EDDIE HEARN: When I saw Luis Arias fight on the Kovalev-Ward undercard, I thought ‘This is a guy that really excited me.’ He had plenty of charisma and he loves to fight and he could become a star on November 11. In the other corner a very determined Daniel Jacobs, trying to recapture the title and trying to pick up more championship belts and potentially unify the division. He’s a honest a kid if I ever saw one and since the press conference in New York Danny Jacobs has been extremely motivated. I believe that his team and certainly I and Roc Nation know all about the threat of Luis Arias and I think this is a great fight.

LUIS ARIAS: Training camp is going great. I am working hard. We know what kind of fight we have ahead of us. I plan on making it a dog fight and I am in dog shape and everything is coming together perfectly, my weight is good – training camp has been perfect. I’m ready. What can I say? I am ready.

How much have you studied Jacobs?

LUIS ARIAS: I have studied him a lot and I have known Danny Jacobs since I was about 15 years old – his name has been in my weight division and I always new that Daniel Jacobs and I would end up fighting at some point in my life. It wasn’t in the amateurs and it ended up being in the pros. I know a lot about Daniel Jacobs. I know how he fights. I mean, I am just going to fight my fight. I can’t change anything up.. I’ve seen everything I could possibly see in the ring. I have been fighting my entire life. I’ve fought them all and seen it all, so I’ve got to go in there and do my thing. I don’t want to run and I don’t want to chase him but I know I’m going to have to so I just plan on making this a dig fight. Daniel Jacobs is going to be in a very dogfight – a hard fight. I’m coming to fight, I’m going to rough him up and I’m going to be in his face all night. I’m looking forward to showing the world what I’ve got.

Do you think Danny Jacobs is overrated?

LUIS ARIAS: I do think he’s overrated. I just like Danny Jacobs has a lot of things in his story but I’m a lot better. He comes from a big city – he comes from New York – and the amount of media and attention that anyone gets compared to anyone else around the United States is different. But if you go and look at his record there is nobody there that he beat. Eddie mentioned adding another world title but he never was a world champion. Everybody knows that the WBA has two world champions and that’s not even right. There should only be one world champion. Then he had the opportunity to be a world champion and he didn’t win. He has shown there are flaws in his game. He has been down some; he’s been hurt plenty and I don’t see a lot of tough fights. The tough fights that I see – he lost. But he is a good athlete, he is a good fighter and he has good fundamentals. But me personally I think he’s a little overrated and I feel he hasn’t completely cemented his name in the game yet. Like I said, he hasn’t been a legitimate world champion. The Last couple years, GGG has had all the belts. And Saunders . . . He’s just holding onto that belt. But he’s a good fighter and he’s got a lot of experience. This is a mixture of me being underrated and him being overrated.

Danny said yesterday that you talk a good game outside the ring but when you get inside the ring it’s going to be a totally different story

LUIS ARIAS: Jacobs? Well, every time that bell has rung and I’ve been inside that ring and the fight ended, my had was raised. So, no flaws have been shown in my game.

How have you grown over the past few fights?

LUIS ARIAS: I’ve grown a lot. I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a man. I was in a different stage of my life when I was with that whole (Mayweather Promotions) situation. Now I’m a lot older and a lot wiser and I’ve dealt with my ups and down with the game. I have a daughter now and I’m just in a better place in my life. I learned about the game. I learned about myself. I learned about the people around me. It’s a valuable lesson I had to learn and I took what I need and progressed.. I’ve gotten better, I’m fighting twelve-rounds now. I’ve grown as an athlete and as a fighter and it’s good and it’s a good learning experience.

Have you put a chip on your should moving forward since then?

LUIS ARIAS: No, people split in business all the time – aside from the boxing game – just business I general. Guys are making millions and doing business deals one moment, the next moment they are doing something else. I wasn’t mad a actually being let go, I was just upset abou the way it was handled. I felt I was undefeated and I should have more respect in the way it was handled and had it been handled in a more professional manner it would have been fine. It is what it is and what motivates me most is to be a world champion. I always felt that it really doesn’t matter what that banner says on top of the ring it’s about what you do in the ring. As long as I am controlling what I can control, which is the fights, I really can’t pay too much mind to that. What happened happened, and it was just a learning experience from God. God obviously had a different plan for me.

Were you planning a fight with Jacobs?

LUIS ARIAS: No – actually it’s no secret how the game is – whether you are on this side or that side. For the most part everybody in the middleweight division was on this side and Daniel Jacobs was really the only one that was on that side. I was shocked actually because we had put together a list and HBO put together a list of possible opponents and I never heard his name. His name had not come up because he was on that side. But it is what it is and it ended up falling in my lap and I didn’t hesitate to take it.

What kind of a fight are you expecting?

LUIS ARIAS: Hopefully he does try to come in and blast me out – that’s what I want him to do but I think he’s a little bit smarter than that. We both have a lot of fighting experience – he is just a little more known that me. I feel like the fight will be tactical in the beginning until I catch him. The moment I catch him that’s when the fight will change. I want a war. I want to duke it out. I want to stand in the middle of that ring and duke it out. Tha’ts what I want but I’m sure that’s what Danny doesn’t want. We’ll see how it plays out but I want a dog fight. I want to get out of that ring and feel like I’ve been in a fight – not in a marathon, so.

Have you fought anyone like a Danny Jacobs?

LUIS ARIAS: I have fought my whole life so in the amateurs I have fought guys like Daniel Jacobs. Even in the pros, I fought a couple bigger guys. My first fifteen fights were at super middleweight which is the reason I’m not worried abut the size difference. I was fighting at the wrong weight class until just this year. I can’t really say. Every fighter is different – they’ve got their own different things. I’ve got a lot of fights – 160 amateurs and twenty fights in as a pro and not even counting the guys I have sparred – thousands and thousands of sparring partners. I’ve seen it all. I didn’t just turn pro a couple years ago. I’ve been fighting my whole life.

If you get the win are you hoping to jump right in with the Canelo’s and the Golovkin’s?

LUIS ARIAS: The main reason I took the fight was I was told this would be a world title eliminator – that’s what really jumped on me – so I can jump right in. My goal is to become a world champion. There are different ways to get to a world title fight. You can be blessed and just given a world title fight or you can fight the names and climb the rankings. This is one of those fights where I get a name and climb the rankings. I am No. 6 in the IBF and Jacobs is No. 5 in the IBF because he is a name. After this I should be in line for a world title fight – if not the very next one, then the one after that. The goal is to get the GGG or Canelo fight. Whoever has the belts. I want a crack at the world title some time next year.

How important is the fight for Matchroom Boxing USA’s first promotion?

EDDIE HEARN: Maybe I’m a little bit different, maybe I’m too much of a fan – it the upset comes, the upset comes. It’s boxing and may the best man win. Of course Danny Jacobs is our guy and I want him to win but if Luis Arias goes out there and gets the victory – good on him. It’s about putting on good fights and the way Luis is talking he’s making me want these two weeks to hurry up because I really want to see this fight and actually the good news for the fans is we haven’t got a showcase fight here we don’t have HBO saying welcome to the world Danny Jacobs – you’ve got a real fight. Don’t forget, we threw out a bunch of opponents and he never said ‘no’ to anybody. When Luis Arias got the call he took it straight away. This is a huge opportunity, especially with Luis Arias – when you talk about a world title eliminator – there are official world title eliminators and there is commercial world title eliminators – this may end up being both but it is certainly a commercial world title eliminator and what I mean by that is if he beats Danny Jacobs on HBO he becomes a star overnight. The real pressure on this fight is on Danny Jacobs but Luis will put his own pressure on himself. It’s not a case of “if Danny lost our world would end” but we want Danny Jacobs to win but if Luis Arias deserves the victory – good on him. That’s my philosophy on the fight – I just want to see a great fight.

Was there any concern on your end when looking at opponents?

EDDIE HEARN: No, we’ve got a reputation for putting on great fights in the UK so the last thing I wanted to do was to come to America and put on a one-sided fight. I gave Danny and Keith Connolly a bunch of names and Luis Arias is one they came back with straight away and said “yea we think that is a good fight” and I spoke to Roc Nation and they spoke to Luis Arias they jumped to the opportunity and it’s refreshing in a sport where you’ve got guys trying to pad their record. This is a risky fight for Luis Arias, he is an undefeated fighter with a good record and he’s challenging Jacobs to beat him to see where he’s at – to see if he’s good enough or if he’s ready. For Danny Jacobs this is a dangerous fight because Danny Jacobs is a good name to give Golovkin or Canelo a big fight, but he knows he has to build himself on the network and he has to be in real fights, he wants to be active and Luis Arias is the guy in front of him. Again, the pressure is on Danny Jacobs in this fight. I think Luis, by the sound of things he is going to go out there and have fun and try and switch his career up.

What made you say, about Danny Jacobs, we have to get this guy?

EDDIE HEARN: I met him in New York at the Broner-Garcia fight and he looked the part. I knew he could fight in the Golovkin fight, he just about won. So straight away I knew he was a great middleweight but you look at him and you look at his backstory, his profile is not where it should be. There are many guys in American that aren’t household names that should be household names, who have the personality, who have the charisma – I’m not just saying that because Luis is on the line – but if Luis Arias beats Danny Jacobs he will be one of those as well. Deontay Wilder – he is another guy – he could walk down many streets in many cities all over America and I doubt he would get recognized. He is the heavyweight champion of the world, in America. And you look at someone like Daniel Jacobs, he has everything, and he should be a superstar too. He’s not yet but now he’s going to be active. He’s going to get the profile, but he has to win. Without the win he is completely irrelevant. Luis Arias comes to the press conference wearing the Gucci suit, he’s got the chat, he’s got the bling, but if he doesn’t win, he is irrelevant. But if you’ve got the charisma, you’ve got the personality and you can fight and you can win – you’re the package. This really is a crunch clash for both because it takes Luis to another level.

Is it extra motivation to come in a upset all of the plans he has for Daniel Jacobs?

LUIS ARIAS: To an extent, yes. Eddie just has to do his part. Eddie made a great fight and the people love it. He’ll be happy he just want to put on a great main event. I think everyone was shocked how I took this fight and talking at the press conference. That makes for a better bigger fight. They’ve got their plans and I’ve got my plans but I want that world title.

How do you view the pressure that is on Jacobs?

LUIS ARIAS: To be hones, all the pressure is on Jacobs. There is no pressure on me. No one really knows who I am. I am the young kid from Wisconsin that nobody knows. To the world, everyone thinks I am coming in to lose. Everyone is expecting me to lose so all the pressure is on him because even if he looks bad or he is in a dogfight and he gets put down again, that’s going to look bad on him. I just have to come in there and put on a valiant effort – I’m coming in to win the fight but everyone else thinks I am coming in to lose. Really all the pressure is on him.

How much does it help you with all the pressure being on him?

LUIS ARIAS: Ahhh, it helps me because I’ve just got to come in and do my thing. All t he pressure’s going to be on him so I guess we’ll se when that bell rings.

What do you see that other people don’t see that make him overrated?

LUIS ARIAS: I just look at his opponents – the guys he beat. To be that high and to have that big of a name, like who has he really beat? The only name that I can see that I can really give him credit for beating is Quillin but even Quillin to me was overrated. What happened to Quillin after that fight? He fought Sergio Mora twice – Sergio Mora was in The Contender. The Contender happened when I was like 8 or 9 years old. How did he get the Sergio Mora fight twice? After that I just down see top notch guys. I haven’t seen him in any dogfights. I’ve seen him in a lot of fights where everything benefitted him. Then again, he had two opportunities to be a world champion where the stage got bright and the lights got big and he dropped the ball. He’s getting credit for simply not getting knocked out by GGG and Eddie Hearn gave him a deal for it, and HBO did to because of Eddie. So you tell me who Danny Jacobs has beat.

You think too much was made of the Quillin win?

