LOS ANGELES (August 13, 2019) – IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. and WBC Welterweight World Champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter went face to face Tuesday in Los Angeles at a press conference to preview their 147-pound championship unification that headlines a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View on Saturday, September 28 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Also in attendance at Tuesday’s press conference, and competing in pay-per-view action beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT were WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Anthony Dirrell and unbeaten former champion David Benavidez, who meet in a 168-pound title fight, unbeaten contenders Mario Barrios and Batyr Akhmedov, who battle for the WBA Super Lightweight title, and rugged veteran Josesito Lopez and brawler John Molina Jr., who battlein a 10-round welterweight fight.

The event also featured former three-time world champion Robert Guerrero and unbeaten super welterweight prospect Joey Spencer, who compete in separate attractions as part of FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. Guerrero will face Jerry Thomas in a 10-round welterweight bout.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Man Down Promotions, TGB Promotions and Shawn Porter Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

Here is what the fighters had to say Tuesday at the open to the public event from STAPLES Center in Star Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles:

ERROL SPENCE JR.

“This is going to be an amazing event. The co-main event could be the main event on any normal, but this main event is going to be fire. You know it’s man down when I get in the ring and we’re going to show you just that on September 28.

“Shawn is a warrior who always comes to fight and leaves his heart on the table. He always comes ready, but I’m in shape and ready for him too. We’re both always in exciting fights and that’s what we’re going to give the fans.

“You’ve seen my growth over the years to where I’m fighting in bigger and bigger stadiums and headlining the pay-per-views. Now I’m in a unification fight, which is what I’ve wanted for a long time.

“I know Shawn will keep this same energy on fight night. It’s going to be an amazing moment when I get this knockout at STAPLES Center.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for. I had to be on the sidelines and watch Shawn fight Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, but now I’m in that group. I have the opportunity to fight these top guys and make my name known.

“My whole thing is that I’m looking for the stoppage. I want to make a statement that I’m clearing out the division. I want Manny Pacquiao and all of the top names in this division.”

SHAWN PORTER

“This fight demands this kind of excitement and energy that we have here today. We’re coming to the STAPLES Center for these fans, because they give us the energy that we need.

“Being in this position is amazing and I love it. I’ve always looked forward to opportunities like this and I’m going to bring this same energy into the ring.

“I know what’s about to go down. I know how great and how special this fight is going to be. The closer we get, the more excited I get. We will be prepared for it.

“People don’t understand the level that Errol and I are on. He’s expecting the same thing I’m expecting. We’re both training to go 12 hard rounds and out class each other. It’s all about that one moment, and I know I have what it takes to make that moment all mine. I’m looking forward to it.

“It was only a matter of time until this fight happened. I’ve been patient my entire career and never rushed anything. For me, this fight is happening on time. He’s amongst the elite of this division now and will be after September 28 no matter what.

“When I beat Errol Spence Jr., it doesn’t mean he’s going away. He’s still elite. But I’m going to take care of him September 28 and go after Manny Pacquiao. That’s the plan.”

ANTHONY DIRRELL

“Benavidez is a come forward fighter who throws a lot of punches. You can frustrate him and do what you need to do to counteract that though.

“I’ve had some tough fights and people think that because of those fight, Benavidez is going to beat me. I feel otherwise. I’m the champion. I’m older and smarter and I’m going to go in there and defend my title successfully.

“I’m an experienced fighter. I’ve been doing this for 25 years going back to my amateur days. He’s only 22-years-old and he can’t possible know what I can do. He’s going to find out on September 28.

“I can’t only rely on just my experience. I have to throw punches and go in there to execute my game plan.

“Him going for the knockout definitely excites me. We’re going to give the fans something to see. They’re coming to see a knockout and I’m planning to give it to them.

“Being an underdog is great, it motivates me. I’m fine with it because I can prove everybody wrong at the end of the day. It’s about making history, and you can’t make history if you don’t go in there and take a chance.

“I’m ready. We’ve been wanting this fight for over a year. Now it’s here and we’re both ready to go. I’m looking for the knockout and I know he is too.

“I know that I can take a punch, but we’ll see if he can. He’s been dropped before, as have I. I’ve come back from worse than that though. We’re both warriors and we’re both going to be ready to give the fans something to see.”

DAVID BENAVIDEZ

“Anthony Dirrell is a tough, rugged fighter who has a lot of experience and has been in there with the best. He has height and reach like I do. We’re putting together a good game plan.

“Fighting in Dallas in front of 50,000 people was definitely one of the biggest fights of my life, but I feel like it’s just getting better and better from there.

“It’s a dream come true fighting at STAPLES Center. I’ve always dreamed about fighting here in front of all my people. It’s going to be like I’m fighting at home.

“The winners of this fight are going to be the fans. It’s going to be a great fight and I want to steal the show and put on the fight of the night.

“I have the opportunity to become the youngest two-time super middleweight world champion in history. I’m working hard to do my best to give the fans an action packed fight and accomplish my goals.

“There’s a lot of motivation for me because he has my title. We have respect outside the ring, but none of that will be in the ring. We’re both going for the knockout and it’s going to be a war from round one.

“There are a lot of things that I can do. I can box on the inside and I can brawl. I think Anthony Dirrell is going to want to make it a brawl and stay in there with me. That’s how he fought his last fight and we know there’s a lot we can do if he brings that style.”

MARIO BARRIOS

“Fighting on a card like this is a dream come true. This will be my third fight at STAPLES Center and I always get a lot of love in Los Angeles. It’s always an exciting experience and I’m looking forward to it again.

“I’m fighting for a title and I’m not going home to San Antonio without it. I know that he’s going to bring everything he’s got. This will be my toughest opposition by far, but that won’t change anything on September 28.”

BATYR AKHMEDOV

“This a great opportunity for me to be part of such a momentous card. I’m grateful to my whole team for getting me this opportunity and I’m training to take full advantage.

“On September 28, it’s going to be a great fight. I’m going to start writing my history in this fight by winning this title.”

JOSESITO LOPEZ

“I’m excited to be a part of this great card. It’s been seven years since I had that great showing at STAPLES Center against Victor Ortiz, and it’s a great feeling to be back.

“I’m going to put on a show, just like I did my last time fighting at STAPLES Center. I’m going to deliver another great performance.

“Expect fireworks. We’re going to start this pay-per-view off right and get things ready for the rest of this card. It’s going to be a night you don’t want to miss.”

JOHN MOLINA JR.

“Here we go again. It’s going to be another exciting fight. This is a long time coming for the both of us. We both have a never say die attitude and that’s what you’re going to get on fight night.

“Make sure you’re there on September 28, because you’re going to enjoy this fight. We’re both going to leave it all in the ring, just like everyone expects us to.”

ROBERT GUERRERO

“I’m excited to be back on this stage again. We have two great champions in the main event and it makes for an exciting night from top to bottom.

“I just wanted to say something about the shooting incidents that have happened in our country. One of the incidents happened in my hometown in Gilroy, California, so a portion of my purse is going to go to the victims of that tragedy.”

JOEY SPENCER

“I’m really happy and honored to be a part of this card with all of these great champions. I can’t wait to go out there and put on a show.

“It’s amazing just to be in the building, let alone to be fighting on a card like this. I’m really excited to give all the fans a great show.”

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LOS ANGELES (August 13, 2019) – Former three-time world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero battles Jerry Thomas in a 10-round welterweight match and sensational undefeated super welterweight prospect Joey Spencer appears in a six-round attraction in FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes Saturday, September 28 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The 90-minute prelims show begins at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT and will serve as the lead-in to the highly anticipated FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View headlined by the welterweight title unification showdown between IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. and WBC champion Shawn Porter. WBC Super Middleweight Champion Anthony Dirrell defends his title against undefeated former champion David Benavídez in the co-feature, while unbeatens clash when Mario Barrios takes on Batyr Akhmedov for the WBA Super Lightweight title and hard-hitting veteran sluggers Josesito López and John Molina, Jr. meet in a 10-round welterweight bout in pay-per-view action beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Tickets for the live event are on sale now and can be purchased AXS.com.

“An already great card just got better,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “Robert Guerrero and Joey Spencer will provide the perfect lead in to the Pay-Per-View event. Guerrero has one of the most distinguished careers in boxing and he has never been in a bad match. Spencer is at the beginning of a career that promises to be spectacular. Combined with the other fights on the pay per view telecast, this is going to be an all-action show.”

Guerrero (35-6-1, 20 KOs) has won world titles at featherweight and super featherweight, and has fought a stacked lineup of elite fighters during a superb career. The 35-year-old Guerrero is from Gilroy, California and is coming off a stoppage victory over Hevinson Herrera on March 9 after previously scoring a TKO win in December 2018.

“It feels great to be back in the ring, especially fighting in front of my fans at STAPLES Center,” said Guerrero. “I had a couple tune up fights and now I’m stepping up in competition. My boxing skills will be on display and I’m ready to take that next step to a big fight. I’m in great shape and I’m ready to let my hands go. Lastly, I’m dedicating this fight to the victims of the Gilroy mass shooting and I’ll be donating a portion of my purse to their fund.”

Thomas (14-1-1, 8 KOs) has won three straight bouts since losing the first match of his career against Danny O’Connor in 2016. Thomas of St. Marys, Kansas is coming off a TKO victory over Brad Robison in his most recent fight last May 19.

The 19-year-old Spencer (8-0, 6 KOs) turned pro last year after an impressive amateur career and scored knockouts in his first six fights. Fighting out of Linden, Michigan, Spencer continued his unbeaten string in his most recent match when he scored a hard-fought unanimous decision over Akeem Black in June on FOX.

“It was really exciting to find out that I would be on a card of this magnitude,” said Spencer. “I just want to keep becoming a better pro each time I get in the ring. This experience is a big part of it. I’m working crazy hard each day to improve my stamina and pace and get to my maximum level. I’m looking forward to showing people what I can do, one fight at a time.”

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepageand www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

LOS ANGELES (August 13, 2019) – An incredible night of boxing just got even more spectacular as unbeaten rising star Mario “El Azteca” Barrios will meet fellow unbeaten Batyr Akhmedov for the WBA Super Lightweight Title and rugged veteran Josesito López battles battle-hardened brawler John Molina Jr. in a 10-round welterweight attraction as part of undercard action on the FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Saturday, September 28 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

The action begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will be in support of the highly anticipated welterweight title unification match between IBF Champion Errol Spence, Jr. and WBC Champion Shawn Porter. WBC Super Middleweight Champion Anthony Dirrell will defend his title against unbeaten former champion David Benavídez in the co-feature.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Man Down Promotions, TGB Promotions and Shawn Porter Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

“With the addition of Barrios vs. Akhmedov and López vs. Molina, Jr., an already action-packed card got an extra jolt of excitement,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “Barrios and Akhmedov is a tantalizing matchup of two rising, unbeaten fighters going toe-to-toe for their first title, while Lopez and Molina are both known for engaging in dramatic wars. There are going to be non-stop fists flying leading up to the blockbuster world title unification in the main event.”

Fighting for his first world championship is a major step forward for Barrios (24-0, 16 KOs), who began his career as a super bantamweight in 2013 at age 18. Representing his hometown of San Antonio, Texas, and now training with Virgil Hunter in the Bay Area, Barrios has knocked out all eight of his opponents since making the move to 140-pounds. The 24-year-old most recently scored a knockout victory over Juan Jose Velasco in May on FOX.

“This is the fight that will solidify me as one of the top super lightweights in the world,” said Barrios. “Batyr Akhmedov was one of the top amateurs in the world and has fought some really good fighters in the pros. He’s ranked No. 3 in the WBA and I must beat him to accomplish my goal of winning a world title. I live for these moments and the world will see my talent. I’m going to bring victory home to all of Mexico and my Mexican-American fans in the States.”

Born in Uzbekistan and residing in Russia, Akhmedov (7-0, 6 KOs) represented Turkey at the 2016 Olympic games. The 28-year-old turned pro in 2017 and is unbeaten with knockouts in all but one of his first seven fights. He made his U.S. debut last April, before stopping Ismael Barroso in August, prior to his two most recent triumphs this year.

“I am the eighth child in my family and we had a very difficult and poor upbringing so I know what it means to persevere during hard times,” said Akhmedov. “I only started boxing when I was 18 years old. I spent about four hours a day on the road to get to and from the gym. I really love this sport. I know what it means when people tell me that I won’t be able to achieve something. At 20 years old I became a national champion. At 22 I was on the Olympic team. I was successful in many of the tournaments that I took part in. I always tried to find a way to victory. I know that it will not be easy for me on September 28, but I will find a way to become a world champion.”

López (36-8, 19 KOs) is coming off a hard-fought majority decision loss to Keith Thurman in January on FOX, in a fight that saw him nearly stop Thurman before narrowly dropping the close and exciting fight. The Riverside, California-native has gone toe-to-toe with numerous top fighters and has regularly engaged in memorable action fights throughout his career.

“It’s going to be an all-action fight,” said López. “Molina is always in good action fights. He brings power to the table. California and the world will see that on September 28. I’m excited to be back in the ring on a big card. I’ve been waiting to fight in California again so I’m definitely thrilled about being at STAPLES Center. I’ve been in the gym because I knew this was coming. I’m definitely ready for this.”

Molina (30-8, 24 KOs) most recently engaged in an action-packed, close unanimous decision loss to Omar Figueroa Jr. on FOX in February. A tough veteran brawler, Molina, of West Covina, California, has been in the ring with some of the top boxers at lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight. Over his 13-year career he’s been involved in multiple Fight of the Year contenders while picking up victories over Ruslan Provodnikov, Mickey Bey, Hank Lundy and Ivan Redkach.

“This is just another day in the office for me,” said Molina. “This is an all-action, California brawl, and the fans are definitely going to get their money’s worth from this one. I’m really excited to be fighting on this big pay-per-view card with so many great electrifying boxers.”

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepageand www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

LAS VEGAS (July 24, 2019) – Undefeated IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. and WBC Welterweight World Champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter squared-off Saturday in Las Vegas to officially announce their welterweight title unification that headlines a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event Saturday, September 28 from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles.

Also in attendance at Saturday’s event was unbeaten former world champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavidez, who will challenge WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell in the co main event of the pay-per-view that begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

Here is what the fighters had to say Saturday from MGM Grand, plus quotes from Spence’s trainer Derrick James and Porter’s father and trainer Ken Porter:

ERROL SPENCE JR.

“He didn’t want to fight me. I wanted him. I have no choice but to come out on top. I’m the guy that’s going to make the fight on pay-per-view. I’m the guy that’s going to make the most money. So I feel like he didn’t have a choice but to fight me. It just had to happen.

“I want to be the best. I want to be the undisputed welterweight champion of the world and he is in my way. I feel like by the end of next year, you’ll find out who is really the best welterweight in the division.

“I’m used to fighting and sparring aggressive guys that come forward. He’s not a fighter that just likes to come forward, but he likes to use his angles and use his legs. I’m expecting a Shawn Porter that is going to try to get on the inside for the fight.

“This is a fight that I have been asking for, for a long time. If you follow me on social media, you can see that since I was 14-0, I have been calling out the big name fighters and they decided not to fight me. All to keep me out. You all wanted to fight each other. Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, even Shawn Porter. I had to get in the ring and ask for this fight, saying I will fight you anytime, anyplace. Now it’s finally happening.

“I guarantee you, I will become the undisputed welterweight champion of the world, but I have to get through Shawn Porter first and become unified. This is going to be a tough fight. Shawn is a dog and he has amazing heart. I am not going to say he has all the skills in the world, but he does have talent. He’s a guy that’s going to come to fight and give it his all. But I believe I do have the skills and talent and the dog and the heart to not only make this an easy fight but I can stop him and that’s what I am looking to do.

“You saw a different fight when I fought Mikey Garcia. Everybody said I didn’t have the boxing IQ or the boxing intellect to keep up with Mikey Garcia, or to box him on the outside and to show that I was sharp. I am not just a guy who will just maul you and run through you and beat you up. In this fight I will get back to my old self and you’ll see a guy who is going to push the pace, look for the fight and try to go for the stoppage or the knockout to score an impressive one-sided victory.

“Everybody tune in to the fight. It’s going to be a great fight, action packed fight and it can be the Fight of the Year.

“I feel like there’s no way he’s going to be fighting me on the outside. So he’s going to be a guy that’s going to try to come forward and try to set the pace and rough me up. He’s going to try to show me things that have never been brought out of me, that I’m going to have to prove.”

SHAWN PORTER

“When I fought Keith Thurman in 2016, he was considered to be the most dangerous guy in the division. I wanted to take that away from him. I wanted to take that title away from him. So yes, in a lot of ways, I’ve been down this road before. I think I’m more prepared this time around.

