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PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS ON NBC MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES

Published

9 years ago

April 8, 2015

The Sweet Science

PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS ON NBC MEDIA WORKOUT

QUOTES & PHOTOS

Photo Credit: Angela Cranford/Barclays Center

BROOKLYN (April 7, 2015) – Fighters competing on Saturday’s Premier Boxing Champions onNBC night of fights participated in a media workout today at Barclays Center in anticipation of their upcoming bouts.

PBC on NBC main event bouts at Barclays Center feature undefeated superstar Danny “Swift” Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) facing Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) and the middleweight championship bout between “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) and undefeated Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs). The second installment of PBC on NBC begins at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, are priced at $300, $200, $150, $100, $80 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, and are on sale now.Tickets are available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com and at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. To charge by phone, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.

Here are what the fighters had to say at Tuesday’s workout:

DANNY GARCIA

“I just want to give the fans a great fight. I want them to see the best Danny Garcia. At the end of the day, this is the fight the fans want to see. My main focus is putting on a great show for the fans.

“I’ve faced a lot of skillful boxers in my career and I’m still undefeated. That should tell the fans around the world who has more skill. Come April 11 when he’s feeling these two bombs on his face he’s going to forget about his skill.

“I just want to give fans a great fight. I’m not too worried about the ‘0’ on my record. I fight hard to protect it but my main focus is to go in there and get the job done one fight at a time.

“Everything I’ve done in my career is for a reason. Now I’m here on NBC fighting on this big playing field. This is great for boxing and a breath of fresh air for the sport.

“I just want to be confident and humble at the same time. I want the fans to love me because I’m being myself. It’s very important for a young champion.

“I’m going to try to dictate the pace, be smart, move my head, use my feet and land good punches. I can’t try to chase him down.

“I used to love other great Puerto Rican boxers like Felix Trinidad, Miguel Cotto and Hector Camacho. I feel like I’m definitely working my way up into the ranks with them and following their footsteps.

“I have to be smart in the ring. I have to go in there and be Danny Garcia. I’m here because I’m a smart fighter. Everyone knows that. I have power. I’m going to find my opening and capitalize on his mistakes.”

LAMONT PETERSON

“This is just another fight for me. I’m not worried about being the main event. I just love to fight. As long as I’m fighting I’m happy.

“A lot of people see us fight and see us take punches, but that’s just the easy part. The sacrifice in the gym and putting my body through punishment is the rough part.

“I’m not trying to prove anyone wrong, but this fight is important to me and I want to win it. I want to be the top guy and that means beating the top guy.

“People talk about him beating Matthysse and Matthysse beating me, but anyone who knows about boxing knows that doesn’t mean anything. Come Saturday night I will prove to everyone that I’m a better fighter than Danny Garcia.

“Angel Garcia has his opinion on this fight, and I respect it. He can go on record and say anything he wants, but if he says Danny Garcia is stronger than me, I’ll tell you that’s a lie.

“We’re not worried about Danny’s power. A lot of people have asked me about that but I’m not worried. Danny Garcia had a split decision with Kendall Holt, who I knocked out. No one seems to mention that.

“I’m comfortable with whatever way this fight goes. I’m almost guaranteeing the win.

“I don’t think they’re taking me lightly. At the end of the day, Garcia knows this is a fight and he knows he hasn’t fought anyone like me. I’m expecting a big victory Saturday night.

“You never know what you’re going to see with me. Whatever I feel like I need to do to win, that’s what I’ll do. I’m prepared 100 percent. I’m in shape for 30 rounds and I’ll be ready for anything. ”

ANDY LEE

“We’ve made unbelievable progress in the last year on my skills and everything has really just clicked for me and my team and now we’re seeing the results in the ring.

“I’m very proud to be an Irishman from Limerick defending his world championship in New York, it doesn’t get much better than that.

“There’s been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders since winning the world-title. It’s what I always wanted to do and I’ve been touted as a champion for years and if I never got it I would have been disappointed. Now the monkey is off my back and I can just box and show people who I am.