LUIS ARIAS: 100% – who has Quillin beat? Nobody. Quillin is another one with a pampered record. I learned a lot in the game. You can make a fighter look a lot better and build him up and make him look a lot better than he really is. You keep him away from punchers, you keep him away from boxers, you keep him away from legitimate threats and you build him up. Soften him up. To me Peter Quillin had a soft record – out of those 30 guys he beat nobody. He fought Andy Lee to a draw. He fought Jacobs and got knocked out. I don’t think Quillin was all that either. I thought Quillin was weak when I was 3-0 at the time. I just don’t see no big name guys that either of them beat, and like I said the two big fights that they had, they lost.

How much better do you feel now fighting at middleweight after fighting at a weight you said you didn’t belong in?

LUIS ARIAS: A lot better. I have always been a middleweight and I always said I was a middleweight but for some reason they were always having me fight bigger guys and fighting at the other weight class. But I feel a lot better at middleweight – I’m stronger, fast and I’m usually the bigger guy coming in and all the guys the smaller they are I knock them out. Everybody that made 160 except for one guy has got knocked out. My power is a lot stronger than what my record is – not only have I been fighting tough veterans but they were all bigger than me and even then I was able to stop a lot of them. I feel a lot better. My goal was always to be a middleweight champion first and then move up but they had me fighting at super middleweight first and then when we finally got it right I started looking more and more impressive.

Do you feel that those fights at super middleweight will benefit you against Jacobs?

LUIS ARIAS: 100% – because a lot of those fights with those bigger guys made me be a dog. I had a lot of dogfights. I was fighting guys at six rounds – I was fighting guys that were coming off ten round fights – experience veteran guys. I was 4, 5 6-0 fighting guys with 30 or 40 fights. I’ve had a lot of tough fights – they have just been in the background – but they helped me learn – they helped me learn my pace and they helped me to go around and helped me to learn to fight in a dogfight, so it’s going to prepare me – everything up to this point has prepared me for November 11 and I am 100% ready.

What about Danny Jacobs won you over – was it the Golovkin fight or the whole package??

LUIS ARIAS: Yes, for sure I think the Golovkin fight got everyone’s attention. I think the point Luis made about who he has beaten I think you can say that about most resume’s but the fight against Golovkin, many felt that he won, some thought it was a draw and some thought he lost by a round so you know that he s on that level but he didn’t win and that is the reality of it and he wants to do it. He wants to fight Golovkin again and he wants to fight Canelo. I already knew he could fight but when I looked in and when I spoke to him but again he was speaking to HBO and they were identifying him as the guy, the perfect guy, for their network. Once we knew that we were able to work the pieces and get he deal done. So it is a mixture of charisma, personality and the fact that he is a world class middleweight.

DANIEL JACOBS: Training camp is going very well. When it is all said and done it will be an eight-week camp. The mental is there, the physical is there and I am just looking forward to putting it all together on November 11.

Did you hear Arias on the call?

DANIEL JACOBS: I heard him for a little bit. I was on the last ten minutes. I put my phone on mute. It is kind of hard to listen to him because he is trying to force you guys into believing something that does not exist or really is not there. This guy is talking a good one. To the ones that really don’t know, they will believe it but I will let this guy know what’s really going to happen November 11 and all of that talk – he can talk a good one but at the end of the day it’s about what you do inside the ring. Every fighter that he fought had a losing record. This experience that he’s claiming – that he got from these professional wars? I have no idea what he’s talking about. I fought guys, and what you’re supposed to do with guys that have losing records, is knock every one of them out – that’s how you look impressive. Not go the distance and get split decisions and unanimous decisions and no contests. You’re supposed to get these guys out. How many first-round knockouts do I have? I have about as many first-round knockouts as he has fights, so this is what you do when you fight a so-called bum with no experience – you knock him out. I have no idea what this guy’s talking about, but I understand it, I get it, he’s trying to hype this fight and ultimately hype himself up because he doesn’t believe all the things he is saying.

Is it surprising to you that he is talking a lot of smack?

DANIEL JACOBS: Not really, you have to realize that this guy is a former TMT guy – he is used to the brash talk. He is used to guys trying to sell fights going over and beyond especially if that’s not him – I get it and I understand it – but I don’t think he even believes what he is saying which is the whole confusing part of it. Yea, you can sell a fight but at least put some truth into it. It’s just lies and it’s weird. He’s a weirdo.

Is that a TMT trait? They get around Floyd and they think they’re Floyd?

DANIEL JACOBS: Of course, everybody wants to do the shoulder roll – they go to the Floyd Mayweather Gym and they want to come out and be like him and that’s exactly how he fights. All those guys are an imitation of Floyd Mayweather. Maybe one or two or three of them are maybe no like that – like Gervonta Davis is his own person and a couple other guys have their own style – Badou Jack – but the rest of them, especially guys who hang around the gym and are just there, it’s the trend that goes around. It’s not bad, of course if you want to try and be like one of the greatest fighters than that’s cool but be yourself – that’s really what it comes down to. I’m a man, I’m not going to try and be like another man or act like another dude – that’s just weird to me, so yea.

This is your first fight with Matchroom USA – is there extra motivation, to go for a knockout?

DANIEL JACOBS: I’m hoping I would get it but I would be completely find getting a decision, because I’m a boxer puncher and I love to box. I think if I could get twelve rounds in it would be great experience-wise. I want to knock this guy out, but I’m not going to go int here and focus on it. If it happens, it happens. He wants me to stand there and bang with him at every opportunity to fight the fight that we thinks he will have success in but I’m too experienced for that. We have a strategic game plan that we that we are going to go in there and try to execute but there is also Plan B and Plan C if that doesn’t work. I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve and excited for everything to come together, but a knockout would be nice but I’ll be content with a decision. One thing he will know come November 11 is the level between him and I and that will be with the skills I possess and the determination I will show inside that ring.

Can you tell the difference pre-Algieri and now?

DANIEL JACOBS: Absolutely, it gives you more experience having a team that knows exactly what they’re doing with their knowledge and experience – these guys have been doing it for a long time – Chris, Anthony Irons, Andre Rozier and even the support I get from friends and family. It just helps me but I’ve been at this stage before and I get hat he’s saying that I may have “dropped the ball” – but people are not praising me for making 12-rounds with Gennady Golovkin – let’s not get that confused. If they are praising me they are praising me for the fact that they believe that I won the fight – not that I just went twelve rounds with Gennady Golovkin. It’s like 60/40, 50/50, 70/30 – a lot of people agree that I won the fight and I don’t stand alone with that so I am not getting praise for going the distance with Gennady Golovkin. People realize the talent that I have and that’s just it. My job is to continue what I’ve been doing – I’m a professional and have to act accordingly and the goal is to get the job done and look impressive, so as long as I look impressive which I have done in every one of my fights – let’s make that clear – in every one of my fights I have looked impressive and I always gave 100%. Even if I lost the fight, I was always willing to give 100% and I think that’s what people admire – he just sounds a little sulky to me, maybe because he has the long way up. A lot of people have success early on in the game and a lot of people don’t, but it’s up to him to try and steel the glory and that’s going to make for a good fight but he can’t me mad at me because I have a great team. Not a good team but a great team, and I’ve always had a good team. I may have had, what he says, the easy road, but no I have worked hard for everything that I have gotten and I am going to continue to do so with all of these opportunities as they present itself.

Do you want Canelo or Golovkin more, or doesn’t it matter, or everyone?

DANIEL JACOBS: I am a realist and I understand the business of boxing. And I know that even thought these guys aren’t really fearful of me, right now I’m in a lose-lose situation with those guys because I am not technically a champion. I am one of the best in the division and the fans do want all of us, I mean the fans do want me to fight those guys, but they know it’s not worth it to step in there with a guy like me. I’d rather continue to do my job, climb the ladder, get a title eventually and maybe chase these guys, but to fight me right now? I don’t see that happening. These guys are looking at it from a business perspective, not from a true champion want to be dominant of the sport perspective and I understand that so I need to go in there and not get frustrated, let my team do their job and I continue to do mine.

If they are out who do you target?

DANIEL JACOBS: Anything is possible. I think my team has the say-so in the direction that we want to go in. But as a fighter, every fighter is going to say he is willing to face any and every opponent – it doesn’t matter. Our job is to get in there and fight. It’s really not by job to say who we fight. I know that with the team that we have they will set me up and everything will be perfect, but I will step in the ring with anybody and everybody.

What made you pick Eddie Hearn?

DANIEL JACOBS: He is the most handsome guy out of all of the promoters. It was a no-brainer. This guy is a clean-cut – I just think it really makes sense. May manager Keith Connolly in my No. 1 guy who has supported me since I was 15 years old. I just wanted to go in that direction. When you think of the success that Anthony Joshua has had over in the UK, I think him coming to America and making the same success it would be that much easier because of the experience that he has. If I can get on the train at the first stop with nobody on it, for the ride, I think I am in a great position. HBO is backing me as well, so I think it’s a dream come true to have the best manager, promoter and network, to have the best team with the potential to make me a superstar that is backing me.

DANIEL JACOBS: I think every fighter deserves that. I think every fighter needs that. Ultimately I think every fighter needs that certainty of a schedule where he can provide for his family and stay active because this is what we do for a living. You have to understand the mental state that a fighter has and that he maybe fights twice every year or year and a half – it can be very frustrating and I think it’s a perfect time for me to start this new chapter and to be a lot more active, and, get the promotion from a promoter that is outstanding. Listen, Eddie Hearn is not saying these things just to say them. If you think about it, and I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but if I was a promoter, if I was a manager, I would want to have a guy like myself because there are too few guys that have the ‘it’ factor in boxing, and I think that I represent the sport well like a gentleman inside and outside the sport and if I can have a guy that I can promote like that, it’s an easy thing to do. I think that with the experience he has it’s a great recipe.

Do you think he can do here what he has done in the UK?

DANIEL JACOBS: I am looking forward to seeing what great things will happen and I know things will. I don’t know why things are the way they are here but I just know that I’m taking things in my hands and taking control of me and at the end of the day that will benefit me because I put my life on the line each and every time I go inside that ring. It’s a matter of whet makes me feel comfortable and what’s best for me.

Do you think Daniel would fight in the UK?

EDDIE HEARN: Yes, absolutely, but the focus is on America for sure and what Danny talks about in terms of his schedule in terms of activity, when he leaves the ring on November 11, I’m certain we will know the date of his next fight. So that gives him an opportunity to plan his camp and spend some time with the family and plan out his schedule. We want him to box three times in 2018 and if one is in the UK – no problem. When we look at future opponents of course everyone looks at Danny Jacobs they look a the Golovkin-Canelo winner, but you’ve got Billy Joe fighting Lemieux on December 16 and that’s a fight where Danny is a natural for the winner – it could be in Canada, it could be in the UK, it could be in New York. But really and truly I believe the plan is to grow Danny in America. I don’t think he’s been built up the way he should be. Hey listen, Rome wasn’t built in a day – it’s not just a case of turning up on November 11 like he’s a superstar and he’s being carried out and all this kind of stuff, but in time people will get to see him. HBO will run his story to show the build-up on November 4 – little things like that and activity across social media. It’s going to take time but it’s not difficult when you’ve got a fighter, an asset, a brand like Daniel Jacobs. I don’t want to take the credit for it when it happens but it is quite easy. But again at this tie we are playing catch-up because it should have been done a while ago. But we are doing it now and all he’s got to do is win on November 11 then we move on to the next one. He will really enjoy the profile but he’ll more enjoy the activity and the schedule and know what we are doing.

Can you promote a guy in the US like you can in the UK?

