Mike Tyson Interview Transcript

12/14/201212/13/2012 ESB

tyson5754434 MIKE TYSON: Hey Guys

Is there anything you don’t like to talk about in the show? Something that hurts you to talk about.

MIKE TYSON: You went right to the hurt part, huh? I speak about my daughter towards the end of the show and that’s kind of not a pretty sight.

Did you have to be pushed to talk about everything?

MIKE TYSON: I talk about everything that everyone knows about. They have seen them in the press and they don’t know the underlying factors – I am expressing that.

MIKE TYSON: They know it all so I have to talk about it or they would say, ‘that’s bull’ because they know it. What they don’t know it how i got started and what caused the altercation. They just know about the altercation. I am expressing the underlying story.

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Let’s Get Ready For Donaire-Arce: Media Workout In Houston, TX

12/12/201212/12/2012 Steve Lopez

By Steve Lopez: As the Pacquio-Marquez IV aftermath begins to slowly fade, we have another fight that will portray that Philippines-Mexico rivalry. The two Filipino and Mexican fighters are set to take the center stage this December 15, 2012 in Houston, TX: WBO Jr. Feather Champion Nonito Donaire and challenger Jorge Arce.

On Tuesday, both fighters were scheduled to take part in media/public workouts to begin the fight week festivities. Although neither fighter partook on mitt work or shadow boxing to say the least, both were open to answer many questions from the media. I had the privilege to be part of the workout, capture visuals and ‘Q & A’ transcripts from the day.

Wednesday will be the official Final Press Conference. Coverage and visuals will be provided as well.

Jorge “Travieso” Arce was beaming with Mexican confidence. Here are his answers to some of the questions posed to him by media members and fans:

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Harold Lederman: “Expect Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez to go all out in part four”

09/15/201612/07/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron – On the eve of the monumental fourth meeting between two future Hall of Fame fighters, Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez, HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman chimed in on what fight fans should expect to see when these ring legends collide at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“One variable that’s worth noting when you look at the fourth installment of the Pacquiao/Marquez saga is that two of the three ringside judges will be from outside of Nevada,” observes Harold Lederman. “I screamed and yelled that Juan Manuel Marquez is entitled to have all three judges flown in from other locations, but they’re using Adalaide Byrd as the lone Nevada state judge.”

“But one of the judges will be from Great Britain, and the other will be flown in from New Jersey, so we’ll see what happens. But at least we don’t have three Nevada state judges this time for a fight of this magnitude. Maybe they’ll see it differently, because my gut tells me that it’s going twelve rounds once again.”

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“King” Gabriel Rosado: “I will defeat Gennady Golovkin on January 19th”

09/15/201612/07/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: It’s been just a little over two months since “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) earned the opportunity to fight for championship gold by defeating Charles Whitaker in an IBF Junior Middleweight title eliminator on NBC Sports Network.

But to the surprise of most, the 26 year old puncher won’t be standing across the ring from IBF Champ K9 Bundrage when the opening bell sounds to begin his subsequent outing. The courageous Philly fighter will be taking on current WBA Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KOs) instead.

On January 19th, at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden, Rosado will face one of the more avoided fighters and hardest pound for pound punchers in the entire sport. The title fight will be broadcast on HBO, as one part of an outstanding World Championship triple-header.

When Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz contacted his fighter concerning the prospect of facing the undefeated WBA Middleweight Champion, it didn’t take long for Gabriel to answer with a resounding, “Where do I sign?”

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Famous Boxing Rivalries: Exclusive Interview with Iceman John Scully

09/15/201612/05/2012 Geoffrey Ciani

“He’s a true boxer. People think a boxer has to get on his toes and circle the ring laterally constantly to be called ‘a boxer’, but a boxer should be able to box in a ring the size of a phone booth and still be able to not get hit, and that’s the thing. I think Duran was a master at that.”—Iceman John Scully

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – With Manny Pacquiao slated to square off against Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time this Saturday night, I had the opportunity to speak with ‘Iceman’ John Scully to get his views on the upcoming match. From there, Scully shared his views on some other famous boxing rivalries throughout history, including Ali-Frazier, Gatti-Ward, Robinson-LaMotta, Holyfield-Bowe, and all of the fights that took place when Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, and Tommy ‘Hitman’ Hearns faced off against each other in the 1980s. This is the second installment of an ongoing series dedicated to the history of the sweet science. Below is a complete transcript of my discussion with Iceman.

