LONDON (April 28) – Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather is refusing to underestimate renowned knockout artist Marcos Maidana ahead of their megafight this weekend.

The pair clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night, live and exclusive on BoxNation, with boxing’s number one superstar adamant that he will need to be at his very best to overcome the formidable Argentine.

Despite some calling into question Maidana’s chances, the WBC welterweight world champion believes the Santa Fe native’s victory over Adrien Broner to claim the WBA crown last December shows he’s not one to be overlooked.

“Adrien Broner’s a good boxer and he roughed Adrien Broner up and he got the victory, so we can’t say what this guy, can or he can’t do. We cannot overlook the guy,” said Mayweather.

“I can’t just say he’s going to be an easy fight because he’s not going to be an easy fight for me, I don’t think so. What I have to do is I’ve got to make sure that I’m at my best.

“I think when Maidana’s facing me his confidence is built after he beat Adrien Broner because he feels that both of the styles are very, very similar, so it’s like the same style.

“So May 3 I’ve got to go out there and take my time, keep my composure and be me. Everybody thinks he’s just going to be a pushover, but I don’t think so. That’s why I’m training hard and I’m pushing myself to the limit every day,” he said.

Despite his impressive victory over Broner, the 30-year-old Maidana has already suffered defeat at the hands of another man fighting on the bill, British star Amir Khan.

The former unified light-welterweight world champion takes on Luis Collazo on the same night, but Mayweather has refused to focus solely on attacking Maidana’s body, a focal point Khan and others have used to their benefit.

“My focus is this guy. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be well rounded and ready for this fight because this is at a total different level.

“Against Amir Khan, the guy could have been doing a lot of sit-ups and making his body in tip-top condition and tip-top shape. Amir Khan could have just caught him with a good shot,” said Mayweather.

“My body is in very good condition, but sometimes a guy can hit me with a good shot and I can feel it, but we just don’t know how we’re going to approach the fight.

“We’re going to take our time and go out there and if a guy leaves an opening on his face, we’re going to take it, if he leaves an opening on his body we’re going to take it, but we can’t just say we’re going to go in there and everything is going to go to the body. We’re going to take our time and pick the guy apart,” he said.

No matter how the fight pans out the elusive Mayweather, who has captured eight world titles in five weight divisions, is certain that this will be one of the most entertaining bouts this year as he looks to stand in front of the rugged Maidana.

“We must realize that I am the bigger guy even though I walk around at 150. I go no higher than 152. I’m naturally the bigger guy because I’ve been at 147 almost 10 years now, so I’m naturally the bigger guy. I think that my dad has the game plan to stay in the pocket, make the guy miss and make the guy pay,” he said.

It is the fact he is able to see the shots coming and adjust which will allow Mayweather to adopt this game plan despite the threat such a bold strategy like this presents against one of the best punchers around.

“I can see the shots,” said Mayweather. “Actually, I can feel when a guy’s going to punch. I can feel it. I don’t even have to see it; I can feel it. You know, this is just with experience and being around the sport so long. I can just feel a guy when he’s going to shoot his shot. A lot of times guys telegraph their shot. Their body language gives away when they’re going to shoot because of how they position themselves.

“So when a guy positions himself in a certain way you know what shot he’s going to throw, but my thing is whatever a guy’s best attribute is, whatever he does best, my goal is to take that away from him and make him resort to doing something else,” he said.

Mayweather vs. Maidana is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night from midnight. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

In less than a week, Arthur Abraham wants to defend his WBO Crown against Nikola Sjekloca. In this interview, the prodigy of coach Ulli Wegner talks about his quick return to the squared circle and what he thinks about a possible fourth match up with compatriot Robert Stieglitz.

Only two months ago, you won back the WBO Super Middleweight World Championship from Robert Stieglitz. You will defend that title on May 3. Do you have something to prove?

Arthur Abraham: No. I do not have to prove anything to anyone, except myself. I want to show that I am still hungry for success and also want to conserve my current shape by staying active. I can take a break when I am 40 years old – being retired for good.

Before you beat Stieglitz for the WBO Title, a lot of fans and experts said that you have had enough. Was your answer inside the ring also an answer to your critics?

Arthur Abraham: I also had good tactics at hand in the rematch with Stieglitz, but his “lucky punch” rendered them void. I had the same kind of preparation for our rubber match and you saw what happened there. If I would have a lack of motivation I would have hang the gloves up rather today than tomorrow. I do not give a damn about what the critics say about it.

What about a fourth meeting with Stieglitz in the future?

Arthur Abraham: We have given the fans an action-packed fight recently and I can envision that we can still give them another good fight. However, if it will come this far – I do not now. First, Stieglitz has to earn the chance to make it happen. Maybe he has to go up against someone like Tyron Zeuge, who might be too much for Stieglitz to overcome.

Next up for you is a title defense against Nikola Sjekloca. What are your thoughts on him?

Arthur Abraham: He is physical strong and has only lost once to current world champion Sakio Bika. His technique is also respectable but it still will not be enough to beat me.

When you first met Sjekloca at the kick-off press conference earlier this month, he talked more about a possible unification with Bika than about fighting you. Does he lack the proper respect for you?

Arthur Abraham: I do not care for his future plans. And by the way: who is the world champion – him or me? Before it gets tough inside the ring, a lot of fighters can talk a good game but cannot follow up their words with action. Watch my fight on May 3 to see this happen again.

Moreover, how do you want to earn Sjekloca’s respect?

Arthur Abraham: With my punching power. When my first hard punch lands precisely, Sjekloca will know what he is up against. Then it will show what he is made of.

Your coach Ulli Wegner said that you are still progressing as a boxer. How long do you want to go on with your career?

Arthur Abraham: I hope for at least another 2-3 years. I am feeling that I still have the potential to fight against the world’s best. I am still aiming to take revenge for some of my losses, like against Andre Ward. But now, it is all about beating Sjekloca on May 3.

Tickets for the fight night at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany are available via www.eventim.de.

PHOENIX — April 27, 2014 — It was another electric night of fights at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, as Iron Boy Promotions, in addition to putting on seven exciting live bouts, streamed four bouts world-wide, welcomed special guests, and announced its next event.
Boxing fans from all over the world were treated to a live, free, high-definition broadcast of Iron Boy 12, featuring the last four bouts of the evening.

In the main event bout, Joey Ruelas (8-0-1, 3KO) battled veteran Rollin Williams (23-17-2, 16KO) over eight rounds to remain undefeated via unanimous decision.

Additional Results:
Xavier Montelongo def Juan Carlos Benavides by Unanimous Decision
Francisco De Vaca def Rafael Rivera by TKO Rd 2
Edgar Brito def Jesus Pacheco by Unanimous Decision
Sijuola Shabazz def Johnny Jackson via KO Rd 1
Keenan Carbajal draw vs. John Herrera
Tim Riddell def Miguelito Marti via KO Rd1

Iron Boy Promotions was honored to welcome special guests Austin “No Doubt” Trout, Jesus “El Martillo” Gonzalez and Referee Tony Weeks to Iron Boy 12. Trout was in attendance to support Siju Shabazz, who also hails from Las Cruces, New Mexico. Gonzalez is an accomplished professional fighter and Phoenix native. Weeks, who began his career as a referee in Arizona, officiated the main event bout.

To cap off the evening, Iron Boy Promotions announced its next event, Iron Boy 13, which will be the promotion’s first foray outside of Arizona. On June 6th, Iron Boy will bring the same quality and energy to El Paso, Texas, and once again, will stream the card via the web.

We thank all the fans, friends, families, fighters and teams for another great night of boxing!

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Iron Boy Promotions is a Phoenix-based boxing promotions company. Established in 2011, Iron Boy Promotions is committed to providing quality, high-powered boxing shows with talented fighters.

MILWAUKEE (April 25, 2014) – Gary Shaw Productions undefeated sensations, Jr. Welterweight Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (2-0, 1 KO) and Super-Bantamweight Eduardo Martinez (2-0, 1 KO) were victorious tonight at the Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both men competed in separate 4-round bouts.

Martinez mounted a vicious body attack that forced his opponent, Mateo Soto (0-5), to quit on his stool after the first round. The body blows were heard throughout the arena and Martinez was elated with joy, winning is second professional bout by knockout, the first of his bright career.

“My goal was to come out here tonight and get the knockout,” said Martinez. “I felt my punches were doing a lot of damage because I could hear my opponent grunting every time I landed a shot to his body. Gary Shaw, Antonio Leonard and James Prince are doing a great job with my career and I can’t wait to return to action. I’m very happy with my performance and I want to get back in the ring as soon as possible.”

Sims Jr. won by 2nd round knockout by using superior boxing skills while landing hard shots to his opponent Jose Araguz (0-2). After a series of nice combinations that had Arqauz hurt in round one, a right hook ended the bout in the second round. Sims records his first knockout of his career.

“I brought the heat like I said I was going to do, and I got the KO,” said Sims Jr. “There is nothing more exciting than winning a professional fight by knockout. Man I was juiced. All my people came out to see me tonight and I delivered, which makes me very happy. I want to thank my team for all their support especially my promoters Gary Shaw and Antonio Leonard, along with my manager James Prince. I’m hoping to make a quick return to the ring.”

“We knew we had the goods when we signed Sims Jr. and Martinez,” said Gary Shaw. “These kids are very special and tonight they dazzled the crowed with their performances. I’m very proud of them. Antonio Leonard, James Prince and I will be looking to get them both back in the ring very soon.”

This fight card is presented by Ibom Stars Promotions LLC, FedEx Smart Post Inc of New Berlin Wisconsin, Dameon Okposio promotions of Canada and Bryan Drake Inc of Teutonia Wine and Liquor, in association with Gary Shaw Productions.

LINCOLN, R.I. (April 25th, 2014) – It seemed as though no one would be able to top Luis Felix’s electrifying knockout of UFC vet Drew Fickett at Twin River Casino last month.

Rob Font was up to the task.

In the clear-cut Knockout of the Night, Font put veteran featherweight Tristan Johnson to sleep with an overhand right at the two-minute, 48-secod mark of the opening round Friday in the main event of “CES MMA XXIII.”

With Johnson backpedaling toward the cage, Font (10-1, 3 KOs) reached in with a left and then followed with a right that caught Johnson (8-5) flush on the temple. Johnson was out the second he hit the canvas, prompting referee Kevin MacDonald to stop the bout before Font could do any additional damage.

Font, the reigning CES MMA featherweight champion now fighting out of Boston, has won nine consecutive fights since his lone loss in 2012. His knockout win in the main event was the second for CES in the last two months; in March, Felix put an exclamation point on “CES MMA XXII” with a head kick that knocked Fickett cold.

In what was billed as a potential Fight of the Night candidate when the card was first announced, veteran bantamweight Tateki Matsuda (9-5) of Boston (Tokyo, Japan) snapped a two-fight losing streak with a 29-28, 30-27, 30-26 unanimous decision win over the previously unbeaten Matt Doherty (3-1) of Salem, Mass.

The cagey Matsuda, who had lost each of his last two fights by split decision, took control with his dominant ground game in the second and third rounds, even earning a 10-8 round on one of the judge’s scorecards. Always versatile, Matsuda let his hands go in the third to soften up Doherty, and then took him to the canvas and ran out the rest of the clock with effective ground-and-pound.

Exciting welterweight prospect Eric Spicely (4-0) of Olneyville, R.I., remained unbeaten with an impressive, textbook win over David Jordan (1-3) of Las Vegas, submitting Jordan via guillotine at the 1:35 mark of the opening round, while Wareham, Mass., veteran Matthew Thompson (19-9) used the same hold to submit Eric Bedard (6-5) of East Providence, R.I., at the 2:04 mark of the second round in a scheduled three-round cruiserweight bout. Thompson worked his way back from a poor opening round and caught Bedard with his neck exposed while Bedard tried to take him to the canvas. Thompson now has 10 wins by submission.

Middleweight Brandon Chagnon (5-4) opened the card with a second-round submission win over the always-competitive Ralph Johnson (6-11) of Worcester, Mass., who took the fight on short notice. Johnson, a hard-hitting, 6-foot-5 striker, dominated the opening round by using his reach to keep Chagnon at the end of his jab, but once Chagnon got Johnson to the canvas, he made quick work of his opponent, submitting Johnson via rear-naked choke at the 1:26 mark.

Fighting for the first time in more than a year, Norwich, Conn., featherweight Peter Rogers Jr. (1-1) earned his first career win, submitting Franklin Isabel (4-7) of Chelsea, Mass., who tapped due to strikes 2:39 into the opening round. Rogers, who lost his pro debut in 2012, caught Isabel with a left kick to the midsection, sending Isabel to the canvas. As Rogers went in for the ground-and-pound, Isabel quickly tapped, handing Rogers Jr. his first win.

Bellator vet Rico DiSciullo (2-0) bounced back from a point-deduction in the opening round of his bantamweight bout against Jordan Espinosa (3-3) to earn a 29-26, 29-27, 29-26 unanimous decision win. DiSciullo lost a point for kneeing his grounded opponent, but dominated the final two rounds, rebounding from a no contest in his previous bout (also due to kneeing a grounded opponent).

Corpus Christ, Texas (April 25, 2014) – Tickets are on sale now for the upcoming World Boxing Council (‘WBC’) Heavyweight Title Eliminator clash featuring undefeated and top rated heavyweights BRYANT “By By” JENNINGS of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and MIKE “The Rebel” PEREZ, fighting out of Cork, Ireland. The bout will take place on SATURDAY, MAY 24, at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texasand televised LIVE on HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. K2 Promotions, Gary Shaw Productions in association with Antonio Leonard Promotions, DiBella Entertainment, Grange Old School Boxing and Frankel Sports will bring you the action.

Tickets priced $25, $40, $60, $100 and $150 are on sale now and can be purchased at the American Bank Center Box Office, all TicketMaster Outlets & ticketmaster.com.

The winner of the 12-round bout will become the mandatory challenger for the WBC Heavyweight Title, which was vacated by longtime champion Vitali Klitschko earlier this year. Jennings and Perez are currently ranked #4 and #5, respectively by the sanctioning body.

Opening the telecast is a 10-round middleweight battle between two-time former world champion DANIEL “The Real Deal” GEALE and perennial contender MATTHEW “Mack The Knife” MACKLIN.

The American Bank Center is located 1901 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Corpus Christi, Texas. For further information please visit their website at
www.AmericanBankCenter.com

For fight updates on JENNINGS VS. PEREZ via Social Media, follow HBO Boxing on Twitter at @HBOBoxing and Facebook at /HBOBoxing, Bryant Jennings on Twitter at @BYJennings, Tom Loeffler/K2 Promotions at @TomLoeffler1 and Gary Shaw Productions at @GaryShawBoxing. Use the hashtag #JenningsPerez to join the conversation on Twitter.

For additional Social Media updates for GEALE vs. MACKLIN using Twitter follow Daniel Geale at @RealDanielGeale and Matthew Macklin at @MattMacklinas well as DiBella Entertainmentat @DiBellaEnt using the hashtag #GealeMacklin

MILWAUKEE (April 25, 2014) – Tonight at the Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Gary Shaw Productions undefeated rising stars, Kenneth Sims Jr. (1-0) and Eduardo Martinez (1-0) will make the second appearances’ as professional fighters when the both go to battle in separate 4-round bouts.

Sims Jr. who campaigns a Jr. Welterweight, will take on Michigan’s Jose Araguz (0-1). As an amateur, Sims was recognized as one to the top fighters in America. He looks to add to his winning ways with a stellar performance tonight when he faces Araguz.

“Tonight I want to come out and really bring the heat to my opponent,” said Sims Jr. “This is my second pro fight and I want to make my promoter’s Gary Shaw and Antonio Leonard proud. I have a bus load of fans coming out tonight to see me fight so they will be the priority. I want to bring them a great night of boxing and be electrifying tonight.”

Martinez, who fights at Super-Bantamweight, will face Michigan’s Mateo Soto (0-4). Martinez who was an amateur champion, will seek to keep the momentum going after winning his first pro fight.

“My goal for tonight is to get my first knockout,” said Martinez. “I won’t go out headhunting but will take my time and throw hard shots. If the knockout comes then my goal will be accomplished. If the fight goes the distance then I’ll be satisfied with the victory. I want to thank Gary Shaw, Antonio Leonard and James Prince for giving me this opportunity. I want to make them happy with a great performance.”

