Friday, Nov. 11, Cohen Stadium, El Paso, Texas
Live at 11:05 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) on SHOWTIME®
Austin “No Doubt” Trout: 154 pounds
Frank “The Italian Stallion” LoPorto: 152.5 pounds
Michael “The Brazilian Rocky” Oliveira: 157 pounds
Xavier “The X-Man” Toliver: 157.75 pounds
NOTE: WEIGHTS (Nov. 10, 2011) – El Paso, Texas, native Austin “No Doubt” Trout (23-0, 13 KOs) of Las Cruces, N.M, weighed in at 154 pounds and Frank “The Italian Stallion” LoPorto (15-4-2, 7 KOs) of Melbourne, Australia, measured 152.5 pounds one day before their 12-round World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Welterweight World Championship main event showdown on ShoBox: The New Generation, Friday, Nov. 11, at 11:05 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas.
In the eight-round middleweight co-feature, Michael “The Brazilian Rocky” Oliveira (15-0, 12 KOs) from Miami, Fla., tipped the scales at 157 pounds and Xavier “The X-Man” Toliver (23-7, 15 KOs) from College Park, Ga., weighed 157.75 pounds.
The weigh-in took place at a packed Mulligan’s Sports Bar and Grill with several local television stations, members of the local press and some boisterous fans in attendance.
Here’s what each fighter had to say on Thursday:
AUSTIN TROUT:
“I’m treating this fight like LoPorto has the title and I have no choice but to win. Being on SHOWTIME, I need to get the public to respect me and looking good tomorrow night is going to do that.”
On the hometown crowd:
“It’s not going to affect me either way. Maybe they like me because I’m local. Maybe they don’t because I’m an African American who has beat a lot of Mexican fighters. We’ll see.
“I’m looking to up my stock. My goal is to clean out the division and become an undisputed champion. (Miguel) Cotto, (Saul) Alvarez, (Cornelius) Bundrage — if he can hang on to his belt — I’ll face them all. Even (James) Kirkland and (Alfredo) Angulo. They are better known than me at this point.”
On critics not respecting his title:
“Where’s their belt? I don’t care what you call my belt. I’ll defend it like I would any other belt. The whole belt system has lost prestige. That’s not my fault. Even still, they don’t just hand these out in a crackerjack box.”
FRANK LoPORTO:
“To be honest, I think my Daniel Dawson fight was tougher than this one. Dawson is tougher than Trout, stronger than Trout. Dawson is tough as nails. If I pressure Trout the same way I did Dawson, he won’t last.
“I go in there to do a job. I fight my fight. If he wants to move, I won’t let him. I want to bang. I’ll put enough pressure on him that he’ll have to stand there and fight me. That’s what people want to see. I could turn the crowd in my favor with my style.”
MICHAEL OLIVEIRA:
“My style in the ring shows my personality. It’s important to give the people what they want. I know people will be watching so I want to win — and win impressively.
“I’d love to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He is just someone I’ve been thinking about for a long time. It’d be a great fight.
I’ll take this fight where it needs to go. If a KO comes, I’ll take it. If it goes long, no problem. I could do 12 rounds if I had to.”
On what car he drives:
“A Bentley. It’s a GT Continental.”
XAVIER TOLIVER:
“I came to win the fight — short camp or not. A win would put me in a better situation to get bigger fights. I’m willing to take the risk. That’s the kind of fighter I am.”
On taking a fight on short notice:
“Weight is key and I knew my weight was right. Then I need to make sure I was conditioned. I’ve been running and sparring. I’m ready.
“It’s fine to be considered the underdog. He might be considered the big prospect. He might be considered the favorite but I’ve got the experience. The kid is gonna have to fight. And with me, it’s always a fight.”
ShoBox, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, will feature Al Bernstein calling the action alongside expert analysts Steve Farhood. Gordon Hall is the executive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing the Rick Phillips directing.
PUGILISTIC PUNTER’S £55,555 PAC-MAN PLUNGE
A punter has walked into a William Hill shop in central London and placed a bet of £30,000 on World Champion boxer Manny Pacquiao to win his title fight with Jorge Manuel Marquez this weekend at odds of 1/9, in a double with UFC fighter, Cain Velasquez at 4/6 to defeat Junior Dos Santos, in their heavyweight showdown.
If both fighters win, the customer will collect £55,555 – but if either of them fails to win he will lose all £30,000.
‘Although boxing and UFC are both popular betting sports in their own right there appears to be an element of antipathy between the two, and it is comparatively rare for punters to follow both sports – and this is definitely the first time we have taken a bet of this size, doubling the sports up’ said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.
Meanwhile, Hills have also seen some substantial bets on the weekend fight between up and coming Commonwealth Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, and Neneh Pajkic – with two bets of £5000 each being placed on the Canadian based outsider, who has been shortened from 6/1 to 11/2. ‘The bets were placed in Manchester and London. The opposition camp have been making confident noises about winning this one and it would be no real surprise if rumours that they are confident enough to bet on themselves proved to be true’ said Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe.
HILLS….1/9 Pacquaio……..25/1 draw……Marquez 6/1
MP- 7/4 pts; 8/13 ko……..JMM – 12/1 pts; 14/1 ko
1/10 Fury…….40/1 draw……Pajkic 11/2
Fury- 10/3 pts; 3/10 ko….Pajkic – 22/1 pts; 8/1 ko
Pacquiao/Marquez HBO Zone Roadblock set for Sat., Nov. 12 from Noon – 6:00 p.m. ET/PT
HBO transforms the HBO Zone channel into a fight-day boxing destination with a sensational six-hour block of Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez fight-related programming just hours before their electric pay-per-view showdown in Las Vegas. PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ HBO ZONE ROADBLOCK happens SATURDAY, NOV. 12 (noon-6:00 p.m. ET/PT).
Jim Lampley, who will be ringside to call the blow-by-blow action on the pay-per-view presentation later that evening, serves as host of the roadblock, which includes a one-hour “Fight Day Now!” show from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas at 4:00 p.m. that will give fans all the latest news and insights as the main event approaches. “Fight Day Now!” guests include Mike Tyson, Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Jr. and Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller.
PACQUIAO/MARQUEZ HBO ZONE ROADBLOCK includes:
Noon: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #1
12:30 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #2
1:00 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #3
1:30 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #4
2:00 p.m.: “24/7 Overtime: Pacquiao/Marquez” with Jim Lampley (replay)
2:30 p.m.: “Pacquiao/Marquez: In & Out of the Ring” (greatest hits; music video; ring life)
3:00 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #1
3:30 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #2
4:00 p.m.: “Fight Day Now! Pacquiao/Marquez”
5:00 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #3
5:30 p.m.: “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez” episode #4
Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
“Pacquiao vs. Marquez III” takes place Saturday, Nov. 12 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. (ET)/6:00 p.m. (PT).
The executive producer of HBO boxing is Rick Bernstein; producers, Dave Harmon, Thomas Odelfelt and Jonathan Crystal; director, Marc Payton.