Tag Archives: Buster Douglas

boxing, Premier Boxing Champions, Showtime, Showtime Boxing

HEAVYWEIGHT LEGENDS ROUNDTABLE QUOTES & PHOTOS

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Former Heavyweight Champions & Stars Discuss Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury Heavyweight Championship Showdown Taking Place This Saturday, December 1 Live on SHOWTIME PPV® from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles
 
Click HERE for Photos from Esther Lin/SHOWTIME
 

 

 

 LOS ANGELES (November 30, 2018) – One day before the most significant heavyweight event in the U.S. in over 15 years, heavyweight legends have descended on Los Angeles to discuss the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury showdown that will be live on SHOWTIME PPV® Saturday night from STAPLES Center in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

 

 

 

A media roundtable featured heavyweight greats Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Gerry Cooney, Earnie Shavers, Buster Douglas and Michael Spinks as they broke down Saturday’s battle of unbeaten giants.

 

 

 

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by BombZquad Enterprises and Queensberry Promotions, in association with TGB Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, are on sale now and are available via AXS.com. Wilder vs. Fury will be produced and distributed by SHOWTIME PPV. The suggested retail price (SRP) for the pay-per-view telecast is $64.99 for standard definition.

 

 

 

The roundtable was hosted by SHOWTIME Sports award-winning reporter Jim Gray from the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, Los Angeles. Here is what the heavyweight legends had to say Friday:

 

 

 

EVANDER HOLYFIELD

 

 

 

“I feel that Deontay Wilder will win because eventually he’ll land that right hand. He’s very patient. He’s a thinker, but he can also take chances. When people take chances, they win.

 

 

 

“Deontay might not have as much experience as we did in our day, but he’s got the power. That’s what the people want to see and I think they’re going to be happy when they see it.

 

 

 

“There was a point in time where every great heavyweight was from the United States. We had a very good amateur program. I was the last true heavyweight champion from the U.S. before Wilder and until I lost the decision against Lennox.

 

 

 

“To be the heavyweight champion of the world, and to say you’re the best, you have to fight any man.”

 

 

 

LENNOX LEWIS

 

 

 

“I think it’s going to be a great fight. Deontay Wilder has a terrific right hand and when it lands, not too many people can stand up to it. I also think that you can’t hurt what you can’t hit. Tyson Fury is not an easy person to hit. He has great ability and movement. I’m going with Deontay early or Fury late.

 

 

 

“We all know how it feels to lose the heavyweight championship. We know how hard it is to gain it back. Fury has lost it, and now he wants it back. I can see now that he’s sacrificing and saying to himself that he shouldn’t have lost it, and now he has to regain it.

 

 

 

“I think the view in the U.K. is that Tyson Fury is the man that stepped up. The gauntlet was thrown out there and he stood up for Britain. Deontay came to England to challenge Anthony Joshua, but it was Tyson Fury who answered the call.

 

 

 

“I would say that there are a couple of meccas in boxing that are places where everyone wants to fight. Las Vegas, New York and of course, Los Angeles.  My fight against Vitali Klitschko at STAPLES Center was a great fight. My plan that night was not to box to go the distance, I boxed to go a short distance and it did.”

 

 

 

RIDDICK BOWE

 

 

 

“I’m going with Deontay Wilder tomorrow night. He’s going to put on a great show for everyone and get another knockout.

 

 

 

“Tyson Fury is skilled and tall, but to me, he doesn’t do enough on offense. He moves but he doesn’t move his hands enough.”

 

 

 

GERRY COONEY

 

 

 

“I think it’s a great fight tomorrow night. We know that Fury is coming back motivated. If Wilder finds a home for that right, he’s going to take Fury out. I think he’s going to connect at some point during the fight.

 

 

 

“I think Tyson Fury is a great man for how far he’s come back in his life and for standing up to Deontay Wilder. Fury called him out, so maybe he knows something we don’t know.

 

 

 

“I’m so glad to be up here. Look at all these great heavyweights and great guys. It’s special and they’re all here to watch this fight tomorrow night.”

 

 

EARNIE SHAVERS

 

 

 

“Me and Deontay are both from Alabama. I’ll be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame soon and Deontay will be there one day as well. Deontay is a great puncher and I’m pulling for him tomorrow night.

 

 

 

“I fought in a great era. If you fight guys on the same level, you’ll get good fights. These guys today could get in there in our day and put on a good show.”

 

 

 

BUSTER DOUGLAS

 

 

 

“I think this is going to be a good competitive fight. If I had to pick, I’d take Deontay Wilder by knockout in the eighth round.

 

 

 

“I feel like Tyson Fury has already won by battling back and getting into great shape and being in this position. I’m sure many people thought they’d never see him back here. That’s a victory in itself.

 

 

 

“My victory over Mike Tyson changed my life in a great way. I was now the heavyweight champion of the world. My dream had come true. Seeing my two youngest kids being born was the only thing that could top it.”

 

 

 

MICHAEL SPINKS

 

 

 

“May the best man win. I don’t know who’s in the best of shape but I think Fury being out of the ring makes me lean toward Deontay Wilder. If Fury is as big in person as they say he is, he’s got a great chance.

 

 

 

“If you’re the underdog, you just have to go on what you know and what you’ve worked on. You can’t pay attention to the doubters. You focus on what you’ve prepared yourself for and give it your all. I always saw myself winning. It’s the greatest feeling to come out of the ring victorious.”

