British IBO Champion Chris Eubank Jr. (25-1-0,19 KOs) and Turkish Avni Yildirim (16-0, 10 KOs) and their respective teams fought with words at an overheated press conference before Saturday’s Ali Trophy quarter-final clash at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle.
At the end of the press conference, things escalated when Yildirim’s manager Ahmet Öner was close to engaging himself in a fight with a member of Team Eubank Jr.
Jamie Cox (24-0, 13 KOs) says he is ready to unleash his full potential as he prepares for his World Boxing Super Series quarter-final contest against George Groves (26-3, 19 KOs) on October 14 at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London.
“It’s an honour to be part of the World Boxing Super Series,” said Cox. “Some great names, some great fights, the best fighting the best, that’s what it should be about with The Muhammad Ali Trophy as the end result. I set my targets high and this is the big one.”
IBF Cruiserweight World Champion Murat Gassiev is full of praise for both Mairis Briedis and Mike Perez.
Murat Gassiev watched with interest as Mairis Briedis defeated Mike Perez via unanimous decision in the World Boxing Super Series in Riga, Latvia on Saturday night.
And the Russian IBF World Champion is full of praise for both combatants and fellow participants in the Ali Trophy cruiserweight tournament.
WBC Champion Mairis Briedis (90,1 kg) (22-0, 18 KOs) and Mike Perez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) (89,5 kg) are ready for Saturday’s Ali Trophy quarter-final at the Arena Riga, Latvia. “I can’t wait for tomorrow,” said Briedis, the WBC champion who was supported by a loud crowd of Latvian countrymen at Friday’s weigh-in Riga.
“Every fighter in this to tournament deserves to be here. I am not an odds maker, so I don’t do predictions. I can only promise that I will do my best to win in front of a sold-out arena and make my countrymen proud!”
WBC World Champion Mairis Briedis (22-0, 18 KOs) and Mike Perez (22-2-1, 14 KOs) faced each other at a press conference in Riga ahead of Saturday’s Ali Trophy Quarter-Final clash at Arena Riga, Latvia.
“It is a great honour for me and for Latvia to have such a big fight and tournament in our country,” said Briedis.
“I am looking forward to showing that Latvia is not only a country with singers and dancers, but also some world class boxing. There are some pressure on my shoulders fighting in front of a sold out arena, but I am sure I can handle it.”
WBA Cruiserweight World Champion Yunier Dorticos (22-0, 21 KOs) retained his title and stamped his place in the World Boxing Super Series Cruiserweight Semi-finals Saturday night with a sensational second round knockout of Dmitry Kudryashov (21-2, 21 KOs) in their quarter-final bout from the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Yunier Dorticos 199 vs. Dmitry Kudryashov 200
Lateef Kayode 197.75 vs. Keith Tapia 197.5
Nonito Donaire 125.5 vs. Ruben Garcia Hernandez 126
Fight week in San Antonio officially kicked-off as Yunier Dorticos and Dmitry Kudryashov went face-to-face Wednesday at the final press conference before their Saturday, September 23 World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight quarterfinal showdown taking place at the Alamodome.
World Boxing Super Series action will hit the United States for the first time this week as the Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov quarter-final showdown lights up the ring this Saturday, September 23 from the Alamodome in San Antonio.
This will be the third straight week of WBSS quarter-final action after Callum Smith impressively got the super middleweight tournament underway by dropping and beating previously unbeaten Erik Skoglund Saturday in Liverpool. The tournament kicked-off in spectacular fashion one week prior to that with unbeaten star Oleksandr Usyk delivering a TKO victory Marco Huck in Germany in the first cruiserweight quarter-final.
Yildirim’s coach: “I am the colonel, he is my Rambo”
Coach Ahmet Öner is ready to send his boxer Avni Yildirim (16-0, 10 KOs) into war against Chris Eubank Jr. (25-1, 19 KOs) on October 7 at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany.
“Our relationship is like a colonel and a soldier,” said Ahmet Öner. “Sometimes I call him John Rambo, and I am Colonel Trautman. He is my Rambo, I made him and I am very happy with what I’ve made.”
British Callum Smith (76,02 kg) (22-0, 17 KOs) and Swedish Erik Skoglund (76,06 kg) (26-0, 12 KOs) are ready for Saturday’s super middleweight premiere of the World Boxing Super Series and the quest for the Ali Trophy at the Echo Arena, Liverpool.
“I can’t wait for the fight,” said Smith.