“When you talk about the new monster in the division as Errol Spence Jr., I’m not foreign to taking on those challenges, or being prepared for this kind of challenge. I’m not foreign to understanding what a fighter can do and what skills he possesses. I’m willing and able to come out on top of the challenge. That’s why he was selected. Once he got a belt, I needed to get a belt. There’s nothing but excitement around this.

“My natural mentality is to be more aggressive. But, we have a guy right here in Errol Spence Jr. that likes to be aggressive too and dictate the pace and be the general of the ring. I like to do the same thing. So our skills are really going to be a big part of this fight.

“By the beginning of next year, we will know who is the best. It’s not just going to be who is the most aggressive in our fight that will determine who is going to win, but also who has the most skill and who is the most talented fighter. If there is any fight that can prove I’m the biggest dog in the welterweight division, it will be this one versus Errol Spence Jr.

“This guy right here calls himself ‘The Truth’, so I felt it was fitting that today I tell the truth. The truth is that you guys are in for a treat. The truth is that this going to be a fantastic fight. The truth is that this dude has skill, he has power and speed. He has everything, but the truth is, I have all those things as well.

“The truth is I don’t think you all have seen him in the ring with someone like him before. You all have not seen him in the ring before with someone who possesses all of those things. The speed, the quickness, the power, the intelligence, the mental fortitude, the dog, the fight. The truth is that I have all of those things. The truth is that it takes all of those things to beat the guy called ‘The Truth.’ The truth is, I am prepared to do those things to beat this guy and give him his first loss and finally become the unified champion in the welterweight division, which we don’t have right now.

“The truth is, I believe in myself. The truth is, I will be ready September 28 at STAPLES Center. The truth is, I am extremely excited that it will be at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. I have never fought there before. You guys asked me where I wanted to go, I say Las Vegas or Brooklyn because I have been there before. I even said Dallas because it was a great promotion when he did it against Mikey Garcia. But the truth is, I would love to fight in STAPLES and I can’t wait to get there.

“The truth is you all are going to have to wait until September 28 to see what goes down. But I am telling you the truth right now, I will leave that ring as the unified champion.

“He knows I’m a dog and have plenty of heart. I have heart to give and he knows I’m bringing all of it. He’s saying there’s going to be a man down, but I’m not focused on that. I’m focused on being prepared. I know he thinks in some ways he can make it an easy fight, but trust me, me and my team are looking at the exact same thing. No surprises on September 28 when I knock him out, it’s been said.”

DAVID BENAVIDEZ

“I’m thankful to my team for allowing me to be in this fight. It’s going to be an amazing card with Errol Spence and Shawn Porter, two of the biggest welterweight stars in boxing right now. I get to co-headline the pay-per-view and I also get to go fight for my title back, which is something that I have wanted since I lost it.

“I’ve worked extremely hard to get to this point in my life. I’m only 22 years old and I’m fighting for my second world title, so everyone knows I’m very talented. People want to see me because I have exciting fights. I feel like I could be that next star, because I’m bringing that old school boxing back and knocking people out. If I’m not knocking them out, I’m beating them up the whole fight.

“Anthony is a tough fighter. He’s a fighter that I want to go against to not only show my fans but to show myself I’m the best in the division in the world today. There are so many good fights in my weight division. But right now there’s just a lot of opportunities in front of me, so I’m going to keep working hard and showing the fans and everyone that I am the best.

“I am very excited and motivated. Anthony Dirrell is a rugged tough fighter and a veteran in this sport. I have been watching him since I was 13 years old. This is a fight that I really want and I know I can go in there and really dominate and I am going to do that in spectacular fashion. I will knock Anthony Dirrell out.”

DERRICK JAMES, Spence’s Trainer

“I am very happy to be here on this special occasion. This is one step closer to Errol Spence’s personal goal that I plan to help him get. He wants to be the undisputed welterweight champion of the world and this is another move towards that.

“We have a very formidable champ in Shawn Porter, who is a very tough rugged fighter and we look forward to the challenge. We know what he brings and that he will have a great strategy and game plan. I know that he has a great trainer in his father helping him.

“I look forward to putting together an amazing game plan. It is my goal to help my fighter be the man that he wants to be. He wants to be the IBF world champion as well as the WBC world champion and we are heading towards the WBA and anything else, and my job is to help him do that. That’s what we are in for and we are really happy to be here.”

KEN PORTER, Porter’s Father & Trainer

“It feels good to be here. Shawn has done everything I have asked him to over the course of the last eight or nine weeks. All we needed was a date and location.

“Errol Spence is a great fighter and he has a great trainer. I have been a fan of Errol Spence as long as he’s been boxing. I have been up against him, been with him and I knew one day he would be a world champion. And if he recalls, we had a conversation a few years ago that he and Shawn would probably fight. When Errol is not fighting Shawn Porter, I am the biggest Errol Spence fan.

“They gave him the name ‘The Truth’ but I knew that a long time ago. He is definitely ‘The Truth,’ he always has been. So it’s up to us, Team Porter, my son Shawn Porter, my coaches and all of us to change everything that has already been said. To change the perception of what is going to happen that night. I believe we can do it. We have the team to do it. I have the fighter to do it and it’s a great challenge.

“It’s the biggest challenge of Shawn’s career but this is why we box. This is why we fight. Everybody can say what they want but the only thing that matters is fight night. When it’s over with then we will know.

“I am looking forward to this. We have great fight in front of us. This is what it takes to make great fighters. These guys can make each other great. This is for the legacy.”

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For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepageand www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

LOS ANGELES (July 20, 2019) – Welterweight world champions collide when IBF Champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. clashes with WBC Champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter in a massive 147-pound title unification match headlining a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View on Saturday, September 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The co-feature of the evening will pit WBC Super Middleweight Champion Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell against unbeaten former champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavidez in an explosive 168-pound showdown.

Tickets for the event go on sale Monday, July 22 at 12 p.m. PT and can be purchased at AXS.com.

“Errol Spence Jr. versus Shawn Porter in a welterweight unification match brings to mind some of the great 147-pound clashes of the past – Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Kid Gavilan, Leonard vs. Hearns or Whitaker vs. Chavez,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “Both men are in their primes and both like to apply pressure. With that clash of styles, something has to give. In the co-feature, Anthony Dirrell doesn’t want to give up the title and David Benavidez wants it back. Played out before an electric crowd at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and headlining a PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View, this show has instant classic written all over it.”

Spence vs. Porter represents a major step forward in the quest to find the best 147-pound boxer on the planet. Spence has declared that anyone who wants to make that claim will have to come through him. Porter has already faced the some of the biggest names in the division, including Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, and will make Spence back up his boast.

The unbeaten Spence (25-0, 21 KOs) is a young, powerful welterweight who vaulted to the top of the welterweight scene with a punishing 11th round knockout victory over Kell Brook for the IBF championship in front of Brook’s hometown fans in Sheffield, England in 2017. Fighting out of Desoto, Texas, Spence has successfully defended the title three times. Most recently he scored a unanimous decision victory over three-division world champion Mikey Garcia in a PBC on FOX Pay-Per-View show before a hometown crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on March 16.

“It’s going to be a very exciting fight,” said Spence. “Shawn is never in a boring fight and I always entertain. It will be a ‘Fight of the Year’ type fight because our styles mesh. Shawn Porter is a guy who tries to rough you up. That’s what he’s always done. With Yordenis Ugas he tried to box and he said he didn’t like that style. He said he is going back to his original style. If he brings that style to me, it’s going to be a great fight because I’m going to bring it right back to him.”

The 31-year-old Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) is a two-time welterweight champion whose high-pressure style has served him well in his rise in the 147-pound division. Born in Akron, Ohio and now living in Las Vegas, Porter won the IBF welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Devon Alexander in 2013. He lost the title, which Spence now has, to Kell Brook by a majority decision in 2014. Porter moved back into the championship ranks with a unanimous decision victory over Danny Garcia for the vacant WBC title in 2018. He successfully defended the title with a split decision victory over Yordenis Ugas in March on FOX.

“There haven’t been too many fights as a professional that I’ve been this excited about,” said Porter. “I was really excited about the Danny Garcia fight and I’m really excited about this one. Ever since Spence got a belt, I really circled this fight on my calendar. Preparation is the key. I think I have everything it takes to beat Errol Spence. I’m very confident and my team is confident in what I have to do on September 28. We’ll be ready.”

Dirrell vs. Benavidez promises to be a hotly contested battle for the WBC Super Middleweight title. Dirrell is a two-time WBC 168-pound world champion and will bring experience, while Benavidez will bring his high-octane style.

The 34-year-old Dirrell (33-1-1, 24 KOs) won the WBC title for the first time with a unanimous decision over Sakio Bika in 2014. The native of Flint, Michigan lost the title the next year to Badou Jack by majority decision. He put together six straight victories after that loss to get back into position to fight for the championship again. He won the title with a technical decision victory over Avni Yildirim in February on FS1. Dirrell is the younger brother of Andre Dirrell, who won a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team in 2004.

“I’m going to work my butt off, putting in extra hours in the gym, because this is one of the toughest opponents I’ve ever fought,” Dirrell said. “He’s young and he’s tough. But I’m more than ready for anything that he can bring. I bring an exciting fight. He knows that. The world knows that. He can talk, but nothing matters but what happens in the ring. I wanted this fight to be out west because I will fight anybody anywhere. It’s only two people in the ring and we’re going to give a good entertaining fight for the fans.”

Benavidez (21-0, 18 KOs) won the WBC title with a split decision victory over Ronald Gavril in 2017. Fighting out of Phoenix, Arizona, Benavidez successfully defended the title with a more convincing unanimous decision over Gavril in the rematch four months later. The 22-year-old returned to the ring to score an impressive knockout victory over veteran J’Leon Love in March on the Spence vs. Garcia PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View.

“I’m looking forward to reclaiming my WBC belt in my next fight against Anthony Dirrell,” said Benavidez. “This fight is overdue and I guarantee I will be ready for whatever he brings to the ring. The fans are really going to enjoy this one.”

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepageand www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.David

By Norm Fraunheim-

He’s been Pac-Man and Congressman. Honorific titles and belted ones are all part of his resume. He been called just about everything, including a few that are four-letters long. Hey, nobody wins them all, and Senator Manny Pacquiao hasn’t. He has heard it all, and some would say done it all.

But an eight-time champion in boxing’s various weight classes and a two-time Filipino office-holder is not finished. His comeback continues July 20 against Keith Thurman. Maybe, we shouldn’t be surprised. Pacquiao’s evident generosity and his day job as a Filipino politician seemingly needs an inexhaustible revenue stream. That means boxing. It’s what he has known for just about as long as he’s been alive.

It fed him when he was a starving teenager fighting for a few pesos on Filipino streets. Then, it made him rich enough to run for office. For a couple of years, he was one of the highest-earning athletes in the world.

Of course, he is back for more and he’ll be there for as long as his dangerous craft produces the kind of money he couldn’t get anywhere else. But here’s reason to fear the second part of that equation.  The bigger the bucks, the bigger danger.

By all accounts, Pacquiao will collect a $20-million guarantee against Thurman in a PBC bout at Las Vegas MGM Grand. That’s more than enough money to convince Pacquiao to seek some more if he beats Thurman. Will he? Maybe. Can he? Definitely. At last check, Pacquiao is a slight underdog to Thurman, who is about a decade younger than the 40-year-old Filipino.

But odds for this welterweight fight are hard to judge, despite Thurman’s bold words.  He has promised to end Pacquiao’s career in much the same way that the Filipino finished Oscar De La Hoya’s long run in a 2008 stunner. Actually, Thurman has done more than promise. He’s gone biblical.

“I know he likes to quote Bible verses,’’ Thurman said to his elder this week during promotional stops in New York and Los Angeles. “So, I’ll let you know:

“He’s getting crucified.’’

Maybe, but don’t bet on it, not after Thurman’s uninspiring performance in winning a majority decision over Josesito Lopez January 26 in his first bout in nearly two years. Maybe, it was just inertia, the so-called rust from extended inactivity.  Still, the bout left question about whether the welterweight called One Time was beyond prime time because of injuries.

To be fair, it’s also hard to judge Pacquiao. He beat Adrien Broner in his last outing January 19. But Broner didn’t throw many more punches than a ring post. He posed and postured. In terms of aggression and willingness to fight, Pacquiao looked good. But Broner offered nothing. It was an exhibition of a Pacquiao still mobile and quick. But it wasn’t a fight.

It’s hard to say what might happen if the “One Time” Thurman shows up. He might connect with Pacquiao’s jaw the way Juan Manuel Marquez did in that stunning 2012 KO.  If so, he might be doing Pacquiao a favor. For now, there’s no sign that Pacquiao will ever get a rematch with a guy closer to his age. Pacquiao keeps mentioning Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him in the much-hyped revenue record-setter in 2015.

But Mayweather has not said or done anything that indicates he’s interested. Like him or not, Mayweather is still the smartest guy in the room.   

Without the Mayweather possibility, a Pacquiao victory puts him in line for Errol Spence Jr., the PBC star who scored a dominant decision over pound-for-pound contender Mikey Garcia in March. Spence might not be the world’s most skilled welterweight. From this perspective, the most varied skillset at 147 pounds still rests in Terence Crawford’s dangerous hands. But that’s a different argument for a different day.

There’s no debate about size and power. Spence has more of that than anybody in the division, more than enough to really hurt Pacquiao. It’s not worth the risk, no matter how big the reward. 

By Norm Frauenheim-

Bob Arum threw a rhetorical combo this week, intriguing because of the timing and significant because it further heightened talk about a Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. fight.

It’s hard to know whether a buzz on all of the various digital platforms translates into real momentum for a fight that has rapidly risen to the top of the public-wish list. If it was an early move in a play to make the fight happen, however, it was a good one.

On Monday, Arum tweeted:

@ErrolSpenceJr said that he is ready to fight @terencecrawford. We are ready to do that next, once Bud is successful against @amirkingkhan on April 20. It’s what fight fans want. Al, should I call you or will you call me? @premierboxing

12:05 PM – 25 Mar 2019

On Tuesday, Arum confirmed that the tweet — and message to PBC’s Al Haymon — was his own during a conference call before introducing Crawford as the successor to one of the greatest names in welterweight history.

“Forty years ago, I promoted the great welterweight of that time, Sugar Ray Leonard, and now, 40 years later, I have the honor of promoting the successor to Sugar Ray Leonard, Terence Crawford,’’ Arum said on the call to promote Crawford’s title defense against Amir Khan on April 20 in an ESPN pay-per-view bout at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Arum, a promoter who understands that hyperbole sells, generated some predictable arguments. That was the idea, of course. To wit: If Crawford is indeed the successor to Leonard, does that mean he is better than the welterweight Arum didn’t mention? Better than Floyd Mayweather Jr.? Better than the retired welterweight who sells himself and T-shirts as TBE, The Best Ever?

A fight against Spence is the only way to answer those questions, a few among many. Making it happen, however, is as problematic as ever. Arum’s Top Rank and Haymon’s PBC mock instead of talk. If Arum can generate some serious momentum on social media, however, the subsequent money will presumably be enough to lure even bitter rivals to the table.

For now, Spence versus PBC welterweight Shawn Porter appears to be more realistic. It’s easier for PBC to keep it in house. Also, it’s a fight that makes money. Increasingly, however, it’s beginning to look as if there is no moneymaker out there bigger than Crawford-Spence. Spence has already done his part, attracting a crowd of more than 47,000 around a ring on top of the Dallas Cowboys home field at AT&T Stadium. Spence asserted his own claim on a spot in the long succession of welterweight greats with a dominant performance against an overmatched and undersized Mikey Garcia.

After a scorecard shutout of Garcia on March 16, Spence addressed all of the PBC possibilities, including Keith Thurman and Porter. Then, he was asked about Crawford.

“We can do him, too,’’ Spence said.

Now, it’s up to Crawford to deliver – and deliver with an exclamation point – against Khan, who has a slick skillset, yet a chin that has repeatedly betrayed and beaten him. Guess in this corner: Crawford’s smarts and dynamic versatility will methodically search for that chin, find it and beat Khan in a stoppage that will further fuel the talk that continued this week with Arum’s combo.

The looming Spence question was inevitable during Tuesday’s call. Khan addressed it. Crawford was asked about it.

“There is a lot of talk about Crawford with Spence, who just came off a fight,’’ Khan said. “All of those people should be talking about Spence against me. I’m not just a number. I know when I have to turn it on. I can turn it on. Maybe in previous fights, I won the fight, but maybe I didn’t look the best. But I know I belong at the level of both.