EDDIE HEARN: I just don’t think there are promotional machines out there. Even when people are sleeping you’ve got to be working whether it’s a viral clip or a digital clip across social media – a different kind of build-up – sometimes you might not even see it. Sometimes things might be happening that you don’t even realize it’s happening but it’s out there and people are hearing the name Daniel Jacobs and seeing the clips and seeing the content, they are watching him fight. It’s not something that happens over two or three months – it happens over probably 12 or 18 months. Fighters in America seem to be promoted over two or three weeks before the fight. They do one press conference and then a bit of build-up before. It’s not about that, it’s about aligning with a brand. If you look a the Anthony Joshua – I am currently standing in the middle of a 80,000 seat stadium and their won’t be one empty seat tomorrow. His partner is Under Armor – commercial brands that actually grow the profile of the fighters. Again you talk about Daniel Jacobs – he is the kind of guy that is perfect for a brand and actually why wouldn’t you want to be involved with Danny Jacobs. Deontay Wilder – he’s another guy. He’s the world heavyweight champion. He looks the part he talks the part, yet where’s the vehicles driving these guys. We deal with 40 or 50 fighters in the UK and some are easier to promote than others. I look at Danny Jacobs and I say this isn’t really difficult. The only thing he needs to do is keep winning. He’ll come out of the ring on November 11, I believe he’ll be victorious and then he’ll have another date in the diary, probably April next year. He can have a little rest with his family, have a nice Christmas and get back to work. It’s not waiting three or four months to find out when you’re next fight is. You have to have a schedule and fans need to know about your schedule because it’s all about the story that you’re trying to tell.

What do you think the options are?

EDDIE HEARN: I feel like Danny Jacobs is the guy outside of Canelo and Golovkin. I think we need to keep moving forward, but there is not sort of desperate we need him or we need that. We want the Canelo Golovkin winner and that’s the reason why Danny signed with HBO so in the meantime if that fight is going to happen in May, Danny will box in April then we want the winner of that fight. Who we box in April could be the Lemieux-Saunders winner – we would love to have a shot at the world title in April. It could be a whole host of other guys. It’s really a case of building – moving forward getting activity and being ready for the super pay per view fight when it comes. Within 12 months that fight is coming because he is the guy to fight the winner of Canelo-Golovkin and by the time the Canelo-Golovkin fight happens, Danny will be three times the size that he is now so there will be no way out for those guys. Even when they go into that fight they will already know that the winner is fighting Danny Jacobs. So all Danny has to do is just keep winning. That’s all that matters. We take care of the rest. He’s got a great manager in Keith Connolly who is like a father to him. He’s got his back all the time. We plan, we put this structure together for the fights and all he has to do is train and everything else it taken care of.

Arias has been disrespectful to you, unlike the way you are to your opponents. How do you fee about that?

DANIEL JACOBS: I don’t dislike him. I think like I said before, he’s trying to pump himself up and it’s thru these tactics that he has to do it and I understand it. He is a little younger than me so maybe he is a little immature. The only think that I don’t agree with and it kind of doesn’t sit well with me is the fact that he’s undermining my skills and that’s a big mistake. I get it, sometimes boxers, they have to say certain things to get inside their opponent’s head but I’m too far experienced to let a yungin come in the game and mess it up for me.

What do you think about the Saunders-Lemieux fight and what do you think about fighting the winner?

DANIEL JACOBS: I think it’s a great opportunity for me. Like I said before I’ll be going against these top guys and I’m gunning for these guys and it would be that much better if they had a title. I think there’s a great possibility for the fight to happen and it makes sense because those guys have been avoiding me for some time now. Now that they are fighting each other, it’s like where else do you go if these guys are contractually tied. Yea we are going to go to Montreal if in fact we get this victory which I am sure we will, we are going to be present and hopefully – it doesn’t matter who wins to me -I think BJ might edge him a little bit it is boxing and anything can happen. But it doesn’t matter I think the winner makes total sense to fight me in the future, the near future.

TICKETS for the live event are on sale now and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, NYCBLIVE.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticketmaster Box Office at the Coliseum.

In the main event on Saturday, Nov. 11, Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs battle undefeated Luis Arias in a twelve-round middleweight bout at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Opening the action-packed HBO telecast will be super lightweight knockout artists Long Island’s own Cletus Seldin and Roberto Ortiz squaring off in a 10-round bout. In the chief-support bout, exciting heavyweight Jarrell Miller looks to stake his claim on a heavyweight title shot and in his way is Polish giant Mariusz Wach.

Jacobs vs. Arias and Miller vs. Wach are presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, in association with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Salita Promotions and Roc Nation Sports. Seldin vs. Ortiz is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Star Boxing. BROOKLYN BOXING on Long Island is an extension of BSE’s BROOKLYN BOXING™ brand. For more information, visit brooklynboxingshop.com.

LONG ISLAND (October 27, 2017) – In the main event on Saturday, Nov. 11, Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs battle undefeated Luis Arias in a twelve-round middleweight bout at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Opening the action-packed HBO telecast will be super lightweight knockout artists Long Island’s own Cletus Seldin and Roberto Ortiz squaring off in a 10-round bout. In the chief-support bout, exciting heavyweight Jarrell Miller looks to stake his claim on a heavyweight title shot and in his way is Polish giant Mariusz Wach. As part of the stacked undercard, undefeated New York City police officer Dimash “Lightning” Niyazov (12-0, 5 KOs) will fight in a six-round lightweight bout.

DANIEL “Miracle Man” JACOBS
“He has to be super human to beat me and I will be his kryptonite. I don’t think he has the mentality. He talks a lot of trash but when you go in there it’s a different story. Yeah, you can make it sound good outside the ring – you can trash talk and you can try and hype yourself up but it’s a totally different story once you get inside that ring – you get hit then you realize you are in there with a totally different caliber of fighter. I am elite compared to the caliber of opponents he has fought in his professional career. He talks about the amateurs but you can’t talk about amateurs and I don’t know why he’s highlighting his amateur career. I mean, when do we highlight amateur fights at this level – it really doesn’t mean anything now. There are levels to this game and I am going to show him that on November 11.”

JARRELL “Big Baby” MILLER
“All I am focused on right now is Nov. 11th and doing what I do best and that is delivering a knockout when I step back in that ring. I’m very grateful to HBO, Eddie Hearn and Dmitry Salita for this opportunity and I will not disappoint. It took a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifice to get to this point and I didn’t do it alone…my team has been with me and my fans. Big Baby is coming….beware.”

DIMASH “Lightning” NIYAZOV
“There are 250 cops in my precinct and about half of them will show up. This guy (points to friend) is a cop in another precinct and he loves boxing and he will come and he will bring a bunch more. Every time I fight in New York he brings his cop friends and I bring my cop friends. Between Long Island and New York City there are 35,000 of us. Each of the other precincts will have about 20 guys there. It’s great support. We are a big family. It is a dream of mine to walk to the ring with hundreds of cops and just me walking down the middle.

“I train every day. I work night shift from 11:00 pm to 8:00 am. And now I am here. I take a little nap after work then I go to the gym. I think my fight is going to make the card. I haven’t fought in New York in a long time and I’m very excited about being on this card. I’ve known Danny since we were 15 training in the Coney Island projects and to see him come up and to become world champion – I am trying to follow his dream.”

Tickets for the live event are on sale now and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, NYCBLIVE.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticketmaster Box Office at the Coliseum.

Jacobs vs. Arias and Miller vs. Wach are presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, in association with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Salita Promotions and Roc Nation Sports. Seldin vs. Ortiz is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Star Boxing. BROOKLYN BOXING on Long Island is an extension of BSE’s BROOKLYN BOXING™ brand. For more information, visit brooklynboxingshop.com.

LONG ISLAND (October 24, 2017) – The off-TV stacked undercard has officially been set for the Saturday, Nov. 11 showdown between Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs and undefeated Luis Arias at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Leading the undercard is Jesse Angel Hernandez (9-1, 7 KOs), a 26-year-old southpaw from Fort Worth, Texas, who will battle Glenn Dezurn (9-0-1, 6 KOs) from Baltimore, MD. Jesse has 16 siblings – nine boys were boxers and six turned professional, including Jose “El Loco” Hernandez, and Rodrigo Hernandez. Salita Promotions recently signed Hernandez after witnessing an impressive knockout over then undefeated in seventeen fights Russian Vladimir Tikhonov, also a Salita Promotions fighter.

“It’s great exposure to be part of such a big event,” said Hernandez. “I want to be the guy fighting on TV and in the main event in the near future. Dezurn is a steppingstone for me and you can expect an action packed fight ending in a knockout.”

Undefeated Connor Benn (9-0, 7 KOs), from Essex United Kingdom, the son of former middleweight and super middleweight world champion Nigel Benn, will battle Highland NY’s Daniel “The Hudson Valley Kid” Sostre (13-14-1, 5 KOs) in a six-round welterweight contest. Benn has fought in some of the biggest venues in the world (O2 and Manchester Arenas); and on the biggest fight cards, (making pro debut on Martin vs. Joshua card, and also the Golovkin vs. Brock and Joshua vs. Molina events).

“New York here I come!” said Benn. “I’m honored to be the first Matchroom UK fighter to box on a show in America and it’s a massive chance for me to make a big impact in front of a new audience. I’m only 20, I love new experiences and I plan on making this a long journey.”

Undefeated New York City police officer Dimash “Lightning” Niyazov (12-0, 5 KOs) will fight in a six-round lightweight bout. Born in Shymkent, Kazakhstan and now residing in Staten Island, NY, Niyazov began boxing at 4 years old. At 13, his family moved to the United States and his father began boxing training in earnest. As an amateur, Niyazov won the NY Empire State Games and NY Metros. He became a member of New York City’s finest three years ago and is stationed in Brooklyn.

Shohjahon Ergashev (9-0, 9 KOs), Uzbekistan’s popular 25-year-old four-time amateur national champion will battle Marquis Hawthorne (5-7, 1KO) from Waco, TX, in a six-round welterweight bout. To prepare for his US debut, Ergashev, who has won his last five fights inside of round one, is training at Kronk Gym in Detroit with well-known Javan SugarHill Steward (nephew of legendary Emmanuel Steward).

“Shoh has the power, skills and charisma to be a star in boxing and has a very loyal fan base,” said Salita. “Hundreds of people from his community will be there to support him on November 11.”

Tommy Rainone (26-8-1, 6 KOs) from Rockville Centre, NY, will have a six round welterweight rematch with Mexican Fidel Monterrosa-Munoz (38-14-1, 30 KOs), inwhich Monterrosa-Munoz won by unanimous decision on July 15. While Rainone began his love affair with boxing at age seven when he saw the movie “Rocky”, he didn’t make his professional debut until age 26. With a loyal fans base that has continues to grow, Rainone won his first eleven professional bouts, including two wins in a five-day span and a third victory 15 days later.

“I’m Looking forward to this fight and I’m extremely humbled and blessed to get this opportunity for revenge with the same opponent at the same venue under better circumstances then the first time around,” said Rainone. “That loss has haunted me for months and I didn’t know if I would get the chance to make the wrong thing right.”

Long Islander Tyrone James (4-0, 3 KOs) from Elmont, NY, is carrying the torch of his athletic family and will fight in a six-round welterweight bout. Tyrone’s father, Derrell, was a standout professional football player and his uncle Jerry was a 1988 Golden Gloves champion. Tyrone started boxing at age 10 and went on to have an outstanding amateur career becoming a 5-time Junior Olympic [MG1] champion and Nebraska Golden Glove champion.

“I’m very excited to be fighting so close to home and on such a huge card. As soon as Joe DeGuardia called to offer me the opportunity I jumped at it,” said James. “I was at the first boxing card in July at the Coliseum and knew I wanted to fight there. It’s a great place for my family and friends to see me in action.”

Tickets for the live event are on sale now and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, NYCBLIVE.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticketmaster Box Office at the Coliseum.

Opening the action-packed HBO telecast will be super lightweight knockout artists Long Island’s own Cletus Seldin and Roberto Ortiz squaring off in a 10-round bout. In the chief-support bout, exciting heavyweight Jarrell Miller looks to stake his claim on a heavyweight title shot and in his way is Polish giant Mariusz Wach.

Jacobs vs. Arias and Miller vs. Wach are presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, in association with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, Salita Promotions and Roc Nation Sports. Seldin vs. Ortiz is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Star Boxing. BROOKLYN BOXING on Long Island is an extension of BSE’s BROOKLYN BOXING™ brand. For more information, visit brooklynboxingshop.com.