The future is bright for Sims Jr. and Martinez who are managed by James Prince and fight out of the Chicago area.

This fight card is presented by Ibom Stars Promotions LLC, FedEx Smart Post Inc of New Berlin Wisconsin, Dameon Okposio promotions of Canada and Bryan Drake Inc of Teutonia Wine and Liquor, in association with Gary Shaw Productions.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Welcome, and thanks to the media from around the globe for joining us on this international media conference call for Fight for Peace: Heavyweight History, featuring the World Boxing Council heavyweight championship between the two top-rated contenders, Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne, and Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola set for Saturday, May 10th at the USC Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in downtown Los Angeles and telecast live on ESPN.

At this time, it is my pleasure to turn over to the call to Mr. Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions.

Dan Goossen: Well thanks, Bernie. It looked like you stole my script. I don’t know how in the hell you did that, and now I’ve got nothing to say. But welcome to everybody with the media, appreciate you getting on this early time, and we’re getting closer and closer, a lot of good fights coming up in the next few weeks in our sport. And I think, quite frankly, our heavyweight fight for the WBC heavyweight championship stands up on top. You’ve got two great heavyweights that are willing to go toe-to-toe to bring back the excitement that has been stagnant for many years since Mike Tyson.

However, we’ve got to be realistic here and Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have been great, great champions. It’s just we need to bring that title back to the United States and keep it out here. One of the other facets of this promotion and something that I think is right there side-by-side of having this heavyweight championship competed at the USC Galen Center out here in Los Angeles is the emergence of the worldwide leader in sports in ESPN stepping up to the plate and making this a reality to bring this fight to the millions and millions of viewers they have on ESPN in this special primetime Saturday night.

And one of the key people on this is Brian Kweder of ESPN. I wanted to introduce him and let him say a few words. Brian, you’ve got it.

Brian Kweder: Thanks, Dan. We at ESPN were thrilled to get the call from Dan regarding this heavyweight world-title fight. We’re happy to be airing it on ESPN. We definitely appreciate that Dan and Don King saw the value of providing this fight to the wide masses of ESPN’s audience, which reaches 98 million homes, and also on ESPN Deportes and via broadband on WatchESPN.

ESPN has a long history of carrying world-class fights through our Friday Night Fights series, but we’re definitely stepping up our game a bit here with this fight. We also feel like we’re capturing the heavyweight division like no one has in a long time by showing the Wladimir Klitschko/Alex Leapai fight on Saturday, April 26th. That fight will be used to help drive folks to the May 10th fight as well between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne.

The two fights together working in tandem really do a great job of painting the entire heavyweight picture as it stands today in boxing, and here at ESPN we’re real excited about the heavyweight division because there’s a lot of up and coming young fighters and some established fighters who are really making a name for themselves like Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola and several other high-profile American heavyweights coming up through the pipeline.

The other reason we jumped on this fight was because of the historical significance of it. Obviously, Chris Arreola if he were to win the fight would become the first fighter of Mexican descent to win the heavyweight championship, and Bermane Stiverne would be the first fighter of Haitian descent to win the heavyweight championship, so we have that story line as well.

I just wanted to express my gratitude to Dan Goossen and Don King for all the work they’re doing to make this a great fight, and we look forward to broadcasting it on Saturday, May 10th on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and WatchESPN. Thanks, Dan.

Dan Goossen: Well, thank you very much, Brian. I’ve got to tell you, and for all you guys out there and ladies that are writing about this and covering it, hopefully you’re excited as I am just listening to Brian speak about having 98 million home out there. I just think that’s tremendous for our sport, bring a lot more eyeballs and attention to not only to boxing but to this heavyweight division which I think is greatly needed.

So, Brian, and I know from the production end we’re going to have Matt Sandulli bringing in a great, great broadcast for the viewers around the globe along with Steven McDonald who you probably have seen on a lot of the press releases, head of PR over at ESPN and spearheading it for this boxing event. But again, I think it says a lot having not only Wladimir fighting on ESPN but then coming out with this heavyweight championship fight, and we know it’s going to be a great fight between two deserving top contenders.

Speaking of that, we’ve got Bermane Stiverne on the phone with us right now along with his manager Camille Estephan. And Camille and Bermane have been a joy to work with. I know that he’s been training out of Las Vegas, Nevada out of Floyd Mayweather’s Gym, and for those of you that live out in that area we will be doing something with Bermane on an open workout next week.

We’ll get you more information on that, but I’d like to have Bermane say a few words and give a hello to the media out there. Bermane?

Bermane Stiverne: Hi guys. I’m just happy to be a part of this. Personally to me it’s a long time coming. I’ve been patient for quite a while. I’m just happy to be able to fight for the title. Obviously I believe that I will be crowned the heavyweight champion. Basically, I’m just happy. I’m just happy that ESPN was able to jump on board and surprise everybody, and I just want to thank ESPN, DKP, Dan Goossen, Brian from ESPN, Camille, my team, everybody. So I’m ready to go.

I’m to the point where I don’t want to be in the gym anymore. I’m ready to go. I’m ready to go right away. So to me it’s a great opportunity to, like Dan said, about the 90-plus million people that will attempt to watch the fight. This is great coverage, and who better to do it than ESPN? So I’m really looking forward to making history and bringing the title back to America and also being the first Haitian to be heavyweight champion of the world.

Dan Goossen: Thank you, Bermane. Now we’ll open it up for any questions you might have for Bermane or his manager, Camille, who’s also on the phone, as I mentioned, or for ESPN and Brian Kweder.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Our first question comes from Dan Rafael senior boxing writer from ESPN.com. Dan, go ahead please

Dan Rafael: Thank you, Bernie. Hello guys. Bermane, I have a question for you about this fight. After you beat Chris last year you were supposed to fight Vitali Klitschko, the reigning titleholder at the time. He retired. My question for you is, is there any sense of disappointment that you’re not fighting Klitschko for the title and that you have to fight Chris in a rematch, or are you just as happy to be fighting a rematch with Chris because the ultimate goal is to get the belt?

B. Stiverne: Right. I mean, to me personally it wasn’t about whom I was going to fight. I knew I was going to fight for the title, but I just didn’t know who would win, and to me honestly I’m just happy to fight for the title. You don’t have a lot of heavyweights that even fight for the title. Some heavyweights have been there for 20, 25 years and never fought for the title, and I’m thankful and grateful to be able to do so.

So I’m really happy about being able to fight for the title. I mean, it didn’t matter who; it was just I wanted to fight for the title and have that chance to become a champion.

Dan Rafael: Bermane, did you feel a little bit jerked around by Vitali though because they had the purse bid scheduled a few times; then said he got injured? It got put off. It got delayed by the WBC. And you know, that’s valuable time from you where you’ve been sitting there mandatory for a long time, and then he retired, and then first it had to go through the process all over again to get this fight with you and Chris set up.

Was there any sense of frustration during that period of time while you were unsure whether Vitali would fight you or what was going to happen? I guess this is going back maybe about, whatever, five, six months ago.

Bermane Stiverne: I wouldn’t say disappointed; I think it was a lack of respect because I believe that he knew what he was going to do. So he pretty much took his time, and he was babysitting the title so to speak. But it didn’t really frustrate me because I knew somehow one day I would be fighting for the title, and I also knew that nobody could take that away from me.

I just didn’t know who would win, but I never got frustrated. I just felt that at a point I was being disrespected. But we’re here today, so all that is in the past, so I’m happy about the outcome and how it was going to happen was how it was going to happen.

Dan Rafael: That’s great. Now I’ve just got one more question for you. So you’re fighting Chris again; you beat him – well I guess it was last April. You did so rather handily on the scorecards. You knocked him down. You broke his nose. It was a good fight, but you definitely were the clear winner.

My question is then do you think that do you have to change anything up, or do you think you can go to the same sort of plan and just do basically what you did the last time since you already have a clear 12-round win against him in your first matchup? How will this one be any different for you if at all?

Bermane Stiverne: Different as whatever I did in the first fight I would do it better, way better. I’m not going in the ring with that – with my last performance, so we’re getting ready for a new type of Arreola. So whatever Arreola shows up on May 10th, I’ll be able to handle that. And to be honest, I think this fight I think Chris will be in shape. That’s his excuse.

But I believe that Chris is going to bring the best out of me. That’s how I see it. The more in shape that he is, the more trouble he’s going to be in.

Dan Rafael: Alright, Bermane. Thank you very much. I wish you good luck on the fight, appreciate it.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Dan, thanks very much for joining us. Next up from the boxing capital of the world, Las Vegas, Steve Carp from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Go ahead, Steve.

Steve Carp: Two questions: one, have you thought about how winning the heavyweight title will change her life?

Bermane Stiverne: Sometimes it’s kind of scary when you think about all these great heavyweights that had the title, and I’m to the point where it’s like, wow, I’ll be able to put my hands on the title that Tyson had and Ali and Lennox Lewis. So I mean, it’s just I don’t know. It’s just a dream that’s in front of me, and just all I got to do is go and grab it. But it feels good. I just don’t know. I’m working hard for this. I’m putting everything I’ve got to this, a lot of sacrifices that half the people I know wouldn’t do.

I mean you’re talking about literally turning my back on my loved ones and kids and not being able to see them for a couple months. I’ve been gone since December, and this is the only way I do it. This is the only way I know how to do it is to leave and go to camp and kind of like be in my little cave mentally and physically. So I put a lot on the line – not a lot. I put everything I’ve got on the line for this, and it will pay off. I believe it will pay off, and this is where I’m at with it.

Steve Carp: And one other question: training at Floyd’s Gym and you see the work he puts in on a daily basis I’m wondering how much of that rubs off on you or motivates you when you see not only Floyd but his other fighters and I’m just wondering if any of that has kind of rubbed off on you and motivated you?

Bermane Stiverne: Of course. Well, I am one of the original members, the first member of the gym, and I pretty much changed my way of training in my career when I moved to – when I went to that gym and saw Floyd training. There’s something that you got to see with your own eyes from a man that has everything that he wants in the world, and basically he trains like he’s still poor, like he’s still hungry. I’m very grateful to be around him, to be able to see him training. To me it’s just a plus to be around these type of individuals and to see – to be able to see one of the best, or the best, fighter in my era.

Steve Carp: Very good, thanks.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Next up joining us from Germany, Steven Joergens from Sports Bild. Go ahead, Steven.

Steven Joergens: Good morning, gentlemen. Bermane, I was wondering in your career, three-year plan, after this fight do you think about – when you win, do you want to go after Wladimir Klitschko – because he’s considered the best at the moment – as fast as possible to get after him, and how do you like your chances in a fight with him?

Bermane Stiverne: Well, right now this is not something that’s on my mind right now. My focus is on Chris Arreola and the title. Obviously this is something that me and my team and manager would look at, but right now this is not something that I’m personally thinking about right now.

Steven Joergens: One quick follow-up: What would you say what is the state of the heavyweights in North America at the moment after all those years of Klitschko holding the title, and what can you bring to give it a shot into the arm?

Bermane Stiverne: Oh, the state of the heavyweight division right now is – or will be back May 10th. I believe that I am going to bring the excitement back. I believe that I am in my prime right now, and, like I said, I’m looking forward to May 10th because this is going to be a great fight, not only for me or for Chris, but it’s going to be a good fight for the fans, and we’ll be able to honor the sport on ESPN and be able to bring that excitement that was missed, that all the fans missed for so long.

Like Dan Goossen said, not since Mike Tyson or Lennox has there been too much excitement in that division. So I’m looking forward to bringing that back.

Steven Joergens: Okay, thank you very much.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Thank you, Steven, for joining us. Next up from Ring Magazine and RingTV.com, Lem Satterfield. Go ahead, Lem.

Lem Satterfield: Dan, are you there?

Dan Goossen: I’m here.

Elm Satterfield: Chris Arreola and actually Bermane, when I talked to Bermane in Las Vegas at one point, he said that some of the so-called younger fighters, some of the guys that are being touted out there, really aren’t as good as they are. Bermane pretty much predicted that Chris was going to do to Seth Mitchell what he ended up doing. Can you characterize these two guys as the two best guys, and do you think the right guys are fighting, and why do you think the right two guys are fighting for the vacant heavyweight title?

Dan Goossen: Well, I think they’ve been tried and tested, whereas the other young fighters you really don’t know how good someone is until they fight someone that we know is good. So Chris obviously has had that distinction, and then Bermane got a taste of it in April of last year. So those are the obstacles that anyone that we’re going to put a tag on being real contenders have to go through before they can become real contenders.

Lem Satterfield: Dan, one more question for you: Any significance do you see to the fact that this conference call is taking place 13 years ago to the day that Hasim Rahman beat Lennox Lewis, knocked him out on April 22, 2001 and brought the championship back to the United States?

Dam Goossen: Well, obviously Bernie must have relayed our inner-office conversation about that because we specifically targeted that date.

Lem Satterfield: Why?

Dan Goossen: Because we knew you’d ask about it, Lem.

Lem Satterfield: Okay. Bermane, I have a couple questions for you. How are you doing?

Bermane Stiverne: Good.

Lem Satterfield: First of all, how long have you lived in Las Vegas?

Bermane Stiverne: I’ve lived in Vegas ten years.

Lem Satterfield: And how long have you been going to Mayweather’s gym?

Bermane Stiverne: Since it opened in 2007 I believe.

Lem Satterfield: Alright, and in terms of your having been out of the ring – and Dan Rafael made a reference to you having to wait on Klitschko – it’s almost been a year since you fought Chris Arreola. What have you done to prevent yourself from getting rusty, from getting stale? I know you said you worked out. Can you characterize what you’ve done in the last year to be ready for this?

Bermane Stiverne: I mean, I’m a professional athlete, so I always make sure that I’m doing something, whether it’s running or – it can be basketball. I remember after the last fight I had with Chris last April, maybe for the next four or five months I went back to Florida, and I was on a basketball league for about three or four months. So it could be different things, and I’m still in the gym.

I just keep myself busy and so I don’t get out of shape. Like I tell you, man, I’m a professional athlete. So I have to be in some type of shape even when I’m off-season or if I’m not fighting.

Lem Satterfield: Okay. My last question for you is, as Dan Goossen made a reference, Chris Arreola was kind of a known quantity if not a proven quantity having fought Klitschko and Thomas Adamek before having faced you. Yet a lot of people I thought – and I don’t know if you heard this – felt like your one loss, they bring that up.

Were you the underdog going into that fight – correct me if I’m wrong – and also did you feel like you showed what you’re capable of against a known quantity when you fought Chris and beat him like you did?

Bermane Stiverne: Yeah, to me I didn’t feel like I was the underdog, but I knew I was. Whether you talk about the fans or the media, Arreola was a big favorite, a huge favorite. And listen, I’ve been watching Arreola for so long I knew – and I know still today – that Arreola is tailor-made for me. I have the style, and I’m able to be smart in the ring and do certain things that he can’t do. So to me I just have to prove to whoever thought that it was impossible for me to win the fight, go out there and beat him.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Lem, thank you very much for joining us. We’re going to take one more question for Bermane Stiverne from Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred. Go ahead, Eddie.

Eddie Goldman: Thank you very much. Hello, Bermane. I have a question, but this has really been a long time coming. You’ve been fighting for a long time, and, as you know, people counted you out. Really until perhaps the Arreola fight and maybe the Ray Austin fight people weren’t giving you a lot of respect. How did you mentally stay on course and stay confident that you were going to be able to get a heavyweight title shot as you’re getting now?

Bermane Stiverne: Well, believing what I can do. I knew what I could do in the ring, so people that didn’t know me obviously would judge me from the fight with Austin, which I didn’t look too good. But I always believed in myself and believed in my skills, so no matter what people said about me I never doubted myself.

Bernie Bahrmasel: I’m going to turn it over now back to Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions. Go ahead, Dan.

D. Goossen: Thank you, Bernie and Bermane and Camille. I know you didn’t get any questions asked, but I’m sure you’ll be doing a lot of talking next week or the week of the event, but thank you for being on.

And I now want to have Chris Arreola say hello and give an opening statement to the press. Chris, you on?

Chris Arreola: Hey, guys. How are you guys doing, man? Well I’m over here in San Diego just straight training and getting ready for this fight. I know Bermane is going to get ready 100% like he always does, and now it’s my time to get ready 100% and put on a good show on May 10th for everybody live out there on ESPN.