“I am one of those fighters that — if I am fighting a guy that is supposed to be at the top of his game — that will bring me to the top of my game and bring the best out of me. If Crawford is talking about maybe that fight happening and overlooking me, it’s going to be a big shock. I’m going to be ready.’’

Crawford heard him and promised not to overlook him, in part perhaps because he knows Khan’s long reach and quick hands can give him trouble, especially in the early rounds. But Crawford, who is as smart as he is dangerous, knows something else, too. Khan still has name recognition. Garcia was too small to be a welterweight, but the lightweight champ gave Spence a victory over a big name. Khan’s skillset might be fading, but his name is not. Like Garcia was for Spence, Khan represents a name that can further embellish Crawford’s resume and feared reputation.

“Of course, it is makeable,’’ Crawford said when asked about a Spence bout. “I believe it would be the biggest fight in the welterweight division. But like you said, I have this fight against Amir Khan. After the fight, we can talk about Errol Spence and Al Haymon and Top Rank doing business together. But right now, I am not even thinking or worried about Errol Spence.

“…I am never going to be complacent. I know about the threats that he brings into the ring and the troubles that I can have if I overlook Amir Khan. He’s got everything to gain, so we have to take this fight real serious because the fights that slip out of a fighters’ hands happen when they think the fight is in the bag and it didn’t even start yet. We are going into the fight 110 percent focused and ready for the best Amir Khan come fight night.’’

A fight night that might help set the stage for the biggest welterweight fight in years.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the Errol Spence Jr. – Mikey Garcia did around 360,000 Pay-Per-View buys.

The source said the sales figure is likely to move closer to 380,000 with an outside chance to touch 400,000 buys with numbers from cable operators still being tallied. At 360,000 buys, the $75 pay-per-view (and closer to $85 for the high-definition broadcast) grossed at least $27 million domestically.

A Fox Sports spokesman declined to comment and said there would be no official announcement of the pay-per-view total.

That would be considered a home run for the Premier Boxing Champions event, which exceeded the roughly 325,000 buys generated by the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight world title fight on Dec. 1 and would be close to the approximately 400,000 buys generated by the welterweight world title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Adrien Broner on Jan. 19, both of which were PBC events carried by Showtime PPV.

Las Vegas (March 26, 2019) – IBF Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr., has confirmed that he will appear, have a booth and hold a Meet & Greet with his fans at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 5th Annual Box Fan Expo on Saturday May 4, 2019 from 10am to 5pm, during Cinco De Mayo weekend. The Boxing Expo will also coincide with the highly anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez vs Danny Jacobs, that will take place later that evening at the T-Mobile Arena.

Spence Jr. will make his 2nd appearance at this years’ Expo and will be signing gloves, photos, personal items and also have merchandise for sale for fans to enjoy. Boxing Fans will have an opportunity to also take pictures with this Boxing Superstar also known as the “The Truth” at his ERROL SPENCE JR. & MAN DOWN PROMOTIONS Booth. More info at: http://esjthetruth.com/

Spence joins Marco Antonio Barrera, Mia St,John, Juan Manuel Marquez, Vinny Paz, Devin Haney, Earnie Shavers, Al Bernstein, Michael Spinks, WBC, Erik Morales, James Toney and Jessie Vargas as an early commitment to this year’s Box Fan Expo, with many more Top Boxing stars to be announced.

About Errol Spence Jr.
Spence is considered by many today as the new face of boxing and the pound for pound king, after his latest phenomenal win and memorable performance versus previously undefeated 4 division champion Mikey Garcia, in front of a 48,000 thousand electrifying crowd at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

As an amateur Spence Jr. won three consecutive United States national championships and represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics, where he reached the quarter-finals; all in the welterweight division. As a professional, Spence Jr. has held the IBF welterweight title since 2017, when he traveled to Sheffield, England, in May of that year and dethroned Kell Brook with an 11th round KO Stoppage in front of 27,000 Brits.

About Box Fan Expo
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. Fans can expect to experience various interactions such as autograph and photos sessions, FaceOff with your favorite boxers, pictures with the Ring Card Girls, Live DJ Music, chance to win prizes, purchase merchandise and memorabilia from different booths Exhibitors, “ALL UNDER ONE ROOF”. You won’t want to miss this must-attend Expo!

Box Fan Expo has been a huge success with fans and boxing industry people. Many boxing stars have attended the last four Expos such as Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Marco Antonio Barrera, Roy Jones Jr., Andre Ward, Mikey Garcia, Marcos Maidana, Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Errol Spence Jr., Sergio Martinez, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Tim Bradley, Deontay Wilder, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Fernando Vargas, Zab Judah, James Toney, Jessie Vargas, Vinny Pazienza, Mia St.John, Leo Santa Cruz, Badou Jack, Terry Norris , Riddick Bowe , Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Danny Jacobs, Abner Mares, Jorge Linares, Brandon Rios and many more…

Exhibitors include: boxing promoters, gear, apparel, equipment, energy drinks, 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 and the boxing industry.

Tickets to the Box Fan Expo are available online at:
https://boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com

Throughout the next several weeks leading up to the event, there will be weekly updates 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

For More information on Box Fan Expo visit: http://www.boxfanexpo.com

Follow Box Fan Expo on Twitter and Instagram: @BoxFanExpo

Follow Box Fan Expo on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BoxFanExpo

By Bart Barry-

“It is a laborious madness and an impoverishing one, the madness of composing vast books – setting out in five hundred pages an idea that can be perfectly related orally in five minutes. The better way to go about it is to pretend those books already exist, and offer a summary, a commentary on them.” – Jorge Luis Borges

OKLAHOMA CITY – This proud city stands between Arlington, Texas, and Omaha, Neb., though not midway between; this capital of Oklahoma is nearer Arlington than Omaha, a geographical position whose shading made it quite right for Wednesday’s co-promoter / co-broadcaster confirmation announcement of what numbers have frozen our beloved sport in anticipation for nearly a month since PBC on Fox Sports’ welterweight co-champion Errol “The Truth” Spence (waltzing to a harmless decision over Manny Pacquiao in September) toed the pay-per-view line with Top Rank of ESPN’s welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (keelhauling Kell Brook in October). Spence won.

“We did it!” exclaimed promoter Richard Schaefer in Bricktown Brawlers Hall, the third-largest conference room on the second floor of the Cox Convention Center, a meeting place named after the Indoor Football League team that warmed Oklahomans’ hearts in bygone days. “Bob said we couldn’t, and I said, ‘Bob, we’ll see about that!’ And now we have, have not we, Bob?”

“This is a stupid exercise but necessary,” averred promoter Bob Arum from his seat at a makeshift dais before a sprawling purple, black and electric-blue canvas billboard filled with the announcement’s tagline: PURSES COLLIDE. “Only an idiot would take these numbers more seriously than the fights or fighters themselves, and since most of you are idiots who write for idiots, here we are.”

Such levity on Arum’s part did little to defuse what tensions mounted ceaselessly in a war of promotional trashtalk that began at ringside in AT&T Stadium after Spence-Pacquiao and grew only louder at the postfight presser in CHI Health Center after Crawford-Brook. His charge having lost by a few hundred thousand pay-per-viewers, Arum may have been eager to change the conversation to a proposed Crawford-Pacquiao tilt early in 2020, but gathered fans were having none of it.

“You come at the king, you best not miss,” said Lil Audi, a self-proclaimed broadcast aficionado in a blue Fox Sports ballcap who chose not to give his real name. “Dadunh-duna-DAH! My boys beat that ass.”

Though neither Spence nor Crawford was present at Wednesday’s event, representatives from both their networks as well as surprise representatives from both fighters’ former networks, Showtime and HBO respectively, gathered and lent gravity to the proceedings.

“‘The Truth’ is, Errol will always be family,” said a Showtime representative. “While we wish we could’ve done the Pacquiao fight, we understand the economics of the situation, and we’re thrilled to announce a Muhammad Ali documentary we’re working on for next spring.

“It’s a spoken-word mashup of Ali in others’ words, featuring such distinctive voices as Californication’s David Duchnovy and Dexter’s Michael C. Hall. And of course Showtime Championship Boxing’s own Paulie Malignaggi.”

Not to be outdone, HBO’s new Executive Vice President of Streaming Services put her own spin on the event.

“Words cannot express how happy we are to be out of this mess,” said Priyanka Malhotra. “I’m here, in large part, to ensure the stake we drove in boxing’s heart has not been dislodged by money or a detente between rival promoters. And yes, to announce ‘LJ on MJ’ – an original series that takes viewers on a tour of Michael Jordan’s favorite parts of New York City, produced by LeBron James.”

So much attention devoted to who attracted more pay-per-view buys, those observers formerly known as aficionados can be forgiven if they inadvertently and initially mistook Crawford’s round-three razing of Brook as more definitive than Spence’s keepaway scorecard-whiteout of Pacquiao. While Crawford’s predatory instinct and Brook’s inexplicable popularity in the U.K. otherwise might’ve combined for a win, the smart money, as they say, was ever on Spence.

“These fans who think they’re promoters never understand international buys,” said Arum, Wednesday. “They won domestic buys, whatever, but when the money is finally counted and Machiavelli is done keeping his enemies closer than his friends, we’ll see which fighter emerges with the better actual paycheck.

“But don’t expect the Swiss banker to throw another press conference about that number.”

“This is a win and a win for boxing,” replied Schaefer. “It’s a win because Errol Spence won more pay-per-view money. And it is also a win because Errol Spence will make even more money in his next fight, which we are thrilled to announce will not be with Terence Crawford.”

While old timers may scoff at boxing’s new fascination with numbers of viewers between fighters, rather than numbers of punches thrown, truth is, this fascination is hardly new.

“Reminds me of the Money Era,” said Lil Audi. “The haters were all ‘It’s bad for boxing if the two best don’t throw hands in their primes,’ but we got those Maidana fights outta Floyd, right, and we got JMM waxing Pac like Rain Dance.”

“Of course he names himself after a German car,” said Arum, when asked about those comments. “He’s an idiot.”

While serious fans are likely to remain fixated on the implications of Wednesday’s announcement for a halfyear to come, casual fans now understandably obsess over boxing’s flagship division. With no chance of Fury-Wilder 2 or Fury-Joshua or Joshua-Wilder in the foreseeable future, post-presser talk Wednesday shifted to broadcaster DAZN’s subscriber rate and a revenues-growth argument for ESPN+ charging more in 2020.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

By Norm Frauenheim-

It was a disappointing fight. A significant one, too.

Within the ropes, there’s really not much to say about Errol Spence Jr.’s blowout of Mikey Garcia last Saturday. It was forgettable. But it leaves an immediate impact. It can still be heard in the roaring echoes from that hard-to-ignore crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.

What’s next?

There’s no more relevant question in boxing or any other business for that matter. Spence’s dominant validation as a leading pound-for-pound contender created an ongoing buzz, an unmistakable demand for the biggest fight out there. Today, there’s a lot more debate about the pound-for-pound’s top spot than there is about the one fight everybody wants to see.

It is Spence-Terence Crawford.

Spence’s scorecard shutout of Garcia put it there and it will stay there for a while, or at least until boxing’s byzantine web of rival promoters and networks suffocates another landmark opportunity.

I’ve heard all the reasons why a potential welterweight classic won’t happen anytime soon. Truth is, I’ve heard those reasons for decades. Different names, different times, same reasons. I know them. Everybody among the more than 47,000 at AT&T Stadium knows them. Everybody in a pay-per-view audience projected to be between 300,000 and 400,000 for the Fox telecast of Spence-Garcia knows them.

Knows them ad nauseam.

The litany of why it won’t happen is all too familiar. It also explains why boxing stays on the fringe, where – to be sure – there’s still money to be made. Yes, Spence and PBC can stay busy through at least next year against Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and maybe Manny Pacquiao. But I’m guessing many in that AT&T Stadium crowd last Saturday would skip those dates. Spence beats all four and beats them predictably.

The biggest bucks are with the fights that belong on the biggest stage. For now, there’s only one of those bouts. It is Spence against Crawford, who figures to beat a faded Amir Khan on April 20. The rest of the welterweight division will probably avoid each of them. But they have each other and they have a stage waiting for it to happen. If anything, Spence-Garcia will be remembered for a major-league audience hungry for the big-league bout that should soon follow.

All the reasons to believe it won’t, however, are still in place, too. There are no signs that the rival promotions will ever get together on a deal. Spence is with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC); Crawford is with Top Rank. Never the twain shall meet, or at least it looks as if Spence and Crawford won’t until they’re past their primes or have been beaten a couple of times.

Imagine if the boxing business was as divided four decades ago as it is today. History might have been robbed of Sugar Ray Leonard’s 14-round stoppage of Thomas Hearns in 1981. Leonard was 25; Hearns was 23. They were in their primes and at their optimum weight, welter. It was an enduring classic, followed about eight years later in a thoroughly forgettable rematch.

I’m not suggesting that history would repeat itself with Spence-Crawford. Still, it has a chance, a chance to be a classic for a new generation of fans. But there is some urgency to doing it and doing it within the next couple of years. Crawford is 31 years old. Spence, who might soon outgrow the welterweight division, is 29.

Time to make some money. Maybe, some history, too. But it can only happen if the promoters take the time to talk to each other.

By Bart Barry-

ARLINGTON, Texas – Saturday in the middle of AT&T Stadium in the middle of the DFW metroplex welterweight titlist Errol Spence beat lightweight titlist Mikey Garcia 36-0 on official scorecards, 37-0 if you count one scorekeeper’s view of a latemiddle round. Accurate tallies, both.

It was a Spence masterpiece until the 11th round ended with Garcia still conscious. After that began the doubts, the narrative’s rewriting, after that began the deeper suspicion on his finest night Spence was not quite Bud Crawford, whose name should not be spoken.

Spence had not before faced an opponent of Garcia’s talent and craft, and Crawford still hasn’t and likely won’t, but Spence fought Garcia with a civility, a decency, a compassion, even, a quarter, finally, Crawford affords no opponent. This makes Spence a lighter soul, a more marketable product, a person you’d rather like to meet, but it makes him less of the one thing anyone reading this wants in his favorite prizefighter.

Indulge a thought experiment: What might Crawford have done otherwise, immediately before or after the 11th round? It’s in the eyes and where Crawford’d’ve set his. Not on the Garcia he was wounding with nearly every punch but on the Garcia manning the corner’s cotton. Crawford would’ve said with his eyes and voice, if his eyes were not emphatic enough, “Robert, I am going to spike your little brother till it spikes your conscience – I am going to break your will, not Mikey’s.”

Spence is everything most want in a prizefighter and promises many joys to come, but he is an athlete-specialist, not a predator. Would he be specialist enough to beat Crawford? I’m not sure he wouldn’t, but at ringside I was sure he would be until halfway through Saturday’s final round. He had a dispirited and physically reduced little man in front of him and an older brother trainer who’d floated the idea of flying the white feather eight minutes earlier, and instead of snatching consciousness with a proper dose of cruelty Spence went sweet on us.

My work is done here, he said, à la Money May; let’s use this time to prep the postfight interview and revel in my accomplishment. It was an acceptable and marketable thing to do, and if we’re honest, such relentfulness likely matchmade a payday with Manny Pacquiao (a man with enough bonedeep cruelty to steel via transfusion the entire PBC stable, lightweight to heavy), but it was disappointing to those know who what’s what.

It was a signature PBC fight in that sense. Little blood, gloves a bit too big. Safe boxing, as it were. There’s something still sanitized about PBC fare, an abiding sense, even at ringside, none of the anointed ones is in true danger. Mikey took the sort of sustained abuse that writes neurology whitepapers 20 years hence but suffered none of what gore’d make Fox Sports reconsider its recent investment.

Let’s precede the next turn like this: PBC has improved considerably its relationship with print media, largely by hiring retired newspapermen, and to imply writers were treated less than fantastically Saturday in AT&T Stadium would be inaccurate as it were ungrateful. But the outfit’s mysterious figurehead was invisible as usual and inaccessible as ever. And his absence brought a postfight thought like: He’s not a violent man, he doesn’t want violence in his life, and he signs fighters according to every criterion save savagery.

All the stable staples were ringside for the main: Floyd, a purple and bedizened toddler; AB, a gleeful rogue in pink, trailed by Gervonta and a greenhaired date; Leprechaun Shawn; Manny, declawed and spacey; the Brothers Charlo, lion tamers more than lions; Deontay, garishly garnished, unable to stop smiling. For edgy you had to look in the cheaper seats and see the elder Benavidez brother – but we know how Bud did him.

