APRIL 9 “ACTION HEROES” PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Posted on | April 7, 2011 | No Comments

ERIK MORALES, Six-Time & Three Division World Champion

“I trained very hard for this fight. I trained for eight weeks in Otomi, in the mountains of Mexico City.

“After so many interviews, I am starting to say to myself, ‘Was this the right decision? Am I the only crazy one that thinks I can win? When I am alone at night lying in bed, I start thinking to myself, I am not wrong.

“I didn’t make a mistake picking Maidana. I am going to prove it to you guys on Saturday night. I am going to prove that I wasn’t crazy.

“It is going to be a great night. After I win, it will be a big party and a special night for all my supporters.”

MARCOS MAIDANA, Former World Champion

“My advisor said I should speak a little bit for this press conference. Some of us talk a little bit and others talk more.

“I want to say thank you. I am very happy to be here. This is going to be a great event.

“There are a lot of very good fighters on this card. There are going to be great fights. Don’t miss it.

“For an Argentinean, headlining a fight in Las Vegas is a very special thing. Sometimes I do not even realize how bit it is for me. I will make Argentina proud on Saturday night.”

ROBERT GUERRERO, Former Three-Time World Champion

“I want to thank everyone for these prayers. I am excited. I have never been this excited for a fight or this prepared.

“This is going to be a really good interesting fight for the fans. I want to thank everybody and God bless.”

MICHAEL KATSIDIS, Former World Champion

“G’day mates. April 9, well what’s going to be April 10 in Australia is going to be Australia’s big day out.

“Boxing is hard as it is and you’ve got to take what you can when you can and we are thrilled about this fight. We are an army put together, and we are ready to fight this weekend.”

JAMES KIRKLAND, Undefeated Junior Middleweight

“I came well prepared for this fight. I came prepared for this fight.

“I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions and De La Hoya for staying by my side.

“I can’t wait to show all of the people who supported me that it was well worth it. There is nothing in my past that I regret because I learned from it all.

“I am ready to show everyone that I am a true champion.

“This is one of the cards that you have to be more motivated than anything to buy because this is a great opportunity for fans to get a whole card of comeback fights.”

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI, Former World Champion

“Coming into this fight we decided I needed an alter ego and my alter ego is “Magic Man.”

“Lately we’ve lost some boxing fans to MMA, but ‘Magic Man’ is here to get rid of all the evil forces and steal back those fans.

“I’ve been training at Wild Card gym since January. I was ready to fight in March then we got this date in April. So now I’m really ready to fight.

“The best guy I was ever in the ring with was Jose’s brother Miguel Cotto, but I’ ready for the other Cotto on Saturday.

“I’ve been through the ringer and have been in the ring with some of today’s best fighters. I am determined to get back to that level.”

JOSE MIGUEL COTTO, Top Contender

“I came to Las Vegas to give you guys a great show. This is going to be a great fight against Paulie Malignaggi. I’m ready for Saturday.”

NOBUHIRO ISHIDA, Former World Champion

“Thank you very for giving us the opportunity to fight in Las Vegas. I am going to fight for Japan. There are a lot of people who have died and are suffering.

“I am going to fight for everybody in my country. I am praying for Japan we will work hard Saturday night.”

JOSE “OLIVARITOS” MORALES, Morales’ Trainer

“My son had a little bit of a rest. He was never retired, but he had a three year rest. He had three fights last year. He was victorious. He fought good fighters with good names. We did exactly what we wanted to do. We were prepared, we had two fights.

“Maidana has a great record which is why we picked him. We feel we are going to win. It’s going to be a great fight.”

RUDY PEREZ, Maidana’s Trainer

“I want to thank Team Maidana for trusting in me to train Marcos for this fight.

“Never count out Erik Morales. This is going to be a war. We had six weeks of preparation. Maidana is ready and it is going to be a great fight.”

SEBASTIAN CONTURSI, Maidana’s Advisor

“Thank you to all the press for all of the coverage you have been giving us. Everyone who knows Maidana knows he is a man of few words.

“This is not going to be an easy fight. Marcos is expecting the best Erik Morales. He prepared himself the best ever and that is the reason why he will win.”

RUBEN GUERRERO, Guerrero’s Trainer & Father

“We had a great camp. This is the first time we had a real camp.

“We haven’t had a real camp in a long time. Robert is ready. He is ready right now. He is going to put up a good show and there is going to be a lot of action. My son is ready.”

BRENDON SMITH, Katsidis’ Trainer

“I want to thank Robert Guerrero. We are very happy to hear that your wife is ok. Good luck to you and your family in the future.

“The last time we came here was one of the hardest times we have had in his career as boxer and as a trainer. We are here to enjoy and take back the two titles to Australia.”

MICHAEL MILLER, Kirkland’s Lawyer

“Thank you for sticking by James during the last few months of his life. We appreciate the opportunity to get back and be active.

“We will show Saturday night that the wait was worth it. We promise Saturday night that those who like James and have watched him are in for a wonderful fight.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“To all of the media, you need to talk about these fighters and their stories. These are great stories. The human side of these fighters is incredible. That is what the public should know. You listen to Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero’s story, you listen to Katsidis’ story, you listen to Kirkland who also has an amazing story, you will see the kinds of hearts these fighters have.

“Erik Morales is a legendary fighter. He is a Six-Time and Three Division World Champion. He wants to be the first Mexican fighter to capture a title in a fourth division in this game.

“Morales had a plan. He is dedicated once again. He is a Mexican warrior. He has faced a lot of great fighters. He was the last man to beat Manny Pacquiao in an exciting fight.

“We at Golden Boy Promotions are honored to be putting this card on with such a legend.

“Maidana is such a warrior in the ring. He came back from a first round knock down against Khan and the fight was picked as the fight of the year by the Boxing Writers’ Association of America.

“Guerrero is a fighter that fights with passion and heart. We are proud and happy for you and are happy that his wife Casey went through that tough battle and she is ok.

“Everyone knows Michael Katsidis is a warrior in the ring.

“I feel very excited that we do have [Nobuhiro] Ishida here with us on this card because we all know he is going to come and fight.He is going to fight for all of his countrymen in Japan especially because of everything that has happened there.

“Any net profits from this fight, a portion of it will go to a relief fund in Japan.

“This fight is called Action Heroes and Paulie [Malignaggi] is definitely an action hero. This is going to be a great fight. The Cotto family has a history in boxing and Jose Miguel is going to bring that Saturday night.”

# # #

“Action Heroes,” featuring Morales vs. 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 facing 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 Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, DeWalt Tools and Tres Generaciones Tequila. Guerrero vs. Katsidis is presented in association with Sampson Boxing. The Pay-Per-View bouts will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Before the highly-anticipated “Action Heroes” televised fights kick off on HBO Pay-Per-View® on Saturday, April 9, fight fans can get ready for one of the biggest cards of the year with three preliminary bouts featuring Danny Garcia, Nate Campbell, Gary Russell Jr. and Rakhim Chakhiev, that will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The broadcast will be available free of charge and shown by several satellite and cable providers, as well as online, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 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.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @boxlatino, @UBPboxen, @terrible100, @ChinoMaidana, @TeamGuerrero, @MickKatsidis, @PAULMALIGNAGGI@DannySwift, @mrgaryrusselljr or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing. Follow HBO Boxing newsat www.hbo.com/boxing,Facebook at www.facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter www.twitter.com/hboboxing.

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.