Exclusive Interview – Omar Figueroa, Jr. & Team Arakawa

The co-main event for Knockout Kings II will feature Texas’ own Omar “Panterita” Figueroa against Japan’s own Nihito Arakawa.

Figueroa is expected to be the fighter that Texas will be cheering on during Saturday night as he’s the one with the momentum between the two fighters. Arakawa is seemingly unknown to the mainstream fan. Could this fight be more competitive than we think? Team Arakawa certainly thinks so.

I had the opportunity ask both Figueroa and Team Arakawa some questions to shed some background and expectations to the viewers that don’t know much about them. Figueroa, though in his early twenties, showed maturity for his age as a fighter and person. Team Arakawa showed optimism for the upcoming bout as they recognized their opponent’s strengths and opportunities.

Weigh-In: Berto – Soto Karass, Figueroa – Arakawa, Thurman – Chaves

(Photo credit: Steve Lopez) Trim, fit and ready to go. The Knockout Kings are ready to put on a show in Texas.

Deep in the south of San Antonio, TX was the setting for the weigh in for Knockout Kings II. Typically, weigh-ins are held in front of arenas, theatres, public monuments or even indoor malls. San Antonio decided to be a little different and rugged this time and opted to host the weight-in in a sort of old-fashioned way in front of an HEB grocery food store.

Regards less of where it was held, the fans came out to show plenty of support along with members of the media for coverage. It just goes to show you that the Texas fans are willing to support the sport, even in a parking lot of a grocery store. All they need is a stage, loud music and beer models. Fans are ready to fill up the AT&T Center this Saturday 07/27/13 night!

Knockout Kings II Final Press Conference: Berto – Soto Karass, Figueroa-Arakawa and Thurman-Chaves

Knockout Kings are back in San Antonio, TX!

Showtime Championship Boxing returns to the culturally-rich city of San Antonio, TX to host a tripleheader that is sure to produce fireworks. “Knockout Kings II” will feature Keith Thurman VS. Diego Chaves, Omar Figueroa, Jr., VS Nihito Arakawa and Andre Berto VS. Soto Karass as the headliner.

The final press conference for the event was held on 07/27/13. The title for this card has the word “knockout” in it for a reason: all the fighters in the televised tripleheader have the ability and desire to end it via KO rather than going to the scorecards. One reason is perhaps the fact that Oscar De La Hoya will indeed grant a bonus to the fighter who will score the most spectacular knockout of the evening. This can only be a good thing for fight fans attending and watching the fight nationwide. With every fighter looking at scoring that extra bonus, it’s hard to pick which fight will steal the show.

Mayweather and Canelo Invade Houston, TX!

The unprecedented Mayweather-Canelo Press Tour continued on 07/01/2013 with another pit stop in Texas’ largest city: Houston, TX. As early as 8:00 AM in the first July morning of the year, fans began to flock to Houston’s Minute Maid Park Union Station. Although not as big as Mexico City’s mind-boggling turnout of 30,000+ fans, fellow Houstonians were ready to give the two boxing superstars a big Texas-sized welcome!

They say everything is bigger in Texas. This event was no exception.

Minute Maid Park’s Union Station was filled to capacity that left plenty of fans out in the heat as the festivities commenced. That did not discourage hardcore fans from sticking around. Once inside, the roaring fans let their voices heard. The red carpet was rolled out and the fans were restless with excitement. Was this a Mayweather or Canelo crowd?

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

_DSC2284 Ladies 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?

MAYDAY Undercard Fighters: Final Press Conference

deleon1 As 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:

Final Press Conference: MAYDAY – Mayweather vs. Guerrero

The 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.

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.