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Quotes From Final Lemieux-Rosado Presser

Published

9 years ago

December 4, 2014

The Sweet Science

“DAVID LEMIEUX VS. GABRIEL ROSADO” FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

DAVID LEMIEUX, NABF Middleweight Champion

“It’s good to be back in Brooklyn. I’m very excited. This is a great opportunity for both of us fighters.

“I expect the best Gabriel Rosado when I get in the ring with him. I’m not worried because it’s going to be the best of Lemieux.

“This is a big opportunity to be headlining on HBO. I’m not going to miss my shot. I’m going to leave everything in the ring and I will not leave disappointed.

“We’ve been working on a lot of things the last few years and now we’re getting to where we want to be. This is the best camp I’ve had in my career.

“I’m here from Montreal and I’m here to represent and give you guys the best show and a great night of boxing before the holidays.”

GABRIEL ROSADO, Middleweight Contender

“There’s something different about coming from Philly. Any man who steps into the ring is brave, but something about Philly fighters, we’re willing to die in the ring.

“I had a great training camp, I have a tremendous team. We worked on a lot of different things. We’re coming off the Bryan Vera knockout so I really feel like I have the momentum.

“Lemieux is a strong guy who is hungry, but I know this is my opportunity and this is my time.

“Having been in every situation, I know what I need to do. I can’t blame the politics, I just looked into myself and made myself more focused and more disciplined. I’m extremely happy about this opportunity to put on a great show.

“I always thank the fans because I’m only relevant because of fans. The fans have always showed love and always showed up. On Saturday I’m going to give the fans my all so they know I appreciate them.

“By the end of Saturday, I wont be that tough journeyman, I’ll be a star.”

HUGO CENTENO JR., Undefeated Middleweight Contender

“I had a great training camp. It was eight tough weeks. I started training with Gennady Golovkin to prepare him for his fight. I’ve trained extremely hard and have no excuses. Come Saturday night, I’ll be ready.

“I talk with my fists so James can say what he wants. It’s easy to talk before you get hit in the face.”

JAMES DE LA ROSA, Middleweight Contender

“I hope on December 6 Hugo is ready to fight and doesn’t get any little abrasions. I don’t want him to have to tell the doctor he can’t see.

“I hope he’s ready to fight Saturday night because it’s on.”

THOMAS DULORME, Junior Welterweight Prospect

“I’m very happy to be here. I feel like I’m at home here in Brooklyn with all the support that I get here.

“This was a tough camp, It was a good camp. I’m ready to go and I’m ready for Hank.

“I’m not a big talker, so I’ll let Hank talk all he wants. On Dec. 6 at Barclays Center I’ll do my talking in the ring.

“This is going to be a great fight, get your seat ready here or at home and get ready for a great fight.”

HANK LUNDY, Junior Welterweight Prospect

“It’s been a hell of a camp, I have two of the best trainers in the world with me. Everything you read and everything you see about me is the real deal.

“I’m not running, I’m here to put on a fight, I’m putting on a show. I’m the real deal.

“When you have a guy like me coming from Philadelphia, I try to imitate these great guys like Bernard Hopkins and Gabriel Rosado.

“These two belts, you best believe they’re coming back to Philadelphia.”

ZACHARY OCHOA, Undefeated Super Lightweight Prospect

“I made my 97-year-old grandfather cry when he saw me on NY1 yesterday.

“I want to thank Barclays Center for helping those kids in Brooklyn because I used to be one of them.

“It’s a beautiful thing to bring boxing back to Brooklyn and I hope we keep it going.”

MARC RAMSAY, Lemieux’s Trainer

“We are one thousand percent sure that Saturday’s fight is going to be amazing for the fans. What you will remember is that you watched David Lemieux make his U.S. debut.

“We had a very tough training camp and David is ready to show you what he can do.”

JESSE REID, Rosado’s Trainer

“This is a real pleasure, I looked at Gabe when he fought Gennady Golovkin and I was amazed by what I saw, which was a Johnny Tapia. I saw a young man who was learning the hard way.

“He was taking on fights and showing people the heart he has, but he also had a great boxing ability that god gave him. I don’t think he realized the talent he has.

“Rosado has a great team, I’ve worked with a lot of different trainers, but we really have a tremendous team put together.

“He’s going to show people another Bernard Hopkins or Johnny Tapia so look out.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, Golden Boy Promotions Partner and Future Hall of Famer

“I would like to let everybody know that fights like these are a custom. We are putting on the best fights, the most competitive fights. This is what we want to do. Going into 2015 this is what we will see more of. We will continue to sincerely do the best to have the best fighters face the best.