It was pleasantly safe the whole night. A better, more committed writer – hell, even this writer 10 years ago – might impart this was not as things should be, but again, the whole night was too pleasant to notice. PBC is a socioeconomic achievement in that sense, too, and an intentional one, one suspects. To have so many men whom the (white) American imagination makes so dangerous assembled in a small space, at the center of which actual violence is the point, and have it blanketed by appreciable calm and fun was at least a part of Al Haymon’s original vision. For it could not be accidentally so.

It really was fun during the ringwalks, too. There’s nothing like the energy of the stadium ringwalk, tens of thousands of lubricated throats and psyches foreplayed into a froth by undercard mismatches and earsplitting technobeats, rising as one in the ecstasy of anticipated violence. Mikey’s mariachi production and glinting eye; Errol’s marching band; both men making a much longer walk through a crowd much longer assembled than anything a casino could host.

The main event that followed was nearer a dud than a classic, true, but that was attributable to every reason every one of us thought the hour the fight was announced and dutifully went about forgetting in the months that followed. Spence was quicker than the man Mikey prepared for; a regimen of adding weight and sparring weighty men did as it ever does, putting weight on Mikey’s chin, not his fists, but quickly it made perfect sense no sparring partner big or bigger than Spence would have the Texan’s reflexes – else that man would be a world champion, not a sparring partner. By round 3 it was not a question of whether Spence would beat the 147-pound Garcia 12 times of 10 but whether, in a hypothetical tilt for Mikey’s lightweight title, Spence wouldn’t be the favorite there as well, so much better were Errol’s reflexes and footwork and accuracy than Garcia’s.

What Spence revealed in Garcia was an excellent technician of exceptional power (below 140 pounds) whose skills were actually orthodox and basic as suspected. The lesser man in size and strength, precision and mobility, Mikey had, by round 9, nothing on which to depend but his whiskers and Spence’s mercy. And blessed he was with both.

While his older brother and protector, dullfaced and resigned, watched silently in the corner.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Follow all the action as Errol Spence Jr. defends the IBF Welterweight title against Mikey Garcia in a battle of undefeated stars.  The action kicks off at 8 PM ET / 7 PM PT with a 4 fight undercard featuring former Heavyweight champion Charles Martin taking on Gregory Corbin.  Chris Arreola battles Jean Pierre Augustin.  Luis Nery takes on McJoe Arroyo and David Benavidez battles J’Leon Love.

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED.  THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY.

Round 1:Left to body from Spence

Round 2 Left from Spence..1-2 from Garcia..Left to body..Jab from Spence..

Round 3 Left from Spence..Body shot..Left..Right from Garcia..Big left from Spence..left..Hard body shot..Staright left

Round 4 Straight left from Spence..2 jabs..2 shots..2 lefts..2 more lefts..uppercut..Body shot..Right from Garcia

Round 5 3 rights from Garcia..Good left from Spence..Hard left..Straight left..3 jabs..

Round 6 hard left and body shots from Spence..hard left and right…Hard right hook..Right from Garcia..Good body shot

Round 7  Left from Spence..

Round 8 Hard left from Spence..Left to body from Garcia..Combination from Spence..another..Hard left..Spence outlanding Garcia 189-52

Round 9 Straight left..Uppercut on inside from Spence..Straight left…Jab..hard 4 punch combination..Hard jab..Body shot..2 jabs..

Round 10 3 punch combination from Spence…Left to body..Right hook..left inside..hard left..right from Garcia..

Round 11 Spence landing a heavy barrage of Punches…Garcia looks beaten…Hard shots from Spence..Spence with a big round..Spence out landing Garcia 318-67

Round 12 Left from Spence..Straight left…Good left.combination to head and body..Hard left…. PUNCHES 345-1082 For Spence  75-406 for Garcia

120-107….120-108 for ERROL SPENCE

Round 1 Left from Benavidez…RighBody shot from Love..Hard left rocks Love..hes in trouble on the ropes..Right..3 punch combination

Round 2 Benavidez landing in the corner..HARD RIGHT..LOVE IS HURT ON THE ROPES AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Right from Nery..

Round 2 Right to body from Arroyo,,Hard right hook from Nery..Jab..Body combination…SHORT LEFT UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES ARROYO..Hard combination on the ropes..

Round 3 Hook from Nery…Jab…RIGHT HOOK AND DOWN GOES ARROYO…Hard jab..

Round 4 Body combination from Nery…BIG COMBINATION…DOWN GOES ARROYO..COMBINATION ON ROPES DOWN GOES ARROYO

Round 1 Straight left from Augustin..Left and right..

Round 2 Augustin lands left…Jab from Arreola..

Round 3 Hard right from Arreola..Hard right..Augustin wobbled..Jab..HUGE COMBINATION AND DOWN GOES AUGUSTIN..VICIOUS COMBINATION ROCKS AUGUSTIN…FIGHT STOPPED

Round 1: Left from Martin..Right from Corbin..2 Jabs from Martin..Right from Corbin

Round 2 Martin lands a left to the body…Good left..Hard left..

Round 3 Hard left from Martin…Left to body..Hard left…Double left..Right hook..

Round 4 CORBIN DEDUCTED A POINT FOR A LOW BLOW.. Martin cut over left eye..Right Hook from Martin and left…Cut from accidental headbutt

Round 5 Straight left from Martin..CORBIN DEDUCTED ANOTHER POINT FOR LOW BLOW..

Round 6 Good left from Martin…Hard left..ANOTHER LOW BLOW–POINT DEDUCTION FOR CORBIN..

Round 7 Left from Martin

Round 8 Right hook from Martin…CORBIN DISQUALIFIED FOR A LOW BLOW

ARLINGTON, Tex. ––Truth is stitched in red across the waistband.

It’s no lie.

Errol Spence Jr. delivered truth in a jab, power and quickness again and again over 12 rounds that left Mikey Garcia looking exhausted, undersized and overmatched in a Fox pay-per-view bout in front of a crowd of more than 47,000 at AT&T Stadium.

It was every bit the one-sided massacre Spence promised, or perhaps threatened, a few days before opening bell.

“They said I wasn’t too smart,’’ Spence (25-0, 22 KOs) said after retaining the International Boxing Federation’s version of the welterweight title. “They said I couldn’t box. You saw it today. I can punch and I can box.’’

Truth is, Spence could pretty much do whatever he wanted against Garcia, a former featherweight champion and a current lightweight champ who was fighting at 147 pounds for only the second time.  On the scorecards, Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) didn’t win a round. The judges scored it 120-108, 120-107, 120-108, all for Spence.

“He really is the Truth,’’ said Garcia, who was Spence’s equal only on the pay scale. According to contracts filed with the Texas Commission, both fighters collected a minimum of $3 million.

Garcia took some solace in the fact he was never knocked down by power shots set up by a Spence jab that consistently rocked back his head.

“I was able to hold on,’’ said Garcia, who said he talked his brother and trainer Robert out of stopping the fight in eighth or ninth round.

For Garcia, it not clear what’s next. He took a risk in jumping up in weight to fight the biggest man in the welterweight division. He could go down in weight to defend his 135 pound title.

For Spence, the victory further enhances his pound-for-pound  credentials. May, it also put him in line to fight Manny Pacquiao, who was at ringside.

“It would be an honor for me to fight him next,’’ Spence said.

From his ringside seat, Pacquiao said:

“Why not?’’

The why-not reasons were there, again and again. Don’t doubt Spence. There’s never much Truth in boxing. For now, however, he is the undisputed version.

David Benavidez roars back with second-round stoppage of J’Leon Love

It was called a comeback. It was that and more.

Luis Nery says hello to U.S. market with sensational stoppage

Mexican bantamweight Luis Nery’s introduced himself to the U.S. market with a performance that will created an appetite for more.

Arreola TKO winner

Chris Arreola opened the Fox pay-per-view telecast of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium with a stoppage. Call it bang for the buck.

Charles Martin gets victory in low blow DQ

It was a low blow. Actually, there were four of them, if you were counting. A heavyweight bout that could have been stopped for boredom after a couple of rounds was stopped in the eighth when Gregory Corbin of Dallas (15-1, 9 KOs) was disqualified for his fourth low blow. Charles Martin (25-3-1, 23 KOs), of Saint Louis, got the victory in the final bout before the start of the pay-per-view telecast of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium. 

Lindolfo  Delgado, a young super-lightweight from Mexico,  added to his rep as prospect with a powerful first-round knockout of James Roach (5-2, 5 KOs) of Grove, OK, in a swing bout on the pay-per-view portion of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium.

Oh, Brother: Marsellos Wilder flashes Deontay’s power for first-round stoppage

Marsellos Wilder is a lot like his better-known brother, Deontay, the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight champ. He punches wildly. He punches powerfully. In the Wilder family, power prevails and it did again Saturday with Marsellos (4-1, 3 KOs) scoring a first-round stoppage of Mark Sanchez (0-3) of Midland, Tex., on the Spence-Garcia undercard at AT&T Stadium

Featherweight Fernando Garcia rolls to 12-0 record with KO win

Dallas super-lightweight Rashidi walks down, breaks down foe for sixth-round stoppage

No stopping San Antonio bantamweight Jesse Rodriquez in TKO win

Milwaukee super-welterweight wins split decision. Anybody for a rematch?

Bantamweight Morales flashes more of everything in scoring unanimous decision

Oklahoma City bantamweight Aaron Morales (6-0, 3 KOs) employed quicker hands, quicker feet and was more accurate from more angles angle, scoring a unanimous decision over Fernando Robles (2-1) of McAllen, Tex., in the fifth bout of the Spence-Garcia featured card.

In the card’s fourth bout, the judges — one of the few people at AT&T Stadium to actually to be in their seats — went back to work, all three scoring a four-round cruiserweight bout for Adrian Taylor (9-1, 4 KOs) of Mesquite, Tex., over William Quintana (7-13, 3 KOs) of Kearney, Neb.

Third bout ends in second-round TKO

The card’s third bout didn’t last much longer. Luis Coria (11-2, 6 KOs), light from Moreno Valley, Calif., finished it with two rounds, scoring a swift stoppage of Omar Garcia (6-8, 1 KOs) of Monterrey, Mex.

Second bout on Spence-Gracia card ends in quick stoppage

There were only echoes at empty AT&T Stadium and one the biggest was caused by Dallas super-middleweight Burley Brooks, who who went crashing to the canvas head-over heels in first-round stoppage delivered by Randy Mast (2-0, 1 KO) of Springfield, MO in the second fight of 17 on card featuring Spence-Garcia.

The corner side of Team Garcia went to work early.

Robert Garcia, Mikey Garcia’s brother and trainer, had to hope the show would end as it opened. It began at empty AT&T Stadium with Garcia-trained Robert Rodriguez (3-0) of San Antonio, winning a unanimous decision over California super-flyweight Fernando Ibarra (0-1) in an afternoon matinee.

About five hours and 16 fights later, Mikey Garcia would face welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in a Fox pay-per-view televised bout.

By Norm Frauenheim-

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Home is where the chants are.

At least, that’s what Mikey Garcia hoped he was hearing Friday at AT&T Stadium during the weigh-in for his bid to upset welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. Saturday in a ring near the middle of the Dallas Cowboys homefield and beneath a video screen that makes everybody look bigger than life.

This is Texas, after all. Nothing small here, including the hometown fighter who has all of the measurable advantages. Spence, who grew up about 20 miles from Dallas in DeSoto, is three-and-a-half inches taller and has a four-inch advantage in reach.

At 146.25 pounds, Spence was only three-quarters of a pound heavier than Garcia at Friday’s formal trip to the scale. But that difference is expected to grow by multiple pounds by opening bell for the main event on a Fox pay-per-view card (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET).

Spence is expected to be at least a middleweight, and perhaps five pounds heavier at 165. He could be 10 to 15 pounds heavier than Garcia, who hopes to be 155 at fight time. In other words, Garcia, a former featherweight champion, could be making only his second appearance at welterweight against a fighter who could be just three pounds short of super-middleweight.

It all adds up to a very steep challenge for Garcia, who is fighting to become the third ex-featherweight champ to win a significant welterweight belt. Henry Armstrong is the first to accomplish the feat. Manny Pacquiao, who is expected to be at ringside Saturday, is the second.

A harder factor to measure, however, is the crowd. So far, it looks as if it might favor Garcia, who grew up in Oxnard, Calif. At a media workout Tuesday and again at the weigh-in Friday, the chants were one sided, al for “Mikey, Mikey.’’

He acknowledged the crowd and its support for him repeatedly. He held up five fingers, symbolic of the fifth world title he is seeking. His trainer and brother, Robert, wore a T-shirt that said: “Because He’s Mikey.’’ That message included an inherent assumption, one that gives an edge to Garcia for his smarts and fundamental tactical skill.

A crowd, predicted to be at least 35,000, might agree with that. The chants throughout the week before opening bell suggest that visitor will get most of the cheers from Dallas’ big Mexican-American community.

But will that only motivate Spence, the International Boxing Federation’s champ, to fight for his own turf? In the end, it his town. It’s his belt.

After Spence stepped off the scale Friday, he looked at the crowd and said:

“I’m going to eff him up.’’

Then crowd couldn’t hear him. They were chanting Mickey.

ARLINGTON, TX. (March 14, 2019) – Fighters competing in televised undercard action this Saturday leading up to the Errol Spence vs. Mikey Garcia PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event went face-to-face Thursday at the final press conference before they enter the ring at AT&T Stadium.

Competing on the pay-per-view undercard that begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT are unbeaten former champion David Benavidez and veteran contender J’Leon Love, who meet in a 10-round super middleweight fight, undefeated former champion Luis Nery and former world champion McJoe Arroyo, who battle in 10-rounds of bantamweight action, and heavyweight fan-favorite Chris Arreola and unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin, who meet in a 10-round showdown.

Former heavyweight champion Charles Martin will take on Dallas-native Gregory Corbin in PBC Prelims on FS1 beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Tickets for Saturday’s event, which is promoted by Man Down Promotions and Garcia Promotions, in association with TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

Here is what the press conference participants had to say Thursday from AT&T Stadium:

DAVID BENAVIDEZ

“We’ve trained very hard for this fight. Without my father Jose, I wouldn’t be here in this great position. I’m excited to fight at this stadium in front of all these fans.

“I’m looking forward to doing the same thing to J’Leon that I did to Rogelio ‘Porky’ Medina. ‘Porky’ knocked him out, so you know what I’m going to do to Love.

“I trained for J’Leon Love like he was a world champion. I’ve been working with champions this whole training camp, so I’m ready to go in there and take him out.

“I’m going to leave the fans entertained. I know that there are a lot of things that I can exploit in Love’s game. I’m going to be way faster and tougher than anyone he’s faced.

“I’ve felt like I was at home all week. I’ve had amazing support and I’m ready. My weight is on point. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I have to capitalize on it.

“I’ve been on sidelines and seen other people get their glory. Love’s time has passed already. I’ve seen him fight when I was a teenager and I feel like I have to send a message of what I’m going to do to J’Leon Love so that I can send a message to the rest of the division”.

J’LEON LOVE

“This is a great card. Benavidez has been a great champion. I’ve had my days in this game and not everyone believes in me. But that’s okay, because I believe in myself. I’ll show everyone why on Saturday.

“Not everyone knows what I’ve been through in my life. I’ve had to face some demons and I conquered them. This fight, is another demon that I have to conquer.

“Mentally I’m in a way better place for this fight than against Peter Quillin. I’m in there with a great former champion with a lot of talent. You have to be mentally prepared. We’re going to make this a great fight.

“A lot of us come from nothing, who would have ever thought we’d have a fan base? I’m from a small town in Detroit and having fan support, it makes me love the sport even more.

“This is an amazing stage and opportunity for me. To be in the co-main under the great main event, I’m going to take full advantage. I’m going to display my talents and live up to the expectations of this fight.

“I’m going to come and do what I’m supposed to do. I’m going to give everyone an exciting fight. This isn’t just a regular fight. I’m going to give a great effort on Saturday.”

LUIS NERY

“I want to thank everyone for making this possible. I have a tough opponent who comes to fight and I’m going to be at my very best on Saturday.

“I’m going to show everyone that I’m a stronger fighter than ever. I’m faster too and better than I’ve ever been heading into a fight.

“I’m ready to prove why I’m the best bantamweight in the world. Saturday is going to be a statement to all the other fighters.

“I prepared very well for this fight and I’m very motivated. I’m going to knock Arroyo out in six rounds or less. I know what I can bring and he won’t be able to sustain it.

“Fans are going to see a great fight. We’re continuing the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry and we’re going to give everybody a war.”