John Scully Audio

GEOFFREY CIANI: Iceman, this Saturday night Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be fighting for a fourth time, which is unusual in this day and age. In your view, what do you think the keys to victory for each fighter is?

JOHN SCULLY: I mean basically to me I think each guy needs to do, well I mean Marquez certainly just needs to do what he’s been doing the other three times, because I think like even though he hasn’t been getting the decisions, I think he’s a little bit more on track towards a definitive victory than Pacquiao actually is. So I would recommend to him to just sharpen up the best he can, but basically do the same thing. I think if it’s not broke you don’t need to fix it. I think Pacquiao probably needs to throw a few more punches, you know raise up his output, and maybe he’s got to step around. He’s got to get Marquez a little bit more off balance than he was. I think Marquez was allowed to play the matador a little too much the last three times.

CIANI: Now what did you think of their first three encounters, and in particular their last bout that seemed to bring the most controversy of the three they’ve had so far?

SCULLY: I mean I kind of saw what everybody else saw. I mean they were real tough fights, real just hard to score. A lot of those were hard to score, but I mean for the last one, you know I have to admit that I thought Marquez was going to get the decision. I thought before they announced it I figured he had it. And I think not just for them two, it didn’t just mess up them two, but I think that the decision in the last fight, or the performance of both guys in the last fight has done a great deal of damage to a potential Mayweather fight with Pacquiao. I think that people that thought Pacquiao was going to beat Mayweather, I think a lot of those people have changed their minds. And I don’t think any new people that didn’t think Pacquiao was going to win, I don’t think they changed their minds after the last fight. So I think they kind of bit themselves in the butt there because I think they did a lot of damage to the potential of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight with his performance last time.

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Austin “No Doubt” Trout: The best kept secret in boxing is revealed

09/15/201612/03/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: Last night at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, undefeated WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) retained his title in decisive fashion by winning a wide unanimous decision over three division world champion and future Hall of Famer Miguel Angel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) with scores of 119-109 and 117-111 twice.

While many ringside pundits will argue that the judges’ verdict was a little wider than expected, most won’t dispute that the correct fighter won the highly publicized event.

Going into the bout, most casual fight fans weren’t familiar with the slick southpaw and were expecting a customarily clear and resolute victory for the Puerto Rican favorite in his favorite fight domain of Madison Square Garden. Although the Caguas warrior put forth a valiant effort, the experienced ring veteran couldn’t mount an effective assault against the crafty undefeated champion at any time during the twelve round match.

Now that the elite level cat is out of the boxing bag, will Austin reap the benefit of his dominant and decisive victory over one of the sport’s biggest names?

Not just yet.

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Austin “No Doubt” Trout fights with Faith, Hope, and Love in his corner

09/15/201612/01/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime – Corinthians 13:13 – “And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love; But the greatest of these is Love” (New American Standard Bible, 1995)

In the hard sport of boxing, less than one percent of the entire populous of prizefighters are ever given an opportunity to compete for the brass ring on its biggest stage. Love of the fight game is crucial, but passion alone simply isn’t enough to reach the sport’s highest pinnacle. Countless hours of dedication to the craft, driven by a resolute belief in oneself has proven to be a time tested recipe for success in the squared circle.

On Saturday, December 1st, a 27 year old fighter from Las Cruces, New Mexico will receive his time to shine at the “Mecca of Boxing”, New York City’s world renowned Madison Square Garden, when he faces his greatest challenge to date.

WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout will defend his title against ring veteran and three division world champion Miguel Angel Cotto this weekend in the main event of a Showtime televised fight card.

While most casual fight fans and mainstream sports enthusiasts will view the slick southpaw as a relative unknown going into the highly anticipated contest, the El Paso, Texas born boxer is anything but an overnight success story. The dream of eventual super stardom began to gestate within the unheralded fighter at an early age.

