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HOPKINS ON PASCAL PED IMPLICATION: “It Was Real Weak And Real Stupid”

Published

14 years ago

March 29, 2011

The Sweet Science

DYNASTY II: PASCAL VS. HOPKINS PRESS TOUR QUOTES

Quotes from Monday, March 28 Press Conference in Montreal and Tuesday, March 29 in New York City

JEAN PASCAL, WBC and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight World Champion

“I am so sad the WBC had to give you the gift of the belt today [in Montreal] because you couldn't win mine, and it's sad because on May 21 you aren't going to win them either.

“We know last time you tried to steal my belt. Well guess what, today [Montreal] I have brought a copy so you can have my belt-this one [WBC which Hopkins took], and this one [Ring which Hopkins took] and this one [IBO, which Hopkins did not take].

“I think Hopkins is a cry baby and after the fight he kept crying. But also the fans asked how he could do this against me-beat me the way he did, why so aggressive.

“So I am going to ask you today [Montreal] why don't you take a test to show you are a clean athlete? Bernard why don't you take the test [Hopkins response: “Don't embarrass me or yourself]!

“I fought Bernard Hopkins December 18 and that was a hell of a fight. He fought really well. He is a smart fighter.

“He pretends that he won the fight. He's always complaining. He's always whining. I won the fight. It was a close fight, but I am not a whiner. You can never call a close fight a robbery. The judges said it was a draw. I took my pill and swallowed it.”

“With this man it is always some other guy's fault. I am going to tell you something, May 21 he is only going to blame me because this time it is going to be my fault.

“Bernard calls himself a legend. He beat Roy Jones. Wow. We all know he couldn't beat Roy Jones in his prime. He beat Tito Trinidad…great, he beat a smaller guy. He beat Oscar de la Hoya, a smaller man. He had a draw with Winky Wright, a man of his size. He got beaten twice by Jermain Taylor, a man of his size and he got a draw with me, a man of his size.

“He came to my country and disrespected me in my country. He disrespected me and my people in my country. He is a legend he should be know better.

“I had a lot of respect for this man, but now there is no more respect. I don't respect someone who doesn't respect me.

“I don't have a lot to say about what happened yesterday. I never said he took something. I asked a separate question and he didn't want to respond.

“[To Hopkins] May 21 you better be on something because I'm gonna bust your ass.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, Former Two-Division World Champion

“I wanted to go to Montreal and kick his ass again. Right in his own backyard. I know what a move like this means to legacy and going forward. It is just another motivation to start over to build my career; but a different motivation as I am older now too. For the last fight, I was 45; I am now 46 and I am trying to break George Foreman's record, a record he set when he beat Michael Moorer for the heavyweight championship of the world, becoming the oldest fighter to fight and win a major title.

“I got fans in Canada and people are going to be coming from New York too. Last time he tried to take the test and he failed it the first time. Now he gets to take the test again.

“I told Richard Schaefer to make the fight for Montreal. They told me I was going to lose money but I didn't care. I told him it didn't matter and to make it happen.

To Pascal: “You are done boy! You are not going to be able to do or get your way. I am going to beat you in your home. I'm coming here.

“Let's see if he studies. I am going to study and everyone should buckle up. This is going to be better than the first one.

“In hockey, the Canadians and the Flyers have a great rivalry. I will look like the Flyers-the Broad Street bullies! And guess what. They will be here too-all in one body. I don't need a hockey stick either. I got gloves.

“In Quebec I changed the chanting for Pascal to 'BHop.' Listen to the tape. It's going to happen again. Trust me I am coming at him. I might go down but trust me I will get up and finish this fight. Just like a fireman, who I respect like crazy because they actually go to the fire to put it out. I am going to make the fight again and push him to the limits.

“I know what this means to me. I don't need to box for money. I am fine. There is something in my demeanor and my life than any one who has walked this land has in them.

“When I go back to why I am fighting, the question I am asked most of the time. What I have in the bank is not as important as why I am still fighting. It is because it is who I am, from the streets to the story that you already know.

“To be able to transform one stage of my life to the second stage which is considered the stage of my life. I haven't gotten comfortable, that is why a decade went by and I slayed everyone that came after me.

“I am not eating some kind of candy bar or watching some kind of TV. He was in pampers when I started doing this [boxing]. He put allegations out there yesterday [in Montreal] that are wrong.

“Don't be surprised if he [Pascal] dies in the ring in May. That is how I feel. I mean that. This isn't hyping up a fight. This is not for any [expletive] press conference. Don't be surprised if I kill him!

“I am ready and excited to get into camp after today and train toward a historic moment in my career.

“No one has ever accused me of this [taking PEDs]. He tried to recant it in New York. I am going to make sure I win this fight and bring the championship to where it belongs..in Philadelphia.

“This shows me that he is desperate and that he is nervous. He might say anything he wants, but the Execution day is coming. I am going to make history and he is going to understand that.

“It was real weak and real stupid. He looked like an idiot in front of a packed house trying to come up with something to say. At the end of the day he is going to have to face what he said in Montreal.

“I needed him to say what he said without even know he was saying it. What he said took it to another level. I am not going to over train because of it, but I am going to remember it.”