Long Island, NY — Undefeated New York City police officer Dimash “Lightning” Niyazov (12-0, 5 KOs) born in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, now residing in Staten Island, NY, will fight in a six-round lightweight bout on the non-televised portion of the Jacobs vs. Arias fight card on Saturday, November 11 at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“I haven’t fought in NY in a long time,” (August 28, 2015 to be exact) said Dimash. “My most recent fights were out of state and last one overseas. I can’t wait to see all my fans at home. They all have been waiting for me to fight here. It’s time I bring the shine back home, to my friends and fans.

Dimash, as well as Jarrell Miller, is promoted by Dmitriy Salita’s Salita Promotions. The Ukrainian born Salita is a former world title challenger and resides in Brooklyn. Dimash became a member New York City’s finest three years ago and is based in Brooklyn.

“Dimash is a talented fighter who exemplifies the American dream, which he is living out right now in New York City,” said Salita. “He is an exciting, popular fighter that brings excitement to every one of his matches.”

Dimash was introduced to boxing at 4 years old in native Kazakhstan. At age 5 he began to dedicate his time to gymnastics until at 13, when his family moved to the USA, his father began to train him in boxing once again. “Ever since then I have been in the hurt business,” said Dimash with a smile.

As an amateur, Niyazov had 30 wins against only 3 losses. He won the NY Empire State Games and NY Metros. He also traveled with the Kazakhstan team to China prior to the Beijing Olympics. “I trained in Beijing for two months,” said Dimash about that incredible opportunity. “And that helped me win the NY Metros.”

Currently, Dimash trains in Brooklyn at the Fight Factory Gym with his father who is his main coach and Akmal Zakirov, his second coach. He trains a couple of hours every day. “I’m excited to fight on the Jacobs card,” said Dimash. “I’ve known Danny since I was a teen when we trained in Coney Island houses. He came a long way and I’m proud of him. He gave my countryman GGG (Gennady Golovkin) a tough fight.”

Brooklyn’s Daniel Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs) will face undefeated Wisconsin-Based Luis Arias (18-0, 9 KOs) in a twelve-round middleweight clash on his Matchroom Boxing debut at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Saturday, November 11. In the twelve-round co-feature, in a battle of top ten heavyweights, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller takes on Mariusz Wach. Opening the telecast will besuper lightweight knockout artists Cletus “Hebrew Hammer” Seldin and Roberto “Massa” Ortiz in a 10-round bout The tripleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK.

Tickets for the live event, starting at $35, are on sale now and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, NYCBLIVE.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticketmaster Box Office at the Coliseum.

HBO Sports, widely acclaimed for its innovative boxing programming, takes an in-depth look at Daniel Jacobs, one of the sport’s true superstars in and out of the ring, as he makes his return in November in the talent-rich 160 pound division against undefeated middleweight Luis Arias, when MY FIGHT: DANIEL JACOBS debuts SATURDAY, NOV. 4 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT following the prime time replay of the HBO BOXING AFTER DARK telecast from Monte Carlo.

The special will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO® and HBO On Demand®, and at hbo.com/boxing, as well as other new media platforms.

Former middleweight champ Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs), returns to action following his superb performance against fearsome pound-for-pound king Gennady Golovkin this past March in New York where “GGG” edged the Brooklyn native out on points. Jacobs will be looking for an explosive performance against the unbeaten American Arias as he looks to get back into title contention and a force to be reckoned with in the stacked middleweight division.

MY FIGHT cameras travel with Jacobs in his proud hometown neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY to chronicle the long journey it took to reach the elite level of professional boxing.

On Saturday, Nov. 11, Jacobs and Arias meet at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, in a 12-round showdown that will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing as part of a tripleheader event beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

For more information, visit hbo.com/boxing; become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/HBOBoxing; and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @HBOBoxing. Follow the conversation using #JacobsArias.

MY FIGHT: DANIEL JACOBS is narrated by Liev Schreiber.

Daniel Jacobs will face Luis Arias on his Matchroom Boxing debut at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on Saturday, November 11. The middleweight clash will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Former WBA Middleweight king Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs), is back in action following his brilliant performance in New York against Gennady Golovkin last March. The Brooklyn born ‘Miracle Man’ is targeting world title action in 2018 and will be looking for an explosive performance against the unbeaten American Arias to signal his intent to be recognized as the man in the deeply talented 160 pound division.

“I’m excited to debut at the Coliseum on November 11 live and exclusive on HBO,” said Jacobs. “We wanted a real fight for the fans and have picked a young hungry lion in Luis Arias. I’m looking to make a real statement on Nov 11 and prove I am number one in this division. Don’t miss it!”

Wisconsin-based Arias (18-0, 9 KOs), will look to spoil Jacobs’ plans at the first hurdle. The 27 year old decorated amateur and USBA champion is thrilled to have landed the huge fight he’s been craving and to announce himself on the world scene.

“I want to thank Roc Nation Sports, Matchroom Boxing and HBO for making this fight happen,” Arias said. “I’ve been hungry for a fight of this magnitude and I’m going to shock the world. Danny is a talented fighter, but I thrive in the limelight and look forward to showing the boxing world that I’m a force to be reckoned with on Nov. 11. Confidence has always been the key to my success and I know this fight will take my career to the next level.”

“Roc Nation Sports prides itself for creating fights with the potential to transform the boxing landscape – this fight between Luis Arias and Danny Jacobs is no different,” said Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy Michael R. Yormark. “Time after time, Luis has shined under the bright lights and he deserves this opportunity to establish his dominance against a competitor of Danny’s caliber. We’re thrilled to work with Matchroom Boxing and HBO to make a memorable fight that pits two of the best Middleweight fighters in the world together.”

Also part of the HBO telecast serving as the chief-support on the first Matchroom Boxing USA fight night card sees exciting heavyweight Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller taking on Mariusz Wach. Miller looks to stake his claim for a world title shot in 2018 with an impressive performance while Wach looks to spoil his plans.

Unbeaten Miller (19-0, 17 KOs), recorded his 17th win inside the distance this past July when he forced the retirement of Gerald Washington at Barclays Center. The Brooklyn native will look to lay down a marker as he meets Poland’s former world title challenger Wach (33-2, 17 KOs), who has his mind set on upsetting Miller’s game plan.

“I’m delighted to announce the return of the ‘Miracle Man’ Daniel Jacobs on November 11 at the Coliseum against the dangerous and unbeaten Luis Arias,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “We believe that Danny is the number one Middleweight in the world and the aim is to collect every belt in the division.

“Also on the card is one of the brightest and loudest Heavyweight stars as Brooklyn’s Jarrell Miller in the fight of his career so far against the highly ranked Mariusz Wach. Fans can expect an electric night of boxing with a deep card featuring some of the biggest talents from both sides of the Atlantic.”

“Inspiring and electric in the ring, Daniel Jacobs is a true ambassador for boxing,” says Peter Nelson, executive vice president, HBO Sports. “Daniel is a force to be reckoned with in the stacked middleweight division. We look forward to watching his exceptionally bright future unfold as part of the HBO family.”

“Danny has been part of our family in Brooklyn since our doors opened at Barclays Center five years ago,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, which also manages and operates the Coliseum. “I am thrilled to extend our relationship to Danny’s second home on Long Island, where boxing fans at the Coliseum can see firsthand what makes him a force to be reckoned with in the ring. I would like to thank Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing, HBO, and Roc Nation Sports for their support in bringing this world-class boxing event to Long Island.”

Tickets for the live event will go on sale on Thursday, October 5 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, NYCBLIVE.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the Ticketmaster Box Office at the Coliseum, starting Friday, October 6 at noon.

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing delighted to announce their first American signing as Daniel Jacobs pens a multi-fight deal as part of Matchroom Boxing’s new venture in the US.

The former Middleweight World ruler will make his debut under the new banner in November live on HBO as ‘The Miracle Man’ aims to reclaim his World champion status.

Jacobs’ last outing was against fearsome Kazakh king Gennady Golovkin in March at Madison Square Garden in New York where ‘GGG’ edged the Brooklyn star out on points, and 30 year old Jacobs wants to get back into fights with the likes Golovkin and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez as he kicks-off an exciting new chapter in his career with Hearn and Matchroom.

“I’m truly excited to be joining Matchroom Boxing and HBO,” said Jacobs. “This is a new beginning for my career and I get a chance to showcase my skills to the world. I can’t wait to return to the ring in November, being active and recapturing the World middleweight title.”

“It’s an honour to welcome Daniel Jacobs to the Matchroom Boxing team and to join forces with HBO boxing to showcase his fights,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “I believe Daniel has proved himself as the top Middleweight in World boxing and has one of the most inspirational stories you will ever see in the sport which must be told. We plan on keeping Danny nice and busy kicking off in November, then back in the spring with the obvious target of the Canelo vs GGG winner.

“This signing marks the first of many in the US market as we look forward to building on our success in the UK, raising fighters’ activities levels and profiles and providing fans with atmosphere and drama from this great sport.”

“Inspiring and electric in the ring, Daniel Jacobs is a true ambassador for boxing,” says Peter Nelson, executive vice president, HBO Sports. “Daniel is a force to be reckoned with in the stacked Middleweight division. We look forward to watching to his exceptionally bright future unfold as part of the HBO family.”

BIG BEAR, CALIF. (September 8, 2017) — Boxing’s No. 1 superhero and undefeated WBC/WBA/IBF/IBO Middleweight World Champion, GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN and lineal and Ring magazine Middleweight World Champion and Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez are entering their epic showdown with each coming off very different performances. On March 18, in front of a packed Madison Square Garden, Golovkin beat fellow world champion Daniel Jacobs by unanimous decision in a hard-fought battle. It was Golovkin’s 18th consecutive title defense — two short of the record — since becoming world champion in 2010 and the first to go the distance. That had media speculating that age was starting to become a factor for Golovkin, currently boxing’s longest-reigning world champion. Two months later, on May 6 — at a catchweight of 164.5 pounds (the less-than-super super middleweight division?) — Alvarez won a lopsided unanimous decision over former middleweight champion Julio César Ch?vez, Jr., who barely threw a punch and did everything he could do to survive. Not win.

Throughout training camp, Golovkin has been asked about the comparison between the two fights — the difficulty he had against Jacobs and the ease Alvarez had against Ch?vez.

“I am not Julio César Ch?vez, Jr. and Canelo is no Danny Jacobs. There are no survivors in my fights,” said Golovkin. “Boxing is a business. If I look great against Jacobs…if I knocked him out, I would not be getting this fight with Canelo now. Jacobs was a very good fighter and gave me good learning experience going 12 rounds. I have never done that before. I felt amazing going 12 rounds for the first time. Jacobs gives everyone problems.”

Golovkin’s trainer, Abel Sanchez, concurs.

“Danny Jacobs is the second-best middleweight in boxing. It was a tough fight because the two best in the middleweight division were fighting each other. The matchup was as good in the ring as it was on paper,” said Sanchez. “Jacobs also gamed the system by skipping the IBF’s mandatory fight day weigh-in where the fighters are only allowed to gain ten pounds from the previous day’s Official Weigh-In. Gennady, as defending champion, honored the IBF’s rule and weighed-in the next morning. Who knows how heavy Jacobs was the night of the fight? But even with that advantage Gennady was able to win. Jacobs was easily one weight division heavier than Gennady. Not getting the knockout may have been a double blessing for us. It showed that Gennady was capable of going twelve rounds with an elite fighter and it gave us the fight with Canelo. If Gennady had knocked Jacobs out there is no way Golden Boy would have the confidence to put Canelo in with us this year. Now let’s look at Canelo’s last fight. Ch?vez hasn’t fought under 167 pounds in five years. He was drained and barely threw a punch. If that same Chavez fights Gennady, there is no question Gennady knocks him out. Ch?vez was a sitting duck. There is no debate on who had the better win against the better opponent. Watching Canelo’s performance against Ch?vez gave us a lot of confidence too.” .

Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) who has been middleweight champion since 2010, is eight days away from his 19th consecutive title defense – one short of the all-time record – against lineal and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Champion and Mexican icon Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs). Canelo vs. Golovkin is the long-awaited showdown to determine supremacy of the storied middleweight division and arguably the pound-for-pound rankings.

