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Leo Santa Cruz: “To Fight On CBS Greatest Exposure You Can Get”
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 10, 2012) – Three of the fighters who’ll be fighting on CBS Television Network’s portion of an unprecedented boxing marathon on CBS and SHOWTIME® this Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena participated in a media workout Monday at the Ponce De Leon Boxing Gym in Montebello, Calif.
The three – undefeated IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13 KO’s), of Los Angeles, his challenger, unbeaten Alberto Guevara (16-0, 6 KO’s) of San Diego, Calif. and 2012 U.S. Olympian Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz, of South El Monte, Calif. – each worked out for approximately 30 minutes.
The exciting, non-stop action fighter Santa Cruz will defend against Guevara in a battle of unbeatens while Diaz will make his pro debut in the opening bout of the live 90-minute CBS broadcast that will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT. Admission is free to the afternoon event that will also include three of Diaz’s U.S. Olympic teammates, Errol Spence of Brentwood, N.Y., Marcus Browne of Staten Island, N.Y., and Dominic Breazeale of Alhambra, Calif., who made their professional debuts on SHOWTIME’S ShoBox: The New Generation on Nov. 9.
In Saturday’s main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING (10:30 p.m. ET, delayed on the West Coast), former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion and British superstar Amir “King” Khan (26-3, 18 KO’s), of Bolton, England, makes his ring return against undefeated Carlos Molina (17-0-1, 7 KO’s), of Los Angeles in a fight for the vacant WBC Silver Super Lightweight Championship. The co-featured attractions on SHOWTIME will feature two 10-round bouts: knockout artist and 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (25-0, 25 KO’s), of Tuscaloosa, Ala., faces Kelvin Price (13-0, 6 KO’s), of Pensacola, Fla., in a clash of undefeated heavyweights for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Championship and Alfredo “Perro” Angulo (21-2, 18 KO’s), of Los Angeles, faces Jorge Silva (18-2-2, 14 KO’s), of Chula Vista, Calif., in a junior middleweight match.
The event will also be televised live by Sky Sports 1HD in the United Kingdom at 2:00 a.m. GMT on Sunday, December 16.
Sandwiched between the CBS and SHOWTIME telecasts will be a 10-round fight on SHOWTIME EXTREME (9:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) between unbeaten welterweight Shawn “Showtime” Porter (20-0, 14 KO’s), of Cleveland, Ohio, and former World Champion Julio Diaz (40-7, 29 KO’s), of Indio, Calif.
Saturday’s event will feature Golden Boy’s Holiday Fanfest on the grounds of the Sports Arena that will include music, autograph sessions with boxing’s biggest stars, games, boxing memorabilia, a visit by Santa Claus at an Oscar De La Hoya Foundation-sponsored toy give-away (10:00 a.m.), and much more.
Tickets for the evening boxing session (SHOWTIME televised fight card) are priced at $150, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes and service charges, are on sale at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Tickets for the afternoon boxing session (CBS broadcast) will be free of charge as part of the Golden Boy Promotions Holiday Fanfest and can be acquired at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena box office.
Fans who present ticket stubs from the CBS event when purchasing tickets for the SHOWTIME event will receive a 20 percent discount. There is a limit of one discounted purchased ticket per ticket redeemed while supplies last.
Khan vs. Molina is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Santa Cruz vs. Guevara is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T.
What the fighters said Monday:
LEO SANTA CRUZ
“Considering that six months ago I was just a guy fighting on undercards to now being picked to headline and defend my title on free network television is hard to believe, but I’m so happy. It is a tremendous honor and something I am not taking lightly. I really want to thank my promoter, Golden Boy, my advisor, Al Haymon, CBS, SHOWTIME and everyone involved for making this happen.
“Winning the world title and making two defenses on SHOWTIME also had a lot to do with this happening for me, but this is also is validation for all the hard work I’ve put in my whole life. I wasn’t one of the guys in high school that once school was out went out and played. I went directly to the gym.
“I don’t drink or do any of that other stuff. I don’t go to clubs at night. I just train and fight; that’s basically been my life since I decided to dedicate 100 percent of myself to boxing. You can never learn enough in the gym and I continue to learn all the time.
