25.03.05 – Vargas: ”I am very excited about Saturday night. We worked hard in camp. Danny Smith is a great trainer. When I decided I was ready to come back I asked who Ishe Smith’s trainer is because Ishe helped me prepare for the De La Hoya fight. He was hard to it in camp. Danny has opened my eyes. I thought I knew everything there is to know about boxing. You’re going to see something on Saturday. Just wait . . . I’ll be moving back down to 154 after this fight . . . I want to thank my Corpus Christi fans”
Joval: “The road to victory is my road. That’s my road to get to the middleweight championship. In 2000 when they held the middleweight championship series, I didn’t get any offers from the big promoters. Keith Holmes, Joppy, Hopkins, and Trinidad were invited. But I wasn’t. I don’t know why. I realized I had to make the move to the United States, the biggest stage in the world. In 2003, I came to the U.S. Saturday night is a great opportunity for me. Vargas is a great opponent for me. I want to show everyone a great fight. It will be a classic.
Tracy Harris Patterson (Joval trainer): “Ray’s looking forward to a big fight Saturday night. He didn’t come out to be an opponent. He’s in great shape. Ray will prove to the world he is one to be reckoned with.”
Dennis Dueltgen (Main Events): “Main Events is very happy to be back in Corpus Christi, a city where we have a long, proud history. In 1984, we brought Corpus Christi its first big fight when Hector Camacho fought Rafael Williams. In 1986, we brought the city its first world title fight when Frankie Warren fought “Buddy” McGirt. We also had many other fighters compete here: Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Mark Breland, John-John Molina, and Lupe Suarez. This Saturday we have two-time world champion Fernando Vargas.”