Ua tsaug, txhua leej txhua tus, for joining us today for this great call to officially announce a very exciting match up. And without further ado, los tham ib tug me ntsis txog hais tias match li, Kuv yuav ua kom paub Chris DeBlasio, Vice President ntawm kev ua si Communications rau SHOWTIME.

Chris DeBlasio

Ua tsaug, Kelly. I’m going to keep this brief. I know we want to talk to the fighters on this card. But I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t represent for Stephen Espinoza, who couldn’t be on the call today, yuav ua li cas pog peb muaj tus debut ntawm Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. nyob rau ntawm peb network rau Saturday, Plaub Hlis Ntuj 18, rau peb SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader. Nws yuav yog ib lub zoo hmo ntuj. On the call with us and in the ring across from Julio Chavez Jr. rau hmo ntawd yog Andrzej Fonfara, a man that we know that really comes to fight. He brought it on his first fight on SHOWTIME last year when he fought Adonis Stevenson. And that was a thrilling affair. And we’re looking forward to a real test and a great challenge for Chavez Jr. And we’re excited to have him on behalf of all of us at SHOWTIME. We welcome both of you guys and, ntawm chav kawm, thanks to all the press for being on the call. Ua tsaug rau koj, Kelly.

K. Swanson

Ua tsaug rau koj, txhua leej txhua tus. Cas. We’re going to go ahead and introduce the fighters and their trainers for you. First we have Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., yav tas los Middleweight ntiaj teb no yeej, Andrzej Fonfara, lub qub lub ntiaj teb no title challenger, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. — peb yeej paub uas nws yog, thiab yeej tawm ntawm kev hwm rau cov kuj zoo kawg dab neeg hais tias nws yog, peb zoo siab txais tos nws mus rau tus hu — Joe Goossen, uas yog Julio lub tus kws qhia, thiab Sam Colonna, uas yog Fonfara lub tus kws qhia.

Yog li ntawd, lub sij hawm no, dab tsi kuv xav ua yog nug Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. kom qhib lus hais txog qhov no sib ntaus thiab ib tug me ntsis txog tej yam nws yog ua tam sim no nyob rau hauv kev kawm pw hav zoov thiab yog vim li cas nws xav tias hais txog kev sib ntaus.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

I’m training very well. I’m training (ntawm ib tug ntau dua) level than the best. I’m doing more physical training (thiab kuv tau txais los ze zog mus rau lub) luj ntawm 172 phaus. And I think I’m in great shape, koj paub? I have a lot of time and don’t stay in this kind of shape.

K. Swanson

Cas. Now let’s hear from Andrzej Fonfara. Andrzej, yuav koj tham ib tug me ntsis thiab qhia rau peb yuav ua li cas koj xav li cas txog sib ntaus sib tua Jr.?

Andrzej Fonfara

I’m feeling great. I think Chavez Jr. yog ib tug zoo fighter, lub ntiaj teb champion. And you know, it’s good fight for me. I trained hard for the fight. We got very good camp. Tam sim no, we start a sparring session. Koj paub, kuv yuag yog zoo. My training’s–all trainings are good. I spent two weeks in Houston. I’m trained there, heev. Then I’m back to Chicago. We finished camp here. And I’m–koj paub, Kuv npaj txhij rau kom tau raws li nyob rau hauv Chavez lub nplhaib Plaub Hlis Ntuj 18thiab qhia nws tias kuv zoo dua boxer.

K. Swanson

Cas. Excellent. Ua tsaug rau koj heev npaum li cas. Next we’ll have the trainers say something very brief before we turn it over to the media for call. Yog li ntawd, Joe Goossen, he is Julio Cesar Chavez’s trainer at this point. Joe, Koj xav kom koj ua ib tug ob peb comments?

Joe Goossen

Ua tsaug rau koj. Number ib, I want to thank SHOWTIME because we’re very excited about performing for SHOWTIME on Julio’s debut fight with SHOWTIME. And that being said, koj paub, Julio yog heev, very serious about this fight. Like Fonfara, he trained for a few weeks in Los Angeles. Thiab tam sim no, peb nyob rau hauv lub pas dej Tahoe, up in the high altitude in the mountains here. It’s very secluded. It’s very concentrated work. Julio is — Kuv yuav cia li qhia rau koj no — yog heev dlhau no sib ntaus, hlwb, lub cev, and spiritually. He’s shown me that he’s willing to work very hard for this fight, which always works out well when a fighter cooperates in training. And he’s doing that 110 feem pua. And I can’t tell you how happy I am, tus naj npawb ib, yuav tsum tau ua hauj lwm nrog Julio Jr. It’s been something that I’ve always wanted to do. Thiab ntawm chav kawm, I know his father very well. And I’m very honored to be a part of the team. And I can’t wait ’til Plaub Hlis Ntuj 18 to display all of Julio’s talents and to go there. And we’ve got one objective. And that’s to win the fight. With the way Julio’s training, I’m very confident in what we’re doing right now. Yog li ntawd, I’m very happy with that. And I’m sure Andrzej’s doing the same thing, training very hard. Nrog cov uas raug hais tias, ua tsaug rau koj.

