-

November 4, 2021

0

Artist's impression of the 1629 Dutch ship Batavia. The white line indicates the preserved section of the port-side transom raised from the shipwreck site. (Ross Shardlow/Zenger)

By Peter Barker

An examination of a historic Dutch ship that brought the first official European settlers to Australia’s shores has revealed how the Dutch Republic overcame timber shortages that plagued other nations.

Researchers studying the timber used to build the ship “Batavia” between 1626 and 1628 in Amsterdam have discovered how the Dutch trade network helped the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to flourish against other European powers such as Portugal and France.

“Oak was the preferred material for shipbuilding in northern and western Europe, and maritime nations struggled to ensure sufficient supplies to meet their needs and sustain their ever-growing fleets,” said study co-author Marta Dominguez Delmas, VENI fellow at the University of Amsterdam.

“Our results demonstrate that the VOC successfully coped with timber shortages in the early 17th century through diversification of timber sources,” she said. The Dutch East India Company was the world’s first multinational trading company.

The Batavia wreck was raised from the seabed in 1970 and has since been on display at the Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle.

Researchers took timber samples to gain a better understanding of the materials used to construct the mighty 650-ton ship. Their findings were published in the journal Plos One.

“The VOC used exclusively oak (Quercus sp.) for the main structural elements [hull planks, framing elements, keel, etc.], with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) used for sacrificial planking [in the outer part of the hull, below the waterline],” Delmas said in an interview.

Delmas said the Dutch were able to avoid timber shortages because they had an extensive trade network that delivered wood from Northern Europe.

Oak hull plank from the Batavia. Researchers have discovered the diversity of wood sources enjoyed by the Dutch Republic allowed it to keep building up its fleet, while other nations floundered as a result of supply issues. (Patrick E. Baker, Western Australian Museum/Zenger)

The British took great pride in building their ships with “locally sourced” oak, while the Spanish and Portuguese became dependent on the Dutch Republic to supply them with timber.

“The Dutch were actually the ones supplying timber from Scandinavia and the Baltic to Spain and Portugal,” said Delmas.

The University of Amsterdam stated that 706 ships were built in VOC shipyards in the Dutch Republic during the 17th century, though very little is known about the timber itself, where it was sourced and how it was used to build the ocean-bound vessels.

The lack of domestic wood sources in the mid-17th century did not prevent the Dutch Republic from being able to produce unprecedented numbers of ocean-going ships for long-distance voyages, according to Flinders University archeologist Wendy van Duivenvoorde, one of the authors of the study.

**Marta Domínguez-Delmás and Aoife Daly (front) extract tree-ring samples from the Batavia’s transom beams at the Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle. (Wendy van Duivenvoorde/Zenger)**

Delmas said the Batavia was headed for a city of the same name, the capital of the Dutch East Indies, known today as Jakarta, Indonesia.

“The Batavia sailed too far east, and when it made the turn north, it ended up wrecking on the reefs of [the] Abrolhos Archipelago, off the coast of Western Australia,” she said.

Of the 341 passengers on board, 40 drowned while the rest swam to shore.

The ship’s commander, Francisco Pelsaert, searched nearby islands for a natural water source to no avail. He took the ship’s longboat to the city of Batavia with a small group to get help, leaving the rest of the passengers and crew behind.

The 1629 Dutch ship Batavia, which carried Australia’s first European settlers to its shores, is on display at the Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum. (Patrick E. Baker, Western Australian Museum/Zenger)

Jeronimus Cornelisz, a merchant under Pelsaert, was left in charge of the survivors. He sent a group of men loyal to Pelsaert to look for water on a distant island and then orchestrated a mutiny that resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people and turned the female survivors into sex slaves.

The men made their way back to the original camp after hearing stories of the atrocities from those who had escaped and organized a revolt.

Pelsaert returned as the fighting raged and had Cornelisz and his co-conspirators tried and convicted.

Six of the mutineers became the first European men to be legally executed in Australia, and two of the men were exiled to the continent, becoming its first official European settlers.

Edited by Siân Speakman and Kristen Butler