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Juan Manuel Márquez / Nacho Béristain Interview Transcript

09/15/201611/28/2012 ESB

TODD duBOEF: Welcome everybody. Welcome champion Juan Manuel Márquez, Fernando Beltran and Hall of Fame trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Béristain. Juan Manuel’s media day was in México last week and the reports say that Juan Manuel has never looked this good. We all know what has happened over the years and how this is a legendary match-up and I think it’s really important for everyone to speak to Juan Manuel and Nacho about their strategy and before I do that I would like to introduce Fernando the co-promoter of Juan Manuel

FERNANDO BELTRAN: Welcome and I think what Todd says is absolutely true. This is a unique rivalry and the most important match of the year without a doubt. We are going to close the year on the right foot. Juan Manuel is world champion in four weight classes and has never looked this good. Everybody knows about the controversy in the last fight. It was good for Manny Pacquaio to take this fight to clear everything up and let’s see who the best man is on December 8.

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The Legacy of Emanuel Steward Part 5: Exclusive Interview with Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko

08/12/201811/16/2012 Geoffrey Ciani

“Believe it or not, the monster has been created and Emanuel is with me. Even if he is not there he is with me. He is whispering in my ear as soon as I’m getting in the gym.”—Wladimir Klitschko

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – This is Part Five of an ongoing series dedicated to the memory and legacy of an extraordinary individual, Emanuel Steward, whose contributions to the world of boxing are simply remarkable. In this installment, I had the privilege of speaking with the Heavyweight Champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KOs), who is coming off of a lopsided unanimous decision victory when he successfully defended his crown against Mariusz Wach (27-1, 15 KOs) last Saturday night. This was Klitschko’s first bout without Steward since the two first paired up more than eight years ago. Wladimir provided his views and unique insight, and also shared some of his experiences working together with the Hall of Fame trainer. Here is what Wladimir had to say:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Wladimir, first of all I want to congratulate you on another outstanding victory this past weekend. I got to say I’m surprised that Wach was able to stand up to your shots for twelve rounds. How do you feel about your performance?

WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO: I should say that Wach showed a big heart, with no doubt. He had to absorb really bad punishment in the ring, because I know those shots were not easy to take. I felt my knuckles almost on every shot, and this man was like made out of rock. He took a lot of punishment. So I have a lot of respect for him for keeping on going, and especially in the eighth round when the referee almost stopped the fight and his corner let him go the next round. So I was really impressed with that performance, but it was another title defense and that’s basically it.

CIANI: Now I know this must have been difficult for you on some level, being your first fight without Emanuel Steward since you two first joined forces. For you, how was it dealing with that scenario for the first time without Emanuel for your preparations and for the fight itself?

KLITSCHKO: I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining with how difficult it was. You can imagine it was not easy to all of us, to the entire team, to get to know one week and a half before the fight that Emanuel passed away. It was something that really affected the entire team, and we’re still actually affected by that. We miss Emanuel! I mean everything in the training camp and everything related to boxing, in my life in boxing, is Emanuel Steward. I am Emanuel Steward in a certain way, because he shaped the size of my character and my presence in this world as I am, through Emanuel. And I feel this before when I worked with Emanuel. I finally could see Lennox Lewis, because Lennox Lewis is also Emanuel Steward. He’s a part of Emanuel Steward, and Tommy Hearns and everyone else. It’s just something that is difficult to describe with words how much we miss him and how much it hurt us.

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Abner Mares: “The public wants to see me fight Nonito Donaire”

09/15/201611/16/2012 ESB

By Joseph Herron: This past Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, Abner Mares continued to prove to his detractors that he is indeed for real. The 26 year old fighter overcame his toughest test to date in Panamanian sharpshooter Anselmo Moreno by applying massive pressure and placing shots in every opening.

After the sensational unanimous decision victory, the undefeated Golden Boy star announced that he had one fighter on his 2013 radar.

“I want to fight Nonito Donaire,” proclaims the reigning WBC Super Bantamweight Champion. “This is the fight that the public wants. This is the fight that the people want to see at 122 pounds. It’s only right that boxing gives the fans that fight. The fight fans shouldn’t have to wait years to see the best take on the best.”

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