Dan Goossen: Thanks, Chris. And we also have his trainer, Henry Ramirez on. Henry, why don’t you just give us a quick overview of how the training’s been going?

Henry Ramirez: How’s everybody doing? May 10th is rapidly approaching, and Chris is down here working like never before, and no doubt in my mind on May 10th he’s going to come out victorious because of the work he’s putting in here.

Dan Goossen: Sounds good. Let’s open it up, Bernie, for any questions for Chris.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Once again I’m going to go back to Dan Rafael, senior boxing writer for ESPN.com. Go ahead, Dan.

Dan Rafael: Chris, question for you: So this fight sort of to me has two things that would be significant for you. One, of course, is to win the vacant title; two, of course, would be to avenge your loss to Bermane Stiverne from a year or so ago. When you think about this fight, which one is most immediately important to you? Is it the title, or is it just the satisfaction of avenging your loss?

Chris Arreola: Well, as far as what’s important to me, because of the kind of person that I am and the character that I – the dude I am, the guy that I’ve grown up being – I hate losing. And the fact that I get to avenge my loss, to me that means the world, but you’ve got to add to it that I’m going to fight for the world title. Now how sweet could that be, man, avenge a loss and win the title at the same time and making history?

It all comes together, and it’s going to be a great night on May 10th. Bermane did what he was supposed to do on the first fight, and this fight now I have to do what I have to do, which means bring the fight to him and put him on his heels.

Dan Rafael: Chris, in the past you’ve had some important fights, not only always won them. I’ve covered some of them. Often times there has been excuses afterwards about you weren’t focused, weren’t in shape – whatever the case may be. Do you feel like this is the last chance that – we’ve heard those comments from you, those excuses from you – that you’ve got to either put up or be quiet after this one?

Chris Arreola: Absolutely, I have to. That’s why I’m over here in San Diego working my butt off, man, no excuses. In the past I would give myself a reason to have an excuse. I wouldn’t show up at the gym; I wouldn’t do what I’m supposed to do as a professional. And times have changed, man. I feel like I’m a mature fighter, I have what it takes between my ears and in my heart and in my balls. Now it’s time for me to let it all hang out at the boxing gym, and really that’s where the fight is won. The fight is won in the gym.

You know, I hate using excuses, I hate doing excuses. The last time, Bermane beat me. I don’t want to say that it wasn’t because I wasn’t in shape or blah, blah, blah, whatever, whatever. He beat me. He was the one that broke my nose. The fact that I wasn’t in shape doesn’t change the fact that he broke my nose. That’s the main thing.

I was still in the fight, and, like I said, I always believe in my punching ability, and I had no quit in me, and I always believed there was a puncher’s chance. But May 10th there are no excuses. There’s not going to be one, “He should’ve done this; he should’ve done that.” I’m doing everything that I’m supposed to do in the gym, and May 10th we’re going to show who is the better man.

Dan Rafael: Henry, can you speak to that, to Chris’s past excuses in losses, but now his saying how dedicated he is in the gym for this fight? You’re seeing him up close. Is he skipping gym sessions, or is everything going the way you want it?

Henry Ramirez: This camp is going according to plan. This is just like the Arizona camp and preparation for the Seth Mitchell. Obviously not comparing Bermane and Mitchell, but just the camps themselves they are exactly the same. Chris is out here busting his behind. I don’t have to sit at the gym to wonder, “Damn, is he going to show up today,” because when I walk downstairs I knock on his door, “Hey its time to go.” It’s pretty regimented.

Chris puts in two and a half to three hours at the gym, and then he does an hour of conditioning in the evenings. So right now he weighs 244 yesterday, and we’re having to slow him down. We’re having him eat a lot just so he can maintain the weight. Optimum fighting weight is about 237, 240 right in that range, and not a doubt in my mind come May 10th that Chris is going to come out victorious, because honestly he’s training like a desperate man right now – a man very desperate.

Dan Rafael: Chris, are you desperate?

Chris Arreola: Absolutely. I’m very desperate. You know, I’ve done a lot of dumb stuff in my life, and it’s time to stop. It’s time to stop the excuses. It’s time for me to man up and handle my responsibilities in more ways than one, in the boxing gym, in my fight, and life in general, man. It’s just time for me to man up and just do what I’m supposed to do as a man – work hard.

Dan Rafael: Alright, Chris, thanks very much. Henry, I appreciate it. Good luck, guys.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Next up for Chris Arreola and Henry Ramirez is Michael Amakor from FightKings.com. Michael, go ahead please.

Michael Amakor: What pains you about your loss to Bermane? Is that one of the biggest losses of your career, and why does that particular one stick?

Chris Arreola: Oh, well it sticks because it was my last loss. That’s one of the main reasons it sticks most. But it’s very simple: I hate losing. I don’t like losing, and especially when I’m the idiot that causes the loss. Yeah, Bermane broke my nose and stuff like that, but I kept trying and trying to win and win the fight, but I couldn’t. Bermane was just a better fire that night, the better-conditioned fighter.

He was able to put combinations together which I wasn’t. I was just looking for that one shot, and that’s one thing that I won’t be making a mistake this time. I’m not going to be looking for just one shot. I’m going to be on him. I’m going to be accumulating punches, and I’m going to make them work every minute of every round. I said it before, and I mean it: I’m going to make him work.

Michael Amakor: Now, you also mentioned a little about the desperation. Why the desperation at this stage of your career?

Chris Arreola: I have two losses, man. This could be my very last shot, and I’m not going to take this shot for granted. I’m not going to screw this shot up. I’m going to make sure that I make it count. I’m going to make every punch count. I’m going to make this fight count, man.

This is a do-or-die fight for me, man, because I said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not a paycheck fighter. I’m not a fighter that’s going to be a gatekeeper. That’s not me. I don’t want to be in the sport to do that. I’m in the sport to be a champion, not to be a paycheck fighter or a crossroads kind of fight kind of guy.

Michael Amakor: Okay, and my last question: We, the media, we tend to kind of back you into a corner after you lose a fight, but you’ve actually manned up for all these fights and gone the distance. You’ve not been stopped. Would you, now that you have an opportunity, would you blame yourself for those losses, or would you blame your trainer – I hate to put the trainer on the spot – or certain things that couldn’t allow you to get to your full potential? What have you done in this camp that’s different from everything else?

Chris Arreola: My trainer, he’s a complete jerk. No, I can’t stand the guy. But I’m going to say one thing, man, I can never blame him for my loss. I’m a man. You know, I stand when I pee; I don’t sit when I pee. And I take every loss on me. Henry’s at the gym every day waiting on me. Henry was at the gym making sure that I was doing what I was supposed to do, but it was always up to me. It’s always up to me whether I do it or not.

And of course, every loss is my fault. I’m not going to blame Henry. Henry is doing everything he’s supposed to do. Henry watches fights. Henry analyzes things. I’m the one that didn’t do the work. And the difference now is that when we’re in camp there’s only one car key, and that’s Henry’s car, and we go to the gym every day, and I make sure I put in the work every day. Because, like I said, this fight my back is against the wall. I can’t lose this fight. I won’t lose this fight. I have to do it for myself and for my family.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Great. Thanks very much, Chris. Michael, thanks very much for the questions, we appreciate it. Next up we have Sean Crose from Boxing Insider. Go ahead, Sean.

Sean Crose: It’s good talking to you, sir. I have a question for you. Last time you did a great job with Stiverne the first two rounds. I really thought that you were dominating, and it looked like you might win the fight; however, he ended up asserting himself. So, Chris, how do you intend to keep Stiverne from asserting himself this time around?

Chris Arreola: Well, I’ll tell you exactly what happened in that fight. The first two rounds I was doing well. I was making sure that I was on him and that I was fighting my fight. In the third round, I kind of took it off. I went methodical. I started just throwing my punches and that’s the reason I got caught with that stupid right hand, because I threw a lazy jab.

I got lazy in that fight, and that’s the thing that I’ll make sure that I’m not going to let happen. I’ll make sure that I’m the one dictating the pace. I’m the one that’s going to be dictating the fight. And like I said, I’ve got to keep him on his heels, and right now I’m putting in the work in the gym just to make sure that I do that.

Sean Crose: Well, I wish you the best, and thank you very much. I just have one more question for Mr. Goossen. Mr. Goossen, are you there?

Dan Goossen: I’m here.

Sean Crose: I have a question for you. Whoever wins this fight – and I agree, I thought the first fight was a great fight, and I can’t wait to see this next one. And kudos to ESPN, they’re doing a really good thing with this and so are you guys. Having said all that, do you feel Wladimir Klitschko has to be defeated in order for the heavyweight division to be truly be rejuvenated?

Dan Goossen: Look, no matter who holds this heavyweight title, the Klitschkos have deserved to be recognized as the heavyweight champion, and it’ll be the duty of the winner of this fight to go out there and determine the sole heavyweight champion of the world. You can’t take anything away from Wladimir. He’s held that title for eight years, I believe, if Dan Rafael is correct. Vitali is a great champion.

Now, as you know, with the Fight for Peace a lot of that title is a direct reflection on the respect we have for Vitali and what he’s going through in the Ukraine right now. But also, we’ve got heavyweight history, and heavyweight history is going to determine one of these gentlemen to be heavyweight champion. We believe that Chris Arreola is prepared to hold that belt around his weight right now, but Wladimir Klitschko will still be standing there, and they’re big shoes to fill.

Sean Crose: Oh, all respect due. Unfortunately it’s not always entertaining, but they’re some fighters, both of them. There’s no two ways about it.

Dan Goossen: I’ll tell you, I’m looking forward to seeing Wladimir fight on ESPN because I truly believe with the emergence of Stiverne and Arreola fighting for his brothers title Wladimir is going to go out there on ESPN knowing that he’s got a big viewership possibility, and I think he’s going to go out there and try to show his greatness against Leapai.

Sean Crose: Yeah, I do too. I think he really is aiming to please on this one. Listen, if I could just throw one more question I do not want to hold anyone’s time. But Mr. Kweder, if you’re there – and you may not want to answer this – but do you feel HBO and Showtime have dropped the ball with the heavyweight division?

Brian Kweder: No. I think there’s a lot to offer out in the boxing world and each network has their own priorities, and clearly ESPN stepped up because of the value of the heavyweight division. But I wouldn’t characterize it that way.

Sear Crose: Okay, well I wish you all the best. Thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing this fight.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Thanks very much. Once again we’re going to return to Lem Satterfield from Ring Magazine and RingTV.com. Go ahead, Lem.

Lem Satterfield: Chris, the first time I met you was in August of 2006. You were up at Big Bear sparring. I walked in, and I saw you and Hasim Rahman just going at it, and I have to say you were a lot lighter. But Hasim Rahman told me that all the guys that were there that he thought you were going to be the next heavyweight champion. What do you remember about that session, and what does it mean to you now that this is 13 years to the day that Hasim Rahman upset Lennox Lewis to become an American heavyweight champion?

Chris Arreola: Well first of all, that’s an honor, man, because I never knew he said that about me, man, and that’s a big honor to hear that because honestly I was there and I was working, man, and I loved being up there in his training camp, man. That’s the first big training camp I was ever involved in, and I watched him work, and I watched him work real hard. And one thing I do remember is that every time I got in that ring I wanted to make sure I gave him my all, because I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to keep getting those paychecks every week.

But other than that, man, I enjoy boxing. I enjoy fighting. I enjoy the camaraderie that you get in a fight, and especially in a sparring session because after that you just shake hands like nothing happened and just go about your day like you guys are straight friends. Like me and Bermane, I don’t need to badmouth him. He doesn’t need to badmouth me for me, and on May 10th we’re going to come out there like beasts, like we hate each other. But I don’t hate him, and I’m sure he doesn’t hate me.

Lem Satterfield: Just to real quick touch on at what point – I know you were talking about the first two rounds of the last fight, and then you got knocked down in the third round – at what point was your nose broken, and not to make any excuses, but what kind of effect did it have on you?

Chris Arreola: First of all, when he dropped me that right hand shattered my nose. I didn’t know I had that many bones in it, but it was shattered in like four different places. And right after that I’m the kind of fighter that comes forward, that pushes the pace, that tries to dictate the pace, and that day I just couldn’t do that because every time he punched me was so painful. Even if he didn’t hit me that hard, if he hit me in my gloves or just hit me on the top of my head, I could feel my bones in my nose just grind against each other.

I couldn’t breathe out of my nose. I had to keep breathing out of my mouth and it was tough. It was tough in there. It was tough. If you watch the film, there are a couple times that we’re inside in exchanges and you can see my face just grimacing in pain.

Lem Satterfield: Okay. I just have two more questions for you. Stiverne said that obviously you were a known quality. You had some highly televised fights, including the two losses to Adamek and Klitschko. He said he felt like he was the underdog going into the last fight. Was there any element of surprise on your part – I mean, not to take anything away from his performance – but was there any element of underestimating him at all?

Chris Arreola: Not underestimating him, because I knew the kind of fighter he was, and I wasn’t thinking because of his professional career. I always say the amateur career is a very important part of a boxer’s record, and that’s one thing that I looked at. He had extensive amateur experience, international, experience representing this country, and that’s the main thing. The thing that I did is I didn’t underestimate him, but I thought of myself like King Ding-a-Ling, like my crap didn’t stink, and I don’t need to train as hard as he did because my character was just- my God-given talent would just cruise me by the fight or get me by whatever obstacle I would have to overcome.

That’s what happened. I believed too much in myself and my God-given talent instead of putting in the work that I was supposed to put in, because I knew who I was fighting. I knew that the person who I was fighting is a very good fighter, but I just always just thought that my talent was just that much more superior.

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. (April 25, 2014) – A Northern California star on the rise and several Mexican warriors will enter the ring at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, Calif. on Thursday, May 15 when FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes airs the latest edition of the exciting Golden Boy Live! series. In the junior featherweight main event, scheduled for 10 rounds, Fairfield, Calif. favorite Manuel “Tino” Avila risks his perfect professional record against hard-hitting Tijuana veteran David “Morita” De La Mora. Plus, Paramount’s Manuel “Suavecito” Roman battles Merida’s Jose “Cacho” Silveira in an eight-round bantamweight co-feature.

Also featured on the card will be some of San Diego’s top talent looking to continue building their fan bases in their young careers. Highlighting the local talent in separate bouts will be Vista’s junior lightweight Roque Ramos (4-0-1, 1 KO), tough Merida middleweight Elias Espadas (5-1, 3 KOs), Ricky Gutierrez (2-1-1, 1 KO) of San Marcos, two San Diego featherweights Prince Smalls (4-0-1) and Jorge Ruiz (6-1, 2 KOs).

Avila vs. De La Mora is a 10-round junior featherweight bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions, Don Chargin Productions, Paco Presents and in association with Jorge Marron and sponsored by Corona and O’Reilly Auto Parts. The Del Mar Fairgrounds doors open at 5:30 p.m. PT and the first fight begins at 6:00 p.m. PT. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets priced at $75, $60, $45 and $29 plus applicable taxes and service charges are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations, at the Del Mar Fair Grounds Box Office by call (858) 792-4252 or by emailing paco@pacopresentsboxing.com.

Unbeaten as a professional, 22-year-old Manuel “Tino” Avila (14-0, 5 KOs) has been attracting the attention only afforded to the top up and coming talents in the sport. A former elite amateur, Avila has continued to impress since his debut in 2010. On February 17, Avila nabbed his fourteenth professional win with a 10-round decision win over Enrique Quevedo that was highlighted by a tenth round knockdown of his toughest foe to date. On May 15, he will attempt to get win number 15 making his return to the hit Golden Boy Live! series.

Former WBC Fecarbox Champion David “Morita” De La Mora (25-5, 18 KOs) is a warrior always willing to go to battle when the bell rings. A professional since 2006, De La Mora fell short in championship fights against Koki Kameda and Anselmo Moreno, but he believes his experience will be the key to him getting a win over Avila and putting him back on the right track this May.

Born in Tijuana but now fighting out of Paramount, California, 26-year-old Manuel Roman (16-2-3, 6 KOs) has faced off with the likes of Randy Caballero, Luis Lugo and Anthony Villareal over the course of his career and while he’s had his ups and downs, a win over then 14-0 John Amuzu at the Del Mar Fairgrounds last September has “Suavecito” on the upswing.

Merida’s Jose “Cacho” Silveira (15-10, 6 KOs) is a stern test for any fighter looking to take his career to the next level and having faced nine unbeaten opponents since turning pro in 2005, the proof is right in his record. Coming off of a hard-fought eight round bout with three-time Olympian Rau’shee Warren last December, Silveira is eager to return to the win column against Roman.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com or www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and follow the conversation using #GoldenBoyLive, become a fan on Facebook at Golden Boy Facebook Page and visit us on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing. For more information on FOX Sports 1 visit www.FOXSports.com/FOXSports1 and become a follower on @FOXSports

LONDON (April 25) – Rising star Keith Thurman is ready to do the business against former world champion Julio Diaz this weekend before going after IBF champion Shawn Porter.

The highly touted Thurman, who has been making serious waves in the welterweight division, goes up against the experienced Diaz, who ran Amir Khan extremely close 12 months ago, this Saturday night at the StubHub Center in California, live on BoxNation.

Florida native Thurman’s reputation continues to grow with many in the sport predicating that he will be the man to rule over the 147 pound weight class in the near future, but first one of boxing’s biggest punchers must show the hype is for real as he faces his sternest test yet.

“What excites me most is being in the main event. They could have put me on other cards as a co-feature, but this shows me respect and I want to thank Golden Boy for that,” said Thurman, who has amassed a record of 20 knockouts in his 22 wins.

“Every fighter has to take it one fight at a time, and I’m going in on Saturday to do my job. Winning on Saturday is obviously very important. Others in my division are already name-fighters, but I’m just starting to build mine.

“I’m still coming up in the world of boxing. So this is a chance for me to show that I’m not like all others,” he said.

The unbeaten 25-year-old has proven to have a crowd pleasing style, which he refuses to change, and will continue with that against the respected Diaz.

“I expect Diaz to fight his heart out,” said Thurman. “He says he plans to knock me out. I don’t know if that’s fight hype or his strategy, but I’ll be ready. I want guys who come to fight. I want to make and be in the best fights. On my record I have an ‘O’ but I’m not afraid to let it go.

“I work very hard and count my blessings that I’m where I’m at. I love the support the fans give me. We’re going to give them a real fight on Saturday,” he said.

A potential fight which has been mooted for later this year is a clash with the current IBF welterweight world champion Porter.

The all-action Porter, who recently blasted his way past Paulie Malignaggi in a highly impressive knockout win, has gone from strength-to-strength since he faced Diaz in two closely contested bouts, prior to capturing his world title against Devon Alexander last year.

Thurman is aware of how closely Diaz ran Porter but is eyeing up the possibility of facing the Ohio man should he prevail in his next fight.

“Diaz had some great performances against Shawn Porter and he gave Amir Khan a great fight. Diaz is a former world champion. They say he’s a veteran with a lot of experience. But I’m 25 and have been at this for 18 years, so I’m a veteran, too,” he said.

“I’ve known Shawn Porter and his Dad for years. I know they’re calling me out. When the time is right, we’ll fight. I expect to fight for maybe another 10 years,” Thurman added.

34-year-old Diaz, however, believes he is no one to overlook having been counted out on many occasions before springing a surprise.

The two-time world champion believes he can do much of the same when he faces off against one of boxing’s most touted prospects.

“They said I was an old man three years ago and said it was time for me to retire. Actually, I’ve been hearing the same thing for 15 years. They said it when I lost my title. They said it when I got knocked out. But I’m still here,” said Diaz.

“I’ve always felt like a world champion, which is a reason that I’m able to come back and win fights no one thinks I can. The biggest mistake I made, I think, was staying at lightweight too long. I think I fought at 135 for 12-13 years,” he explained.

“Going against Thurman is a very dangerous opportunity for me, but one I have to take. I have to take a big risk in any fight that comes my way to get the big reward.

“Keith Thurman is for real. He’s getting all the attention. But that’s the way it always is before my fights. Let’s see what they’re saying after our fight on Saturday,” said Diaz.

Saturday night’s card is stacked with some of the biggest hitting stars around, with Argentine ace Lucas Matthysse making his ring return following his thriller against Danny Garcia last September when he steps in against another puncher in John Molina.

World title action on the night sees the heavy handed Omar Figueroa defend his WBC lightweight belt against fellow Texan Jerry Belmontes.

Also, this Sunday from 7pm, BoxNation viewers will be able to see the premiere of episode two ‘All Access: Mayweather v Maidana’ as we delve into their respective camps ahead of the mega showdown next Saturday night.

Thurman vs. Diaz is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

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Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

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BETHLEHEM, Penn. (April 25, 2014) – Late replacement Rowland Bryant (18-3, 12 KOs) won a one-sided unanimous eight-round decision over veteran Pittsburgh light heavyweight Rayco “War” Saunders (23-23-2, 10 KOs) in last night’s main event on the “KO Kings of Tomorrow” card, presented by Iron Mike Productions (IMP), at Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

In the co-feature, Kyrgyzstan bantamweight Timur “Here Comes Trouble” Shailezov (17-7, 4 KOs) upset previously undefeated Miguel “No Fear” Cartagena (12-1, 5 KOs), fighting out of Philadelphia. Shailezov dropped Cartagena once and damaged his opponent’s nose so severely that Cartegena’s corner requested the fight be halted in the third round.

IMP featherweight prospect Dennis Galarza (3-0, 2 KOs) stole the show, turning in a superlative performance, punctuated by a devastating knockout of overmatched Mexican invader Abraham Rubio (4-4, 1 KO) at 1:12 of the opening round.

In other undercard fights, Lancaster, PA lightweight Rolando Chinea (7-0-1, 4 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact with a six-round unanimous decision over Ronnie Reams (4-4, 1 KO), York, PA lightweight pitched a near shutout taking a six-round decision from Carlos Lopez (4-4), Easton, PA welterweight Arthur Trujillo improved to 5-0 (3 KOs) with a third round stoppage of Kevin “The Scarecrow” Womack (4-5-1, 2 KOs), and Reading, PA junior middleweight Erik Spring (1-0) won his professional debut by way of a four-round split decision versus Lionel Charles (0-2).

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Light Heavyweights:
Rowland Bryant (18-3, 12 KOs), Altamonte Springs, Florida
WDEC8 (80-72, 80-72, 78-74)
Rayco Saunders (23-23-2, 10 KOs), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Junior Middleweights:
Erik Spring (1-0), Reading, Pennsylvania
WDEC4 (39-37, 39-37, 38-38)
Lionel Charles (1-1), New York, New York

Welterweights:
Arthur Trujillo (5-0, 3 KOs), Easton, Pennsylvania
WTKO3 (2:05)
Kevin Womack (4-5-1, 2 KOs), Baltimore, Maryland

Lightweights:
Rolando Chinea (7-0-1, 4 KOs), Lancaster, Pennsylvania
60-54, 60-54, 59-55)
Ronnie Reams (4-4, 1 KO), Colorado Springs, Colorado

San Quinones Jr. (6-2, 2 KOs), York, Pennsylvania
WDEC6 (60-54, 60-54, 59-55)
Carlos Lopez (4-4, 0 KOs), San Juan, Puerto Rico

Featherweights:
Dennis Galarza (3-0, 2 KOs), Miami, Florida
WKO1 (1:12)
Abraham Rubio (4-3, 1 KO, Sonora, Mexico

Bantamweights:
Timur Shailezov (17-7, 4 KOs), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
WTKO3 (1:56)
Miguel Cartagena (12-1, 5 KOs), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

ABOUT IRON MIKE PRODUCTIONS (IMP): Founded in 2013 by CEO Garry Jonas and Hall of Famer Mike Tyson, Iron Mike Productions is a full-service boxing promotional company with offices located in Deerfield Beach, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. IMP is committed to changing traditional boxing promotion by advocating for its fighters’ successes, inside the ring and out, throughout their professional careers and into retirement.

For additional information go online at www.IronMikeProductions.com, friend on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/IronMike Productions, or follow on Twitter @IronMikeProd.

Kelly Swanson
Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. We are promoting “THE MOMENT” and we’ve had so many great moments promoting this event. I find this call to be one of our special moments because we have none other than the pound-for-pound king, Floyd “Money” Mayweather available to talk to you today. He, of course, is a 10-time five-division world champ and the current WBC Welterweight World Champion.

You will be receiving your fight week schedule very shortly and it will give you all the details for what’s to come next week as we prepare for the fight week of the May 3 bout. So without further ado, I’m going to turn it over to Leonard Ellerbe, Chief Executive Officer of Mayweather Promotions, to make the introductions.

Leonard Ellerbe
I’d like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. We’re just 10 days away from “THE MOMENT.” Will this be the moment that Maidana shocks the world and becomes victorious? You just have to see. Will this be the moment that, for the first time, Maidana gets stopped? You have to just wait and see.

Obviously, this fight will be brought to us by none other than SHOWTIME PPV® and without further ado, I’d like to introduce the man who controls and runs everything at SHOWTIME, none other than the Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports, Stephen Espinoza.

Stephen Espinoza
Just a couple of programming notes before I turn it back over to Leonard and to Floyd. We will be premiering Episode 2 of All Access this weekend, 6:00 p.m. Pacific, 9:00 Eastern immediately preceding our three-fight, heavy hitters card. If you missed Episode 1, it’s available just about everywhere from the SHOWTIME website to On-Demand, SHOWTIME Anytime and YouTube and virtually everywhere else.

We were also well into our pre-fight programming on SHOWTIME OnDemand and SHOWTIME Anytime as well as many other places. We are already featuring classic Mayweather fights, classic Maidana fights and many of the undercard fighters from J’Leon Love to Adrien Broner to Amir Khan, but I know you are all anxious to hear from the champ, so I’ll turn it back over to you, Leonard, and I will see you all next week.

L. Ellerbe
So without further ado, TBE, the man himself.

Floyd Mayweather
First, I want to thank Stephen Espinoza, I want to thank SHOWTIME, I want to thank CBS, I want to thank Leonard Ellerbe, I want to thank Al Haymon, I want to thank Richard Schaefer, I want to thank Kelly Swanson, I want to thank everybody, all the networks and all the people that are covering this fight and all the people that have covered my fights throughout the years.

I want to thank you guys and I just want to say I really appreciate you and everybody that’s a part of the event and that helped get these events started, “THE MOMENT”. I couldn’t choose a better team, because we work as one. I know Maidana is going to come and bring his best, so I know that I cannot overlook him, so I’m in training every day and dedicating myself.

Q
What were you able to do, in terms of the promotion, that you all were able to put together, such an amazing card?

L. Ellerbe
Yes, the card from top to bottom is stacked. We felt as though the fans; it’s all about giving the fans the value for their money, and that’s what Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions is about when we’re putting on these major events.

Q
Can you just talk about your relationship with Leonard and why that has been so successful and so stable over the years?

F. Mayweather
This is something a lot of people don’t know. Let me enlighten people on the story with Leonard Ellerbe. Now, Leonard Ellerbe had not a good job but a great-paying job in D.C. He’s from D.C. Had a good-paying job, and people don’t know how Leonard got with me.

Leonard came out here. Leonard used to go on trips, used to pay his own way to go on trips with us and just help out, and he used to leave his job. He’d leave his job and fly on his own money because he had, I think, it was a six-figure paying job. He also was a fitness trainer. He had another job, so he was making very good money.

He left all that, paid his own way to come support me, and one particular time he was doing some charity work for me. He was doing everything to make sure I got up to do my runs, he was doing security work for me and everything, and all he was making, it wasn’t big money because I was making good money but I wasn’t paying him what I feel like I should have been paying him. But you know, times have changed. He stuck with me through thick and thin. We’ve been through a lot together. He stuck with me through everything. I’m happy to say he’s a multimillionaire now, so I feel like it was worth it, the wait was worth it, and we go through a lot.

A lot of times people don’t see we go through a lot. Because we strive for the best. We strive for the best, but at the end of the day it’s about communication and one thing that we can do, I respect him as a man, he respects me as a man and we can communicate, and I will always love Leonard Ellerbe. He’s doing a tremendous job.

S. Espinoza
If I could make one addition back to your first question, there are some things that Floyd and Leonard are actually I think a little too modest about, so I’ll go ahead and voice this for them.

As you’ve heard from Richard and Leonard in the past, this is the most expensive undercard in the history of pay-per-view undercards. To be more specific that is an investment by Floyd and by Mayweather Promotions. So all credit goes to him for investing not just in this event but in investing in the growth of the sport because from the network perspective, it is only through events of this magnitude that we really grow to the casual fans. When we talk about appeal to the casual fans, Floyd is head and shoulders above everyone else.

This is not a card that we needed to support this event. This was something that Mayweather Promotions went above and beyond to do and took money out of their pocket to do so, and I think that needs to be recognized as an investment in the sport.

Q
When you have been devising the game plan for Marcos Maidana did you or your team feel as though it was really Devon Alexander that laid down the blueprint to defeat somebody like Maidana?

F. Mayweather
I think that what’s different is Maidana may not be accustomed to fighting southpaws, so that could have played a major key into his fight with Devon Alexander. Also he was fighting on Alexander’s turf and I think the difference between me and Alexander, he’s a more straight-up boxer. I think he’s a more straight-up boxer but I think when Maidana’s facing me his confidence is built after he beat Adrien Broner because he feels that both of the styles are very, very similar, so it’s like the same style.

I think he’s more confident now than he was when he faced the kid from St. Louis, Devon Alexander. I think he’s more confident now, so I think he’s more ready and tough. If you have more confidence it’s going to make you fight harder.

Q
Is Maidana as good as he was against Broner? Is he as bad as he was against Alexander? Or is he really average, in between there somewhere?

F. Mayweather
You know, I can’t really say, but one thing that I did notice, as some of you know I look at a lot of things. I don’t have anything against anyone, but I noticed that when the guy, Alex Ariza, was in Amir Khan’s corner and when he faced Maidana, Amir Khan looked super strong in that fight. Then you go back and look at it, I go look at Maidana’s fights against certain guys, like when he fought Alexander, he was strong, he was still coming ahead because he’s the kind of guy that comes straight ahead, and liked the looped shots. He wasn’t as strong as he was in the Adrien Broner fight. In the Adrien Broner fight he was a lot stronger than he was in a lot of his past fights.

So you know, I don’t know if Alex Ariza plays a major role into that, but when I sit back and I look, I’m looking at Pacquiao versus Bradley and I notice ever since Ariza has not been with Pacquiao anymore there’s been a total change in his power. So I look at things like that and I question things like that to myself, but I don’t worry about anything and I’m not going to say nothing about Ariza because I think he’s a pretty cool guy. I don’t really know him, but we got USADA, which is the best in the world, and we’re going to continue to go out there and do what we supposed to do.

L. Ellerbe
To touch on what Floyd just said, I have got firsthand information on the Maidana-Alexander fight. He (Maidana) was asked to pull out the fight because he was very, very sick. He was asked to pull out but he refused to. He’s not one, obviously, to make any excuses, but the facts are what the facts are.

Q
Floyd, you mentioned the Pacquiao and Bradley fight. Did you watch the fight? What were your thoughts on Pacquiao’s performance.

F. Mayweather
Yes, actually I did watch the fight. You know, I haven’t seen Pacquiao fight in years. I’ve seen highlights. I haven’t seen Pacquiao since before Miguel Cotto. I thought that he deserved congratulations. He’s the better man, but as far as Bradley, whoever he’s working out with, they have to make a lot of changes because he’s lifting too many weights. I think he’s more worried about how he looks when he get on the scale instead of how he performs inside that ring. I thought that Bradley went out there and fought his heart out, but I think he was pulling a lot of shots like an amateur. I think he was making a lot of mistakes and he was very fatigued early on. I think that he was making a lot of mistakes, falling off balance and fighting like an amateur.

I think both fighters fought like amateurs. I thought Pacquiao fought like an amateur also, and I wasn’t pleased with his performance, but he got the victory the best way he knows how, but I wasn’t pleased with his performance and I’m seeing something totally different in Pacquiao.

So FightHype had a story out that I was looking at that was very interesting. You go read the story when Freddie Roach was saying that he didn’t know what Alex Ariza was giving his fighters. He didn’t know what he was giving his fighters. So go read the FightHype article. Pull it up.

It was kind of crazy when I heard that, but like I said before, I don’t see the same pop in Pacquiao’s shots. Once again, I’m not saying this guy is doing anything, but I don’t see the same snap in his shots. He’s getting tired when he wasn’t getting tired before. I’m seeing something totally different whereas me, I’m still sharp, I’m still smart, I’m not getting fatigued. I wasn’t getting fatigued from the beginning, and those are the things that I see. I don’t know if you guys see it, but that’s what I see.

Q
At this time in your boxing career, what is most important to you – your legacy or business or what?

F. Mayweather
A little bit of both. Of course, I want my name to go down in history as the best, but just making smart business moves to be very lucrative and build your portfolio.

Q
What fights do you feel like so far define your legacy the most, Floyd?

F. Mayweather
I can’t really say. I really don’t know. I’ve been in so many career-defining fights I can’t really choose one particular one, but all of them played a major role, a very major key.

Q
Can you kind of characterize what’s going to happen in this fight? And also, how big are body shots going to be in this fight, because a body shot is what Khan dropped him with in the first round.

F. Mayweather
My focus is this guy. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be well-rounded and ready for this fight because this is at a total different level. Against Amir Khan, the guy could have been doing a lot of sit-ups and making his body in tip-top condition and tip-top shape. Amir Khan could have just caught him with a good shot. My body is in very good condition, but sometimes a guy can hit me with a good shot and I can feel it, but we just don’t know how we’re going to approach the fight. We’re going to take our time and go out there and if a guy leaves an opening on his face, we’re going to take it, if he leaves an opening on his body we’re going to take it, but we can’t just say we’re going to go in there and everything is going to go to the body. We’re going to take our time and pick the guy apart.

Q
Are going to be staying in the pocket – is that what you meant when you said that?

F. Mayweather
We must realize that I am the bigger guy even though I walk around at 150. I go no higher than 152. I’m naturally the bigger guy because I’ve been at 147 almost 10 years now, so I’m naturally the bigger guy. I think that my dad has the game plan to stay in the pocket, make the guy miss and make the guy pay.

Q
Can you describe what you see from your vantage point and what you look for in a fight?

F. Mayweather
Well, I can see the shots. Actually, I can feel when a guy’s gonna punch. I can feel it. I don’t even have to see it; I can feel it. You know, this is just with experience and being around the sport so long. I can just feel a guy when he’s going to shoot his shot. A lot of times guys telegraph their shot. Their body language gives away when they’re going to shoot because of how they position themselves.

So when a guy positions himself in a certain way you know what shot he’s going to throw, but my thing is whatever a guy’s best attribute is, whatever he does best, my goal is to take that away from him and make him resort to doing something else.

Q
What does Maidana do best?

F. Mayweather
Well, he punches extremely hard if he has an 80 percent knockout ratio. That’s obviously his best attribute, but a lot of times when a guy’s swinging a lot of big shots and they’re not landing, you get fatigued like that.

Q
You and Al Haymon will be honored two days before your fight as Fighter of the Year and Manager of the Year. Can you characterize your relationship with him and what that means to you to be honored like that?

F. Mayweather
Like I said before, it’s a huge honor. I’m very thankful, very blessed, and everybody that voted for me, all the media and all the people on all of the social outlets, different social media sites, I’m just thankful. I didn’t do it by myself; everybody that’s on this conference call played a major role with helping me and helping Al.

Q
Do you think Maidana is the hardest puncher that you’ve been in with?

F. Mayweather
Well, I haven’t been hit by Maidana yet, so I can’t really say. I may be the hardest puncher he ever fought. He hasn’t been hit by me yet, so we’ll just have to see if he’s the hardest puncher.

Q
How many instances have you actually even just been hurt in a fight? I remember Mosley buzzed you pretty good. How many other punches have hurt you in a fight?

F. Mayweather
I’m not really sure; you get hit with good shots sometimes, but any true champion just shakes it off and just keep fighting. That’s just part of the game.

Q
It seems that the only way this guy can beat you is with his power. Do you see him being able to outbox you for 12 rounds?

F. Mayweather
Adrien Broner’s a good boxer and he roughed Adrien Broner up and he got to victory, so we can’t say what this guy, what he can or he can’t do. We cannot overlook the guy. I can’t just say he’s going to be an easy fight because he’s not going to be an easy fight for me, I don’t think so. What I have to do is I’ve got to make sure that I’m at my best. So May 3 I’ve got to go out there and take my time, keep my composure and be me. Everybody thinks he’s just going to be a pushover, but I don’t think so. That’s why I’m training hard and I’m pushing myself to the limit every day.

Q
You’re 37 now and there’s not a person out there who would think that you’ve slowed down in the least. You might even be better than you were 10 years ago. But my question is, is boxing any more or less important in your life now than it was, say, five or 10 years ago?

F. Mayweather
Boxing is always very, very important to me and always will be because this has put me in a position to have everything that I have. This has put me in a position to be able to secure my family and secure myself. Boxing is something I love and that’s all we know, is the fight game. But I just want to be a part of the sport. I want to help this sport live on. I want to help this sport continue to grow. That’s what it’s about.

Q
You can’t fight forever. Have you been thinking about what you’d like to do in boxing once you hang it up?

F. Mayweather
Yeah, I’m going to continue to just help Mayweather Promotions grow, I want to continue to help fighters and I want to continue to help this sport, period. Even if they’re not with Mayweather Promotions, I want to continue to keep boxing around. I want boxing to grow. We are always looking for the next Floyd Mayweather, so after this fight I have three more fights and we have to be looking for the next Floyd Mayweather, we have to be looking for the next pay-per-view star, but I think you have a lot of guys out there that can – I don’t know if they can replace Floyd Mayweather, but I think they can become pay-per-view stars, and Canelo is one of those guys.

Q
Were you impressed by Canelo in his fight against Angulo? Did you see that fight? That just made your win over him seem even bigger.

F. Mayweather
Canelo looked unbelievable against Angulo. I was like, this guy, he’s back. What else can I say? It’s the only thing I can say, that he’s back.

Q
Bernard Hopkins talked about some time before he retires possibly fighting you. Obviously, he’s a lot bigger than you. Have you ever entertained that thought?

F. Mayweather
I mean, I think everybody’s trying to hit the jackpot and fight Floyd Mayweather, from heavyweight all the way down to flyweight. I think Bernard Hopkins, I didn’t get to see the fight. I think I caught the first two rounds because I really wanted to watch Kid Chocolate because he’s originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., so I wanted to root for Kid Chocolate because I know he’s a friend of mine and he came up watching me.

But I watched the first couple rounds and I thought that Bernard Hopkins was losing the fight, I guess. Then I went for a six-mile run, so I guess when I was out doing my six-mile run I guess he picked the pace up and I guess he was victorious. But I can’t take that away from Bernard Hopkins. He’s a legend. He’s a legend like myself and of course, you get your biggest payday when you’re facing Floyd Mayweather.

Q
Floyd, in your last fight in Vegas against Canelo Alvarez, the public perception was obviously a little bit different then going into this one – bigger, stronger, he had what people perceived to be the skillset to finally be the guy who maybe knocked you off in the ring, and people don’t have that same type of feeling, I don’t think, about Maidana.

My question is that do you worry at all about any sort of a letdown going into this fight after all the hype that surrounded THE ONE?

F. Mayweather
No. You know, I try to always think positive. We always try to think positive. All we can do is dedicate ourselves and work hard and try to get good results. It’s the only thing I can really say.

You had a fighter in Canelo that you rarely see, so that was something that everybody wanted to see, and it was more like a chess match and I was Bobby Fischer. So then, with this fight you have a guy, a rugged guy that comes straight ahead with an attitude of ‘I just don’t care.’ He just dethroned one of the top undefeated fighters, so like I said before, it’s a good matchup.

Q
Do you feel like to a certain degree that maybe you’ve become a little bit of a victim of your own success? You’ve made so many great fighters throughout your career look ordinary when they get in the ring with you. A guy like Shane Mosley, a Hall of Fame fighter, you made him look ordinary. A guy like Juan Manuel Marquez, another Hall of Fame fighter, you made him look ordinary. So do you think that maybe in the public’s perception you don’t get a lot of the credit for these fights not because you’re not fighting good fighters but because when they get in the ring with you you’re on another level and just making them look ordinary?

F. Mayweather
Yes, so yes, back to that question you were asking, I think that I don’t get my credit that’s due because I think that I make A-level and B-level fighters look ordinary, but that comes from just having a sharp mind and just really, really pushing myself in training, pushing myself very, very hard in training and so when it’s time to go out there and perform, everything is easy.

Q
If you could take yourself out of your head for a second here and not be Floyd Mayweather and looked at yourself from an outside perspective, how would you approach a fight with Floyd Mayweather? How would you train and prepare to fight Floyd Mayweather?

F. Mayweather
I can’t really say. How would I fight Floyd Mayweather? I don’t really know. I can’t really say. I just go out there. It’s just second nature to me. I just go out there. It’s what I’ve done my whole life. I was born to be a fighter. But when I was young I always loved to entertain, I always loved to promote. We’ve done house parties when we were young teenagers, 13, 14. I know how to promote and make sure the party was packed, so promotion has always been something I was very, very strong in, but now that we have our own company I’m very, very happy with that, but how would I fight Floyd Mayweather? I really don’t know. I really can’t say.

Q
Floyd, how important is for your legacy to retire undefeated and who do you think has been the closest fighter to defeating you?

F. Mayweather
As I said before, it’s about being a smart. I don’t go into a fight thinking about losing. It’s about winning at life. The most important thing is winning at life. I don’t really think about losing in the ring. I think about winning in life, just period. So as far as what guy, a lot of times people say the Castillo first fight. In the Castillo first fight I wasn’t just fighting Castillo; I was fighting Larry Merchant, so he’s commentating, persuading everybody to look at the fight a certain way whereas I was hurt in the fight, my arm was hurt in the fight, but there’s no excuses. I know I won, and I’m not just saying it just to say it. I know deep in my heart I won. That’s why if I feel I didn’t win I wouldn’t have fought him in a rematch. I’m saying when I did it the first time I came back and did it the same way a second time.

Emanuel Agustus, but when I fought him he was Emanuel Burton. He was probably by far, I mean, well-rounded and one of my toughest opponents. And he was the guy that didn’t have a real – his record didn’t reflect how he fought. Normally he takes fights on a week notice, a two-week notice or a four, five-day notice whereas with me had a chance to go to training camp and prepare. So Emanuel Agustus was a very, very, very tough opponent that I faced, but we got the job done and it’s not about winning – it’s not about winning inside the ring; it’s about winning outside the ring. The only thing I care about is winning outside the ring, it’s more important than winning inside the ring.

Q
In the last hours there have been a lot of rumors about a Pacquiao-Canelo fight. Are you disappointed that Pacquiao’s willing to fight Canelo instead of you in a very big fight?

F. Mayweather
Well, I don’t think Pacquiao-Canelo is going to (happen). I mean, me personally, I don’t think so, but if that fight was to happen I’d choose Canelo to win. I don’t think the fight is going to happen.

Q
Floyd, thanks a lot for hanging in there with us on this conference call. I’m going to take you to a different arena a little bit. At the beginning of the NBA regular season you made a trip to Miami and had a chance to address The Heat during practice. What do you remember from your message to them? A lot of their players still talk about what you told them and how it’s motivated them going into these playoffs.

F. Mayweather
Well, you know, I just talked to LeBron and told him, told all the players that each year’s going to be tough. Each year’s going to be tough. It’s just going to get rougher, so you guys have to apply yourself like champions. I mean, you guys have to work harder. Everything get tougher and rougher and you have to work harder. That’s no different for me in my position. Before I became a champion, I worked hard. Now that I am a champion, each fight I have to work harder and harder to stay in this position, so that’s basically what I was speaking about to the players.

Q
Do you see any similarities between you staying on top of your game for so many years and these guys trying to three-peat and win three straight championships?

F. Mayweather
Man, it’s a lot of similarities, but it’s different also because these guys, these guys are a team to where with me it’s a one-on-one battle to where if the team loses you have to realize still, LeBron James is going to have to take all the slack to where it’s no different from a fighter. If I lose, that’s why I said, there’s some similarities where it’s a team sport, but if they lose, one guy has to deal with all the criticism to where like with me, with what I’m doing, of course I have a team, I have somebody that’s going out there and instructing me. I have a team but still, it’s a one-on-one sport. And you know, if something happens everything’s going to fall back on me the same way.

Q
And lastly, one part of the story that they told was that you mentioned taking that shot from Sugar Shane and how it sort of rocked you and they were probably going to get rocked during the course of a season but the important thing was to come out a real, true champion, you’re going to come out on your feet and withstand all the criticism, withstand all the pressure and all of that kind of thing. Do you remember that part of it?

F. Mayweather
Well, I told them, like these guys are gunning for you. These guys are gonna gun for you. Even though you guys were the No. 1 in the East this year, but you’re still the world champions and people are coming for that throne, so just like Canelo, he fought me one way. That doesn’t mean Maidana’s going to fight me the same way Canelo fought me. So like I said before, you’ve got to make adjustments and be able to adapt to any style.

K. Swanson
Thanks, Floyd. Leonard, would you like to wrap it up?

L. Ellerbe
I would just like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. THE MOMENT, we’re just 10 days away and we look forward to everyone coming to support our event.

K. Swanson
Okay, terrific. Thanks, everybody, for joining us and again. The fight week schedule’s coming soon and we’ll have a really great Fight Week. Thanks. Bye, everybody.

***”THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at
www.FathomEvents.com.

London (25 April) Hughie Lewis Fury is out to “win in style” against the “durable” Danny Hughes at Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, on May 10.

The undefeated heavyweight star, Hughie, faces the Sunderland man on the Kid Galahad undercard live on Channel 5 and is ready to produce an “exciting” display for all the fans, according to father and trainer Peter Fury.

“It’s a good step up for Hughie and it’s a good fight,” Peter said.

“Danny’s coming to win, he’s a big lad, he’s 6’5” tall and 17-and-a-half to 18 stone, a genuine heavyweight who has been training hard for this fight.”

Hughie is undefeated in an impressive 13 fights, with eight knockouts and no draws.

The 6’7″ tall 19-year-old destroyed tough American Matthew Greer inside two rounds at the Copper Box Arena in February, knocking him down a total of three times with fierce body shots in the second.

Hughie proved too much for the game American, who has previously fought the likes of Deontay Wilder and Denis Boytsov and the young Fury will be looking for a similarly confident performance in just over two weeks’ time in Yorkshire.

But Danny Hughes comes into the contest with 12 wins from 16 contests, with the only two defeats on his record coming on points at the hands of former European and Commonwealth challenger Michael Sprott and former European champion and world title contender Audley Harrison.

A game opponent who was recently linked with facing unbeaten and former undefeated European heavyweight champion and current IBF International champion Kubrat Pulev.

“He (Hughes) fancies it and he’s up for it, so it’s a good positive step for Hughie and these are the type of fights that Hughie needs to bring him to the next level,” Peter said.

“It’s going to be a great show, it’s a great venue in Sheffield, Hughie is really looking forward to it, training well and ready for the fight.

“Hughie’s going to go out there and put on a great display of boxing and if the knockout comes it comes – it will be a good fight and a great night.”

Promoter Mick Hennessy said: “There is absolutely no doubt about it, Hughie is one of the brightest prospects in world heavyweight boxing.

“At 19-years-old he is handling opponents with tremendous maturity and I’m looking forward to seeing him face Danny Hughes in Sheffield.

“I know Danny is training hard and coming to win, so I think we’re set for another display of fireworks.”

Hughie fights on the undercard of the 24-year-old Qatar born Sheffield fighter Kid Galahad on May 10.

The undefeated newly crowned European super-bantamweight champion, Galahad and undefeated heavyweight sensation, Hughie, will also be joined by a whole host of local talent on the bill, with Sheffield’s Dave Howe, Callum Hancock, Tom Mcassey and Ryan Hardy, Barnsley’s Lee Noble, Rotherham’s Karl Bell and Chatteris fighter Jordan Gill scheduled to fight.

LOS ANGELES (April 24, 2014) – With Oscar De La Hoya presiding over the festivities, Golden Boy Promotions hosted the final press conference for their exciting, stacked fight card this Saturday, April 26 headlining Keith Thurman vs. Julio Diaz at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, following the premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana Episode 2) and SHO EXTREME® (7 p.m. ET/PT)

“It’s great to be back,’’ said De La Hoya, President of GBP, at the outset. “Great to be back.

“Saturday will be a treat for the fans. This is the real deal here. These are real fighters in real fights and you’re going to get some big-time action on Saturday night. There are still some tickets left, but they are going fast. We are expecting a great crowd at StubHub. I’m really looking forward to it. We have terrific fights from top to bottom

“It’s really exciting for me to be here at StubHub Center. Thank you to Golden Boy for believing in me. This is a testament that we can do it. Get yourself off the canvas, get back up and fight harder. That’s the way you should go.”

The 12-round main event Saturday on SHOWTIME will pit unbeaten,power-punching WBA Interim Welterweight Championship Keith “One Time” Thurman (22-0, 20 KOs), of Clearwater, Fla., against former world champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz (40-9-1, 29 KOs), of Coachella, Calif.

In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING co-main event, hard-hitting former interim 140-pound world champion Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse (34-3, 32 KOs), of Trelow, Chubut, Arg., will be opposed by offensive-minded John Molina (27-3, 22 KOs), of Covina, Calif., in a scheduled 10-rounder that could wind up as a Fight of the Year candidate. Opening the telecast will be an All-Texas WBC lightweight world title fight between undefeated defending champion Omar “Panterita” Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs), of Weslaco, and a nemesis from his amateur days, Jerry “The Corpus Christi Kid” Belmontes (19-3, 5 KOs), of Corpus Christi.

Promising unbeaten junior welterweight Antonio “Relentless” Orozco (15-0, 9 KOs) of San Diego, Calif., takes on Mexico City’s Martin “El Brochas” Honorio (32-8-1, 16 KOs) in the main event on SHO EXTREME. Other SHO Extreme scraps will include talented Jermall Charlo (17-0, 13 KOs) against Albuquerque’s Hector Munoz (22-12-1, 14 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight clash and, time-permitting, 2012 Brazilian Olympian Yamaguchi Falcao (0-0-1), of Sao Paulo, against Carlos Badaldua (pro debut), of Tijuana, Mexico, in a 4/6-round middleweight fight.

Tickets priced at $150, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale and available online at AXS.com, by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849) and at StubHub Center Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available by calling 877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages, please call 877-234-8425.

What the boxers and executives said Thursday:

KEITH THURMAN, WBA Interim Welterweight World Champion

“This fight right here for me is a dream come true. This is what I’ve been doing since I was seven. It’s where I want to be, the headliner in a SHOWTIME event.

“Julio has been giving some stiff competition. They call him ‘The Kidd’ because he keeps performing despite his age. He is coming to win, to find those holes and show us young fighters what he knows. I look forward to an excellent fight.

“My motto is KOs for life. I’m going to do it again. To me the judges have the best seat in the house. This is a terrific card. Heavy hitters across the board. Just come and enjoy the show.

“I’m grateful, I have been looking forward to Saturday for a long time. This camp was the longest camp I’ve had –10 weeks. I was getting prepared for anybody, I was preparing for the world. I’m ready to rumble. ‘One Time’!’’

JULIO DIAZ, Former World Champion

“Everyone always says thank you Golden Boy, but I really mean it. I’ve been through everything. This is the best treatment I’ve ever had as a fighter, despite coming from a couple of losses; I’m still headlining an event. I appreciate the opportunity.

“This is a tough opportunity, a dangerous opportunity. I’m facing a dangerous, tough fighter, but he’s not unbeatable. I take my job seriously. It’s going to be a tough fight but I guarantee you it’ll be an exciting fight.’’

LUCAS MATTYHSSE, Former Interim World Champion

“I’m very happy to be here. I want to thank Golden Boy, my promoter, and everyone involved for this fight. I just want to say I am ready to go and glad to be back.

“I know what Molina brings to the table. This will be a great fight. Get ready for an explosion, an exciting fight on Saturday.’’

JOHN MOLINA, Junior Welterweight Contender

“The judges may not be needed. This is going to be a war. Bombs away.

“Matthysse is a feared fighter. With his power, he’s shown he can explode at any time. People tell me I should fight him like Danny Garcia did, but I’m not Danny Garcia.

“I’m going to bring my A-Game, he’s going to bring his A-Game. There isn’t going to be a whole lot of running, just setting down in front of each other and exchanging. Matthysse gives a lot when he hits, and he takes a lot when he gets hit.

“I’m a slow starter, but he’s a notoriously slow starter, too. I definitely plan to go in and gain some respect right off the bat. But when the eggs start to roll, that’s when the real action kicks in.

“Two days out, I feel a combination of things. I’m excited. I’m thankful for this opportunity on such a great stage. I’m confident I can capitalize on all the advantages I possess. I feel my power is better at 140 pounds. There is going to be a great crowd on Saturday. I’m ready.’’

OMAR “PANTERITA’ FIGUEROA, WBC Lightweight Champion

“We are here now, and we are ready. I don’t care about winning or losing. I’m going to go out there and put on a great show and try to punch my opponent as much as possible, which is the best feeling in the world.

“It’s going to be a good fight. We’ve seen each other a few times in the amateur tournaments and we say hi. In the ring it’s a different story.

“It’s an honor to fight in the same card as Matthysse, I look up to him. He’s a power hitter like I am. I know all these guys are going to put on a good show. We’ll see you there.’’

JERRY BELMONTES, Lightweight Contender

“I’d like to thank everybody involved for making this fight. It’s going to be a terrific fight, a styles fight. He’s the brawler, I’m the boxer. We’re both from Texas, so this is a big fight our state.

“We’re good friends. I watched Omar grow up. I hope he doesn’t take it personal when I take the title belt away from him on Saturday.’’

ANTONIO OROZCO, Unbeaten, Hard-Hitting Junior Welterweight

“I want to thank Golden Boy, my manager, Frank Espinoza, everybody for this opportunity on Saturday. I’m ready for a great fight. I’m ready to put on a show.’’

YAMAGUCHI FALCAO, 2012 Olympic Games Bronze Medalist From Brazil

“Today is a special day. It’s a day when I finally can start thinking about my pro career. I spoke with my father and he told me that one day I would become a world champion. I won a bronze medal for Brazil in the 2012 Olympics. That fulfilled a dream of mine.

“Saturday begins another dream come true for me. I take my first step in becoming a world champion. Standing up here with all these great champions is so great. I hope to fight the very best in my career. I’m going to make it big in boxing, and it all starts this Saturday.’’

JARMALL CHARLO, Undefeated, World-Ranked Junior Middleweight

“I’m excited to be part of such an explosive card. To look at these guys around me – Matthysse, Thurman–is an honor.

“I want to thank my team for helping me bounce back and regaining my focus. My opponent took this fight on short notice, but you have to be in great shape all the time. I know I can fight on short notice because I stay in great shape.’’

HECTOR MUNOZ, Veteran Junior Middleweight

“I’m looking forward to going in and putting a lot of pressure on him. Thanks to everybody for getting me this fight.’’

JOSEPH JO-JO DIAZ, Promising, Unbeaten Super Bantamweight

“Thanks to Golden Boy and their staff for putting me on this great card. I’m fighting a guy with a ton of experience. I’m sure he’s ready but I had a strong, hard camp and I’m ready to put on a show.

“I hope all the fans tune in. Saturday is going to be great night of boxing.’’

CHRIS DEBLASIO, Vice-President of Sports Communications, SHOWTIME Sports
“In the last two years SHOWTIME has become the leader in televised boxing. I think there’s no mistake about that. We are televising the biggest events in sports, the most competitive fights and quite literally on the most aggressive schedule you can imagine.

“Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast features three incredible fights with all heavy hitters, knockout fighters that are looking to make a statement in really deep divisions at 147 and 140 pounds. There’s lot to be gained and some to be lost from reach fighter, but we know they’ll come out strong.’’

ANDY FOSTER, Head of California State Athletic Commission

“Welcome back Golden Boy. Golden Boy is the No. 1 stakeholder in California and California does the most boxing in the world. We are pleased to be regulating the fight on Saturday and wish the fighters a safe and successful night.”

In non-televised fights on Saturday: Frankie “Pitbull” Gomez (16-0, 12 KOs), East Los Angeles, vs. Orlando Vasquez (12-3-1, 6 KOs), Bayamon, P.R., 10 rounds, welterweights; Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz Jr. (9-0, 7 KOs), South El Monte, Calif., vs. Luis Maldonado (38-11-1, 29 KOs), Calexico, Calif., 8 rounds, super bantamweights; Terrell Gausha (8-0, 5 KOs), Cleveland, vs. Charles Whitaker (40-14-2, 24 KOs), Miami, Fla., 8 rounds, super welterweights; and Sharif Bogere (23-1), Las Vegas, vs. Artura Urena (26-16-1, 22 KOs), Mazatlan, Mexico; 8 rounds, lightweights. The first live fight is at 1 p.m. PT.

# # #

ABOUT THURMAN vs. DIAZ, a 12-round fight for Thurman’s Interim WBA Welterweight World Championship on Saturday, April 26, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. It will take place at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., and will air as the main event of the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). In the co-feature, Argentine knockout artist Lucas Matthysse faces hard-hitting John Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight bout that is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor Promotions. In the opening bout of the telecast, Omar Figueroa Jr. defends his WBC Lightweight title against fellow Texan Jerry Belmontes. Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.sports.sho.com and www.homedepotcenter.com, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/shosports, www.twitter.com/StubHubCenter, https://twitter.com/keithfthurmanjr www.twitter.com/JohnMolinajr135, www.twitter.com/OmarFigueroaJr and www.twitter.com/Jerry_Belmontes, follow the conversation using #ThurmanDiaz or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing and www.facebook.com/StubHubCenter.

BROOKLYN, NY (April 24, 2014)—The Fight Network will air the February 27 edition of Brooklyn Brawl.

On February 27, Steve Bujaj scored a 1st round stoppage over Elvin Sanchez to capture the New York State Cruiserweight championship. Also seeing action that was rising Jr. Middleweight Steven Martinez as well as undefeated Jr. Welterweight Dimash Niyazov.

Air Dates on the Fight Network are as follows:

April 25 @ 11:30p ET
April 26 @ 2:30p ET (leading into live Klitschko fight)
April 28 @ 4:30a ET
April 28 @ 5:30p ET
May 1 @ 11:30p ET

Brooklyn Brawl returns, Thursday, May 15 to the Millennium Theater with a WBC Inter-Continental Cruiserweight bout between Bujaj and fellow undefeated Junior Wright.

Log on to http://www.dsalita.com to buy your tickets today.

LINCOLN, R.I. (April 24th, 2014) – Listed below are the final weights for all of the participants for “CES MMA XXIII,” live mixed martial arts scheduled for Friday, April 25th, 2014 at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I. The first bout is scheduled for 7 p.m.

ROB FONT
Boston, Mass.
9-1, 2 KOs
145 ½

TRISTAN JOHNSON
Nova Scotia, Canada
8-4, 3 KOs
145

ANDRE SOUKHAMTHATH
Woonsocket, R.I.
7-2, 4 KOs
135 ½

JOSHUA KILLION
Defiance, Ohio
10-4
135

ERIC SPICELY
Olneyville, R.I.
3-0, 1 KO
179

DAVID JORDAN
Las Vegas, Nev.
1-2
172

TATEKI MATSUDA
Boston, Mass. (Tokyo, Japan)
8-5, 4 KOs
135

MATT DOHERTY
Salem, Mass.
3-0, 2 KOs
135 ½

ERIC BEDARD
East Providence, R.I.
6-4, 4 KOs
226

MATTHEW THOMPSON
Austin, Tex.
18-9, 7 KOs
223

RICO DISCULLO
Peabody, Mass.
1-0, 1 KO
135 ½

JORDAN ESPINOSA
Findlay, Ohio
3-2
135 ½

PETER ROGERS JR.
Norwich, Conn.
0-1
148

FRANKLIN ISABEL
Chelsea, Mass.
4-6
150

BRANDON CHAGNON
Methuen, Mass.
4-4
182

RALPH JOHNSON
Worcester, Mass.
6-10, 6 KOs
180

BOBBY FLYNN
Mashpee, Mass.
4-1, 1 KO
174

TUNDEE ODUMUSO
Providence, R.I.
2-2
185

ADRIEN BRONER, Former Three-Division World Champion

“This fight is huge for me. Everyone wants to see what Adrien Broner is going to do next after this devastating loss I took in the early part of my career. I know why everyone has their eyes glued to me.

“Floyd is going to do what he’s always done, stay on top and get a victory. Everyone one knows what I’m going to do in my comeback fight.

“Being on this undercard means a lot it mean a lot. It means a lot to know I play a big part in boxing. It is great to be on this card.

“In this era, you can’t talk about boxing without bringing up Adrien Broner.

“I’ve been training my ass off. You never know what you’re going to come in here and do. A lot of fighters have repetitive workouts. In our camp here, [at the Bald Eagle Recreation Center in Washington, D.C.] you never know what you’re going to do day in and day out. I come prepared and train my ass off.

“I am the CEO of Band Camp. It’s a positive movement with music and boxing. Everyone has a role and we are moving up.

“This is my first fight on pay-per-view and after my performance on May 3rd you will be seeing me on pay-per-view more often so get used to this.

“Carlos Molina is a hell of a fighter and he is going to come to fight. He’s going to come to kick my ass because I’m sure as hell going to come to kick his.

“I’m trying to have some fun. I will be pretty, fresh, fly and still flashy.

“People want to know if the loss [against Marcos Maidana] has humbled me and of course it has. If I would have won that Maidana fight people would be calling me an asshole. People still call me that, but now I thank God that he slowed me down in my tracks even though it is still a heavy and fast train. Right now, Denzel Washington couldn’t stop this train.

“People will always have their opinions on how hard you trained, especially when they only see you on fight night. Boxing is all hard work. I don’t care what level you’re on.

“I talk to Floyd all the time, he’s a big brother and a mentor. Why not fight on his undercard? I’m helping him and he’s helping me. It’s a lovely thing, who would have ever thought we’d be fighting on the same card?

“You never know what to expect from an opponent until you hit that ring, but I can tell you that I will be victorious and it will be in a spectacular way.

“‘THE MOMENT’ is one of the biggest fights in boxing history and why not pay back my big brother and fight on his card?

“When Floyd beats Maidana, it is going to be the same as the other opponents who have lost. It would still be a big fight for me to fight Maidana.”

MIKE STAFFORD, Broner’s Trainer

“Behind good losses always come a good win and next Saturday night Adrien’s going get an excellent win.

“Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, even Bernard Hopkins. All these guys took losses but they came back and were victorious. We just have to get back to a world championship shot again.

“Camp is going well. He looks just as good as he did for the Maidana fight, he just has to maintain his weight at 147. He was at 139, so he had to eat more. Now he doesn’t have to eat as much.

“I was surprised by the way Adrien got hit by Maidana. He’d been hit in the past, but I was surprised that Maidana hit him like that.

“Everyone wants to fight Floyd for the money. If Maidana had lost to Adrien his career would have been done, but if Maidana loses to Floyd, he will still have plenty of guys to fight. The timing was right for Maidana. After his victory over Adrien, Floyd noticed him and realized that it would be a good fight.”

# # #

“THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at
www.FathomEvents.com.

LAS VEGAS (April 24, 2014) – In preparation for what will be a matchup for the ages between undefeated 10-Time World Champion and current WBC Welterweight World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Leigh Simons Productions will present “Countdown to THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana.” This primetime special 30-minute preview show will air on various FOX Sports platforms and will feature in-depth profiles and analysis of Mayweather vs Maidana and the televised undercard fights including Amir “King” Khan vs. Luis Collazo, Adrien “The Problem” Broner vs. Carlos Molina and J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban.

“The Moment: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” will take place Saturday, May 3 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas live on SHOWTIME PPV®

Tune into any of the FOX Sports Network channels, FOX Sports, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 FOX Deportes and Televisa (check your local listings) for a behind-the-scenes look at the stars of this highly anticipated pay-per-view event.

The countdown show, brought to life by producer and creative director of Golden Boy Promotions Leigh Simons, will provide audiences with exclusive analysis and commentary leading up to the mega-event.

“This show features some of the best analysis and insight from writers, promoters and television executives that we have ever had the privilege of including in a countdown show,” said Simons. “Mayweather and Maidana are on a collision course and as evidenced by this show, neither fighter plans on taking a backward step.”

