NUTLEY, NJ., (November 16, 2018) – Tonight at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Kenneth Sims, Jr. battles Samuel Teah in the co-featured bout of a ShoBox: The New Generation card live on Showtime® beginning at 9:35 ET / PT.

Sims of Chicago has a record of 13-1-1 with four knockouts, and will be making his 4th appearance on ShoBox. The 24 year-old is getting right back in the ring after winning a six-round unanimous decision over Andrew Rodgers on October 13th.

“Camp was great. I fought on October 13th and I never stopped training,” said Sims.

Sims feels he will start to come into his power as he has been focusing on strength and conditioning over his last three fights.

“I got a full training camp with my strength and conditioning coach Ed Jack. He also works with Andre Ward, Bryant Jennings and the Charlo brothers.”

Sims will be back on ShoBox for the second time this year. On July 20th, Sims fought to an entertaining draw against undefeated Montana Love in a fight that Sims and his team believes that the fight should have been scored in his favor.

“I will be even better then my last fight on ShoBox. Samuel Teah is a good fighter, but I really do not have much to say about him. I am happy to be back on ShoBox. I am improved from my last performance, and I will show the world that I am better.”

Said Sims promoter, Vito Mielnicki of GH3 Promotions:

“Kenny has been active over the past four months. This will be his third bout, and he is just 24 years-old. Some people still don’t realize that because he was a touted amateur, and he has appeared on this platform so many times. I think we will see a stronger Kenneth Sims on Friday, and he will start to realize the promise that many including myself had for him as he was coming up in the pro ranks.”

Sims weighed in at 139 pounds at Thursday’s weigh in.

JOSH WARRINGTON INSISTS that nobody should be fooled by the pleasantries exchanged by himself and Carl Frampton on the recent media tour because he is fully prepared to break the pain barrier in order to defend his world title and become No.1 at Christmas.

The three-city whistle-stop promotional trip to highlight the IBF world featherweight title defence between holder Warrington and two-weight world champion Frampton was notable for the respectful rhetoric between the two fighters.

The build-up to Warrington’s title winning encounter against then champion Lee Selby in May was a spikey affair as a result of a feud that had developed between the pair from when a fight was originally mooted.

The just turned 28-year-old Leeds man states that the niceties will not stand the test of time when the two reach the business end of their association.

“Listen, don’t get it twisted, we are going in there to hurt each other and I am willing to die to defend my belt because it means that much to me,” said the 27-0 champion, who went on to outline his intentions post-Frampton.

“I want to give it all to take it home with me again and that is what I’m going to do.

“This is why we have taken the fight so soon, because we beat Carl and I want to go on and unify the division.
“I intend to spend Christmas at the top of the rankings, the No.1 featherweight in the country. It will be a nice little Christmas present.”

IBF world featherweight champion Josh Warrington takes on former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton at the Manchester Arena on December 22nd live on BT Sport Box Office. Mark Heffron will now fight WBO Interim world title challenger Liam Williams in support of the main event, while Belfast’s blue chip featherweight prospect Michael Conlan (9-0) will take on former commonwealth champion Jason Cunningham (24-5) along with world flyweight title challenger Paddy Barnes (5-1) and unbeaten Light Heavyweight contender Steven Ward (9-0) also featuring.

In another middleweight addition, 7-0-1 Darlington Middleweight Troy ‘Trojan’ Williamson has also been added to the show after his thrilling draw with Jack Flatley earlier this year.

Tickets are priced at £50 Upper Tier, £80 Tier, £100 Tier, £150 Tier, £200 Floor/Tier, £300 Floor, £400 Floor, £600 Inner Ring VIP Hospitality and are available.

Tickets available via Manchester-Arena.com

Thank you everyone for joining us for this call for the December 1 SHOWTIME PPV® live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

We had an entertaining call yesterday with Tyson Fury and now we get to hear from the WBC Heavyweight Champion, Deontay Wilder, America’s only heavyweight champion, this is the most significant heavyweight fight in the United States since Lennox Lewis took on Mike Tyson in 2002.

This card also features the WBA IBF Champion Jarrett Hurd against Jason Welborn in what I believe will be an extremely exciting fight. We also have heavyweights Luis Ortiz versus Travis Kauffman and Joe Joyce versus Joe Hanks on the PPV portion of the card. Now how great is that? Wilder, Fury and Ortiz, the three best heavyweights in the world all on the same card.

Tickets are on sale for the live event and available at AXS.com, STAPLES Center Box Office or STAPLESCenter.com.

Like I said yesterday, it’s truly been a great year for SHOWTIME boxing and it’s a great way to end the year for Stephen Espinoza. And now it gives me great pleasure to introduce Stephen Espinoza, President Sports & Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.

Stephen Espinoza
Thanks, Tom. I agree. This is definitely a great way to end the year. This year alone SHOWTIME has done more than 30 different telecasts in total of boxing; that includes more than 26 world championship fights, three of which will be heavyweight world championships. The heavyweight division is back in focus, it’s back in popularity and I think a good portion of that is due to the efforts of SHOWTIME. This will be the 13th heavyweight title fight presented by SHOWTIME in just the last four years. Of course, many of those have featured Deontay Wilder. This will be the 12th time that Deontay has appeared on SHOWTIME or the SHOWTIME platforms. He started on ShoBox as did Tyson Fury so we have a battle here of two former ShoBox fighters. And of course the WBC Champion is in fact regarded as the hardest puncher in boxing.

By now you all know the figure is 40 professional fights, 39 KOs; KO’d every opponent he’s faced. He has a challenge in-store on December 1, a unique challenge, a set of skills and a set of physical attributes in Tyson Fury that present a challenge unlike anyone else in the division. It’s a fascinating matchup of boxing styles; two big personalities, two charismatic champions and we’re very proud to be ending our year on such a high note. Also, I wanted to remind everybody about the premier of “All Access” this Saturday, 10:00 pm ET.

T. Brown
Just a quick reminder, Fight Week events leading up to the fight, the main event press conference is on Wednesday, the undercard press conference will be on Thursday. And we have a public weigh-in on Friday. Now it’s my great pleasure to introduce the leader of the Bomb Zquad, WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World, Deontay Wilder.

Deontay Wilder
I’m excited for December 1, it’s been a long time coming. Now we’re finally here. The countdown begins. One thing about getting into camp, having great sparring partners to come and give you a visual of your opponent and you break your body down through strength training and gym work and then it comes that point in time where you feel like all that hasn’t gone in vain; the time is here, the time is now.

That’s what I’m feeling. I feel great. I feel wonderful. This has been an amazing camp for me. The guys that we have chosen to come into this camp have given me great looks. I’m definitely over-prepared for this fight. When I get into a camp I’m already in shape when I go and most people know that about me, so when it’s time, I’m ready. With this fight, it means everything to me. This is my time to shine. This is my coming-out party. Somewhere I was supposed to have been a long time ago due to different difficulties and different things up in the sport and in my life that made me not to have such things.

But we can’t talk about the past because it’s now. This is the future. This is the present and I can’t wait. It’s going to be an amazing fight while it lasts. You know what I do so you know what I come to do. Those that have been waiting to see a body on the canvas to get knocked out and this is their first fight, they’re in for a treat. They’ll definitely beg to see another one again. Heavyweight boxing is so exciting at this point in time; it’s on fire and I’m just so excited to be a part of the movement and I’m proud to be a part of this heavyweight division and be at the top of the podium as one of the kings of the division.

Q
Tyson’s such an unorthodox fighter, how do you get your sparring partners to mimic him?

D. Wilder
Well when you get sparring partners to come in and try to mimic another fighter, you can only ask them to do the best that they can do. You’ll never find the one that’s 100% like that person because that’s just the thing, we hear it all the time, styles make fights. So everyone has their own style and now you’re trying to ask someone to go out of their character and get into someone else’s.

The thing about my guys, they’ve done a wonderful job with what they had, with what they could do and some of them have been in there with Fury before so they know everything about him, what he’s capable of and how he moves. So with that being said, we did the best we can do. I’m very, very, very, very satisfied with the guys that I had in and the looks that they have given me. I have no doubts in my mind that I’m going to be ready.

Q
Is there any way that he can bring anybody into his camp that can mimic you?

D. Wilder
No one that he could bring into camp can have a reflection of me. They can have tall guys, they can have guys that are strong, they can have a guy that’s fast, they can have a guy that could have a great jab but it’ll never be a full complete Deontay Wilder ever. Out of 40 fights a lot of these guys would have had a guy to come in and be able to do that and be successful with him. And the word would have gotten out now and that guy would have been the main guy for every guy that I fight because they would have seen him and they would have heard about him and being able to mimic me so well.

You’ll never find that especially when they’re dealing with a fighter that’s awkward and don’t go by the textbook. See, I never been by the textbook, my style is what it is and I love my style. And if somebody can come and give me a challenge and beat it, my style will always remain the same because nobody can understand it, no one could figure me out and that what’s it all about.

Q
What does it mean to you to finally get this kind of big heavyweight fight in America?

D. Wilder
Yes, it means everything to me. Like I said before it allows me to feel like my hard work that I’ve put in for so many years, so many years, hasn’t gone in vain. I’ve worked my ass off to get to this very point in my life and now I’m here. Like I said, I’m not going to cry over spoiled milk or what’s in the past, I’m only going to celebrate and be happy and reflect off of my energy in a positive way of what’s going on with me right now. That’s all I can focus about, what’s right now. Right now is the biggest fight in the world in the heavyweight division and we’re going to L.A. to do this thing and bring out all the stars.

So I cannot wait. This is my moment; this is my opportunity. I don’t care what man that I may face come December the 1st, if it wasn’t Tyson Fury it could be anyone; no one is going to beat me on this special occasion, on this special day, I don’t care who it is. No one. This is what I’ve been waiting on. I do it for my children and ain’t no single man is going to be able to come in and be able to do anything to me. I don’t care what type of record he has, I don’t care what type of skill level he thinks he’s at, that don’t matter. When you get in the ring, all that goes out the window; it doesn’t matter.

You’re going to see what happens. I know what I’m going to do, I know what I’m capable of doing. Every word that I speak, I keep it real with people. I’m the realest champion in the world, like I said, I’m real with it. Some people can’t handle real, it gets too real for them. But when you’re in this game right here, when you’re in this business of fights, having to be a gladiator, having to show your strength and be a king, better understand everything I say, I mean. You’re all in for a treat.

Q
How do you avoid getting ensnared in a type of wrestling situation on the inside?

D. Wilder
I just do what I do. I do what I train to do and I rely on my muscle memory. I’m going to collect in the ring. I don’t worry about what everyone else can do or other fighters can do or what their strength and their weaknesses are. So when you get in the ring you can understand all those things, but if you don’t apply what you learn or the information that you collected, if you don’t apply it on that special night of the fight, then it all goes out the window.

Everybody can have some type of special ability about them but if you can’t use your powers, then you’re useless. I don’t care how big he is, I don’t care how well he moves, I’m 40 and 0, 39 KOs. I’m one of the most experienced heavyweights in this division. I’ve been to different countries. I’ve fought different styles. Do I need to say more?

I don’t care what Fury is going to bring, there’s nothing that this man’s going to be able to do. I’ve fought awkward fighters. I’ve fought big fighters; every fighter I’ve faced outweighed me or nearly doubled my weight. That don’t matter to me. When you possess my power, you don’t worry about a lot of things, because you already know what you’re possessing and when it comes to me, I got the killer instinct; I got the most dangerous killer instinct in the boxing game. No one has a mindset like me.

No one can have a killer instinct like I have, it’s natural born. I don’t have to get mad at you; I don’t have to find things on you; I don’t have to lie on you to try to get in your head or try to get in your head in general. I don’t have to do that because I deliver whether I’m mad at you or whether I’m happy. I can beat your ass and still smile at the same time. And that’s the difference between me and these other guys, they try to find things to get mad, they try to make themselves get mad. I’m special.

I was born to do this. And the more and more I have fights and the more and more I’m able to display my talent among the world the sooner everyone will realize that I am special, I am something that’s a gift from God. I am anointed like my grandmother said. You all want to see the Ali era in the golden days, trust in Deontay. Put your trust in Deontay. I’m here. I’ve been here for a long time. Many people will look at me as an overnight success, but this has been an over 10-year overnight success for me.

I can’t wait. This is my moment to shine; this is what I’ve been waiting on. That’s it. I don’t care what he’s going to be able to do, he ain’t going to be able to beat me. And if he do try to rough me up like he did Cunningham, if he do try to get aggressive with me, man, it’ll be his worst nightmare. I’m going to be his worst nightmare. That’s going to be the worst thing he ever done.

They better get a referee in there that’s very strong. The referee better be lifting weights at this point in time because if it gets violent in that ring and that’s my middle name, I’m a Wilder, that’s what I do. I’m a different king in that ring, I’m a different monster and he knows it. That’s why he had to have three trainers. I don’t have to have nothing but the ones I’m with. If he says he’s a big guy, he can do all this shit, why he got to have so many trainers just for little old me?

Why all these fighters have to have so many resources? Why they have to have so many different things just to fight little old me from Alabama? Come on now. I can’t wait. He better be careful in the ring when they come in with rough stuff because that’s what I do, I can play that game too, and you don’t want to see me in that type of mindset in the ring. It’ll be danger – he comes with that WWE stuff it’s going to be the worst thing he’s ever done in his life and I promise you that.

Q
How did this fight wind up in Los Angeles?

D. Wilder
I’ve been all around the world. I definitely displayed my talent in New York multiples of time which I love New York, they love me back. I’ve done it once in Vegas and in multiple other cities but with this situation, with this fight, L.A. came aboard and they made sure everything was done. They gone things done. And we looked at a fresh start for boxing, we’re talking about bringing the heavyweight division back, we’re talking about bringing boxing back. If we’re going to do that, we can’t be content with one place, with one location, with one state.

If we’re going to show the world what boxing is and what the heavyweight division is, we must spread the love baby. We’ve got to spread the love so people can see and then what place to better go if it’s not New York, it’s not Vegas, let’s go to the second media capital of the world where all of the stars are at. We’re going to have a star main event, why not bring the stars out and let them see, let them be amongst the greatness, the excitement and in this place to showcase what the heavyweight title is all about; what the heavyweight division is all about, when the big boys come out, what is it all about? The only thing people should be concerned about is have I got my tickets, have I got my flights and all of those things in order because I’m going to this fight and I can’t wait. And if you can’t make it, you better click it. You don’t want to miss it.

Q
Are you surprised by Tyson Fury’s decisions to have Freddie Roach as his cutman?

D. Wilder
I’m not surprised about none of these fighters. I’m not surprised about what another fighter does or doesn’t do, I don’t worry about what they are doing in their camp or what they do outside of boxing in their normal personal life. I don’t care about that, that’s none of my business. When you’re dealing with a fighter, whatever they’re comfortable with, then they should go – this is the biggest fight of his life today. So if I was him, I would be trying to reach out to as many resources as I possibly can myself. When you’re dealing with one of the most dangerous men in the boxing game, the baddest man on the planet in the boxing game, that hits the hardest in all of the divisions, period. I put my power up with anybody, period. And it’s natural, I don’t have to lift a weight, period. I don’t have to go to a weight room, I don’t have to go to a gym period and my athleticism, my body frame, my build will be what it is; ask the people that’s around me. It’s in living color.

In this short period of time, even a month’s time, you – a person isn’t going to get to know fully you, especially in this fight game because your style is what it is. It was created and tamed by someone else, another trainer. So when you start getting multiple trainers, for me, that seems nervous. That seems a bit of nervous behavior for me switching up. Now you’re up in Big Bear, you couldn’t even take Big Bear. You had to come back down because that was too much for you. You had Abel Sanchez up there, a whole different fighter, trainer, now you’re going to sea level what you can take and now you’ve got the other trainer. It ain’t going to matter to me. I want him to be comfortable, I want him to be able to get the training that he feels is going to be able to bring the best out of Tyson Fury. I want the best Tyson Fury that we can possibly get. I’m already getting excuses now; every time I fight I get excuses and I’m so sick of it. I’m tired of people making excuses for me. I’m tired of people trying to paint out a narrative that ain’t it. I’m tired of people trying to paint me as the villain in this sport because I speak it, believe it and I receive it and it’s mine. So in this fight, I will knock him out. I will beat him. There’s not a man from a mother’s womb who is going able to beat him, then why you training, you switching up all of these trainers then? In that case, it should be natural. But I’m going to show him natural ability as I speak it and I’m going to show him.

