NEWS ON: Lara Quotes On Canelo Bout, Ali-Frazier Doc, Crawford-Gamboa Weigh-In, Ward ESPY

ERISLANDY “THE AMERICAN DREAM” LARA LAS VEGAS MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES & PHOTOS

LAS VEGAS (June 26, 2014) – Before he steps into the ring to face Mexican-superstar Canelo Alvarez, WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara worked out for the media and talked about his upcoming PPV main event on “Honor & Glory”.

Lara on if he was surprised that Canelo took the fight…

“Originally I thought he would never take the fight because I confronted him in person and he said, ‘No this is not how you make fights.’ Then after the fans saw that he was ducking me on Twitter, he had no choice but to be a man and take the challenge.”

Lara on what he has to do differently in this fight…

“Nothing has to change. I just need to do the same things I always do and train. If I focus on training to win, there’s no one in the world that can beat me.”

Lara on what a win against Canelo means to him…

“It means everything to me. For me to demonstrate to the world that I’m not just better than him, but that I’m 150 percent better than him, means everything to me. Like I said before, I’m going to take him to Cuban school.”

Lara on Canelo saying he was scared and trembling when he approached him after the Mayweather fight…

“He’s talking nonsense. He knows I’m not scared of anyone so he’s trying to pump himself up to make him believe that I’m scared of him. The fact is he’s a very insecure fighter who knows he’s going to lose. For him to say these things is a bad sign for him. He’s lost and confused.”

Lara on why Canelo refused to fight for the belt and if he felt disrespected…

“Canelo can’t make the weight so he refused to fight for the title. It’s very disrespectful and my motivation to beat him has increased because of it.”

Lara on fighting Floyd Mayweather in one of his last three fights…

“Right now my focus is on Canelo and once I beat him then I’ll be looking at other options. For sure 100 percent I want Floyd Mayweather after this fight. He’s considered the best fighter in the world and I want to be the first one to dethrone him.”

HBO SPORTS^® PRESENTS A SUMMER FESTIVALOF ACCLAIMED BOXING DOCUMENTARIES, FEATURING A DIFFERENT FILM EVERY THURSDAY FROM JUNE 26 TO JULY 24 ON HBO2

Recognized as sports television’s best storyteller and the leading TV platform for boxing, HBO Sports presents five of its acclaimed boxing documentaries on consecutive Thursday evenings this summer on HBO2. Featuring HBO Sports’ trademark blend of unseen archival footage, home movies, revealing interviews and unique storytelling, the festival launches June 26 with the powerful ALI-FRAZIER I: ONE NATION… DIVISIBLE and concludes with the celebrated 2013 presentation LEGENDARY NIGHTS: THE TALE OF GATTI-WARD.

Films include:

ALI-FRAZIER I: ONE NATION… DIVISIBLE (June 26, 7:00 p.m. ET/PT) chronicles the remarkable events and personalities surrounding the fight that reflected the cultural divide of the United States in the ‘60s and early ‘70s. Regarded by many boxing observers as “The Fight of the Century,” the match featured two undefeated heavyweights squaring off at New York’s Madison Square Garden in a contest that was much more than a title bout. The documentary was awarded a prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in 2001.

SUGAR RAY ROBINSON: THE BRIGHT LIGHTS AND DARK SHADOWS OF A CHAMPION (July 3, 7:00 p.m.) reviews the life of the man many consider the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in history. The Sports Emmy^®-winning documentary explores his unparalleled ring career, the innovations he brought to the business side of the sport and his intriguing lifestyle.

JOE LOUIS: AMERICA’S HERO… BETRAYED (July 10, 6:45 p.m.) tells the story of the legendary boxer, born 100 years ago, and his tremendous impact on segregated America. The documentary reveals how the grandson of slaves became one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, served as an iconic figure in World War II and later carried himself with dignity and class through numerous setbacks.