K. Swanson

Ua tsaug rau koj. Tam sim no, Sam Colonna, hais tias koj yuav muab peb ib tug saib, thiab ces peb mam li qhib nws li rau cov lus nug.

Sam Colonna

Zoo, thawj, I’d like to thank everybody for getting this together. It’s an honor to be part of it. Tab sis, koj paub, ua ntej lawv khaws Julio Cesar Chavez rau sib ntaus, they were throwing names at us. And I would say no. And another name came. I would say no. As soon as they said, 'Yuav ua li cas txog Julio Cesar Chavez,’ Kuv hais tias, ‘That’s the fight we want.’ The style is perfect for us. He comes right at us. And it’s going to be a great fight for Andrzej to show what the power and the dedication he has towards it. He knows that this fight here is going to bring him to the top. And it’s an honor to fight Julio Cesar Chavez. It’s somebody I wanted him to fight for years. But the weight was never the same. Andrzej moved up. And then now, it’s perfect. Yog li ntawd, it’s going to be a great fight. I think we’re going to bring a lot of action to this fight. And it’s going to be a jammed action fight. I’m glad that this fight happened. And I can’t wait for Plaub Hlis Ntuj 18.

K. Swanson

Cas. Ua tsaug rau koj. Thiab tam sim no, xeem, tab sis tsis tsawg kawg yog, Kuv xav kom tau ib tug ob peb comments los ntawm Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. about his son fighting Fonfara and what he anticipates that will be like. Lub Xya hli ntuj?

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

I didn’t want this fight. Kuv paub hais tias, rau kuv tus tub, I know it’s a hard fight. It’s a difficult fight. And I didn’t want it. Fonfara is very strong. But my son wanted this fight. He wanted fighters that have a high category. He wanted a hard fight. And he believed that winning this fight will give him more credibility. And that’s why he chose Fonfara.

Q

This is for Chavez Jr. Lub Xya hli ntuj, ua li cas koj xav tias tuaj tawm ib lub xyoo hauj lwm?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

Kuv xav tias zoo. Kuv paub tias nws yog yooj yim thaum koj nyob nraum tawm. Nws yog nyuaj heev rau functioning koj sij hawm. Tab sis kuv twb tau kev kawm, working at my skills. And I think, koj paub, Kuv heev ntseeg vim hais tias kuv tau siv tag nrho kuv lub neej nyob rau hauv boxing. Kuv nyob rau hauv lub 13th xyoo ntawm kuv kev ua hauj lwm. Yog li ntawd kuv tsis xav tias qhov no yog ib qho teeb meem vim hais tias qhov no yog nyob rau kev sib ntaus 172 phaus. I don’t need to have a problem with weight. And at 172, I feel good in sparring. I feel good in training. And I think I’m ready for this fight and ready to win another world title.

Q

Hais lus ntawm hais tias lub ntiaj teb no title, ua li cas koj xav li cas txog hais mav xws li Adonis Stevenson thiab Sergey Kovalev?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

Oh, these guys very strong. But I think, tom qab no sib ntaus, Kuv yuav mus rau 168 thiab nyob twj ywm nyob rau hauv no qhov ceeb thawj hauv chav kawm ntawv. Ib los yog ob lub xyoos dhau los kuv tsiv mus rau 175 tab sis hais tias yog heev npaum li cas rau kuv lub cev. Tam sim no, Kuv 168. Tab sis, rau cov ib xyoos tawm, no sib ntaus yog nyob rau 172.

Q

Andrzej, ua li cas koj xav tias lub cev los tawm lub Adonis Stevenson sib ntaus sib tua?

A. Fonfara

Kuv xav tias kuv pom againstStevenson tias kuv yog ib tug dav hlau tua rog. Lub cev, Kuv xav tias zoo tam sim no. Txij li thaum uas sib ntaus, I’ve been training much harder. Kuv xav hais tias, vim hais tias kev sib ntaus, Kuv yog ib tug zoo dua boxer vim hais tias, koj paub, I learn a lot in fights. I’m ready for Chavez, Kuv twb kawm nyuaj rau hauv no sib ntaus, zoo li, koj paub, Chavez says. He’s trained hard for this fight. But I always train hard. It doesn’t matter if it’s Chavez or whoever else, Kuv yeej ib txwm cob qhia nyuaj.