 

 

 

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ABOUT WILDER vs. FURY

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury pits the WBC Heavyweight World Champion Wilder against the lineal heavyweight champion Fury on SHOWTIME PPV® Saturday, December 1 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and presented by Premier Boxing Champions. The PPV undercard begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will featureunbeaten unified super welterweight world champion Jarrett Hurd returning to take onJason Welborn, Cuban heavyweight slugger Luis Ortiz facing-off against Travis Kauffman and rising undefeated heavyweight Joe Joyce battling Joe Hanks.

 

 

 

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports, www.premierboxingchampions.comand www.staplescenter.com follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, @PremierBoxing @BronzeBomber, @Tyson_Fury, @TGBPromotions, @STAPLESCenter and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook atwww.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions andwww.facebook.com/STAPLESCenter.

mixed martial arts, MMA, New England Fights

A NEW NEF LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION CROWNED IN LEWISTON

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Lewiston, Maine (April 30, 2017) – Again, blood flowed from the head of Jon Lemke. Again, “The” Ryan Sanders had his hand raised in victory.

This time, however, there was zero controversy or conjecture about the finish, and that authoritative ending made Sanders an NEF mixed martial arts champion for the first time.

Sanders used a guillotine choke to stop Lemke just 22 seconds into the second round and win the vacant New England Fights lightweight championship at “NEF 28: Invincible,” held Saturday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.

Their previous non-title confrontation in November 2016 ended with Lemke unable to continue due to an accidental cut. Sanders earned the victory by winning the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.

In the title-bout rematch, Sanders likely was behind on those cards after Lemke used a late takedown to punctuate what had been a back-and-forth, stand-up opening session.

“He hit me right in the … gut, and it … hurt,” Sanders said, peppering the statement with the smile and the expletives that are his calling card. “I knew the first round was going to tough, because he’s a killer, and I tend to be a slow starter.”

Sanders (14-8) wasted no time getting Lemke (6-8) to the mat and earning the tap in round two. It was his seventh win in nine NEF appearances.

The Bangor-based battler dedicated the win to his wife, Vanessa, who was in the cage to put the belt around her husband’s waist. The couple celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary Friday.

“She saved my life,” Sanders said. “She’s the reason I’m here, the reason I fight, and the reason I’m a champion.”

In the co-main event, Josh Harvey (4-0) stayed undefeated with a brutal, 50-second knockout of Derek Shorey.

Shorey (4-9) returned to the NEF cage to raise funds for four of his children and their mother, who lost their home in a recent New Hampshire apartment fire.

“He’s a great guy and a super warrior. I’m glad he stepped up to fight,” Harvey said. “Next I’d like to fight someone else who’s undefeated.”

Matt Denning of Auburn ended his four-fight winless streak with authority. “Ken Doll” made his long-awaited return to the NEF cage with a first-round verdict over Josh Parker.

Denning used his grappling strength to win the grudge match. He rallied from an early takedown, dominated on the ground, and used a guillotine to put it away in the fourth minute.

“It feels good to win. I finally got one,” Denning said. “I’m at 145 pounds, which is where I belong.”

Bellator veteran Walter Smith-Cotito improved his NEF record to 3-0, and he has done it against eye-opening opposition. On the heels of past wins over Bruce Boyington and Elias Leland, Smith-Cotito defeated Andre Belcarris via rear naked choke at 2:05 of the second round. Belcarris was making his pro debut after 34 amateur bouts.

Dominic Jones made a triumphant pro debut, taking out NEF mainstay Tollison Lewis with only 30 seconds remaining in the first round.  Jones won all his amateur fights by decision, but be used his wrestling acumen to dominate his taller opponent on the ground and earn the TKO.

First-round stoppages also were the rule in the amateur portion of the card, with all four fights ending in under two minutes.

The most controversial result involved Caleb “Dr. Feelgood” Austin, an 18-year-old senior out of Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, taking on James Ploss of Kaze Dojo in Lancester, New Hampshire. It was the cage debut for both combatants.

Ploss was the aggressor from the opening bell and immediately took the action to the mat. That also played to the strengths of Austin, who amassed an astonishing 208-11 record while winning two state championships as a schoolboy wrestlers.

At about the 30-second mark, Ploss applied a guillotine and forced a tap from Austin.  Unfortunately for Ploss, the referee did not see Austin tap and he allowed the fight to continue after Ploss had released the hold.

Austin took full advantage of the reprieve and showed power in both his stand-up and striking game, eventually earning a TKO in the flyweight fracas at the 1:57 mark.

Josh “Basketball” Jones left no doubt whatsoever in his debut victory over Sean Worcester (0-3).

Jones, 29, who was drafted by the NBA Development League before embarking on a professional career in Germany and Canada, went on the early attack with looping haymakers. He dropped Worcester to the canvas and ended the middleweight scrap with a barrage of haymakers after only 20 seconds.

Jacob Deppmeyer evened his ledger in the amateur hexagon at 1-1 with a 77-second dismissal of Glenn Kasabian at a catch weight of 140. The wins by Dominic and Josh Jones as well as Dettmeyer made First Class MMA a perfect 3-0 on the evening.

Mason Travers joined the parade of fighters making a successful amateur debut with his win over Nigel Moye at 1:10 of the opening stanza.

Many big announcements were made concerning “NEF 29: Stars and Stripes,” which will be held Saturday, June 17 at Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The main event will feature the Maine homecoming of Ray “All Business” Wood.  Former NEF bantamweight champion Paul Gorman will also be featured.

Professional boxing will return to share the spotlight, led by local favorites Brandon Montella of North Anson and Russell Lamour of Portland, and with a special guest: Former heavyweight champion James “Buster’ Douglas will be in attendance to greet fans and sign autographs.

Tickets start at $25 and are available at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisee box office at 207.783.2009, extension 525.