KLITSCHKO (July 17, 6:00 p.m.) chronicles the dynamic brotherhood of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko from their humble beginnings in the Soviet Union to their dominance as reigning world heavyweight champions. A production of BROADVIEW Pictures funded by FILM-UND MEDIENSTIFTUNG NRW, the documentary was directed by Sebastian Dehnhardt andnominated for the 2013 Sports Emmy^® for Outstanding Sports Documentary.

LEGENDARY NIGHTS: THE TALE OF GATTI-WARD (July 24, 6:30 p.m.) revisits one of boxing’s greatest rivalries: the three-fight slugfest between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward. The blend of interviews, thrilling ring action and previously unseen archival footage presents a fresh look at the electrifying trilogy forged by two ring warriors.

Following its Thursday night presentation on HBO2, each documentary will also be available on HBO On Demand^® and HBO GO^®.

TERENCE CRAWFORD vs. YURIORKIS GAMBOA

WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

OFFICIAL WEIGH-IN

Tomorrow!Friday, June 27 at 3 P.M. CT

CenturyLink Center Omaha

Open To The Public!

Doors Open at 2 P.M. CT

OMAHA, NEB. (June 26, 2014) — The Official Weigh-In for World Championship Boxing’s return to Omaha for the first time in 42 years, between undefeated world champions TERENCE CRAWFORD , the Pride of Omaha, and Cuban sensation YURIORKIS GAMBOA, will take place Tomorrow!Friday, June 27 in Grand Ballroom A at the the CenturyLink Center in Omaha (455 North 10th St., Omaha, Neb. 68102).

The Weigh-In will be open to the public. Doors will open at 2:00 p.m.with the fighters stepping on the scale, beginning at 3:00 p.m. CT.

This will be the last times both champions, who boast identical 23-0 (16 KOs) professional ring records, see each other outside the ring before they battle for Crawford’s newly-won World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight title,Saturday, June 28, at the CenturyLink Center Omaha.. Crawford vs. Gamboa will be the first world championship fight Omaha has hosted since Joe Fraziersuccessfully defended his heavyweight title against Nebraska’s-own Ron Stander on May 25, 1972. It will also be a professional homecoming for Crawford, who has not fought in his home state since 2011. The fight will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, in its first-ever visit to Omaha, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will open with undefeated Top-Five contenders MATT KOROBOV and JOSE UZCATEGUI battling in a 10-round rumble for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title.

This exciting all-action doubleheader features four undefeated gladiators with a combined record of 91-0, 63 KOs.

(OAKLAND, CALIF.) – Reigning super middleweight champion and number two pound-for-pound boxer in the world Andre Ward (Oakland, Calif.) has been nominated for a 2014 ESPY award following his outstanding return to the ring last year. Ward is one of five nominees in the Best Fighter category, which includes athletes in both boxing and UFC. It is the second ESPY nomination in three years for Ward who was also honored for his outstanding performance in the ring in 2012.

“I want to thank ESPN for nominating me in the Best Fighter category. I am in great company with some of the top fighters in the world,” Ward said. “The ESPY experience is something that every athlete would enjoy. I had a great time in 2012 and I’m excited to once again be in a room with some of the world’s best athletes. These are experiences that I don’t take lightly and these moments drive me to be the best athlete I can be.”

Ward added another victory to his 17-year winning streak in November with a wide, unanimous decision win over super middleweight contender Edwin Rodriguez at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. The dominating victory marked a highly anticipated return to the ring for Ward following major shoulder surgery in early 2013. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist made the sixth successful defense of his WBA super middleweight title with the impressive performance.

The 30-year-old was nominated for an ESPY in the Best Fighter category in 2012 following a dominating run through the Super Six tournament, which culminated in a final round victory over Carl Froch. Ward’s fellow nominees in the Best Fighter category are Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Manny Pacquaio, Jon “Bones” Jones andRonda Rousey.

The ESPY winners are determined by online voting and fans can cast their ballots through July 16 via this link – http://espn.go.com/espys/2014/.

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