Articles

Quotes From Final “Action Heroes” Press Conference

Published

13 years ago

April 8, 2011

The Sweet Science

APRIL 9 “ACTION HEROES” PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

ERIK MORALES, Six-Time & Three Division World Champion

“I trained very hard for this fight. I trained for eight weeks in Otomi, in the mountains of Mexico City.

“After so many interviews, I am starting to say to myself, 'Was this the right decision? Am I the only crazy one that thinks I can win? When I am alone at night lying in bed, I start thinking to myself, I am not wrong.

“I didn't make a mistake picking Maidana. I am going to prove it to you guys on Saturday night. I am going to prove that I wasn't crazy.

“It is going to be a great night. After I win, it will be a big party and a special night for all my supporters.”

MARCOS MAIDANA, Former World Champion

“My advisor said I should speak a little bit for this press conference. Some of us talk a little bit and others talk more.

“I want to say thank you. I am very happy to be here. This is going to be a great event.

“There are a lot of very good fighters on this card. There are going to be great fights. Don't miss it.

“For an Argentinean, headlining a fight in Las Vegas is a very special thing. Sometimes I do not even realize how bit it is for me. I will make Argentina proud on Saturday night.”

ROBERT GUERRERO, Former Three-Time World Champion

“I want to thank everyone for these prayers. I am excited. I have never been this excited for a fight or this prepared.

“This is going to be a really good interesting fight for the fans. I want to thank everybody and God bless.”

MICHAEL KATSIDIS, Former World Champion

“G'day mates. April 9, well what's going to be April 10 in Australia is going to be Australia's big day out.

“Boxing is hard as it is and you've got to take what you can when you can and we are thrilled about this fight. We are an army put together, and we are ready to fight this weekend.”

JAMES KIRKLAND, Undefeated Junior Middleweight

“I came well prepared for this fight. I came prepared for this fight.

“I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions and De La Hoya for staying by my side.

“I can't wait to show all of the people who supported me that it was well worth it. There is nothing in my past that I regret because I learned from it all.

“I am ready to show everyone that I am a true champion.

“This is one of the cards that you have to be more motivated than anything to buy because this is a great opportunity for fans to get a whole card of comeback fights.”

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI, Former World Champion

“Coming into this fight we decided I needed an alter ego and my alter ego is “Magic Man.”

“Lately we've lost some boxing fans to MMA, but 'Magic Man' is here to get rid of all the evil forces and steal back those fans.

“I've been training at Wild Card gym since January. I was ready to fight in March then we got this date in April. So now I'm really ready to fight.

“The best guy I was ever in the ring with was Jose's brother Miguel Cotto, but I'm ready for the other Cotto on Saturday.

“I've been through the ringer and have been in the ring with some of today's best fighters. I am determined to get back to that level.”

JOSE MIGUEL COTTO, Top Contender

“I came to Las Vegas to give you guys a great show. This is going to be a great fight against Paulie Malignaggi. I'm ready for Saturday.”

NOBUHIRO ISHIDA, Former World Champion

“Thank you very for giving us the opportunity to fight in Las Vegas. I am going to fight for Japan. There are a lot of people who have died and are suffering.

“I am going to fight for everybody in my country. I am praying for Japan we will work hard Saturday night.”

JOSE “OLIVARITOS” MORALES, Morales' Trainer

“My son had a little bit of a rest. He was never retired, but he had a three year rest. He had three fights last year. He was victorious. He fought good fighters with good names. We did exactly what we wanted to do. We were prepared, we had two fights.

“Maidana has a great record which is why we picked him. We feel we are going to win. It's going to be a great fight.”

RUDY PEREZ, Maidana's Trainer

“I want to thank Team Maidana for trusting in me to train Marcos for this fight.

“Never count out Erik Morales. This is going to be a war. We had six weeks of preparation. Maidana is ready and it is going to be a great fight.”

SEBASTIAN CONTURSI, Maidana's Advisor

“Thank you to all the press for all of the coverage you have been giving us. Everyone who knows Maidana knows he is a man of few words.

“This is not going to be an easy fight. Marcos is expecting the best Erik Morales. He prepared himself the best ever and that is the reason why he will win.”

RUBEN GUERRERO, Guerrero's Trainer & Father

“We had a great camp. This is the first time we had a real camp.

“We haven't had a real camp in a long time. Robert is ready. He is ready right now. He is going to put up a good show and there is going to be a lot of action. My son is ready.”

BRENDON SMITH, Katsidis' Trainer

“I want to thank Robert Guerrero. We are very happy to hear that your wife is ok. Good luck to you and your family in the future.

“The last time we came here was one of the hardest times we have had in his career as boxer and as a trainer. We are here to enjoy and take back the two titles to Australia.”

MICHAEL MILLER, Kirkland's Lawyer

“Thank you for sticking by James during the last few months of his life. We appreciate the opportunity to get back and be active.

“We will show Saturday night that the wait was worth it. We promise Saturday night that those who like James and have watched him are in for a wonderful fight.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“To all of the media, you need to talk about these fighters and their stories. These are great stories. The human side of these fighters is incredible. That is what the public should know. You listen to Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero's story, you listen to Katsidis' story, you listen to Kirkland who also has an amazing story, you will see the kinds of hearts these fighters have.

“Erik Morales is a legendary fighter. He is a Six-Time and Three Division World Champion. He wants to be the first Mexican fighter to capture a title in a fourth division in this game.

“Morales had a plan. He is dedicated once again. He is a Mexican warrior. He has faced a lot of great fighters. He was the last man to beat Manny Pacquiao in an exciting fight.

“We at Golden Boy Promotions are honored to be putting this card on with such a legend.

“Maidana is such a warrior in the ring. He came back from a first round knock down against Khan and the fight was picked as the fight of the year by the Boxing Writers' Association of America.

“Guerrero is a fighter that fights with passion and heart. We are proud and happy for you and are happy that his wife Casey went through that tough battle and she is ok.

“Everyone knows Michael Katsidis is a warrior in the ring.

“I feel very excited that we do have [Nobuhiro] Ishida here with us on this card because we all know he is going to come and fight.He is going to fight for all of his countrymen in Japan especially because of everything that has happened there.

“Any net profits from this fight, a portion of it will go to a relief fund in Japan.

“This fight is called Action Heroes and Paulie [Malignaggi] is definitely an action hero. This is going to be a great fight. The Cotto family has a history in boxing and Jose Miguel is going to bring that Saturday night.”

# # #

“Action Heroes,” featuring Morales vs. Maidana in a 12-round junior welterweight bout, Robert Guerrero vs. Michael Katsidis in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBA and WBO Interim Lightweight Championships, James Kirkland facing Nobuhiro Ishida in an 8-round middleweight bout and Paul Malignaggi vs. Jose Miguel Cotto in a 10-round welterweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Erik Morales' Box Latino and Universum Box Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, DeWalt Tools and Tres Generaciones Tequila. Guerrero vs. Katsidis is presented in association with Sampson Boxing. The Pay-Per-View bouts will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Before the highly-anticipated “Action Heroes” televised fights kick off on HBO Pay-Per-View® on Saturday, April 9, fight fans can get ready for one of the biggest cards of the year with three preliminary bouts featuring Danny Garcia, Nate Campbell, Gary Russell Jr. and Rakhim Chakhiev, that will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The broadcast will be available free of charge and shown by several satellite and cable providers, as well as online, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets for “Action Heroes,” priced at $350, $250, $150, $75, $50 and $25, are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 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

8 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

8 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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