MCJOE ARROYO

“Everyone knows my opponent is strong and that Mexico vs. Puerto Rico brings satisfying fights for the fans. I’m going to give everyone what they deserve on Saturday, a great night of boxing.

“This would be a big win for me, I’m hungry and I know he’s hungry. I want to be world champion again and I know this fight gets me closer to that.

“I respect whatever my opponent says, he has to believe in himself and believe in myself. If he thinks he’s going to knock me out, then he better of trained hard. Because if he didn’t, I’ve got a surprise for him.

“Every time I go into the ring I want to give the fans a great night of boxing. I’m going to try to have fun in the ring and show my talent that night.”

CHRIS ARREOLA

“It’s an honor to be here. To fight on this big stage, from my first fight being in a tent in front of 150 people, it’s really special. I can’t wait for Saturday.

“I trained hard for Saturday because I know Augustin is here to make a statement. He’s not going to do that against me. Los Angeles is going to get his win and his 0 has got to go.

“It’s an honor to see the reception I’ve gotten from the fans here in Dallas. I’m nobody without the fans. The fact that they still remember me is special. At the end of the day my fans can’t get in the ring with me. It’s just me and Augustin and we’re going to give the fans a great fight.

“I have to take care of business Saturday. If I can do that, I’ll be ready to face anybody. First of all, I have to get by Augustin.”

JEAN PIERRE AUGUSTIN

“I’d like to thank my team giving me the opportunity to fight on this card. This is a big event and great opportunity for me. This is the biggest stage I’ve been on and I know I have to take advantage.

“I’m ready to put on the performance of my lifetime. I’m in shape to put on that great performance. I’m from Boston and Chris is from Los Angeles, and we haven’t lost to Los Angeles once this year. It’s not going to start on Saturday.

“I’m getting myself mentally prepared to put on a boxing clinic. I know he’s going to be there in front of me. That’s what we prepared for the last 11-12 weeks. We know he’s coming straight for me and I’m excited.”

CHARLES MARTIN

“I’m thankful to be on this card. It’s a blessing. I’m here to do my thing on Saturday. When I’m in this mindset, nobody can beat me but myself.

“I know I’m going to be stronger and more skilled than this guy. I’m not overlooking him, but I’m going to show that he’s not on my level.

“I don’t try to be like anyone but myself. You’ll see the best of me on Saturday. I have an obstacle at hand and I’m going to get rid of him. Then we’ll look forward to what we have next. I’m not a man of words, I’m a man of action.”

GREGORY CORBIN

“It’s been a long time coming, and if anyone knows my story, they know why I’m saying that. March 16 is going to be my 4th of July. I can’t wait.

“I hope he’s not overlooking me. I’ve got something for him. He’s going to be in for a big shock on Saturday.

“This is very big for me and my community to be in this position. If you’ve ever watched a little bit of Riddick Bowe, a little Evander Holyfield and a little George Foreman, you’ll see all of them in my body on Saturday.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, Chairman & CEO of Ringstar Sports

“This is a historic event with FOX presenting this pay-per-view event. This will be the coronation in Dallas. On Saturday night we are going to find out who is pound for pound the best fighter in the world, Errol Spence Jr., or Mikey Garcia?

“It’s hard to even call this an undercard, because these are all main event guys. Arreola, Benavidez and Nery are three of the top Mexican fighters in the world and they’re all in very tough matchups.

“Luis Nery is in my opinion the best bantamweight in the world. Chris Arreola always puts on a show and we all know what David Benavidez is capable of.

“This is a home run or a touchdown of an undercard and all of those watching at home or in the stadium are in for a treat.”

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Order the PPV and visit PremierBoxingChampions.com for Fight Night Info and more on Errol Spence Jr. and Mikey Garcia.

Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidez battling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

About AT&T Stadium:
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.

By Norm Frauenheim

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Errol Spence Jr.’s poker face and impassive eyes reveal nothing. His body language says nothing. But there was a decided shift in Spence’s mood Wednesday with edgy words that were a sign of frustration, if not anger, at Mikey Garcia.

Blame it on a bad mood. Spence did exactly that during interviews after the last formal news conference on the floor near one end of the Dallas Cowboys home field at AT&T Stadium where they will fight Saturday night in a FOX pay-per-view bout.

But his mood wasn’t part of a foul weather front that blew into Dallas early Wednesday with 80 mile-per-winds, ominous thunder and sheets of stinging rain. Spence has just grown weary of a Garcia confidence expressed repeatedly and never with any hint of doubt.

“A one-sided massacre,’’ Spence finally said when asked how he thought the fight would go.

By then, it was evident who he thought would do the massacre.

And who would get massacred.

There are reasons to think he might be right. Spence is the bigger fighter, the biggest in the current welterweight division. Garcia, still the World Boxing Council’s 135-pound champion, is fighting at 147 pounds for only the second time. Spence, who is defending the International Boxing Federation’s welterweight belt for a third time, is at home. He grew up in DeSoto, a Dallas suburb.

Yet, Garcia talks as though he has all the advantages. The news conference’s moderator referred to Garcia’s proven tactical skill. Then, there was this question: Who is the most technical boxer you’ve faced?

Before Garcia could begin to exhale in an attempted answer, Spence said:

“I am.’’

Garcia has long believed his skillset is underrated. His brother and trainer, Robert Garcia, confirmed that Mikey had been sparring with partners as heavy as 180 pounds. All of them were surprised by his younger brother’s power.

“Errol doesn’t know, but he’ll find out,’’ Robert Garcia said.

Garcia’s unbeaten record (39-0, 30 KOs) is filled with examples of fighters who have become opponents. He mentioned that Wednesday and, again, Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) had another pointed counter.

“I’m not another opponent,’’ Spence said.

This one begged for a Mikey Garcia counter. Ever the craftsman, he delivered.

“Yes,’’ he said to Spence, “you will be another opponent on Saturday night.”

Mikey Garcia couldn’t help noticing that on Wednesday Spence had said a lot of things, many of them almost contradictory.

“I don’t know a lot of the things that might be going on in his head right now,’’ Mikey said in comment that suggested the Garcia camp might be gaining a psychological edge as opening bell approaches.

On Wednesday, Spence said he was ready for a 12-round fight. He also said he would be prepared to stop Garcia if the opportunity was there.

“Knock him out in three or four rounds, that’s a bonus,’’ said Spence, who hopes a victory will propel him to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings. He also wants to succeed Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the so-called face of the game.

To do that, he ‘ll have to make Mikey remember news reports that Robert didn’t want him to ask for a fight against Spence. Nevertheless, Mikey called out Spence before and after a victory over Robert Easter in June at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

“I’m going to prove that Mikey’s brother was right,’’ Spence said. “I’m going to make him wish he didn’t want this.’’

ARLINGTON, TX. (March 13, 2019) – Unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. and undefeated four-division champion Mikey Garcia went face-to-face at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Wednesday at the final press conference before they go toe-to-toe at the same venue this Saturday in a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event.

Spence and Garcia shared their thoughts on Saturday’s highly anticipated event and posed for photos for media in attendance ahead of this historic event.

Tickets for Saturday’s event, which is promoted by Man Down Promotions and Garcia Promotions, in association with TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

Here is what the press conference participants had to say Wednesday:

ERROL SPENCE JR.

“This is a dream come true fighting in my hometown at AT&T Stadium. I can’t wait to put on a great performance. Seeing Mikey’s face here today, it’s got me hungrier than ever to put on a great performance

“The size difference won’t matter. Skill for skill and talent for talent, I’m more dominant than him in every aspect. I’ll beat him at anything he wants to do. On paper he’s the toughest opponent to date, but once we get in the ring we’ll find out.

“I don’t think anyone has the power to knock me out. We don’t allow that kind of mentality into training camp. I hope he tries though.

“Mikey is supposed to think he’s going to win this fight. He called me out, so they obviously think that they see something. I’m glad he’s as confident as I am. I hope he keeps that same energy inside of the ring.

“Our training camp, we train for a hard 12 round fight. We prepare for a bruising fight. If I knock him out early, then that’s a bonus. We trained for the distance because we know anything can happen in a fight.

“I’m always calm, that’s just my demeanor. I could talk to Mikey Garcia in the locker room before the fight then come out and knock his head off. I’m always on go. I’m naturally like this. I’ve been ready to go for eight weeks. I’m tired of seeing him and I’m just ready for fight night.

“I can’t worry about what Mikey sees in me. I let my coach worry about it. Everyone thinks they see something looking on the outside, but it’s a lot harder once you’re in the ring.

“This win makes me pound-for-pound number one. Mikey has a great record and a big fan base and I feel like winning this fight turns me into a star. Everyone wants to take Floyd Mayweather’s place as the face of boxing, and this puts me on the right track to become the face of boxing and the best fighter in the world.

“This is a legendary fight. This is where we see what fighters are made of. There have been a lot of great fights when little guys came up and beat a bigger fighter. You can’t ever write off the little guy. This is going to be a hard fight.

“I know I’m the best fighter in the world and I’m going to show it Saturday night. I’m going to punish him and make him wish he took his brother’s advice to not take this fight.”

MIKEY GARCIA

“I have all the tools and all the skills needed to beat Errol Spence Jr. When it comes to timing, speed, reflexes and defense, you name it, I’m better.

“Here in Texas, it’s like a second home. I’ve won two world titles here. Having great fan support at the grand arrival was a special moment for me.

“I’ve got to go in there Saturday night and show why I picked this fight. I want to make history and this is the one that will get me there.

“I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to win this fight. We trained very hard. We can go 12 rounds for sure. But, if I get a chance to hurt my opponent, I’m definitely going to jump on him and get the knockout.

“Saturday night, Errol is going to find out why I picked this fight. All of my opponents say they don’t see anything special when they watch me, until they get into the ring.

“I know what I have to do on fight night. I know all the work that I put in. I didn’t put all that effort in for nothing. Saturday night, I have to execute. Once I get inside the ring, that switch will turn on.

“I have to fight the best fight of my life. If I don’t, then I can’t overcome the challenge. You don’t win a fight with size and weight. We fight smart, we fight intelligently and pick our shots. There are a lot of factors. That’s how I win this fight.

“Getting this victory will forever leave my name in the history books. No other fighter is daring to do what I’m doing. I’m here to make history and this fight does that. This fight is about big challenges and obstacles.

“All the attention and buzz about this fight is for real. It’s not often you get a fight like this. Undefeated champions in their prime facing each other. If you want to witness history, you better buy a ticket or the pay-per-view.”

DERRICK JAMES, Spence’s Trainer

“Getting up on the stage today, it was like fight night. I feel what Errol and Mikey are feeling. It’s go-time for both of these guys.

“Mikey Garcia is a great opponent, but he’s still just another opponent. We’re going to go in there and show him why we’re better. Errol is feeling great, so I am too.

“Ring intelligence is definitely one of Mikey’s best attributes. But he’s never been in the ring with Errol. Errol has been in the ring sparring with Floyd Mayweather before and I don’t think Mikey has the same ring intelligence as him.

“Errol knows what he should be doing and what he shouldn’t be doing during fight week. He will be ready on Saturday night.”

ROBERT GARCIA, Garcia’s Brother & Trainer

“Not only have all of our sparring partners told us this, but his opponents always say the same thing. Once they’re in the ring, they realize how hard Mikey hits and how strong he is. Spence doesn’t know that but he’ll find out Saturday.

“A lot of fighters have problems with southpaws like Spence, but Mikey has a lot of experience facing lefties and I’m confident that won’t be a factor.

“Spence’s style is pretty basic, so it’s not too hard to find sparring partners to emulate him. Spence does everything right, just like Mikey. From a preparation standpoint, his style isn’t a big challenge.

“We haven’t just been facing regular sparring partners. They’re experienced, talented and undefeated fighters. He’s facing middleweights to get ready for this one and I know he will be.”

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Order the PPV and visit PremierBoxingChampions.com for Fight Night Info and more on Errol Spence Jr. and Mikey Garcia.

Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidezbattling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

About AT&T Stadium:
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.

DALLAS, TX (March 12, 2019) – Unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. and undefeated four-division world champion Mikey Garcia made their grand arrivals for fight week Tuesday and participated in an open to the public media workout as they near their blockbuster showdown that headlines a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event this Saturday from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Tuesday’s event at Renaissance Dallas Hotel also featured fighters who compete on the pay-per-view undercard Saturday night making their grand arrivals and showing off their skills for the fans and media in attendance.

PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View action begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and features unbeaten former 168-pound champion David Benavidez taking on veteran contender J’Leon Love, former bantamweight champion Luis Nery facing former champion McJoe Arroyo and heavyweight fan-favorite Chris Arreola battling unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Tickets for this showdown, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

Here is what the fighters had to say Tuesday from a packed ballroom at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel:

ERROL SPENCE JR.

“It means a lot to have all these fans out here today supporting me. This is where I started. This is where my heart is. I’m going to give everyone a great show on Saturday.

“I’m making sure that I don’t get caught up in the moment. I’ll do think about the moment after the fight and celebrate with my people. I’m tunnel vision on Saturday night and I can’t wait. My motto is ‘Man Down’ and I’m here to again show everyone why I’m the best.”

MIKEY GARCIA

“It’s amazing to have this great support from the local fans and media here. I’ve fought in Texas many times and won two world titles here. I’m looking for a third on Saturday.

“I have the timing, the speed, the footwork and defense. I have all the skills needed to win this fight. I could have taken easier fights than this, but they didn’t spark the fire in me. This fight does exactly that.”

DAVID BENAVIDEZ

“J’Leon Love is always going to be a tough fighter and make the fight hard. He can punch and he can move. I’m expecting a hard fight and I have a game plan for anything he brings on Saturday.

“It’s amazing to be on this stage. It’s really a dream come true. This is as big as my title fight. This is going to be a massive event so I have to get a knockout for my fans.”

J’LEON LOVE

“I’m hungry just like every other fighter. I’m hungry like a boxer who is having their first moment in the sport. That’s how I feel right now.

“I’m not going to be an easy fight for Benavidez. The Peter Quillin fight is behind us. There were some things happening that didn’t allow me to be great, but I’m over them now and I’m ready for a spectacular performance Saturday night.”

LUIS NERY

“It’s going to be a real war on Saturday night. I’m prepared for a very tough fight. My opponent leaves his guard open a lot and I think I can knock him down with my hooks. I’m ready to get a great victory.

“I’m very proud and happy to be competing on this great pay-per-view card. I think I’m going to score the knockout in round five or six and show everyone why I’m the best bantamweight in the world.”

MCJOE ARROYO

“I’m the type of fighter that lets the fight unfold and develop. I have to see how my opponent is going to react and be intelligent.

“My speed is going to be a big key. Both with my hands and my legs. I have to avoid getting hit by the big shots. I’m going to take it round-by-round.”

CHRIS ARREOLA

“I know that he’s a fighter who is going to be crafty and try to move around. He’s going to try to keep me off balance and that’s why I made sure I came in great shape for this fight so I can chase this kid around.

“I have to be smart and work behind my jab, while also being aware of what he can do with his left hand. This is a fight to show that I’m back and ready to challenge the best heavyweights.”

JEAN PIERRE AUGUSTIN

“We’ve been training to steal the show on Saturday night. Chris is going to keep coming forward. I’m going to have to rely on my youth, my foot work, my speed and my brain so I don’t take unnecessary shots.

“It’s definitely an honor to be on this platform. For me to find myself in this position, it’s hard to put into words. I’m going to get a definitive win on Saturday night.”

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidezbattling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

Order the PPV and visit PremierBoxingChampions.com for Fight Night Info and more on Errol Spence Jr. and Mikey Garcia.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

About AT&T Stadium:
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.

LOS ANGELES – Today, FOX Sports announces an all-star team of broadcasters highlighting the first-ever FOX SPORTS PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS PAY-PER-VIEW: ERROL SPENCE JR. VS. MIKEY GARCIA. Current WBC Welterweight World Champion Shawn Porter, fresh off his victory live on FOX last Saturday, joins International Boxing Hall of Famer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and undisputed three-time heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, adding insights and analysis. Porter and Mancini will join hosts Emmy Award-winning broadcaster ChrisMyers and veteran broadcaster Kate Abdo live on FOX Sports’ desk for fight programming from Wednesday, March 13 through Saturday, March 16.

Calling the action live on Saturday, March 16 (9:00 PM ET) on Pay-Per-View and streaming on the FOX Sports digital platforms are Lewis, legendary trainer Joe Goossen and Emmy Award-nominee Kenny Albert from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Veteran combat sports journalist Heidi Androl reports and interviews fighters, while International Boxing Hall of Famer Jimmy Lennon Jr. serves as ring announcer. Marcos Villegas is the unofficial scorer. On FOX Deportes, current WBA Featherweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz joins Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Adrian Garcia Marquez, Jessi Losada and Jaime Motta to call the fights in Spanish.