Q

Qhov no yog rau ob leeg Julio Jr. and Sr. For Jr., obviously, muaj ib tug kev pab thiab tej zaum ib tug drawback, heev, to having such a famous name. Benefit is that everybody knows your father and what he accomplished. And that brings you attention early in your career as it has. The possible drawback is that you’re always going to be compared to him, uas ib txhia yuav hais tias yog yuav luag ib tsis, impossibly high standard to try to live up to. From your perspective and also from your father’s, dab tsi txog hais tias, tus tsim txom thiab cov kev pab uas muaj xws li ib tug nto moo lub npe?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

I think I’m well respected because I’m world champion. Tab sis, koj paub, Kuv xav tias qhov no yog ib qho zoo dua. Tab sis qhov no tsis pab kuv nyob rau hauv lub nplhaib. Kuv pov thawj nyob rau hauv lub nplhaib. I beat the champions. I beat the number one, tooj ob, peb thiab tooj plaub ntawm 168 phaus. Thiab kuv twb pom txhua leej txhua tus, cov neeg, hais tias kuv yuav tua, heev. Kuv yog ib tug zoo fighter thiab (Kuv muab tso rau zoo fights). Thiab cov neeg zoo li saib kuv fights. My style is a good style for the people. And I think this fight, heev, cov style ntawm Fonfara yog tuaj mus tua, he’s a fighter with a great heart and great chin. And both of us will make a great fight.

J. Cesar Chavez Sr..

The name has helped. Obviously, nws pab tau mloog, but we are very different. Nws — my son fights at a higher weight than I fought. And so, there’s a lot of difference. Lub cev, he’s a lot bigger than I was. Yog li ntawd, muaj kev zoo thiab kev phem, and we understand that. Tab sis, nws yog nws tus kheej fighter cia li nyiam kuv yog.

Q

Yog, you mentioned earlier that you had a lot of names mentioned for Andrzej before you finally settled on Chavez. Are you willing to reveal some of those names?

S. Kem

Koj paub dab tsi? I really don’t have them right in front of me. Tab sis, muaj yam tsawg peb, four different guys they were throwing at us. And as soon as they said Chavez, Kuv mus, 'Qhov ntawd yog qhov txiv leej tub peb xav,’ vim hais tias, li kuv hais ua ntej, the style is perfect for us. And we don’t have to look for him too much, koj paub? He’s going to be right there for us. Yog li ntawd, lub style yog tiag tiag, tiag tiag mixed zoo.

Q

Andrzej, koj twb tiv thaiv ntawm Middleweight, super Middleweight, teeb heavyweight. How does it feel fighting at 172? And do you see yourself moving possibly down in weight in the near future, los yog koj xav tias koj yog ib tug yeej muaj tseeb teeb Heavyweight?

A. Fonfara

Kuv yog ib tug teeb Heavyweight fighter. That’s because I’m fighting with Chavez. That’s why we have a catch-weight. And that’s why I go down. Kuv feem ntau tua ntawm 175, at least for maybe two years. And this my weight. It’s not impossible for me to go, zoo li, ob, peb phaus cia vim hais tias, koj paub, thaum kuv tiv thaiv Stevenson xyoo tas los nyob rau hauv lub Tsib Hlis, Kuv yog 173 ces. And I felt good then. Two pounds down is not problem for me. Should be good, koj paub? Just more diet, more work in the last week. And I should be good.

Q

Lub Xya hli ntuj Jr., ntau npaum li cas ntawm ib nyem yog nws rau koj thaum kawg tua tom qab ib xyoos? I know it’s been trying for you with the whole lawsuit and everything. Yog li ntawd, yuav ua li cas nws xav tias koj paub koj thaum kawg muaj ib tug sib ntaus li ua ntej?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

Kuv xav tias zoo. Kuv xav tias zoo, koj paub, because this problem offended me a lot mentally more than physically. But I’m really happy that this problem is better now. I have a fight in front of me. And you know, I’m not remembering anything about that. I’m just focusing on the fight Plaub Hlis Ntuj 18 rau Fonfara. Kuv xav tias zoo, Kuv xav tias zoo. You know I can’t tell you with words how I feel because I’m better to the ring. (Tab sis kuv heev pog mus yuav tau rov qab) rau lub nplhaib.

Q

Joe Goossen, uas ntawm lub kev txawj ntawm Julio Cesar yog txhais qhov zoo tshaj plaws rau lub teeb Heavyweight faib?

J. Goossen

Zoo, thawj tawm, Julio is a well-rounded fighter. Kuv txhais li cas, we’ve seen him box before. And we’ve seen him pressure before. I don’t want to tip my hand on what we’re going to do but we have studied the films. We’ve talked about the films of Andrzej. Thiab ntawm chav kawm, we’re developing a game plan. I think the weight — yeej, 172 is very close to 68. It’s a weight he’s fought at before. So I don’t think the weight is going to be a problem at all. The way he’s working right now and the weight he’s at right now, Kuv xav tias peb yuav tsum tau mus ntaus lub 172 mark quite easily. Tab sis, dua, as far as what skills he has that we’re going to bring to the table is something that I think is private to us. But Julio Jr. is a multi-talented fighter. Just watching him spar yesterday, thaum peb xav tau ib lub thawv, he did it beautifully. And when we needed pressure in a few rounds, he pulled it off exactly how I like it. So I’m very confident that whatever style we bring and game plan we bring, peb yuav muaj kev vam meej nrog nws.

