Articles

Garcia To Judah: “I Am Going To Knock You Out”

Published

11 years ago

December 3, 2012

NEW YORK (December 2, 2012) – Tensions flared as Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and former Four-Time and Two-Division World Champion Zab “Super” Judah formally announced their Saturday, February 9 world championship fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, which will be televised live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.

Garcia, Judah and their camps had to be separated mid-way through Saturday’s press conference at Gallagher’s Steakhouse in New York City after Garcia’s father Angel made comments while addressing the media. Judah took offense to Angel’s promise that his son, the WBA Super, WBC and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion would knock out the Brooklyn native.

Garcia vs. Judah, a 12-round bout for Garcia’s Unified Super Lightweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsor Corona. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.

Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, go on sale on Monday, December 3 at 10:00 a.m. ET and will be available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling 800-745-3000.

Here’s what the participants had to say during Saturday’s press conference:

DANNY GARCIA, Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“It’s going to be another epic show. [To Judah] Come February 9^th, I’m going to show you. I’m going to knock you out.

“Now there’s going to be a fight on February 9^th.

“I am old-school. I always go for the knockout.

“I’m going to punish him. I’m going for the knockout. This is not going past four rounds.

“This is my time. It is going to be a great fight.

“He [Judah] is going to try hard because he is fighting in Brooklyn, and he is in his hometown. He is going to do a lot of barking and I am going to do a lot of biting.

“I won the title in Houston in front of Morales’ fans. I beat Khan in Vegas; he had a lot of fans there, so this isn’t anything new to me.”

ZAB JUDAH, Former Four-Time and Two-Division World Champion

“You’ve got a hungry Zab Judah. Get your seatbelt on because it’s going to be a roller coaster on February 9^th.

“When you come into Brooklyn you have to show some respect. [To Garcia] Take your ass whooping and head down I-95.

“Danny is a cool, calm fighter. His dad is the mouth.

“I am not perfect. I make mistakes. I got mad.

“I am too fast, too slick and too strong for Garcia. February 9^th is going to be fun.

“My first title fight was on SHOWTIME and now I have a chance to win the unified title [on SHOWTIME].

“It’s a dream to have an arena right in my borough. After 16 years as a professional, I am going to be able to give my borough the championship of the world.”

ANGEL GARCIA, DANNY’S FATHER & TRAINER

“Danny is blessed. I am blessed because of Danny. I train him, Al [Haymon] picks ’em and Danny fights ’em.

“Zab was a champion, that was his time, his era. There’s a new era. It’s about Philly right now.

“Danny is still undefeated. We’re not leaving those titles in Brooklyn.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, President of Golden Boy East

“A lot of fighters have made history in New York City, including myself. What better way to start the second show at Barclays Center than with a fight like this one? Golden Boy put on a great show in October and we are coming back with another great show on February 9^th.

“Zab can’t be underestimated or disrespected. He always brings his ‘A’ game. Everyone knows Zab comes to fight. He brings it. Garcia, a Philly guy, is representing himself, his family and the City of Brotherly Love.

“They love Zab Judah in Brooklyn like they love Mike Tyson.

“This will be a test for Danny to disprove to any doubters out there. He’s taking on someone he doesn’t have to fight…a living legend.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“This is the kind of fight that was easy and quick to put together. Both of these guys wanted this fight.

“When you have two fighters that really want it, it results in a great matchup.

“We have fantastic pricing for this fight starting at 25 dollars. That’s like the price of a movie ticket.

“The undercard will have Danny Jacobs, if he gets past his fight tonight and Peter Quillin.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports

“At SHOWTIME, we are committed to bringing our subscribers the biggest names and most established stars, as well as discovering and building the stars of the future. On February 9^th, we will be featuring both of those [types of fighters].

“It’s hard to believe in less than a year Danny has gone from an interesting prospect to a bona fide world champion. He has put his name on the short list of boxing’s household names.

“Zab Judah has been on that list for quite some time. February 9^th will be Zab’s 10^th appearance on SHOWTIME and every single appearance has been entertaining and compelling.

“This will be Danny’s litmus test.”

SEAN SAADEH, Vice President of Programming for Barclays Center

“We’re thrilled to have this fight at Barclays Center. Our first fight was great and the energy was electric.

“Brooklyn is known for raising some of the best fighters and the world and we want Barclays Center to be their home.

“We are proud to continue that tradition with Brooklyn’s own Zab Judah.

“We want up-and-coming Brooklyn fighters to aspire to fight at Barclays and we want it to be their ultimate goal.

“In October, Danny Garcia showed us why he was one of the most elite fighters in boxing we are looking forward to showcasing him again.”

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The Sweet Science

Articles

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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Articles

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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