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Canelo vs. Golovkin is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions and sponsored by Tecate “BORN BOLD”; Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle; O’Reilly Auto Parts. Better Parts, Better Prices…everyday!; Fred Loya Insurance; Interjet; Thor: Ragnarok; Fathom Events; Tsesnabank; and Capital Holdings. Diaz, Jr. vs. Lara is 12-round WBC Featherweight Title Eliminator bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Caballero vs. De La Hoya is a 10-round fight for the NABF Super Bantamweight Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Martin vs. Rojo is a 10-round lightweight fight for the WBC Continental Americas and vacant WBA Intercontinental Championships presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

Episode #2 of 24/7 Canelo/Golovkin premieres Tomorrow! Saturday, Sept. 9 on HBO immediately following the live Boxing After Dark triple header from the StubHub Center at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.

Remaining Tickets for the closed circuit telecast of Canelo vs. Golovkin at Bellagio Resort & Casino, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, The Mirage Hotel & Casino, Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, New York-New York Hotel & Casino, Luxor Hotel and Casino and Circus Circus Las Vegas are priced at $75, not including applicable fees. All seats are general admission and are currently on sale. Tickets may be purchased at any MGM Resorts International Box Office, by phone with a major credit card at 1-800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloGolovkin into a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for photos and videos used.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing and @TomLoeffler1; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/gggboxing, and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing and @OscarDeLaHoya; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG.

Sept. 5, 2017 – Leading up to this year’s most celebrated world championship boxing event which features Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin on Mexican Independence Day weekend and presented live by HBO Pay-Per-View® on Saturday, September 16, HBO Sports will present the exclusive replay of two hard-hitting all-action encounters that highlight the remarkable skill and power of these battle-tested ring warriors.

On Friday, September 8 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT and Saturday, September 9 at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT, HBO2 will replay back-to-back Cotto vs. Canelo 2015 and Golovkin vs. Jacobs 2017. On November 21, 2015 in a vintage Puerto Rico vs. Mexico showdown, Canelo displayed incredible ring skill outpointing future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto, capturing a 12-round unanimous decision in boxing’s first ever event at T-Mobile Arena. This past March at “The Mecca of Boxing” in New York’s Madison Square Garden, Golovkin showed the boxing community his world class ring skills by outpointing Daniel Jacobs with a 12-round unanimous decision victory.

Both fights will also be available 24 hours a day on HBO NOW, HBO On Demand® and HBO GO® subscribers and affiliate portals beginning Monday, September 4.

Canelo vs. Golovkin takes place Saturday, September 16 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at a special time of 8:00 p.m. ET/ 5:00 p.m. PT.

Las Vegas (May 4, 2017) – Premier Boxing Champions stars Leo Santa Cruz, Abner Mares,Daniel Jacobs,Shawn Porter,Rances Barthelemy, Alfredo Angulo have confirmed that they will appear to Meet & Greet their fans at the “PBC Booth” at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 3rd edition of Box Fan Expo that will take place Saturday May 6, 2017 from 10am to 5pm, during Cinco De Mayo weekend. The Boxing Expo will also coincide with the mega fight between Canelo Alvarez vs Julio Cesar Chavez jr, that will take place later that evening.

Boxing fans will have an opportunity to get autographs signings of gloves, photos and merchandise. Fans can register to win the PBC fan pack as well be greeted with giveaways at this years’ Expo.

PBC is a television boxing series organized by Al Haymon boxing. The Television series seeks primarily to bring renewed mainstream exposure to the sport of boxing, emphasizing a modern “concert”- like atmosphere, “high-quality” cards, television broadcasts through major networks and cable channels as opposed to pay television and pay-per-view events, and the use of technology to provide enhanced insight to the bouts.

PBC joins Leo Santa Cruz, Abner Mares, Daniel Jacobs, Shawn Porter, Rances Barthelemy, Alfredo Angulo, Brandon Rios, Jorge Linares, Marcos Maidana, Jessie Vargas, WBA, Mayweather Promotions, Marco Antonio Barrera, Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Al Bernstein, Thomas Hearns, Kronk Boxing, WBC, Christy Martin, Mia St.John, Fernando Vargas and Joel Casamayor among early commitments to this year’s Box Fan Expo.

Box Fan Expo has been a huge success with fans and boxing industry people. Many boxing stars have attended the last two Expo’s such as Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Sergio Martinez, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Tim Bradley, Deontay Wilder, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Fernando Vargas, Zab Judah, James Toney, Vinny Pazienza, Mikey Garcia , Mia St.Johns, Leo Santa Cruz, Badou Jack, Terry Norris , Riddick Bowe , Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks and many more…

Exhibitors such as boxing gear, apparel, new equipments, energy drinks, alcohol, supplement products, broadcasting media, sanctioning bodies and other companies who wish to participate will once again have a chance to showcase their brand to fans, media and the boxing industry.

Tickets to the Box Fan Expo are available online at:
http:www.boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com

Box Fan Expo is the ultimate boxing fan experience event, which allows fans to Meet and Greet Boxing Superstars of today, current and former world champions, Legends of the sport and other boxing Celebrities at their booth. On Site, fans will experience different activities from Autograph Sessions, Photo Sessions, FaceOff with your favorite boxers, as well as a chance to purchase merchandise and memorabilia from their booth, plus so much more… you won’t want to miss this must-attend Expo!

Box Fan Expo will also feature top boxing organizations, promoters, ring card girls, famous trainers and commentators as well as boxing gear companies “ALL UNDER ONE ROOF”.

Throughout the next few days leading up to the Event, there will be more announcements on the many stars that will commit their appearance at the Boxing Expo.

And for anyone in the Boxing industry or other Exhibitors (non-industry), who would like to be involved and reserve a Booth, contact Box Fan Expo:

Telephone number: (514) 572-7222 or Las Vegas Number (702) 997-1927

For any inquiries please email: boxfanexpo@gmail.com

More information on the Box Fan Expo is available at: http://www.boxfanexpo.com

You can follow Box Fan Expo on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BoxFanExpo

and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BoxFanExpo

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the March 18th fight between middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs did around 170,000 buys on Pay Per View.

“The projection we are now getting is in the 170,000 range, which we feel is a good improvement over GGG’s first pay-per-view show and many recent pay-per-views,” K2 Promotions Tom Loeffler said.

“Going against the NCAA tournament wasn’t easy, but that was the date that worked for Madison Square Garden and TV and it was a great boxing weekend in New York,” Loeffler said.

By Bart Barry-
— Photo Credit : Chris Farina – K2 Promotions
SAN ANTONIO – So goes a Sunday afternoon at Brown Coffee some miles north of downtown, across Broadway from The Pearl:

This is the sort of thing you do when there’s nothing interesting you in a sport about which you’ve found a way to write 1,000 words every Sunday for a dozenyear: You’re well away from writer’s block which handicaps you counterintuitively enough since you no longer worry what might come of your column if you approach it unprepared – gone years from sweating Saturday nights over the blank page – you come to the page blankly filled with enthusiasm at some capacity for improvisation then don’t improvise and don’t worry but do begin wondering when the alarm might sound. And sound it doesn’t because you’ve muted it – experience, presence, other numbing agents. There you sit bypassing the alarm right to indifference, certain the alarm will sound later and you’ll not end so uneventfully as apathy, then begin combing YouTube hoping something’ll spur you to begin wordstringing and it does, Golovkin-Jacobs on mute, having watched it as you did with a roomful of others live, the room comprising East Coast lads in the house of a Brooklynite Puerto Rican, a collection of guys crying Robbery at the screen when scorecards got read, you wonder if, as you suspected then, the room’s commentary offset HBO’s banter, interested as the Golovkin promoter HBO immodestly became a few years ago.

Instead a welladjusted and attractive woman, 19 years your junior, comes in the coffeeshop where y’all’ve conversed before and you offer a seat at your table and confess you’ve not an idea what this week’s column should treat, and since she knows it’s ostensibly about boxing she says:

“How about that new Ed Sheeran video?

“It’s bad, but he’s boxing. You could write your column about the way boxing is done in that video.”

And you playfully laugh and return to Golovkin-Jacobs, round 2, and get bored and do in fact watch the Ed Sheeran video, song muted, and the boxing isn’t bad at all. Sheeran, a southpaw, was on an episode of “Top Gear” you saw years ago and seemed humbly likable, and you find yourself cheering for him more in that video with the female pugilist than you cheered for either Golovkin or Jacobs eight days ago (though you made theatrical overtures to Jacobs’ chances to ensure you got invited back for Chavez-Canelo in a couple months) then the love interest disappears from Ed Sheeran’s video while the deus ex machina cranks rustily along and a sumo wrestler shows up bareassed, and it’s back to Golovkin-Jacobs a spell.

Golovkin has maybe a robot’s head movement so his defense is but punching power, though occasionally he picks-off a shot, keeping his redtaped black-n-white Grants up till an opponent strikes them; an ability to catch shots on his chintip and not buckle composes his defense mostly. Therein lies the reason Golovkin is not moved upwards in weight and will not be: Without chloroform on each knuckle he surely would not take with him to 168 pounds, Golovkin has little technique or tactical whatnots in his tricksbag – sorry, Abel! He would make an average super middleweight and way too much has been promised about him to afford any average happenings. Round 3 Jacobs lands his first lead shoulder of the match, a tool upon which he relies increasingly, but bless his heart it’s a fight, so why not (he writes, in large part because Jacobs’ shoulder slamming Golovkin’s jaw is not some Thai super flyweight’s head slamming Chocolatito’s head – and you can’t adjust for bias until you recognize bias).

And now a muscular and charismatic lesbian – who insists against all evidence she’s actually bisexual – comes in the coffeeshop and starts talking trash about your new haircut while the young attractive girl at your table recommends for your column a hypothetical effort on what might happen if you and she sparred, and you assure her the hypothetical is already welltrod in these columns.

Now Jacobs begins grimacing and flexing at Golovkin, and it’s not a good idea. Perhaps in the mirror or across from outmatched sparring partners what Jacobs elicits in his shows of rage is fear but in the ring with a man who punches hard as he does and absorbs better Jacobs’ glares and ripples make him look mentally fragile and a little too hopeful: He doth protest his toughness too much, wethinks.

It’s impossible to tell in realtime if Golovkin’s punches felled Jacobs in the fourth because HBO cameraswitches between Golovkin righthands, and it’s one more reminder how much presentation influences what we think we see when we watch a boxing broadcast. While Jacobs doesn’t appear particularly compromised by the knockdown or what blows caused it he does switch wisely out his southpaw stance when combat resumes. The knockdown on replay looks a touch tangled, and before anyone reports it’s not a tangle but Golovkin’s nuclear power, he’s advised to recall Jacobs withstood that power for 24 more minutes after the knockdown. And by the end of round 8 Jacobs is quite obviously the faster fighter even while the order of his punches doesn’t make much sense.

Now the charismatic, muscular lesbian joins our table and you introduce her to your attractive friend from a loving family and nothing chemical or dangerous happens but talk turns to loves lost, and it’s right depressing – so back to Golovkin-Jacobs and a finish you know won’t be suspenseful for anyone who knows its result.

In the ninth Golovkin actually ducks a punch and then eats a shoulder and then for some reason Jacobs begins clowning rough again while Golovkin breathes deeply round his gumshield. In the fabled championship rounds there appears to be little on either guy’s punches and even less on Jacobs’. Clearly exhausted Jacobs begins to throw floppy wrists like Steven Seagal running.

The decision’s a fair one for an honest scrap between two good middleweights. But let us have no more loose talk of greatness.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

NEW YORK CITY (March 23, 2017) This past Saturday night, March 18 at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden, in front of a packed house of 19,939 boxing fans and millions watching worldwide, GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN improved to 37-0 with 33 knockouts with a superb performance in a 12-round unanimous decision victory (115-112, 115-112 and 114-113) over #1 ranked mandatory challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS (32-2, 29 KO’s).

