All posts by FNU47

Layoff not a concern for Melson ahead of title fight!

Melson Left Hook.jpg

New York, NY (May 7, 2015) – Eleven months ago, popular 154 pounder Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson was training for a career changing fight with contender Glen Tapia. Against Tapia, who is considered amongst the top rising stars in America, Melson was taking a significant step up in competition and training like a madman so he’d shine when it mattered most. Unfortunately, an injury forced him out of the bout and a rematch was never scheduled.

 

Between other opportunities not coming through and obligations outside of the squared circle, Melson’s been inactive since a gutsy February 2014 win over Donald Ward. Against Ward, the 2003 West Point grad literally fought with one arm, overcoming a stretched brachial plexus which caused temporary paralysis in his right arm during the last five rounds of the bout.

 

Tomorrow evening at the Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook, NY, Melson returns from the fifteen month layoff to face charismatic Mike “El Cangri” Ruiz. Melson-Ruiz is scheduled for the WBC USNBC junior middleweight title, with the winner likely working their way into the world ratings. Fighting in his first ten rounder and serving as one half of the main event, Melson is confident that he’ll be sharp as ever even with the layoff.

 

“On paper, I’ve been out of the ring for over a year and I know a lot of people see that as a reason for concern,” said Melson. “The truth is I never got out of shape and once my body healed, I was right back in the gym. After suffering an injury during the Olympic Trials, I was inactive for more than two years. Since then, I’ve only lost one controversial decision in 16 pro fights. Personally and professionally, I’ve overcame things more challenging than the inactivity. I have felt fresh throughout training camp and don’t see any problemstomorrow night. The goal is to beat Ruiz convincingly and move on to challenge one of the world’s top rated fighters.”

 

Born in Puerto Rico and based in Long Island, the popular Ruiz has a significant experience advantage in the paid ranks, having faced a number of contenders. Overall, his record stands at 17-8 with 9 knockouts and some insiders believe he’s a step up for Melson.

 

“Ruiz is a tough and battle tested fighter,” stated Melson, who is 14-1-1 as a professional with four knockouts. “He has faced some good opponents and always comes to fight. I know that he’s viewed as a step up for me and I’ve been ready to step up for awhile now. Regardless if it’s by decision or knockout, I’m fully confident that I’ll earn my 15th victory tomorrowevening.”

 

The card is promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with New Legends Boxing. All of Team Fight To Walk’s tickets are sold out but may still be available by calling DiBella Entertainment at 212-947-2577.

 

After his fight with Ruiz, Melson will continue his pledge assist in curing chronic Spinal Cord Injuries by donating 100% of his purse to Team Fight to Walk in support of America’s first trial of its kind.

 

Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two division world champion Paul “The Punisher” Williams, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, Austin “No Doubt” Trout, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Sonya Lamonakis, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., WBA Middleweight champion Danny Jacobs,  WBO Junior Middleweight titlist/2008 US Olympian Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade and fellow 08’ Olympian Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.

 

For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org. All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to bamstrong1981@gmail.com. Fans can also interact with Melson via Twitter @BoydMelson orFacebook.com/Boydmelson

 

PBC ON SPIKE MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT WITH AMIR KHAN, CHRIS ALGIERI, PAULIE MALIGNAGGI & DANNY O’CONNOR

 

Kelly Swanson

Thanks so much, everyone, for calling in.  We have a great call today.  This is a great show.  I’m going to turn it over to our moderator now, Lou DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment.  Also joining us on the call are Brett Yormark and Jon Slusser.


Lou DiBella   

It’s a great card that’s going to be on Spike at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Friday night, the 29th of May, at Barclays Center.  The first bout will be Paulie Malignaggi after a year layoff.  Very few guys in boxing can claim to be more Brooklyn and he has his hands full in a bout with Danny O’Connor.  Danny is a tough kid who is hungry for this fight.  This is a matchup between an Italian-American and an Irish-American, a kid from New York and a kid from Boston.

We’re going to get to Danny first.  Danny is going to say a few words, then we’ll open it up to a few questions for him, then turn it over to Paulie.


Danny O’Connor

I want to thank everyone for being here.  I’m very excited about this opportunity to fight Paul and to come down to New York and showcase my skills at Barclays Center.  I’ve worked my whole career for this.  I put a lot of effort and sacrifice in my life to get here.  I’m very excited and I’m ready for the task at hand.

Q

Danny, in a situation where you’re fighting a guy who in his last fight was TKO’d, does that make you think of coming in a different way than you ordinarily might, target him and be more aggressive than usual?


D. O’Connor 

No, I don’t.  Anything can happen on any given night in boxing.  That’s what we do.  Because of that, I’m not looking at anything differently.

Paul had some time off to recover and recoup.  I’m expecting Paul at his best.  I want him at his best.  The better he is, the better challenge that lies in front of me.  The more excited that makes me.

                                                                                                                                                      

My game plan is going to be my game plan regardless of his last fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

What was your reaction when your name was picked?  You’re fighting Paulie Malignaggi, a former world champion.  Did you think it was a joke or did you see it as you’re getting a fight at an elite fighter that will springboard you?

                                                                                                                                                      

D. O’Connor 

I was excited right off the rip.  That’s what I’ve been working my whole career for, is that shot at something big.  To be able to match my skills up against someone like Paul, with his résumé, that’s what excites me.  I get up for that type of challenge.

                                                                                                                                                      

I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case something fell through.  Boxing, anything can happen.  As it got more and more real it was excitement.  It’s all about excitement.

                                                                                                                                                      

I’ve been working a very long time to get to this spot.  I put in a lot of work and I deserve to be here.  I’m excited to take this chance and to showcase my skills against Paul.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

You have a tremendous amateur record, 110 wins, only 11 losses.  Is that part of the training ground that you’ve had to put you into this position now?

                                                                                                                                                      

D. O’Connor 

Yeah.  I think with anything in life, experience is going to get you places.  The more experience you have, the more comfortable you’re going to be, the more savvy you’re going to be.  The type of person I am, my work ethic, how hard I’ve worked, it’s got me far so far.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

A victory over Paulie will put you on top of the radar charts for the other 47-pounders.  Is that what you’re looking for?

                                                                                                                                                      

D. O’Connor

It’s not even in my mind, man.  I don’t look at all past Paul.  He’s a tough fighter.  I’m focused at the task at hand, and that’s Paul.  That’s all I’m looking at.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Paulie is fast.  How do you intend to deal with his speed?

                                                                                                                                                      

D. O’Connor 

Hopefully I’ll be able to neutralize that speed by having my own speed.  I’m not too slow myself.  I think it’s going to be a battle of the minds.

 

DiBella

I’m going to introduce a man I know very well, and who probably didn’t think I’d be making this announcement, but Paulie, would you like to say a few words?

                                                                                                                                                      

Paulie Malignaggi

I’m happy to be here.  I’m excited about fighting at Barclays Center again.  I’ve gotten the desire to fight again over the past year little by little.  It started growing more and more.  Once you sign up for a fight, you see the event in front of you, you start seeing things like the teleconference and all that we’re doing now, it starts to resonate in your mind that it’s coming up, it’s close, so the excitement kind of builds.  I’m happy to be a part of this event, part of this show, and everybody involved with it.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q.

Paulie, you’ve gotten off to a great start in your broadcasting career.  Does this take anything away from what you’re achieving in broadcasting or slow your development that way, or do you feel like you can manage both things side by side?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi 

This has been a training camp where I’m kind of getting it all down together.  It’s basically a training camp where I haven’t had as much work to do as I have this time around in the past.

                                                                                                                                                      

The reason I still have the passion for this is I still make time to train every day, find the time to prepare adequately every day.

                                                                                                                                                      

It’s not always easy with the broadcasting.  You have to fight, shut everything down and focus on the fight.  It’s not like that anymore.  That kind of comes with age, you kind of get into new things in your life and whatnot.

                                                                                                                                                      

If it was a couple years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to handle it.  I’m at a place in my life where I can handle it more and compartmentalize things more.  The passion shows in and of itself.  If I didn’t really want to do this, trust me, I would do the broadcasting, I would half-ass it on my training.  Last week was challenging, but every day I was able to get in my training somehow, some way.  One workout a day, sometimes two workouts a day.

                                                                                                                                                      

When you don’t want to train, but you still go out and do it, you have that victory in your mind, you want to persevere and excel.  I’m the type of person that wants to do that.

                                                                                                                                                      

In the end, after this fight, I plan on winning the fight and looking good.  I’ve been feeling good in the training camp.  After the fight, I’m just taking it one fight at a time.  I’m not looking past Danny.  It’s a little bit different in my career right now, but at the same time I’m still enjoying the ride.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q.

At some point when you were doing the broadcasting, was there something about being on the sidelines that kind of inspired the feelings that you’d like to be back on the other side of the ropes again?  Was it a particular fight or moment?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi

I wouldn’t say it was anything in particular.  I don’t say that was part of the reason, I guess.

                                                                                                                                                      

At first it was part of the reason why I didn’t want to fight again.  I would see these fights from close range, see the violence, some crazy exchanges.  “Man, better these guys than me.  I’m done.”

                                                                                                                                                      

Then little by little, as I started feeling better, I would start seeing the same kind of stuff, and I would focus on the crowd reaction, the adrenaline these fighters are feeling.  I was starting to slowly change my thinking pattern.  It was starting to slowly become more like, I got to feel this again, I got to feel that rush again.  It’s something missing in my life.

                                                                                                                                                      

The transition kind of came slowly.  I don’t think it was one particular moment or situation, it just kind of came slowly and developed.  Before you know it, you start to hit a couple bags.  As with any boxer in general, you start to hit the bag, you start to loosen, before you know it, you start to feel it.

                                                                                                                                                      

I suppose when you retire from boxing you should stay away from the boxing gym, because otherwise you’re going to want to fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Paulie, how much of a factor was the result of your previous fight in motivating you to kind of come back and have a chance to go out with a win if, in fact, that’s what ultimately occurs here?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi

That had no bearing on any of this.  The only bearing in my life that fight had on me was the decision not to fight anymore.  When I went into the fight, I didn’t decide it was going to be my last fight.  I wasn’t thinking of any of that stuff at all.

                                                                                                                                                      

When the result happened, I was more so thinking, Maybe this is it.  It wasn’t really that particular result as far as me not being able to accept it. It was more so, before the Porter fight, I hadn’t looked bad.  I had a dominant victory, but I had one bad night.  If I really want to chalk up my entire career to that one bad night and be done, or do I give myself another shot?

                                                                                                                                                      

I don’t want to go out on a loss, I have more left.  The Porter fight doesn’t take away from what I did in the past two or three years.  You have a fight like that, take a year off, people expect that’s where you are and that’s it.

                                                                                                                                                      

I think people are going to draw their own conclusions.  The Porter fight had no bearing on what I wanted to do.  I felt like, I’m alive and I want to live.  For me living is feeling that adrenaline rush, the rush of being in the ring.  I’m a competitive person.  That’s more what was the motivator.  I’m not dead, so I don’t need to live like I’m dead.  Some people choose to live like they’re dead.  I don’t need to do that.  I can feel life.  Nothing makes me feel more alive than having the adrenaline of being in a boxing ring in front of a packed crowd.

