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Lisa Milner
Mauruuru koe, katoa, for joining us today. We have a very exciting call. All four of the fighters participating on the televised portion of a tenei Rāhoroi Premier Boxing Champions on NBC telecast will be with us. We are going to start with the heavyweights, and before we head to those fighters, I’m going to turn it over to Tom Brown, head of TGB Promotions to tell you a little more about the event and introduce our first set of fighters.
Tom Brown
Well, thank you and thank you very much to the media for joining us on this call. TGB Promotions is very happy working again with PBC on this excellent card to be telecast on NBC tenei Rāhoroi afternoon from the famed StubHub Center in Carson. The doors openi runga i Rāhoroi i 11:00 a.m. ki te pere tuatahi i 11:15 a.m. We go on live TV starting at12:00 p.m. PT. It’s a huge sports day for NBC. They’re also telecasting the French Open, the Belmont Stakes, and game two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The main event is former world champion, Robert Guerrero (32-3-1 18 Koó) out of Gilroy, California. Robert’s no stranger to the southern California boxing fans, having posted two huge wins in recent years: the sensational 12-round decision over Andre Berto in November 2012 down in Ontario, and his epic fight-of-the-year win over Yoshihiro Kamegai on June 21, 2014 at the StubHub Center.
Aaron Martinez, West Covina, California e ha lekooti o (19-3-1, 4 Koó). He made his bones on the southern California boxing circuit, and knows how valuable this opportunity to face Guerrero is on such a big platform. Martinez never takes a backward step, never tires, and that’s his primary weapon: incredible stamina. With the styles of Guerrero-Martinez, this main event has all the makings of another action-packed StubHub Center war to add to the venue’s history.
In the televised co-main, the opening fight, we’ve got two outstanding, undefeated young heavyweight prospects: U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale (14-0, 13 Koó). He competed in the 2012 London games, and Yasmany Consuegra (17-0, 14 Koó) outstanding Cuban amateur with a perfect pro record.
Ano, Ka whakatuwhera i te tatau i 11:00 a.m. Tīmata Tickets i $25 and we’re looking forward to seeing the great boxing fans of southern California attend this great event.
L. Milner
We’re going to do the heavyweights now. Dominic, could you make an opening statement before we turn it over to the media?
Dominic Breazeale
This is Dominic Breazeale. Good afternoon, kotiro, me rangatira. I’m excited to be part of this fantastic card this Saturday, Pipiri 6th. Can’t wait to get in the ring and show off my skills.
L. Milner
Great. Mauruuru koe. And Luis DeCubas Jr. is on the line to translate for Yasmany. Luis, could you ask him to make just a quick opening statement and then translate that for us?
Consuegra Yasmany
I want to thank everybody on the call. I want to thank NBC, the PBC, Al Haymon for this opportunity and all the people involved. I look forward to a great fight. I te Rāhoroi, I want to show everyone who I am.
Q
Hey, Dominic, it seems to me it’s safe to say that this is going to be your toughest opponent to date. Would you agree with that, and if so, how excited are you to get this opportunity to move up in competition and show what you’ve been able to learn?
D. BREAZEALE
Definitely toughest competition to date thus far. Tino, Yasmany is 17-0, 14 Koó. One of those guys that steps in the ring with a ton of confidence. We’re both undefeated fighters and I was extremely excited when I got the call. Thanks to Al and the team. Thanks to NBC, we’ll be able to perform in front of the whole world, nationwide, and I couldn’t ask for more. It’s a great setting, a great way to have a stepping-stone to the next level. I want to be considered the top heavyweight and I guess you’ve got to fight top guys to get there.
Q
What do you know about Consuegra?
D. BREAZEALE
I know he’s got a great amateur record. I know he did real well in Cuba, the Cuba National team. He had some great fights here in the States. He fought a lot in Florida.I know he’s got a boxing style. I know he’s going to come out tough. Cuban fighters always do.
Q
Dominic, you’ve had a lot of knockouts in your early career in the pros, but this is going to be your biggest fight yet with another undefeated fighter. Can you talk about your transition from the amateur style, which obviously you had to do in the Olympics, to the professional style?
D. BREAZEALE:
Like you said, it’s going to be a big fight with a guy that’s undefeated. I’m sure he’s coming in looking to knock me out. I’m coming in to knock him out, no te tino. Ko, amateur transition into the pros, I would say was a little bit easier for myself than it was for most amateurs. The amateurs, a lot of my wins came by way of knockouts, so I’ve been knocking guys out since day one.
