"BATTLE OF ORLEANS" FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Photo by Mary Ann Owen

11.07 - In a highly anticipated rematch of perhaps the year's biggest upset, Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga will defend his World Boxing Council/World Boxing Association (WBC/WBA) welterweight titles when he faces former WBC 147-pound champion Vernon "The Viper" Forrest July 12 at The Orleans in Las Vegas. In the second of three world title fights, DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley will put his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Welterweight crown on the line for a third time when he faces former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight titleholder Zab "Super" Judah. Rounding out the Don King Productions world championship tripleheader will be WBA Junior Welterweight Champion Vivian Harris making his initial title defense against unbeaten mandatory challenger, Souleymane "The Sensation" M'Baye. The Mayorga-Forrest and Corley-Judah bouts will be televised by HBO.

RICARDO MAYORGA (24-3-1, 1 NC, 22 KOs):
"I am very happy, calm and feel great. I do not care if Vernon Forrest chose to stay away and not help with the promotion. If nothing else, I think it will work against him because it will only inspire me to fight even harder. I know Forrest is scared. He won't talk. I cannot wait until Saturday. I am going to knock him out in the second round.''

VERNON FORREST (35-1, 1 NC, 26 KOs)
"I would like to apologize to Don King and I'd also like to apologize to the media for not being accessible for interviews and things like that. This fight is very important to my career and I really did not want any distractions. I have been in camp since April. I am completely focused.''

DEMARCUS 'CHOP CHOP" CORLEY (28-1-1, 16 KOs):
"I am very excited. We have talked about fighting each other for many years, and in two days Judah and I will get it on. I have trained very hard for this. I am not surprised that Judah is the favorite. He held a world title before me. He fought Kostya Tszyu. He's been on TV more than me. But I am looking forward to Saturday and putting on a good show. Everybody knows that this is my life. I would like to thank Zab for signing the contract because without him signing there is no fight.''

ZAB JUDAH (28-1, 1 NC, 21 KOs):
"I would like to thank Don King and everybody involved. I would also like to thank my team for helping me prepare. I had a great camp. I would like to thank Team Corley for giving me a chance to fight for the title. Sure, there has been some bad blood between us. But without the bad blood, there might not have been a fight.''

VIVIAN HARRIS (22-1-1, 16 KOs):
"I have the same feeling now as I have before every fight although I am a little more excited about defending my title for the first time. I have watched tapes of M'Baye. I know he is a good, fast boxer. I feel I am as good as any 140-pounder in the world. The fact not a lot of fans have heard of me does not bother me at all. My goal is to do what I have to do to stay on top. If I do that, I know everything else, like recognition, will come. This is going to be a great fight Saturday night.''

SOULEYMANE M'BAYE (27-0, 18 KOs):
"God Bless America. I am happy to be in Las Vegas with a chance to fight for the world title. I like to think I am going to make a great fight against a first-class champion. I am a little upset that this fight will not be televised, but maybe my next fight will be.''