Part 4 – Training Camp Winding Down; Fighters Firing Up
Las Vegas, Nev. (March 31)…The April 9 “Action Heroes” fight week festivities kick off in less than one week and the excitement continues to build with new fights added to the card including James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland vs. Nobuhiro Ishida and Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi vs. Jose Miguel Cotto. They join Erik “El Terrible” Morales vs. Marcos “El Chino” Maidana and Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero vs. Michael Katsidis “The Great” in what promises to be an action-packed night of boxing. As the fighters’ respective training camps wind down, each has something to say about their last days of preparation for “Action Heroes” at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev. which will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View®.
MORALES, MAIDANA, GUERRERO AND KATSIDIS – FINISHING STRONG
QUESTION: How are you feeling now that camp is winding down?
Morales: “I am very calm and ready. We had our last sparring session yesterday and I did close to 192 rounds total during camp.”
Maidana: “I am feeling great! It has been a great camp with changes for me with a new training camp and trainer, but I have the rest of my usual team with me, so I feel very comfortable.”
Guerrero: “I feel very motivated and excited for fight night.”
Katsidis: “It feels good because the fight is drawing near. We are enjoying what’s left of camp and, of course, the real enjoyment will come when the fight is over and I come out victorious.”
QUESTION: Do you feel as prepared as possible?
Morales: “I am ready and have no problems with my weight. The junior welterweight division gives me the opportunity to eat well and to make weight without sacrificing my body like I had to in the past.”
Maidana: “I am definitely prepared and hungry for this fight. I want to be a world champion again and move past the frustration I have felt since my fight with Amir Khan. I worked hard and will keep working hard until I come out with a win on April 9.”
Guerrero: “Since I was able to go away for training camp as opposed to the past when I had to stay close to home for personal reasons, I’m tremendously prepared for this fight.”
Katsidis: “I feel as prepared as I ever will be.”
QUESTION: Is there anything you haven’t worked on yet in camp that you have been saving for the last few days?
Morales: “The last thing to do is review everything we worked on and put it to use the day of the fight and of course use my experience in the ring.”
Maidana: “All I save is my punching power, which I will reserve exclusively for Morales on April 9.”
Guerrero: “No, nothing has changed; I’m moving full steam ahead with the game plan we have in place.”
Katsidis: “We are working on the enjoyment side of it now. We are almost done with the hard work we need to do.”
QUESTION: What do you think the outcome of changing your camp location has been?
Maidana: “The altitude of Mexico City was great for me, as well as my sparring partners. It was a breath of fresh air for me to change camp and I saw that I have a lot of fans in Mexico, which surprised me. However I am now in Las Vegas, where I’ve come to train for my last four or five fights, so I feel at home here. In all, both locations have been great for me.”
Guerrero: “It has given me the ability to be focused 100 percent on boxing.”
QUESTION: Would you change camps again?
Maidana: “Yes, why not? The routine of boxing preparations can get a little boring sometimes and you have to change things once in a while. On top of that, you learn new things when you go to new places and that’s exactly what I did.”
Guerrero: “God willing everything continues to stay the way it is at home and I’ll definitely come back out to Las Vegas for camp again.”
KIRKLAND, MALIGNAGGI AND COTTO – FULL SPEED AHEAD
QUESTION: Where are you training?
Kirkland: “I am training at the Pound 4 Pound Boxing Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada.”
Malignaggi: “I’m training at Wildcard Boxing Gym in Hollywood, CA.”
Cotto: “I am training in Caguas and Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, near my home. I am comfortable training here.”
QUESTION: Who is your trainer and how long have you trained with them?
Kirkland: “My new trainer is Kenny Adams and his assistant is Chris Rodriguez. I have been with him for my past two fights.”
Malignaggi: “I’m working with Eric Brown and this is our second training camp together.”
Cotto: “My trainer is Armando Alamo, one of the best young trainers from Puerto Rico. My brother Miguel Cotto is also with me. I have been with Armando for two years and we have chemistry like I have never experienced before. Having my brother in my corner gives me profound confidence and tranquility.”
QUESTION: Do you have any new training techniques that you are trying this time around?
Kirkland: “I’m working on better head movement and defense. I want to be in great shape, so I’m also working on getting my weight down to 158 pounds.”
Malignaggi: “The fans will have to wait until the fight. We don’t want to spoil any surprises.”
Cotto: “Yes, but I cannot say. You will see them implemented during the fight.”
QUESTION: What is your diet like?
Kirkland: “I eat a lot of salads, fruit and vegetables. I also like fish, chicken and pasta.”
Malignaggi: “My diet is a mix of chicken, fish and veggies, plus a lot of fruit as well.”
Cotto: “I eat healthily and sensibly. All of the good stuff!”
QUESTION: What are you concentrating on most now that you’ve been added to the April 9 “Action Heroes” fight card?
Malignaggi: “We are always working hard, but because we are on the ‘Action Heroes’ card, we are making sure all super-powers and action techniques are sharp and we’ll be full speed ahead on April 9.”
Cotto: “On winning and having a great performance!”
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“Action Heroes,” featuring Erik Morales vs. Marcos Maidana in a 12-round junior welterweight bout, Robert Guerrero vs. Michael Katsidis in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBA and WBO Interim Lightweight Championships, James Kirkland vs. Nobuhiro Ishida in an 8-round middleweight bout and Paul Malignaggi vs. Jose Miguel Cotto in a 10-round welterweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Erik Morales’ Box Latino and Universum Box Promotions and sponsored by CervezaTecate, AT&T, DeWalt Tools and TresGeneraciones Tequila. Guerrero vs. Katsidis is presented in association with Sampson Boxing. The bouts will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets for “Action Heroes,” priced at $350, $250, $150, $75, $50 and $25, are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
The Morales vs. Maidana pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $44.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Morales vs. Maidana fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.