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Amir Khan Talks Ahead of Dec. 15 Fight

Published

12 years ago

October 10, 2012

The Sweet Science

AMIR KHAN VS. CARLOS MOLINA LONDON PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

“He is very skillful, but he is beatable. I can win this fight but I need to win convincingly.” – Amir Khan

Amir Khan vs. Carlos Molina, Saturday, Dec. 15 From The Los Angeles Sports Arena,

Live On SHOWTIME^®In The United States & Live On Sky Sports 1HD In The United Kingdom

LONDON (Oct. 10, 2012) – On Tuesday, at the five-star The Mayfair Hotel on Berkeley Street in Central London, former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Amir Khan, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer, Execute Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports Stephen Espinoza and Khan Promotions’ Asif Vali met with the top British and European sports media to formally announce the upcoming showdown between Khan and undefeated Carlos Molina on Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, live on SHOWTIME in the United States and live on Sky Sports 1HD in the United Kingdom.

Khan vs. Molina is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions and sponsored by Corona. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) with preliminary fights live on SHOWTIME EXTREME®. The Sky Sports 1HD telecast begins live at 1:00 a.m. GMT on Sunday, December 16.

The former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion, British superstar Amir “King” Khan (26-3, 18 KO’s) is ready to bounce back under the guidance of new trainer Virgil Hunter following a controversial defeat to Lamont Peterson last December and an upset loss to Danny Garcia this past July. The 25-year-old Bolton, England native won a Silver Medal in the 2004 Olympics and owns wins over Marco “El Chino” Maidana, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, Zab “Super” Judah and Marco Antonio “Baby Faced Assassin” Barrera.

Former National Amateur Champion Carlos Molina (17-0-1, 7 KO’s) has passed all his tests to date, but faces his toughest test in Khan. After debuting in 2007, the talented 26-year-old from Norwalk, California has showed skill, patience and poise in the ring while defeating Manuel Leyva, Glenn Gonzales and Marcos Jimenez.

AMIR KHAN, Former Unified Super Lightweight World Champion

“I am excited for this fight. It will be in LA where I hope to see my U.K. fans and American fight fans. I am sure Carlos Molina will have his fans turn up in support of him, and we can finish the year with a bang.

“Molina is an undefeated fighter and all undefeated fighters are dangerous fighters. This fight is a step up for him and, in a way, it’s a step up for me too coming off of a loss. I have to win this fight and I have to win it in good fashion.

“I’ve seen him fight. He is very skillful, but he is beatable. I can win this fight, but I need to win convincingly. This is the time to prove myself and I will do just that on December 15.”

On new trainer Virgil Hunter:
“We have spoken quite a bit already. We discussed the fact that I am an offensive fighter, but now it’s time to be a smart fighter, to win fights with my brain.

“He told me that he wants the type of fighter-trainer relationship where we get along really well together, where we don’t just see each other at the gym. We will watch tapes together and work out our game plan together. With Virgil, that is a style that will work for me.

On Boxer vs. Brawler:
“My main style was to be a boxer using my brain, but when you start to win so comfortably, you can forget the meaning of being a boxer. You can get drawn into ‘fights.’ What Virgil and I spoke about is going back to boxing, smart boxing. I think that is what Virgil Hunter has to teach me, to stick to a game plan. At times in the past, I went out there and I saw ‘red' and went all-out, forgetting the game plan. I think Virgil will get me to use all of my speed, ability and skill at the right times.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions

“The television rights for Amir Khan’s next fights were very hotly contested in the U.S. In the end, the decision was made by Amir and his team to go with SHOWTIME because of the commitment they showed to Amir.

“Carlos Molina is a very skillful fighter. We started promoting him at Golden Boy Promotions when he was 3-0 or 4-0. He is now 17-0. No, he is not a big puncher, but he is very, very skilled inside the ring. He is undefeated and when a fighter is undefeated he has that something extra.

“Amir Khan knows that this is a big opportunity for Carlos Molina so he will not underestimate this man.

“Carlos is a former National Amateur Champion. He has fought good competition as a professional and consistently stepped up throughout his career. He and his team, which includes Clemente Medina, the very talented trainer, and Frank Espinoza, the very experienced manager in the U.S. They feel that Carlos Molina is ready and they know this is their big opportunity. It will be up to Amir Khan to prove them wrong.

“We at Golden Boy Promotions are very proud of our relationship with Amir, his family, Asif and the rest of Khan Promotions. This is the next chapter in the career of Amir Khan. He has a new beginning on December 15 at 140 pounds and eventually, we expect, at 147. It’s time to look forward and Amir is ready. He is taking Carlos Molina very seriously.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports

“There are a number of fighters making their SHOWTIME debut this year and others returning after several years away from our network, among them are the biggest names in the sport today – Victor Ortiz, Canelo Alvarez, Miguel Cotto and we are very excited to add to that list Amir Khan.

Over the years, SHOWTIME has televised some of the best of British Boxing. Most recently, Joe Calzhage, Ricky Hatton and Carl Froch. And again, it is my pleasure to etch Amir Khan's name to that list.

“I had the pleasure to get to know Amir over the years and the reason why he was a top priority for me when I began at Showtime is that he has the rare combination of being charismatic, articulate and personable outside the ring and being incredibly entertaining inside the ring. In short, he is a television executive’s dream.

“There are only a handful of fighters that are truly recognizable to boxing’s most casual fans, to American sports fans at large. They are Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Amir Khan.

“On December 15, we will have a supportive Hispanic American fan base coming out for Carlos Molina and a rabid U.K. and international fan base for Amir Khan. That adds up to a recipe for a very compelling event to close out an incredible year of boxing on SHOWTIME.”

ASIF VALI, Khan’s Manager:

“When we came back from Las Vegas (following the Danny Garcia fight), people said that Amir Khan was finished. Well, Amir Khan is not finished. In fact, he’s only just begun.

“He knew after that loss that he needed to make a change. He faced up to that fact with his team, with the press and, above all, with himself. He said, ‘I have to do it my way because I am the only one who has to train and make that sacrifice and I am the only one going into that ring.’

“So, he has rededicated himself and he is ready to reclaim a World Championship. And I, along with his team, who are a very loyal and close knit group, have every faith in this champion that he will rise again.”

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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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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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