“We’ve made physical and tactical improvements in the gym since the last fight and hopefully they’ll show up in the ring on Saturday.

“I think this could be a technical fight or it could be a bit of a fire fight. It’s going to be a little of both at times. There will be moments where we’re looking at each other, figuring each other out, but once we exchange it could be explosive.

“Quillin is sure of himself, but he has to be, I have the same mentality. You have to be to compete in this sport.

“Fighting at home like Quillin is on Saturday, brings a different kind of pressure to the table, it’s the pressure of expectations and people you know coming to the fights. That’s also pressure and I know all about that.

“I haven’t needed to build up my confidence for this fight. It’s not time to think. It’s time to do what I’ve been doing every day in the gym.”

PETER QUILLIN

“I never trailed in a fight and came back and won like Lee. I’ve just won all the time right out of the gate. Those other guys aren’t ‘Kid Chocolate’ so I think that’s why this fight was made.

“It’s a big fight for him and a big fight for me. He’s a smart fighter when he’s in trouble so I have to watch out for that. Most importantly I just need to be true to myself.

“A lot of people had Lee as the underdog in his last fight but he came out and did great. That’s the thing about boxing; one punch can change the fight.

“I’m getting paid for 12 rounds so I’m preparing for 12 rounds but if I can get him out of there early I will.

“My whole life has been struggles and I’ve had to overcome every single one of those struggles. This is going to be no different from that.

“Being a father of course made me more inspired and watching my uncle pass has made me more motivated than ever to accomplish everything I want.

“When I gave up the belt I learned that I can be a bigger man and make tough decisions like that all of the time. People think losing is easy, but winning all the time is a different kind of pressure.”

ERROL SPENCE JR.

“I am the best young prospect in the game. I’m on the borderline of contender status and I believe I’m one fight away from being a contender.

“I’m a little bit of a mix style-wise. I’m a boxer, I can punch and I can fight if I have to.

“The fight I learned the most from was with Emanuel Lartey, he was undefeated along with me and it was my first real fight and first time going the distance.

“I see myself fighting all the top guys in the welterweight division. I see myself with Keith Thurman, Amir Khan and any top welterweight.

“I’m going to look good as always on Saturday night, It’s going to be fantastic and I’m going to come out with the victory.”

MARCUS BROWNE

“I’m just blessed to have this opportunity to fight at Barclays Center for the eighth time in front of my hometown fans.

“I love performing in in Brooklyn. The fans here are fantastic and they know when I get in the ring they’re going to see something special.

“I have a tough opponent in front of me. He’s experienced, very lanky fighter but we’ve trained very hard and I’m ready for anything he’s got.

“Saturday is going to be a great night for Team Browne, Staten Island and all of my fans. Don’t blink cause you might miss it!”

LUIS COLLAZO

“I’ve spent some time with the family, regrouping and making sure I still have the same passion for this sport. I’m excited to be back and I jumped at the opportunity to be on this card.

“This is what I live for. Boxing is my life.

“After the Khan fight I took about a month off and then I went straight to the gym. I couldn’t go out like I did against Khan. No excuses, but it was time to go back to the drawing board and stay motivated throughout the whole year.

“The fans can expect the same excitement I always bring. I’m more motivated now and hopefully after this fight I can get a big fight and give the fans what they want.”

HEATHER HARDY

“I have the same mindset going into every fight. I train to fight my fight and make adjustments when get in there.

“I feel strong and I feel capable of whatever needs to be done.

“I’ve only been boxing for four years so I’m still learning a lot of boxing technique in camp plus working three or four days a week with my strength and conditioning coach.

“Fans can expect a good show and a big win out me on Saturday.”

# # #

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.com www.nbcsports.com/boxing,www.BarclaysCenter.com and www.dbe1.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @LouDiBella, @DannySwift, @KingPete26, @KidChocolate, @AndyLeeBoxing, @RealLuisCollazo, @NBCSports and @BarclaysCenter and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions,www.facebook.com/NBCSports and www.facebook.com/DiBellaEntertainment. Follow the conversation using #PremierBoxingChampions and #BKBoxing.

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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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