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Final Quotes Ahead of Mares-Agbeko II

Published

10 years ago

December 1, 2011

The Sweet Science

ABNER MARES & JOSEPH AGBEKO

ANSELMO MORENO & VIC DARCHINYAN

FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Also Promoters, Oscar De La Hoya, Don King And Gary Shaw;

Wednesday, Nov. 30, Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.

World Championship Doubleheader This Saturday, Dec. 3,
Live on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (Nov. 30, 2011) – In a potential candidate for Fight of the Year, unbeaten Abner Mares will defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver Bantamweight Championship titles against former two-time IBF 118-pound champion Joseph King Kong Agbeko in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING this Saturday, Dec. 3, live on SHOWTIME^® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The 12-round bout between Mares (22-0-1, 13 KO’s) and Agbeko (28-3, 22 KO’s) is a rematch of a hotly disputed fight won by Mares via a 12-round majority decision last Aug. 13 in Las Vegas on SHOWTIME.

The opening half of Saturday’s world championship doubleheader will feature the SHOWTIME and United States debuts of Panama’s Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno (31-1-1, 11 KO’s), who will defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) Bantamweight Super Championship against

Two-Division World Champion Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan (37-3-1, 27 KO’s).

Mares, who turned 26 on Monday, will be fighting for a fourth consecutive time on SHOWTIME, while Agbeko, 32, will be appearing on the network for a fifth time in a row. This will be Darchinyan’s 14^th bout on the network.

Tickets, priced at $150, $100, $50 and $25, are available at all Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com and via charge-by-phone (800) 745-3000 and at Honda Center Box Office.

The four classy and talented bantamweights, their promoters and teams participated in Wednesday’s final press conference at Honda Center. Here’s what they had say to say about this weekend’s event:

ABNER MARES

“I can’t reveal what my key to winning is, but what I can say is that I am going to fight my fight, a smart fight. There’s obviously been a lot of controversy going into this fight, but whatever pressure I felt is gone.

“I feel I did my job last time, but I know I need to perform at my best and win again. Agbeko thinks he should have won and has trained hard and is here to win. He’ll be bringing everything’s he’s got, so I feel we are both coming in with something to prove.

“I don’t really expect him to do anything differently, but you never know once the bell rings. I just know I’ll be ready for anything and everything.

“This will be one of my hardest fights. He’s a great champion, but he never really hurt me in our first fight.

“The fans will definitely experience a great fight. The expectations for both of us to perform at the highest level are there.

“I’m the champion and he is coming into my house to try to take what I trained so hard to win, and I’m here to prove I deserve to be world champion – and I will.”

JOSEPH KING KONG AGBEKO

“I want to thank everyone involved, including the IBF which mandated that we fight again.

“I’ve put the first fight behind me. It is in the past and gone. My focus right now and in recent weeks of training is on Saturday and regaining my title. I expect the referee to do his job.

“I’m honored to fight Mares (in Southern California) where he lives and to challenge him in front of his home crowd. It will make me fight that much harder.

“I hope we fill the arena and give fans a lot to cheer about. On Saturday, I will prove who is the best bantamweight in the world.”

ANSELMO MORENO

“I am happy to be fighting in the United States. It was always a dream to fight here for the biggest promoter in the world.

“I’m looking forward to showing my intelligence and style of boxing to the fans at the arena and watching on television.

“I’m here to make a name for myself and to make a huge statement.”

VIC DARCHINYAN

“I want to thank everybody who helped get me on this card, including my promoter, Gary Shaw, and it is always nice to be back on SHOWTIME again.

“Moreno doesn’t come to make exciting fights. He likes to move and grab and just wants to do enough to win a round. He’s scared to get hit. I’m going to do what I do best and show my skills and fight smart, but I’m not going to mess around. I’ll jump on him and pressure him like no one he’s ever fought before and I’m going to try and knock him out in the first round.

“I will destroy him. I can’t see this fight going the distance. You’ll like what you see. I’m here to bring the excitement.

“Mares and Agbeko say they are moving up to 122 after this fight. After this fight, I would love to fight Mares at 122.’’

PROMOTER OSCAR DE LA HOYA (Golden Boy Promotions)

“Abner Mares is an honorable young man. Being the fighter and the man that he is, he called for this rematch. He could have fought another guy, but he wanted to clear up any controversy that may have surrounded their first fight and he wanted to fight Agbeko again.

“The bottom line is Abner holds the beautiful IBF belt and that we at Golden Boy are very proud of him for becoming our first home-grown world champion. On Saturday, we expect him to leave no doubt he is the best bantamweight in the world.

“I’m very excited about Saturday’s big event and thrilled to be working with so many of my good friends and fellow promoters. From top to bottom, we have put together an outstanding night of fights.”

PROMOTER DON KING (Don King Promotions)

“I’m glad to be in the great state of California with Saturday night's fight in Anaheim under the auspices of the California State Athletic Commission. Everybody who saw the first fight knows the low blows sustained by Agbeko by Mares sent the IBF world title to Mares by robbery. I am just glad that the head of the CSAC, George Dodd, has guaranteed that the rematch will be officiated fairly, and I trust it will.

“Mares didn’t win the first fight. He went into that fight at 21-0, and now he's 21 and a question mark, not 22-0 like the record books says. A referee gave him that win, that's why I call it a question mark. Mares should have been disqualified or the match should have been changed to no contest, but now we have a chance to clean this up, and I think it's going to be one great fight, a Pier 6 brawl.

“If Mares wins, I’ll give him all the credit he deserves, but in a fair fight I believe Agbeko will have the upper hand. Joseph is dedicated and committed to winning but he feels he’s been wronged, that forces beyond him have conspired to deny him two victories in Nevada. It's up to King Kong to go in there and shine against the young lion, Mares. The only one who can beat Agbeko is Agbeko. If he focuses and brings his best to the ring, nobody can beat him.”

PROMOTER GARY SHAW (Gary Shaw Productions)

“One thing about Vic Darchinyan: he fights only the best, and wants to fight only the best. He, too, has some unfinished business with Mares because of the low blows. I hope after Vic wins Saturday that fight is made again.

“Another possibility (if Darchinyan is triumphant) is that he will retire and follow in the footsteps of Kimbo Slice, and go into MMA.”

FRANK ESPINOZA (Mares’ Manager)

“I want to thank SHOWTIME, Golden Boy and Don King for making this happen. We are happy this rematch is taking place. We respect the IBF’s decision for an immediate rematch. It was the right call.

“It was the right call for Abner, who wants to set the record straight, and the right call for Agbeko, who put up a good fight and it was the right call for the sport of boxing. On Saturday, there’ll be no controversy. Abner will erase all doubts and successfully defend his title. He’ll prove once again he truly deserves to be the best bantamweight in the world and we’ll finally get to say, ‘So long, King Kong.’ ”

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

6 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

6 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

6 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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