MARC RAMSAY, Pascal's Trainer

“This is the difference between being a winner and a dreamer. Yesterday they talked about the professor who taught the student. Bernard was saying that Jean didn't pass the test.

“The question is, did the professor teach a good class? Did he back up his legacy? You can't expect to win half a fight, when you spend half the fight on the floor.

“All of your [a fighter's] life you work to be at this level. You work to be on HBO. You work to face that type of opponent [Hopkins] even if you know you need to fight that guy with everything you've got. After what happened after the 18th of December, Jean has no more respect for Bernard. That is going to be the difference in this fight and we are going to close the show this time.

NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins' Trainer

“What's real is real. Pascal proved his intelligence in that fight. If I am Bernard and you bring a man that is 18 years older than me, I am going to be on him like a banshee. I knew Pascal was going to bring his best to the table in that fight.

“After the 12th round in December, Bernard asked me 'for a 46 year old man didn't I fight well in that 12 round?' and I said, 'If you had been 20 years old in that 12th round I would have been proud.

“I wouldn't say anything derogatory about an athlete because you don't realize that you are giving an athlete, you are giving him the greatest athlete in the world.

“What's real is real. Pascal proved his intelligence in that fight. If you bring a man that is 18 years older than me I am going ot be on him like a bnachee. I knew pascal was going to bring his best to the table in that fight.

“This man [Pascal] is going to fight his behind off. He is fighting for legitimacy. Bernard Hopkins has nothing to prove.

“Let's appreciate this man while we have him. When we close this chapter we lose one of the last great fighters.

“Bernard is the last of the fighters. Let's celebrate him while we have him, because there are none left.”

YVON MICHEL, President of Groupe Yvon Michel

“The fight in December was the WBC fight of the year and we didn't have an official winner.

“Everyone wants to see this fight. Contrary to what Hopkins said yesterday at the press conference, we aren't going to Montreal because we lost the purse bid. We aren't there because Hopkins wants to beat Jean Pascal in his own backyard. We are going to fight because there will be 20,000 fans; all of them will rooting for Jean Pascal

“Bernard is right. He has fans in Montreal. What is sad is that he probably has more fans in Montreal than in Philadelphia but there will be 20,000 people there only rooting for Pascal.

“Yes Bernard put up a great performance. Better that we had expected, better than what you had expected probably better than what Jean expected. Even then he didn't lose the titles. He kept the titles.”

“When Bernard Hopkins is inducted in the Boxing Hall of Fame, they will say 'He beat Oscar de la Hoya, Trinidad and Tarver, but they will say he lost to the great Jean Pascal”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“May 21 is one of those events you won't want to miss. Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal pulled a pay-per-view record in Canada during their first fight. We are looking to break that record as well.

“They are calling this fight Dynasty II. I think they should call it 'School is Back in Session.' Jean Pascal has to go back to school because he did not pass his last exam! Professor Bernard Hopkins is going to take him to school again. Will he be able to pass the test this time? Let's see how hard he studies.

“There are very knowledgeable fans in Canada. That is the reason why Bernard wanted to go back, because of the fans.

“Bernard said to me that he wanted to beat Pascal in his own backyard and that is why we are going to Canada.

“Golden Boy won the purse bid for this fight and honestly we could have taken the fight to many places including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Quebec. In Los Angeles the Staples Center was interested where Bernard broke the middleweight record with 21 defenses beating Howard Eastman in front of a sold out crowd.

“Yesterday in Montreal was an amazing press conference. Probably the most interesting press conference I have been to since I started promoting fights.

“The first time around, we talked I talked about how Hopkins starts with an 'H' and 'H' stands for history. Now we can add another 'H', and that is HBO. Bernard has made a lot of history with HBO.

“Every time I introduce Bernard Hopkins, I get chills. He truly is one of a kind. Let's appreciate such a great fighter and legend like Bernard while he is still here.

“We are so fortunate to have two major fights on this card with Pascal vs. Hopkins and Dawson vs. Diaconu.”
# # #

Dynasty II: Pascal vs. Hopkins” is promoted by Groupe Yvon Michel Inc. and Golden Boy Promotions and presented by Casino de Montreal, Videotron and Coors Light. The 12-round WBC, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight World Championship rematch will take place Saturday, May 21 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada and will be televised live on HBO's World Championship Boxing in the United States beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT and distributed live on pay-per-view in Canada on Canal Indigo, Bell TV, Shaw TV, Viewer's Choiceand Sasktel in French and English beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET. Dawson vs. Diaconu is presented in association with Gary Shaw Productions and InterBox.

Tickets, priced at C$500, C$350, C$250, C$175, C$110, C$75, C$50 and C$35, go on sale on Friday, April 1, 2011 at 12:00 p.m. ET and may be purchased at the Bell Centre box office or by calling (514) 790-2525 or (877) 668-8269. Tickets will also be available online at www.evenko.ca. A limited number of VIP tables priced at C$4,000, C$3,000 and C$2,500 will also be available for purchase by calling the Bell Centre box office or GYM at (514) 383-0666.

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

9 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

9 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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