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Canelo On Lara Fight: “I Took This Fight Because the Fans Wanted It”

Published

11 years ago

May 7, 2014

CANELO ALVAREZ vs. ERISLANDY LARA PRESS TOUR BEGINS IN LOS ANGELES;

KICK-OFF CONFERENCE QUOTES & VIDEO REPLAY 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!

Full LA Press Conference Video Stream SHO SPORTS PRESS PASS LIVE

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LOS ANGELES (May 6, 2014) – A four-city, four-day, whirlwind press tour for “HONOR & GLORY: Canelo vs. Lara,’’ a highly anticipated event headlined by two of the best 154-pound fighters in the world—former WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez and WBA Junior Middleweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara—commenced Tuesday at El Pueblo Historical Monument in Los Angeles.

Hundreds of fans and media members turned out for the Golden Boy Promotions press conference that also was streamed live in High Definition across multiple SHOWTIME platforms, including via satellite feed, YouTube, Ustream and sports.sho.com/live.

Mexican superstar Canelo, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will bring a record of 43-1-1 with 31 knockouts into the 12-round match-up. Former Cuban national amateur standout and slick southpaw, Lara, holds a record of 19-1-2, with 12 knockouts. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV.

“It is amazing the attention this fight is receiving,’’ said Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya, who emceed the proceedings. “Why? This is a fight that can possibly be the Fight of the Year. You have Lara, the champion who nobody wants to fight because he’s dangerous.

“And you have Canelo, who was willing to take this chance. That’s what Canelo is all about, the opportunity to fight one of the best at 154 pounds. That’s what fighting is all about, and that’s what the character of this young fighter here is all about–fighting the very best.

“Golden Boy Promotions has a reputation of putting together great cards from top to bottom with great fights and this is going to be no exception.’’

Tickets priced at $750, $500, $250, $150, $75 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now. Tickets are limited to eighteen (18) per person with a limit of eight (8) at the $75 and $50 price ranges. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

“I took this fight because the fans wanted it, and after I kept reading and hearing interviews with Lara about how badly he wanted this fight,’’ Canelo said. “He said some bad things about me on Twitter and social media. I’m a Mexican, and I know all the tricks. You can’t say the kinds of things he said. So I’m going to please the fans and myself by fighting him.

“I don’t think I took what he said personally, or that he got under my skin, but he likes to talk. He can say anything that he wants in the ring to me on July 12.

“I have a lot of respect for Cuban fighters. I grew up watching fights of Jose “Mantequilla” Napoles. There are lots of great fighters from Cuba. Lara’s a good fighter. But we’ll see who’s best when we fight.’’

Said Lara, “I’ve never tried this hard to get a fight, and actually get it like I did for this one. I went to extreme measures, doing things I’ve never done before. I’m a pretty laid-back guy, but I did everything I could to challenge him and make people, the fans and the media demand that he fight me.

“It’s all because I want to prove that I am the best 154-pound fighter in the world.

“I think he is having problems with weight. That’s why he wanted that extra one pound and why we’re not fighting for my title.

“I’m not sure what kind of fight this will be. It could be a war, and I could stand toe-to-toe like I did against Alfredo Angulo, or I can box. It depends how I decide to fight him in the ring.

“This is the fight, my fight. I win this, I’ve earned the right to fight Floyd Mayweather next.”

The tour continues tomorrow in San Antonio, Thursday in New York City and Friday in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Below are more quotes from Canelo, Lara and Tuesday’s participants:

CANELO ALVAREZ:

“I want to thank the fans for all of their support. They are the best for me. All of the media, thank you. All the support is what makes this possible.

“I wanted to give the fans this fight, because this is what they asked for. I was offended on Twitter and social media because people said a lot of things about me. But that doesn’t matter. I’m here to prove who I am, and I’m going to win July 12.

“This fight is only for my honor and glory to bring to the Mexican people.’’

ERISLANDY “THE AMERICAN DREAM” LARA:

“I don’t really have much to say; everything is done. On July 12,we are going to let our fists do the talking. There’s nothing more to say. We will see you there July 12.”

JOSE “CHEPO” REYNOSO, Canelo’s Trainer

“On behalf of team Canelo, thank you all for being here. This is a fight that the fans wanted and we wanted to give it to them. On July 12, you will see what Canelo is made of.”

EDDY REYNOSO, Canelo’s Manager

“On July 12, it’s going to be a great battle. Lara is a great fighter, one of the best. But on July 12, we’ll see who is going to take who to school and where the real fighters come from.”

RONNIE SHIELDS, Lara’s Trainer

“Both of these fighters deserve to be on this stage. It’s going to be a great fight. This is why all the fans come out. They come out to see great fights.

“Both of these guys are two of the best at 154 pounds in the world. There can only be one winner and that’s going to be Lara. The reason is because he’s the best fighter, simple as that. He has been avoided by every top fighter in the world, including Floyd Mayweather. Canelo is a very good fighter. We can’t take anything away from him. But Lara is one step ahead and we are going to prove that on July 12.

“The fans should come out. Get your tickets. Get your pay-per-view. It’s going to be a great, great night. We are sure the undercard will be great as always, Golden Boy puts on the best shows – simple as that.

“People are going to be talking about this fight for a long time. Both of these guys have two common opponents – Austin Trout and Angulo. Canelo slipped by Trout, and Lara destroyed him. They both have stopped Angulo. Both guys can punch, both guys work really hard.

“Get your popcorn. It’s going to be a great night. On July 12, Erislandy Lara will walk out as the victor.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“Team Lara is an excellent team. A professional team with a great trainer, a great manager. He has good people around him. All Lara has to do is focus and train for this fight. That’s what a champion should do and that’s exactly what he does.

“Lara had a controversial loss against the great Paul Williams. He is the WBA Champion after defeating Angulo in 11 rounds. He has the pedigree; as an amateur in Cuba he had more than 250 amateur fights. He’s one of the best fighters to ever come out of Cuba.

“Canelo is one of the most compelling fighters today. At only 23-years-old he has had a professional career since 2005. He won the WBC Junior Middleweight title in 2011 and defended it 11 times. He has victories over Austin Trout. He beat Angulo and he was in the mega-event last Sept. 14 against Floyd Mayweather. Now, he is back, giving the fans what they want. This is most difficult challenge at 154 pounds for Canelo. To please his fans, he is facing the toughest guy in the division, Lara.’’

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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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