Q

Paulie, depending on how you look at this fight, if you perform to your highest capabilities, if you win handily, what’s next for you?  Do you go challenge for a title, fight one of the better fighters in the division again?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi:

Honestly, it hasn’t even crossed my mind.  I want to see not only how I look and feel in the fight.  I may look good and say, you know what, I’m good to go again.  I may look good and say, you know what, this is taking away too much time from other things I want to enjoy in my life.  I may need to feel this adrenaline rush again.  I don’t know.

                                                                                                                                                      

I haven’t given it that much thought yet.  I’m only focused on Danny O’Connor right now.  I feel like those are possible things that would be crossing my mind, but in reality I haven’t given it enough thought to really have made that kind of decision.

                                                                                                                                                      

I don’t know yet.  I’m focused only on the fight right now.  So anything post May 29th I’ll decide post May 29th.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

You said you started training, you were feeling good, had no problem training.  How much fun are you having again with boxing?  Do you feel rejuvenated?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi

I enjoy a good challenge in life, a challenge that I enjoy.  If you put me in a chemistry class, it will be a challenge, but I don’t think I’ll enjoy it too much.  Know what I’m saying?

                                                                                                                                                      

Boxing is a challenge to me, but it’s a challenge I enjoy.  I enjoy pushing my body and mind to the limits and seeing if I can succeed.  Of course, I’ve been enjoying it.

                                                                                                                                                      

Sometimes people look at me and tell you, why would you want to fight again?  You’re set.  You have good money coming in.

                                                                                                                                                      

It’s not about the money.  Well, obviously it’s always about the money.  That’s not the main motivator.  The motivator is to feel alive.  I can be dead when I’m six feet under.  Right now I don’t want to feel like that.  I want to feel that rush of adrenaline again, feel alive.  While I can still do it, I will do it.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Paulie, what made this particular fight the right opportunity to get back into the ring?  What does the New York/Boston rivalry add to this fight?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi

The opportunity to be back in the ring could have came against anyone.

                                                                                                                                                      

The New York/Boston rivalry, I’ve thought of it a couple times.  It’s not Boston/New York, Italian/Irish.  It’s like 50 years too late.  If it’s 1955, you’re going to have this in a huge stadium, everybody would be into it.  It could be a real cool event.  Not that it’s not going to be a cool event anyway.

                                                                                                                                                      

What I’m saying is the perception of the event is different now than it would have been back in the day when the Italian and Irish rivalry, New York and Boston rivalry might have been more.  It gives it a fall-back feel to me and that’s good for me.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

What do you know about Danny O’Connor?  He hasn’t fought a lot of the top-level opponents that you have.  What do you see as your strengths and his weaknesses in this fight?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi

I’ve known Danny for quite some time.  Obviously he hasn’t fought at the level that I have.  The experience is in my favor.

                                                                                                                                                      

I knew he had a good amateur career.  He’s a solid competitor.  He has a Golden Gloves title.  When you have that kind of amateur career, you expect yourself to break through in the pros.

                                                                                                                                                      

I had a good amateur career, I was a national championship as well.  I had the expectation I would have a successful pro career as well.  At that point you’re used to winning and winning at a high level.

                                                                                                                                                      

I feel like Danny has that expectancy of himself.  Maybe it’s come a little slower.  I feel this is an opportunity for him because he has a chance to finally show all the things he had to show in the amateurs.

                                                                                                                                                      

I can’t take him lightly, and I don’t take him lightly because I know what he’s feeling.  I know what it’s like to have that successful amateur career, go into your first professional fight and have those goosebumps.  I kind of know what he’s feeling, what’s going through his mind, both the good and the bad.

                                                                                                                                                      

In that way I guess I have the advantage because I’m prepared for that thing because I’ve already been through it.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Are you able to focus on him as an opponent in this fight rather than all these broader questions about your career arc and all that type of thing?

                                                                                                                                                      

P. Malignaggi

Yes, of course.  I’m preparing for a slick boxer named Danny O’Connor.  He’s a southpaw, can sit back on the back foot sometimes.  He might bring the kind of fight I intend to bring, my game plan.  Every day I’m in the gym working on that.

                                                                                                                                                      

Although the distractions are nice to talk about, in the end I’m working on the exact plan in the gym every day.

                                                                                                                                                      

L. DiBella 

Thank you, Paulie.

                                                                                                                                                      

Now I’d like to introduce the CEO of Barclays Center, Brett Yormark.

                                                                                                                                                      

Brett Yormark:

Thank you, Lou.  Glad to be here with everyone.  Looking forward to hosting Paulie and Danny on the 29th, as well as Amir and Chris.

                                                                                                                                                      

From a building perspective, obviously we’re committed to boxing.  We’re thrilled to be hosting our second PBC fight.  Our first event was a resounding success.  It was our biggest gate since we opened Barclays Center as it relates to boxing.  It was the most highly attended event.

                                                                                                                                                      

The atmosphere and the environment was electrifying.  We think we’ll be able to duplicate and replicate that experience for our fans on the 29th.

                                                                                                                                                      

I’m thrilled that Spike will be our partner.  They have an edgy broadcast, how they do their business.  That’s a perfect fit for Brooklyn.  Obviously we are excited that Paulie is on the card. It was always about bringing fights that meant something nationally, but it was also about nurturing and fostering the careers of Brooklyn fighters.

                                                                                                                                                      

There’s no bigger fighter in Brooklyn than Paulie Malignaggi.  He’s a friend and has fought many times at the Barclays Center.  Welcoming him back after a year away from the sport is terrific for us.

                                                                                                                                                      

We’re also thrilled to have Danny fight in our building for the first time.  I’m also excited to be working with Amir Khan.  I always hoped that Amir would call Barclays Center home.  He’s been in our building for Nets games and other events.

                                                                                                                                                      

 Then Chris Algieri, he and Provodnikov last June probably had one of the biggest and electrifying fights ever at Barclays Center.  For him to come back and fight with us is great for us.  He brings a big Long Island fan base, which we hope to tap into again.

                                                                                                                                                      

This should be a really big night for Brooklyn boxing, boxing in general, and the PBC.  We look forward to the 29th and are thrilled to be a partner.

                                                                                                                                                      

L. DiBella 

Thank you, Brett.

                                                                                                                                                      

Now to what will be our other event of the evening on May 29th, the first participant is the pride of Huntington, Long Island.  His career best victory took place at the Barclays Center when he established himself as a force in boxing.

                                                                                                                                                      

Chris Algieri with a record of 20-1, I know is looking forward to this great opportunity versus Amir Khan.

                                                                                                                                                      

Chris, can you say a few words.

                                                                                                                                                      

Chris Algieri 

Hello, everybody.  I’d like to thank Lou DiBella Entertainment.  It’s a pleasure to be back at Barclays Center.  We fought a year ago last June, had a great fight, won my first world title.  I’m also excited to be fighting on Spike.  Thank you for hosting the event.  It’s a whole new network to fight on.  I’m very excited about it all.

                                                                                                                                                      

L. DiBella 

Thank you, Chris.

                                                                                                                                                      

This next gentleman, I use that word seriously, is one of the most talented fighters in the game.  He’s from England.  Former world champion with a record of 30-3.  Amir Khan.

                                                                                                                                                      

Amir Khan

Hello, everyone.  I want to say hi to all the press and media.  Brett Yormark is a friend of mine from Barclays Center.  I’m very excited to fight at the Barclays Center.  I’ve been there a few times.  I always said that I want to come over here and give New York a huge fight, bring boxing there.  I have a big fan base from New York.  I’m sure Chris Algieri also has a big fan base.  But we’re going to come and make some noise.

                                                                                                                                                      

The fight is going to be on Spike, which I’m also excited for.  I’m looking forward to the whole event on the 29th of May, on Friday.  I hope you’re all going to be there cheering us on.  Thank you.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Chris, you’ve had time to work with John David Jackson now.  Do you see him changing you in any significant way?

                                                                                                                                                      

C. Algieri

Yeah, absolutely.  It’s been a great training camp.  We’ve been learning quite a bit.  John has been bringing out a lot of aspects of my style, things I can do in the ring that I haven’t had an opportunity to show just yet.

                                                                                                                                                      

We’re both very excited about this fight, excited about what we’re going to be able to do on fight night the 29th. Learning new aspects in a sport I love has been an eye-opening experience and enjoyable one as well.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Taking someone on like Amir Khan, someone with his experience, the people he’s fought, I know you’ve kind of made the step up in these last two fights to a higher level, but this could have been an opportunity for you to take a little bit easier fight.  Why did you keep it this tough right here?

                                                                                                                                                      

C. Algieri 

You know, I’ve never been that guy, to take an easy route or an easy fight.  I’ve come up very fast in both of the sports I’ve come up in.  Even at a young age when I was kickboxing, I took on big fights.  In my young boxing career, it’s been a constant step-up my entire career.

                                                                                                                                                      

I have not been one of those guys who has moved along gingerly.  I’ve been excited to tackle big opponents and big fights on big stages.  This is par for the course for my career.

Q

Amir, you had a possibility of fighting Mayweather until he made the fight with Pacquiao.  They’ve already mentioned your name as a next possible opponent.  How critical is winning this fight toward preserving that dream of fighting Mayweather?  Do you see it as part of the big picture?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Definitely, winning this fight is everything to me.  I’m not looking past this Chris Algieri fight.  I know it’s a very dangerous fight for me.  Stylistically he’s very dangerous and I’m not going to be looking past it.  If I do, I’ll have made a mistake.

                                                                                                                                                      

I have to be focused.  I have to be disciplined in training camp, not looking past this Chris Algieri fight.  I know there are big fights out there like Mayweather.  I just have to stay focused and win this fight and go from there really.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

You call Chris “dangerous”.  He’s not known as a big puncher.  It could be a good boxing match.  What do you see as the danger that Chris poses to you?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Technically I think overall he’s a very good boxer, moves well.  He makes a lot of fighters fall short.  He’s very skillful.  You have to be on your “A” game to beat him.

                                                                                                                                                      

I’ve been watching a lot of videos.  Even the Pacquiao fight, there’s some good things he did there.  It could be dangerous for me coming into this fight if I’m not on my “A” game.  I have to be one step ahead and make sure I don’t make any mistakes.  Chris Algieri is a guy that if you make a mistake, he’s going to make you pay for it.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Amir, you were criticized heavily for taking this fight.  What can you do in this fight to put your name up there to get the bigger fights again?  Are you going to have to knock out Chris to make a real impression?

                                                                                                                                                      

Amir Khan 

Look, there’s people putting this fight down, and I don’t know why.  At the end of the day, Chris has won a world title.  He’s fought Pacquiao.  He’s a very good boxer, moves well, boxes well.  I definitely have to be on my “A” game.

                                                                                                                                                      

All this stuff what people are saying, they’re probably thinking Amir thinks it’s going to be a walk in the park, but he’ll make a mistake and lose this fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

I take every fight seriously.  I’ve made that mistake in the past.  I’ve fought some fights that I thought are going to be a walk in the park; I got hurt, I lost the fight.  I’m not thinking any fight is going to be easy.  Every fight I walk into, every person in front of me is going to be in there to win the fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

Listening to Chris Algieri, he seems he wants to win this fight.  That motivates me and makes me train harder.  He wants to win this fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

I’m not really listening to what people are saying about future fights or where this fight can take me.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

There still is pressure on you to deliver because you have to send a message that you’re still a big name.

