Steve Lopez

Weigh-In Photo Gallery: Maidana-Lopez, Angulo-Lara, Charlo-Hopkins

_DSC2284Ladies and gentlemen…it’s Showtime!

The historic Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles, CA was host to the anticipated Welterweight showdown between hard-punching Marcos Maidana and tough-as-nails Josesito Lopez this Saturday night 06/08/2013.

The Showtime Championship Boxing series is scheduled to deliver yet again another stacked fight card in the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. Given their past fights and performances, the main event easily promises to deliver fireworks.

The co-main event fight between Alfredo Angulo and Erislandy Lara is another matchup that generates intrigue. Can “El Perro” Angulo find a way to use his punching power, along with the new skills acquired with a new trainer, to stop the slick Erislandy Lara? Or…will Erislandy Lara just be too slick, too quick for Angulo and deliver a boxing clinic?

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MAYDAY Undercard Fighters: Final Press Conference

deleon1As the Mayweather-Guerrero Welterweight showdown looms, a special final press conference was held for all of the televised undercard fighters. Abner Mares, Daniel Ponce de Leon, Leo Santa Cruz, Alexander Munoz, Gabriel Rosado and J’Leon Love all took the podium to provide final comments and predictions for their respective bouts.

The Abner Mares VS. Daniel Ponce de Leon Featherweight title match headlines the undercard. This fight alone can arguably be a main event of its own on an independent card. However, Golden Boy Promotions wanted to make this Cinco de Mayo boxing weekend a special one. Stephen Espinoza from Showtime Sports deems this whole televised boxing card as one of the best, top to bottom, in recent years:

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Final Press Conference: MAYDAY – Mayweather vs. Guerrero

IMG_5337The final press conference for MAYDAY’s headline fight took place this Wednesday 05/01/2013. Promoters, managers, trainers and fighter’s took the opportunity to address the media as Saturday looms. Up until this point in the promotion of this event, both Mayweather and Guerrero have strayed away from press conference antics, scuffles and any other rough tactics to promote interest in the event.

It wasn’t until the final press conference that we saw some verbal bashing and attacks from either camp. The verbal bashing, however, did not come from either Mayweather or Guerrero. It actually came from Ruben Guerrero, the trainer and father of Robert Guerrero.

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr. – Exclusive Media Roundtable Interview

Mayweather vs De la Hoya Guinness Record(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) After the final press conference for MAYDAY concluded, both Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Robert Guerrero took the time to address members of the media for brief one-on-one interviews and media roundtable interviews.

Many questions were answered, ranging from topics inside and outside of the ring. I took the privilege, along with other media members, to partake in an exclusive media roundtable interview with Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Here’s an exclusive transcript of a few of the many questions that were answered were Mayweather answers questions dealing with his motivation, his line-up of rising stars under the Mayweather Boxing Club, Guerrero’s rough house tactics and his appreciation to the fans all over the world.

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MAYDAY Fight Week: Fighter Grand Arrivals -The countdown has started

Floyd Mayweather(Photo credit: Esther Line/Showtime) Las Vegas, NV once again captures the boxing spotlight this early May 2013 as Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero will square off in one of the year’s most anticipated Welterweight boxing events. The fighters from the planned televised fights made their grand arrival to the MGM Grand this Tuesday 04/30/2013.

To say that the audience turnout for the fighters’ grand arrival was a “pretty good one” would be a great understatement. In actuality, the MGM Grand main lobby was flooded with devoted boxing fans as well as members of the media. Appearances included Alexander Munoz, tough Light Middleweight Gabriel Rosado, rising star J’Leon Love, hard hitting Mexican Leo Santa Cruz, newly Featherweight Abner Mares, Daniel Ponce De Leon…and of course the two fighters that everyone came to see: Robert Guerrero and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

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Canelo-Trout Post-Fight Press Conference Interviews and Photos

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San Antonio, TX finished its eventful boxing week on 04/20/13 Saturday night in front of nearly 40,000 fans at the Alamodome. The televised bouts of the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast included two fights that showed the reason why the fans came out to pack the venue.

