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Tyson Is Back! Presser Quotes, Video

Published

11 years ago

August 22, 2013

The Sweet Science

TYSON IS BACK!

Aug. 23, 2013 – Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY

“Tyson Is Back”

Press Conference Quotes & Pictures

TeamIron-Mike8-22-2013

TEAM IRON MIKE (L-R) — Alexei Marrero, Claudi Marrero, Albert Bell, Mike Tyson, CEO Gary Jonas, Ed Paredes and Argenis Mendez

VERONA, N.Y. (August 21, 2013) – The final press conference forIron Mike Productions’ inaugural event this Friday evening – “Tyson Is Back!” – was held today at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Here is video of the affair.

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Acquinity Sports, under CEO Garry Jonas, recently partnered with Hall of Famer Mike Tyson to form Iron Mike Productions, which is presenting “Tyson Is Back!” in association with Greg Cohen Promotions.

“Tyson Is Back!” features a World Championship doubleheader on ESPN Friday Night Fights, headlined by International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight champion Argenis “La Tormenta” Mendez (21-2, 11 KOs) making his first world title defense, in the 12-round main event against IBF No. 13-rated Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10 KOs). Unbeaten Claudio “The Matrix” Marrero (14-0, 11 KOs), rated No. 2 by the WBA, meets WBA No. 4 Jesus Cueller (22-1, 18 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature for the Interim World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight championship.

Providing chief support are a pair of 10-round fights featuring Cuban knockout artist Alexei “The Mexican-Cuban” Collado (16-0, 15 KOs) against Mexican featherweight Hugo “Guerrero” Partida (19-4-2, 15 KOs), while welterweight Ed “The Lion” Paredes (33-3-1, 22 KOs) faces another tough Mexican fighter, Noe “Platanito” Bolanos (24-8-1, 16 KOs).

Also fighting on the undercard is unbeaten Virginian middleweight Antoine Douglas (8-0, 6 KOs) squares-off against Russell “Spiderman” Jordan (15-10, 10 KOs), of Rochester (NY), in a six-round bout.

Former Toledo-Ohio-based amateur star, Albert “Prince” Bell (1-0, 1 KO), is back in action former World Boxing Organization (WBO) bantamweight champion Mauricio “Cry Baby” Martinez (36-14-1, 24 KOs) in a four-round match. The 20-year-old Bell captured gold medals as an amateur at the 2011 National PAL Championships and 2012 National Golden Gloves Tournament.

All fights and fighters are subject to change.

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Mike Tyson: “It is my privilege and an honor to be at Turning Stone for my first show. I’m privileged to have the champion, Argenis Mendez, who is going against Arash Usmanee. We also have ‘The Matrix,’ Claudio Marrero fighting Jesus Andres Cuellar. I’m really excited about this show.”

“I have such an affinity for this place (upstate N.Y.). I won the state championship in Syracuse. A lot of my childhood friends will be at the fights.”

“I think fans should vote for who they want to fight. Should the winner of this fight (Mendez vs. Usmanee) fight (Yuriorkis) Gamboa?”

“I never want to be back in the ring. I understand what these guys are going through. We want to be known for being worthy but most fighters are shy.”

“In most fights you know who is going to win before the fight. It’s not going to be that way with us. We want the best fighting the best.”

“I’m going to watch them (IMP fighters), as a fan, and be so happy I’m not in there.”

Argenis Mendez: “In my opinion, he (Usmanee) did win that fight (controversial loss by 12-round decision to Rances Barthelemy in their IBF title eliminator to determine Mendez’ mandatory challenger), and that’s one of the main reasons I chose him to defend my world title.

“I understand how to train properly for a fight, what it entails, and I expect a great fight from him and me. I want to thank Iron Mike Productions – Garry Jonas, Henry Rivalta and Mike Tyson – and my trainer, Lee Beard, for such an intense camp. I also want to thank Garry Jonas and my manager, Jose Nunez, for being there through the good times and bad times. Jose has been a stableperson in my career.

“When I became champ, I didn’t lose my hungry. I’m aware of hunger. I’m sure Arash is hungry but I’m even hungrier than I was before. Friday night, you (Usmanee) will have to go through the storm, Argenis Mendez.”

Mendez--Usmanee8-22-2013

(L-R) — IBF junior lightweight champion Argenis Mendez, Mike Tyson, and challenger Arash Usmanee

Arash Usmanee: “I’ve worked so hard for so many years, it feels surreal to be here. I’m not going to let this opportunity pass. I want to thank my team – promoter (Greg Cohen), manager (Paul Keefe) and trainer (Eddie Mustafa Muhammad) – my sponsors and Mendez for giving me this opportunity. I had a good camp, I’m sure did too. We’ll have a good war and then, hopefully, we can do it again.”

Claudio Marrero: “I’m in excellent condition. I want to thank my fans for their support. I’m glad he (Cuellar) he had a great camp. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if he trained with Rambo and The Rock. On Friday night it’s going to be me and hi; no managers or trainer fighting. He’s going to fight ‘Matrix’ Friday night.”

Marrero--Cueller8-22-2013

(L-R) Claudio Marrero, Mike Tyson, and Jesus Andres Cueller

Jesus Andres Cuellar: “I want to thank Mike Tyson for me being on his show. I also want to thank my manager, Sebastian Contursi. I had a great camp. I’m ready to win and take the title back to Argentina. I also want to thank my team and sponsors. Withoutyou uys this wouldn’t be possible.”

Ed Paredes: “I’m honored to be fighting on Iron Mike’s first show. I grew-up watching Mike fight. He was a big puncher. I have power, too, and can punch with both hands. I’m looking for an explosion. Don’t blink! I’m putting on a great show and knockout.”

Alexei Collado: “I want to thank my promoters for giving me an opportunity to fight on his first show. I’m waiting for my opponent (Hugo Partida). He must be scared because he’s not here. I will be an angry man in the ring. I love fighting.”

Albert Bell: “I’m her eto put my work in. I let my hands do my talking.”

Bell--Paredes8-22-2013

(L-R) Albert Bell, Mike Tyson, Ed Paredes and Argenis Mendez

Mendez, Marrero, Collado, Paredes and Bell were promoted by Acquinity Sports and are now fighting under the Iron Mike Productions banner.

Tickets priced at $150, $95, $55 and $45 are on sale and available to purchase at the Turning Stone box office, by calling (315) 361-7469, or visit www.Ticketmaster.com

Doors open at the Turning Stone Resort Casino Event Center at 6:00 p.m. ET, Friday, August 23. The first undercard bout starts at 7:00 p.m. ET. The live ESPN2 telecast begins at 9:00 p.m. ET.

Iron Mike Productions, previously Acquinity Sports, is a boxing promotion company co-founded and led by Acquinity Interactive CEO Garry Jonas. It is a partnership with Hall of Famer Mike Tyson committed to changing traditional boxing promotion by advocating for its fighters’ successes inside the ring and out, throughout their professional careers and into retirement.

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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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