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Definitely there is.  There’s a lot of pressure on me in every fight because they want to see me perform.  Obviously there’s always the bigger picture of the other side.

                                                                                                                                                      

At the end of the day I’m still fighting the top guys and I believe Chris is one of the top guys in boxing.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

You were quoted on the weekend that saying Leonard Ellerbe has mentioned Mayweather to you.  What would be your plan there?  Would it be hoping he puts it back to November or could you fight late in September?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

To be honest, I’m not looking past this fight.  I’ll tell you everything after the fight.  At the moment what’s on my mind is the Chris Algieri fight.  I don’t have anything else on my mind.

Q

Amir, you left Golden Boy after your contract ran out.  You’re with PBC now.  What was your thinking behind making that move?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

PBC I think is brilliant because it’s going to give more fans the chance to tune in to get to see you.  I think it’s going to be good for the boxers.  To be on Spike, the viewers are going to be great.

                                                                                                                                                      

At the end of the day it’s not like I’m making less money or anything.  I’m still doing well financially.  Obviously I’m getting more people to watch me fight hopefully on Spike and on PBC.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Obviously your name has been linked with Mayweather not just the last three weeks but with the last three years.  You’re both with Haymon.  Has he ever said what you need to do to get in the ring with Mayweather?

A. Khan                                                                                                                    

To get that fight, you have to look good.  You have to shine really.  It’s all about working hard, training hard, putting in good performances in the ring.  To turn in the best performances in the ring, I can’t take it easy in camp.  I have to be very focused.

                                                                                                                                                      

There’s been the word there for the last couple years that that fight was going to happen.  But I’m going to be taking every fight one step at a time, hopefully put on great performances.  If that fight comes, obviously it’s something I’ve always wanted.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Is that what he’s saying to you?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Yes, my trainer, everyone has said. “you have a fight in front of you and Chris Algieri is no joke.”  I can’t go into this fight thinking it’s going to be easy.  In boxing, there are always guys who are skillful and can beat you.  I have to be that one step ahead.  I can’t really take this fight lightly and think it’s going to be easy, lose my fight, then all my dreams are shattered to fight all the big names in boxing.

                                                                                                                                                      

Losing this fight, it would ruin my dreams to fight the big names in boxing.  I have to be focused on this fight.  I know what it’s like to fight someone in their own backyard.  When I fought Lamont Peterson, you have to try harder to win that fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

I have to be very focused, definitely keep the game plan strong, just win your rounds and win the fight.

Q

Chris, you were in the ring with Pacquiao before.  Obviously there’s a shoulder injury he says he’s had for quite some time.  Was there anything you felt when you were in there, maybe you saw a difference in him, different from when he fought you?

                                                                                                                                                      

C. Algieri 

I didn’t really see anything physically.  I saw a little more mental.  He seemed more focused from my fight, to tell you the truth.  Even at the weigh-in, he was bubbly and smiley.  He wasn’t that way with myself when we were in China.  That’s neither here nor there.  You don’t know whether that could be anything.

That’s kind of a hard question to answer for someone else.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

What does this fight mean for you going forward?  A win against a top name in boxing would do wonders for your career.  Tell us what a win would mean for your career moving forward.

                                                                                                                                                      

C. Algieri 

Yeah, I don’t want to speak for Amir or any other fighter out there, but we’re all competitors.  We’re all out there to win.  There’s a reason we do this at the elite level.  You have to have a burning desire to be a winner.

                                                                                                                                                      

Amir is a champion, a former champion.  I’m a former champion, a champion myself.  That will and desire to always want to win is there.  There’s a lot of questions that are being asked.  You have to win this fight.  Of course, you have to win this fight.  You have to win to get the big fights.

                                                                                                                                                      

That’s one of the great things about this sport:  when you keep winning, good things happen.  Of course, we’re all very hungry to get this victory and move on with our careers.  I’m in exactly the same place.  This is a huge fight, a huge opportunity.  As with any other fight, I want to win.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Amir, did you see anything in Mayweather that you would have taken advantage of, something you saw that other people didn’t see?  Did he look a step slower?  Something you saw that you could take advantage of?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Yeah, I mean, I was there as a boxing fan.  I’m only an hour away from Vegas.  I went there to watch the fight.  I enjoyed the atmosphere and everything.

                                                                                                                                                      

Mayweather looked great.  He did what he had to do to win the fight.  His accuracy was nothing but the best.  He was catching Pacquiao with some good, clean shots, whereas Pacquiao was falling short.

                                                                                                                                                      

That’s the way he fights.  He’s a very skillful fighter who is very patient and makes his opponent make mistakes.  That’s what I liked about him.

                                                                                                                                                      

His world grade is dropping tremendously because of his age.  But there are things I saw there which I have not seen before; when he takes a good shot, he doesn’t panic.  The only way to catch him is with speed.  Pacquiao didn’t use as much speed and explosiveness in the fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

I enjoyed it.  I’m sure there were all those people who said he was never going to beat Pacquiao, well, he’s been there and done that.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

A lot of people want you to fight Kelly Brook, can you talk about the decision to take a different opponent who is not ranked as high?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

I could have fought Kell Brook in the UK.  I don’t want to fight because of Ramadan coming up.  Either way, I’d be taking Ramadan off.  I don’t want to be going into Ramadan tired after a fight, going straight into Ramadan, fasting.

                                                                                                                                                      

I’ve done that before.  I’ve had a fight and I’ve gone straight into Ramadan back-to-back.  It’s too much for a body to take.  Obviously I need to look after my body.

                                                                                                                                                      

Yeah, Kell Brook, the guy is a world champion, he should be fighting the likes of Bradley and the big names in boxing, like me.  I’m fighting Chris Algieri, who just came out of the ring in his last fight against Pacquiao.  Kell Brook, never heard of the guy he fought.  Now he’s fighting another no-name fighter without a ranking.

                                                                                                                                                      

That name doesn’t bother me anymore because he’s not doing anything.  The only reason his name gets pushed to me because he holds the title.  If he didn’t have the title, I don’t think it would mean anything to me or boxing.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Tell us your thoughts on Algieri as a fighter and give us some of your scouting report on him.

 

A. Khan

Chris Algieri just came off a win.  I saw it the other day.  It was a very good fight.  He boxed very smart against a guy who is a good pressure fighter and a big puncher.  Then, against Pacquiao, one of the quickest fighters in the world.

                                                                                                                                                      

I think if you look at the names of Chris Algieri’s opponents, Kell Brook’s last few opponents, the names will speak for themselves.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Chris, in this fight there’s been a lot of discussion what Amir is going to do in his next fight, all this.  You’re in some ways being overlooked in this.  Tell us what you think your advantages are over Amir and why you think you’re going to be able to win this fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

C. Algieri 

All the talk is none of my concern, to tell you the truth.  I’m focused on training, preparing the best that I can for this fight.  I’ve been working hard, working on a lot of new things with John David Jackson.  Great sparring so far.

                                                                                                                                                      

I’m just a very hungry fighter at this point.  I’m coming off my first loss as a professional, and watching Pacquiao and Mayweather fight this weekend has spurred me on this much more, made me that much more of a hungry fighter.

                                                                                                                                                      

It’s one of those things, you have a guy in great shape that is really hungry for the win.  I think that’s a big advantage in any fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Amir, focusing on this fight, what do you think your advantages are over Chris?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Yeah, the speed, the movement, the power.  Experience is something that I have on my side.  I remember a couple years ago when I was fighting the guys who were a lot more experienced than me, I was going and beating them guys.  Now I’m in a position where I’m one of the guys with most experience, fighting guys with less experience.

                                                                                                                                                      

You can’t take that lightly really because obviously I was once in Chris Algieri’s position where I had one loss and I was going up against the top guys in boxing, and I beat those guys.

                                                                                                                                                      

I can’t go into this fight thinking it’s going to be an easy fight or I’m going to win this fight because I was once in Chris Algieri’s position, where I was getting people telling me, you’re not going to make it, you’re not going to win this fight.  I proved everybody wrong.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Amir, you fought in New York before.  Chris is going to be the hometown guy in this fight.  You’re well-known in New York, too.  What do you think the effect is going to be having the fight in Brooklyn?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

I always wanted to fight in Brooklyn.  I fought at Madison Square Garden in 2009 against Paulie.  I always wanted to come back to New York.  The fan base is huge.

                                                                                                                                                      

It’s like a second home for me.  My wife lives in Staten Island.  I spend a lot of time in New York.  We live in England, but spend a lot of time in New York and America itself.

                                                                                                                                                      

For me, every time I’m walking the streets of New York, I have everybody asking me, when are you going to be fighting again?  We want to see you fight again in New York.

                                                                                                                                                      

Also when I’m at Barclays Center, I’ve been there for a couple of the Nets games, people have always asked me, We need you back in New York.  We need you to fight at Barclays Center.

                                                                                                                                                      

I think it’s time now.  I promised them I would come back.  I’m coming back fighting one of their home fighters.  I know by fighting that home fighter you have to work a bit harder because he’s going to have a little bit more fans than me.

                                                                                                                                                      

But, I mean, time will tell.  We’ll see how it all goes. I’m going to be focused on everything.  I’m going to stay calm and hopefully come fight night I’m going to be ready for everything that Chris Algieri brings to the table.  I’m going to be ready, yeah.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Amir, in Vegas over the weekend you were getting mobbed everywhere you went by fans.  What are they saying to you at this point?  They’ve been asking you about Floyd.  Has that subsided or is that still the message?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

Everybody was talking about that one big fight.  “You should fight Floyd.  You should fight Floyd.”

                                                                                                                                                      

I was telling them all, I’m fighting Chris Algieri next.  That for me is a very tough fight.  I need to win this fight if I need to go near any of the big names in fighting.

                                                                                                                                                      

They were very supportive.  I was getting a lot of respect in Vegas.  But, like I said, this is time to fight Chris Algieri.  I’m not going to be fighting Floyd Mayweather yet till I win this fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

I was listening, being respectful back. Just meeting fans and greeting fans really.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

How inspiring was that to be part of the weekend?  It was something quite special, wasn’t it?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

It was massive having two big names.  I’ve been to both big fights.  Normally you have a Pacquiao fight with big names.  When you go to a fight with two big names, it was huge.  Manny had the bigger crowd, it seemed to me.  Floyd just did what he had to do.  It was full of a high-profile team, celebrities and stuff.  I sat amongst them.  It’s something I want to be doing one day, being in the ring, having millions of people in the world watching you and having people watch you ring side.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

You had Adrien Broner in your ear.  What was that all about?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan

 I think he just wants to jump on the bandwagon and get a little hype.  I told my advisor to get me the fight with him before we even got the fight with Chris.  Adrien to me seemed to not want the fight.  In front of the cameras, he seems to want the fight.  When it comes down to signing the contract, he doesn’t want the fight.

                                                                                                                                                      

Adrien didn’t want it, so obviously I had to go on to someone else.

                                                                                                                                                      

Q

Is it true that you’ve ruled out fighting in September if a Mayweather fight does come to pass?  Will you not fight in September?