Q

Koj yuav ua qhov nyhav?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

Yog. Sure. I’ll make 172 vim hais tias kuv them $100,000 ib ib phaus (yog hais tias kuv ua tsis tau). Kuv tsis tau them uas zoo ntawm cov nyiaj. Kuv yeej tsis tiv kev txom nyem ntau tshaj 172 nyob rau hauv ib tug sib ntaus. Lub xwb kev sib ntaus kuv tau 172 yog nrog Brian Vera, the first fight. But in all the rest of my career of boxing, nyob rau hauv tag nrho kuv championship bouts (Kuv yeej tsis tsis tau ceeb thawj). Kuv tsis paub yog vim li cas koj nug kuv hais tias. Cas. Maybe, Kuv yog ib tug loj fighter, koj paub? I know I am a bigger fighter. Tab sis, Kuv tsis muaj teeb meem. Thiab (yog hais tias nws tsis) tsis ua qhov nyhav, tej zaum kuv yuav yeej $100,000 ntau.

Q

Yog li ntawd, Lub Xya hli ntuj, koj nyob nraum vam rau $100,000 los ntawm Andrzej Fonfara, tab sis koj nyob nraum hais tias nws yuav tsum tsis txhob cia siab rau $100,000 los ntawm koj?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

Ua Tsis, ua tsis tau. I think that the fight’s in the right way. And he’s not going to take advantage of anybody, koj paub, vim hais tias (Kuv tuaj nyob rau hauv sib zog). Koj paub, lub ceeb thawj yog zoo nkauj zoo kuv xav tias rau ob fighters.

Q

Koj yuav tham txog koj kev txiav txim siab kom muaj Joe Goossen nyob rau hauv koj lub ces kaum, koj xav tias, raws li ib tug tshwm sim ntawm lub Vera sib ntaus, tias koj tshuav tus kiv cua ib tug kev ua tau zoo?

J. Cesar Chavez Jr.

Zoo, I’ve known Joe Goossen for a long time. He’s a great trainer. He’s a great person. He’s somebody that motivates fighters. And we have a true connection. We’ve connected again. And I like him a lot. I like that he’s a hard worker, just like me. And I think, ua ke, we’re going to do really well. With regards to the performance, Kuv yuav qhia rau koj tias, this show is for the people. Nws yuav yog ib lub zoo sib ntaus. It’s going to be a better fight. Thiab tam sim no, nrog kuv tshiab nce qib lub tuam txhab thiab nrog paub txog uas kuv tus nrog sib ntaus yog yuav mus yuav nyob rau hauv ua ntej, Kuv xav tias nws yuav yog ib lub zoo hmo ntuj.

K. Swanson

That was our last question. Yog li ntawd, dua, we really appreciate the fighters taking time to join us. We look forward to this fantastic matchup between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. thiab Andrzej Fonfara rau Saturday, Plaub Hlis Ntuj 18, los ntawm StubHub Center nyob rau hauv Carson, California., nyob rau SHOWTIME ntawm 10:00 p.m. THIAB, 7:00 p.m. PT. Thank you so much for joining us.

* * *

Daim pib rau cov kev tshwm sim, uas yog co-nce los ntawm Goossen Promotions thiab Chavez Promotions, yog luv nqi ntawm $200, $150, $100, $50 thiab $25, ntxiv uas siv se, cov nqi thiab cov kev pab cuam nqi, yog on muag tam sim no thiab muaj nyob rau yuav khoom hauv online ntawm AXS.com.

Chavez Jr. vs. Fonfara, yog ib tug 12-round sib ntau sib tw uas yuav siv qhov chaw nyob rau StubHub Center nyob rau hauv Carson, California. thiab yuav pa ya rau SHOWTIME (10 p.m. THIAB/7 p.m. PT). Lub SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast kuj yuav muaj nyob rau hauv lus Mev ntawm ob suab programming (SAP).

Yog xav paub ntxiv mus xyuas www.sports.sho.com, raws li nyob rau hauv Twitter ntawmSHOSports, @ Jcchavezjr1, andrzej_fonfara, StubHubCenter ThiabSwanson_Comm, ua raws li cov kev sib tham siv #ChavezFonfara, ua ib tug kiv cua hauv Facebook ntawm www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing los yog mus saib lub SHOWTIME Boxing Blog ntawmhttp://theboxingblog.sho.com.