The co-main event included a 1st round domination by Omar “Panterita” Figueroa, Jr. over Puerto Rican Abner Cotto. The thrilling first round included a knockdown of Abner Cotto halfway through the round. That exciting moment led to a culmination of the fight with “Panterita’s” vicious left hand body shot that sent Cotto to the ground towards the end of the round. Cotto was unable to survive the body shot as the referee completed a full ten count. This was definitely Figueroa’s coming out party as one of the rising stars in the lighter weights.

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Canelo Alvarez – Exclusive One-on-One Interview

IMG_4667After the final press conference concluded, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez took the time to partake in brief one-on-one interviews. I had the unique privilege to sit down with the Mexican superstar to get his perspective on the upcoming fight in San Antonio, TX.

Here’s a transcript of the questions and answers that were discussed with Saul Alvarez.

Steve Lopez: “Canelo, how are you feeling with just a few more days left for the fight?”

Saul Alvarez: “I’m ready, I’m ready. I prepared myself very well. Ready for anything. Obviously, we all come with the mentality of winning and that’s what I’m here for.

Steve Lopez: “How are you as far as weight? The weigh-in is tomorrow. How do you feel?”

Saul Alvarez: “Really well. The most I do is 20-30 minutes to lose whatever extra weight I gain from eating. I eat just enough to maintain the weight. Everything is great.”

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Austin Trout – Media Roundtable Exclusive Interview

IMG_4866After the final press conference concluded, Saul Alvarez and Austin Trout took the time to address members of the media for one-on-one and roundtable interviews. I, along with other media correspondents, took the exclusive opportunity to sit down with the WBA champion.

Here’s a transcript of the questions and answers that were discussed with Austin Trout.

Question: “Are you worried much about the judging for the fight?”

Austin Trout: “It’s something I can’t focus much on or worry about because, at the end of the day, I have to focus on what I have to do in the ring. If it goes to the judges, it’s in God’s hands. If they want to jerk me, then it’s between them.”

Question: “How are you able to go through all these lion’s dens? Kind of a ‘no fear’ attitude? What is it?”

Austin Trout: “You can’t have any fear in this sport. I think there’s been a lot of fighters, say their Mexican, aren’t worried about anything. But in my opinion, it’s because they’ve been spoiled. We’ve gone to hell and back to get to where we are. I’m not going to let a variation of judges stop me from fighting.”

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Day 2: Canelo-Trout Fight Week – Final Press Conference

IMG_4802The boxing buzz continued in San Antonio, TX with Day 2 of the Saul Alvarez VS. Austin Trout fight week. Day 2 consisted of the Final Press Conference to officially provide closing remarks from the fighters, trainers and promotion managers. Media members from all avenues ranging from television stations/networks, news columnists, internet media and local broadcasting gathered to provide exclusive coverage of the Super Middleweight unification showdown taking place in a few days at the Alamodome.

If media individuals were expecting scuffles and bittersweet trash talking from either camp, those individuals were surely disappointed. On the contrary, all of the fighters and camp members, along with promotional representatives, exerted the utmost professionalism towards their opponents and media members. With over 35,000 tickets already sold and countless viewers scheduled to tune in on the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast, this event requires no additional tactics to promote itself.

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Day 1: Canelo-Trout Fight Week — Media Workouts, Exclusive Gallery and Quotes

IMG_4554The state of Texas is once again on the boxing spotlight: Saul Alvarez VS Austin Trout fight week has finally arrived in San Antonio, TX!

Although the fighters have been in the city for a few days already, the events that are open to the public and the media officially started this Wednesday 04/17/13. Day 1 featured public workouts from the main fighters on the card: Abner Cotto, Jermall Charlo, Raul Martinez, Austin Trout, Omar Figueroa, Jr. and Saul Alvarez. Even though the activities were taking place during a cloudy afternoon with no sunshine at all and vague mists of rain, the weather did not stop the fans from coming out and showing their support and excitement!

The fighters showcased some of their workout drills, routines and shadowboxing right in front of the historic Alamo monument in downtown San Antonio, TX. WBA Welterweight Champion Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi was at hand to lead the event along with Jesse James Leija, a fantastic live band and mariachi group. I had the privilege to capture quotes and visuals from the event.

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