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More Quotes From Ward, Abraham, Arreola, Aguilera

Published

14 years ago

May 12, 2011

ANDRE WARD:

“I'm born and raised here in America and I don't talk that much. I think everyone in this room understands that. There's not much else to say. I've prepared the way I'm supposed to prepare, the way a champion is supposed to prepare.

“I respect Arthur Abraham, it's going to be a tough fight. I want to be a great fighter, but I'm not there yet. These are the kind of fights that you have to take and you have to win to be a great fighter.

“I won't hear the crowd, I won't hear anybody on Saturday night. I'm locked in. I'm here to defend my belt and to keep my belt right here in America.”

“My first goal is to win and I know winning in this sport takes care of a lot of problems.

“Sugar Ray Leonard came from a totally different time. Fighting on the network that he fought on, having Howard Cosell, it was just a totally different ballgame. Oscar De La Hoya had the Hispanic community and different things like that, so you have to look at those situations because I'm in a different time. It might be a little bit harder to get the exposure and the just due.”

“At the end of the day, the way my father raised me was to put my nose down to the grindstone and keep working and allow God to open those doors in due season. So I've never begged for it and I've never demanded it. I just have to understand that I have to keep working and it will come. “

“I appreciate everyone who attends the fights, but it comes down to going home and kissing my wife and kids, keeping my title and moving on with my career. But with that being said, I think I take the risks I'm supposed to take. I think I do what I'm supposed to, but if you get enough people saying one thing, people start to believe it. I think my fight with Kessler was a very entertaining fight but it's not me taking punishment so people think it's not entertaining. From a little boy, I was never taught to get the best bout trophy, I was always taught to get the best fighter of the night. That's the way it is because whoever I am when my career is said and done, nobody's going home with me.”

“My coach has always taught me from day one, he's always wanted me to be a master and masters are able to fight into their late 30s and early 40s like Bernard Hopkins and Glen Johnson. I'm just going to continue to naturally evolve and I hope everyone enjoys my fights. But, ultimately, it's about winning in this sport. “

ARTHUR ABRAHAM:

“I don't have to speak much. We just want to perform in the ring and we don't have to do much talking. We're here to win in the ring.

“Of course my trainer and my promoter respect me. There's no question of that. In Europe, we don't talk very much. I'm here to win.

“I have a lot of respect for Andre Ward. He's a technically sound boxer. But that talk doesn't matter when we get in the ring on Saturday. I'm here to win and I'm here to destroy him.

“I'm very happy to be part of this tournament. This tournament started well for me and it will end well.

“I had to make some adjustments to my style for moving from middleweight to super middleweight and then we had to make some more after the losses. We've made the adjustments and we hope we don't have to do it again.”

DAN GOOSSEN, Ward's Promoter:

“I really do believe in the concept of this tournament and think it's terrific. We've had some challenges getting to this point but I really feel it's the best thing for this sport because you have the best fighters fighting the best on a continual basis. Because of that, there is no need to sit there and think anything other than that it's great for our sport.”

WILFRIED SAUERLAND, Abraham's promoter:

“We liked the idea of the tournament when we first heard about it. There have been some issues but it's still a good idea because it brings together the best in the division. And it's still not finished.

“There has been a lot of uproar about us asking for a new referee but that was in the contract – a contract is a contract.

“Virgil, we asked for a neutral referee because the referee in the Ward-Kessler fight gave a very bad performance.

“Dan complained that Andre had to travel 500 miles for this fight. Arthur has travelled over 40,000 miles for this tournament.”

“Dan is a good host and we have a good understanding. We look after him in Germany and he looks after us here.”

VIRGIL HUNTER, Ward's Trainer:

“I've been appalled as some of the things that have happened to this point. If Andre wasn't perceived as a threat, I don't believe we would have ever heard complaints about the referees like we have. Andre Ward still to this point has not gotten the recognition that he deserves.

“Arthur, this is to you: By complaining about the officials, your promoters are saying they have lost confidence in you. Don't let anyone speak to you about the officials. Your promoters have lost confidence in you. It's as simple as that.”

JAMES PRINCE, Ward's Manager:

“We have respect for Arthur Abraham and his accomplishments in boxing, but come Saturday it's going to get real hot in the ring. You were a great fighter at 160 pounds but I feel like your advisors have tricked you into placing you into a different weight division where you don't belong. I want to extend my warmest hospitality and welcome you to the States, but that's where it ends.”

ULLI WEGNER, Abraham's trainer:

“I'm really looking forward to seeing an exciting fight on Saturday night.

“I know it will be a very difficult fight for us and I'm hoping that the better man will win.

“I hope that we have a fair fight and we put on a good fight for the fans.

“Now we're done with the talking and we're ready to get inside the ring.”

CHRIS DeBLASIO, SHOWTIME Director of Communications

“The Super Six World Boxing Classic has been dramatic and competitive as much as it's been contentious and compelling both inside and outside the ring since this tournament was announced in July of 2009. The results of which have made the Fight Camp 360 program: Inside the Super Six World Boxing Classic can't-miss television for sports fans. The SHOWTIME sports documentary series has revealed the business of boxing, the personalities in this tournament and of course the tournament fight themselves like no other show has ever done on television before and we're very proud of that.”

CHRIS ARREOLA:

“I cannot overlook Nagy Aguilera. This man is a tough fighter. I'm in this shape for him, to fight him. Not to look at two or three fights from now. My main motivation right now is him. Every fighter I've ever boxed I've respected and now I'm respecting boxing, the sport I love.

“I would love to see this type of tournament for the heavyweights. I don't think it would ever happen but it would be a great thing.

“I'm a Ward guy, always have been. I try to emulate him. Not only his fighting but his training and that he works so hard. I think he's the best American fighter right now. And I'm No. 2, but I think Ward by far is the best.”

NAGY AGUILERA:

“It's a difficult opponent for me, especially coming off of a loss. But this time I'm focused and I'm training hard.

“Arreola said that boxing is his wife. Well, boxing is my life. I had a lot of problems in my fight against Antonio (Tarver) and now I'm just focused and ready to win.

“My training went well. We've been preparing for eight weeks.”

Tickets are available for as low as $25, with VIP floor seats priced at $200. Other tickets in the 8,000-seat outdoor stadium at The Home Depot Center are available at $50 and $100. Fans can purchase tickets at all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.Ticketmaster.com as well as The Home Depot Center Box Office (open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets by calling 1-877-234-8425.

For more information on the Super Six World Boxing Classic including exclusive photos, fight highlights and interviews, plus to view all episodes of the acclaimed documentary series FIGHT CAMP 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic, please visit the website at www.WorldBoxingClassic.com

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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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