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KHAN: “I Will Knock Garcia Out”

Published

12 years ago

July 13, 2012

KhanGarcia LVWorkouts Hoganphotos 6 QUOTES FROM THURSDAY'S AMIR KHAN VS. DANNY GARCIA FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE AMIR KHAN, WBA Super Lightweight Super World Champion

“Training camp has been brilliant. It was a long camp, but we paced it well. We were very professional and smart with the way we did things. It was a 15-week camp and I enjoyed every second of it.

“I did make a lot of mistakes in my last fight [against Lamont Peterson], but it was a wakeup call. I learned a lot from that fight.

“We will win the title. We will take the WBC belt home to the U.K. It is a title I have always wanted.

“I have fans all over who have traveled to Las Vegas for this fight. A lot of them came over for my fight against Peterson too and it means a lot to me. The U.K. press shows me so much support as well and I am grateful.

“I will knock Danny Garcia out. I will take the world titles home. I know Danny didn't train as hard as me. I promise I will knock him out. That is the only way.

“[To Angel Garcia] I cannot wait until after the fight when we stand here and I have knocked your son out. He is going to see what a Pakistani British fighter can do. I cannot wait to get in there.”

DANNY GARCIA, WBC Super Lightweight World Champion “We had a great camp and great sparring partners. I am just ready to showcase my skills on July 14.

“My dad talked sh*t 23 times, and I backed it up 23 times. I am 23 and 0. Come Saturday, he will have talked sh* 24 times and I am going to back it up for the twenty-fourth time.

“It means the most when your team always supports you.”

FREDDIE ROACH, Khan's Trainer “We have had a great training camp. We are ready for this fight. We had to switch gears in opponents a little bit, but there were no major setbacks. Amir is in the best shape of his life.

“[To Garcia] Danny, I wish you luck, but I am not so sure about your dad!”

ASIF VALI, Khan Promotions “Amir has worked hard, the team has been fantastic. He is ready to go. I have never ever seen Amir in this kind of shape.

“Whatever happened with Peterson is behind us. Now we have an opportunity to unify those belts.

“Amir Khan won a medal in the 2004 Olympics and in order to do something like that you have to go out and earn it. You have to make sacrifices, which is what Amir has done his whole career.

“We are very proud to say that the U.S.A. Boxing Team will be training in our gym in Bolton. As soon as Amir gets back from this fight he will be hosting them. Boxing in the Olympics is a big thing.

“It's going to be a fantastic fight. Tune in and watch because we are going to have the belts on the line and Amir is going to win.

“We wish the very best to team Garcia.”

ANGEL GARCIA, Danny Garcia's Father/ Trainer

“This fight right here is going to be a spiritual fight. Spiritually, mentally and physically; it is going to come down to who is a greater spirit.

“Danny is on weight right now without struggling.

“Everybody on this team has been here from the beginning. We don't have changes. There's no place like home. When you move to another state you are doing yourself a disservice. If you are disciplined and you give your soul to this sport anything is possible.

“Khan is a superstar, but that's all he has. If he were American, nobody would care.

“This fight is going to show the world who is the boss. Danny is the boss.

“Khan has never faced a Latino like Danny. This is Latino blood. A nation. We are going to show the world who is the boss.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions “This matchup [between Amir Khan and Danny Garcia] is a matchup that we don't see every day. We have two young champions who are at their peak. This is what really drives me, when you have two young fighters who are willing to fight anybody, when you are willing to fight the best, which is what boxing is all about.

“The fact that this is a unification is great, but these two fighters that we have here are fighting because they want to be great. They want to leave a legacy.

“Personally I am very proud and thrilled that Amir Khan is willing and able to go up against Danny and that Danny Garcia is willing and able to go up against Amir Khan. It has been a while since we have seen two young, strong fighters [fight each other] at their peak and I want to say thank you to them.

“I believe this fight is going to bring out the very best of Danny Garcia and the same goes for Amir Khan.”

RICHARD STURM, President of Entertainment, MGM Resorts

“Mandalay Bay would like to welcome our partners at Golden Boy Promotions, HBO and the media and of course the fighters.

“Khan, who's known for his exceptional speed and skills showcased that talent perhaps his most accomplished victory – a knockout over Zab Judah nearly one year ago to date here at Mandalay Bay.

“Danny Garcia returns to Mandalay Bay for the first time in almost three years. With a win over Khan, he will extend his undefeated record to 24-0 in what will be an exciting bout Saturday night.”

AMIR KHAN vs. DANNY GARCIA UNDERCARD FIGHTERS

FERNANDO GUERRERO, Rising Super Middleweight Star “I think boxing is one of the hardest sports. Before we even get in the ring, I want to say to Amir, Danny and everyone else, good luck because I know how hard it is.

“It has been a long journey for me and I am loving it. I used to just work hard, but now I am learning how to work hard and love life.

“I want to prove to the world that there is no difference between me and the other talent on HBO and I am going to show it. I want everyone to be there to witness an electrifying card because I know it is going to be an electrifying show.”

PHIL LO GRECO, Undefeated Welterweight Contender “It is an honor and a thrill for me to be here.

“I am an Italian guy from Canada. Ever since I was a kid, it was my dream to fight in Las Vegas. It's a big responsibility to fight in Las Vegas.

“I fight for the Italian people, the Canadian people and now I am fighting for all of the hard core American boxing fans. I want to give them a good show and prove myself Saturday night.”

J LEON LOVE, Undefeated Middleweight Prospect “It is a pleasure to be on this card. We worked hard and this is going to be a great night of boxing.”

JAMIE KAVANAUGH, Undefeated Lightweight Prospect “This Saturday is going to be a great night of boxing.

“I have been sparring with Amir Khan and training with Freddie. I can't wait for Saturday night.”

ABNER COTTO, Undefeated Lightweight Prospect “I want you to know that I am a strong prospect. It is a pleasure to be on this card and pretty soon Puerto Rico will have another world champion.”

# # # Khan vs. Garcia, a 12-round unification fight for Khan's WBA Super Lightweight Super World Championship, Garcia's WBC Super Lightweight World Championship and the vacant Ring Magazine Junior Welterweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Doors open on fight night at 3:00 p.m. PT and the first bell rings at 3:30 p.m. Khan vs. Garcia will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT in the United States and live on Sky Sports 1HD in the United Kingdom at 2:00 a.m. BST Sunday, July 15.

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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”.

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