“This is such an unbelievable opportunity. To fight on CBS is the greatest exposure you can get. I’ve always considered myself a hard worker, but I have worked even harder for this. I’m always a little nervous but I’m already a little more nervous than usual. Fighting in the main event on CBS is just so unbelievably great.
“I think I was about nine-years-old the last time there was a live fight on CBS (January 20, 1997, Bernard Hopkins KO 11 over Glen Johnson). I don’t remember watching it, but I’m sure my Dad did.
“Fans can look forward to seeing an exciting fight on Saturday. I know Guevara fought on one of my undercards once in Mazatlan, Mexico (July 30, 2011). I remember seeing him in the dressing room beforehand, but I didn’t see his fight. I know he’s a good boxer who will be looking at this as his opportunity of a lifetime. I felt the same way before my first title fight in June.
“I’ve fought boxers before. The way to beat them is to work the body, break them down, slow their movement and make them bang with me.
“This will not be an easy fight, but I’m ready and confident. I’m looking forward to winning on Saturday and then taking off for Christmas vacation, being able to kick back and relax for a while and eating some homemade tamales.”
ALBERTO GUEVARA
“I really can’t describe how happy I am to be fighting for a world title on such a great network like CBS. This is definitely as good as it gets. I’m very proud to be part of this event, but what’s important to me is to be able to take advantage of the opportunity.
“I understand that there are not a lot of people who know about me, but I’ve always felt that if I continued to do my job in the ring, the attention would come little by little. With this opportunity I can get a lot of recognition right away.
“I know what kind of fighter Santa Cruz is. I fought on one of his undercards in Mexico. He is a fighting machine. I’m more of a boxer who relies on his smarts and skills. I definitely don’t run, but I’m in there to use my boxing skills. When an opportunity comes for a knockout, I take it. In this fight, I know I need to dictate the pace.
“I come from a fighting family. My grandfather boxed. My oldest brother fought as an amateur. I have a brother, Pedro, who is 23, one year older than me and he fought for the IBF light flyweight title in August and lost a split decision to John Riel Casimero, so I’ve always received good advice.
“One of the important things for me in this fight is to always stay very conscious of what I am doing in the ring at all times. I have to fight smart to win because he is the champion.
“I think my greatest advantage is my brain. When I’m not fighting, I’m studying to be a lawyer. I’m in my fifth year of college at the big university in Sinaloa. I’m following in Pedro’s footsteps. He’s already a lawyer. I’m single and I split my time between studying and training.
“Although this will be my first fight in the United States, I have fought on big cards before. I have fought in front of 13,000 fans on undercards of Eric Morales’ fights in Mexico.
“When they called with this opportunity, we took the fight without hesitation. I said, ‘yes, absolutely, I want the fight.’ I never thought when we both fought on the same card that I would be fighting him for a world title so soon, but I always knew it was a possibility.
“I look forward to being able to showing fans what I can do. I have big plans to defeat Santa Cruz. I’m looking at Saturday as an early Christmas for me.”
JOSEPH “JO-JO” DIAZ JR.
“I think the timing is perfect for me to turn pro. I waited a little looking for the best fit, and Golden Boy fit the bill perfectly, so I’m very happy and ready to go. This is a dream come true, a blessing. Since I was 11 and started training at the South El Monte Teamsters Youth Boxing Club, I always wanted to be a pro fighter. I’m very excited about finally being able to showcase my skills.
“The Olympics was a disappointment, but a great learning experience. I’ve learned to live with it. You can’t change the past, so now I’m totally focused on fighting pro.
“All things considered I’m pretty calm. I’ll probably get a case of nerves in the dressing room on fight night, but once I get in the ring I’ll be ready to rumble. I work very hard and have a great team. They made the transition for me from amateur to the pro style pretty easy.
“I’m really thankful for all who have helped me get to this point, and can’t wait to fight on Saturday on CBS. Fighting on CBS is an incredible honor.”
Articles
2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura
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
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.
Articles
2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland
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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