The victory, telecast in the United States on HBO Pay-Per-View, was Golovkin’s 18th consecutive middleweight world title defense.

“We’re very happy with the promotion, clearly boxing fans in attendance and those watching internationally were provided an outstanding evening of entertainment, a goal we strive for with each event,” said TOM LOEFFLER of K2 Promotions. “The main event saw the two best middleweights in a thrilling back-and-forth fight. Additionally, the co-feature between ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ, (46-1, 38 KO’s), and SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (42-4-1, 38 KO’s), was a very hotly contested battle throughout and is certain to be the leading candidate for ‘Fight of the Year’ lists.”

At the end of their 12-round epic clash, Sor Rungvisai was controversially declared the majority decison winner by scores of 114-112, 114-112 and 113-113. Said Loeffler, “I’m sure ‘Chocolatito’ will want a rematch to regain his title.”

Both memorable battles will be exclusively replayed this Saturday, March 25 on HBO Sports’ World Championship Boxing, at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT)

Continued Loeffler, “Our live gate on Saturday night was over $3.7 million, nearly doubling Gennady’s previous fight at Madison Square Garden against David Lemieux in October 2015. The international TV rights fees for the event to over 100 countries generated the highest revenue for any “GGG” fight.”

“Sponsorships also generated the highest revenue for any “GGG” fight, particularly with the addition of HUBLOT and CHIVAS, both of whom not only sponsored the fight but have designated Gennady as a brand ambassador which is a tremendous recognition for him.”

“Additionally, Gennady’s merchandise sales on Saturday of $150,000 also broke his previous Madison Square Garden boxing event record of $124,000 set at the Lemieux fight.”

“Finally our Pay-Per-View numbers are projected to well exceed those of Gennady’s first pay-pay-event, which were just over 153,000, with exact numbers still being calculated.”

By Bart Barry-

Saturday the Chocolatito Era concluded when Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez got narrowly and perhaps unfairly split-decisioned by Thailand’s Wisaksil “Srisaket Sor Rungvisai” Wangek in a brutal 12-round affair. In the mainevent a different tradition of matching the world’s best middleweight against a fellow middleweight began, when Gennady “GGG” Golovkin decisioned Daniel Jacobs, and let us hope this new era endures fractionally long as the other one did.

Whosoever would be idiot enough to write something like this: “After the decade Chocolatito labored in obscurity it brings no joy to write a match of his does not belong on American television much less HBO PPV, but heavens to Murgatroyd, this one verily does not”?

Guilty, my friends, and decisively so.

Whether Sor Rungvisai deserved to become a champion Saturday he belonged in a ring with Chocolatito in a way no one before him has done and once there he made brutal combat – disrespectful, randyrough, unfair, despicable – till he was eligible for a title few gave him a chance at (even if no one publicly gave him less of a chance than this column’s agebadly effort).

It was inevitable: If a prizefighter moves upwards in weight as he moves upwards in age someday he gets beat by a man who is not good a prizefighter as he is but able to offset class with physicality by absorbing what punches smaller men cannot and damaging with less effort than smaller men can. Exactly that happened to Chocolatito, every bit Saturday his diminutive suffix -ito, who struck Sor Rungvisai with the same accurate shots he strikes everyone with and applied much of the same tactical originality he applies to every opponent’s head and body but the difference was Sor Rungvisai’s size and desire and apparent obliviousness of who was the man punching him. Whereas the mainevent saw a b-level middleweight will himself past an obvious consciousness about his opponent’s identity – and in so doing reveal quite a lot about the actual quality of the middleweight champion (and how about the postfight sparkle in Golovkin’s eyes when asked about a September return to a junior middleweight opponent!) – the comain saw a man who showed up for a world title fight against an anonymous smaller man and acted like it.

Wherever or however Sor Rungvisai hit Chocolatito in round 1 he dropped him true and it tolled Chocolatito’s psyche finding himself seated, a ref fingerflashing overhead. It portended still worse things for anyone who hoped to enjoy Chocolatito for more than another match or two, too: You don’t make a fight-of-the-year candidate with Sor Rungvisai and go on to enjoy a long pleasant stay in your new super flyweight division. Instead you cautiously win a wellpaying rematch then cash yourself out – making, as an aside, charismatic Carlos Cuadras Saturday’s biggest loser.

On a personal note the emotions went something like: Excitement (here we go) to surprise (Chocolatito’s on the blue mat) to shame (what did I write?) to sadness (Chocolatito looks so small) to elation (he’s spinning him gorgeously!) to indignation (that butt was intentional) to anger (he butted him again) to amusement (butting when in you’re in trouble is effective in its way, isn’t it?) to excitement (he’s spinning him again, yes!) to disappointment (the geometry’s wrong) to nervousness to sadness.

Whatever dudgeon happened in the moment and however much pain Chocolatito is in today and tomorrow and the rest of the week, fact remains Sor Rungvisai, as a large southpaw, sold accidental headbutts sufficiently to remain undisqualified while severely altering a championship match’s trajectory with his head. There was little if anything accidental about any but the first butt and it was apparent three ways: 1. The timing of the accidents, 2. Chocolatito’s evident disgust with the accidents, and 3. The asymmetry of their effect. When two fighters’ heads keep colliding whenever one fighter is hurt, and the other fighter is the only one buzzed and bleeding afresh after each collision, there’s no chance at the championship level anything accidental is happening.

There are ways to remedy these things and Chocolatito, who has gone below the belt plethoras of times in his career, did none of them, and one suspects he didn’t do them because he didn’t think them necessary. First time, shame on Sor Rungvisai; second time . . . expect Chocolatito to go low early and often in a rematch the Nicaraguan’ll take personally and more seriously than their first match – and expect the new champion to be looking refereewards in the rematch more than his challenger.

While the damage suffered in the comain was asymmetrical the card itself did conclude with a symmetric quality of sorts: Chocolatito nearing the end of a career marked by increasing weightclasses and challenges; GGG beginning what one hopes is a career of fighting men large enough to hurt him – and looking only a touch better than average in so doing. While ESPN scrambles to revise its bro-science feature on Golovkin’s otherworldly power (something about Daniel Jacobs’ episode with cancer making his chin exponents more resilient than it was before both cancer and Dmitry Pirog) and HBO manufactures demand enough for Canelo-GGG to put this uncomfortable Jacobs episode behind us all, aficionados can use what they saw Saturday to temper, once more, their opinions of undefeated records.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

HBO Sports presents WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®: GENNADY GOLOVKIN VS. DANIEL JACOBS AND ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO GONZALEZ VS. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, the exclusive replay of their highly anticipated world championship title fights, SATURDAY, MARCH 25 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team, which was ringside at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 18, called all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdates: March 26 (10:30 a.m.) and 28 (11:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: March 26 (3:45 p.m.) and 27 (11:20 p.m.)
The two-fight combo will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO® and HBO On Demand®.
Among the sport’s top pound-for-pound performers, Golovkin put his undefeated mark, extraordinary ring record and collection of 160-pound world title belts on the line against hometown hero Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn in a fight originally carried live on HBO Pay-Per-View®. The co-feature marked a super flyweight title bout between reigning champ and pound-for-pound ace Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand.

New York City (March 18, 2017) This morning, Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) weighed in at 169.6 at the IBF same day weigh-in ahead of tonight’s highly anticipated divisional showdown against WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger, DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Jacobs did not appear for the IBF same day weigh-in. Golovkin is the holder of the WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO Middleweight World Titles.

Stated LINDSEY TUCKER of the IBF, “Golovkin is defending his IBF title, however Jacobs cannot acquire the title with a victory because he did not participate in the required IBF same-day weigh-in.

Stated TOM LOEFFLER of K2 Promotions, “Gennady is very excited to defend all of his titles tonight at Madison Square Garden and live on HBO Pay-Per-View against Daniel Jacobs in this matchup of the two best middleweights in the world.”

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

_____________________________

Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World and World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Flyweight Champion ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ, (46-0-0, 38 KO’s), fighting out of Managua, Nicaragua, defends his title against Mandatory Challenger SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI (41-4-1, (38 KO’s) of Si Sa Ket, Thailand

Former World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Flyweight Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS, (35-1-1, 27 KO’s) of Mexico City, Mexico returns to battle against cross-town rival and Former World Title Challenger DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA, (20-3-5, 8 KO’s), also of Mexico City, Mexico.

Top Lightweight Prospects, WBC Lightweight Continental Americas Champion, RYAN “BLUE CHIP” MARTIN, (17-0, 10 KO’s) of Cleveland, Ohio via Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Port Chester, New York’s BRYANT “PEE WEE” CRUZ, (17-1-0, 8 KO’s) will battle in a scheduled ten rounder.

GOLOVKIN vs. JACOBS is presented by K2 Promotions. Tickets priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com

SOCIAL MEDIA — #GGGJACOBS

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
@GGGBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Daniel Jacobs
@DanielJacobsTKO – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

HBO
@HBO, @HBOBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Madison Square Garden
@TheGarden – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Tom Loeffler (K2 Promotions)
@TomLoeffler1 — Twitter

By Norm Frauenheim-

It’s a many-sided fight, loaded with intrigue and potential for explosive surprises at just about every level. But will Gennady Golovkin-Danny Jacobs Saturday night sell?

It’s an HBO pay-per-view fight screaming for attention during the first week of the NCAA basketball tournament.

Although already perilously close to joining boxing at the sporting fringe from November through February, college basketball still comes off the edge and squarely into the spotlight for three weeks from mid March to early April.

It’s a spring rite, an annual fast break full of moms and pops with brackets in one hand and a few dollars to wager in the other. Office pools are everywhere and that means everybody is watching, especially during the first couple of rounds when big upsets are likely.

If you’ve ever been in Las Vegas for a fight during the first week of the NCCA tournament, you know what I’m talking about. The books are jammed. Lines stretch from the betting windows almost out on to The Strip with people wanting to bet on the next Cinderella. A very good fight might be at the casino’s arena that Saturday night. But nobody knows about it.

In America’s virtual village, Golovkin-Jacobs, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, is that fight. Looks to be good, could be great. Jacobs is a terrific story. He beat cancer and he’s been beating everybody in front of him ever since.

Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) has been that force of nature, an unbeaten and unstoppable middleweight who hopes to pound out a legend the equal of any in a division with a rich history. His bout against Jacobs has been called a steppingstone to a bigger confrontation with Canelo Alvarez. Yet, Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) is a challenge – perhaps GGG’s biggest ever as he approaches another birthday. He’ll be 35 on April 8.

If the fight had been in mid-February or mid-April, it would have had a better chance at a solid PPV number. In an era of declining expectations, solid would mean anything from, say, 250,000 to 300,000. GGG’s pay-per-view sample is too small to judge. He has fought on PPV only once, against David Lemieux in October, 2015 in an HBO telecast that did a reported 150,000.

With the Canelo showdown still on the horizon and the compelling Jacobs story as part of Saturday’s promotion, there’s more reason to watch. But it happens on a day with second-round NCAA tournament games on CBS, TNT and TBS scheduled from noon (ET) to 9:30 p.m. (ET) and all without a PPV price tag.

The day’s final tournament game is scheduled a half-hour after the start of the PPV telecast of a card that includes pound-for-pound king and junior-bantamweight Roman Gonzalez (46-0, 38 KOs) against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (41-4-1, 38 KOs).

It’s a good card. Maybe great. On a day full of basketball for free, however, is it worth $54.99 for the standard telecast, $64.99 for high-def? After wall-to-wall hoops, I’m guessing a lot of casual fans will just pass and wait for the replay.

That’s unfortunate, especially for the under-appreciated GGG, Jacobs and Gonzalez.

GGG, who sells out arenas, draws a solid audience in non-PPV bouts. His victory over Kell Brook in September drew 843,000 for a London bout that happened earlier in the day in the U.S. His April victory over Dominic Wade at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., posted a biggie, 1.34 million.

Let’s assume Golovkin does the expected and beats Jacobs. If the victory is spectacular, yet the PPV number isn’t, it creates a potential complication for him in negotiations with Canelo, whose May 6 bout with fellow Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. could be PPV blockbuster. Let’s assume Canelo does the expected and beats Chavez Jr., yet with a PPV number three to four times bigger than GGG’s number against Jacobs.