                                                                                                                                                      

A. Khan 

No, no, I’ve not ruled out.  It’s possible I could fight in September, yeah.  Ramadan is going to be a little bit earlier this year, so obviously it helps, gives me enough time to get the training done and everything.  It can happen in September.

                                                                                                                                                      

L. DiBella 

Thank you, Amir and Chris.  Thank you, everybody, for joining us.

 

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For more information, visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, www.spike.com/shows/premier-boxing-champions,www.barclayscenter.com and www.dbe1.com. Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @AmirKingKhan, @ChrisAlgieri, @LouDiBella, @SpikeTV and @BarclaysCenter and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.Facebook.com/AmirKhanThePage, www.Facebook.com/ChrisAlgieri andwww.Facebook.com/Spike. Follow the conversation using #PremierBoxingChampions and #BrooklynBoxing.

GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN – WILLIE MONROE JR. International Media Conference Call Transcript

Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Bernie Bahrmasel: Hello, and welcome to the International Media Conference Call for the Middleweight Championship of the World as boxing superstar Gennady “GGG” Golovkin defends his WBA, IBO and Interim WBC Title against number two ranked challenger Willie “The Mongoose” Monroe Jr., set for next Saturday night, May 16th at The “Fabulous” Forum in Los Angeles, and telecast live in the United States on HBO World Championship Boxing at 10 p.m. Eastern.

We are seeing an overwhelming amount of interest in this event, which also features the HBO debut of fast-rising star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez defending his WBC junior flyweight title against number two ranked challenger, Edgar Sosa.

This week, we will be distributing an extensive fight week media schedule of Los Angeles area events. For the media, if you have not yet done so, please apply for credentials at MagnaMedia.com.

Joining us first on this call from his training camp in Big Bear Lake, California will be Gennady, his world-renowned trainer, Abel Sanchez, and the managing director of K2 Promotions, Tom Loeffler. Later in the call, we will be joined by Willie Monroe Jr., from his training camp in Winter Haven, Florida, and his promoter, the head of Banner Promotions, Artie Pelullo along with his trainer Tony Morgan.

It’s now my pleasure to turn the call over to Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, who will introduce Gennady Golovkin and Abel Sanchez for their opening comments. Go ahead, Tom.

Tom Loeffler: Thanks, Bernie. We’re excited at bringing Gennady back to the Los Angeles area. We’ve gotten a great response from the fans with the ticket sales. Gennady has a 19-fight knockout streak going right now, and provides a lot of excitement in the ring and there have been a lot of calls for him getting back into the ring. We saw the fight on Saturday night and people seem to be yearning for some excitement, and that’s what Gennady guarantees in the ring, and we have a great co-feature with “Chocolatito” Gonzales against Edgar Sosa. Chocolatito’s making his HBO debut, as well, and I know a lot of fans in the L.A. area are also excited to see Chocolatito in the ring.

And Willie Monroe is the number two-rated contender and poses a very unconventional style with his southpaw stance and his movement in the ring, so I think this’ll be a great contrast to styles.

With that, I want to introduce Abel Sanchez from his Summit Training Camp in Big Bear Lake.

Abel Sanchez: Hi. Good morning, guys. We’re looking forward to-what is it ten days from now eleven days from now, putting on another fantastic show. We’re fortunate to have a young man in Willie Monroe who I know is going to come to fight and provide us with that exciting fight that we haven’t had. Well, actually last week was not as exciting as this one’s going to be, so hopefully Willie’s in great shape. I know that Tony’s getting him ready, so we’re looking forward to this Saturday night.

Tom Loeffler: And then I also want to introduce the WBA, the WBC Interim Champion, IBO Middleweight Champion, 32-0 with 29 knockouts, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.

Gennady Golovkin: Good morning. A couple of weeks before the fight and I’m ready, I feel good. Hopefully, Willie will be ready to fight because we’ll have a strong fight and a good performance for the fans. I promise a big drama show. I hope he is ready also. Thank you to my team, the fans and media for all their support and to HBO.

Q. Hi, guys. Thanks for taking the time to do the call. My question is for Gennady. Your May 16th fight comes at an interesting time, right on the heels of Mayweather/Pacquiao, a fight in which a lot of people-I dare say most people said it didn’t feature enough action for their liking. Did you watch the fight? And, what did you think of Mayweather/Pacquiao?

Gennady Golovkin: Yes. Everybody wanted the fight for the last five years. I think Floyd’s too smart. This is Floyd’s style; he doesn’t take too many shots. Floyd’s too smart, he’s a great boxer, he’s number one in the world.

Q. And what about Pacquiao? What did you think of his performance?

Gennady Golovkin: Pacquiao, I think he loses control of the fight. He could not do anything against Floyd. Pacquiao is very good, but it was a very smart fight for Floyd.

Q. Listen, I’m not looking past Willie Monroe, that wouldn’t be wise. I expect you’re too talented for him, though. So, what about next fight, you against Floyd Mayweather at 154 pounds? I believe you, maybe, are the next logical opponent to test Floyd Mayweather.

Gennady Golovkin: Of course, it is my dream fight. Obviously, Floyd, he is a great champion, and a little bit different style. Floyd, he’s a smart guy. He does a lot of moving. For my style, a little bit different, I like drama show, I like real fight, like close fight. I want show, big show; big drama show!

Q. And you would bring that big drama show if you were to get a fight with Floyd Mayweather?

Gennady Golovkin: Absolutely.

Q. Excellent. Great answer. I appreciate it. Good luck.

Q. Question is for Abel. Abel, how do you deal with all these questions about who is next? We just had one-who is next for Gennady when he is to fight on May 16, the guy who is probably one of the fastest guys you have ever fought. How do you deal with this? And, how do you keep GGG concentrated on the task on hand? Not to talk about Canelo, and not to talk about Floyd and everything else, May 16th is first.

Abel Sanchez: Well, fortunately we have a real professional in Gennady Golovkin in the gym, so the questions about anybody else are only on these types of calls. In the gym, he’s solely focused on Willie Monroe. Willie Monroe’s going to be a tough challenge, and we’re not overlooking him by any means because if we take a stumble here, all those other names are mute.

So, Golovkin is concentrating on Willie Monroe, unless of course they ask questions like this in a media call, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be ready for, mentally and physically, for May 16th.

Q. One more question, if I may. The combined records of the last five opponents for Gennady is 165 wins, only 15 losses. Where would you put Willie Monroe in-between those fighters? How would you rate him among the last five Gennady fought?

Abel Sanchez: I think as far as skills and as far as ability in the ring, he’s got to be in the top three, and maybe the top two. Experience, maybe not quite as experienced as the other guys, but Willie has proven in bigger fights, the Boxcino Tournament for instance, that he can handle himself in the ring, so he’s up there, like I said, one, two, or three. A very, very, very good fighter.

Q: Good morning, gentlemen. I just have two quick questions. Gennady, we know your reputation and your resume and your desire to fight, but you continue to get criticism for not taking proper fights without people really putting the blame on people who have to agree to fight you. How does that make you feel when people say that about you?

Gennady Golovkin: I feel great. I feel good now. This fight is really important for my career, and for everybody, for my people, for my team. Thank you very much for my people. It’s very important for me, this fight with Willie, right now my focus is on Willie Monroe because he’s a great champion, he’s a great challenger for me and he may be next champion. Every fight is important for me.

Q. With fighting against Willie Monroe, he’s a southpaw, and we’ve seen a lot said that you wanted to face that type of opponent, who is a southpaw. What do you hope that this performance will show to people watching you about your style, and the way you fight?

Gennady Golovkin: I want to fight a southpaw because I want to show everybody that I can beat any style, it doesn’t matter. Anybody, strong guy, tall guy, short guy, just anybody. I’m very anxious. This is a big test for me. I remember a lot of fighters, like Canelo, Cotto, and a lot of great champions have have problems with southpaws. So why not test myself.

Q. Abel, Gennady kind of answered the question I was about to ask, but what I guess from a trainer’s standpoint, what do you see Willie Monroe bringing to the table that Gennady hasn’t yet seen on his way up?

Abel Sanchez: A lot of movement and slickness and if Gennady fights a southpaw in the future were better prepared for the style.

Willie is a proven and good fighter in, like I said in the Boxcino Tournament, so it’s not like we’re fighting a guy that’s on-that has never been in a situation like this. The difference is he’s going to go in against Golovkin and Golovkin seems to bring these guys down to the level that they’re not much for him, but if Willie brings his A game, I think we’re looking at five or six tough rounds, and then the stretch will be who’s got more in the tank.

Q. Gennady, I know you can’t force the other middleweights to get in the ring with you; all you can do is just entertain. Do you feel kind of obligated though to carry the middleweight division right now? Like, you’re the guy that everyone’s going to look to as the one middleweight that will fight everyone.

Gennady Golovkin: Yes. I want to fight to unify the titles. For me, it’s very important who’s number one; who’s best in the world in the middleweight division.

Q. Yes. This is a question for Tom. You said in your intro that you thought fans were yearning for some excitement after what had happened Saturday. As a promoter, is there any fear of a backlash in the business? And what I guess would serve as a follow-up as Gennady is poised to be maybe the next face of boxing, maybe he can capture some of the crossover fans. Will that be harder to do now?

Tom Loeffler: I don’t think there’ll be a backlash. I think it’ll make fans appreciate Gennady’s style more when they see what he actually brings into the ring with him. He always tries to-Abel trains him in a style to provide excitement, to provide value for the fans, and I think the fans will appreciate instead of having to buy this fight on pay-per-view, they’ll get to see it on HBO, and they’ll see an entertaining show with Chocolatito as the co-feature, with Gennady, and Willie Monroe Jr. in the main event. I think it’s a great matchup of styles, and I think it’ll be a challenge to see if Gennady keeps his knockout streak alive and that’s what fans have really come to appreciate.

They know every time they come to see Gennady fight live, every time he’s fought, whether it’s Danny Geale, or whether it’s Marco Antonio Rubio at the StubHub Center last year. I mean, they’ve seen an exciting fight, and I think you’ll see the same type of fight, and interesting matchup coming this Saturday on May 16th at The Forum.

Q. Alright. Abel, same question?

Abel Sanchez: I think that we owe it to the fans to provide entertainment. I’ve said from the beginning that I wanted Gennady to be the kind of guy that you look forward to leaving home/work early on Saturday night to be able to watch all the pre-stuff in the fight to see more about Gennady. I wanted him to be that kind of individual inside the ring, not so much outside the ring, but I think that we’re getting to that point now.

Willie presents the next test. Hopefully, after Willie, if everything goes well on the 16th, and Willie cooperates, we can have a bigger name, but right now it’s Willie in front of us, and we’re going to put on that show, or Gennady’s going to put on that show to make sure that the fans go away with a smile on their face and hoping to find out when he fights again.

Q. Andy Lee against Kid Chocolate turned into a draw. You’ve got Miguel Cotto, who’s just kind of out there looking for that big fight. Do you want to stay at middleweight because you’ve said that you would drop down, and obviously the big fight that I think if we could all snap our fingers and make it happen is you and Mayweather? Would you move down a little bit at a catch weight or will we see you moving up, perhaps, to go for the super middleweight title?

Gennady Golovkin: Yes. Right now, my focus is on 160. My goal is to hold all the belts. Absolutely, I hope for a big fight with Miguel because he has the WBC title, I have the WBC interim belt, and of course I want a unification fight with Andy Lee. I think he’s ready and, of course, my dream fight is against Floyd.

Q. Good morning on the West Coast, everybody. Tom, this question is for you, and it’s a bit of a follow-up about the promoter’s job in the wake of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. With casual fans, perhaps, grumbling about the lack of action, do you think that was a net-win or a net-plus overall for the sport of boxing with the enormous attention on that fight? And, does that change your approach two weeks in the wake of this enormous media onslaught and attention to boxing?

Tom Loeffler: I think the exposure to boxing was a net-win for it. I think fans might have been disappointed that paid a lot of money to actually see it live, or maybe on the pay-per-view; that’s where you really saw the disappointment of the fans. But, I think, again, when you see somebody that’s exposed to the sport of boxing and then they follow-up two weeks later or even one week later. You’ve got Canelo coming up this weekend, also on HBO, and then two weeks later you have Gennady coming back to the ring, it just creates more of an appreciation for those fans that are exposed to the sport for having an exciting fight in the ring.

Q. And on the follow-up, how do you exploit, for lack of a better word, that attention and make sure they’re still around two weeks later to see what we on the call all know would be a very different and highly entertaining contest?

Tom Loeffler: Well, we just try to put on the best shows. When Gennady fought last year at the StubHub, we had Nonito Donaire, and Nicholas Walters as the co-feature, and with this fight we have “Chocolatito” Gonzales against Edgar Sosa, also as a co-feature, so we just try to provide value for the fans. They’ve responded by buying tickets and Gennady had the biggest selling fight ever at the StubHub Center, and there have been many champions who have fought there before, and his ratings continue to reflect that.

So it’s just packaging value for the fans, and it’s just the more people that appreciate the sport of boxing that are exposed to it and then they all have a better sense of when you have an exciting fighter that gets into the ring, and at some point they’ll choose whether they buy a ticket or tune in to different styles.

And I think Gennady’s proven that he provides excitement and every time somebody tunes in or buys a ticket to his fight, they always come away with a sense of excitement, and he brings a lot of fans to the sport, new fans that have never actually been to a boxing match before that came to StubHub, or when he fought in New York in Madison Square Garden. They came specifically to see Gennady and that’s a breath of fresh air for the boxing fans.

Q. Okay. Quick question for you, Abel, first. Gennady has one of the best knockout percentage ratios in the boxing game right now. My question for you is sometimes he doesn’t get credit for his excellent footwork. Is there anything else, specifically, that you’ve found, or that you’ve kind of sharpened in fight camp with him these last few weeks prior to the fight with Willie Monroe?

Abel Sanchez: Well, every training camp that we go into we set aside a couple things that we’re going to concentrate on for the particular fight we have coming up. For Willie, we have a couple things that we’re working on to combat some of his, not only movement, but also the way he tries to be slick.

So, hopefully the reason for that is hopefully in ten, twelve fights, we covered a lot of the areas that need to be covered to improve his game. Gennady’s a student of the game. Gennady loves learning new things, Gennady’s always paying attention, so it’s easy to show him something and to ask for him to do something and he repeats it. Max and I, his brother Max and I will talk about what it is that we want him to do and then Gennady executes it the way we want it.

Fortunately, for this camp we had two very good sparring partners in Julius Jackson and Raymond Gatica that provided us that canvas for Gennady to practice some of the things that we’re trying to improve on for this fight.

Q. Was anything different now fighting a southpaw that you felt like you had to kind of enhance or work on a little more?

Abel Sanchez: Oh, absolutely. Willie Monroe’s not a standard southpaw. He’s very slick. He has very good wheels, so it’s going to be a process of trying to cut him off and practicing that in the gym to be able to cut him off and react to the situations, so he’s done it very well. He’s adapted very well to what we wanted for this particular fight, in addition to the things that we were doing in the past. So we’re looking forward to a great night.

Q. Okay. My question to you is, is it a little frustrating for you sometimes, I know you fight four times a year, more or less, give or take, you try to stay active. Is it frustrating for you sometimes when you start to see some of these guys like Miguel Cotto, he’s able-and you want to try to get to fight some of these really good guys, and sometimes it’s difficult for you? How do you stay focused knowing that you want to fight some of these really great champions, and it’s a little difficult for you?

I know that you say sometimes you’re into the Mexican fighters, and so I’m assuming that you want to emulate their greatness.

Gennady Golovkin: I kind of just see my situation now as just I’m ready. You know you’re right, absolutely, that’s not my focus. My focus is on who is number one in the middleweight division. It doesn’t matter how many fights per year, five, six, I remember, like Chavez Sr., a lot of great champions, every second month he had a big fight. For me, right now I’m ready for big fight, I’m ready. I know I have just maybe couple years, maybe three years, maybe four years, I’m ready for six fights per year. I’m ready for anybody.

Q. Is Chavez your favorite Mexican fighter?

Gennady Golovkin: Yes. Chavez, Sr. is. I love great champions from Mexico. I like Chavez Sr.’s style, like moving, and the strategy, I like this. I like the style because he will fight anybody and anytime. It may only be five, six, seven times per year. Same for me, I’m ready.

Q. So, is that why you try to fight as often as you do?

Gennady Golovkin: Absolutely, yes.

Bernie Bahrmasel: We’re going to wrap up Gennady Golovkin’s side. Tom, if you want to make some closing comments, and tell the media where their readers can get tickets?

Tom Loeffler: Absolutely. Again we’re all excited about Gennady coming back to Southern California May 16th against Willie Monroe Jr. It’ll be at The “Fabulous” Forum. It’s a great building that’s event better since it was renovated. It has such a great history of legendary fights being held there and now with this fight card coming to the L.A. area, I think we’ll see a great turnout. We priced the tickets for the fans starting at the $30 and they are available at TheForum.com, and also at TicketMaster.com. Gennady’s last fight in LA sold out, so we advise the fans to buy their tickets early so they don’t run into the same problem last time when there was no tickets available.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Abel, do you want to give the media some closing comments before we get back to training?

Abel Sanchez: Absolutely. I’d like to thank them for their support and their calls and their questions. Make sure that you tune in and see another great fight from Gennady on his way to superstardom.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Thanks very much, Abel. Gennady, any more comments before you go back to training today?

Gennady Golovkin: Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much for support. Thank you very much for attention. It is really important for my team, for my career, and I promise great show, great events, just welcome to my Big Drama Show. Thank you.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Thanks very much, Gennady. Thanks very much, Abel. At this time for the media, it is my pleasure to introduce Artie Pelullo from Banner Promotions, who will introduce Team Monroe. Go ahead, Artie.

Artie Pelullo: Hi, guys. Hello. Good morning to everybody. I guess the opening statement that I would like to make is I would like to thank Gennady Golovkin and Tom Loeffler for giving Willie Monroe this opportunity. As we all know, Willie is number two in the world, and the reason why we’re here is because of how well he did in 2014 by winning four fights in a row, including the tournament that ESPN had the ability and the foresight to put on called Boxcino. And then Willie came back and then won a unanimous decision after winning the tournament against Bryan Vera, which now has put him in the status to challenge the best middleweight in the world, and it’s going to be a very interesting fight.

It’s a fight that we believe we can win. Most people don’t think Willie can win the fight, but we do; that’s why we took it. And it’s going to be a terrific fight, and I think Gennady is going to be in for a very difficult fight with a very good fighter who can do things that nobody who’s fought Gennady has done before.

So, I just want to say thank you to Gennady because it’s a voluntary fight, and he said he wanted to fight a tough guy who is a southpaw and this is the best southpaw out there. And Tom Loeffler’s a very good guy, a friend of ours and mine, not ours, mine, and has been able to make this deal rather quickly.

I want to thank HBO for also for putting the fight on because Peter Nelson who buys the fight for HBO realized that this is going to be a very compelling match, and back then to my opening statement. I want to thank everybody. Bernie, you’re doing a good job, and then now what Bernie. I guess, where’s this-is Willie on the line?

Willie Monroe Jr.: Yes, I’m here.

Artie Pellulo: Go ahead, Willie.

Willie Monroe Jr.: I’m just grateful. I’m grateful for the opportunity. Thanks to Banner Promotions for putting me in the position to fight for the middleweight world championship against the greatest middleweight in the world at this time, and I’m blessed. So, thanks to Banner Promotions, and ESPN Boxcino and HBO. Thank you.

Artie Pellulo: Tony, would you like to say a few words?

Tony Morgan: Yes. How you all doing? I just want to say we’re glad to have the opportunity. Thanks to Tom Loeffler, Banner Promotions, HBO for giving us this opportunity to do what we do. Thank you.

Q. Hi, Willie. In your opening remarks, you referred to Gennady Golovkin, saying you’d be grateful to fight for the middleweight championship against the fighter known as the greatest middleweight of his time. I just want to know if you believe that Gennady is the best middleweight out there today.

Willie Monroe Jr.: I mean, what he’s done is he’s proven himself. And he’s widely known as the best middleweight out there, so you can’t argue with it, and obviously, I’m up there around two or number three, so that’s why I’m thankful for this fight. So, I can’t chop the man down. I won’t sit up here and chop him down because once I win, then I’ll be chopping myself.

Q. Right. Okay. Do you believe there’s any fight that you’ve had, leading into this, that can prepare you? I mean, obviously, Gennady’s better than everyone you’ve fought, but is there any particular style that you’ve faced that prepares you for what to expect next Saturday?

Willie Monroe Jr.: I think my whole career from the amateurs all the way up to now has prepared me for this opportunity. I mean I had 142 amateur fights, I’m a three time national champion.

I fought in Boxcino-I mean, Gennady is a little bit of a mixture of everyone I fought in Boxcino all the way up to Bryan Vera. So I think this is the pinnacle, and it’s my job to go in and do what I do best.

Q. Hi, guys. Thanks for taking the time to do the call. Appreciate it. The question is for trainer Tony Morgan. Tony, you were in the news recently, a slight misstep it looks like. I’m not sure the situation and specifics, but I’m wondering has there been any interruption in training, and has that affected things at all, and how’s the relationship with you guys? And, how’s training going?

Tony Morgan: Flawless. We don’t have any issues. Everything is in the hands of my attorneys with my situation. The situation here is just training camp and that’s-we’re going to go through and do what we do, and put the pieces of the puzzle together, and solve the puzzle that nobody seems to be able to do.

Q.: Hi, Tony. It’s also the question for the trainer. We all think that this fight will be about speed versus power, and power on the side of Gennady, obviously, and the speed, which is supposed to prevent him to knockout his punches will supposed to be the number one most important thing for your fighter, for Willie. How do you see the fight? Are we wrong? Are we right? Give us a little bit, a glimpse of what we can expect from Willie in this fight.

Tony Morgan: I think the fight will truly be won by ring intelligence. I think what we bring to the table is something Gennady’s never seen and realistically can’t prepare for. I mean, there’s really only one Willie Monroe. There’s two guys, maybe three that mimic his style that is very fast, very elusive.

Willie had a lot of knockouts in the amateurs, not saying Willie always goes in there to be a big puncher, but I think people are going to be surprised as they were with Bryan Vera. I think it’s going to be a big surprise for a lot of people, not for us, but for everybody else.