It’s one of those things that I transitioned from putting punches in bunches to putting punches in bunches with power. I’m throwing a lot more punches now. I’m putting a lot more punches together with power. Every punch I throw has got devastating power. I not only punch with the right hand, but I can punch with the left. So long as I make contact, somebody’s going down for sure.
Q
Can you talk about the experience factor? You both fought a number of guys who have a lot of fights under their belt. Tana whawhai whakamutunga, he defeated Taurus Sykes, who’s been around for a long time, a guy with a winning record. Tell us where you think you’re at. Because eventually, everybody wants to become a world champion, but what level do you think you’re at and how does that compare to Yasmany?
D. BREAZEALE
I think I’m right up there, ki te kore, definitely above him. I’ve fought some very experienced guys and guys that have been former Olympians, me. Guys like Matt Galer, who have been in heavyweight ranks and considered top contenders at one point. Me and Matt put on a great fight.
My last fight with Victor Bisbal, that was March 7th o tenei tau. He’s a Puerto Rican Olympian. He came out with a great amateur background, very good professional background. When I finally beat him he had fought some experienced guys as well, so I definitely have the experience there. Not only as an amateur, but definitely as a pro, rawa.
Q
And a similar question for Yasmany. Ki ahau, it looks like this is going to be your biggest fight as a pro. Where do you think you are as a professional at this point? Where do you think you rank overall in the professional ranks?
Y. Consuegra
It’s definitely my toughest fight. Breazeale’s a real good fighter out of the pros, but I’ve also had a great amateur background. I fought the best of the best, mārama. The Cuban heavyweight program is much more difficult than the American heavyweight program, and he was an Olympian, but I won a lot of world amateur tournaments. I look forward to just getting in the ring with Breazeale and showing what I’ve got, because I think I could beat Breazeale, and I think I’m ready for Breazeale. The top guys in the division, I’m going to show them.
Q
Yasmany, how influenced are you by some of the great Cuban fighters and heavyweights of the past year: Teófilo Stevenson, Pirika Savon, and many others? How much of a role have they played in influencing your style?
Y. Consuegra
Oia mau, Cuba has a great history of Cuban amateur heavyweights. I like to put my style more toward Savon, who is a power puncher, as looking for the knockout at all times. And Stevenson’s a great fighter, but he’s more of a boxer, so was Roberto Balado, but that’s definitely a great point.
Q
How does it feel to be fighting on NBC in front of such a big network audience, especially on a day when you’re going to be right in between French Open final and Stanley Cup game. Dominic, could you answer that first?
D. BREAZEALE
I am definitely excited. I’ve got to thank NBC for giving me the opportunity to fight on this card. It’s a wonderful date. Can’t ask for anything better: southern California, poutumarotanga. Sun’s going to be out. The weather is going to be great. Great venue at the StubHub Center there. It’s definitely exciting. Whenever I get a chance to perform in front of a hometown crowd, family and friends, and things like that, it brings out the best in me, so I’m definitely looking forward to it and, like I said, I’ve got to thank NBC, Al HAYMON, Goossen Promotions for putting this all together. My team, all of you guys, I definitely, truly appreciate it.
Q
And Louis, could you ask Yasmany the same question?
Y. Consuegra
Yeah, it’s definitely the biggest fight of my life, the biggest fight of my career. At this moment, I’d also like to thank Dominic Breazeale for taking this type of risk. Not too many guys are willing to take these risks to fight an undefeated heavyweight and fight the best. Na, it’s a big day for both of us, and come Rāhoroi, I’m going to show everybody that I’m one of the top guys in the division.
L. Milner
Te pai, nui. Mauruuru koe, both, so much. We will see you this week for a great event. We have the main event on the line now, so I’m going to turn it back over to Tom Brown to introduce Robert Guerrero and Aaron Martinez. Tom, tango i te reira atu.
T. Brown
Te pai, nui. Mauruuru koe. Tuatahi, I’d like to introduce former world champion, Robert “Ko te Varua” Warrior, ano, ki ha lekooti o 32-3-1 a 18 Koó, making a quick return to the PBC on NBC.
Robert Guerrero
I just want to thank everybody for being on and I’m ready to go.
T. Brown
Te pai, we’ve got Aron Martinez here also, ki ha lekooti o 19-3-1, and he understands how valuable this opportunity is to face Guerrero on such a big platform.
Aron Martinez
Yeah, o te akoranga, Au i konei ahau. Ko te he faingamālie nui hoki ahau; I’m ready for battle. We’re at weight and everything went pretty good at this camp, and what can I say, kotahi? Just excited to fight Rāhoroi.