Below please find a bevy of links, which preview various parts of the special and fight highlights:

– Countdown to Mayweather vs. Maidana – Segment 1 May 3 live on SHOWTIME PPV

– Countdown to Mayweather vs. Maidana- Segment 2 May 3 live on SHOWTIME PPV

– Countdown to Mayweather vs. Maidana – Segment 3 May 3 live on SHOWTIME PPV

– Countdown to Mayweather vs. Maidana – Segment 4 May 3 live on SHOWTIME PPV

– Countdown to Mayweather vs. Maidana – Undercard May 3 live on SHOWTIME PPV

ABOUT “THE MOMENT”: MAYWEATHER VS. MAIDANA”:
THE MOMENT: Mayweather vs. Maidana,” is a 12-round world championship unification bout for Mayweather and Maidana’s respective 147-pound titles. This is the third fight of Mayweather’s lucrative multi-fight deal with Showtime Networks Inc. THE MOMENT is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts and AT&T. In the co-main event, Amir Khan faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBC silver welterweight world title. The pay-per-view undercard also features a 10-round junior welterweight fight between Adrien Broner and Carlos Molina as well as a 10-round super middleweight bout featuring J’Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban. The event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $1,500, $1,000 and $750 are still available, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets $550 and $350 are sold out. Tickets are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Six MGM Resorts Properties will host live closed circuit telecast of THE MOMENT: Bellagio, ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage and Monte Carlo. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $75, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711 or at www.mgmgrand.com. Select properties also will sell tickets through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or by purchasing online at www.ticketmaster.com. “THE MOMENT” will also be broadcast on nearly 520 select movie theaters across the country. Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.

London (24 April) Kid Galahad will challenge Fred ‘The General’ Mundraby for the vacant Commonwealth super bantamweight title at Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield, on May 10th, live on Channel 5.

“Mundraby is a game opponent and he’s coming to win, but it doesn’t matter what he does it’s not going to be enough to beat me,” Galahad said.

The 24-year-old undefeated champion, Galahad, claimed the European crown by recording the 16th win of his unblemished record, that includes eight knockouts, with a 12 round masterclass over former Spanish champion Sergio Prado.

The Ingle trained star, Galahad, who is also an unbeaten former British and WBC International champion, will have to be on form when he faces ‘The General’ Mundraby.

The 26-year-old Australian is their national super bantamweight champion and boasts an impressive 15 wins with seven knockouts.

Fighting out of Cairns, Queensland, Mundraby fights in the UK for the first time in his career and is focussed on defeating Galahad and claiming the title.

“It will be an awesome feeling to have another belt to add to my collection,” Mundraby said.

“Also, it’s another step closer to a World Title fight – I will make my people proud and honouring God.”

However, Galahad, who has won four of his last five contests by knockout, is adamant he isn’t overlooking his latest opponent and is unwavering in his preparations.

“I’m not looking past this kid, I know he will be coming with a game-plan and he’ll be confident, but when I enter that ring I know what I need to do and I know I can push myself to do whatever it takes to win,” Galahad said.

“I want to win this belt for everyone that comes and supports me, it means everything to me and I appreciate all of them.

“This is another belt for my collection and it’s another step to where I want to be and that’s in the big fights at world level.”

The newly crowned European super bantamweight champion, Galahad, is chasing a world title and is out to show why domestic rival and WBA champion Scott Quigg will want “no part” of him.

“I’m going to show exactly why Carl Frampton vacated his European title rather than fight me and why Quigg and his promoter daren’t even mention me in the same sentence, me personally I know they want no part of me.”

Also scheduled to fight on the show is undefeated heavyweight sensation Hughie Lewis Fury as he looks to extend his perfect record to 14 straight wins. Joining them will also be a whole host of local talent, including Sheffield’s Dave Howe, Callum Hancock, Tom Mcassey and Ryan Hardy, Barnsley’s Lee Noble, Rotherham’s Karl Bell and Chatteris fighter Jordan Gill.

MIAMI (April 24, 2014) – Tonight WBA Light Middleweight Champion, Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara, will be attending the 25th Anniversary Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami, FL.

The 2014 Billboard Latin Music Awards, presented by State Farm, will air live tonight on Telemundo at 7pm/6c. Stars performing this evening will be Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, Prince Royce, Juanes, Andrea Bocelli and many more.

Tonight’s show will be co-hosted by Raul Gonzalez, Roselyn Sanchez, and Laura Flores. For more information, please visit: www.BillboardLatinConference.com or follow the event on: Facebook/Billboard and Twitter: @Billboard with the hashtag #BBLATIN.

“The Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards is a magnificent event and I’m thrilled to have been invited,” said Erislandy Lara. “The fact that this is its 25th anniversary says a lot about the popularity of Latin artists’ around the world. I’m looking forward to seeing all the great performers as they will be putting on a great show for the world to see.”

Sherman Oaks, California (April 24, 2014) An outstanding eight round junior welterweight semi-main bout between two of the sport’s up-and-coming prospects has been added to the “FIGHT FOR PEACE — HEAVYWEIGHT HISTORY” event on Saturday, May 10 at the USC Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California which will be telecast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) and presented by Corona Extra as Amir “Young Master” Imam of Albany, New York takes on hotshot Yordenis Ugas of Miami, Florida via Santiago, Cuba.

“FIGHT FOR PEACE – HEAVYWEIGHT HISTORY” is headlined by the World Boxing Council Heavyweight Championship of the World bout between top rated heavyweights Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne of La Plaine, Haiti and Riverside, California’s Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola.

Sporting an undefeated record of 13-0-0 and 12 KO’s and known for his show stopping knockouts, the all-action Imam burst onto the boxing scene on February 21 with a nationally televised fourth round knockout of then undefeated prospect Jared Robinson in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Don King promoted Imam was also a force in the amateur ranks, participating in the 2011 National Golden Gloves in addition to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials losing in the finals to outstanding professional Errol Spence.

Imam had a tremendous 2013, with all six of his starts ending by way of knockout within the first two rounds.

Originally from Santiago, Cuba, Ugas, co-promoted by Goossen Tutor and Caribe Promotions, has compiled a record of 15-2-0 with 7 KO’s since turning professional in 2010 following an outstanding amateur career.

Competing from 2003 to 2009 for the acclaimed Cuban National Team, Ugas won a Bronze Medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as well as Gold Medals at both the 2005 World Amateur Boxing Championships and the 2007 Pan American Games.

The 27-year-old Ugas will be looking to jump back in the win column, having his four bout-winning streak come to an end on February 28 against undefeated Emmanuel Robles in a very close, split decision loss in the challenger’s hometown of San Diego, California.

Included in the winning streak were outstanding performances against former world title challenger Cosme Rivera and fellow highly regarded prospect John Williams.

“FIGHT FOR PEACE – HEAVYWEIGHT HISTORY” presented by Don King Promotions and Goossen Tutor Promotion is a fitting international tribute to longtime champion Vitali Klitschko who stepped away from boxing officially in December 2013 to focus on the 2014 Ukrainian Presidential Election.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $100, $50 and $25 (plus fees) for the Heavyweight World Championship night of boxing are available through the USC Ticket Office located in the Student Union, 213-740-4672 (GOSC), or www.galentix.com or www.ticketmaster.com
Doors will open on the day of the event at 3:00 p.m. PT with the first
bell at 3:30 p.m. PT.

For more information on the Galen Center visit http://www.usctrojans.com/facilities/usc-galen-center.html

For fight updates go to www.GoossenTutor.comor www.ESPN.com/Boxingon Facebook at facebook.com/GoossenTutor, and on Twitter at @GoossenTutor, and @ESPNBoxing.

Also follow on Twitter, Bermane Stiverne at @BStiverne and Chris Arreola at @NightmareBoxing. Use the hashtag #StiverneArreola2 to join the conversation on Twitter.

Please visit www.MagnaMedia.com for the May 10th Media Credential Application.

Philadelphia, PA (April 24, 2014)–Tonight at the sands in Bethlehem, undefeated Flyweight, Miguel “No Fear” Cartagena will take on Timur Shailezov in a 6-round Bantamweight bout as part of a card promoted by Iron Mike Tyson Promotions.

Cartagena of Philadelphia has been nothing short of perfect as he has racked up a record of 12-0 with 5 knockouts.

The 21-year old has faced good competition in his young career as his wins over undefeated Angel Carvajal (2-0); veterans Jhon Molina, Felipe Rivas and in his last bout where he scored 2nd round stoppage over Miguel Robles (12-3-2) on March 21 in Chester, PA.

“I took this fight on three days notice. I been training so it’s not like a last minute thing,”said Cartagena. “I am in shape and I feel strong. I am ready to get another win.”

“I want to thank everyone who is coming out on short notice. I am going to go out there and put on a great show. I want to thank Club 1957 Management and Mark Cipparone for this opportunity.”

Said Cartagena’s manager Mark Cipparone, “We are very happy with Miguel. In his last bout, he knocked out a real good opponent in two rounds and now he is in with another tough guy and we expect another great performance.”

Shailezov of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan has a record of 16-7-1 with 3 knockouts, has some quality wins such as winning the NABA Bantamweight title with a 10-round majority decision over Leon Moore (18-1). He also won the WBA Inter-Continental Super Flyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Julio David Roque Ler (26-5).

Shailezov is coming off 8-round split decision defeat to 2012 U.S. Olympian Luis Yanez (6-0-1) on April 19.

Cartagena weighed in at 117 lbs at Thursday’s weight while Shailezov checked in at 117.5 lbs

Light Heavyweights (8)
Rowland Bryant (17-3, 12 KOs), Altamonte Springs, Florida 178 lbs.
vs.
Rayco Saunders (23-22-2, 10 KOs), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 177 lbs.

Bantamweights (6)
Miguel Cartagena (12-0, 5 KOs), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 117 ½ lbs.
vs.
Timur Shailezov (16-7, 3 KOs), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 117 lbs.

Featherweights (4)
Dennis Galarza (2-0, 1 KO), Miami, Florida 128 ¾ lbs.
vs.
Abraham Rubio (4-3, 1 KO, Sonora, Mexico 127 ½ lbs.

Lightweights (6)
Rolando Chinea (6-0-1, 4 KOs), Lancaster, Pennsylvania 135 ½ lbs.
vs.
Ronnie Reams (4-3, 1 KO), Colorado Springs, Colorado 137 lbs.

Lightweights (6)
San Quinones Jr. (5-2, 2 KOs), York, Pennsylvania 139 lbs.
vs.
Carlos Lopez (4-3, 0 KOs), San Juan, Puerto Rico 138 lbs.

Welterweights (4)
Arthur Trujillo (4-0, 2 KOs), Easton, Pennsylvania
vs.
Kevon Womack (4-4-1, 2 KOs), Baltimore, Maryland 150 lbs.

Junior Middleweights (4)
Erik Spring (pro debut), Reading, Pennsylvania 152 ½ lbs.
vs.
Lionel Charles (0-1), New York, New York 153 ½ lbs.

(Alex DeJesus vs. Gerardo Pipino Cuevas Jr. was canceled due to Cuevas’ passport issues)

WHAT: “KO Kings of Tomorrow” professional boxing

WHEN: Thursday, April 24, 2014

WHERE: Sands Event Center, Bethlehem, PA

PROMOTER: Iron Mike Productions (IMP)

MATCHMAKER: Chris Middendorf

DOORS OPEN: 6 p.m. ET FIRST BOUT: 7 p.m. ET

TICKETS: $150.00, $125.00, $75.00 and $35.00 are on sale and available to purchase at the Sands Event Center Bethlehem Box Office, visit http://sandseventcenter.com/event/details/ko-kings-of-tomorrow-featuring-mike-tyson/, all TicketMaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com, or call 1-800-745-3000

INFORMATION: www.IronMikeProductions.com or http://sandseventcenter.com/event/details/ko-kings-of-tomorrow-featuring-mike-tyson/

ABOUT IRON MIKE PRODUCTIONS (IMP): Founded in 2013 by CEO Garry Jonas and Hall of Famer Mike Tyson, Iron Mike Productions is a full-service boxing promotional company with offices located in Deerfield Beach, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. IMP is committed to changing traditional boxing promotion by advocating for its fighters’ successes, inside the ring and out, throughout their professional careers and into retirement.

For additional information go online at www.IronMikeProductions.com, friend on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/IronMike Productions, or follow on Twitter @IronMikeProd.

Ahead of his world title challenge against WBO Super Middleweight World Champion Arthur Abraham on May 3, Nikola Sjekloca took a time out from his training to discuss his chances at the Velodrom in Berlin Germany. Here’s what he had to say…

Nikola, please give us your opinion on the fighter that is Arthur Abraham…

Nikola Sjekloca: He was a real champion with a big heart – I repeat: He was! As a middleweight, he made it to the top of the division and was a world-class operator. However, those days are long gone. Abraham is not quite as strong at the limit of 168 pounds.

…and you think you are better than he is at super middleweight?

Nikola Sjekloca: Yes, I do! I am taller and my hand speed is better than his is. On top of all this, my ring skills are just superior to Abraham’s.

You are a quite confident, Nikola – although, you have never won a world title. In your biggest fight to date, you lost to current WBC Champion Sakio Bika in a world title eliminator…

Nikola Sjekloca: That was a great experience. Because of this fight, I know that I am able to beat Abraham come May 3. Until having fought Bika, I did not know what I am capable of and this lack of knowledge cost me the win back then. Now I am pretty sure: I have the potential to be a world champion!

Were you impressed by Abraham’s performance as he recaptured the WBO Belt from Robert Stieglitz back in March?

Nikola Sjekloca: No, not really. He just made his game plan work for the whole twelve rounds as Stieglitz made some tactical mistakes from round nine on, which cost him the fight. So in my opinion, Abraham just profited from Stieglitz lapses.

What will be your key to victory?

Nikola Sjekloca: I will not give you any specifics on my tactics. The only thing I can tell you is that I am close to the camp of Floyd Mayweather. Their instructions in addition to hard workouts with my coach Milivoje Basic are the perfect package to become a world champion.

Is there any other reason to believe that you will leave the Velodrom with a win?

Nikola Sjekloca: I have never lost to an Armenian-born boxer. I knocked out two of them while being an amateur. In 2011, I fought in Germany for the first time and beat former world title challenger Khoren Gevor decisively on points. Abraham will be number four on my list. My dream will come true!

Tickets for the fight night at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany are available via www.eventim.de.

TORONTO (April 24, 2014) — Steve Smoger’s popular and informational Referee Clinic, recently conducted in St. Maarten, Delaware and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, will next be held May 26 at the historic Colonial Hotel and Casino in the heart of Panama City, Panama.

With respect to the Toronto clinic, Executive Director of Boxing Ontario, Matthew Kennedy, commented as follows: “What a pleasure it was for me and our team. Besides the boxers, no one is more scrutinized than the official and, more specifically, that third man in the ring. That position requires its own brand of poise, courage, confidence, integrity, and elegance. With two combatants in the ring, opinionated observers feel the referee is wrong at least half the time; but, with Steve Smoger, even the most hardened critic sees Steve being right all the time. With such pedigree and distinctive accomplishments at the highest level, it was our great pleasure and benefit to have him share that knowledge and experience.”

“It was truly my honor and pleasure,” Smoger spoke about the Toronto clinic. “The enthusiasm shown by the group of Canadian officials was refreshing and stimulating. There was excellent participation by attendees and questions were on point and made for a stimulating and educational clinic for all of us. It also made my role as the presenter easier. I was very impressed with the great city of Toronto. I enjoyed everyone I met and look forward to having the opportunity to return in the near future. A special thanks goes to the host facility, the Marquis of Granby Pub & Restaurant/Banquet facility as the location host of the event, Boxing Ontario and Matthew Kennedy, of course, and the event coordinator, Jensen Strauss Agency Limitée, who helped put together a seamless and enjoyable visit. It was also a thrill to attend a post-event get together viewing party of Pacquiao vs. Bradley, hosted by Cornerstone Courier, in the presence of legendary George Chuvalo.

“I look forward to returning to the beautiful country of Panama, where people have exhibited such warmth and hospitality to me in the past, and a country that is truly, in a boxing historical context, the Cradle of Champions.”

Recognized as one of boxing’s most prolific referees, Smoger’s 30-year career includes refereeing more than 850 bouts, averaging 27+ boxing matches refereed per year, and highlighted by more than 165 world title fights.