FOX Sports PBC programming begins Wednesday, March 13 (5:00 PM ET) on FS1 and the FOX Sports app with the one-hour FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW PRESS CONFERENCE: SPENCE JR. VS. GARCIA, as host Abdo is joined by Mancini and Porter to preview the fights on the card and interview fighters. Androl and Ray Flores preside over the press conference.

On Friday, March 15, the FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW WEIGH-IN is telecast on FS1 and streaming on the FOX Sports app at 3:00 PM ET, with host Abdo and analysts Porter and Mancini again on the desk, previewing the fights. Lennon Jr. hosts the weigh-ins on stage, while Androl interviews fighters onsite.

On Saturday, March 16 (5:30 PM ET) the four-part PBC FIGHT CAMP: ERROL SPENCE JR. VS. MIKEY GARCIA airs the final episode on FOX, following the two champions through their final preparations for the title fight. Saturday’s fight coverage continues at 7:30 PM ET on FS1 with the FOX SPORTS PBC PPV PREFIGHT SHOW previewing the evening’s epic battles. The show is hosted by Myers with analysts Porter and Mancini.

Boxing begins at 8:00 PM ET live with the FOX SPORTS PBC PPV PRELIMS on FS1, FOX Deportes and the FOX Sports app, featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin (25-2-1, 23 KOs) squaring off against unbeaten Dallas native Gregory Corbin (15-0, 9 KOs).

The FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View begins at 9:00 PM ET and is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. (24-0, 21 KOs) defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs). Undercard action features undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidez (20-0, 17 KOs) battling veteran contender J’Leon Love (24-2-1, 13 KOs), unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery (28-0, 24 KOs) taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo (18-2, 8 KOs) and fan-favorite Chris Arreola (37-5-1,32 KOs) facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin (17-0-1, 12 KOs).

The evening’s action wraps up on FS1 at 1:00 AM ET with the FOX SPORTS PBC PPV POSTFIGHT SHOW as Myers, Abdo, Porter and Mancini recap the fights and interview winners.

Leading up to the fights, PBC fighters offer unique, behind-the-scenes clips on the FOX PBC social pages. Follow @PBConFOX on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all updates throughout the #PBConFOX fights Saturday. Watch for the FOX RingPass, taking viewers behind the scenes and into the action on both Instagram and Facebook Stories.

Viewers can live stream the PBC shows on mobile devices on the FOX Sports app, through the FOX, FS1, FS2 and FOX Deportes streams. The shows are available on desktop at FOXSports.com and on the FOX NOW app on connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku. In addition, all programs are available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online atwww.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

For more information, visit FOX Sports Press Pass.

FOX SPORTS PBC PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE

DATE
TIME (ET)
EVENT
NETWORK*
Wednesday,
March 13
5:00 PM
FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW PRESS CONFERENCE: SPENCE JR. VS. GARCIA
FS1

Friday,
March 15
3:00 PM
FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW WEIGH-IN: SPENCE JR. VS. GARCIA
FS1
Saturday, March16
5:30 PM
PBC FIGHT CAMP: ERROL SPENCE JR. VS. MIKEY GARCIA (PART 4)
FOX
Saturday, March16
7:30 PM
FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW PREFIGHT SHOW: SPENCE JR. VS. GARCIA
FS1
Saturday, March16
8:00 PM
FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW PRELIMS
FS1, FOX Deportes
Saturday, March16
9:00 PM
FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW: ERROL SPENCE JR. VS. MIKEY GARCIA
PPV
Saturday,
March 16
1:00 AM
FOX SPORTS PBC PAY-PER-VIEW POSTFIGHT SHOW
FS1
Sunday,
March 17
11:00 PM
FS1 PBC FACE TO FACE: LAMONT PETERSON VS. SERGEY LIPINETS
FS1
Sunday,
March 17
11:30 PM
FS1 PBC COUNTDOWN: LAMONT PETERSON VS. SERGEY LIPINETS
FS1
*All programs available on FOX Sports App and FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83

–FOX SPORTS–

About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century Fox’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing relationships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1, FS2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com, FOX Sports App and FOX Sports GO. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that establish the FOX Sports Radio Network.

About Premier Boxing Champions
The Premier Boxing Champions series was created and is produced by Haymon Sports, LLC. It features the most accomplished and decorated array of international professional boxing talent across the most popular weight divisions.

About AT&T Stadium
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go towww.attstadium.com.

ARLINGTON, TX – (March 12, 2019) – When you have boxers like Errol Spence, Jr. and Mikey Garcia, two undefeated world champions, both ranked in the top five among the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world and vying for supremacy in the hottest division in boxing, a debate about who wins is bound to break out.

Spence (24-0, 21 KOs) is a power-punching welterweight who has stopped his last 11 opponents heading into this intriguing matchup against the brilliant tactician that Garcia has established himself as. Spence is no stranger to big stadium events as he won the IBF title by traveling to England to take on then-champion Kell Brook at Bramhall Lane soccer stadium on May 27, 2017. In front of a raucous crowd of over 27,000 loyal Brook supporters, the 28-year-old Spence stopped Brook in round 11 to wrest away the title.

Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) is striving to put together a legendary career and is aggressively pursuing that goal. He has won world championships at featherweight, junior lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight. He now eyes a welterweight title against the consensus class of the division in Spence. Fighting out of Moreno Valley, California, the 31-year-old Garcia unified the IBF and WBC Lightweight World Championships in his last bout by scoring unanimous decision victory over Robert Easter, Jr. on July 28.

With fight week here, luminaries such as Roberto Duran are heading to Dallas to be a part of the action. As the clock begins to tick down to fight night, the debate is heating up as legends like Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman, plus prominent boxing fans such as Chad Johnson and Rosie Perez are weighing in. Here are just a few opinions in video, tweet and quote form:

TOMMY HEARNS

“It’s going to be a really good fight. Spence has good boxing skills and will present a big problem for Mikey.

But Mikey is also very good and if he uses what he has to his advantage, I predict he’ll take Spence the distance. I’m going with Spence by decision.”

Others have posted videos with their predictions. Here is a link to picks from Metta World Peace, Deontay Wilder, Leo Santa Cruz, Shane Mosley and more:

Video Predictions

Now it’s time for you to jump into the hottest debate in sports this week (use the hashtag #SpenceGarciaWhoUGot on Twitter). Pick a winner and we’ll release the results at the end of the week.

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidezbattling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Tickets for this showdown, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

Order the PPV and visit PremierBoxingChampions.com for Fight Night Info and more on Errol Spence Jr. and Mikey Garcia.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

About AT&T Stadium:
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.

ARLINGTON, TX. (March 11, 2019) – An exciting night of undercard attractions will lead up to the first Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event headlined by unbeaten welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr. taking on undefeated four-division champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The action features 2016 Mexican Olympian Lindolfo Delgado (8-0, 8 KOs) looking to keep his perfect record intact against once-beaten Oklahoma-native James Roach (5-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round super lightweight fight and undefeated Dallas-native Fernando Garcia (11-0, 6 KOs) taking on Colombia’s Marlon Olea (14-4, 12 KOs) for eight rounds of super featherweight action.

Tickets for this showdown, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

The undercard will also see a host of local talent from Texas as cruiserweight Burley Brooks makes his pro debut against Randy Mast (1-0) in a four-round bout, Dallas-native Amon Rashidi (5-0, 3 KOs) in a six-round welterweight fight against El Paso’s Gabriel Gutierrez (5-7, 3 KOs), San Antonio’s Jesse Rodriguez (8-0, 4 KOs)facing Rauf Aghayev (26-6, 11 KOs) in an eight-round bantamweight showdown, Mesquite’s Adrian Taylor (8-1, 4 KOs)in a four-round cruiserweight attraction and San Antonio’s Robert Rodriguez (2-0) in a four-round super flyweight fight against Fernando Ibarra.

Rounding out the show are Marsello Wilder (3-1, 2 KOs)facing Mark Sanchez (0-2)in a four-round cruiserweight fight, California’s Luis Coria (10-2, 5 KOs) in a six-round featherweight bout against Mexico’s Omar Garcia (6-7, 1 KO), Milwaukee’s Thomas Hill (7-2, 1 KO) facing Christian Aguirre (8-4, 4 KOs) in a six-round super welterweight attraction, unbeaten Aaron Morales (5-0, 3 KOs) taking on Fernando Robles (2-0) for six-rounds of bantamweight action and Mexico’s Jose Valenzuela (2-0) in a four-round super featherweight bout against Christian Velez (1-1, 1 KO).

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidezbattling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

About AT&T Stadium:
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.

Richard Schaefer
Thank you, and welcome to all the media members for being on today’s call. They say everything is bigger in Texas and well, we had to bring a very big card to Dallas, and that’s exactly what we did. One week to go for the best card, top to bottom of the year taking place March 16 from the legendary AT&T Stadium, in the first PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View.

The card, when I say top to bottom, the best I can remember, combined records of the four televised fighters, 207 wins, 155 by knockout, I’ve never seen that, and only nine losses. I’ve never seen anything like that.

I want to thank as well FOX for an unreal promotion by FOX. You watch FOX. You see commercial after commercial. It’s really refreshing to see how excited they are about the sport and how they put all their resources behind it.

The different shoulder programs on FOX such as PBC Fight Camp and Inside PBC Boxing, are generating huge ratings. In fact, the ratings are so big that they exceed in fact most boxing telecast on other networks and platforms by far, and you’re just talking about background shoulder programming providing better ratings than actual fights on other networks.

We anticipate therefore a huge pay-per-view audience and a huge live audience in Dallas, and I can’t wait. We have one week to go. But today we have David Benavidez and Errol Spence on the call. But before we’re going to turn over to them, I just want to spend a couple of minutes on the other two televised bouts.

Chris Arreola versus the undefeated Jean Pierre Augustin is an amazing fight, amazing showdown as well. I saw Arreola this week at the media workout with Mikey Garcia. He’s in unbelievable shape. I’ve never seen Chris like that. He’s mentally, physically ready to go and he knows that he’s going to have a tough task ahead of him with Jean Pierre Augustin.

Then Luis Nery versus McJoe Arroyo, believe me when I say that Luis Nery is the best bantamweight in the world and absolutely must see TV. He’s so exciting. I think there are tremendous fights for him, and this one here with McJoe Arroyo is his first one under the PBC banner.

With Arreola, Nery, Benavidez and Mikey Garcia, we have four of the top five Hispanic fighters on this card, and all of them are in dangerous and meaningful fights. The man who is largely responsible to bring us these mouthwatering matchups week after week, is our co-promoter Tom Brown of TGB. And I want to thank Tom Brown for the excellent job he is doing.

Now, let’s move on to David Benavidez versus J’Leon Love, clearly one of the best matchups and most exciting matchups that can be made in the Super Middleweight Division. It’s a pleasure for me now to introduce to you the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe, to say a few words about J’Leon Love.

Leonard Ellerbe
Thank you, Richard. J’Leon Love vs. David Benavidez is going to be a very, very exciting fight. In my eyes, it’s a terrific match up. It’s a match up that J’Leon has wanted. He’s had an eye on Benavidez for quite some time. I think that with J’Leon coming in as being the underdog, he’s going to lay it all on the line.

He’s highly motivated and I think it’s a terrific opportunity for him to make a great statement fighting the very brave, talented David Benavidez. Everyone knows what Benavidez brings to the table. He’s a very, very exciting young fighter who had a tremendous amount of success at a young age, and he’ll be looking to establish himself by showcasing his skills out there to the world as he’s the best super middleweight out there. And again, this J’Leon vs. Benavidez fight is going to be a very, very exciting fight and I think the fans will love this fight.

R. Schaefer
Excellent. Thank you very much, Leonard. I want to now introduce to you David Benavidez and I want to acknowledge as well his promoter, my good friend Sampson Lewkowicz. He has a tremendous eye for talent. We all know that.

With David Benavidez, we have clearly pound-for-pound, one of the most exciting fighters in the world, and he’s here to reclaim the throne as the best super middleweight in the world. He’s determined to steal the night on March 16 in Dallas.

And it’s a pleasure now for me to introduce to you the former WBC Super Middleweight World Champion, El Bandera Roja, David Benavidez. David?

David Benavidez
Hello Richard. Thank you for introducing me and I just want to thank you guys for this opportunity. I’ve been in training camp three months in preparation for this fight. This is also a fight I wanted for some time now. And it couldn’t be in a better venue than in AT&T Stadium.

I’m just very blessed to have this opportunity, and I’m not going to let it go to waste. And I’m going to get a spectacular knockout come March 16. It’s really going to be amazing.

Q
David, do you still see yourself as the definitive WBC Super Middleweight Champion?

D. Benavidez
I definitely see myself as the WBC champion. Nobody beat me. They’ve got to come get me, and they’ve got to come beat me to crown themselves champion. I definitely still see myself as WBC champion.

Q
If you win this fight against J’Leon Love, after this fight, is that the plan to go after Anthony Dirrell to win back the title that you’ve never technically lost?

D. Benavidez
Yes, that’s definitely the plan, but for right now, my mind is 100% on J’Leon Love. He’s still a veteran. He’s still a dangerous fighter. So I can’t overlook him at all. First things first, I’ve got to take care of business next week on March 16, and then we’ll think about what’s going to happen after.

Q
Leonard, J’Leon Love’s last fight against Peter Quillin was judged by unanimous decision. And from what has J’Leon Love taken from that loss that he feels could help him in this fight against David Benavidez?

L. Ellerbe
Yes. Not to make any excuses, he had a lot going on in his life, a lot on his mind. And a lot of times what happens is, when a fighter is not focused, they come into a fight and they’re not fully prepared. But again not taking anything from Peter Quillin, outstanding fighter, but that was then.

Thankfully he got this opportunity to fight a great young fighter, David Benavidez. And J’Leon is focused. He’s an expecting father. He’s highly motivated. He’s laying it on the line. He had a terrific camp and I’m just very excited to see him get this opportunity to go on there, and we know it’s going to be a tough fight because we know what Benavidez brings to the table. But I’m very confident that J’Leon will win this fight.

Q
David is this a fight about regaining confidence as a fighter after such a long layoff? Or is this a fight to make a big statement on a big platform on this pay-per-view?

D. Benavidez
Obviously the confidence never went away on my part. I feel like this is a big stage and a big venue, so it’s making a statement. I feel like if I get a spectacular knockout on pay-per-view, my stock is going to go all the way up. Obviously I haven’t been in the ring for a while. It’s just going in there, seeing where I’m at the first few rounds. Then going back right where I left off as being comfortable in the ring, getting a few rounds in, and then obviously going to the knockout.

Q
How would you rank yourself at 168?

D. Benavidez
Obviously I see myself as the best super middleweight in the division, but I have to prove myself. I do see myself at least in the top five. And I think when I get the opportunity to prove myself, I’ll show only to myself and to the world that I am the best, once the opportunities come up.

Q
If given the opportunity, how many times would you like to fight this year?

D. Benavidez
If I had the opportunity to fight three times this year, that would be perfect for me. I feel like that’s the route I want to take. If I get two or three fights, that would be perfect.

Q
How do you prepare to fight in a venue like AT&T stadium? Are there any difficulties that come with being in that kind of environment?

D. Benavidez
There’s no real way to prepare yourself to fight in a venue that big. You just kind of have to go by how it feels. The last time I fought at the Mandalay Bay, there was a lot of people there, but once the fighting gets to going, you really don’t really feel the crowd or see the people. You kind of just focus on what’s in front of you.

Q
Being around Errol, in the buildup to this fight, what’s your impression of him been throughout the whole process?

D. Benavidez
He’s a very nice guy. He handles himself in a really professional way and every time I see him, I shake his hand. He’s a really nice guy. I really look up to him in that sense. He’s a great champion and I want the best for him.

Q
How excited are you about this opportunity to fight in Dallas in front of the fans and just the magnitude of this event and where you think this will catapult you in terms of getting into the bigger fights?

D. Benavidez
I feel very confident I’m going to put on a great performance. I just want to thank everybody for keeping me in mind and putting me on this card on pay-per-view. It’s basically like a dream come true. So I’m confident that I’m going to get a spectacular victory. If I do that, there’s going to be so many people watching that.

Once I get a spectacular victory, I’m in line for something big. If things go the way I think they’re going to go, people are going to want to see me, no matter what. And I think that’s going to set me in line for the big fights coming up.

I just want to go back to where I was, having my belt back, fighting the best of the best. And I feel like PBC and my promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, they’ll take care of all that. I’ve just got to do my job and look spectacular and everything will take care of itself.