Q.: And one more question, this time for Willie. All those talks, all those bets around Las Vegas and all over the world from 60:1 to 80:1 for Golovkin is just bulletin board material for you? Do you need extra motivation? Do you use this as extra motivation or are you just pushing this all information about you being basically-you basically lost already before you went into the ring? You just don’t pay attention to it?

Willie Monroe Jr.: I mean, after this fight is over, and I’m the new WBA champion, I will tell you guys a little story, and give you guys a little insight on my personal life, but I say that to say this. I’ve been the underdog since I was conceived in my mother’s womb, and I mean that literally; that’s not a figure of speech. I mean that literally.

So, being an underdog is what I relish because those are the moments where I rise to the occasion and do-sometimes I surprise myself with how good I do, so I’m in my element. If I was the favorite, then I’d be a little worried, but being the underdog is what I actually relish because it motivates me to do what I need to do.

Everybody’s different. Some people need to be encouraged and told that they’re the best, to be the best, and some people need to be told that you can’t do it, so they can go out there and prove that they can. And I’m one of those people that’s always looking to prove people wrong.

Q. Alright. So, of course this is the biggest fight of your career and being the fact that boxing has probably been in the best shape that it’s been in quite a while, how do you feel about being part of boxing’s future, going forward?

Willie Monroe Jr.: It’s a blessing. This is something that we’ve said since I turned pro. My trainer’s always said I will resurrect boxing; I will bring back the true essence of boxing and being articulate, inside as well as outside of the ring.

Well now, I think the timing is perfect. I mean, it’s a blessing for me. I’m blessed, and I’m elated to have this opportunity and this is just the beginning.

At the end of the day, it’s all about what I do. I mean, it doesn’t matter the pedigree or where you come from or what the name is, it’s all about how you apply yourself and what you do in the ring and what you do in training camp leading up to the fight. So, I really try not to live off what my dad and my uncle did. I’m creating my own legacy, and my own right, and as of right now, I’ve made it further than both of them already.

So, it’s really nothing for me to do me and be me.

Q. Alright. Thanks for taking my call. This question is for Willie. From looking at you, you are a boxer, a very slick guy, and a lot of technical skill. Who did you look up to? Who do you pattern your style after, in terms of as a fighter?

Willie Monroe Jr.: My two favorite fighters, premier fighters are the champions, Roy Jones, Jr., and Sugar Ray Leonard. Anybody who was fast and very elusive and could do things physically that other fighters just can’t pull off, and do it in such a pretty fashion. Those are the guys that I look up to.

Hector “Macho” Camacho Sr., Pernell Whitaker, all of those guys that were special, physically and mentally special. So those are the guys that I like to watch all the time and emulate.

Q. Thank you very much, and hi, everybody. Willie, it was right before you were going into training camp, you were on with myself and Gerry Cooney. You said you were very confident about this fight. How did training camp go and how do you feel?

Willie Monroe Jr: Training camp’s good. Training camp’s great. I’m more confident now that we’re in tiptop shape, but I mean everything is good. Everything is good. This is the fight I’ve wanted. This is the fight I said I wanted right after Boxcino.

A lot of people are insinuating that oh, you must be getting paid a lot of money. I mean, this is the fight I asked for. When all the blogs and different interviews, they asked me what middleweight would you like to fight? I said Gennady Golovkin. I mean, he’s the best. So, you either go hard or go home.

So, I mean, everything’s good. Camp is great. I’m having fun. I mean, just ask yourself who is my trainer, then you know how good training camp is going. I got the best trainer in the world.

Q. Okay, and let’s see, let’s go back to upsets, Leon Spinks over Muhammad Ali, Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson. This is really going to be looked at because GGG is certainly in the top two or three pound for pound in the world. If you win this fight, it’s going to be one of the biggest upsets over the last 30 years or so. How do you look at it?

Willie Monroe Jr.: I look at it the same way, and you have to. I mean, look what he’s accomplished as a fighter; 19 straight knockouts. He made his American debut in 2012, and he’s knocked out everybody thus far. And I mean like why wouldn’t you want to take that cloak of invincibility from somebody? And, I mean, I’m the one that can do it.

But, I mean, once the bell rings, and on May 16th nobody can get in there and fight for him, nobody can get in there and fight for me, it’s all about what we apply and what we adjust to that night and may the best man win.

Q. You got it. Final question. Were you disappointed in the big fight the other night, Mayweather and Pacquiao?

Willie Monroe Jr.: Not really because I knew it was going to be like that. It’s one of those stylistically matchups where you just kind of know what’s going to happen, and I’m glad it’s done and over with, so people can stop talking.

Q. Thank you very much. This is a question for Tony. Tony, I’m not going to ask you to give away any of your training secrets before the fight, but you did mention-there was a mention in the lead up that you’re going to be bringing something different to the fight. Let me put it in these terms. In watching Golovkin’s previous opponents, did you identify any mistakes that you think Willie can correct in this fight?

Tony Morgan: I think that Golovkin makes a lot of mistakes. I think he’s beatable. I think any guy’s beatable if you bring the right plan to the table, but yeah, we’re going to capitalize on his mistakes and I don’t want to say we’re going to expose him because he is a great fighter, but we’re going to expose Willie. We’re going to expose what Willie really is, and what he’s really capable of doing.

Q. And Tony, on your follow-up to the question, and that’s a great answer. The question was actually aimed at Golovkin’s opponents and their mistakes that you might be able now to avoid? So, have you looked and seen that the Geale’s and the Murray’s and the Macklin’s of the world, did they do anything that you think you and Willie can avoid?

Tony Morgan: One hundred percent, all of them are pretty much all flat-footed and all of them stand in front of Golovkin. Sooner or later, he gets people to stand in front of him. I don’t think he’s going to be able to capitalize on anything that he’s used to doing because he’s never fought anybody the caliber of Willie Monroe.

I’m not saying that we beat everybody who is out there. We don’t have a name like he does, but the style that Willie presents is a style that’s imitated by no one, really.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Artie, we’re going to go ahead and wrap up the call if you want to make your closing comments and have Tony and Willie join you, that would be fantastic.

Artie Pelullo: Sure. Listen, once again, I want to thank everybody for giving Willie the opportunity. I think Tony and Willie said it right, and we all know that it’s going to be a great fight. We’re going to win the fight, and that’s how much confidence we have in Willie’s ability. But if it wasn’t for Tom Loeffler and Gennady Golovkin and HBO giving Willie this opportunity, we wouldn’t be here.

So, I want to say thank you to everybody. We’re going to be out there off all week, so there’s a lot going on. Willie will be available to do interviews one on one, there’ll be an open workout, and just want to thank everybody for having us and it’s going to be a great show. It’s going to be a very good fight. It’s going to be much more than people realize what Willie can do, and it’s going to be a great show, and I think that Gennady Golovkin knows that, and I think he’s taking it very seriously.

So, once again, thank you, everybody, and I’ll turn it over to Willie and then Tony. Go ahead, Willie.

Willie Monroe Jr.: I’m just thankful for this opportunity and like Artie eluded to, you have to thank GGG and his camp for taking this fight and for giving Willie an opportunity, myself, Willie Monroe, an opportunity to tango with the best, and I’m happy, so thanks Tom Loeffler, thanks team GGG. And an even bigger thanks to my team for believing in me and putting in the work the last seven weeks. May 16th is show time.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Go ahead, Tony.

Tony Morgan: I just want to say thanks for all the support, thanks for GGG’s team for allowing us to get this opportunity, thanks for Artie, and Banner Promotions, and we’re going to go out and do what we do. We win, that’s what we do, so I just want to say thanks and thanks for the interview and appreciate the publicity.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Thanks very much, gentlemen. Again, this is going to be a tremendous fight. This is the best middleweight in the world against a fighter who’s truly earned this opportunity to fight him. And we look forward to seeing all the media in Los Angeles next week, and we look forward to everybody watching the fight on May 16th on HBO. Thanks very much, everyone.

GOLOVKIN VS. MONROE FIGHT INFO:
Gennady Golovkin vs. Willie Monroe is a 12-round middleweight world championship bout presented by K2 Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Banner Promotions and the Forum. The fight will take place Saturday, May 16 at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. PT and the first bout starts at 4:45 p.m. PT., the HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Golovkin, 32-0 (29KO’s) will be defending his World Boxing Association, International Boxing Organization and “Interim” World Boxing Council Middleweight World Titles against #2 ranked challenger Monroe,
19-1-0 (6KO’s).

Co-featured on the telecast is 12-round junior flyweight matchup between World Boxing Council Champion ROMAN “Chocolatito” GONZALEZ, 42-0 (36KO’s) and #2 ranked challenger and former world champion EDGAR SOSA, 51-8-0 (30KO’s).

Advance tickets, priced at $300, $200, $100, $60 and $30, are now on-sale through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000) and the Forum Box Office.

GOLOVKIN vs. MONROE is presented by K2 Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Banner Promotions and the Forum.

Co-featured on the telecast is an outstanding Junior Flyweight matchup between World Boxing Council Champion ROMAN “Chocolatito” GONZALEZ and #2 ranked challenger and former world champion EDGAR SOSA.

GONZALEZ vs. SOSA is presented by K2 Promotions and Teiken Promotions in association with Zanfer Promotions.

SOCIAL MEDIA: For more information, visit www.K2Promos.com,www.GGGBoxing.com, www.Banner-Promotions.com, www.FabulousForum.com andwww.HBO.com/boxing.

Follow on Twitter at Gennady Golovkin @GGGBoxing, Willie Monroe Jr.@WillieMonroeJr, Roman Gonzalez @ChocolatitoBox, Edgar Sosa@EdgarSosaChamp, Tom Loeffler/K2 Promotions @TomLoeffler1, Banner Promotions @BannerBoxing, the Forum @theForum and HBO Boxing @HBOBoxingand become a fan on Facebook www.facebook.com/GGGBoxing,www.facebook.com/WilieMonroeJrFanPage,
www.facebook/BannerPromotions, www.facebook.com/TheForum andwww.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.

Use the hashtags #GolovkinMonroe and #GonzalezSosa to join the conversation on Twitter.

FORMER WORLD CHAMPION  DANIEL GEALE  WRAPING UP TRAINING CAMP IN AUSTRALIA  AHEAD OF SHOWDOWN WITH WBC MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION  MIGUEL COTTO ON JUNE 6 AT BARCLAYS CENTER LIVE ON HBO

 Geale Set To Complete Training Camp In The United States

Photos by Team Geale

NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA (May 7, 2015) – Former Two-Time World Champion, Daniel Geale (31-3, 16 KO’s) is finalizing his last days of training in Australia as he prepares for his upcoming June 6 world championship bout against WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KO’s) which will be televised live on HBO from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

 

“Training camp has started off on the right track,” said Daniel Geale. “I’m super focused on Miguel Cotto and we have a nice game plan were working on.  My countrymen have shown a tremendous amount of support since I came back from the press conference.  I’m getting some good work with some mates here at home and my body feels good.  I’ll be leaving to start training in the United States shortly and it’s something I’m looking forward too. Cotto is a great champion, but I’m coming to win and bring that belt home to Australia.”

 

“Daniel Geale and his team have assured me that he’s looking real sharp in camp,” said co-promoter Gary Shaw.  “We have everything set up once he arrives in the United States.  This is a fight the fans won’t want to miss.”