“The tickets for this fight are extremely affordable for the caliber of fighters and of fights. This is an early holiday present from Golden Boy Promotions.

“The fighters you see right now might not be the pay-per-view fighters of today, but these are the fighters who are fighting for that position and it starts this Saturday.”

ERIC GOMEZ, Senior VP of Golden Boy Promotions

“We’re very happy to be working with Barclays Center, they are committed to championship boxing and this card is no different.

“Gabriel Rosado is taking on the very dangerous David Lemieux. You don’t want to blink because Lemieux has power in both hands. Gabe Rosado has taken on the best in the business.

“When we put together these big cards we always put together those big competitive undercard fights. We have great prospects from all over the country fighting on the undercards. These guys are the champions of tomorrow.

“James De La Rosa is coming off of a big win against Alfredo Angulo and now he’s going to take on one of the top prospects in Hugo Centeno Jr., who is here to test his skills at this level.

“Hank Lundy and Thomas Dulorme is a fight with two guys who are top fighters in their division so you don’t want to miss that one.”

CAMILLE ESTEPHAN, President of Eye of the Tiger Management

“It’s a great honor and privilege to be here. I think boxing wins with this card, this is where boxing is at it’s best, when we have competitive cards like this.

“I really don’t think it’s a 50-50 fight, I don’t think people know. Rosado is a great way to find out if David Lemieux is for real.

“Saturday night David will take the opportunity to become a superstar. We’ve done everything we have to do every single day and I’m so proud of David. There are no shortcuts.

“We have so many great coaches, including Marc Ramsay who is a great person and great coach who is helping boxing in Canada.

“We know what David is all about, but you will all find out on Saturday night. Don’t miss this one and don’t blink.”

GARY SHAW, President & CEO of Gary Shaw Productions

“Hank said that on his side there is blood, sweat and tears. On Dulorme’s side it’s blood, sweat and bling, because we are going to walk out of here with both titles.

“Dulorme is a great fighter and I believe he is going to be the next 140-pound champion of the world. He will do his talking in the ring. The single most important thing is that he’s not a trash talker, he’s just a fighter.”

JIMMY BURCHFIELD SR., President & CEO of CES Boxing

“Fights like these are what boxing is all about, it’s the number one sport in the world and we have to keep making new stars.

“Every fight on this card is going to be amazing.

“Hank Lundy has added two major league trainers to his camp, in Barry Hunter and Mike Stafford. I want to thank them for helping the sport of boxing.

“Hank Lundy has been waiting his turn, we’ve traveled everywhere with Hank Lundy, because we’ve had to. The bigger the fight is, this is where the Philadelphia boxer comes out of him. He’s what TV wants, because he’s going to give his heart.”

BRETT YORMARK, CEO of Barclays Center

“We are really excited about hosting another big night of boxing at Barclays Center. Golden Boy continues to invest in bringing great boxing to Brooklyn.

“Zachary Ochoa, we’ve heard a lot about him, he’s a big personality who’s been training on the Williamsburg Bridge so many of us have seen him going back and forth.

“In just over 24 months, Barclays Center has become the heart of boxing on the east coast. Many great fighters became great champions here at Barclays Center and we are very proud of that.

“We think that next year will be the biggest yet for us. We want to be in the big event business and we want to bring the biggest events to this venue. We will bring the best of boxing to the borough of Brooklyn.”

DAVID BERLIN, New York State Athletic Commission

“New York is key in so many ways and with it’s rich boxing tradition we are once again privileged to host fighters from all around the world.

“Saturday’s card is here with the spectacle of a big fight card, but my first thought about this card is that these are all hard, competitive and evenly matched fights that fight fans want to see.

“Saturday night six fighters have a chance to make their mark and make their mark on the big stage.”

# # #

Lemieux vs. Rosado is a 12 round NABF middleweight bout which is promoted by

Golden Boy Promotions in association with Eye Of The Tiger Management and

sponsored by Corona Extra, AT&T and Mexico – Live It To Believe It!. Dulorme vs.

Lundy is a 10-round junior welterweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions,

Gary Shaw Productions and CES Boxing. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET with the first bout

at 6 p.m. ET. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $150, $80, $50, $25 and $15, plus applicable taxes and service charges

are on sale and are available for purchase at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, by

calling 800-745-3000 and at the American Express Box Office. For group tickets, please

call 800-GROUP-BK.

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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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