The wait is over. Two of boxing’s toughest warriors, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez and the Texas titan James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland will clash in a 12-round super welterweight showdown at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on Saturday, May 9, 2015. Golden Boy Promotions, in association with Canelo Promotions, SMS Promotions and Leija*Battah Promotions will bring fans an explosive night of boxing when these two exciting warriors finally meet in this much anticipated match-up which will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Golden Boy Promotions
Chinese Heavyweight Sensation Taishan And Rising Stars Manuel Roman And Nick Arce Quotes
LOS ANGELES (Feb 13.) – Chinese heavyweight sensation Taishan and rising stars Manuel “Suavecito” Roman and Nick Arce hosted a Los Angeles media workout at Westside Boxing Gym before their respective bouts at that will take place on Feb. 27 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino and live on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes.
Taishan(2-0, 2 KOs) will fight against Roy McCary(3-2, 3 KOs) in the opening four-round televised bout and Manuel Roman (17-3-3, 6 KOs) will be facing the exciting rising star Diego De La Hoya(8-0, 6 KOs) in the co-main super bantamweight eight-round event. Nick Arce (1-0, 1 KOs) will fight in his second professional match against Lyonell Kelly (1-4-1) of Los Angeles, Calif. in a four-round lightweight swing bout hoping to make air time.
Here are what the fighters had to say about their preparation and their hopes for fight night on Friday, Feb. 27.
Stiverne, Wilder Talk Training Camp And Their Place In Heavyweight History
“One man has the hype, the other the belt. But you need both to make heavyweight history.” – ALL ACCESS: STIVERNE VS WILDER premieres tonight, Friday, Jan. 9 at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT during SHOWTIME® Free Preview Weekend and immediately preceding the first SHOBOX: The New Generation of 2015 (Redkach vs. Amidu, 11 p.m. ET/PT; live on SHOWTIME).
Take a peek behind the scenes of Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder’s training camps in advance of their WBC Heavyweight World Championship showdown. Get into the action with this full episode of ALL ACCESS, and don’t miss the United States’ most anticipated heavyweight battle in a decade on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT; live on SHOWTIME.”
David Lemieux Interview Transcript
David Lemieux – Camp has been going great. I’m in the best shape right now I have ever been. I’ve trained very well against Fernando Guerrero, but nothing like I’ve been training now and I’ve reached some highpoints that I never thought I could reach and become so strong. My punches are coming off very, very well. And I’ve been doing some 10-rounds, 12-rounds sparring. We’re ready for anything. The shape is there, the endurance is there, and the power is more there than ever.
So, this is going to be an exciting fight for the fans and for everybody, and it’s going to be brutal. I’m very excited to be back in the ring. It’s the first time in the US as a pro so it’s going to be very interesting fighting at the Barclays Center on HBO for a main event. I’m very confident that I did everything I had to do. I’m not fighting for the fans; me, I’m fighting for my family. I want to feed my children. So I know that whatever I do is going to reward the fans and make sure that the fans are always satisfied because, as a pro, I’m there to do the best I can do. So let’s get down to business on December 6th.
Gabriel Rosado Interview Transcript
Gabriel Rosado – I’m having a great camp, I’m excited about this fight. This is the last week of sparring and I’m just ready to roll.
Q – Can you talk about the difficulty and maybe the hesitance in parting ways with a trainer you’ve worked with so long?
G. Rosado – Yes, Billy Briscoe, he was my trainer for about 10 years. But it just kind of got to the point where I just felt that it wasn’t anything personal, it’s just business and I thought that in order for me to take it to that next level, I had to make a move. And Jesse Reid is one of the best trainers in the world. He’s trained 25 World Champions and it’s funny how it just worked out.
Bernard Hopkins Attemps To Unify Once Again
Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) isn’t the first elder statesman of the sweet science to hold the light heavyweight crown.
With a win on Saturday, November 8 against WBO Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, Hopkins would be just one belt away from becoming the first fighter in boxing history to hold all four major alphabet titles simultaneously in two different weight divisions.
Bernard Hopkins Interview Transcript
O. De La Hoya – Let me introduce to you the current WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion and obviously a future first ballot Hall of Famer. He won the Middleweight World Title in 1995, and defended that title 20 times, solidifying his place as one of the best, if not the best middleweights in boxing history.
Bernard Hopkins, not only are we talking about the fighter who is the best in this era, but can possibly be the best in any era. When you talk about comparing the ’80s and the ’70s and the ’60s and 1990 and the 2000s, well Hopkins is a fighter you can say would have competed, if not would have been the best, in any era. That’s what we’re talking about right here.
Sergey Kovalev Interview Transcript
Oscar De La Hoya – We are getting close to what is probably the most anticipated event of this year, the main event, “Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev,” which will be a 12-round light heavyweight unification bout. The co-feature, we’re excited to announce is Sadam Ali vs. Luis Carlos Abregu, which will be a 10-round welterweight bout, and that event is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank taking place at Caesars Atlantic City. We are excited to be also once again working with Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico – Live it To Believe It.
Tickets are still available but they are, as a lot of people here on this call can attest to it, going extremely, extremely well. Obviously, it’s a testament to the great card that we have put together. Now let me, without any further ado, introduce to you a co-promoter of this magnificent event to introduce to you Kovalev, is the CEO of Main Events, Kathy Duva.
Canelo Alvarez Signs Major Agreement with HBO Sports
“For all of my career, I have wanted to fight on HBO for one main reason–I believe it will allow more of my fans to see me in action,” said Álvarez (44-1-1, 31KOs). “Today marks a huge milestone for me, and I look forward to a long and successful partnership with HBO.”
Álvarez, a light-middleweight knockout artist known for his tremendous punching power, made his pro debut in 2005 at 15-years-old and quickly became one of the most popular prize fighters in the sport. His exciting fighting style and reputation for taking on all comers has captured the attention of fans all around the world.
Floyd Mayweather interview transcript
(Photo credit: Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions) Kelly Swanson – Thanks, everybody, for calling in. It’s such a pleasure to be joined today by Floyd Mayweather, the 11-time, five-division world champion, to talk about his upcoming fight “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2”. Also joining us is Leonard Ellerbe, Chief Executive Officer of Mayweather Promotions.
Before I introduce Leonard I just wanted to make one program note. The fight week schedule will be distributed later this week, so everybody please take a look for that in your e-mail. That will give you a breakdown of everything happening during fight week starting Tuesday with the Grand Arrivals. I am going to now turn it over to Leonard Ellerbe to make the introductions.