 

Cotto vs. Geale, a 12-round fight for Cotto’s WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championships, takes place Saturday, June 6 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and will be televised live on HBO.  The fight is presented by Roc Nation Sports and Miguel Cotto Promotions in association Gary Shaw Productions and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. Tickets priced at $500, $350, $250, $200, $150, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available for purchase 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. Doors open at 6:00 PM, the first fight begins at 6:15 PM and the HBO telecast begins at 10:30 PM ET/PT.

 

For more information please visit www.rocnation.com. Follow Roc Nation on Twitter and Instagram @rocnation and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RocNation.

 

For more information, visit www.hbo.com/boxingfollow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.

 

About Roc Nation Sports

Roc Nation Sports, a sub-division of Roc Nation, launched in spring 2013. Founder Shawn “JAY Z” Carter’s love of sports lead to the natural formation of Roc Nations Sports, helping athletes in the same way Roc Nation has been helping artists in the music industry for years. Roc Nation Sports focuses on elevating athletes’ career on a global scale both on and off the field. Roc Nation Sports conceptualizes and executes marketing and endorsement deals, community outreach, charitable tie-ins, media relations and brand strategy. Roc Nation Sports launched its boxing division, a full service promotional company which represents world champions Miguel Cotto and Andre Ward, in August 2014.  Roc Nation Sports’ roster includes premiere athletes such as Robinson Cano, Skylar Diggins, Kevin Durant, Geno Smith, Victor Cruz, CC Sabathia, James Young, Dez Bryant, Ndamukong Suh, Rusney Castillo, Yoenis Cespedes, Jaelen Strong, Todd Gurley, Wilson Chandler, Erick Aybar, Justice Winslow, Willie Cauley-Stein and Frances Tiafoe.

 

About Miguel Cotto Promotions

Miguel Cotto Promotions is the leading promotional company in Puerto Rico founded by the five-time and four-division world champion Miguel Cotto and entrepreneur Hector Soto in 2005. Miguel Cotto Promotions has the vision of developing the besttalent in Puerto Rico and Latin America, while searching for the best partnerships in the business to present the best quality shows in the industry. In 2015, Miguel Cotto Promotions launched their most recent project named “Boxeo Al Maximo” in partnership with Univision Puerto Rico network, capturing great ratings results on the new Saturday night fights’ platform.

 

About Gary Shaw Productions

Based out of New Jersey, Gary Shaw Productions was founded in 2002 by President and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Shaw, a former NJ regulator. Having promoted boxing shows in China, Australia, Mexico and the U.K., GSP is known as an international enterprise, whose main objective is to bring excitement to boxing with competitive fights.  Partaking in some of the biggest events in boxing history, which include Felix Trinidad vs. Fernando Vargas, Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko, Winky Wright vs. Felix Trinidad, Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo, Shane Mosley vs. Winky Wright and Marquez vs Vasquez I, II & III, GSP has solidified its self as one of the top promotional companies in the sport.

 

About Barclays Center

Barclays Center opened on September 28, 2012, and is a major sports and entertainment venue in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. One of the most intimate seating configurations ever designed into a modern multi-purpose arena, Barclays Center offers 17,732 seats for basketball, 15,795 for hockey, and up to 19,000 seats for concerts, and has 101 luxury suites, four bars/lounges, four clubs, and 40/40 CLUB & Restaurant by American Express.

 

Barclays Center hosts an extensive variety of events, including premier concerts, major professional boxing cards, top college basketball, family shows, the Brooklyn Nets and soon the New York Islanders.

 

Barclays Center has redefined the arena customer service and culinary experience. Its more than 2,000 employees are trained by Disney Institute, the business advisory arm of The Walt Disney Company, and its BrooklynTaste™ food program features selections from 55 well-known restaurants and vendors in the borough.

 

Barclays Center engages the customer with state-of-the-art technology to enhance the fan experience. As the first arena in the world to utilize Cisco StadiumVision mobile multicast streaming technology, Barclays Center allows fans to watch live video and instant replays from their mobile phones while connected to the arena’s free Wi-Fi.

 

Located atop one of the largest transportation hubs in New York City, Barclays Center is accessible by 11 subway lines, the Long Island Rail Road, and 11 bus lines.

For more information on Barclays Center, please visit www.barclayscenter.com

Danbury Fight Night Card Set For May 30 

Danbury, CT (May 6, 2015)– On May 30th Prize Promotions presents their first professional boxing card, Danbury Fight Night, taking place at the Danbury Arena, in Danbury, CT. This action packed card is loaded with some of Connecticut’s fastest rising stars, and will be headlined by the much anticipated return of former amateur sensation, and undefeated professional Tramaine “Mighty Midget” Williams.

Williams (8-0 2KOs) out of New Haven, CT, turned pro at the age of 19 after a stellar amateur career, winning his first 8 pro fights in under a year and a half. Legal issues in 2013, halted Williams’ fast track to stardom. After over a year and a half layoff, Williams is set to make his return and reclaim the momentum and buzz that he created as a teenager. Promoter A.J. Galante was happy to give Williams a second chance.

 

“People make mistakes in life, big or small, especially kids. I’m a firm believer in people can learn from them, and I’m big on second chances. I’m proud to be the one to give Tramaine a second chance in boxing, when not a lot of people were willing to. I sat with him, we spoke, and I saw a kid look me in the eye and I saw that he was sincere about getting back on the right track. I’m hoping by giving him a second chance, he will make the most of it, and fulfill his promise. I’m certain a big performance May 30th will catch the eyes of everyone in the sport, which will only lead to more opportunities for him. There is no doubt whatsoever if he can keep his life outside the ring intact, he will be a World Champion,” said Galante.

 

Williams certainly won’t be coming back after a long layoff with a soft touch, he will be taking on Josh Bowles (9-1, 1KO) out of Harrisburg, PA in a 6 round featherweight attraction.

 

Also featured on the card will be New Haven’s Nate “The Great One” Green (7-0, 2KOs) as he takes on tough veteran spoiler Timur Shailezov (17-9-1, 4KO’s) from Kyrgyzstan, currently residing in Philadelphia, PA

 

Galante made clear that he has not signed Williams, Green, or any boxer for that matter to promotional contracts, but he noted there are requirements to fighting under Prize Promotions, “My vision is to give guys opportunities that could springboard them to bigger and better things. I’m looking to actually promote the sport the old fashioned way, and put together exciting 50-50 matchups. I think anyone who fights on my card should be recognized as a throwback fighter, and someone that wants to really become great. My matchmakers Russell Peltz, Brittany Rogers and I have not put any soft matches together. Fans can look at this lineup, and realize it’s nearly impossible for there to be an upset, because all these bouts, top to bottom, are equally matched. Everyone fighting on May 30th understood from the start that they have to fight tough competition, because in the end, it will only bring the best out of them and they will actually grow as a boxer from their matches. Plus the fans deserve it.”

 

This all action night of Professional boxing will also feature some of Connecticut’s most exciting and promising prospects. New Haven’s exhilarating Josh Crespo (3-2-2, 1KO) will take on Edgar Cortes (1-0) in a four round Featherweight bout.

 

Bridgeport’s Oscar Bonilla (3-0-2) puts his undefeated record on the line against Andrew Bentley (2-2-0) in four round Lightweight bouts.

 

Heavyweight Fan favorite and former University of New Haven Basketball star Cassius Chaney (1-0 1KO) of New London, recently signing with powerhouse promoter Main Events, will make his second appearance in a professional boxing ring, after picking up a TKO win in his debut April 17, against an opponent to be announced in a four round bout.

 

In what could potentially be the fight of the night, Veteran Richie “Kid Brasil” Neves(8-2-1, 4KOs) of nearby Hyde Park, NY will take on Gilbert Alex Sanchez (5-6, 2KOs) of Camden, NJ in a Super Welterweight bout scheduled for six-rounds.

 

The night will also feature three highly anticipated debuts from charismatic Light Heavyweight “Fly” Mike Marshall of the Bronx, former amateur standout, Super Welterweight  Mike Rue of Las Vegas, by way of Columbus, Ohio, and decorated amateur Saso Leskaroski of Macedonia.

 

Tickets: $100, $75, $50, $25 – can be purchased at www.prizepromotions.net or call 203.544.2WIN.

 

The Danbury Arena is located at

 

1 Independence Way, Danbury, CT 06810

 

All fights are subject to change & commission approval.

Baltimore Boxing to bring Excitement this weekend to Ocean City!

 

Baltimore, MD (May 6, 2015) – On Saturday, May 9, Baltimore Boxing Promotions will provide a complete evening of entertainment to Ocean City, MD.

 

Tickets from $25 are available on Ticketmaster.com and at the Convention Center Box Office.

 

At 8 PM, an Olympic style boxing card titled “Beatdown at the Beach” takes place at the Ocean City Convention Center. The card is headlined by a heavyweight title match including Baltimore Boxing Gym’s record holding knockout king Sam “Vanilla Gorilla” Crossed vsSalisbury’s KGC for the East Coast crown.  Renowned Joey “Bazooka Joe” Veazy of the Baltimore Boxing Gym squares off against Down Under Boxing’s Nigel Fennell. In addition, Donald Wallace of the Baltimore Boxing Gym meets Ryan Watson of Salisbury, MD, while young phenom Tommy Coe Jr., Ed Park and Omar Serrano will appear in separate bouts.

 

In association with this exciting night of fights, Baltimore Boxing is proudly teaming up with the Worcester County Humane Society’s efforts to find new homes for shelter animals. During the fights, there will be a 50/50 raffle with the proceeds going to the society and Baltimore Boxing is also donating tickets. The Humane Society will also be on hand to answer any questions and distribute information on their organization.

 

Throughout the evening, fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet a number of local notables. World rated cruiserweight Alex Guerrero of Salisbury and undefeated Steve “Show Stealer” Wheeler of Baltimore will be on hand along with legendary trainer Frank Gilbert and Virginia’s Andrew “Doo Man” Farmer. Following his nationally televised match on ESPN 2’sFriday Night Fights the evening prior to “Beatdown at the Beach”, middleweight warrior Jessie “The Beast Nicklow” of Baltimore will be on hand as will Ocean City’s very own Brian Ziegler.

 

Following the fights, all ticketholders are invited to the exclusive after party at Abbey Burger, located at 126th st in Ocean City.

 

“Beatdown at the Beach is not just a fight card, it’s a complete event,” said Smith. “I want every ticketholder to have a blast from the time they enter the Convention Center until their evening is complete. This is why it was important for Baltimore Boxing not only to have an entertaining fight card, but also have special guests and an after party at a popular place. Saturday evening is guaranteed to be a great time for everybody in OceanCity.”

For more information, go to Baltimoreboxing.com

Alyson DeRenzis wins Boxcino Bracket Challenge

Philadelphia, PA (May 6, 2015)— Banner Promotions is pleased to announce that Alyson DeRenzis has taken first place in the Boxcino Bracket Challenge.
Alyson will take home the grand prize of two ringside tickets to the Boxcino finals that will take place on May 22 in Corona, California, a full roundtrip for two to the finals, complete with a hotel stay and meals for two, as well as a guest invitation to the pre-fight weigh in and post fight press conference.  Alyson will also receive two Boxcino t-shirts.
The runner-up is Matt Andrzejewski.  Matt will have two tickets to the finals and two Boxcino t-shirts.
Banner Promotions would like to thank all contestants for their interest and participation!

