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Duva, Adamek, McBride Offer Last Words Before Saturday Clash

Published

10 years ago

April 7, 2011

128 The principals, promoter and content providers had their say for the last time ahead of Saturday's heavyweight clash between Tomasz Adamek, who has a date with Vitali Klitshko on deck, and Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin McBride.

Promoter Kathy Duva: “This is a very important fight and we've seen lots of fighters in this situation look past the guy in front of him. In this situation Tomasz is putting a lot on the line and we really have got to give him all the respect in the world for continuing to stay active and wanting to challenge himself as much as he can, before he gets to that fight he's been working for literally his whole life.”

“This man (McBride) pretty much made a name for himself by scoring one of the biggest upsets ever and ending Mike Tyson's career. We are not taking that lightly at all and nor should anyone else.”

Doug Jacobs, Integrated Sports: “I know there are 2 fights on that night (4/9), but we have the better card, we have the less expensive card and we are on every cable system.”

Jerry Quinn: “I've been reading in the papers where the Adamek corner is planning a fight for September with the Klitschko's but there's an old saying, “It's not over when (until) the fat lady sings.” And that's the way we feel. Kevin is in great condition, we've pulled no punches in this one. He has a conditioning coach, he did a lot of sparring, and he had the hypnotist. That's what he wanted and that's what he got. I think it's going to be a very exciting fight and we welcome everyone to come out.”

Kevin McBride: “This is great opportunity for me to show the world that I am a contender and not a pretender.”

“You know, I did say 'I'm gonna shock the world and beat Mike Tyson', and I did do what I said. I'm not going to say that I am going to shock the world when I beat Tomasz Adamek, but I'm going to upset the world and especially the Polish people because I'm here to win. Talk's cheap and you have to put it together on that night.”

“Everyone says he's fast, he's this, that, and you know I never heard of Tomasz Adamek until I got the word of the fight from Jerry Quinn. Now that I have, I've seen him fight and he's a top class fighter, but I believe I have the equalizer in both hands to win this fight.”

“I haven't done weights in 5 to 6 years and I started benching like 200 pounds, just last week I was benching 425 pounds. I feel so strong and my mind is focused, because I have a hypnotist and he has hypnotized me like he did for the Tyson fight. I'm not leaving any stones unturned. This is a big opportunity for me. It's probably my last chance to show the world that I have what it takes. As a kid growing up I wanted to be the first born Irish heavyweight champion of the world… Adamek is in the way and hopefully after I beat Adamek I get an opportunity to fight for the world title and show the world.”

“On the 9th it's going to be exciting because I come to win and there's only two ways I'm coming out of that ring: one is with my hand raised in victory; and two on the stretcher… I'm coming here to fight and I'm gonna show what Irish pride is!”

“I have watched some of Adamek's fights… There is flaws, but I ain't gonna tell you because on the 9th you're gonna see them. I'm gonna be me own referee and me own judge because I come to win. Saturday night is the night.”

Ziggy Rozalski: “Kevin wants to 'spoil our soup' like he did with Mike Tyson, but when we started our training camp in Pennsylvania I told Roger, don't take him lightly. And Tomasz did not take him lightly; we had a great training camp. We are ready for Kevin McBride.”

Roger Bloodworth: “Training camp was very peaceful. It allowed us to focus, cause we're not taking this man (McBride) lightly at all. Anybody that takes a 6-foot-6, 270 pound man lightly, well he needs to be hypnotized. It gave us a good opportunity to work on a lot of things. I saw a lot of improvement and you'll see that in the ring Saturday night.”

Tomasz Adamek: “I've prepared well with Roger. For 7 weeks we stayed in Bushkill, Pennsylvania.” He added, “Roger trains me a little bit more every day. I've changed my style, I'm more flexible. When you see my first fight in heavyweight (compared) to now, I am much more different. I'm everyday a better fighter.”

“I've never trained the same for every fight, I think in my last couple fights my physical coach gave me more exercise because my body is stronger. I feel very good right now, no pain, nothing. I am at my natural weight, 216 -218. I don't want more because I want to keep my speed.”

“Before my big fight in September I must beat Kevin. I respect Kevin and I am ready. I will give all my fans a good show, because I am a warrior. This is my destiny.”

“A couple years ago we were talking about how some day Tomasz was going to get ready to challenge for the heavyweight title. We are finally getting close to it, but before that happens he has one big challenge. Kevin is not just a challenge, he is a BIG challenge and we mean that quite literally.”

INFO:

The April 9th card at Newark's Prudential Center features Tomasz Adamek vs. Kevin McBride in the IBF International/NABO Heavyweight Championship fight. There are 6 undercard fights scheduled, subject to change. The Brick City Boxing Series card is presented by Main Events & Ziggy Promotions. Doors open at 6:45pm, first fight 7:00pm.

Tickets are priced at $253, $103, $78, and $53. Tickets are available online at www.ticketmaster.com, Charge-by-phone: 1-800-745-3000, Ticketmaster Express 866-448-7849 and Ticketmaster ticket centers. Tickets are also available at Prudential Center's Box Office.

Adamek vs. McBride will be distributed in the United States and Canada by Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN and Canada via Viewer's Choice, Bell TV and Shaw Cable PPV for a suggested retail price of only $29.95

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The Sweet Science

Articles

2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

5 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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Articles

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

Published

5 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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Articles

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

Published

5 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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