Q
Robert, you’re a guy that has fought a lot of big name fighters over a really nice career, an illustrious career. Does it become a little more difficult to get up for a fighter like Aron Martinez who is, kind of unknown, at least as compared to the other guys that you’ve fought?
R. Warrior
Kaua e, not at all. Coming off the last fight with a loss at the short end of the stick, it drives you to be hungry. Na, that’s why I wanted to get right back into the ring, stay active. That’s one of the biggest problems with being inactive and not having enough action throughout the year. The year layoffs, a nine-, eight-month layoff, it really kills you, especially at that championship elite level. It’s hard to come back and be 100 percent sharp, so the plan is to just stay sharp all year and get back on it.
Q
He aha e koutou e mohio e pā ana ki a ia? Do you watch any tapes of your opponents or anything like that?
R. Warrior
Yeah, I’ve watched some tape on him. I watched a few of his fights that I found on YouTube and he’s a crafty little guy. He’s in there and he can fight on the inside. He’s got some good counter shots and he mixes it up. Na, you’ve just got to be ready for everything all around, because you never know what’s going to come your way, especially when this is such a big opportunity for him, fighting on NBC. You know he’s going to come 100 percent ready and that seems to happen all the time when I fight somebody. They come 10 percent better than they were in their last couple of fights, so it’s about being prepared and being ready for whatever comes.
Q
Is there any concern about coming back to the ring so soon after a brutal fight like you just had three months ago?
R. Warrior
Aue, mahi e kore e, not at all. Ki ahau, the fight wasn’t even that brutal. It may have been brutal for Thurman, but I was just getting started toward the end. It actually feels good to get right back in. I got right back into the gym three weeks after that and stayed on it. Na, after I left that ring, I still felt good. My body felt good. I just had that cut, got that taken care of, but other than that, Ite ahau nui. That’s why I’m jumping right back in the ring so quick.
Q
I know you’re a well-known fighter throughout your career, but was there any difference after fighting on that show. That was the most viewed fight in quite a long time, being that it was on free TV on a primetime Rāhoroi po. Na, I just want to know if anything changed on your end, like more notoriety.
R. Warrior
Tino. When you have a 96-year-old woman come up to you in the parking lot and say, “Te tangata, what a great fight; that reminds me of the olden days of boxing,” it’s nice to see that. And you see all the fans coming around and just the average person that’s at the grocery store recognizing you, it’s huge. It’s not just huge for my career, but it’s huge for boxing.
Q
Did that factor into your wanting to come back so soon? I know you said you want to stay sharp, engari, mārama, staying in the public eye helps as well.
Robert Guerrero: Aue, tino. Out of sight, out of mind. So you want to stay active, you want to stay busy; you want to stay sharp. You want to stay in the public eye to make that big run before time passes.
Q
Aron, I just have one question for you. You’ve been out of the ring for over a year since your fight with Josesito. Was there any reason for that delay? Could you just not get fights or did you just want to take the time off to clear your head?
A. Martinez
It was just with my promoter, little here and there, they were not giving me the right fights. Anybody that knows me, I stayed in the gym, because that’s what makes it easy for me, making weight. I never have trouble making weight and that goes to show that I stay active. I stay active in the gym and that’s what it is.
Q
My question is for Robert Guerrero. I was a little disappointed to see that it took you quite a while to get into the fight with Keith Thurman. Do you feel like that’s going to be something you’re going to change for this fight with Aron, is taking off right off the bat, tuatahi a tawhio noa?
R. Warrior
Yeah, it goes back to being active in the ring. Everybody says, pai, Ite ahau nui, there’s no ring rust, and this and that, but you truly don’t know until you get into that ring. Na, those long layoffs really kill me. You develop bad habits. You lay back a little bit too much, and you end up getting started a little bit late like I did in the Thurman fight. But when I did get started, there was no stopping me.
Na, that’s why I want to stay active and stay in the ring. Ka rite ki mea ahau ki te aroaro o, it’s being inactive, not being in the ring fighting. You develop habits where you do start off slowly and I felt like after the fight, when I looked back on it, it felt like I was starting off like I was sparring and just working into it, warming up, and then getting started. Glad to get that fight out of the way and shake off that ring rust, and it’s time to make that push.
Q
First question for Robert. Can you talk about getting up for this fight, because you fought such top level opponents and championship fights, Thurman and Mayweather and higher profile fights, and I think in this fight, you’re going to come in as a favorite. Can you talk about making sure that you don’t overlook Aron Martinez and staying sharp and getting up mentally.