SHOWTIME SPORTS® ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES “ALL ACCESS” WINS SPORTS EMMY AWARD FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

 

 

NEW YORK (May 6, 2015) – SHOWTIME Sports original documentary series “ALL ACCESS” earned a Sports Emmy for the second consecutive year on Tuesday, taking home the honors for “Outstanding Sports Documentary Series” at the 36th Annual Sports Emmy Award ceremony in New York City.

 

The revealing documentary series, which chronicles the buildup and aftermath of boxing’s biggest prizefights, won its first Sports Emmy at last year’s ceremony for Outstanding Edited Sports Event Coverage with “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo Epilogue.”

 

In 2014, SHOWTIME Sports offered four multi-episode installments of ALL ACCESS, documenting the first and second showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana, Canelo Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo and Canelo Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara.

 

SHOWTIME Sports received a network best nine Sports Emmy Award nominations for the premium networks’ sports programming in 2014.  SHOWTIME has won 11 Sports Emmy Awards in the last five years.

MILITARY VETERAN IN BATTLE OF NATIONAL HONOR AT NEF XVIII

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lewiston, Maine (May 6, 2015) – New England Fights (NEF), America’s number-one regional fight promotion, will hold its eighteenth mixed-martial-arts (MMA) event, “NEF XVIII: Made in America,” on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.   Earlier today, the promotion announced the addition of a professional bantamweight bout to the fight card.  “Shatterproof 2.0” Derek Shorey (2-1) will make his debut in the 135-pound division against Canadian  Jeremy DiChiara (1-0).

 

Shorey is a fitting choice to face the native Ontarian on the patriotic-themed event.  A 2000 graduate of Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, where he won a Class-C state wrestling title in 1998, Shorey is a veteran of the United States Navy.  He served four years of active duty in the branch, and did a tour of Iraq as a member of SEABEE Battalion NMCB 27.

 

Currently the head coach of the Shatterproof Combat Club, Shorey is coming off a victory over John Raio (2-7) last month at “NEF XVII.”  The win gave Shorey the upper hand in the three-fight rivalry between the two athletes dating back to their amateur days. While he has gotten off to a good start to his professional career, Shorey will be the first to admit he has more work to do, and the upcoming battle with DiChiara will be a real test of his skills, especially on the mat.

 

“It is truly an honor to fight in front of the NEF fans and represent this rapidly growing brand against a very dangerous opponent,” said Shorey.  “I feel that I still have a lot to prove to the fans, as well as myself in regards to the fighter I’m becoming, and distancing myself from my amateur days.  Jeremy is an undefeated purple belt in Jiu-Jitsu, which everyone knows has been my biggest weakness.  I see this as an opportunity to show everyone that I’m fixing the problem, and hand a very game opponent his first loss.”

 

Holding a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), DiChiara will undoubtedly test Shorey should the fight go to the ground. DiChiara is undefeated in MMA competition, having gone 2-0 as an amateur and now 1-0 as a professional.  He is accustomed to fighting in hostile territory with previous bouts in Michigan and half a world away in Thailand.  While in Thailand, DiChiara trained with Phuket Top Team.  He is presently a member of Canadian team Wulfrun MMA.

 

NEF’s next MMA event, “NEF XVIII: Made in America” will originate from the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine on June 13, 2015.  Tickets for “NEF XVIII” start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisee box office at207.783.2009 x 525.  For more information on the event and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com.  In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”

 

About New England Fights

 

New England Fights (“NEF”) is a fight events promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.

Fight Report: Ozgul and Khan Secure Titles In York Hall Thriller

Report by: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

Let’s face it, with the amount of column inches dedicated to Mayweather-Pacquiao over the past few weeks, you could easily be forgiven thinking that there were no other boxing events that took place on May 2nd.

Well, there was another fight card, and I’m pleased to say that I was at that event – the Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott promoted Lords of the Ring event at the iconic York Hall in London.

 

OK, admittedly York Hall in Bethnal Green doesn’t have anywhere near the cachet of being at such a mega fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but when it comes to drama and excitement, sorry you just can’t beat small hall boxing, especially when it’s at York Hall.

 

When the event was announced it was due to feature fourteen bouts, but immediately after May-Pac was announced a significant number of the bouts were cancelled, as the fighters wanted to be ringside in Vegas, then in the final build up further fights were off the card, due to injuries, leaving a seven card fight show on the night, or was it.

 

The card was further reduced on the day, after one of the fights was cancelled on safety grounds – due to a 5kg difference in the weight between the two debuting fighters – and if that wasn’t bad enough Manny Muhammad’s opponent, Rafael Snow failed to turn up, leaving just five fights on the night.

 

First up was a six rounder between Liverpool based Russian hot prospect David Agadzhanyan, against Czech Republic’s Josef Redlich, who stepped in at the last minute to save the bout, following Ghana’s Isaac Owusu being forced to pull out due to illness.

 

It took Agadzhanyan just forty five seconds to send Redlich to the canvas for the first time and about the same again to put him down a second time.

 

Redlich was plain outclassed so no surprise that when he went down for the third time that referee Ken Curtis decided to call a halt to proceedings on the two minute and twenty five seconds mark.

 

I’ve seen Agadzhanyan in action a couple of times, including the excellent win over then unbeaten Daniel Bazo back in March, so was really looking forward to seeing him in action against Owusu, a tough uncompromising former Ghanaian Champion and Commonwealth title eliminator challenger, but that’ll have to wait until later this month when the rescheduled bout takes place in Liverpool.

 

Next up was WBF Inter-Continental Champion Paul Economides, in a non-championship six rounder, against another late replacement, Czech Republic’s Petr Gyna, following former British Champ Andy Bell pulling out the week prior and then the original replacement pulling out just two days before the show.

 

Economides is another class act, so no surprise that Gyna was on the canvas within just thirty seconds, on the restart Gyna decided that attack is the best form of defense, however in taking the fight to Economides he played straight into his hands, literally as Economides punished him with a big right, that sent the Czech down to the canvas for a second and final time, on the one minute and twenty five second mark.

 

With both the opening fights finishing early and the live TV broadcast not due to start until 9pm, the promoters had no option but to have quite long interval before the next bout, a six round Light Heavyweight contest between Champions TKO’s unbeaten Hackney based Turkish prospect Onder Ozgul and the entertainer himself Jody Meikle.

 

Throughout the first four rounds Ozgul just walked Meikle down, letting rip with massive right hands at every conceivable opportunity, Meikle is as tough as they come and seemed content to absorb the punishment dished out by the man dubbed ‘Little Mike’ by the Turkish fans.

 

Ever the joker, Meikle played down the punishment he was taking, happily playing to the crowd, as well as infuriating his opponent, by pulling faces and insinuating that there was no power in the Turkish lads shots, however by the fact that Meikle had toned down his antics, clearly showed that Ozgul shots were indeed having the desired effect.

 

Meikle toned down the playfulness of his tactics even further in the fifth, as Ozgul stepped up his attacks, putting even more power into his shots.

 

Right from the start of the sixth it was clear that Ozgul was intent on punishing Meikle even further, backing the Scunthorpe man onto the ropes before letting rip with big double handed flurries, one of which, a cracking body shot, literally knocking the wind out of Meikle and forcing him to take to one knee.

 

On the restart Ozgul went in for the finish, this time Meikle went defensive, no further playing to the crowd, to see it through to the final bell.

 

After six highly entertaining rounds Referee Ken Curtis scored the bout 60-53 in favour of Ozgul.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the fight, I know it wasn’t a classic, but boy oh boy it was very entertaining.

 

The fourth bout of the night see Bradford’s Tasif Khan in Championship action for the first time, against Georgia’s Mikheil Soloninkini, for the International Masters Silver bantamweight title.

 

Khan started fast, boxing beautifully behind his jab the Bradford man kept his slightly more experienced foe on the back foot for the majority of the bout.

 

By midway point Khan slowed the pace slightly, at the same time keeping the pressure on Soloninkini, however about midway through the sixth, during a routine exchange Khan was a little slow bringing up his gloves, leaving an opening for the Georgian to let rip with a big right, which sent Khan to the canvas.

 

On the restart Soloninkini went full out in attack, Khan remained calm and got behind his jab again, the Georgian was well hyped and continued to come forward at pace before throwing huge bombs.

 

During these skirmishes Khan sensibly grabbed hold until referee Lee Murtagh issued the order break. This tactic worked and Khan was able to clear his head enough to turn control back round to himself.

 

Khan had his hands full for the final three rounds though, as Soloninkini had the bit between his teeth and was pushing hard, however Khan is a cool character and seemed content to box of the back foot each time the Georgian made a forceful foray.

 

After ten rounds of excellent boxing, the judges scorecards read – Ken Curtis 99-94, Obie Garnett 98-90 and Matt Hamilton 98-91, all in favour of Tasif Khan.

 

Jennifer Burton, the Northern Region Secretary of the Malta Boxing Commission, presented the familiar blue International Masters belt to the victorious Tasif Khan.

 

Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the fight, even though it was quite one sided for a lot of the time, let’s face it that’s not a statement on the quality of Soloninkini, as his pedigree is well known, this kid’s a tough nut to break, as proved by having taken Jamie Williams the distance, when they fought for the Bronze Masters back in March, as well as fought the sensational Charlie Edwards a couple of weeks later, but to my mind the one-sidedness of the fight as well as the result shows just how good Tasif Khan fought.

 

The headline fight of the night see a rematch between Champions TKO’s unbeaten Hackney based Turkish prospect Siar Ozgul, yep brother to the aforementioned Onder, against Nottingham’s Matt Scriven and this time there was a Championship on the line – The MBC International Welterweight title.

 

When these two first fought, back in October last year, it was an out and out war, Ozgul won but the rounds were so close it could have been a very different result.

 

The bout started in a very similar manner to their October showdown, neither man wanting to concede any ground, however just before the end of the first round Ozgul let rip with a massive right to Scriven’s body, which forced the Nottingham man to cover up to see the round to it’s conclusion.

 

The shot to the body must have really hurt Scriven as he seemed more intent on defense, rather than full on attack, from the start of the second, a pattern that remained for the rest of the bout.

 

Ozgul made most of the running throughout, however Scriven more than held his own during the many skirmishes that ensued, although have to admit he was a little more cautious than during the opening round.

 

After ten rounds of superb boxing the judges scorecards were read out – Lee Murtagh and Matt Hamilton scored the bout 100-90 and Obie Garnett 100-88 all in favour of Siar Ozgul.

 

This was followed by the presentation of the MBC International belt to Siar Ozgul by his fellow Champions TKO gym mate and the current MBC International Super Bantamweight Champion Marianne Marston.

 

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the event, especially the final three bouts, however I was a bit disappointed that some of the planned fights, such as those featuring Iain Weaver, Antonio Counihan, Mark Prince, George Hillyard and the aforementioned Marianne Marston, failed to materialize, because to my mind if they had taken place I feel this almost certainly would have been one of the best shows at York Hall this year, as it was it still was a highly enjoyable and entertaining evening of pugilistic action and a fitting prelude to the May-Pac fight, which promoters Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott arranged for the boxers, their teams and attendees of the event to watch live via satellite at a private function room.