Articles

Canelo in NYC: “Lara Disrespected Me”

Published

10 years ago

May 8, 2014

CANELO ALVAREZ VS. ERISLANDY LARA PRESS TOUR HITS THE BIG APPLE; QUOTES AND PHOTOS FROM HARD ROCK CAFÉ IN TIMES SQUARE, NYC

HONOR & GLORY: 154-Pound Showdown

Saturday, July 12, From MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas

Live on SHOWTIME PPV^®

Tickets are on Sale Now!

CANELO ALVAREZ

“These fans motivate me to keep training and to get up in the morning and run.

“I want people to say that I came up from Mexico to the boxing world. It’s a big responsibility for me because in Mexico there are a lot of legends. But our legends cannot be compared to any others. No two Mexican legends are alike.

“Lara has talked a lot, [to the fans] you guys asked for the fight, and here it is. What you guys ask from me, I will give you.

“A lot have asked me, ‘Why did you take this fight?’ I say ‘Why not? I will fight anyone. Style doesn’t matter.’

“The reality is that a year ago the fans didn’t really know Lara. Nobody really knew him. But he’s been talking so much that now it’s built up and the fans asked for it so I wanted to give them what they wanted.

“He disrespected me. But not only me, he disrespected all Mexicans. For him to be saying that he’s going to give me a boxing lesson and he’s going to take me to school…that’s very disrespectful.”

ERISLANDY LARA

“For the Mexican fans, we have a surprise for you July 12.

“I came from Cuba where I fought the best. I earned this in the ring, fighting the best in the division, not on a Mexican street corner.

“July 12 the best man is going to win.

“I’ve always done my job against the best fighters in the division. I’ve faced a lot of hard punchers so I’m not worried about his power.

“Canelo knows, just like everyone in the division knows. No one wants to fight me because I’m dangerous and I beat everybody. He took this fight because of the pressure I put on him.

“I feel like my opponent needs to be ready for my style. I’m not looking to be ready for anyone’s style. They have to be ready for mine.

“I’ve been in this sport since I was 12-years-old. It’s all I’ve done my whole life. I am a fighter. I’m not distracted in the ring or in training. My main focus is being well prepared and winning this fight.

“A win would be huge for Cubans and Cuban-Americans. That’s why I changed my name to ‘The American Dream.’ I came to this country and I was allowed the privilege to better my life. I go into that ring to win.

“I feel I’m one of the top three-pound-for-pound fighters. Some give me that credit but some won’t. My job is to keep winning and doing what I’m doing. The proof is in who I’ve fought and beaten.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“We feel that this event will be one to remember, because you have two fighters who are equally matched.

“We haven’t seen this type of event for a while. This reminds me of Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Pernell Whitaker, a ‘who is going to win?’ fight.

“As you know Golden Boy Promotions has the reputation for putting on the best cards ever and we will be putting the biggest names on the card July 12. It’s a treat for the fans that pay their hard-earned money to watch four good fights.

“Lara is a very, very dangerous opponent, there’s no way to sugar coat it. On July 12 they will try to prove who is the best on that night.

“These fighters are fighting for a lot of honor and glory. It will really be an honor to beat the other guy, because both guys have the ability to be great. It is an honor to be in the ring with another great fighter.

“Inside that squared circle, there’s no nationality. There are two fighters stepping in the ring who just want to win and put on a great fight. When they step in the ring, they are fighting for honor and glory for the whole world.”

JOSE “CHEPO” REYNOSO, Canelo’s Trainer

“Seeing the fans here, that’s love for Mexico, that’s love for Canelo.

“Lara keeps talking about the Cuban school of boxing but in Mexico we have universities of boxing.”

EDDY REYNOSO, Canelo’s Manager

“It’s going to be a very interesting fight, with interesting styles. Lara is going to be running all night and Canelo is going to be chasing him. At the end of the night everyone knows that we are going to knock him out.”

RONNIE SHIELDS, Lara’s Trainer

“This fight had to happen. There was no way either guy could go, but to fight each other. Canelo keeps showing that he is one of the best fighters out there by continuing to fight the best.

“Both fighters are great fighters and the fans are going to be the true winners of the fight. These guys have styles like thunder and when the thunder hits, it’s going to be a knockout.”

LUIS DECUBAS, Lara’s Manager

“On July 12 you will see the best two fighters at 154 pounds and there will only be one winner and it will be ‘The American Dream,’ Erislandy Lara.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive VP & General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports^®

“Over the last year we have seen Canelo go from an up-and-coming young star to one of the biggest names in the sport.

“There’s no question he is already boxing’s brightest young star. But he’s not interested in stardom. What is sometimes overlooked in all of this stardom and celebrity and ticket sales is that like many of the great Mexican fighters that came before him, he wants to fight the best fighters in his division.

“Again he is choosing to fight someone that no one wants to fight. Lara is one of the most talented and skilled boxers in the sport. This fight represents everything that is right about boxing; the best fighting the best. Number one versus number two in the division.

“These are the types of fights that Golden Boy Promotions has become known for and the types of fights that SHOWTIME has become known for. There is no sugarcoating this. This is the best versus the best. Number one versus number two. This fight sells itself.”

# # #

“Canelo vs. Lara,” a 12-round junior middleweight fight taking place Saturday, July 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). Canelo vs. Lara will be shown on the big screen in movie theaters across the country via Fathom Events. Information will be available at www.fathomevents.com.

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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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