R. Warrior
You never want to overlook anybody. E kore ahau e tiaki te tangata te mea. You’ve got two hands, you can throw a punch. Ka taea e nga mea tupu roto i te whakakai. Na, you never want to overlook anybody. I found that out earlier in my career with a loss against Gamaliel Diaz. I was overlooking him, thought I was going to take him out and he ended up out-boxing me. He beat me by one point.
Na, it’s one of those things where you live and learn. You learn your lesson throughout the years and at this level of boxing and competition, you’ve got to just be able to get up and do your job and be prepared for everything. Na, it’s not a problem. It’s like second nature to me. I wake up every day. I run. I do my gym work. If I don’t do it, it feels like I’m cheating, because I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. Na, it’s just being well-prepared and I’m always well-prepared for every fight, as you’ve seen through my previous fights. I come to fight no matter what.
Q
What do you think your advantages are over him coming into this fight?
R. Warrior
Maybe the arm reach, the hand speed, the height. It’s a matter of not just having the advantages, but putting them to work and using them, and sticking to your game plan and being well prepared and being able to execute. Na, it’s time to react when you get in that ring and what you’re going to do with everything to make it happen.
Q
Aron, I think Robert’s going to be the one coming in as the favorite in this fight, but I just noticed on a lot of the PBC cards, there have been a lot of upsets and unexpected outcomes coming in. Tell us why you’re going in expecting to win and what the effect is being on the PBC card on NBC. Does that add something special to this?
A. Martinez
Yes of course. It’s on national TV at StubHub Center, this is where I grew up. It’s my home base. I’ve got 23 whawhai. Out of these 23 whawhai, I’ve never been the favorite; I’ve always been the underdog. I’m not even supposed to be at this stage. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I’ve never been the favorite in any of my fights, so I come out for every fight. I know Rob, he’s an excellent champion; he’s been in with the best. He knows I train hard for this fight because I really want it and it and I’m going to lay it all on the line. This is what I’m talking about. I’m on to show everybody.
Q
You’re coming off a little over a year layoff as you explained earlier, and he’s coming off just a three-month layoff after a 12-round fight. Do you think that’s going to factor into this fight, especially if it goes the distance?
A. Martinez
Kaua e. It’s like what Robert said. You don’t really know until you get in the ring. We could say a bunch of things now, but you never know until you get in the ring and you actually feel it, because once you’re in the ring, it’s a whole different story, how it’s going to be. We train really, really hard for this fight, a koe rite tatou. It’s whatever I’ve got to do, I’ve got to do. We fight inside we box, whatever. We’re ready for whatever comes our way.
Q
Aron obviously, I know you’re up for this fight, and Robert’s already expressed that he’s trained for this fight and he’s expecting the very best from you, it’s been asked twice on this call if Robert is overlooking you. Do you find that disrespectful that nobody is giving you a shot in this fight? Or do you just use it as extra motivation?
A. Martinez
Kaua e. I don’t find it that way. It’s what it is. Robert has been up there with the best. And I don’t find it disrespectful; it’s just what it is, and it makes me train harder and just to make a point that who I am and they’re going to see Aron Martinez in there i runga i Rāhoroi and they’re going to see who I am.
L. Milner
Te pai, that was our last question. Robert, do you want to make a closing comment?
R. Warrior
Ae. I just want to thank everybody. Thank Al Haymon and thank my team and thank everybody who’s been putting in the work to get this together, and I’m coming to fightRāhoroi po. Ahau rite ki te haere. I’m excited and going on right before the Belmont Stakes and it’s a big event leading into another big event. Na, I’m excited and I just can’t wait to fight.
The thing is staying active all year and doing my job and giving the fans what they love to see and giving them a great fight. Na, thank all the fans and thank everybody that’s on the conference call. I really appreciate it and God bless everybody.
L. Milner
Te pai, thanks. Arona, do you want to make a closing comment?
A. Martinez
Ae, I want to thank NBC, PBC and all. Goossen for giving me this chance to show what I’ve got i runga i Rāhoroi, and I thank Robert, and just give a good show to everybody i runga i Rāhoroi, and I’m ready to push off and I’m ready to go. Mihi, katoa.
Lisa Milner: Mauruuru koe. Fight week events start apopo i 11:00 a.m. at the Wild Card West Boxing Gym with a media workout and I hope to see everybody there. Mauruuru e koe kia nui. Thanks to the fighters. Mihi, Tom Brown, and thanks to the media.
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