Q
Any thoughts on maybe going up to 175 soon? How are you feeling about getting yourself at 168?

D. Benavidez
I’m very comfortable at 168 right now, but 175 is definitely an option. If there’s an opportunity to fight for a title or an opportunity for a big fight, we’re definitely going to go up. But as of right now, my thought is to stay at 168 and capture all the titles.

Q
I want to go back again to when you got stripped of the title and what was that moment like? What was that experience like of having getting something you worked so hard for, get taken away from you?

D. Benavidez
It wasn’t a good feeling to have everything you worked for taken away from you in an instant. But it happened and it just made me hungrier and more motivated to keep working harder and to get back what’s rightfully mine.

Being on the sidelines, seeing my belt won by another person I know I could destroy, kind of did it for me. We’re not going to take any more steps back. We’re working hard and we’re going to reclaim what’s ours and we’re going to put on spectacular performances and that’s how it’s going to be.

Q
What is the biggest thing you’ve learned about yourself in these last 13 months?

D. Benavidez
Just the hunger. Just being hungrier, being more dedicated now, being closer to my family. And I just owe it to the people who’ve been supporting me since the beginning. I just want to be a better person and a better fighter for them, so they could have that fighter that they could be proud of.

Q
Do you feel this fight coming up is a redemption fight?

D. Benavidez
Yes, definitely. This is a fight for the fans, just so they could see that, I don’t want nobody to lose faith in me because I know I’m the best I’ve ever been right now. I just turned 22 years old. I feel stronger than ever and I feel this training camp has been amazing. So this fight is definitely going to be for them, so they don’t lose faith in me.

Q
Who do you think wins that main event and why?

D. Benavidez
It’s going to be a great fight. Both fighters are world class fighters. Errol Spence is a monster. He has a lot of power. Mikey Garcia is more of a technician. He has a lot of tricks underneath his sleeves. And I think this is going to be the fight that defines them.

So we really don’t know what Mikey Garcia is going to bring to the table. I’m pretty sure he’s working on so much stuff. Errol Spence is too. I just expect it to be a great fight. I know both guys. They’re really cool guys, but I just feel like the people are really going to be the ones that are really going to win with a great fight. It’s going to be a great venue, the crowd is going to be electric and I just can’t wait for the fight.

Q
Were you surprised that the reaction to you owning up to the drug test and that it was met with such a favorable reaction?

D. Benavidez
I definitely owned up to it because it’s something that a world champion shouldn’t be doing. It was just something I shouldn’t have been doing. Now I’m smarter. My father, me and my team, we’re just not going to be around stuff like that. We’re just going to stay dedicated to our sport.

Q
I know you’re looking at J’Leon Love, but with a win next Saturday, it’s like any fight that you want is right within your reach without having to worry about boxing politics. Does that kind of put your mind at ease going into each fight?

D. Benavidez
Yes. It actually makes you more motivated too because this fight’s going to be made in an instant after my fight. So I’m very excited and very motivated for the fights and opportunities that are sitting on the table for me. Both Caleb Plant and Anthony Dirrell are great fighters. They’re world title holders. So it’s going to be amazing just seeing what’s next for the future for me.

Q
From Mayweather Promotions standpoint, what do you think of David as a fighter, and what it is about him that you see something beatable that you keep sending new guys after him?

L. Ellerbe
I’m not sending guys after him. David Benavidez is one of the most exciting dynamic fighters in the entire sport, not just in the super middleweight division. He’s a guy that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. I’ve had a very upfront and close look at him for a couple of fights.

I’ve actually followed his career up until and before he fought Ronald Gavril. He’s a terrific fighter, but just like any fighter, fighters make mistakes and they have flaws. And J’Leon saw some things in the fight that he’ll be able to take advantage of. He’s a young veteran and he’s excited and motivated for this fight and it’s going to be a terrific fight.

And I’ve got respect for Benavidez, but J’Leon is coming to win the fight and he’s confident that he’s going to get it done.

Q
Davis, with the stuff that has happened, is it almost as if you look at that and really wish it hadn’t happened and you could just go back in time and do it all over again? Or actually no, do you feel like you learned from it and it’s kind of a situation where you have that which does not kill us makes us stronger?

D. Benavidez
It’s a little bit of both. Obviously those things that happened to me, I wish they wouldn’t happen, but in reality, it did happen. So I learned a lot about myself, me and my team. It just made us stronger.

I’m not happy, but the way things played out, it just made us stronger. We’ve got good opportunities on the table and we’re just willing to take advantage of what we have in front of us. March 16 is going to be one of the biggest fights I’ve ever been in, probably that I’ll ever be in.

I’m just truly blessed to be here. We’re taking the negatives and turning them into a positive. I’m just extremely ready for my fight next week.

Q
Who are some of the guys that you’re looking at and kind of licking your chops and saying, I definitely want that fight?

D. Benavidez
Right now we’re going to take care of J’Leon Love, but obviously I do have some fights in mind. First I want to get Anthony Dirrell. And then if everything looks good, maybe I can unify with Caleb Plant in the near future. Each one of those guys has the belt. So that’s what I’m going to be interested in right now.

Q
Did you pay close attention to social media and what fans and other fighters had to say about your situation? And if so, what were your thoughts as far as what you read?

D. Benavidez
I really don’t pay attention to social media too much because at the end of the day, I feel like that’s not real life. When I wake up, I train, I get my running in. That’s what really matters in the day. I’m not going to sit here and kill myself about what people say on the internet. Because in reality, that really doesn’t matter.

Of course a lot of people have a lot of things to say and they’re entitled to their own opinion. I can’t control what somebody says. I’m not going to get angry about it either.

Q
Could you tell us a little bit more about what your training has been like and perhaps who you’ve been sparring with over the past few months?

D. Benavidez
Yes. My training has been really good. I’ve been getting a lot of good strength and conditioning training. I’ve been getting a lot of running. When I was in California, I was sparring Dmitry Bivol. I sparred him for about a month, and I sparred a lot of other good fighters in California. And then I’ve been in Texas right now for about three weeks and getting some good work with some guys out here.

So I could say, this training camp has really been one of the best training camps I’ve been a part of. I’ve been eager to get back in the gym and I’ve just been eager to show the people what I have, what I’ve been working on. I’m looking to get a spectacular victory on March 16.

R. Schaefer
Thank you very much, David. Thank you very much, Leonard. I’d like to ask Leonard and David maybe to make a few closing statements, and then we are going to move on to Errol Spence and Mikey Garcia.

L. Ellerbe
Thank you, Richard. I want to thank everyone for joining the call today. There’s going to be fireworks come next week and I’m very excited. It’s going to be a great fight.

D. Benavidez
I also want to thank everybody for giving me the opportunity, just to have me on this conference call as well. I want to also thank the guys the main event. It’s going to be a great fight. It’s going to be a great night of boxing. There’s definitely going to be fireworks come March 16. Thank you so much.

R. Schaefer
Thank you guys. Now we are ready to move on to Errol Spence Jr. Saturday March 16. I call it the coronation in Dallas. Boxing fans, sports fans, and thanks to FOX, the general public will witness who will be crowned as boxing’s new pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.

As we all know, there are two sayings in boxing. The first one is, a great big man always beats a great smaller man. If that holds true, Errol Spence Jr. will be crowned in Dallas. But there is another saying, made famous by none other than Floyd Mayweather, that skills pay the bills. And if that holds true, Mikey Garcia will be crowned.

When the fight was announced, I would say that 98% of the boxing media, boxing experts and fight fans, picked Errol Spence to win the fight. Last week I made some calls and was checking around a bit, and it seems now we are getting close to a 50-50 fight. This is evident as well in how the odds have changed and dropped in Las Vegas.

It’s pretty simple. This is the fight to see. How often do we see two undefeated world champions, two world champions in their prime, two world champions universally recognized among the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world?

In almost 20 years promoting the biggest events, I do not remember a single one event which delivered an undefeated in their prime and top five pound-for-pound fighter. It’s a fascinating match up. And that’s why I think, as I mentioned before, with all the support from FOX and the excitement building, we will have an unbelievable pay-per-view come March 16.

Both of these young men are an asset to our sport. They are great ambassadors for boxing, and all of us involved in the sport of boxing, can be proud that we as an extension of it, are involved in a sport which has two such amazing young men.

Errol Spence is clearly the man at 147 pounds. He’s undefeated. He’s the king of his division, and he is today without any question, pound for pound, one of the best fighters in the world. It’s an honor to introduce now the undefeated IBF world champion, Errol Spence Jr. Errol?

Errol Spence Jr.
Hi. How is it going? Happy to be on this conference call. It’s been a great training camp and I’ve been 100% focused and hungry and can’t wait to put on a great show March 16.

Q
Errol, I am curious if you have noted, like Richard Schaefer said, that more and more pundits are seeing that it’s possible that Garcia beats you. Have you noted that? Have you heard people, more people saying, no, I give Mikey a good chance to beat Errol? And if yes, why do you suppose that is?

E. Spence
That’s not something I pay attention to, it’s tight enough from what I’ve seen. I can’t worry about that. I’ll just worry about what my camp thinks and how our preparation is going and my focus is 100%. I’m just ready to put on a great show. So I don’t care if that changed in his favor for all I care. It just means he’s going to get in the ring and fight.

Q
You’re up in DeSoto, right, not actually Dallas?

E. Spence
Yes, but I grew up in Cedar Hill, DeSoto, and I grew up in Dallas. So I went first kindergarten all the way to fourth grade in Dallas, and then I went to Cedar Hill and then I went to DeSoto for ninth grade all the way to 12th.

Q
You said you went to two high schools. Could you list those two high schools for me?

E. Spence
Cedar Hill High School and DeSoto High School.

Q
I know when you and Derrick first met, I know you guys talked about how you kind of were in the ring against each other. Do you remember the name of that gym and the city where located?

E. Spence
Vivero Boxing Gym. It’s the same gym that Vergil Ortiz started at too.

You and Derrick often talk about your big sparring partners, sparring middleweight, sparring heavyweight, things like that, just wondering if you guys took a different approach to this fight, if you aimed for smaller, faster sparring partners, and if there are any you can name specifically?

E. Spence
We have added some lighter spars, 140 pounders and guys that fight at my weight. One of them is Amon Rashidi, and he’s fighting out on the undercard and he’s 5-0. He’s pretty much the same height as Mikey Garcia. But we’ve been still adding in bigger guys, just for the physical approach and just getting good work out of those guys.

Q
When Mikey first started talking about fighting you, what was your inclination about wanting to fight him?

E. Spence
At first I didn’t really care too much for fighting him, it got to a point where he started talking a lot more and a lot of other welterweights. I was pretty much busy, like Shawn Porter, like Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia, they all had their dates. Manny Pacquiao too. They were the obvious options for me. Then when I found that I could be fighting at AT&T Stadium, then it just made sense.

Q
If this fight wasn’t proposed to be at AT&T Stadium, would you have taken the fight still or would you have wanted to go in a different direction?

E. Spence
I don’t know. Everything happen for a reason. So it’s at AT&T Stadium. I don’t know what I would have decided if it wouldn’t have been at AT&T Stadium.

Q
If you do win, if you get by Mikey, that you are the best fighter in the world?

E. Spence
Like I always say, it’s not just about winning. It’s about your performance and it’s how you win. So if I have a spectacular performance, then I do rate myself as pound-for-pound just the best fighter in the world too.

Q
Do you subscribe to the theory that has been running out there since this fight that Mikey doesn’t have a chance? He’s the little guy. You’re the bigger guy. Do you subscribe to that David and Goliath theory? Or do you feel Mikey is a great fighter, he brings more to the table than people really think?

E. Spence
I think he definitely brings a lot to the table and I don’t – I mean people who say that he doesn’t stand a chance I feel like don’t really know anything about boxing or don’t know the history of boxing, just to say he doesn’t have a chance. He does have a title at 140.

That’s just one weight up from 147. So he does have experience fighting at 140. So I mean everybody has a chance. He does have a chance. He does have a lot of skills and he is fundamentally sound. He comes from that boxing pedigree. So he definitely has a chance.

Q
Is this the biggest fight of your life? Bigger than the Kell Brook fight?

E. Spence
It’s kind of hard to say because without that win and especially going overseas and fighting someone considered one of the best welterweight in the world and beating the man in his hometown, that added to a lot of experience in different things that have led me to this point and led me to the victory I’m going to get next Saturday.

I think this is the biggest one, just where it’s at and it’s on pay-per-view and it’s been hyped up to be really big. I think this might be the biggest win of my career right now.

Q
What are some of the flaws you’ve seen in Mikey’s game between now and start of training camp?

E. Spence
Mikey is tough and I like that. It shows that he’s really coming to fight and it’s going to be a great fight. They can feel however they feel. So I definitely have a game plan to exploit my strengths. And me and my camp, we’re working hard.

My coach has been watching him and we have a game plan ourselves. In the ring we’ll find out if my reach and my size is going to be an advantage or not, or maybe I just have really good ability. So we’ll see.

Q
Fighting at AT&T Stadium, does that put any added pressure on it, or is it another day at the office for you?

E. Spence
Well, me personally, it’s another day at the office, but it’s definitely a huge fight just exposure wise and becoming the superstar that I want to be. So I mean this is a huge fight. But for me, that’s another day in the office. I don’t really think about that till after the fight and the magnitude of it till after the fight. So I don’t get caught up in the moment but it is a huge fight, especially for my career.

Q
Do you really expect Mikey Garcia to be able to go 12 rounds with you?

E. Spence
If he goes 12 he goes 12, but with me, my mentality is, I train hard for a hard 12 round fight, because I don’t want to not expect something and then something else happens. I always tell myself that to make sure that I’m fully prepared, not just physically but mentally for a grueling 12 round fight.

So even if I do get the knockout, all through camp we’re focused on training hard for a 12 round fight. If I get the knockout, then good, but it’s something in my mind that, I want to be prepared if I have to go 12 rounds.

Q
Do you admire Mikey Garcia for wanting to step up and fight you, taking on this challenge?

E. Spence
I respect him. I really respect Mikey Garcia and his skills and his talent. It’s apparent. But other than that, I’ll respect him after the fight depending on this whole game plan and things like that. I definitely respect him for taking the fight and now that he’s rising to the challenge, he challenged me.

I don’t know who I would be fighting or where I would be fighting at if he didn’t call me out. So this is a great fight and the magnitude of the fight is great too.

So I’m just grateful to have this big fight of this type of magnitude on FOX pay-per-view. So I’m happy to be at the here right now.

Q
Are you just as excited to be in this fight as we are to see this fight?

E. Spence
I’m definitely excited. I was excited as soon as I found out where it was going to be at and basically it was just an easy fight to make. I wanted to fight, and it made sense for it to happen here. I’m excited to be fighting at home again and especially because we’re fighting at AT&T Stadium.

Q
What concerns you in your game plan about Mikey Garcia the most?

E. Spence
Nothing really. I feel like I’ve seen every style there is to see. Especially a guy like Mikey Garcia who’s very traditional and has a good full body of work. But at the end of the day, he’s very traditional. I’m very familiar with his style and what he does, things like that. I’ll be prepared for anything that he brings to the table.

Cameron Buford: Thank for answering the questions. And man, you mentioned those names before. Are those some of the names or some of the guys you would be looking at fighting after you fight Garcia next weekend?

R. Schaefer
Okay. I’m just going to have Errol make some closing comments. But I just want to add something. Errol Spence is one of those throwback fighters, a fighter who we all know is going to fight anybody and everyone.

Being as good as he is, being pound-for-pound one of the best, being undefeated, there are not too many other guys calling him out. So for Errol Spence Jr. to be headlining, to have his opportunity to headline his first pay-per-view event, to headline a pay-per-view event from the AT&T Stadium.

He’s also headlining the first PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View, the first time that a free over the air network, television network is entering the pay-per-view space, and Errol Spence is there and they’re doing it with him. And then to have the opportunity to fight an undefeated fighter, one of the best fighters in the world as well, a fellow top five pound-for-pound fighter with Mikey Garcia.

You look at all of these opportunities, Errol Spence Jr. is perfectly situated to really become the face of the sport and be the face of the sport. He has the skills, he has the talent and he has an opportunity, and he knows all of that. So I can’t wait to see you next week, Errol, it’s going to be a big week, and it’s going to be an exciting week. Let’s start the journey to make history here. I’d like to turn it over to you again, Errol, to make some closing comments.