Q
His uncle is not going to be there, two massive influences on his boxing career, surely that’s going to play in your hands that they’re not going to be there in his corner?

D. Wilder
I’m very confident in what I do. I’m very confident in what I say. Some may get it twisted with me being cocky or he’s just arrogant; well how can you be so cocky and arrogant when each and every time you’ve proven everything to people. Women lie, men lie, but numbers don’t lie. And when I lay those numbers on the table, then that’s what it is. I’m a real fighter, I’m the real deal.

Excuse me Holyfield but I am the real deal too. But I show it each and every time and people just got to wake up. This fight I think a lot of people are going to wake up. Some will, some won’t, but the majority of them will wake up on this fight. They’ve been denying me for so long and they’ve hated on me for so long. You had negative thoughts about me because I know everybody isn’t for me. Every person that comes in my face, every fighter, every promoter, every person that works in the industry of boxing, they aren’t for me, come on.

You don’t give out too much energy because you want to prove them wrong as many times as they try to discredit you and many times they are trying to wish bad up on you and hope that you don’t succeed. You feel it. So what you do, instead of showing action with your mouth, you show action with your hands. I show it with my skills in the ring. I show it with my aggressiveness, I show it with my power and it’s done.

Q
Do you think this is Tyson regretting his decisions to have Ben Davison as a trainer? Do you think Ben Davison is too weak to take on someone like you?

D. Wilder
Well, I’m not going to go that far, we like Ben as a person. I don’t know how Ben is as a trainer but we like him as a person and I don’t know what Ben’s levels are as a trainer. No one knows because we never heard of him before, we never seen him, but that don’t mean nothing. That don’t mean nothing because you can have an unknown guy and come out of nowhere and be the greatest thing alive, it just wasn’t his time at that point in time just like me with my career, I came out of nowhere, I wasn’t chosen to do this. When people had their lists for the Olympics, my name wasn’t on that list, it was someone else.

When I became the heavyweight champion of the world, many people doubted me. I wasn’t on the list of anybody’s minds that would be the next great thing. I had to show them he’s from Alabama. I’m going to show you since you want to put me in a place and you’re trying to define by where I am and not where my heart is, not where my mindset is and when I throw these hands, that’s when I have to prove them wrong. I prove everybody wrong each and every time and I’m going to continue to do that over and over again.

It doesn’t matter what training he gets in. And these trainers know that as well too. They can’t fight for him, they can get him instructions, they can coach him. They can critique him on certain things, they can even motivate him and if he needs a little inspiration they can do that as well too. But there’s only one man, only one man that’s going to be in that ring, it ain’t no team thing when you get in that ring. It’s going to be me and him; everything he’s been taught and learned, it may go out the window because I’m a different possession of power. I’m a different possession of athleticism, movement, I’m agile, mobile, I’m hostile, I’ve got a heart of a lion. I said I’m a king and I really mean every word that I say until somebody proves me wrong.

Q
Do you think that the winner of this fight can call himself the best heavyweight in the world or will the winner have to face Anthony Johnson before sort of making that claim?

D. Wilder
In my true honest opinion, I feel whoever wins this can call themselves the best heavyweight champion in the world. Let’s face it, we don’t have to keep going over this over and over again about Anthony Joshua, they had their opportunity, they had their chance. They had their chance to prove and see, was he the good or was he spoiled milk? They didn’t want to accept that challenge because they already know what I possess, they know my mindset and what I’m able to do and they know that he’s not on that level. Of course he beat the guys that they put in front of him and tried to hype the media like things was going so big and would it really work? You wonder why the network or whatever they fight on, the numbers are not public knowledge because then you can just make up numbers and people will believe whatever.

We know for a fact what goes on. We don’t have to disguise, we don’t have to manipulate, we don’t have to contradict, we don’t have to lie to people about what’s going on because I am the real deal and I like it that way. I don’t want nobody to be lying on me like I done something that I haven’t done or I made numbers that weren’t there. Come on, let’s do the numbers; let’s add it up together.

America is totally different. As far as I’m concerned, this right here will tell the world in the heavyweight division who is the best of the best because I don’t feel Joshua can beat me, nor can he beat Fury. I personally, I’ve got a strong opinion and a strong feeling about that. I don’t feel that would happen. He had two opportunities to prove to the world, not only to his country but to the world that he’s the best. Not only with me, but with Luis Ortiz. We already know the story how they collected that, had that man over their fighting for nothing like he was a clown entertaining the people. They were scared of him, they wanted to hold him so they wouldn’t have to fight him and that’s just sad. That aren’t showing you the best. I don’t think he has the heart. The man’s had to prove that he’s the best and if he does, his people don’t, that’s who runs him. He doesn’t run his career like we thought it was.

But that’s enough on him, it ain’t about him, it’s about me and Fury; we are the best. And after this fight, you will see who is the best; one champion, one space, one name.

Q
Do you enjoy it personally when your opponent is willing to kind of have of have verbal spars with you in press conferences and media events? Do you kind of enjoy it, back and forth?

D. Wilder
I very much enjoy it. I enjoy the confrontation that we have, I enjoy the rumbling with the mouth that we have. We try to see who has the bigger motor and the mouth. Call him a motor mouth. That’s what – that’s what makes it exciting. That’s what brings boxing alive, the promotion part, the press conferences of boxing. I call it speaking your piece. I love when people speak their piece because I want to know what’s on your mind, what you’re thinking at that time? Whether it’s false or is it real? Like I want to know what you’re thinking. So when I get in the ring whether I have mercy or not, I’m going to hold whatever you say towards me, against you. In the ring, I can be the judge. I can be the judge of what I’m going to do to you.

This is what we signed up for. But when people pick you out as a villain they try to find every word to hold it against you. But I love it because when people hate on me, when they don’t want to see me make it, God blesses me even more. And it’s been throughout my life like that. Everybody’s been hating on my father. They’ve been hating on me and they hating on my little brother. It’s been like that. This is a tradition, but sadly maybe it’s a curse.

I can’t wait for this fight guys. I’m ready. I’ve been ready last week. I’ve been ready for this fight last week and I can’t wait. The more I talk about it the more I’m just getting more excited. The more I’m getting ready to put my fist in his mouth. The one thing about me I don’t just punch you. I punch through you.

Q
What challenges have you faced during this training camp if any at all?

D. Wilder
That’s probably a question for my trainer because how I feel and how I see myself in the ring or whether I’m training in the mitts, in the speed bag or whatever I’m doing, I’m going to only get the perspective of what I see. But that’s why you have trainers. They can see things that you can’t see.

So yes I feel great. I feel like it’s been all fun. I’m in a happy place. This is the happiest I’ve been in my life and that’s because of my family, such great beautiful people that I surround myself each and every day man. It’s been amazing for me. I got amazing people around me. I’m not worrying about who really got my best interest at heart because I already got that from the start.

I got the love around me right now and the protection. So, while we in this condition now, we aren’t worried about nobody trying to come and steal the shine or come in and out. Now you had some time to come in for me. Now it’s a whole different thing now babe. If you weren’t with me before, don’t try to come in on me now. I got love around me. I got peace and I got protection.

So that’s probably be a question for my trainer. He may see something different that I had to overcome or something like that. But man to be honest it’s just been all happiness and positive energy in my count man. I can’t really tell you right now.

Q
How are you corralling these emotions? How are you keeping them tight and so you don’t peak or blow off the steam until the fight comes?

D. Wilder
Well we’ve been slowing down, less sparring. My hours in training have been cut down as we’re getting closer to the fight.

The guys will be waiting on me when I get freed from this interview, they’ll be ready for me. They’ll be ready to rock and roll. My guys they, when I get there, they’re already ready. They’re warmed up and ready. They’re just waiting on me to warm up and ready and they give me their best look possible.

With that being said, me being so ahead of schedule and stuff, we just have to slow things down. We know what we’re doing. We’ve been doing this 40 fights. I’ve had 40 camps, with my last fight being the worst camp I’ve ever had in my life. But you go through things to learn from them. You go through things to understand.

You may not understand why you went through a certain thing at the appropriate moment in time. But when you keep living you’ll realize like, man, I’m glad I went through that. I know what I’m capable of doing even if I had to go through something. I went three weeks. That’s all I was able to prepare for when I fought Ortiz.

One of the most dangerous guy, the boogeyman they called him. Three weeks, it was horrible, a horrible three weeks too. But I knew after that I know what I’m capable of doing. So I’m just happy man. I’m just ready to go. We just calming things down. That way I won’t over train and overwork my body because my body is sore each and every day. I feel like a brick.

Getting out of my bed each and every day I had to take hot showers to warm my body up, drink hot tea to warm my body. And these are the things that people don’t see. They don’t see what the fighters go through. You all don’t see what we go through, how we have to fight, how we have to break our body down mentally, physically and emotionally, because boxing is an emotional sport. You do not understand that because this is not your lifestyle. You’re not in it. This is not a career that you’ve chosen to do. This is a career that we’ve chosen to do.

So when people say they come and pay their money they want to see certain fights, well of course I’ll agree with that, but you got to understand what we go through as well too. It works hand in hand. And with that being said, you must have trainers that know what they’re doing. My people don’t get no credit at all, no credit at all for being trainers which is okay. That’s fine, because I don’t get no credit as being a great fighter, because if I wasn’t as great as I am, I would have never been a champion, period.

So they don’t never get no credit for what they’ve done ever. But it’s okay. They’re content with it. They’re fine. They don’t want no exposure. They don’t want publicity, but you really watch their work in the ring especially come December the 1st.

Q
Ricky Hatton will also be in the corner for Tyson. So are three voices maybe worse than one or will that be an asset for Tyson?

D. Wilder
It all depends on how Fury takes it in. It can work for him because four brains are better than one, but it also can play against him because it can be too many chefs in the kitchen.

Because every one of them trainers are going to have egos, every last one of them are subbed in. One guy’s just coming aboard. This is Ben’s first big fight but he might take some steps back and let these guys that already had champions or have trained champions come in and get their input on it. So it can be an advantage or it can be a disadvantage. It’s all how Tyson Fury takes it in.

Q
Why do you consider yourself underappreciated and does that upset you?

D. Wilder
I’m not – and let’s get an understanding. I’m not angry, because I’m in a place where I’m happy. I’m super happy. I got love, peace, happiness and great health. No need me being angry with anyone.

D. Wilder
I’ll give a closing statement because I got to go train. But I thank everyone for coming on getting your questions out. This is going to be an amazing fight and I’m looking forward to it. We worked our ass off in camp and hopefully he has done the same instead of just running his mouth, but we get to see. All the action is about come. We going to see who’s the best man in the heavyweight division whether it’s the Gypsy King or is it the Bronze Bomber.

So this is the great thing about it. You got two tall heavyweights in there, very awkward style, that can speak and also that can show you the power. So tune in to the fight. Like I said, December 1 at STAPLES Center. If you can’t make it, click that button. You don’t want to miss it baby. I see you guys there. Peace.

# # #

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

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. / ORANGE, Calif. (Nov. 16, 2018) – Top prospect Michael Dutchover (11-0, 8 KOs) weighed in successfully at Thursdays weigh in, measuring 134 lbs., while veteran Ruben Tamayo (25-11-4, 18 KOs) came in at the identical weight.

Dutchover vs. Tamayo comprises the 8-round “Locked n’ Loaded” main event of Thompson Boxing’s season finale tonight, Nov. 16, from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.

Dutchover, who turned 21 on Thursday, will look for his fifth win on the year.

“The only thing I want as a birthday present is another win,” said Dutchover, who is co-promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing. “I’m expecting a tough fight, but I’ve prepared well and I’m ready to put on a show just like I always do.”

All fights will be live streamed on TB Presents: Locked n’ Loaded via our Facebook page.

The livestream starts at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET with Beto Duran as the blow-by-blow announcer and Josesito Lopez providing expert, color commentary.

The Doubletree Hotel is located at 222 N. Vineyard Ave., Ontario, CA 91764 and can be reached at 909-937-0900.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check Banner Promotions Facebook Page , and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @BannerBoxing

NEW YORK (November 16, 2018) –Undefeated middleweight Tyler Howard is back in action as he takes on Isiah Seldon in an eight-round middleweight bout at The Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Howard of Crossville, Tennessee has a record of 15-0 with 10 knockouts is coming off a 2nd round knockout over Javier Frazier on July 14th in New Orleans.

The 24 year-old Howard was 2010 National Junior Olympic Silver Medalist

“In preparation for my inaugural event as a Top Rank fighter, my team and I had a great training camp. We are all eager to showcase our abilities in front of a great crowd tonight,” said Howard.

“This is a great opportunity for Tyler to showcase his abilities on this card tonight. He comes from a family of fighters which includes his father and brother, and Tyler is a great young talent who can go a long way in the sport,” said David McWater of Split-T Management.

Big-time boxing has landed in Kansas thanks to Nico Hernandez – and the local star will prove tonight that he was born to perform on the biggest stage when he faces Josue Morales in his sixth pro outing at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, KS, live on DAZN.

Tickets are on sale now from ticketmaster.com starting at just $25! Click here to book!

Hernandez became a household name in his home state after landing bronze in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, and after turning pro, he’s raced to 5-0 with four wins inside the distance.

The Wichita native has drawn big crowds in all those fights, and that caught the eye of Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn, who decided to move tonight’s card from Atlantic City to Kansas to shine a spotlight on the 22 year old.

Hernandez insists that he won’t be fazed by being part of a bill that includes his Rio teammate Claressa Shields – as the big stage is exactly where the Flyweight talent belongs.

“Kansas has never seen anything like this before,” said Hernandez, who weighed 112.4lbs, with Morales scaling 113lbs. “There is pressure, but not really. Everyone is coming to watch me do my thing and all I’ve got to do is perform like I always do.

“To have them come all the way here because of me, that’s really an amazing feeling. I’m blessed to have this happen and to have this chance to show out in front of the world.

“The support and fan base I have is unreal and I’m forever grateful. That’s another reason I pour my heart and soul into the gym. I want to give them something to be proud of. I can’t really take all the credit for the crowds, I have a great team behind me, my father, John Anderson, my sponsors, family, teammates and local media have all been part of the success.

“The Rio team want the best for one another. I came and watched Shakur (Stevenson) on Crawford’s card, once he found out about this card, he texted me and said that he’s coming to support me and Claressa. Than earlier in the week Karlos (Balderas) said he’s making the trip too. It’s going to be like a reunion

“I have been on the big stage during the Olympics. Me and Shakur both were highly publicized. One time we even did mits at Time Squares in New York as part of the promotion building up to the Olympics. The experience I talk about wasn’t just boxing related, it’s everything.

“I have felt pressure, fought in front of enormous crowds, tough crowds, been the favorite, been the underdog too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m blessed and honored to be on a card such as this but to be honest, I belong at this level. On Saturday night I will prove it one again.”

Hernandez’s clash with Morales is part of a massive night of action in Kansas in association with KO Night Boxing with a host of stars and local talents in action.

Brooklyn’s Heavyweight star Jarrell Miller meets fellow unbeaten big-hitter Bogdan Dinu in a crunch clash at the top level of the division, while chief-support provided by the brilliant two-weight World ruler Claressa Shields who looks to add the WBC Middleweight strap to her WBA and IBF crowns against tough Scottish challenger Hannah Rankin.

There’s an all-Mexican clash and a homecoming for Brandon Rios against Ramon Alvarez, brother of ‘Canelo’’, as both men look to make a splash at Welterweight.

Unbeaten Wichita Super-Middleweight and police officer Manny Thompson looks to improve his 7-0 record and Las Vegas’ Jeremy Nichols meets Wichita’s Jeremiah Page at Middleweight.

Unbeaten contender Anthony Sims Jr. makes a move to Super-Middleweight and Brooklyn’s exciting newcomer to the Middleweight scene Nikita Ababiy, fresh from a first round KO on debut in Chicago earlier in the month, is also in action.

RUNNING ORDER AND WEIGHTS

DOORS OPEN AT 5PM

5.05pm 8 x 3 mins Middleweight contest

Jeremy Nichols 155.4lbs vs Jeremiah Page 159.4lbs

Las Vegas Kansas

5.50pm

4 x 3 mins Middleweight contest

Nikita Ababiy 159.4lbs vs Javier Rodriguez 154.4lbs

Brooklyn Nebraska

6.25pm

8 x 3 mins Super-Middleweight contest

Anthony Sims Jr. 170.4lbs vs Colby Courter

Indiana Missouri

7.10pm

12 x 3 mins NABF Middleweight Title

Luis Arias 159.4lbs vs Gabe Rosado 158.2lbs

Milwaukee Philadelphia

8.05pm

12 x 3 mins Junior Middleweight contest

Brandon Rios 151.4lbs vs Ramon Alvarez 151.4lbs

California Mexico

8.55pm

8 x 3 mins – Flyweight contest

Nico Hernandez 112.4lbs vs Josue Morales 113lbs (after reweighing and losing 6oz)

Wichita Houston

9.45pm

10 x 2 mins IBF, WBA and vacant WBC World Middleweight Championships

Claressa Shields 159.6lbs vs Hannah Rankin 158.6lbs

Michigan Scotland

10.40pm

12 x 3 mins Heavyweight Contest

Jarrell Miller 315.4lbs vs Bogdan Dinu 237.4lbs

Brooklyn Romania

FLOAT

6 x 3 mins Super-Middleweight contest

Manny Thompson 173.4lbs vs Leroy Jones

Wichita St. Louis

On this week’s Counterpunch, ESPN boxing announcer Mark Kriegel interviews actor and producer Mark Wahlberg and director, writer and actor Pete Berg, two renowned Hollywood figures who also are founders of boxing management firm Churchill Management. This special episode is available now on ESPN+— the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN.

Kriegel speaks with Wahlberg and Berg about the business of managing fighters and in particular their thoughts on two of their rising stars, Regis Prograis and Alex Saucedo. Saucedo is set for his first world title fight at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in his hometown of Oklahoma City against WBO Junior Welterweight champion Maurice Hooker, tonight at midnight ET and live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

In the special episode, Berg and Wahlberg talk about what drew them to the boxing business and possible fights with Top Rank world champions Vasiliy Lomachenko and Terence Crawford.

In the co-feature, streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+, Egidijus “The Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas takes on Roberto Arriaza in a 10-round welterweight bout with potential world title implications; Kavaliauskas vs. Arriaza and all undercard bouts will stream live at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

—30—

ABOUT ESPN+

ESPN+ is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI) segment in conjunction with ESPN. ESPN+ offers fans two exclusives, original boxing programs: The Boxing Beat with Dan Rafael (Tuesdays, weekly) and Counterpunch (twice monthly). In addition to exclusive Top Rank boxing content, programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB, NHL and MLS games, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports from more than 15 conferences), UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby, cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

LAS VEGAS, NV (November 16, 2018) – Undefeated welterweight prospect, Keith Hunter (8-0, 6 KOs), has signed a managerial agreement with Greg Hannely of Prince Ranch Boxing. Hunter, who is the younger brother of IBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight champion, Michael Hunter (15-1, 10 KOs), joins fellow undefeated stable mates Blair Cobbs (9-0-1, 6 KOs), Victor Pasillas (13-0, 6 KOs), and Damien Vazquez (14-0, 7 KOs) on the Prince Ranch Boxing roster.

“Now that I have a strong management team behind me, I can focus more on my boxing career.” stated Hunter, who is trained by former two-time world champion, Bones Adams and Brandon Woods. “I’ve been training hard at the Prince Ranch Boxing gym in Las Vegas and I’m ready to start fighting on a regular basis.”

Former two-time heavyweight world champion, Hasim Rahman, who joined the Prince Ranch Boxing management team earlier this year, was responsible for bringing Hunter to the team. With his keen eye for talent, Rahman feels Hunter has the talent to become a world champion in the future.

“Keith Hunter is a long, rangy fighter, with great boxing skills, to go along with his high ring IQ.” said Hasim Rahman. “Standing six-feet, Hunter is very tall for the welterweight division and I know he’ll be a problem for anyone out there. I can see him making a lot of noise at 147 pounds. He definitely has the talent to become a world champion with hard work.”

“I like Keith Hunter a lot,” Greg Hannely said. “He’s a very humble kid with a great attitude and he’s an extremely hard worker in the gym. “We are happy to have him be part of the Prince Ranch Boxing family.”

PHILADELPHIA — November 16, 2018 — Tonight, undefeated Junior Lightweight Gadwin Rosa will look to stay undefeated when he battles 113-fight veteran German Meraz in a scheduled six-round bout at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

The bout will take place before a ShoBox: The New Generation card that airs live on SHOWTIME (9:35 PM E.T / P.T).

In the main event, undefeated welterweight Jaron Ennis (21-0, 19 KOs) takes on Raymond Serrano (24-5, 10 KOs) in a ten-round bout. In the co-feature of Friday’s live telecast, ShoBox veterans Kenneth Sims Jr. (13-1-1, 4 KOs) and Samuel Teah (14-2-1, 7 KOs) meet in an eight-round super lightweight bout. Undefeated Ukrainian Arnold Khegai opens the three-fight card when he takes on New Jersey’s Jorge Diaz (19-5-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight bout.

Rosa, of Ocala, Florida had a great training camp as he prepared for his most experienced opponent.

“Everything is going good. I put the finishing touches and, I am excited and ready for tonight,” said Rosa.

“Meraz is a really experienced , and he is a hard guy to look good against. My goal is to beat him in a convincing way.”

Meraz has faced many top prospects and contender, so this will be a good test to see where 24 year-old Rosa stacks up.

“This is a measuring stick so people can see what I can do. People will compare my results with others he has fought.”

The Florida native will be making his 3rd consecutive appearance in Philadelphia, and the knowledgeable fight crowd is beginning to get behind Rosa.

“I feel the crowd is starting to embrace me with open arms. I am thankful for the fans in Philadelphia who have enjoyed my fights. I want to thank Hard Hitting Promotions for bringing me to this great boxing town. I hope everyone can watch this fight. It is going to be explosive. There are a lot of great prospects on this card, and I hope everyone will support this event and support me.”

Branden Pizarro (12-1, 6KOs), of Philadelphia. takes on Jerome Rodriguez of Allentown, PA. in a eightround battle for the NBA Intercontinental title.

Kieran Hooks (3-1-1, 1 KO), of Philadelphia, will fight Gledwin Ortiz (5-2, 4 KOs), of Bronx, N.Y., in a welterweight bout.

Christian Tapia (6-0, 5 KOs), of Coamo, Puerto Rico, fights Darnell Pettis (3-12), of Cleveland, in a super featherweight contest.

Light heavyweight Benny Sinakin (1-0), of Philadelphia, will face Darren Gibbs (1-5, 1 KO), of Ferndale, Mich.

David Stevens of Reading, Penn. will make his pro debut against Dustin Long (0-1-2), of Johnson City, Tenn. in a cruiserweight battle.

Tickets for the show, which is promoted by Victory Promotions in association with Hard Hitting Promotions, are priced $50, $75 and $125 and can be purchased at 2300arena.com and hardhittingpromotions.com.

NEW YORK (November 16, 2018) –2016 United States Olympian, and undefeated bantamweight Antonio Vargas (8-0, 3 KOs) returns to the ring when he fights Jorge Perez in an eight-round bout at the Civic Center Kissimmee, Florida.

The bout will be the 1st scheduled eight-round bout for Vargas, and it will be for the Jr. NABF Bantamweight title.

Vargas of Kissimmee, will be fighting for his 1st title and he will be doing it in front of his hometown fans. This will be the for 3rd time this year that Vargas will be fighting in Kissimmee.

Vargas is coming off a six-round unanimous decision over Felipe Rivas on September 28th in Puerto Rico.

‘m very excited to fight for my first professional title. To top it all off, I get to do it in front of my family and friends,” said Vargas.

“My community has always been very supportive of me since my amateur days and, they continue to support me as many of them make the trip to my fights when I fight here in Florida. I trained harder than I ever train and you will see the best of Antonio Vargas tonight!”

Said Split-T Management’s David McWater, “Nobody is more deserving than Antonio Vargas. Along with being a great talent, he is such as great kid. This will be the first of many professional titles for Antonio!”

Warrington (27-0) makes the first defence of his IBF world Featherweight championship against the Belfast great at Manchester Arena on Saturday December 22.

Two-weight world champion Frampton is ready for everything Warrington brings following his upset world title win against Lee Selby.

But he believes the Yorkshireman can be crafty at bending the rules, saying: “Josh is fit, he is determined, but a bit dirty with his head because he comes bulling forward at times.

“If I thought he did it (head butted) deliberately I would give him one back.”

“He comes in and it almost looks accidental, but he bulls in a lot with his head. He is clever with it and sometimes he gets away with it.”

Frampton (26-1) is likely to call for the referee to be strong and voice his concerns when the rules meeting is held on fight eve.

He added: “That is something as a team we have been paying close attention to and we’re aware of, definitely”

Frampton, 31, has been in camp at trainer Jamie Moore’s gym for several weeks, but started sparring last week – six weeks before the sensational showdown that the boxing world cannot wait to witness.

He added: “I started sparring last week and it terms of fitness and sharpness for the first one I was pleasantly surprised and very happy.

“The real hard stuff starts now and the graft picks up, but I enjoy it and I enjoy sparring.

“I’m looking forward this fight. It is going to be an exciting fight and it’s one that has got me excited. “It’s for a legitimate world title. It’s between two guys in their prime.

“Josh is full of confidence at the minute. He is coming off his best win against Lee Selby. I am on the way back and had three good wins since losing to Leo Santa Cruz.

“I need to put in a good performance to win this fight and I am not overlooking him in the slightest, but I have fought and beaten better fighters than Josh.

“I have said that before and I will continue to say it.”

IBF world featherweight champion Josh Warrington takes on former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton at the Manchester Arena on December 22nd live on BT Sport Box Office. Mark Heffron will now fight WBO Interim world title challenger Liam Williams in support of the main event, while Belfast’s blue chip featherweight prospect Michael Conlan (9-0) takes on former commonwealth champion Jason Cunningham (24-5), world flyweight title challenger Paddy Barnes (5-1) and unbeaten Light Heavyweight contender Steven Ward (9-0) also feature.

In another middleweight addition, 7-0-1 Darlington Middleweight Troy ‘Trojan’ Williamson has also been added to the show after his thrilling draw with Jack Flatley earlier this year.

Tickets are priced at £50 Upper Tier, £80 Tier, £100 Tier, £150 Tier, £200 Floor/Tier, £300 Floor, £400 Floor, £600 Inner Ring VIP Hospitality and are available.

Tickets available via Manchester-Arena.com

Undefeated heavyweight Petar Milas (13-0, 10 KOs) joins countryman Filip Hrgovi? in action on December 8 at the KC Dražen Petrovi? in Zagreb as the 23 year-old from Split takes on Ukraine’s Serhiy Radchenko (6-2, 1 KO).

Milas will be looking to cap off an impressive year that has seen him record victories over former World title challengers Francesco Pianeta and Kevin Johnson, and claim the IBO International and WBC Mediterranean titles.

“My opponent is a strong man, but not too strong for me,” says Milas, who is looking forward fighting on a big card in the Croatian capital. “I love the big shows. They inspire me, as my performances in Munich have already shown

“This will be another step up the ladder for me, and the fans should expect an entertaining fight, but one that could come to an end very quickly.”

Milas also has a message for his heavyweight rival Hrgovi?, who tops the bill in Zagreb, defending his WBC International title versus Ecuador’s Ytalo Perea.

“Hrgovi? should study me well,” he says. “I’ve already seen weaknesses in him, and in the future, I see us both standing in the ring, fighting for the World title!”

The WBC International Heavyweight Championship contest between Filip Hrgovi? and Ytalo Perea will top an action-packed fight card at the KC Dražen Petrovi? on December 8 with a full undercard set to be announced.

Tickets start from 150 KN and are available online via www.eventim.hr. All the action will be broadcast live and exclusive on RTL in Croatia.

PHILADELPHIA (November 15, 2018) – One of boxing’s top prospects, undefeated welterweight Jaron Ennis and veteran Raymond Serrano made weight just a day before their ShoBox: The New Generation 10-round main event that headlines a tripleheader live on SHOWTIME (9:35 p.m. ET/PT) from 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The 21-year-old Ennis (21-0, 19 KOs) returns for his second ShoBox challenge of 2018 against Serrano (24-5, 10 KOs) in a battle of Philadelphia fighters facing off in their hometown.

The three-fight telecast features five ShoBox veterans and three fighters who call Philadelphia home. In the co-feature, a pair of ShoBox veterans meet when Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jr. (13-1-1, 4 KOs) takes on Philadelphia’s Samuel Teah (14-2-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round super lightweight bout.

Also on the card, undefeated Ukrainian Arnold Khegai (13-0-1, 9 KOs) faces New Jersey’s Jorge Diaz (19-5-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight bout.

Tickets for the show, which is promoted by Victory Promotions in association with Hard Hitting Promotions, are priced $50, $75 and $125 and can be purchased at 2300arena.com and hardhittingpromotions.com.

FINAL WEIGHTS

Jaron Ennis – 145 pounds – Ramond Serrano 146 3/4
Kennthe Sims Jr. 139 – Samuel Teah 130 3/4
Arnold Khegai 121 3/4 – Jorge Diaz 121 3.4

Undercard weights beginning at 6:30 PM ET

Branden Pizarro 137 1/2 lbs – Jerome Rodriguez 140 lbs
Gadwin Rosa 129 3/4 lbs – German Meraz 128 1/2
Kieran Hooks 149 1/4 lbs – Gledwin Ortiz 149 1/2
Christian Tapia 134 1/2 – Darnell Pettis 133 1/2
Benny Sinakin 171 3/4 lbs – Darren Gibbs 172 1/2
David Stevens 193 1/4 – Judd Brown 188 3/4

** NOTE: Referees and judges for the three televised fights have yet to be determined.

FINAL QUOTES:

JARON ENNIS

“I’m really looking forward to fighting in front of my hometown fans. There is going to be a packed-house and I’m so excited for this fight. Some fighters don’t like the pressure of fighting in front of their own people, but I can’t wait to show out. I will definitely have no trouble getting up for this fight.

“A Philly fighter is a different kind of fighter. A Philly fighter is going to bring it to you and show off their abilities. I feel like we are the best fighters. There’s a lot of pride in being from here. I get to put on for Philly and show SHOWTIME and the world my talents. Philly fighters always come to fight.

“I don’t know too much about Serrano. I never worry about my opponent or watch tape or anything. We don’t prepare for one guy, we mix it up in the gym because you never know how the guy is going to fight on fight night. We prepare for everything.

“He thinks he has more experience than me. No, he doesn’t. I grew up in this sport. I’ve been in the gym since I was in a jumper. I’ve seen it all. I got to see my brothers fight growing up. I’ve sparred pros since I was 12-years-old. They always say I don’t have the experience and I’ve never fought anybody. We’ll see. There’s nothing this guy can do.

“I’m just going to keep winning and knocking guys out until I get to the point where I can fight a contender. I’m ready right now, but I know I have to be patient. I’m only 21-years-old, so I have time but we’re ready right now.

“This fight is definitely going to be something different, I promise you that it’s not lasting long. I’m so focused, I’m ready to rock and roll. I can’t wait.”

RAYMOND SERRANO:

“Right now, I feel like I’m in a position where I can compete against any of the top guys. I fought Alex Saucedo, and honestly, I thought I won that fight. I believe after that fight, it took me to another level. My confidence grew and I knew that I could compete with anybody.

“I feel comfortable going forward and putting pressure on. If I have to box, I can box too. I feel comfortable being on the inside now, and it hasn’t always been that way.

“I’ve been in the position where I’ve been fighting undefeated guys. Everybody is against me but I love that. He’s the one with all the pressure, he has to prove that he’s as good as everybody says he is. He’s never seen anybody like me. Everybody he’s fought recently, I beat them years ago.

“Ennis looks good. He’s a strong fighter that’s coming to fight but so will I. I think this will be a good fight. My last fight, I was fighting the best fight of my career before it had to be stopped. I went into [Gerome] Quigley’s hometown and I was winning that fight.

“There’s going to be a lot of people in the crowd that want to see me lose. Ennis is the hot prospect with all the fans, but I think I may switch some people’s opinion. Beating Ennis will put me in the position to fight anybody.

“His chin has never been tested. I’ve never seen him uncomfortable in any fight, it’s all been pretty easy for him. I will test him.”

KENNETH SIMS JR.:

“I’m really disappointed to be 1-1-1- on ShoBox. I feel like I should be 2-1, I should have won the fight I drew. But I do think the loss was a really good learning experience, and I needed it. It really helped me learn more about myself and what I need to do better. There’s always more to learn.

“I need to get physically stronger. I’m working on my strength and conditioning right now. When I fought Montana [Love], I only had been training with my new strength and conditioning coach for three weeks. Now, I’ve had the full camp with him. I’m learning more about my body and how important rest is and not to just always push myself too hard.

“When I transitioned to being a pro, I really needed to learn how to relax. When I first fought on TV, I put so much pressure on myself to perform and there was a lot of expectations.

“Every fight is a fight that I need to impress in. Every fight, I want to show something different. I’m known for my speed, but I feel like I haven’t shown all of my skills onShoBox yet.

“I feel like Teah is going to try to press me. I don’t think he’s going to realize how strong I really am. I just want to make him work, and I don’t want to give him any down time. I don’t want to let him rest.

“I just really like fighting. When I was younger, my dad had to remind me that I’m a boxer, and I’m good at boxing. But I couldn’t help it, I just wanted to fight. Now, I’ve realized that I need to be a boxer.

“I’m always active. Even when I’m not training, I stay in the gym and I spar once a week. Training in Houston has been great, being around other professionals that are trying to do the same thing as me is great for my development. I train with O’Shaquie Foster, we’ve known each other since we were little and we really push each other in the gym.

“I watched him fight Montana [Love], and I watched him fight O’Shaquie. I think he’s a good fighter, but I want to make him doubt himself right from the beginning.”

SAM TEAH:

“I was under the weather my last fight. I don’t want to make excuses, but my inactivity lost that fight not what he did. I was fighting very conservatively, instead of just putting everything on the line. I was too worried about tiring myself out and that was one of the key factors in deciding that fight. I’m one hundred percent for this fight and it will be a different story.

“I feel like this is my biggest stage yet. I’ve fought in Vegas, but this is as big as it gets for me. Everybody that knows me and has followed my career will either be here at the arena or watching on TV.

“I watched him fight live once here in Philadelphia. I’ve seen him box and I’ve seen him brawl and try to be the matador. He’s a great fighter, he’s very versatile. I don’t think he has great power, but he can box. I think his stamina might be an issue. He works at a very high rate, but I know he can’t keep that pace for the entire fight. The pace will drop after a couple rounds, and then it will become a more technical fight.

“He can watch all the tape on me that he wants, he’s never seen the type of performance he’s going to get tomorrow night. You guys will see the real Tsunami.”

ARNOLD KHEGAI:

“I was nervous my first fight on ShoBox, but all the nerves are gone, this time I’m going to show what I’m really about.

“In my last fight, I just wanted to show that I could outbox somebody in America. That’s what I did, and now I’m really going to show what I’m all about.

“It’s a totally different level in the U.S. The fighters are much stronger than in Moscow. It’s also much more professional with all of the medical treatment and the facilities. I think it will help me that I’ve already fought here in the U.S., I know exactly what to expect and I know what the atmosphere will be like.

“I only know that Diaz fought Adam Lopez, the same opponent that I had. I’ve watched him a little bit, and I see this as a war. I think we’re going to brawl with each other, and it will be a really interesting fight.

“If I win this fight in style, then either the next fight or the one after I think I’ll be in position to fight a real contender.”

JORGE DIAZ:

“I haven’t fought in a year, but I’ll be as sharp as I’ve ever been tomorrow night. I’ve been in the gym training non-stop, and I’ve gotten my nutrition and my training right. We’ve been very rigorous with our nutrition, in terms of what we put in our body. I’m ready to go.

“I used to be just a fighter. I didn’t know about the Sweet Science of boxing and about what separates the good boxers from the great ones: rhythm, distance and timing. It’s not about who runs the fastest, otherwise lions and tigers would be running the world. It’s about your intelligence. And that’s what I needed to learn and what I have finally figured out.

“Arnold [Khegai] is in over his head. I’ve watched tape. He’s a basic fighter. He comes forward. He doesn’t know how to box moving backwards. He doesn’t know anything about rhythm, distance and timing. We’re going to outbox him, but it’s going to look aggressive.

“This is the most important fight of my life. This guy is standing between me and everything that I want. He’s standing between me and the well-being of my family and all of my dreams.”

# # #

For more information visit www.sho.com/sports follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, #ShoBox, or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports.

About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 78 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Errol Spence Jr., Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.

Bethlehem, PA (November 15, 2018) –Weights for Friday night’s card at The Sands Bethlehem Event Center.

Anvar Yunusov 130 – Jose Salinas 130
Jonathan Torres 118.5 – Steven Lopez 116.5
Yeuri Andujar 123.5 – Haziz Self 119.5
Alejandro Jimenez 119.5 – Desmond Moore 120
Ricky Nuno 152.5 – Vincent Floyd 153.5
Kendall Cannida 175.5 – Travis Toledo 174
Christian Montano 188 – Paul Holley 192
Michael Coffie 277 – Jamal Woods 247
Joseph George 173.5 – Josue Obando 174

Promoter: Kings Promotions
1st bell: 7 PM

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by King’s Promotions, are priced at $50, $75 and $100, not including applicable service charges and taxes and are on sale now. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

KATHY DUVA, President and CEO, Main Events:
“Good morning and good afternoon everyone. Main Events could not be happier to be coming back to the Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City. Our first event in August was a sellout. It proved to us what we already knew: there is still a big appetite for boxing in Atlantic City.

With our second card at the Etess Arena we expect to build on our momentum by bringing Dmitry Bivol back to be in the main event this time on November 24 against one of our division’s most admired champions, Jean Pascal.

Dmitry Bivol is going to risk his perfect record against a tested tough opponent. Dmitry has made no secret about wanting to unify titles in the light heavyweight division. But the other titleholders for some reason just don’t seem to be ready for him right now.

Jean Pascal is always ready. He never turns down an opportunity. He is a warrior. He has fought for three world titles, and he’d like to take Dmitry’s title back home to Canada and confirmed his status as a Hall of Fame fighter when his career is finished. It would make a pretty nice Christmas present for him.

Neither man is taking the other lightly of course. It’s a dangerous fight with a lot at stake. This is the way we like to cook things up at Main Events!

In addition to our fighters, you will also hear from Vadim Kornilov, the manager of Dmitry Bivol; and Greg Leon, CEO of Jean Pascal Promotions.And we are delighted to have Tim Louie with us. He is the Public Relations Manager for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City.

Why don’t we begin with Vadim today – can you make some opening remarks?

VADIM KORNILOV, Manager, Dmitry Bivol:
Thank you, Kathy. Pleasure to be back at the Hard Rock. It’s great to have another show with Dmitry Bivol on HBO. Now that he’s the main event, it’s something kind of like a dream come true for him. He’s talked about this for a long time He was hoping to be a main event at one point, and he’s got this shot on this last HBO World Championship Boxing event. Thank you all of the Main Events team and World of Boxing team working great together putting this main event together on November 24th.

KATHY DUVA:
Thank you, Vadim, it’s always a pleasure working with you.

Former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal has won titles and lost titles. But he has never lost anyone’s respect. He has faced every dangerous name in the division for a decade. Carl Froch. Bernard Hopkins. Kovalev. And now, Dmitry. Jean’s farewell tour is making a stop in Atlantic City. He doesn’t want it to be his last stop. We are glad to welcome him to this card and the main event.
Greg, why don’t you talk to us, give us your perspective on the fight, and introduce Jean?

GREG LEON, CEO, Jean Pascal Promotions:
Thank you, Kathy. I’d like to thank World of Boxing and Main Events for making this a very easy deal to finalize. I’d like to thank to the Hard Rock for hosting the event, HBO for broadcasting the event in its final World Championship Boxing. This is a sensational event. Like Vadim said, Bivol was looking to fight on a main event. Jean’s been looking to fight for a world title on his farewell tour. But like Kathy said, the farewell tour does not end in Atlantic City. That’s just the next stop. Both of these guys come to fight. They don’t shy away from challenges. We’re expecting nothing but action on November 24th.

Personally, it’s an honor to represent somebody like Jean, who as Kathy articulated, is a true warrior, doesn’t shy away from challenges, fights the best of the best. For this fight, our mission is to use it as a lens into how much boxing means to HBO. The nucleus of Jean Pascal’s aspirations consists of making history and punching his ticket to the Hall of Fame. So this event will be nothing short of sensational. Our hope is that this sensation will cross-pollinate through HBO’s offices in a way that allows them to re-contextualize their place in the world of boxing around them. This is the heart of what we strive to do. Without further ado, the former WBC and world light heavyweight champion and next WBA light heavyweight champion. Jean?

JEAN PASCAL:
Thank you very much. Hi everybody, I’m very pleased that you’re here. Pascal is back in action. I’ll be fighting on HBO on November 24th. I’m very happy. I want to thank Main Events; also I want to thank Dmitry Bivol and his people for this opportunity to show I’m an elite fighter. I know it’s OK, they think they can beat me. But like I said, It’s OK, it’s part of the sport. I’ve been training very hard for this opportunity. It’s showtime, it’s time to show up.

KATHY DUVA:
Thank you, Jean and thank you, Greg. I want to take a moment for the last time and thank HBO. This is going to be a very difficult event for us in a lot of ways. I hope Greg is right, I hope Jean and Dmitry can somehow, jolt them into reconsidering.

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City has only been open for a few months. But as we all know, it has already established itself as Atlantic City’s go-to destination on the legendary Atlantic City Boardwalk.

There are all the features that made the Hard Rock Hotel name famous including world class rooms, casino, lounges, restaurants, shopping, and service. What’s special to us about the Hard Rock Hotel Atlantic City is the Etess Arena, named after a dear friend of ours who passed away too soon. It’s always been one of the best venues to see boxing in the United States. Thanks to the Hard Rock it’s expanded and even better than before.

Let me bring in Tim Louie with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and he can to tell you a little more about this amazing fight venue.

TIM LOUIE, Public Relations Manager, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City:
We’re so excited to have boxing back here. This past August was so amazing for me to see, because I’m so new to the business. The arena fits about 7,000 people and it’s so exciting just to even boxing back in Atlantic City. Kathy, you and your team have been amazing to work with. I don’t expect anything to be different next Saturday.

KATHY DUVA:
Thank you, Tim, Nice to hear that. You guys are a pleasure to work with, too.

QUESTION:
Jean, you’re obviously viewed as the underdog in this fight. How much motivation has that provided for you, and how are you looking at this going into the fight?

JEAN PASCAL:
This is the story of my life, to be the underdog. I was the underdog when I faced Chad Dawson. At the time he was considered as the best pound for pound in the world. I was the underdog, fourth in the world and I won the fight. To me, maybe it’s a motivation. I know what to do, I know what I’m capable to do. I have a lot of experience, been there done that. I’m going to do my best to win this fight.

QUESTION:
What did you think of Bivol’s performance against Isaac Chilemba?

JEAN PASCAL:
Honestly, I think he did good. Chilemba used to be my sparring partner. It’s hard to look good against a guy like him. He’s very awkward. In this situation, I think Bivol showed his skill and he did pretty good against an elite fighter.

QUESTION:
Jean, you always come to fight, and make for good television in your career. How do you expect this fight will unfold differently, especially from the viewer’s perspective?

JEAN PASCAL:
It won’t be different, I’m going to be there to fight. I like to fight, I’m the underdog. I know Bivol likes to fight as well; he’s young, hungry. He cannot exactly remember me when I was champion. I was a pretty boy, lot of stamina, young, sexy, with a lot of power. I know that it is entertaining for him right now. I have something on my side, experience. That’s something you can’t buy, you cannot buy.

QUESTION:
Jean, do you think he’s overlooking you?

JEAN PASCAL:
Honestly, I think he’s got no bets, because I’m not in his mind. But like I said, I know Bivol will do very well. I know him as well. If he overlooks me, that would be a big mistake. But I know he has a strong team, he’s a young but I know he’s a smart fighter and a smart guy too. So I don’t think he takes me lightly.

QUESTION:
Greg, what would a win over Dmitry Bivol do for Jean’s career?

GREG LEON:
First of all, I think this win would put in in the Hall of Fame without any question. Right now, Jean is looked at as a guy has a hell of a resume, has fought the best of the best. For the harshest of critics, he might have lost too many big fights to be a lock. Jean’s fight would cement his legacy and his status as a Hall of Famer. A victory on November 24th would certainly do that. As far as what would be next, what’s next right now is November 24th. Obvious, if Jean he wins the title, he becomes the cash cow of the division. All of the other champions reside in Canada. By his own admission, Stevenson by his own choice hasn’t been making fights the public has been demanding. Jean is a star in Canada. With the belt around his waist, he becomes the guy of the division.

There’s also history too, Correct me if I’m wrong, Jean first because champion in 2009. I don’t think nine and a half years have passed from one title reign to the other in the history of the division.

KATHY DUVA:
Let’s move on with the most exciting young titleholder in the light heavyweight division. He’s featured in RING Magazine this month.
He is the undefeated WBA Light Heavyweight Champion. And he really wants to unify the division. From St. Petersburg, Russia — training now in Los Angeles, Dmitry Bivol. Dmitry, tell us about your view of this matchup.

DMITRY BIVOL:
I appreciate the introduction, Kathy.I respect Pascal because he took this fight. I hope we will show a good fight and action in the ring. I will do my best to make a good fight.

QUESTION:
For Kathy, for you is it a goal to turn Bivol into a big draw in the New York and New Jersey area?

KATHY DUVA:
That’s more of a question for Vadim in his capacity with World of Boxing. World of Boxing is our partner in this promotion. We’ve had a great run with Sergey Kovalev in Atlantic City, going up to the big sellout in August, and over a million dollar gate with Bernard Hopkins. He’s Russian, Dmitry’s Russian. It seems logical a charismatic young star like Dmitry, given a little time to develop, can develop a fan following there if that’s what World of Boxing wants him to do. We’d be happy to help them.

Sergey took three bouts, three appearances there to make it to that sold out arena. It does take time, it doesn’t happen overnight. This is a big step in my view in Dmitry’s career stepping up to the main event for the first time. Nobody ever became a star on the undercard. This is the beginning of a journey. We’re always happy to be going back to our home in Atlantic City.

QUESTION:
Dmitry, your last two fights were in the co-main event. Now that you’re in the main event on HBO, how does it feel to get the chance to be a headliner?

DMITRY BIVOL:
Of course I’m glad. It means I’m going the right way in my career. I’m glad that HBO and Kathy Duva and World of Boxing are giving me this opportunity to fight in the main event. It’s a big responsibility for me.

QUESTION:
Do you feel more pressure to go out and deliver a performance that tells people you are the best light heavyweight in the world?

DMITRY BIVOL:
You know, when I go into the ring, every time I feel that I should show all my skills, all my best. I should show to people all my best skills. It doesn’t matter now or my first fight. Every time, I feel the responsibility. I just want people to believe and I want to prove to everybody I’m the best in the division. These are the steps I want to take. There’s always responsibility I take on.

QUESTION:
Jean, you’re coming off back-to-back stoppage wins for the first time in a decade. How do you feel physically at 36 years old? How do you assess your own strength?

JEAN PASCAL:
Right now, I don’t know if I’m stronger than before, but I feel very strong. Of course I got two knockouts in my last fights. But I know they weren’t elite fighters like Dmitry Bivol. So I know I’m going to have to pick up my game but I’m ready for that. Been there, done that. It’s his first main event. Like I said, for me been there done that. I know what I have to do. I’m ready for this fight. I’m looking for this fight to be a great fight.

The fight is going to be in Atlantic City. Remember, we have a Canadian story in Atlantic City. Arturo Gatti is from my hometown and he used to fight over there. He moved when he was younger to fight. He became a legend. At the same time, I’m going to try to honor his spirit over there and win one more title.

QUESTION:
Dmitry, what do you know about Jean Pascal, and the main reason you respect him?

DMITRY BIVOL:
I saw his many fights when I was an amateur. His fight against Bernard Hopkins, fight against many other people. I know he is good in counter attack. He’s strong; he’s a really tough guy. He is a good fighter and I respect him. But when I go to the ring, he will be my enemy.

QUESTION:
Dmitry, Jean Pascal’s manager talks about how he wants to get to the Hall of Fame and be a champion once again. Are you really letting him use you as a stepping-stone?

DMITRY BIVOL:
I think the opportunity is already given in this fight being made. It excites me very much to know he’s so motivated and he has such big goals for this fight. I’m also not coming to the fight to give up my title, and I going to do everything to defend the title. Every one of us has a big goal, and it will make this fight really great.

QUESTION:
So that’s a polite way of saying no?

DMITRY BIVOL:
That’s a polite way to say I will fight for my title until the end and I will not give it up.

QUESTION:
What make you thinks you’re ready to get in the ring with a young lion like Dmitry Bivol?

JEAN PASCAL:
it’s because I’ve got my confidence back. When I fought Eleider Alvarez, I didn’t have my confidence back it was a hard fight for me. Even thought I did good it was a majority decision for him. It wasn’t a walk in the park for Alvarez. In any losses that I had, I always did good, except my second fight with Kovalev. I know I’m a tough challenge. I know I’m a good man to be on the resume. That’s why they picked me.

Honestly, like I said, I have a lot of respect for Dmitry Bivol. He’s a young lion. He thinks that has all the talent in the world like I thought when I was his age. Something he cannot have, he cannot buy, it’s experience. I have way more experience than him, even though he has a lot of amateur fights. I went to the Olympics in 2004 in Greece. I was a world-class amateur fighter also. But I have way more experience than him as a professional boxer. That will lead to a great fight at the Hard Rock Casino. People, tune in at 10 p.m. November 24, because it’s a must watch fight.

QUESTION:
Dmitry, you were in “2 Days” with HBO, the documentary. It looked like a lot of fun, we saw you with your family. That was really the last of its kind for HBO. For you to be featured in that way, how was it?

DMITRY BIVOL:
It was very exciting. I wasn’t used to having a camera around two days before the fight for that much time. It was a new experience. What was interesting, a lot of people got to know me more on the other side of boxing which was very exciting. I want more people to know more about me and understand what kind of person I am.

QUESTION:
What was it like to watch Sergey Kovalev lose? What was it like for you for him not to be the victor that night?

DMITRY BIVOL:
It was a little unfortunate. We know each other and we have common friends. We’ve talked before. It’s not pleasant to see someone you know, an acquaintance, go down like that. I thought he was going to win the fight. We also had some plans about possibly fighting next. A lot of that kind of fell apart. It was a little disappointing.

QUESTION:
Any predictions on how this fight is going to end on November 24th?

DMITRY BIVOL:
I don’t make predictions. it’s very difficult. I will do everything I can to make sure this fight is exciting and it’s over in an exciting fashion.

QUESTION:
A fan question for Jean. Your Canadian fans have given you so much support over the years. How would you describe your relationship with your Canadian fans?

JEAN PASCAL:
My relationship with my fans back home in Canada is very, very great. I feel very, very lucky to have that kind of relationship with my fans because they support me a lot. There are not a lot of boxers in the United States who have a big fan base like I do. I’m very very fortunate. This is why I always take time to please my fans, to talk to them, to talk pictures with them. I’m here because of them as well.

QUESTION: A fan question for Dmitry. How do you see yourself improving you skills?

DMITRY BIVOL: There is never a limit to improvement. I would say that, speed is probably one thing that is with you and is hard to really change. But other things, other skills are definitely something you can improve. Especially agility, and with the distance of the fight being 12 rounds, you can improve on your conditioning. You can improve on your levels of fighting inside and outside, different combinations. There’s always something to add to your game.

QUESTION:
Jean, you retired and quickly came back. You’ve had a great career What can you take from your career into the Bivol fight?

JEAN PASCAL:
I’m going to take my experience. I’ve been there, done that so many times. I know what to do. So I’m going to carry with me in the ring all my experience I got with me from all these big fights: Kovalev, Froch, Hopkins, Dawson. I’m going to take those fights into the ring with me to show him what is the best in the boxing sport.

QUESTION:
Jean, is training camp any different knowing it is your last title shot?

JEAN PASCAL:
During training camp, it was a little bit different. The motivation was a little bit more there. I’ve got the eye of the tiger once again. I think that’s what was lacking from my last few fights, when I fought Kovalev and maybe Hopkins. I got my confidence back that you notice I didn’t have when I fought Kovalev. Right now, everything is in one piece. I’m very confident, very happy, very pleased to be back on HBO. I was the first Canadian boxer who fought in Canada on HBO, and I’m going to be the last Canadian to fight on HBO. So I’m making history once again. So I’m very, very happy.

QUESTION:
Dmitry, come November 24th and you take care of business with Pascal, do you still want the winner of Kovalev and Alvarez 2?

DMITRY BIVOL: As I always say, right now I’m focused on the fight with Jean Pascal on November 24th. I want to fight the best after that, if everything goes well. Whoever is wanting to fight, I want to unify titles and become the undisputed champion.

QUESTION:
Another fan question for Jean, you’ve talked about your experience. How might it give you an advantage against a younger fighter like Bivol?

JEAN PASCAL:
Honestly, if this is something you want to see, I urge you to tune in to HBO on November 24th at 10 p.m., and I will show you everything.

QUESTION:
A fan question for Dmitry, this is your first main event. Now that you have achieved this goal, how does it feel to you?

DMITRY BIVOL:
Of course, I’m very happy that such a legendary channel gave me this final chance to fight on the main event. To me, it just means I’m on the right way, on the right path in my career. I appreciate this opportunity, and I want to take everything I can from it. I want everybody to watch this fight, and I will make sure this fight is very memorable.

KATHY DUVA:
I want to thank Dmitry and Jean, thanks Vadim and Greg. Thank you also Tim Louie for welcoming us back to Atlantic City.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jean and with Dmitry now on more than one occasion. I’ve gotten to know both of them a little bit. One thing I can promise everybody, they will give 1000 percent and they will entertain. It will be worth watching and certainly worth coming out to Atlantic City.

We hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends. Although those of us who work for Main Events, we’ve spent our last three Thanksgivings together working.

When you get tired of the leftovers, join us for a fresh serving of World Championship Boxing on Saturday night live at the Etess Arena and live on HBO Boxing.

ANNOUNCER:
Bivol vs. Pascal is a 12 round fight for Dmitry Bivol’s WBA Light Heavyweight World Title taking place on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ.

The co-main event is a WBA Intercontinental Super Bantamweight title fight between Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Isaac Zarate. The event is promoted by Main Events and World of Boxing, and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Tickets range between 30 dollars and 150 dollars, and are on sale now through HardRockHotelAtlanticCity.com and Ticketmaster.com.

A transcript of this conference call will be made available to the boxing media. Thank you for joining us today and we hope to see you at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City on November 24, or tuning in to watch on HBO’s World Championship Boxing.”

About Bivol-Pascal: Bivol vs. Pascal is a 12 round fight for Bivol’s WBA Light Heavyweight World Title taking place on Saturday, November 24, 2018 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. The co-main event is a WBA Intercontinental Super Bantamweight title fight between Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Isaac Zarate. The event is promoted by Main Events and World of Boxing, and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Tickets range between $30 and $150 and are on sale now through HardRockHotelAtlanticCity.com and Ticketmaster.com.

Reminder to news media: The deadline to apply for Fight Week credentials is Friday, November 16. Fill out the credential application at http://www.emcevents.com/

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Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City

Set on 17 acres, with the legendary Atlantic City Boardwalk as its backdrop, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City will be Atlantic City’s go-to entertainment destination, boasting 2,200 slots, 120 table games, more than 20 first-class restaurants and lounges, and world-class entertainment, including Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, the beachside Sound Waves and Howie Mandel’s Comedy Club. The hotel and casino also features the iconic Hard Rock Cafe, overlooking the Atlantic City Boardwalk, showcasing a brand new elevated menu and state-of-the-art stage, allowing for an amplified level of service and entertainment. Along with an endless array of upscale amenities, including world-class shopping and the brand’s signature full-service Rock Spa and Salon, featuring 31 treatment rooms, the new, music-inspired property offers lavish guest rooms and suites, with stunning views of the city and Atlantic Ocean. From family vacations and business trips to weddings, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City offers an unparalleled experience. Each of the hotel’s guest rooms and suites radiates a contemporary style, including Hard Rock’s signature The Sound of Your Stay® music amenity program, which allows guests to set the mood with complimentary vinyl records or jam out on a Fender guitar in the privacy of their own room. Hotel guests can enjoy high speed, property-wide Wi-Fi, 24-Hour In-Room Dining, towel and chair service at Hard Rock Beach or at the indoor pool, and 24-Hour Access to Body Rock fitness. For more information and to book your stay, please
visit HardRockHotelAtlanticCity.com

Bogdan Dinu believes he will shut Jarrell Miller up and crash into the top Heavyweight scene when they clash at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, KS on Saturday night, live on DAZN.

Tickets are on sale now from ticketmaster.com starting at just $25! Click here to book!

Dinu and Miller’s clash will open the doors to some of the biggest names in the division in 2019, and ‘Big Baby’ Miller has been typically outspoken in calling to face a big-name British fighter should he emerge with the win in Kansas – and told Dinu at today’s press conference that he will KO him in spectacular style.

The Romanian – who is a special services police officer as well as unbeaten Heavyweight contender – is glad the talking is all over, and the 32 year old, who has sparred many rounds with World ruler Anthony Joshua, is confident of causing an upset.

“Jarrell is a good talker but I don’t care, I catch guys like him every morning,” said Dinu. “The talking stops on Saturday night. It’s so exciting for me to fight in America, it’s a great opportunity. My team have given me an amazing chance and its’ up to me to take it.

“I have worked hard for many years to get this opportunity and I want to do a great job on Saturday night.

“I have a lot of experience and I have no fear of him, I know I can beat him, my style and my heart is enough to win the fight.

“I’ve sparred many excellent fighters like Anthony Joshua. That’s great experience, he’s a great champion and a real gentleman. He deserves his place as the best in the world.

“It was a great test for me to see where I am and being with AJ motivated me, taught me a lot and it was valuable. We did a lot of rounds before Wladimir Klitschko and the Carlos Takam fights.”

Dinu’s clash with Miller is part of a huge night of action in Kansas in association with KO Night Boxing with a host of stars and local talents in action.

Brilliant two-weight World ruler Claressa Shields who looks to add the WBC Middleweight strap to her WBA and IBF crowns against tough Scottish challenger Hannah Rankin.

Middleweight contenders Luis Arias and Gabriel Rosado clash in what promises to be a real war as the pair look to gatecrash the lucrative top table, and there’s an all-Mexican clash and a homecoming for Brandon Rios against Ramon Alvarez, brother of ‘Canelo’, as both men look to make a splash at Welterweight.

Team USA 2016 Olympic bronze medal man Nico Hernandez has raced to 5-0 (4 KOs) – the Wichita talent fights for the third time in the Kansas Star Casino and Arena since debuting there in March 2017, unbeaten Wichita Super-Middleweight and police officer Manny Thompson looks to improve his 7-0 record and Las Vegas’ Jeremy Nichols meets Wichita’s Jeremiah Page at Middleweight.

Unbeaten Light-Heavyweight contender Anthony Sims Jr. and Brooklyn’s exciting newcomer to the Middleweight scene Nikita Ababiy, fresh from a first round KO on debut in Chicago in October, are also in action.

(Nov. 15, 2018) — Top Rank announced today it has signed the most decorated amateur boxer in Indian history, Vikas “The Indian Tank” Krishan, to a multi-year promotional agreement. Krishan, an Olympian in 2012 and 2016 and the only Indian fighter in history to capture gold medals at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games, is scheduled to make his professional debut on Jan. 18, 2019 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.

“Top Rank is the best promotional company in the world,” Krishan said. “I’m going to be a world champion as a pro. No Indian has ever done that before. When I win a title, I’m going to be more famous in India than the movie stars.”

“Vikas is a tremendous young man who we expect great things from,” said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. “He is going to be our Indian Marvelous Marvin Hagler!”

“Before his first pro bout, he is already the best fighter in the history of India,” said David McWater, Krishan’s manager. “His accomplishments and charisma set him apart. We can’t wait to get started.”

Krishan, 26, is from Haryana, where he picked up the sport at the age of 10. He spent more than decade in the Indian amateur system and won a gold medal at the 2010 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. In 2012, at the London Olympics, he defeated current IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. via 13-11 decision, only for the decision to be controversially overturned five hours later due to various fouls Krishan committed during the bout.

In the 2016 Olympics, Krishan advanced to the quarterfinal round, defeating highly touted U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell in the Round of 32. Earlier this year, he won Commonwealth gold and a bronze medal at the Asian Games, becoming the first three-time Asian Games medalist in Indian history. As a pro, he is going to train with Wali Moses in Newark, N.J., and with the Indian National Team in Punjab, India.

Tom Brown
Thanks everybody for joining us for this call for the December 1 SHOWTIME PPV® live from STAPLES Center presented by Premier Boxing Champions. The fight is headlined by the WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder defending his title against lineal heavyweight champ Tyson Fury in a blockbuster matchup of undefeated heavyweights. his is the most significant heavyweight fight in the United States since Lennox Lewis took on Mike Tyson in 2002.

Tickets are on sale for the live event and available at AXS.com, STAPLES Center Box Office or STAPLESCenter.com. It’s been a great year for SHOWTIME Boxing. It’s a great way to end the year for Stephen Espinoza. Stephen’s been instrumental in Deontay Wilder having a home at SHOWTIME and he was instrumental in creating this tremendous card for the fans here on December 1. So it’s my pleasure to introduce Stephen Espinoza, President Sports & Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.

Stephen Espinoza
Thanks very much, Tom. Big-time heavyweight boxing heavyweight is definitely back. Wilder versus Fury will be the 13th heavyweight world title fight presented by SHOWTIME since 2015 — that includes three heavyweight world title fights so far this year in 2018. This is a showdown of undefeated consensus top five heavyweights. As Tom said, the most significant heavyweight title fight in the U.S. in almost 20 years. And with the 6’7″ Deontay Wilder and the 6’9″ Tyson Fury, we’ve got two of boxing’s greatest showmen with larger than life personalities and true heavyweight charisma.

Tyson, of course, is undefeated former IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight Champion. He is unique in the heavyweight division. His size, mobility, his footwork, his skillset — he presents a challenge unlike any other. Interesting side note here, both Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury are alumni of ShoBox. They’re among the 78 ShoBox fighters who have gone on to win world titles.

On behalf of the network, I’d like to extend our thanks to Tyson Fury and to John Fury and the entire Fury camp. For those of you that have seen the clip that we released earlier, you can see that Tyson has given us thorough access to his training camp. It’s been a fascinating experience and we are confident that those who are not familiar with Tyson are going to be enamored by him once they are exposed to him.

So, here in the U.S. “All Access” premieres on SHOWTIME this Saturday at 10:00 pm. ET.

T. Brown
Thank you very much, Stephen. There will be a slew of events leading up to the fight on the week of the fight. The main event press conference is on Wednesday. The undercard press conference will be on Thursday and we have a public weigh in on Friday. So now it’s my pleasure to introduce International Boxing Hall of Fame Promotor, Frank Warren.

Frank Warren
Good afternoon. Good evening, as we’re in the U.K. at the moment. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us. Tom, thanks for that statement. Tyson is a unique boxer — there’s no doubt about that in his unique style. As Stephen just said, Former WBA/IBF/WBO and current lineal champion and his trials and tribulations have been well documented. But if you look at him now and look where he’s at, he’s come quite a long way. He knows there were problems he had in early life, but he’s showing what a man he is by coming back and putting himself into a position now where I think he looks the best he’s ever been as far as everybody’s concerned who knows him. And that’s both mentally and physically.

He is doing what he always does — going to the other guy’s backyard and getting titles, this time titles that he never lost. He’s without a doubt — in my opinion — one of the best British heavyweight champions of all time. Undefeated and he’s a man on a mission. He’s in a position where a lot of people would hate to be where he was, the lowest you could ever be. But he’s come back with all the strength and character and he’s here in the most fantastic physical shape and maybe in his best mental shape as well.

So I think we’re going to get a great fight. He’s a great fighter, great champion and he’s undefeated. I think he’s going to show what he’s really worth. Is he as good as everybody thinks he is? This is without a doubt the toughest fight he’s ever going to have. Tyson wants to show the world that he is the best out there and it’s going to be a great fight and we’re looking forward to it. And Tyson’s here now and I’m sure he’s got some things to say that will be of great interest to you.

So I’m sure you want to hear from the Undefeated World Champion, Tyson Fury.

Tyson Fury
Hello. Good afternoon everybody on the line. I hope you’ve got some good questions for me.

Q
What what went into your decision to bring Freddie Roach aboard and how is he helping you along here in camp?

T. Fury
Yeah, we’re training at Freddie’s gym now in Hollywood at the Wild Card. It’s really good to have Freddie’s experience around, giving us good pointers. He’s also a very nice guy, so I thought I’d invite him to be a part of the team and he can give us some good experience in the corner.

Q
What will his role be on fight night? Obviously Ben Davison will be in charge, like usual? Is that the way it’s going to go?

T. Fury
Whatever Freddie wants to do he can do. Freddie is his own man. Whatever he wants to do, he’ll do in the corner. I’m sure he will.

Q
How much of an advantage do you feel that could be for you, Tyson? Being that Freddy has worked with so many great fighters and had so much success?

T. Fury
It’s always good to have experience in the corner. It’s always good to have a wise head in the corner and it’s going to be to my advantage.

Q
When did you shift your camp down to (Freddy’s) gym there? Did Big Bear not work for you? Or why did you do that exactly?

T. Fury
About three weeks ago. We always planned to move. Big Bear was altitude training. We had three and a half weeks in Big Bear. It was very good. I loved every minute of it. But we moved down to sea level to train for the fight.

Q
Is there any truth in the rumors that you knocked out Joe Joyce and was that one of the reasons why you left the Big Bear Gym?

T. Fury
No, there’s no truth in it and it’s got nothing to do with why I left. It was always planned to leave.

Q
Do you think this fight will be a tougher fight than your win against Wladimir Klitschko?

T. Fury
I’m hoping it’s going to be the toughest fight of my life. That’s what I’m preparing for, so if it’s anything less, than it’ll be easy for me.

Q
What are your feelings toward Deontay Wilder? What do you make of him?

T. Fury
I don’t really know him as an individual character. I only know him as a boxer, so I don’t really have an opinion on him. He’s in my way and that’s all I’m focusing on at the moment. I’m not going to hold no hard feelings. It’s just a sport.

Q
Do you see this fight going 12 rounds? Do you think you’ve got the power to knock him out?

T. Fury
We’re heavyweights. We both can knock each other out. We should be fit enough to do 12 rounds. So if not, there’d be no point in training for 12 weeks would there?

Q
Why would you say that this is the biggest fight of your career even when you do consider your old Klitschko one?

T. Fury
Because every fight that I fight is the biggest fight of my life up until that moment. They’re all the biggest fights — all of them. My last fight, the fight before that, the fight before that — they’re all the biggest fights because I don’t look back in the past. I only look forward to the future. So every fight that I come across is my biggest challenge to date.

Q
Do you think the winner of this fight should be considered the absolute Heavyweight Champion of the World, even with Anthony Joshua out there with some belts?

T. Fury
I’m not sure. People will always have an opinion on who’s that and who isn’t. So it’s really unimportant to me what people think who is the best or whatever. The most important is that we all fight each other and give the boxing fans of our era something to talk about. It would be a crying shame to not fight each other and all get in the mix. It’s going to be an exciting time. It’s an exciting time. Whether – who’s the best, we’ll all found out when we all fight each other.

Q
The fact that it is the first Heavyweight Championship in America in a long time, does that add to it even more or does the location not really matter?

T. Fury
The location is fantastic. To be in America, boxing on U.S. PPV, boxing in Los Angeles — it’s a fantastic place. I’m happy to be a part of such a massive event. I’m sure it’s going to go down in American boxing history. It’s the first time you’ve got two unbeaten world heavyweight champions — both giants, both have got big points to prove — fighting each other. I’m as excited as a boxing fan.

Q
Do you feel like you’re as supported as other British fighters and do you feel like you should have more support from them, considering all you’ve achieved in the ring?

T. Fury
I feel like I’ve got the support of the world behind me at the moment. Not just the British fight fans. I’m jogging down the road in Los Angeles and everybody’s cheering my name and saying I’m champ and I’m getting messages from all over the world. So I don’t just have support from the UK. I have support from all over the globe, which I’m very, very happy about.

Q
Do you expect British fans to travel in support of you? Do you expect to have, like, a large cheering section at this fight?

T. Fury
I’m sure I’ll have as many fans as Deontay Wilder at the fight, but let’s just say if this fight would have been in Manchester or anywhere in the UK, it would have sold 75,000 tickets. I’m happy that it’s here, because it gets me on the road again. I’m becoming a proper road warrior now traveling to countries and taking championships off champions in their own countries. So I’ve become accustomed to it. But make no mistake, if this would have been in Manchester, we could have had this at a stadium and that would have sold 75,000 tickets.

Q
Is it less distracting to be the traveling fighter and going to the other guy’s home grounds in order to fight than it would be if this was in the UK and all of the obligations that come with that?

T. Fury
Not really. I think it doesn’t really matter where the fight’s going to be. As a fighter it doesn’t really matter to me, because the outcome’s going to be the same; a fight is a fight. No matter how many funds you’ve got behind you or how many people want you to win, if you’re good enough, you’re winning, if you’re not, you’re going to lose. So it’s really unimportant where the fight is, traveling to different countries. But for me, as a fighter it makes it all the sweeter when I win in somebody else’s home backyard.

Q
When your comeback was announced earlier this year, did you envision getting the world title shot against Deontay Wilder just months after that first return fight against Sefer Seferi?

T. Fury
Yes, I did because I was very motivated and very determined. When I make my mind up on something I just do it; I don’t take no prisoners, I don’t beat around the bush, I don’t play games, I don’t play at boxing so whatever I want from boxing I take. And that’s the attitude I’ve got.

Q
How does training for this fight against Deontay Wilder compare to the training you went through close to three years ago when you were preparing for Wladimir Kitschko?

T. Fury
All training comes from the same whether I’m training for Francesco Pianeta, Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder or anybody, they’re all the same. You just train, eat, sleep, repeat for a long period of time and that’s it. The only thing that might change is the size of the sparring partners. The only thing that will change in the training camp ever is the size of the sparring partners, that’s it.

Q
When you’re preparing for someone like Deontay Wilder and his kind of knockout power, do you focus more on trying to get Wilder deep into the fight or being able to withstand Wilder’s shots and being able to trade with him?

T. Fury
I don’t really focus on any of that, to be honest, I just do what I do and that’s it. I don’t really care what Deontay Wilder is going to bring to the table. As long as I do what I do best, I’m not really bothered by anything he does. I just hope he comes to fight, so that’s what I’m hoping for.

Q
I’m wondering if boxing provides some type of therapeutic value for you and if so in what ways?

T. Fury
I’m not so sure it’s the boxing but definitely the training does help. See, when I don’t train I tend to get down and low so I need to train on a regular basis. When I train I’m fine. I think with the boxing side of things it’s always giving me something to look forward to, something to train for or a goal. And it’s really helped me in the last year or so.

Q
When you win this fight, what would your victory meal be? And where do you plan on going for vacation?

T. Fury
It’ll probably be about 4:00 in the morning when I get finished with the drug test and the press conference so I probably won’t be eating after the fight, I’ll go to bed straight away when I get finished. And my vacation I’ll be back at home where I live in the UK because I’ve been away for over three months. I’ve not seen my kids in over three months and my wife and all and we have Christmas coming up so that’s going to be like a good vacation for December.

Q
Is adding Freddie Roach part of the mind game or is this to improve Tyson Fury for this fight?

T. Fury
We always intended to train down to Los Angeles and then I asked for Freddie Roach in the corner because he’s been very hospitable to us. And I thought he’d be good if we got him in the corner as well and gives us some tips and just helps out generally. He’s very experienced and he’s a very nice guy. It’s not a mind tactic to Deontay Wilder, there’s no mind tactic things going on. I didn’t try and get involved in Klitschko’s mind, it just seemed to work out that way.

Q
Do you agree with the betting line that has you opening up at a plus 138, Wilder at minus 165 but Fury to win by decision is plus 200 and Fury by KO plus 600?

T. Fury
It means nothing to me the betting odds because I’ve defied the odds, just even being alive today I defied the odds. Being a world champion defied the odds; being named Tyson Fury defied odds too. So odds, I don’t really think about odds, they don’t mean anything to me at all. I’m not a gambling man at all.

Q
My mother was on the aircraft carrier during the promotional event in New York City, thinks you’re quite a character. She wants to know if you abandon sex during training?

T. Fury
No sex. No sex. No sex at all, boy.

Q
How do you really rate Deontay Wilder as a fighter and a threat on December 1?

T. Fury
I hope he can bring his biggest threat into the ring on December 1. As a person, as a fighter, and as a champion so he’s done his job. Congratulations to him for that.

Q
We always talk about styles make fights so can you give your assessment of the difference between yourself and Wilder as boxers please?

T. Fury
Yes, I’m very good looking and Deontay Wilder is not. That’s the difference between us.

Deontay Wilder is a good fighter. Styles do make fights as you’ve seen time and time again in the past. Very rare that we get to see two people over 6 foot 6 fighting each other, so it’s going to be an interesting clash. We’ve never probably seen this before, so people don’t know what to really expect. You’ve got someone who’s got dynamite power and he’s going to be looking to land it; and you’ve got someone who’s got great boxing skill and he’s going to be trying to use that. But at the end of the day it’s a fight and at some point or other, two men, heavyweights in the fight, will have to punch each other and stand and fight. And when that moment comes, you’re going to see who’s the better fighter, who can take the bad punches, and who can’t.

The loser of this fight rebuilds and the winner continues on along the road. The fans are the only winners in this fight. Me and Deontay Wilder, we have something to lose. I’ve been boxing my whole life and never lost a fight. So if I lose on December the 1st, I’ve lost something, I’ve lost everything I’ve worked for in the last – I don’t know how many years, 10 years or so. And I suppose Deontay Wilder is the same. The fans ain’t losing because they get to see two fighters punch each other to pieces.

But make no mistake, I can box for 12 hours on my toes. At some point he’s going to rip me and I’m going to rip him. It’ll be a 20-foot boxing ring so it’s not that big for two fighters to fight. At some point we’re going to have to stand and when that point comes I’m very confident that I can withstand his power and knock him out.

Q
You can’t avoid though getting drawn into a war because you’re known for being clever, aren’t you?

T. Fury
Well I don’t know about clever; if it was clever I’d be a rocket scientist and not a boxer. But I have got the ability to see punchesbefore that happens, which is a very good skill. And so like you say, I’ll be looking to avoid the knockout punches and land mine. Boxing is about hitting your opponent and not taking any in return, that’s the way I look at boxing.

I don’t look at boxing like I’m going to hit you in the face and you’re going to hit me back because then I’d be a fool because a heavyweight, you don’t want to be taking big punches to the head because it may cause brain damage sooner or later. And that’s not something that I want to occur and it’s my business to get out of the way.

T. Brown
Well thank you Tyson, and thank you, everybody, for joining us. Just one more time, the event is at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Tickets are available on axs.com and this is a rare opportunity to see a real heavyweight championship fight, two undefeated heavyweight champions in one night on SHOWTIME PPV.

• Maurice Hooker 140 lbs vs. Alex Saucedo 139.4 lbs
(Hooker’s WBO Junior Welterweight world title – 12 Rounds)

ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET)

• Egidijus Kavaliauskas 146.6 lbs vs. Roberto Arriaza 146.8 lbs
(Kavaliauskas’ NABF and Arriaza’s WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight titles – 10 Rounds)

• Cletus Seldin 141.4 lbs vs. Nelson Lara 142.4 lbs
(Super Lightweight – 10 Rounds)

•Jonathan Guzman 122.6 lbs vs. Roberto Castaneda 122.8 lbs
(Super Bantamweight – 10 Rounds)

Albert Bell 132.4 lbs vs. Carlos Padilla 132.4 lbs
(Lightweight – 8 Rounds)

Trevor McCumby 172.6 lbs vs. Felipe Romero 172.4 lbs
(Light Heavyweight – 8 Rounds)

Tyler Howard 161 lbs vs. Isiah Seldon 160.8 lbs
(Middleweight – 8 Rounds)

Aaron Morales 117.4 lbs vs. Francisco Lapizco 118.2 lbs
(Bantamweight – 6 Rounds)

Rasheen Brown 120.6 lbs vs. Sebastian Baltazar 120.6 lbs
(Super Bantamweight – 4 Rounds)

Paul Kroll 149.6 lbs vs. Travis Conley 147.4 lbs
(Super Welterweight – 4 Rounds)

• John Rincon 135 lbs vs. Emanuel Williams (Will Weigh-In Later)
(Lightweight- 4 Rounds)
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Roc Nation Sports and Matchroom Boxing USA, tickets for this world championship event are on sale now. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $50, and $35, tickets may be purchased at the Chesapeake Energy Arena box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Hannah Rankin believes her team have devised the right gameplan to beat Claressa Shields and claim the WBA, IBF and vacant WBC World Middleweight titles on Saturday night at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, KS, live on DAZN.

Tickets are on sale now from ticketmaster.com starting at just $25! Click here to book!

Rankin meets Michigan ace Shields in her second World title fight, coming into the clash on the back of moving up two weights to take WBA Super-Middleweight champion Alicia Napoleon the distance in New York in August.

The 28 year old feels strong at 160lbs as she prepares to face the two-time Team USA Olympic gold medal star, and as a proud Scot, she’s relishing her underdog status.

“I’m so excited about the fight,” said Rankin. “She’s one of the top names in the game and that’s why I’ve taken the challenge at the very top level. I’m really looking forward to the fight, we’ve both got aggressive styles and I think it’s going to be great for TV. I hope she brings her A-game as I’m going to bring mine.

“I’m a massive underdog and I’m not going to say it any other way, but I can’t wait to get in there and showcase what I can do. We’ve got a gameplan to execute and I am confident that if I stick to it, I’ll hear ‘and the new’.

“Being a boxer is a very Scottish thing to do – we’re always the underdog and we love to prove people wrong. I’ve got a big heart and I am a fighter, I always have been. You are always learning in the gym and in every fight and I thrive on that, it’s what attracts me to the sport.

“I’m not a trash talker, I’ve worked on my things in camp so she better be ready for me on Saturday as I’m ready to bring it. Alicia was my first ten round title fight and I stepped up two weights for that. I’m outside my comfort zone again but I learnt a lot in my last fight and I’m going to bring all that out on Saturday.

“Women’s boxing is taking massive steps forward and being live on DAZN on a Matchroom Boxing show is another big step in the right direction. Katie Taylor is leading the way for us too and things are starting to change for the positive and slowly we’re getting there, getting the props and the airtime to build up our fanbases.”

Shield’s clash with Rankin is part of a huge night of action in Kansas in association with KO Night Boxing with a host of stars and local talents in action.

Brooklyn’s Heavyweight star Jarrell Miller meets fellow unbeaten big-hitter Bogdan Dinu in a crunch clash at the top level of the division.

Middleweight contenders Luis Arias and Gabriel Rosado clash in what promises to be a real war as the pair look to gatecrash the lucrative top table, and there’s an all-Mexican clash and a homecoming for Brandon Rios against Ramon Alvarez, brother of ‘Canelo’, as both men look to make a splash at Welterweight.

Team USA 2016 Olympic bronze medal man Nico Hernandez has raced to 5-0 (4 KOs) – the Wichita talent fights for the third time in the Kansas Star Casino and Arena since debuting there in March 2017, unbeaten Wichita Super-Middleweight and police officer Manny Thompson looks to improve his 7-0 record and Las Vegas’ Jeremy Nichols meets Wichita’s Jeremiah Page at Middleweight.

Unbeaten Light-Heavyweight contender Anthony Sims Jr. and Brooklyn’s exciting newcomer to the Middleweight scene Nikita Ababiy, fresh from a first round KO on debut in Chicago in October, are also in action.

NEW YORK (November 15, 2018) – Unified 154-pound world champion Jarrett Hurd and Cuban heavyweight slugger Luis Ortiz hosted separate media workouts in Washington, D.C. and Miami on Thursday for their upcoming matchups on Saturday, December 1 on SHOWTIME PPV® from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Hurd returns to the ring to defend his IBF and WBA belts against Jason Welborn in his first bout since becoming unified champion, while Ortiz takes on Travis Kauffman in a 10-round heavyweight attraction. The PPV undercard also features rising heavyweight Joe Joyce battling Joe Hanks. The Premier Boxing Champions event is headlined by the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury heavyweight championship showdown.

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 Accokeek, Maryland-native Hurd, who unified titles against Erislandy Lara in April on SHOWTIME, was joined at the Hillcrest Boxing Gym in Temple Hills by his trainer Ernesto Rodriguez and fights for the first time since undergoing rotator cuff surgery.

Ortiz, along with trainer Herman Caicedo, held his media workout at Caicedo Sports Training Center in Miami ahead of another opportunity to enter the ring and earn a potential rematch against Deontay Wilder after they engaged in a memorable heavyweight clash in March on SHOWTIME.

Here is what the fighters and their trainers had to say Thursday:

JARRETT HURD

“I can’t wait to get in there on December 1 and show everybody that ‘Swift’ is back at 100 percent. I’m expecting to show my versatility. I’ve shown that I can walk guys down and that I have a full tank of gas through 12 rounds. This time I want to show that I’m also strong defensively and can use my range and height.

“I’m going to really focus on using my jab in this fight. I want to establish that punch and also test out my rotator cuff and prove to everyone that I’m feeling great.

“Jason Welborn is a former British champion and I know that he’s going to be game. He’s coming off of two good wins against Tommy Langford. I know Welborn is going to leave everything in the ring because he has nothing to lose.

“The target is definitely on my back holding two titles. I’m in the position I want to be in. When you’re at the top, everybody is coming for your spot.

“The win over a long-reigning champion like Erislandy Lara solidified in everyone else’s mind what I already knew. Now I’m getting the respect I deserve.

“I showed against Lara that I can dig deep and pull out a win late if I need to. I have that inside of me. I also showed that I have power in both hands because usually I get a knockout with the right hand, but I was able to put Lara on the floor with a left.

“My goal for 2019 is to definitely get one more belt, and I’d also like to fight at home. I definitely want to fight Jermell Charlo for his WBC belt. Unification is what the division needs. I know for sure that me and Charlo both want this fight.

“Every time I’ve had an opportunity presented to me in this sport, I’ve taken full advantage of it. My family pushed me through all of the tough moments and helped get me to where I am today.”

LUIS ORTIZ

“I’m 100 percent ready for this fight. We never stopped working after my last fight and I’m going to show it on December 1. I love staying active. I just want to keep fighting and showing off my skills.

“I’ve only taken off about a month total since fighting Wilder in March, so I still feel sharp and like my training is just continuous. The training stays the same, and once we get the opponent locked in we can focus on a game plan.

“Travis Kauffman is a strong fighter who came up fighting in Philadelphia. I know that’s he’s a tough guy who’s going to come to fight and I’m going to be prepared it.

“I think that my performance against Wilder and since that fight have warranted a rematch. I had Wilder hurt, I just made mental mistakes during the fight. I was fatigued, but I did not get knocked out flat. The referee did his job, but I feel that I did enough to merit another shot. I’ve worked hard to correct the mistakes I made and in a rematch, it would be a different ending.

“Wilder vs. Fury will be an interesting fight. Wilder is fighting someone taller than him for the first time and that could make it go a lot of ways. But I really do believe Wilder is going to win and win by knockout.”

ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ, Hurd’s Trainer

“Training camp has gone very well. It was a bit different for this camp because of the injury but I think everything has been completed and right now we’re just sharpening up so we can peak fight week.

“I laid off of some of the shoulder strength and conditioning that I would usually do with Jarrett because of the injury. We had to do that to let the shoulder heal. He still got in all of his normal strength and conditioning.

“I think Jason Welborn is going to try to come forward and impose his toughness. He has everything to gain in this fight. I think he’ll throw hard shots and try to rough it up. He may just run into a punch and get knocked out, or we’ll pick him apart and stop him late.

“I think what makes Jarrett Hurd so special is his demeanor. He’s a humble kid who works hard and knows what he has to do. Every minute he’s in the ring he’s aware of what he has to do. He communicates well and he follows instructions as well as any fighter I’ve trained throughout the years.”

HERMAN CAICEDO, Ortiz’s Trainer

“Luis Ortiz went through the experience of what happened in the Wilder fight and that’s the best way to overcome it in the future. He lived it, he breathed it and now, he’s going to go out and earn a chance to change the outcome.

“We have no excuses for the way the Wilder fight ended. I thought Ortiz was doing fine, but Wilder’s punches certainly had an effect. It’s heavyweight boxing, so being knocked down first in the fifth round definitely drew from the power supply.

“Unfortunately when he let everything go in the seventh round against Wilder, and almost knocked Wilder out, that drained him completely. Wilder was able to recover and capitalize. But we now know what we have to do in a rematch.

“Ortiz told me that when he first buzzed Wilder he really saw it all right there. He saw himself with the WBC championship. He saw himself knocking out Anthony Joshua and becoming undisputed champion. So he decided to go for it all right there.”

# # #

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

New York (November 15, 2018) – Friday night in Oklahoma City, former IBF Super Bantamweight champion Jonathan Guzman will be back in the ring for the 1st time since losing his title when he takes on Roberto Castaneda in a 10-round bout at the Chesapeake Energy City.

The bout can be seen live on ESPN+.

Guzman (22-1, 22 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic will be making his first start since dropping a razor think decision to Yukinori Oguni in Japan on December 31, 2016.

Guzman, 29 years-old won the title by stopping Shingo Wake on July 20, 2016 is looking for a win over Casteneda to get himself back in the rankings, on his way to another title shot, perhaps against WBO kingpin Isaac Dogboe.

This will be the 1st bout for Guzman under his new management team of El Matador Management.

“It’s been two years since I last fought and I can’t wait to get back in the ring. I’ve lost two years of my career because of promotional issues and now I need to make up this time,” said Guzman.

“I am facing a tough, strong and tall veteran fighter, but I have been training hard and I am ready for whatever comes.”

“I want to thank Top Rank for signing me to a promotional deal. They are one of the best promotional company around, and I know they will get me right back in to a world championship fight soon enough. I also would like to give special thanks to my manager Felipe Gomez from El Matador Management for making this happen for me.”

‘”I am excited to see Guzman back in the ring,” said Gomez. “It is sad to see a former World Champion with great talents sitting around for so long without fighting. He just needs to get one or two wins under his belt to get him right back in the mix with the top-ten super bantamweights.”

In the sport of boxing when you are undefeated you are considered on your way to becoming the best, and on Thursday night December 6th four undefeated boxers are on their journey to be the best when they highlight the Fight Club OC show in The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, CA.

How about 11-0 Serhii Bohachuk a monster at super welterweight with all his wins by KO. How about Andreas Katzourakis who might only be 1-0 as a pro but is considered the best 160lber out of Greece. How about 2-0 Sean Garcia from Victorville, who’s bloodline starts with his brother big time prospect Ryan Garcia. How about 1-0 Sergio Gonzalez out of Corona who was a top amateur before turning pro earlier this year.

Then to add to this big-time line-up let’s add Fullerton’s 6-8 Jack May a former UFC MMA fighter who will be making his pro boxing debut in The Hangar on December 6 against Allen Ruiz.

Let’s not forget that all Fight Club OC shows are hybrid featuring both boxing and mma, and Fight Club OC MMA matchmaker Mel Valenzuela has put together three solid mma bouts.

Santa Ana’s Richie Palomino 1-1 will be back after a tough split decision loss in October facing LA’s Devon Brock at 2-1. La Habra’s Mark Matsumoto will face Ventura’s 7-3 Jesse Newell; and Buena Park’s Samuel Barrera will make his pro mma debut facing Anaheim’s Dejon Daniels.

All Tickets, are priced at $60 and are available at www.socafights.com.
We would also like to introduce our newest Fight Club OC Sponsor TONG STEAK JERKY who will have a booth at the Dec 6th show as well as all our 2019 Fight Club OC shows. Be sure to stop by their merchandise booth on 12/6 and say hi as they will be making some great deals for Fight Club OC fans!

Los Angeles, CA (November 15, 2018) Four-Division Pound for Pound World Champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez, (47-2, 39 KOs), is training in Coachella, CA for his return to action against former world champion Pedro ‘Jibran’ Guevara (32-3-1, 19 KOs), in the 10-round super flyweight co-main event at UNDISPUTED set for Saturday, December 8 at the StubHub Center. The event will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 10:20 p.m. ET/PT.

“I love training here in Coachella, the air is clean and it’s very quiet,” said Gonzalez. “I’ve trained here before; the sparring is great and the facilities are just what I need to prepare myself for victory.”

“Guevara is a very strong fighter, he was already a world champion and wants to return to the that status,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve always respected my opponents, for me it’s important to train very hard and really let me hands go in the fight like I did in my last fight against Fuentes and I got the knockout.”

“I felt very good against Fuentes, the training camp for that fight was perfect. As long as my training camps go smoothly I feel that anything is possible.”

“I’m staying at super flyweight, I want to keep training and take care of myself between fights, not put on too much weight. I want to be world champion again and if I’m victorious I want to fight one of the champions next. My dream is to become a world champion again.”

UNDISPUTED is headlined by the Consensus #1 Ranked Women’s Pound-for-Pound Fighter and Undisputed Women’s Welterweight World Champion ‘The First Lady’ Cecilia Braekhus (34-0, 9 KOs)

defending her titles against two-time world title challenger, Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes, (18-4-3, 1 KO), a native of Gilwice, Poland, now based in Marshfield, MA in the ten-round main event.

Presented by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Boxing Promotions, advance tickets priced at $25, $50, $100 and $150 can be purchased through AXS HERE .The StubHub Center is located at 18400 Avalon Boulevard, Carson, CA 90746. For more information please visit their website at www.StubHubCenter.com.

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Returning to battle less than three months after a knockout victory, Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez looks to continue on his path towards a fifth world title. On September 15, 2018, the hard-hitting Nicaraguan dismantled Moises Fuentes with a ‘Knockout of the Year’ stoppage in the fifth round on the HBO Pay-Per-View Undercard of the World Middleweight Championship between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.

Gonzalez has held world titles in four weight divisions; minimum weight, junior flyweight, flyweight and super flyweight. From September 12, 2015 to March 18, 2017, he was the Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World.

The 29-year-old Guevara first became a world champion on December 30, 2014 with a seventh-round knockout of Akira Yaegashi in Tokyo, Japan, winning the vacant WBC Junior Flyweight World Title. After making two successful defenses in Mexico, Guevara would return to Japan losing a split-decision to Yu Kimura on November 28, 2015.

In 2018, Guevara has recorded two stoppage victories, an eighth-round knockout of Angel Guevara on May 18, 2018 followed by a tenth-round stoppage of Roberto Sanchez on September 1, 2018.

Social Media

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#UNDISPUTED

@1LadyCecilia

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/CeciliaBraekhus

/Chocolatitoofficial

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@CeciliaBraekhus

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360 Boxing Promotions

Website, www.360promotions.us Facebook, @360BoxingPromos, Twitter, @360BoxingPromos

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NEW YORK CITY (Nov. 15, 2018): Middleweight knockout sensation David Lemieux (40-4, 34 KOs) will look to make a second potential Knockout of the Year performance before 2018 ends as he takes on Tureano Johnson (20-2, 14 KOs) in the scheduled 12-round co-main event of Canelo vs. Rocky. The card will also feature the return of Sadam “World Kid” Ali and will showcase some of Golden Boy Promotions’ best rising stars. The event will take place Saturday, December 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be streamed live on DAZN–which, at just $9.99 per month after a one-month free trial, means new subscribers to DAZN will enjoy the entire Canelo vs. Rocky fight night for free.

“Golden Boy Promotions will give fans early Christmas gifts this year as we offer yet another great card to close 2018 on a very high note,” said Oscar De La Hoya, CEO and Chairman of Golden Boy Promotions. “David Lemieux still has his eyes set on Canelo, and that night they will be in the same arena. Lemieux knows that if he loses against Tureano Johnson, he can forget about any shot with Canelo. Also, each of these undercard fights, even the ones featuring Sadam Ali, Ryan Garcia, Vergil Ortiz and Lamont Roach, Jr., could easily be the main attraction of any other event, so fans should not miss out on this great night of action – especially when it’s free for new DAZN subscribers.”

Lemieux is a 29-year-old puncher coming off a spectacular first-round knockout victory against Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan on the televised pay-per-view undercard of Canelo vs. GGG2. The native of Montreal, Canada will look to earn another shot at the middleweight crown in this bout against Johnson.

“I’m extremely ready and looking forward to my next fight against [Tureano] Johnson,” said David Lemieux. “I didn’t take a break since my last fight because I thought that I would be facing Canelo. Training camp has been great. Johnson is a solid opponent. I’m ready for an explosive performance and a great victory to end the year in a great way.”

Johnson is a 34-year-old contender who hopes to fight for a world title despite some setbacks. Johnson’s only losses were against Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens and Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko. If the native of Nassau, Bahamas can get past Lemieux, he will join a short list of fighters who are worthy of a middleweight title shot.

“David Lemieux is a former world champion, so he’s the kind of guy I’ll have to defeat if I want a shot at the title,” said Tureano Johnson. “I’ve had some setbacks in my career, but I’m feeling better than I ever have before. I’m excited to be part of this platform and will take advantage of this opportunity with a victory against Lemieux this December.”

“We are happy to have David Lemieux fight on December 15 in the Mecca of boxing,” said Camille Estephan, President of Eye of the Tiger Management. “He is having a great training camp and is getting ready to bring two sledgehammers to the ring, one in his left hand and one in his right. He’s healthy and ready to go.”

Former WBO Junior Middleweight World Champion Sadam “World Kid” Ali (26-2, 14 KOs) of Brooklyn, N.Y. will make his welterweight return against the rugged and experienced Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera (24-7, 7 KOs) of Riverside, Calif. in a 10-round battle.

Ryan “Kingry” Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) of Victorville, Calif. will fight for the first time under the tutelage of Eddy Reynoso, head trainer of Canelo Alvarez, in a 10-round lightweight battle.

Yves Ulysse Jr. (16-1, 9 KOs) of Montreal, Canada will return in a 10-round super lightweight fight.

Super lightweight knockout artist Vergil Ortiz (11-0, 11 KOs) of Dallas, Texas will return in a clash scheduled for 10 rounds. Opponents for Garcia, Ulysses and Ortiz will be announced shortly.

Lamont Roach Jr. (17-0-1, 7 KOs) of Washington, D.C. will defend his WBO International Super Featherweight Title against Alberto Mercardo (15-1-1, 3 KOs) of Humacao, Puerto Rico in a 10-round fight.

Bilal Akkawy (18-0-1, 14 KOs) of Sidney, Australia will take on Victor Fonseca (17-8-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight battle

Additional information on this card will be announced shortly.

Canelo vs. Rocky is a 12-round fight for the WBA Super Middleweight World
Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Matchroom Boxing. Lemieux vs. Johnson is a 12-round middleweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Eye of The Tiger Management.The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” and Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle.” The event will take place Saturday, December 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be streamed live on DAZN.

Tickets for Canelo vs. Rocky are on sale and are priced at $1,000, $500, $300, $200, $150, $100, $75 and $50 plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges. Tickets can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com, www.goldenboytickets.com
or www.MSG.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com,
http://www.matchroomboxing.com, and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @Rocky87Fielding, @MatchRoomBoxing, and @DAZN_USA. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing,
www.facebook.com/SaulCaneloAlvarez, www.facebook.com/MatchroomBoxing
and https://www.facebook.com/DAZNUSA/. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @Rocky_Fielding, @MatchroomBoxing and @DAZN_USA. Follow the conversation using #CaneloRocky.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying
and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloRocky into a browser. Credit must be provided to Golden Boy Promotions for any photo and/or video usage.

About DAZN:
Globally, DAZN is a live and on-demand sports streaming service created by fans, for fans, that is leading the charge to provide access to sports anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees no long-term contract, no bundles, just one affordable price for access to all the service’s sports on connected devices including Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. DAZN is currently available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Italy and now the U.S. at just $9.99 per month after a one-month free trial – where it is set to become a must-have service for fight fans, with 100+ fight nights already lined up from Matchroom Boxing, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series, Combate Americas and the newly announced Golden Boy Promotions.

Michael Conlan will face former Commonwealth champion Jason Cunningham when he fights in England for the first time as a professional at the Manchester Arena on the massive Josh Warrington-Carl Frampton card on December 22.

Featherweight Conlan joins his Belfast band of brothers, Frampton, Paddy Barnes and Steven Ward on the BT Box Office blockbuster (ESPN+ in the United States) and in Cunningham he faces his first British opposition since entering the paid code in March of last year.

The experienced Doncaster 29-year-old holds a record of 24-5 and has won the Commonwealth title at two different weights – bantam and featherweight – while he has previously challenged for the British title at super flyweight. He is also a two-time winner of the English bantamweight title.

Last time out in June, Cunningham won the Central Area super bantamweight title via a points victory over Paul Economides.

He is now up against blue chip prospect Conlan, the former world amateur champion who will have his tenth professional fight in Manchester.

In his hugely successful amateur career, Conlan was ranked No.1 in the AIBA world rankings at bantamweight with a medal haul that included an Olympic bronze medal (London 2012), Commonwealth Games gold (Glasgow 2014), European Championships gold (Samokov, Bulgaria 2015) and a World Championships gold (Doha 2015). He achieved superstar status in his homeland as one of Ireland’s most decorated amateur fighters of all time.

“He is a good, experienced fighter who has been in with some top guys and I am looking forward to facing this challenge head on in only my 10th fight,” said the 26-year-old Conlan on his latest assignment.

“It is something I am excited about and something where I believe I can show the best Michael Conlan.

“This is maybe the first time I will be facing someone who can speak proper English! The fans will know him and I rate Jason Cunningham, but I believe come fight night I will show my class and how good I actually am.

“I have been calling for stiffer opposition for a while now, although I know my fight in Belfast was a tough test (against Adeilson Dos Santos), but I quite easily outboxed that dude.

“The fact that Jason is known for giving it a go and not backing down – and with it being an opponent who will bring a fanbase with him – it will be a first for me. It is something I need to experience.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I will prepare strenuously because this dude will provide a tough challenge in a fight that he will believe he can win.”

Since turning professional in the wake of a controversial exit from the 2016 Rio Olympics, Conlan has clocked up nine straight wins, with six of them coming inside the distance.

The younger brother of Jamie Conlan made his debut as the headliner at the Madison Square Garden Theater where, after being walked to the ring by Irish MMA superstar Conor McGregor, he outclassed Tim Ibarra to get his pro journey underway.

He has since boxed in Chicago, Brisbane, Tucson and twice more at the MSG Theater before getting to perform in the main arena at the Garden against Ibon Larrinaga in May.

The following month he enjoyed a homecoming fight and a significant step up in class against Adeilson Dos Santos at the SSE Arena in Belfast, where he was victorious over the eight-round distance.

Most recently in October, Conlan got to experience the Las Vegas fight scene where he overcame the resistance of Nicola Cipolletta and forced a seventh round stoppage at the Park Theater in his Las Vegas debut.

IBF world featherweight champion Josh Warrington takes on former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton at the Manchester Arena on December 22nd live on BT Sport Box Office. Mark Heffron will now fight WBO Interim world title challenger Liam Williams in support of the main event, while Belfast’s blue chip featherweight prospect Michael Conlan (9-0) takes on former Commonwealth Champion Jason Cunningham (24-5) on the bill along with world flyweight title challenger Paddy Barnes (5-1) and unbeaten Light Heavyweight contender Steven Ward (9-0).

In another middleweight addition, 7-0-1 Darlington Middleweight Troy ‘Trojan’ Williamson has also been added to the show after his thrilling draw with Jack Flatley earlier this year.

Tickets are priced at £50 Upper Tier, £80 Tier, £100 Tier, £150 Tier, £200 Floor/Tier, £300 Floor, £400 Floor, £600 Inner Ring VIP Hospitality and are available.

Tickets available via Manchester-Arena.com

ANTHONY YARDE HAS landed himself a spot on the biggest night of boxing in 2018, with the self-styled ‘Beast from the East’ set to fight on the huge Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury card at the Staples Center on December 1.

The 17-0 (16KOs) WBO Intercontinental and European champion will have his 18th professional contest in Los Angeles on the undercard of the huge heavyweight collision between the WBC world champion and the unbeaten lineal champion of the division.

It will represent a second stint of Stateside experience for the explosive Yarde, following on from his 2016 venture to the AT&T Stadium in Texas where he bludgeoned Rayford Johnson in the first round on the night of Liam Smith’s defence of his WBO world super welterweight title against Saul Alvarez.

“I’ve experienced the fight scene in the USA before and it is something I cannot wait to sample it again,” commented Yarde. “To be a part of such a huge occasion really will be something else and it will only inspire me to create nights like this for myself in the future.

“These are the events you can only dream of being a part of and I would like to thank Frank (Warren) and my manager Tunde Ajayi for making it possible. I am looking forward to showcasing my talents to the American public and this sort of exposure can only help me for when the time is right for me to be challenging for and winning world titles.”

Tunde Ajayi added: “Myself and Anthony have worked tremendously hard and it is a privilege and honour to be involved in the biggest card in boxing, period.

“I just feel that it is a position we have both worked hard for and it just shows you that if you put one in you get one back and if you put two in you get two back. We’ve put a lot into the sport since before Anthony came into professional boxing and from that point to where we are now has been constant work.

“I just feel that his hard work warrants being involved on such a great card.”

Daniel Dubois will return to the ring on December 15 on a night of top championship boxing at the Brentwood Centre, live on BT Sport, that also features British super featherweight champion Sam Bowen making a first defence of his title against Ronnie Clark.

The 21-year-old Dubois will be entering into his tenth professional contest against a soon to be revealed opponent and will be looking to finish the year with a bang, having already defeated D.L Jones (TKO 3), Tom Little (TKO 5) and Kevin Johnson (PTS) in 2018.

Explosive super featherweight Bowen, 14-0, gets back to domestic business after winning the WBO Intercontinental title last time out with a brutal fourth round stoppage of the tough Argentinean Horacio Alfredo Cabral.

He won the Lonsdale belt with a defeat of Maxi Hughes and now moves onto a hazardous defence against Clark, who won the IBF European title in February via a shock defeat of the previously unbeaten Zelfa Barrett at York Hall.

‘The Shark’, 21-4-2, from Dundee now gets the opportunity to prove the upset was no fluke against the leader of the current British super featherweight contenders.

Sunny Edwards is rewarded for his scintillating display last month against Ryan Farrag with a further defence of his WBO European super flyweight title on a BT Sport televised card.

The 22-year-old from Croydon will hit double figures on the night as he seeks to go 10-0 in the professional ranks.

Former British champion Bradley Skeete got back into winning ways at the same Brentwood venue in October with a savage third round stoppage of Fernando Valencia and now seeks to restore his name in the world rankings.

Also showcasing their talents in Brentwood will be exciting super featherweight Ryan Garner (7-0), super welterweight Hamza Sheeraz (5-0), former Team GB flyweight Harvey Horn (3-0), unbeaten welterweight Sanjeev Sahota (16-0), bantamweight Jake Pettitt (3-0), middleweight Caoimhin Agyarko (1-0). Portsmouth lightweight Mark Chamberlain will make his professional debut.

TICKET PRICES
£150 – Hospitality
£100 – Floor
£50 – Bleachers unreserved
Doors Open: 4pm

15 November, 2018 – Jakarta, Indonesia ; Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam has seen many different battles in his seven years as a professional mixed martial artist. But for the Swedish standout, his loss against former ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren last year has had the most impact in his career.

More than a year ago, Askren dominated Kadestam en route to a second-round TKO victory. It was a humbling experience for Kadestam, but despite the loss, “The Bandit” acknowledged the lessons learned from the setback, which he said should prove essential in his career moving forward.

“This defeat was the best learning experience of my career because during my whole camp I was learning so much to prepare for Ben’s wrestling. It meant I developed as a martial artist just through the process of doing my training camp,” Kadestam told onefc.com back in July.

“In the bout, I could see what he was trying to do, and his answers to what I was trying to do. Every 10 seconds, there was something he was doing that I could learn from. He was one step ahead of me in the whole bout, and I learned so much from experiencing that.

“I think my wrestling game has improved and changed completely as a result of that bout, and I am seeing it in my training. I get to a position and think: ‘How did I get to this position?’ It is from my experience of competing against Ben.

“Obviously, I was angry and disappointed immediately after the loss, but it was a learning experience, and it has actually made me a lot better. Martial arts is a journey, so you have to appreciate the ups and downs.”

Kadestam went on to put together a stunning performance against Malaysia’s Agilan Thani, whom he finished in the third round with a scintillating striking sequence.

On Saturday, 17 November, Kadestam has yet another chance to apply the lessons he learned from facing Askren as he heads toward his second chance of becoming a World Champion. Kadestam is scheduled to lock horns with undefeated American Tyler McGuire for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Title in the main event of ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM at the Stadium Istora in Jakarta, Indonesia.

This time, Kadestam believes that he can handle the situation much better.

“I’ve been training for these kinds of guys for so long, so I’m starting to get the hang of it. I’ve been training hard, and I feel good, so I feel confident for this fight,” Kadestam ended.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship (ONE) is the largest global sports media property in Asian history, and the largest producer of millennial live sports content in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE is the Home of Martial Arts, and is the world’s largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. ONE hosts the biggest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions on the largest global media broadcast in Asia. ONE eSports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship, runs Asia’s largest global eSports Championship Series with some of the biggest blockbuster game titles in the world. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1.7 billion potential viewers across 138 countries with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Bandsports, Startimes, Premier Sports, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, OSN, and more.

The hometown kid, Alex Saucedo, is hoping to become only the second Oklahoma City product (following Sean O’Grady, who is also co-promoting this event) to taste world championship glory.

Saucedo and Hooker faced off for the first time at Wednesday’s press conference, a precursor to the in-ring hostilities that will occur Friday evening at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

Saucedo (28-0, 18 KOs) and Hooker (24-0-3, 16 KOs) sparred many rounds years ago in Dallas, but both acknowledged those sessions would have little bearing on Friday’s outcome. They both promised an action fight, a fitting installment for this “border war.”

Hooker-Saucedo will headline a special one-fight telecast on ESPN at midnight ET. In the co-feature, which headlines the ESPN+ stream (6:30 p.m ET), undefeated welterweight puncher Egidijus Kavaliauskas (20-0, 16 KOs) will fight Roberto Arriaza (17-0, 13 KOs) in a showdown with potential world title implications.

Maurice Hooker

On being the road fighter

“l’ll fight anywhere. Outside your house, in front of your house, in the ring, on the sidewalk. I don’t care where I fight as long as I fight. I’m a fighter. I love to fight. I can outbox him. I can fight you on the inside. Come Friday, we’re going to see a good fight.”

On sparring with Alex

“We both were young back then. We got better. I got better. He’s better. I just got a little more better than him. It’s going to be a good fight come Friday. I’m here in Oklahoma. I don’t care where I fight. It’s on.”

Alex Saucedo

“I grew up just around the corner I always had the dream to bring championship fights back to Oklahoma, and now its here. I’m not going to let this opportunity go. I’m ready. We prepared ourselves in Big Bear for a very good fight. Like I’ve said, I’m ready for anything Maurice brings that night. I’m going to take that belt from him.”

On his June victory against Lenny Zappavigna

“It was a very tough fight. Everyone enjoyed it. I’m glad we’re here at this fight now. That fight got me to this point. Like I said, I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Egidijus Kavaliauskas

“Every fight for me is a step toward my dream. My dream is to become a world champion, so every fight for me, I’m bringing 100 percent of me because it’s a step. A big step. This fight is the same.”

“Big respect to Roberto. He’s a very good fighter. He and I have a similar style, so I know it will be a great fight.”

Roberto Arriaza

“I think this is a great opportunity. This is the opportunity of my life. I want to thank everyone involved for giving me this opportunity. I’ve been working hard for this.”

“I know he’s a great fighter. I have a lot of respect for him. Like always, I have a lot of faith, and in the name of God, I’m going to be victorious once again.”

Bob Arum

“It’s great to be back in Oklahoma City. It’s our second time here this year. {Sean O’Grady} is the pride of Oklahoma City. I never promoted Sean here, but he won the title from Hilmer Kenty of the Kronk group in Atlantic City, the {WBA} lightweight championship.”

Sean O’Grady

“I’ve kept my eye on Alex Saucedo since he was about 12 years old. And I can tell you right now, the kid can fight. He grew up in the amateurs. He was a great little fighter, even as a young man. At 12, 13, 14 years old, he was a great little fighter.”

“I like Maurice Hooker. He too has a great background in the sport of boxing. This is going to be a terrific matchup.”

ESPN, Midnight ET

Maurice Hooker (champion) vs. Alex Saucedo (challenger), 12 rounds, WBO junior welterweight world title

ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET

Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Roberto Arriaza, 10 rounds, Kavaliauskas’ NABF welterweight title

Cletus Seldin vs. Nelson Lara, 10 rounds, super lightweight

Jonathan Guzman vs. Roberto Castaneda, 10 rounds, super bantamweight

Albert Bell vs. Carlos Padilla, 8 rounds, lightweight

Trevor McCumby vs. Felipe Romero, 8 rounds, light heavyweight

Tyler Howard vs. Isiah Seldon, 8 rounds, middleweight

Aaron Morales vs. Francisco Lapizco, 6 rounds, bantamweight

Rasheen Brown vs. Sebastian Baltazar, 4 rounds, super bantamweight

Paul Kroll vs. Travis Conley, 4 rounds, super welterweight

John Rincon vs. Emanuel Williams, 4 rounds, lightweight

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Roc Nation Sports and Matchroom Boxing USA, tickets for this world championship event are on sale now. Priced at $250, $150, $75, $50, and $35, tickets may be purchased at the Chesapeake Energy Arena box office, online at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

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