What should be a 50-50 fight, won’t be in terms of what Canelo says he’s worth. He’ll ask for the lion’s share of a 60-40 or 55-45 split. GGG, who has been the consensus champ at 160, wouldn’t be the first fighter to be insulted by that kind of proposal. He also wouldn’t be the first to walk away from the table, further delaying a fight the business desperately needs.

That begs a question: On a weekend dominated by attention on the NCAA tournament, why-oh-why is GGG-Jacobs on pay-per-view? That answer is a slam-dunk.

17
Gennady Golovkin: 159.6 lbs.
Daniel Jacobs: 159.8 lbs.

LONDON (March 17, 2017) – Pound-for-pound ace Gennady Golovkin knows he will be in his toughest fight to date when he takes on knockout king Danny Jacobs on Saturday night.

The Kazakh warrior faces cancer survivor and the hard-hitting Jacobs, who has stopped 29 of his 32 opponents, exclusively live on BoxNation this weekend from the iconic Madison Square Garden.

Despite being one of the world’s most formidable punchers and boxers around, with a record of 36 wins unbeaten, with 33 of those by knockout, 34-year-old WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight world champion Golovkin is refusing to overlook Jacobs.

“He is a very good fighter and maybe has a little bit more power than me. He has big power and he is a very good boxer,” said Golovkin.

“Of course I feel that I have power and it is very important to me and I can feel the power in my punches. I get that from hard work and practice.

”Sometimes though it is not just power. It has a lot to do with timing and distance. It is not all in the punch.

“This is my first fight of the year and he is a tough guy and a great fighter and I am very excited for this fight and this year.

“He is one of the most dangerous for me. He is very good in the ring. He is a good boxer with good technique. I respect him too, he is a very good man,” he said.

Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez is also well aware that his man cannot go into the fight underestimating 30-year-old Jacobs, who has the ability to put any opponent in his weight class to sleep.

He is of the belief that this fight is more of a threat to the unified champion than a showdown with Mexican star Canelo Alvarez.

“I think that [he is a bigger threat than Canelo] he has got one punch power. There is the chance he will knock you out – he is a big dude,” said Sanchez.

“Canelo is more of a combination puncher but they are both very good fighters. Both Canelo and Jacobs have fights coming up and Canelo has the bigger guy on May 6 and we will be able to tell then who is the bigger and stronger guy,” he said.

Also tonight, exclusively live on BoxNation, will be the debut of Irish Olympic sensation Michael Conlan who starts his professional career at the ‘Mecca of Boxing’ – Madison Square Garden on St Patrick’s Day against Tim Ibarra.

Conlan will be walked to the ring by UFC superstar and fellow countryman Conor McGregor and is equally ambitious as the brash Dubliner as he looks to go down as the best Irish fighter of all time.

“My goal is to be the best Irish fighter of all time. Tim [Ibarra] and I both have to put bread on the table and we’ll be working hard to do that Friday night. I am going to have to knock him out,” said Conlan.

“Over 2,000 fans are flying in from Ireland to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and my pro debut. I never dreamed this would be happening to me, that it was even possible – headlining in my pro debut at the Mecca of Boxing.

“I am taking this whole experience in. I revel in it. It’s going to be electric when Conor McGregor carry’s the tricolor [flag] and walks me into the ring,” he said.

BoxNation will be the only place to watch all this action live this weekend with Conlan headlining a fantastic fight card tonight, before Golovkin takes on Jacobs on Saturday night, with the phenomenal Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez part of a stacked bill.

Golovkin v Jacobs & Conlan v Ibarra are exclusively live on BoxNation. Buy now at boxnation.com.

-Ends-
About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated boxing channel. From £12* per month with no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.
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New York City (March 16, 2017) On Wednesday afternoon at Madison Square Garden a press conference was held for the HBO Pay-Per-View undercard fighters featured on the highly anticipated divisional clash between Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger, DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) this Saturday, March 18 at the famed venue in New York City.

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ
“Thanks very much to everybody for coming to the press conference and thanks especially to God. I know it’s going to be a difficult fight but this is the best preparation I’ve had. I’m ready to put on a great performance.”

“Thanks very much to HBO, K2 Promotions, Teiken Promotions and my family.”

“Thank you all my fans for the support, I look forward to defending my title on Saturday night against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai here at Madison Square Garden and live on HBO Pay-Per-View.”

SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI
“I have to thank K2 Promotions, HBO and the WBC for this opportunity. This fight is for the history of Thailand and I’ve come here to win and I will get the victory for the people of Thailand.”

CARLOS CUADRAS
“I’m visiting New York City for the first time, I’m very happy to be here but it’s a little too cold for me.”

“I want to thank Tom Loeffler and K2 Promotions, Teiken Promotions and HBO and my promoters in Mexico.

“I hope Carmona is ready, I came very prepared. I hope Rungvisai is ready and I look forward to a rematch with Roman and I hope you win.”

“I am strong, I am fast and I am very, very handsome.”

DAVID SEVERO
“It’s great to be part of this card, it’s a great opportunity for me. I’m well prepared, I had an excellent training camp and once I hit the ring, I’m going to be ready to perform at my best.”

“I’m honored to be on the same card as a great champion like Gennady Golovkin.”

RYAN MARTIN
“It’s amazing to be here, amazing to be fighting at the Mecca of Boxing. I’d like to thank Tom Loeffler and K2 Promotions for this opportunity.”

“I want to thank Abel for opening up the doors for me at the Summit to train up there. Five weeks in Big Bear, six weeks in Cleveland. I’m definitely 100% prepared for Saturday night and ready to put on a show and showcase my skills on this platform.”

TOM LOEFFLER, Managing Director of K2 Promotions
“While the main event has gotten much of the interest so far, when you see the great fighters on the stage here today, it really shows how deep this card is with such a strong international interest from the media and fans.”

“There will be a lot fireworks in the arena on Saturday with the two best middleweights and all these other world class fighters. We’d really like to thank Madison Square Garden for their support of this event, Gennady Golovkin has really made the Garden his home.”

“Fighting at The Mecca of Boxing is really the dream of most fighters.”
_________________________________

Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World and World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Flyweight Champion ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ, (46-0-0, 38 KO’s), fighting out of Managua, Nicaragua, will defend his title against Mandatory Challenger SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI (41-4-1, (38 KO’s) of Si Sa Ket, Thailand

Former World Boxing Council (WBC) Super Flyweight Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS, (35-1-1, 27 KO’s) of Mexico City, Mexico returns to battle against cross-town rival and Former World Title Challenger DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA, (20-3-5, 8 KO’s), also of Mexico City, Mexico.

Top Lightweight Prospects, WBC Lightweight Continental Americas Champion, RYAN “BLUE CHIP” MARTIN, (17-0, 10 KO’s) of Cleveland, Ohio via Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Port Chester, New York’s BRYANT “PEE WEE” CRUZ, (17-1-0, 8 KO’s) will battle in a scheduled ten rounder.

GOLOVKIN vs. JACOBS is presented by K2 Promotions. Tickets priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com

SOCIAL MEDIA — #GGGJACOBS

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
@GGGBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Daniel Jacobs
@DanielJacobsTKO – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

HBO
@HBO, @HBOBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Madison Square Garden
@TheGarden – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Tom Loeffler (K2 Promotions)
@TomLoeffler1 — Twitter

New York City (March 15, 2017) In front of huge turnout of media at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden, Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger, DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) along with teams held the Final Press Conference leading up to their highly anticipated divisional clash this Saturday, March 18 at the famed venue in New York City.

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN
“I’m very excited, everybody on my team is ready, just a couple days before another amazing drama show. I hope Daniel is ready, I hope he’s had his best training camp, I have a great deal of respect for his team.”

“Thanks to my team, thanks to my Coach Abel Sanchez, he opened my eyes for boxing, for new life. Thanks to HBO Pay-Per-View, this is the biggest chance for me and Daniel to show world class boxing.”

“Daniel said he’s come back home, I feel the same way, Madison Square Garden is like my second home, I love fighting here.”

“Thanks very much to my new sponsor Hublot and for their gift.”

DANIEL JACOBS
“Good to see everyone, glad to be back in NYC. Feeling a lot of love in my city, where it all started.”

“I was 15 years old when I first came to Madison Square Garden to watch the Golden Gloves, so to have an opportunity like this and fight at the Mecca of Boxing again for the biggest opportunity that I could possibly have—I feel very grateful.”

“Thanks to my family, my lovely lady Natalie, my son Nathaniel, my Mom, everyone who has just been in my corner.”

‘Thanks to my team, Andre Rozier and Chris Algieri, a pure joy to have him in camp, great nutritionist and great conversations. He really understands being at this level.”

“Also want to thank Virgil Hunter for allowing us to train at his facility in Oakland, a great place to have a camp. Also want to thank HBO for this opportunity, also to Showtime for the 60 Minutes piece they did which was stellar.”

“This is a great opportunity for me, I would never have thought five years ago through a whole bunch of craziness that I went through that I would be fighting for the unified middleweight championship.”

“I wouldn’t want to have it any other way, the biggest challenge on the biggest stage. I’m so focused, I’m so ready.”

“I have the utmost respect for Gennady and his team, we’re two ambassadors for the sport, and I’m honored to share the ring with him.”

ABEL SANCHEZ, Trainer of Golovkin
“Finally were five days away, looking forward to challenging that preparation that Danny had in Oakland. Andre and I both understand how serious this is, we had a great camp. I’d like to thank all of our sparring partners and Max Golovkin for his help in camp.”

“Most of all I’d like to thank Gennady for giving us this opportunity to nurture and show everyone the kind of fighter he is on Saturday night, the best middleweight in the world and probably one of the best middleweights ever.”

“I hope everyone comes out and witnesses a superstar in the making.”

ANDRE ROZIER, Trainer of Jacobs
“We had a fantastic camp in California, I can honestly say this was the best camp we’ve ever had.”

“Daniel worked hard, the team did a wonderful job. The entire team worked really hard.”

I’m never anxious about a fight but I’m excited for this one. We have some stiff competition, it’s all about what’s happening on Saturday, the two best middleweights in the world coming together to show you who is number 1. Needless to say Danny is #1”

TOM LOEFFLER, Managing Director of K2 Promotions
“We’re finally here, it’s finally fight week — seems like yesterday that we were here to announce this fight.”

“The two best middleweights in the world, fighting at Madison Square Garden, it’s truly a classic fight, one that the fans and media have very strongly have reacted to.”

“We kicked off fight week with both Michael and Danny along with Michael Buffer at the New York Stock Exchange this morning.”

“Thanks to Madison Square Garden, HBO, Keith Connolly and Al Haymon also Oleg Hermann on behalf of Gennady in putting this fight together.”

KEITH CONNOLLY, Team Jacobs
“Saturday night we’re going to settle who’s the best middleweight in the world. It’s going to be a tremendous fight, one of the biggest of the year and I know Danny is ready. He is laser focused after this camp in San Francisco. He’s never trained harder, never been more into the moment.”

“I expect Danny to come out on Saturday and shine, he has just as much power as Gennady.”

‘This is Danny’s coming out part, Danny’s ready and we hope Gennady is ready. Come Saturday night we don’t want any excuses that Gennady overlooked him or was thinking about another fight. Danny wants to beat the best Gennady and I think that’s going to happen on Saturday night.”

GOLOVKIN vs. JACOBS is presented by K2 Promotions. Tickets priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com

SOCIAL MEDIA — #GGGJACOBS

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
@GGGBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Daniel Jacobs
@DanielJacobsTKO – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

HBO
@HBO, @HBOBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Madison Square Garden
@TheGarden – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Tom Loeffler (K2 Promotions)
@TomLoeffler1 — Twitter

BERNIE BAHRMASEL: Good afternoon and Good Morning to the international press and thanks very much for joining us on this Media Conference Call promoting the highly anticipated World Middleweight Championship between Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) and WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “The Miracle Man” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) set for Saturday, March 18 from THE Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View starting at 9pm ET, 6pm PT. Tickets for the live event which are moving fast, may be purchased online through Ticketmaster and TheGarden.com

Joining us first on the call today is the Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World from his training camp in Costa Rica, ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ. Sporting a record of 46-0 with 38 knockouts, Roman is joined on the call by his longtime manager CARLOS BLANDON to discuss his WBC Super Flyweight World Championship defense against Mandatory Challenger SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (41-4-1, 38 KO’s), in the co-main event on March 18th.

