22.06.06 – Photo by: Tom Casino of SHOWTIME – From LEFT to RIGHT: Anthony Dirrell, Robert Guerrero, Andre Dirrell, Marcus Don Hall, Gamaliel Diaz, James Morrow (behind Diaz) – The winner of the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight elimination bout – and first rematch in the five-year history of “ShoBox” – will become the mandatory challenger to WBC No. 1 contender Nicky Cook..
In co-featured bouts, the promising, unbeaten Dirrell brothers, Andre and Anthony, of Flint., Mich., will make their “ShoBox’’ debuts in separate six-round super middleweight bouts. Andre (7-0, four KOs) will meet Marcus Don “The Barber” Hall (11-1, 1 NC, four KOs). Anthony (8-0, eight KOs) will face James Morrow (9-2-2, 1 NC, four KOs). The tripleheader from the Oakland/Alameda County Arena in Oakland, Calif., will be promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions.
In a rematch of a thrilling, action-packed slugfest that wound up as one of 2005’s most shocking upsets, “The Ghostbuster,” Gamaliel “Platano” Diaz (20-5-2, nine KOs), will face Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (17-1-1, 10 KOs) in the “ShoBox: The New Generation” main event Friday, June 23, on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast). The winner of the World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight elimination bout – and first rematch in the five-year history of “ShoBox” – will become the mandatory challenger to WBC No. 1 contender Nicky Cook.
GAMALIEL DIAZ (20-5-2, 9 KO’s) 125 1/2 Pounds
“I will push Guerrero more with punches. I will fight him harder than I did the first time.”
“We spent almost three moths sparring. We trained even better than we did last time.”
“I never felt Guerrero’s punches in the first fight. It could be because my adrenaline was pumping.”
“At the beginning of the first fight, Guerrero felt my punches and gave me respect.”
“I felt I was winning the first fight going into the last round, but I was worried when the referee deducted a point from me.”
“I made Guerrero miss a lot, and that made him lose his head.”
ROBERTGUERRERO (17-1-1, 10 KO’s) 126 Pounds
“I took Diaz lightly in the first fight. Do not ever read your press clippings. We had the wrong game plan and the wrong mindset. A lot had to do with my stance being too wide. I was not able to use my legs. They were like concrete. I was always a half-second too late.”
“Diaz is hard to hit in the head, but his body does not move like his head.”
“The driving force for me is the rematch. I had a bad night in the first fight. It is time to show that was a bad night.”
“The Diaz fight really opened my eyes.”
“I am blessed. God has a plan for me. I was getting a lot of press. God is putting me in the fire.”
“I expect Diaz to sharpen his defense for this fight. We practiced cutting off the ring and firing body shots.”
“I am ready to rock n’ roll.”
GUERRERO’S TRAINER, JOHN BRAY
“I thought Diaz was going to be more aggressive in the first fight. He did just the opposite and we made adjustments too late. We are prepared for war. We did not let any stone go unturned.”
ANDRE DIRRELL (7-0, 4 KO’s) 169 pounds
“I am a natural lefthander, but I move to a right-handed stance for the power shots. I fight 60 percent as a lefty, 40 percent as a righty. It comes naturally to me. I do not think about switching.”
“I see confusion in my opponents because of my hand speed. I know I am going to win after the first round.”
“I was not embarrassed when I got knocked down in my last fight (against Alfonso Rocha on May 25, 2006). I laughed it off and pummeled Rocha.”
“When I did not fight for eight months (August 2005-April 2006), it was a downfall for me. I did not want to train, and I saw other Olympians getting more fights. Now, things are on track for me.”
“My brother has a strong attitude inside of the ring and out of it. He is cocky and always has something to prove. There always is a competition between us outside of the ring. The difference between us is my speed to his power.”
DIRRELL’S TRAINER, LEON LAWSON
“I think Andre would have done the same thing to Jeff Lacy as Joe Calzaghe because he is that fast.”
MARCUS DON HALL (11-1, 1 NC, 4 KOs) 167 pounds
“I am going to fight my style regardless of whether Dirrell switches from left to right handed. I like to initiate the action.”
“My goal is to take advantage of boxing and not let boxing take advantage of me.”
“I have a clue and strategy set aside for Dirrell. Win, lose or draw, this is a chance to show my next opponent what he will be facing.”
“If I cannot box, at least I can give you a good haircut.”
ANTHONY DIRRELL (8-0, 8 KOs) 168 pounds
“How much I switch fighting styles depends on my opponent. I fight 50-50 as a right and left hander.”
“I set things up with the jab and hit my opponent with a shot he will not see.
“I am not worried about going the distance. Not everyone is going to fall off the earth and get knocked down. Somebody I fight will be able to take a punch.”
“I have not really been challenged yet. I would love to be challenged. It would be better if I am challenged early in my career because it will show what I have to face later.”
“Being younger, I want to get out of my brother’s shadow. We compete in everything.”
“I am a better fighter than my brother. I go out and try to take the fight.”
JAMES MORROW (9-2-2, 1 NC, 4 KOs) 167 1/4
“We just found out today that we were fighting Anthony, not Andre Dirrell. We saw it on the internet. We are happy about it.”
“I plan to throw the right hand a lot to neutralize Dirrell’s southpaw stance. I am not going to try and knock him out. I am going to stay away and box.”
“I lost 31 pounds in two weeks to fight Tyrone Brunson (Feb. 4, 2006). That fight never should have happened. I was a dead man walking when I entered the ring on fight night. I was out of that fight before it started.
“There is a lot more pressure to perform on national television. I do not want to get knocked out in the first round.”