A New Jersey and Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, Smoger is also this year’s Ring 10 Arthur Mercante Award winner as the referee who exemplifies honesty and integrity in the sport of boxing and who attempts to do the best of their ability to keep the sport safe and at the same time entertaining.

LAS VEGAS (April 24, 2014) – Former World Champion Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith will now face tough Illinois contender Ryan “Dangerous” Davis on Friday, May 2 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. He will replace WBA Super Welterweight Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara after he pulled out from the fight to face Canelo Alvarez on July 12.

Also in previously announced bouts on the May 2 FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes’ broadcast will be rising lightweight star Mickey “The Spirit” Bey, who will meet hard-hitting Mexican veteran Alan “Explosivo” Herrera in a 10-round matchup and in the televised opener, Argentina’s Jesus Cuellar squares off with former World Champion Rico Ramos in a 12-round bout for Cuellar’s WBA Interim Featherweight World Title.

Ishe “Sugar Shay,” (25-6, 11 KOs), whose February 2013 win over Cornelius “K9” Bundrage for the IBF Super Welterweight title was one of the most inspirational boxing stories of the year. Smith made his fans at home and around the globe proud as he became the first Las Vegas native to win a world championship. Smith lost his belt to Carlos Molina in a controversial split decision last September. On May 2, the 35-year-old is back on the ring against Ryan Davis and a step closer to another title shot.

East Saint Louis, Illinois’ Ryan “Dangerous” Davis (24-13-3, 9 KOs) is a 15-year professional and a fearless competitor who will fight anyone at anytime, earning him the respect of fans and his peers. A rugged brawler who has been in the ring with Zab “Super” Judah, Vanes “Nightmare” Martirosyan, David “The Destroyer” Lopez and solid undefeated star Mikael Zewski, the 35-year-old Davis is well aware that with a win over Smith on May 2, he will put himself back in position to make a run up the super welterweight ladder.

Smith vs. Davis, a 10-round super welterweight bout, is presented by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions and is sponsored by Corona and O’Reilly Auto Parts. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets, priced at $95, $65, $35 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available for purchase by visiting The Joint box office, calling 800.745.3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

A full undercard will be announced shortly. For more information, visit www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.goldenboypromotions.com or www.FOXSports.com/FoxSports1, become a follower on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MayweatherPromo, www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, @ishesugarshay, @mickeybeytmt, @JesusCuellarBOX and visit on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions.com and www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing.

LOS ANGELES (April 24, 2014)—Middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs will serve as a guest analyst for the second straight week as SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING presents three world-class prizefights on Saturday, April 26, live at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from StubHub Center in Los Angeles.

Jacobs will step in for critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi, who is recovering from a tough knockout loss to IBF Welterweight World Champion Shawn Porter last week. After the fight, Malignaggi was taken to a nearby hospital in Washington D.C. He has since been released and is recovering comfortably at his home, but is opting to err on the side of caution for this week’s event in Los Angeles.

“I am feeling very good at this stage, but anytime you have any level of concussion, your best bet is to fully recover before doing virtually any activity,” said Malignaggi. “There will be plenty of action on Saturday and the audience will be in good hands with Danny on the stick. But make no mistake: I will not miss next week’s event in Las Vegas. I have been looking forward to that fight card for some time. I’ll be ready.”

The main event for Saturday’s tripleheader will pit interim WBA Welterweight World Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman against former world champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz. In the co-features, Lucas Matthysse returns from an eight-month layoff to face heavy-handed John Molina Jr., in a 10-round junior welterweight matchup and undefeated WBC Lightweight World Champion Omar Figueroa Jr., defends his title against Jerry Belmontes. The telecast will air live, immediately following the premiere of Episode 2 of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana, the most recent installment of the Emmy® Award-nominated SHOWTIME Sports® series that chronicles the dramatic lives of the world’s best prizefighters.

“I had a great time filling in for Paulie last week,” said Jacobs, who will join host Brian Kenny, Mauro Ranallo, Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and award-winning reporter Jim Gray on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. “It was a tremendous honor to be part of that event and to show the fans a different side of myself. I received terrific feedback, not only from SHOWTIME, but from the fans, my friends and family. Obviously, Paulie’s welfare is my main concern but I know he will be back behind the mic soon. In the meantime, I look forward to doing another great job at ringside.”

The 27-year-old Jacobs (27-1, 24 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y., is coming off a first-round TKO of Milton Nunez on March 15 on the SHOWTIME EXTREME® undercard of the Danny Garcia-Mauricio Herrera event in Puerto Rico. The victory was Jacob’s fifth straight win in as many fights since returning to the ring after a courageous 19-month battle against cancer and partial paralysis.

The 6-foot-1 Jacobs, who is the fifth ranked middleweight contender by the IBF and sixth by the WBC, WBA and WBO, has won seven in a row by knockout.

# # #

Thurman vs. Diaz, a 12-round fight for Thurman’s Interim WBA Welterweight World Championship on Saturday, April 26, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. It will take place at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., and will air as the main event of the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). In the co-feature, Argentine knockout artist Lucas Matthysse faces hard-hitting John Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight bout that is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Goossen Tutor Promotions. In the opening bout of the telecast, Omar Figueroa Jr. defends his WBC Lightweight title against fellow Texan Jerry Belmontes. Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME®.

BROOKLYN (April 24, 2014) – World Championship boxing returns to Barclays Center when the “The Siberian Rocky” RUSLAN PROVODNIKOV makes the first defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight title and his Brooklyn debut against undefeated world-rated contender and New York product CHRIS ALGIERI. Provodnikov vs. Algieri will take place Saturday, June 14 and will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Promoted by Banner Promotions and Top Rank®, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, tickets to the Provodnikov-Algieri world champion event are $31, $56, $86, $106 and $206. Tickets will go on sale beginning Today! Thursday, April 24 at 10:00 a.m. ET and can be purchased online via Ticketmaster by visiting www.barclayscenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center beginning Friday, April 25 at noon. Group tickets are also available by calling 855-GROUP-BK. For information on individual suites, please call 718-BK-SUITE.

The co-main event will feature undefeated WBO junior middleweight champion DEMETRIUS “Boo Boo” ANDRADE making his first title defense, against No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger BRIAN “The Lion” ROSE.

These four gladiators boast a combined record of 87-3-1 (44 KOs)– a 96 percent winning ratio, with more than half of their total victories coming by way of knockout.

The action-packed undercard will feature undefeated World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas champion, Top-Five contender and Long Beach, Long Island fan favorite “Irish” SEANIE MONAGHAN, and the debut of professional women’s boxing at Barclays Center with HEATHER “The Heat” HARDY of Brooklyn risking her undefeated record.

Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KOs), born and raised in Berezovo, Khanty-Mansi, Russia in Siberia, is trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach. He had an incredible year in 2013. On March 16, he was on the wrong end of a hotly-disputed unanimous decision loss to undefeated WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. Provodnikov, who moved up in weight for his first title shot, hurt Bradley numerous times during their slugfest, nearly knocking out the defending champion in the first and second rounds and scoring a knockdown in the final round. Two of the three scorecards had Bradley winning by only one point. It was voted the Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. Provodnikov moved down to his natural weight in his next fight and challenged WBO junior welterweight champion Mike Alvarado, scoring a dramatic 10th round stoppage to claim his world title, last October 19. Five of Provodnikov’s last six victories have been by knockout.

Algieri (19-0 8 KOs), hails from nearby Huntington, NY. Over the last 18 months Chris has elevated himself to a world-class contender after accumulating significant victories over top prospect Jose Alejo, former USBA champion Mike Arnaoutis, and most recently highly-rated contender Emmanuel Taylor in February. He’s as much a scholar as he is a brawler. He graduated from Stony Brook University with Honors in 2007 with a Bachelors of Science in Health Care Management and then went on to receive his Masters degree from the New York Institute of Technology. He aspires to attend Medical School.

Andrade (20-0, 13 KO), of Providence, RI, has been a mainstay on television since making his professional debut following his stint on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. Co-promoted by Banner Promotions and Star Boxing, Andrade’s aggressive style has attracted and created fans on both coasts of the U.S. He captured the vacant world title on November 9, defeating fellow U.S. Olympian Vanes Martirosyan in a battle of undefeated top-rated contenders. One doesn’t have to look any further than his recent record where Andrade has stopped five of his last eight opponents. Career highlights include victories over former world title challengers Freddy Hernandez and Angel Hernandez as well as former Contender champion Grady Brewer.

Rose (25-1-1, 7 KOs), from Blackpool, Lancashire, England, will be fighting outside the United Kingdom for the first time. He enters his first world title tilt riding a four-year, 11-bout winning streak, which has included BBBofC British, BBBoC English and WBO Inter-Continental junior middleweight title victories. In his last fight, on October 26, he won a split decision over Javier Maciel in a title elimination bout which made Rose the WBO’s mandatory junior middleweight challenger and No. 1 contender. Career highlights include knockout victories over former world champions Joachim Alcine and Vivian Harris.

For fight updates go to www.banner-promotions.com or www.hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/banner-promotions or facebook.com/hboboxing, and on Twitter at twitter.com/bannerboxing or twitter.com/hboboxing.

Elite middleweight boxer Martin Murray, the pride of St Helens, England will make his Monte Carlo debut on June 21, topping the “KO at the Casino” tournament against world-rated Max Bursak of Ukraine in an international 10-rounder.
It will be Murray’s second fight under the banner of South Africa’s Golden Gloves. On Wednesday night he stopped Ishmael Tetteh in seven rounds in South Africa.

It will be Bursak’s third outing in the principality, having recorded a win and a loss in recent months.
Murray, ranked number four in the WBC and number six in the IBF, has twice fought for the world title, earning a highly controversial draw with Felix Sturm in 2011 and dropping a narrow decision to hometown fighter Sergio Martinez of Argentina a year ago. The Bursak fight is Murray’s launch pad for a major November extravaganza, also in Monaco.
Murray (27-1-1, 12 KOs) is a former British and Commonwealth champion while Bursak (29-2-1, 12 KOs) has variously held youth and inter-continental belts. He also fought for the WBO title in 2012.
On the triple-header undercard, South Africa’s Hekkie Budler, the WBA and IBO minimumweight champion, will defend his belts against Thailand’s Pigmy Muangchaiyaphum (Kokietgym), the 60-bout veteran ranked number eight in the WBA and number five in the WBC. Budler (25-1, 8 KOs) is on a hot streak, having knocked out Karluis Diaz and Hugo Verchelli in recent months. This followed a career-best defeat of former world champion Nkosinathi Joyi in 2013. Moreover, he is universally considered the number one in his division.
Muangchaiyaphum (52-6-2, 22 KOs) has won numerous Asian championship titles and is best known for giving then-WBA champion Kwanthai Sithmorseng a brutal challenge in 2010, dropping a split decision.
Also on the undercard, big-hitting Junior Makabu, number two cruiserweight in the WBA and WBC, will face Poland’s highly regarded Mateusz “The Master” Masternak, who enjoys ratings in the three major world organisations – WBA (No 6), WBC (No 12) and IBF (No 9). They will contest the WBA’s Interim cruiserweight title.
The French-speaking Makabu (16-1, 15 KOs), from the Democratic Republic of Congo but based in South Africa, is a crowd favourite in Monte Carlo, having fought there three times successfully in the past 13 months.
Masternak (32-1, 23 KOs) presents arguably his toughest assignment to date. Masternak has dominated the European fight scene and is a former holder of the WBC’s Youth belt.
Rodney Berman, CEO of Golden Gloves, said he was particularly thrilled at being behind Murray’s march to a world title. “This is just the first step. He is strategically placed to go on to big things in 2014. Bursak is as tough as they come, but Murray has proven himself in the biggest fights of all.”
Said Murray: “Bursak is a tough lad, but I know I’m going to win. I can’t afford to slip up now. I’ll treat all my fights like title fights. There will be no under-estimating from me, not when I’m in my prime.”
Manager Andrew Mikhail, who accompanied Murray to Monte Carlo for Bursak’s last outing there in February, said they both believed he had beaten Jarrod Fletcher of Australia.
“Even so, Martin is a level above Bursak. It’s still a high-risk fight because the stakes are so high at this level. Having done the deal with Golden Gloves, Martin now has focus and direction. He’s so focused on winning the world title I can’t see Bursak – or anyone else – standing in his way.”
Speaking from Poland, where he is based, Masternak said it was a dream come true to fight for the WBA title.
“I will do everything I can to win, as opportunities like this don’t come around every day. Makabu is a tough boxer with a strong punch and solid technique but there are no easy fights at this level. I am 100% focused and will make sure I am in the best shape of my career,” said the former European and WBC International Silver champion.

“Makabu may hit hard, but he is no Mike Tyson. My coach PiotrWilczewski and I have already worked out a good strategy. I will know exactly what I need to do, round by round, in order to win and bring the title back to Poland with me.”

Masternak suffered his only career loss in October 2013 to GrigoryDrozd. He has since bounced back with wins over Sandro Siproshvili and StjepanVugdelija.

Former two-time world welterweight title challenger Harold Volbrecht, who now trains Makabu, said his boxer needed high-quality fights like this one.

“Junior thrives under pressure and Masternak will bring plenty. We’ve done our homework and what we see is a tough, rugged fighter, but one we believe Junior can exploit. He has a good chin and will be there to be hit. I’m not sure he has the ability to withstand Junior’s power, but he looks well-equipped to make it a hard fight.”

June 21 will mark just Budler’s third fight outside South Africa, but manager-trainer Colin Nathan is nonplussed. “If you’re the best in your division, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone. Hekkie is now at the level where he will fight anywhere. We have big respect for Pigmy – he has a tremendous record – but if we want international recognition these are the guys who must be beaten. Pigmy will bring it hard, but I can’t see him having the game to beat a much younger and more determined fighter than Hekkie.”

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ST. LOUIS (April 24, 2014) — World junior middleweight Willie “The Great” Nelson 21-1-1, 12 KOs) has been caught in the middle of a boxing power play, resulting in the loss of his HBO PPV debut fight June 7 against Andy Lee (32-2, 22 KOs) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Team Nelson had agreed to the Lee fight, which was supposed to be part of the HBO PPV headlined by Miquel Cotto vs. Sergio Martinez. However, plans changed yesterday with the announcement that Lee will now face John “Dah Rock” Jackson (18-1, 15 KOs), the same fighter Nelson defeated in 2012.

The switch reportedly was the result of a power play led by Jackson’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, who demanded a Jackson rematch with Nelson. When Team Nelson rejected the offer, Lewkowicz leveraged Lee vs. Jackson, essentially forcing Nelson off the televised portion of the show.

Nelson is co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Rumble Time Promotions. DiBella promotes the Lewkowicz-managed Martinez.

“Why would we fight Jackson again,” Rumble Time Promotions president Steve Smith asked rhetorically. “We’re moving forward not backwards. We already beat him; Willie’s rated higher (WBC #3 and WBC #5) and there was relatively little money in that fight. We wanted to fight Lee, he wanted to fight Willie.”

Nelson upset previously undefeated Jackson (13-0), the son of three-time, two division world champion Julian Jackson, September 15, 2013 by 10-round decision (98-92, 96-94, 96-94) on the Sergio Martinez-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. HBO PPV card in Las Vegas.

Prior to defeating the U.S. Virgin Island Olympian for the vacant NABF title, Nelson had upset another Olympian, 2004 Cuban silver medalist Yudel Jhonson, by 10-round decision. Nelson, fighting out of Cleveland, went on to beat Michael Medina (26-3-2) by way of a sensational first-round knockout, and followed up with a victory by 10-round decision on HBO over Luciano Leonel Cuello (32-2), who is currently WBC #15 rated in the 154-pound division.

Nelson was scheduled to fight Mathew Macklin last December on HBO but Willie was forced to withdraw due to an elbow injury that required surgery.

After losing to Nelson, Jackson has won five fights in a row, albeit in carefully matched bouts against relatively unknown opponents such as Alexander Hernandez (11-9-1), Alexis Pena (7-2), Cerresso Fort (16-0-1), Tony Hirsch (14-5-2), and Jorge Miranda (51-15).

“I’m very disappointed,” Nelson’s trainer Jack Loew said. “I expected a lot more from Lou DiBella.”

Still scheduled to fight June 7 but now against an opponent to be determined, Nelson is the highest-rated fighter on the entire undercard, yet he’ll be fighting off television.