Later in the call, we will joined by former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS and his trainer RUDY HERNANDEZ who are wrapping up camp in Los Angeles, California.

In a special attraction 10-round super flyweight bout on the HBO Pay-Per-View, Cuadras will battle Mexico City cross-town arch rival DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA.

This past September 10 at the Fabulous Forum and telecast, “Chocolatito”and Cuadras clashed in one of the best fights of 2016, as Roman Gonzalez won his fourth division world title.

TOM LOEFFLER: We couldn’t be more excited to have ‘Chocolatito’ back on the show with Gennady and it is a great match-up. On any other show it would clearly be the main event. ‘Chocolatito’ headlined the show last September at the Fabulous Forum and had a tremendous victory over Carlos Cuadras winning a world title in his fourth weight division and is universally considered the No. 1 pound for pound fighter in the world. We are excited for this match-up. It is a tough match-up that’s mandated by the WBC against Rungvisai from Thailand who is a very big puncher and I know many boxing fans are really looking forward to this fight. With that I would like to introduce Carlos Blandon to say a few words. He has been with Roman in training camp.

CARLOS BLANDON: I would like to thank everyone that is making this possible – HBO, Teiken Promotions and K2 Promotions and Madison Square Garden for hosting us once again on March 18. Roman and the whole ‘Chocolatito’ team is very excited and happy once again to be showcasing Roman’s talents at Madison Square Garden, The Mecca of Boxing, and we think it is going to be an excellent night of boxing on fight night. And thanks to Gennady, who we admire and we are very happy to be fighting under his name once again. At the same time having Carlos Cuadras with Rudy Hernandez being able to fight before us makes for a full program of action.

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: First of all I want to say that we are ready for next Saturday. I want to thank God and I want to thank HBO and K2 Promotions and Madison Square Garden. Everything has gone great during this camp and once again it is an honor to be on a card featuring Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs.

How was it to be a headliner on your last show?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: It was a great opportunity in Los Angeles that HBO gave me to fight Carlos Cuadras in the feature fight. It was a great fight with an amazing atmosphere. The fans from Mexico and Nicaragua came out. I think it showed that I have the power that I can fill a big arena like the Forum. I was very happy and to be the co-feature with Golovkin is another great opportunity and I realize that there are going to be a lot of fans of Nicaraguan descent that will descend upon Madison Square Garden and I want to give them a very positive result.

How was it fighting at the heavier weight? You got touched up a little in the Cuadras fight. Do you feel you can dominate at the heavier weight?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: I have always had respect for my opponent and it was a very tough fight at 115. Never did I think it was going to be easy campaigning in this division at 115 – it takes time to get used to and I think that’s what is happening at the moment but I think I will be fine.

What was the reception like when you returned home after not only winning another world title but passing the legend of Arguello by winning a fourth world title?

That day was very memorable when I returned home. People were lined up in the streets and they were greeting me all over and to be honest, being home, they gave me their love. The people of Nicaragua gave me their love and without question it makes me so happy to represent the country of Nicaragua, that now after winning this world title I have to hold onto it.

Do you feel a need move to move to higher weight divisions or do you feel you are fighting for the guys in the lower weight classes?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: From a legacy standpoint I have already accomplished a lot and now my goal is to hold onto my fourth world title in order to gain higher purses and more money and I want to continue to show that I am a quality fighter and I am a great fighter and I want to move forward and I think a second fight with Cuadras will certainly do that. But I am fixed on holding on to this world title moving forward.

What do you want to accomplish next?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: A fourth world title was something that was an absolute blessing. I want to thank God and it meant so much to me. No, aside from holding onto my world title, I could possibly go for a fifth world championship – in a different weight division – but first I understand that I need to hold onto to this title at the moment.

How many tickets are left for the fight at Madison Square Garden?

TOM LOEFFLER: The tickets are selling very well. The last show where Gennady and ‘Chocolatito’ had fought together at the Garden in October 2015, we were completely sold out and right now the tickets are ahead of that. So we expect a sold out arena and the fans have reacted to the combination again of Gennady and ‘Chocolatito’ on the same show.

How does this opponent compare to Cuadras and what type of challenges do you expect?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: I always know it’s going to be a different rival and challenge. Against Carlos Cuadras it was a great fight and I certainly learned a lot in that match-up and especially in my training camp. On this one coming up on the 18th of March, I expect a great fight and I want to put on a great fight for the fans and I realize what I have to do because at the end of the day I want to have my had raised in victory.

Do you want to fight Cuadras again? How did that fight compare to the toughest you have had?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: As I look at a fight coming up against Carlos Cuadras again I realize I have to train harder. Every opponent presents different challenges. I do believe that the second fight, the rematch, will be better. But heading into the rematch, assuming all goes according to plan, I will be confident and I know he will be a little bit more because of the time we shared in the ring. I do believe I can go out there and get the knockout in the rematch.

Do you feel better training in Costa Rica than in California?

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: Every camp is very good. Every camp runs very well when it comes to training in Costa Rica. I like it because I almost feel at home as if in Nicaragua. There are mountains here and water and I just feel so comfortable in Costa Rica.

You have a tough fight coming up on the 18th and Cuadras says that you didn’t want the rematch immediately…

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: It doesn’t really matter what he says. If he wants to go ahead and get into a verbal match with me, that’s not what I am going to focus on. I am the champion right now. I realize that the rematch is down the line. I have a lot of respect for him. I am fighting for the lower weight classes and a rematch will be in the cards if it does transpire. That will happen down the line and I am all about fighting for the lower weight classes to make them prominent in boxing.

This is a tough time in the United States for Hispanics and Latinos . . .

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: My fight is for the public. I am always very happy for the adulation. These days I want to move forward and make people happy by my performance.

ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ: Thank you very much to all of the public, God bless you and we will see you Saturday on March 18.

CARLOS BLANDON: We are so appreciative of everything and getting ready for March 18 – Roman is training his heart out. You are going to see a faster and stronger Roman and wee are putting everything in God’s hands. Thanks again to HBO Teiken and K2 and The Garden for making this possible.

__________________________________

RUDY HERNANDEZ: We are ready and we are just wishing the fight was tomorrow.

CARLOS CUADRAS: I am very well trained and I am excited for this fight. My goal is to come out and win against Carmona on March 18

When you fought Chocolatito, did you feel as if you were fighting for the smaller weight classes?

CARLOS CUADRAS: We are obviously fighting for higher purses and we are representing the lighter weight classes. We are going to give a show and demonstrate our high quality action. But we do realize when we fight inside that ring that we can provide action and put on a show as good as if not better than the higher weight classes and that will lead to more lucrative purses and higher paydays down the line.

Chocolatito has talked about fighting at 118. Would you accept a rematch at 118?

CARLOS CUADRAS: I will do it at whatever weight he wants to do it at. If he wants to fight and do the rematch at 118, no problem. We can even do the rematch in the heavyweight division. It will be a great fight. I am going to bring the fight to him. I have the medicine in my hands and the power to get after and to dispel of ‘Chocolatito’.

You always seem happy and smiling in such a brutal sport…

CARLOS CUADRAS: I love boxing and boxing is my life. If someone has a passion for something in anything that they do it shows and with me I love boxing. It is absolutely my life and I enjoy being in the gym competing against great fighters, partaking in the sport of boxing and it is something that I really love.

Do you think that helps lighten the pressure?

CARLOS CUADRAS: I enjoy the moment. I don’t let the pressure get to me. I don’t pay attention to that. I get to fight in these massive arenas. Every day when I step in the ring my focus is squarely on the opponent across from me. Thank you very much and say hello to all of those in Mexico!

Juan Francisco Estrada has called you out – so what do you think about him or ‘Chocolatito’?

CARLOS CUADRAS: Juan Francisco Estrada is a great fighter and it is almost a guarantee since we are both of Mexican descent that we will collide at some point down the line. But it is true that I want to fight Chocolatito in the rematch. That is what I want. He has the world title and that is what I want. But down the line we will have a match with Estrada.

What do you think about the Canelo-Chavez Jr. fight?

CARLOS CUADRAS: Julio Cesar Chavez should win the fight. He is bigger and he is stronger and if he comes in condition and ready to perform at the highest level I think he should get the victory.

How do the Mexican fans respond to you?

CARLOS CUADRAS: As to the response of the Mexican boxing fans they absolutely embrace me following my fight with Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.

Do you feel that, since you did not get an immediate rematch, that it may not happen at all?

I do believe that he is running from me. He has fear of me. Look, if he wants to fight me at 118, no problem. I will go up to 118 pounds. Whatever weight he is, if he will give me the fight, I will be there and I will fight him in the rematch.

How much of a chance do you give Rungvisai against Chocolatito?

Rungvisai is a very strong opponent and hits hard. If Chocolatito allows him to have his distance, he could knock him out so he has to be wary. He is a very tough and dangerous opponent, as I can attest to.

RUDY HERNANDEZ: Carlos is looking to shine on March 18 and hopes to steal the show and hopes HBO gives him the opportunity to fight again.

CARLOS CUADRAS: I have watched Carmona fight. He is from Mexico City and we are fellow countrymen. I think he is a very tough fighter. I watched his last fight when he lost by unanimous decision. But I am going to go out there and I will be looking for the knockout.

TOM LOEFFLER: We are excited to have both Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez and Carlos Cuadras on the card. This is a tremendous show that we have put together. They had a war in September of last year and Carlos lost a close decision and we wanted to feature him because he was a crowd favorite. Now with Roman defending his title against the mandatory and GGG versus Jacobs we are very excited for next week.

____________________________________

Consensus #1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter and WBC Super Flyweight World Champion ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO” GONZALEZ, (46-0, 38 KO’s) will make the first defense of his fourth divisional world title against Thailand’s SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (41-4-1, 38 KO’s) on Saturday, March 18 at The Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden.

In a special attraction 10-round clash, former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion CARLOS “PRINCIPE” CUADRAS, (35-1-1, 27 KO’s) battles cross-town rival DAVID “SEVERO” CARMONA, (20-3-5, 8 KO’s) of Mexico City.

The Championship Event presented by K2 Promotions will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

On September 10, 2016, Gonzalez and Cuadras battled in an epic “Fight of the Year” candidate at The Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles. After twelve outstandin rounds of action, Gonzalez was declared the victor. The fight was telecast live on HBO.

Headlining the HBO Pay-Per-View event from on Saturday, March 18, Unified Middleweight World Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (36-0, 33 KO’s) will defend his titles (WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO) against WBA Middleweight World Champion and Mandatory Challenger DANIEL “THE MIRACLE MAN” JACOBS, (32-1, 29 KO’s) in a highly anticipated divisional showdown.

Golovkin and Jacobs have an extraordinary, combined 35 consecutive knockouts heading into this highly anticipated batt

GOLOVKIN vs. JACOBS is presented by K2 Promotions. Tickets priced at $1000, $600, $400, $300, $200 and $100, are now on sale and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008) and online at www.ticketmaster.com or www.thegarden.com

SOCIAL MEDIA — #GGGJACOBS

Gennady “GGG” Golovkin
@GGGBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Daniel Jacobs
@DanielJacobsTKO – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez
@ChocolatitoBox – Twitter
@ChocolatitoOfficial – Facebook
@Chocolatito87 – Instagram

Carlos Cuadras
@CuadrasOficial – Twitter
@CarlosCuadras – Facebook
@CuadrasOficial — Instagram

HBO
@HBO, @HBOBoxing – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Madison Square Garden
@TheGarden – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Tom Loeffler (K2 Promotions)
@TomLoeffler1 — Twitter