E. Spence
I thank everybody for coming on the conference call. This is a real boxing event, a real boxing match between two great fighters, two top 10 pound-for-pound fighters who are undefeated. So that’s rare to have in today’s time, especially in boxing. So I hope everybody tunes in. You can get your tickets on SeatGeek.com.

It’s going to be an amazing event. And I can’t wait to put on another amazing performance. I’m 100% ready. I’m in tip-top shape. I’ve been training hard. I’m on crazy focus and I’ve basically got tunnel vision, straight to Mikey Garcia March 16. So make sure you are tuned in. It’s going to be an amazing event. Thank you.

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidezbattling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Tickets for this showdown, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

About AT&T Stadium:
AT&T Stadium is one of the largest, most technologically advanced entertainment venues in the world. Designed by HKS and built by Manhattan Construction, the $1.2 billion stadium features two monumental arches, the world’s largest HDTV video board cluster, an expansive retractable roof and the largest retractable end zone doors in the world. Features of the stadium include seating for 80,000 and expandability for up to 100,000, over 300 luxury suites, club seating on multiple levels and the Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, open to the public year round. The stadium is also home to a world-class collection of contemporary art, made up of over 50 pieces from an international array of curated artists displayed on the walls and in the grand public spaces of the venue. In addition to being the Home of the Dallas Cowboys since opening in 2009, the stadium has hosted Super Bowl XLV, the 2010 NBA All Star Game, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game and the annual Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The venue has also played host to high school and college football, concerts, championship fights, international soccer matches, and other special events. For more information, go to www.attstadium.com.

By Norm Frauennheim-

It’s not exactly David-versus-Goliath, but it might feel like it to Mikey Garcia when confronted by Goliath-like odds stacked against him in a role he asked for months before next week’s risky fight against Errol Spence Jr, the welterweight division’s heir apparent ever since he stunned Kell Brook nearly two years ago.

Garcia opened as a 4-to-1 underdog. Depending on the bookmaker, the line has moved to 5-1. Those are good odds if you’re shopping for a deal at the race track. But don’t confuse boxing with the ponies. Odds suggest Garcia will have to do something very special to upset Spence.

That’s what makes the bout in a ring somewhere near the 50-yard line on the Dallas Cowboys homefield at AT&T Stadium so intriguing. Garcia is special. He has a unique blend of poise, skill and smarts. What’s missing is the size many believe he’ll need to counter, or perhaps withstand Spence’s singular power, which was frighteningly evident in his 11th-round stoppage of the bigger Brook in the UK on May 27, 2017.

The seed of Spence’s KO of the gutsy Brook might have been planted nine months earlier (Sept 10, 1916) in middleweight Gennady Golovkin’s stoppage of Brook within five rounds. GGG left Brook with an injured right eye. Spence’s middleweight-like power compounded the injury, leaving Brook with a fractured eye socket.

Call it a warning, perhaps ominous for Garcia, a former featherweight champion and still reigning lightweight champion who will be fighting at 147 pounds for only the second time in his quest for pound-for-pound supremacy. Only in harm’s way, however, can Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) really stake his claim on legacy. Guess here: He has a better chance than the odds or an old adage might suggest. That adage, of course, is just bit of common sense. To wit: In a bout between two good fighters, always bet on the bigger guy. There’s no way to know how much bigger Spence will be at opening bell.

But it’s safe to assume he’ll be somewhere near middleweight (160). Robert Garcia, Mikey’s trainer, says his brother walks around at 155 pounds. Hard to say whether or not he can get back to that weight after the formal weigh-in on the Friday before the pay-per-view fight (FOX Sports) Saturday (March 16).

But it’s safe to say he’ll have to be at least 150 pounds. A difference of 10-to-15 pounds at opening bell only increases Spence’s chance at some sort of stoppage, perhaps in the later rounds when inevitable fatigue leads to the predictable. Hands drop, a fight-ending punch lands on an exposed chin.

The intrigue rests in Garcia’s ability to throw different punches from angles set up by footwork the unbeaten Spence has never seen. I’m not sure how much the unbeaten Spence has been forced to adjust over a 24-fight career, including 21 KOs. His power rules. It’s the bottom line, the decision-maker. But that power might be negated by some of Garcia’s evident tactical skill. Spence delivers his power off his front foot.

Can he fight backing up? He might have to. Can Garcia get up from a big shot? He might have to.

Just a couple of questions preceding a bout with enough of them to think it might be the Fight of the Year

Attachments area

ARLINGTON, TX. (March 5, 2019) – IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. and four-division world champion Mikey Garcia hosted separate media workouts in Dallas and Riverside, CA. respectively on Tuesday as they near their historic showdown that headlines the first Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Spence hosted media at World Class Boxing Gym in Dallas and was joined by undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidez, who takes on J’Leon Love in PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View action. Garcia’s workout also featured heavyweight fan-favorite Chris Arreola, who participated in the workout at Robert Garcia Boxing Academy and will face Jean Pierre Augustin in Pay-Per-View action beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Tickets for this showdown, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now, and can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, the Official Ticketing Provider of AT&T Stadium.

Here is what the fighters and more had say Tuesday from the two media events:

ERROL SPENCE JR.

“I’m really excited for this fight, especially to have it at AT&T Stadium. I’m 100% focused and ready for next week. This fight is going to have a bigger crowd, be more electrifying and will just be an amazing event overall.

“A lot of times when I’m in AT&T Stadium watching the NFL games, or watching Pacquiao fights or Canelo fights, the jumbotrons are so big that you get caught up looking up even when you’re ringside. It’s great because there isn’t a bad seat in the place with the jumbotron.

“This is definitely one of those crossover fights for me. Garcia is the biggest name to date that I’m fighting on American soil. It’s just great being so young in my career, fighting in my first pay-per-view and fighting with a guy like Garcia who brings over a different fanbase.

“You can tell how I looked ten weeks ago compared to how I look now. I’m not overlooking Garcia. I’m in tip-top shape, slim and ready. The difference is that now in a pay-per-view fight you have to be more dedicated and focused to promote the fight, showing that you are a star in boxing and sports media.

“If you know me and you know my boxing style, you know I’m never in a boring fight. Even if it’s just me beating up my opponent, or them just being hurt, I’m always going to try to stop my opponent and put on a spectacular performance.

“I put that pressure to look great on myself, not just because I’m undefeated or because everybody says this about me, I do it for myself to put on a great performance and a great show. I want to do that so great guys can look at me and think about if they want to fight me or not. That’s why a lot of guys don’t want to fight me.”

MIKEY GARCIA

“A lot of people underestimate the power when they face me. They don’t see my physical size as a threat. But you know they feel the power once we’re in the ring and definitely change their minds.

“(I wanted to fight Spence) because he’s the best right now in the (welterweight) division. I want to make a statement. I want to make a mark, and you know I have to do that against the best.

“I believe I’m a better fighter overall. When it comes to footwork, I think I have the better footwork. When it comes to speed, I think I have better speed. When it comes to defense, I have better defense. With timing, I have better timing. All of these things are what will help me win this fight. The only thing that he has going for him that’s apparent is the size, height, weight and reach.

“I’ve always said I’m better than him. Not by a lot, but just enough to beat him. He also reminds me of myself in a lot of ways, the way he fights, the way he is. He does everything well, good footwork, good speed, controls the fight at his distance that he likes… In a lot of ways, it resembles the way I fight. But I still feel that I’m better in every one of those ways and that’s what I’m betting on.”

DAVID BENAVIDEZ

“I’m extremely excited to be fighting in front of 40,000-plus people in the co-main event on March 16. It’s like a dream come true fighting at AT&T Stadium.

“I’m looking forward to going in and getting a knockout… I’ve been training extremely hard. Three months of training for this camp. It’s been good. I have like six pounds left to lose, so I haven’t struggled with the weight at all. I’ve been on a diet for at least three months now. The work has been done in and outside of the ring. Everything has been perfect leading up to this fight and I’m extremely ready.

“It was difficult (losing my title). I beat myself for that belt. In 2019, we are not taking any steps back, only forward.

“There are a lot of good fights I know that can be made. So, I am very excited to do my part and hopefully face-off against Anthony Dirrell, Caleb Plant or Callum Smith at the end of the year. I’m already in line to fight for the WBC title, but I’ve got to first take care of my job with J’Leon Love.

“Love is a good boxer, a counter-puncher. He’s been in the game for a while now. But like I said, I’m ready for anything. I’ve studied him a lot, so I’m just ready for anything he presents.

“I want to become the undisputed champion (at super middleweight). That’s my ultimate goal. Then I can talk about moving up. Right now, I want all the belts.”

CHRIS ARREOLA

“Right now, my career is all about putting in the work and my legacy. I’m not in this anymore for money. I love money, but I’m comfortable. I’m here for legacy. I want to leave something behind… I’m chasing a title.

“I feel mentally sharper now. Mentally I’m just relaxed in the ring. Some people are amped the whole round. But no, I know how to relax and work the ring and work my fight.

“The main thing this time around is I’m fighting a lefty and the first three or four times being in the ring sparring it’s a little different. It’s different angles and different punches… So that’s the main thing that’s probably the hardest part is lefties and getting used to it.”

DERRICK JAMES, Spence’s Trainer

“I just think Errol is so hungry and he has the ability to be great. The way he adjusts in the fights and he really sets the tone. Most of all, his fights have been one-sided. Regardless who he’s fighting against, how great they are, what their record is, what they said they’ll do to him, he’s just been able to have one-sided affairs. Hopefully we can have the same thing in this fight.

“This has been a tremendous training camp. I’ve seen how hard Errol has worked and how motivated he is. He’s extremely confident, and rightfully so. On March 16, I know Mikey is going to come prepared, but so are we. Whatever Mikey brings into the ring, we’re going to have the answer.”

ROBERT GARCIA, Mikey’s Brother & Trainer

“Mikey has been there before in many championship fights. Obviously, this is the biggest challenge against a bigger, heavier guy. But at this point in training, I think we’re in great shape. We know (Errol) is going to be the heavier guy in the ring, but he’s not going to be the better or smarter guy.

“We’re going to fight a technical fight, especially in the first few rounds, to figure out what Errol Spence is brining into the fight. But if we have to back him up and fight on the inside, then we’re going to do what’s necessary.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, Chairman & CEO of Ringstar Sports

“FOX is really putting their weight behind boxing, and you’ve seen what that meant for other sports. When UFC got involved with FOX, you saw how it elevated the sport of MMA and UFC… FOX is doing the same thing now on the boxing side and I really believe it will elevate boxing. It brings the general market to this sport, and I think that’s what we’re going to see here with this pay-per-view.

“When you have a fight like Spence and Garcia, boxing fans know about it. Sports fans know about it. But the general market doesn’t really know about it. So, I think if you can market towards the general market it just opens up the flood gates as it relates to pay-per-view. And that’s the advantage FOX has compared to an ESPN.”

# # #

ABOUT SPENCE VS. GARCIA
Spence vs. Garcia is a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View event that is headlined by unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Errol Spence Jr. defending his title against four-division world champion Mikey Garcia on Saturday, March 16 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The PBC on FOX Sports Pay-Per-View undercard will feature undefeated former super middleweight champion David Benavidezbattling veteran contender J’Leon Love, unbeaten former bantamweight champion Luis Nery taking on former champion McJoe Arroyo and fan-favorite Chris Arreola facing unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin in action beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Prelims on FS1 and FOX Deportes begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT featuring former heavyweight world champion Charles Martin squaring off against unbeaten Dallas-native Gregory Corbin.

Spence vs. Garcia will be shown on big screens across the nation through FathomEvents. Tickets can be purchased online at www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @Ringstar, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

By Bart Barry-

Soon undefeated welterweight Texan titlist Errol Spence will defend his IBF belt against undefeated lightweight Californian titlist Mikey Garcia at AT&T (formerly Cowboys) Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on a PBC pay-per-view card distributed by Fox Sports. The ticketselling onus is on Spence much as the entertaining onus be on Garcia. While one can’t help but appreciate the quality of both prizefighters one is equally challenged to forget the unsatisfying way similar such handicap matches have gone in the last few years. But anyway a preview must be written.

There’s something hopeful about writing a fight preview you don’t find in any other column subject. Indulge me a bit, here, as this might be more about the mechanics of the craft than the upcoming fight – which you’ve got a wellformed opinion about already and hardly need information from me to refine.

At best a preview column might remind a reader of something he already knows. On rarest occasions there’s something overlooked by every expert and a writer taps it, but that’s unlikely to the precipice of impossible in the internet era. Some styles mesh unexpectedly. All fighters have flaws, and the surprises come along when, for reasons indecipherable enough to be called “chemistry”, an underdog sees a favorite’s flaws with a clarity unanticipated by all that favorite’s previous opponents. This is exceedingly rare with every trainer having access to footage of every prospective-opponent’s efforts.

Nothing trustworthy comes out of camps because they’re intended to deceive. You already know this. Every fighter has had the best camp of his career before the biggest fight of his career until he loses. Then you hear about the hand injury, the lacerated eyebrow, the pneumonia, the chief second’s visa issues.

The part of column writing one improves at most over the years is sizing ideas. Your first year of columns invariably includes a Homeric treatment of your chosen subject’s appeals. In this case it would be a humanitarian justification of prizefighting’s very being: makes heroes of underprivileged kids, provides official supervision of violent events that were going to happen anyway, affords the cultural edification of seeing courageous acts publicly done. You know going in these are 100,000-word ideas and you think: Imagine the literary density that’ll happen if I can get a 100,000-word idea compressed into a hundredth of its due!

This doesn’t work, and if you don’t end up in the shabbiness of bullet points you might as well. So you retreat into newsitorials, opinionated reporting, verse-chorus-verse. Then you take another chance in your second or third year: Growing the 100-word idea into 1,000 words. The essence of a left hook, the telltale snicker from the final presser’s dais, why some challenger’s wearing “I Luv U Mom” on his trunks foretold every single thing that happened in round 4.

This is enervating work but more rewarding than year-one’s compression initiative. Here’s why. By missing widely on the spectrum’s opposite end you’ve set a more-workable range than if you tried to make a smaller correction. By trying to stretch 100 words into 1,000, in other words, you’ve improved yourself disproportionately more than a lad who tries in his second year to compress a 50,000-word idea in to 1,000.

If you stay with it long enough, of course, you can’t help but improve. But endurance in this case, and especially in a case of no financial reward, is a function of talent; you might have written 1,000-word columns about a seasonless sport like ours for a decade without more than a lick if you needed to do so to pay rent. But to turn the same feat for free requires facility of some sort – at some level, however invisible it be to the practitioner, doing this must be easier for you than the hundred or so folks who threaten to do it but don’t.

What’ll happen a couple Saturdays from now in Arlington? What we already think will happen. Two of this generation’s best fighters in an unsatisfying handicap match. For what could happen that would satisfy? Garcia stretching Spence is the only thing that comes to mind. And how likely is that? Spence stretching Garcia would be cathartic in its moment, like when Canelo fabric-softened Amir Khan then folded him with ruler-scored creases, but that catharsis would deteriorate quickly into an idea like: Spence did what he was supposed to do.

Some of you may tell yourselves seeing Garcia make a masterclass in boxing and play keepaway unto a 12-round decision would induce longlasting euphoria, but if that were true we would talk about Leonard-Hagler today often as we talk about Hagler-Hearns. Which we don’t.

Errol Spence is one of my favorite fighters. Mikey Garcia was one of my favorite fighters eight years ago – the night in 2010 he took the staples out Cornelius Lock on a card in Laredo was memorable impressive. Garcia squandered much of aficionados’ high opinions of him with the way he ended things against Orlando Salido in 2013 and the way he began them with Juanma Lopez five months later. Not long after that began his hiatus and a comeback against opponents either unproved or proved underwhelming; only in a promoter’s alternative universe is decisioning Robert Easter a meaningful feat for someone of Garcia’s gifts and pedigree.

Which is why Garcia now shoots at the moon, bounding up a couple weightclasses and fighting one of the world’s two best welterweights. He has hall-of-fame gifts unjustified by his resume. Spence’s case is more sympathetic. He wants to unify a division whose fellow titlists are wanting for one reason or another, but absent that he might as well go for the biggest payday available. One assumes this is that. But I’m not sure. Ringside in December a veteran of many Garcia fights told me: “He never did sell tickets for us.”

But one doesn’t book a football stadium otherwise, right? We’ll know soon enough.

Garcia’s quest, to justify his gifts, brings us neatly back to the craft of column writing about boxing. For all but a practitioner or two it is the only reason to file regularly. To justify one’s perceived gifts in a way that precludes regret, to preclude the gnawing sensation that accompanies an admission of one’s own ungratefulness.

Doubtful AT&T Stadium is the place to complete such a journey, I’ll take Spence, KO-11.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry