ELITEXC CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES PROMOTING CORPUS CHRISTI SHOW

Posted on | November 1, 2007 | No Comments

CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES
KIMBO SLICE & JAKE SHIELDS,
KJ NOONS, PROMOTER GARY SHAW
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007

The America Bank Center Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas, will rock like it never has before when Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, presents “EliteXC: Renegade’’ on Saturday, Nov. 10, on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

An excellent main event will feature an EliteXC world title fight in a brand new weight class – 160 pounds — between talented, crowd-pleasing Nick Diaz and exciting, hard-hitting KJ Noons.

In other televised bouts, Kimbo will make his EliteXC debut against Bo Cantrell and world-ranked welterweight Jake Shields will face Mike Pyle. A fifth televised fight will be announced in the near future.

Tickets in all price ranges, starting at $25, are available at the American Bank Center Box Office and all TicketMaster locations. They also may be obtained at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (361) 881-8499. Any ticket buyer may purchase a $50 VIP Package Upgrade, which includes VIP parking and post-fight party at the American Bank Center.

Shaw: Hello, everyone. Thank you very much. We’re very excited about this card in Corpus Christi on Nov. 10 on SHOWTIME. I am happy to have KJ Noons on this call and Jake Shields, “The American Dream’’ and our new signee, Kimbo Slice. We’re really excited about this fight card. It’s a coming?out party for Kimbo. It’s an opportunity for KJ Noons to fight Nick Diaz and walk away with a belt. At this time, I’d also like to let everybody know that we’re going to start some new weight classes at EliteXC. From bottom to top, we’ll have a 140-weight class, and also 150, 160, 170, 185, 205 and, of course, 265 is our super weight and above. I believe very much in the safety, health and welfare of the fighters. I’m very concerned in the mixed martial arts world about this cutting of drastic amounts of weight, not only the week of but also the night before and almost the day of. I want to get some weight classes so the fighters can fit much better into certain weight classes and have the opportunity to fight for world titles without endangering their health. That’s, simply, the reason why we’re opening up these weight classes. I’ve always believed that it’s not just about the heavyweights, the big boys, in both in boxing and mixed martial arts, and that the lighter-weighted guys can really light it up as well.

Question: Kimbo, what are your thoughts on joining EliteXC and making your debut for them on Nov. 10 and your transition into MMA?

Kimbo: I’m glad about it. I thank God EliteXC was able to come through and snatch me up because for a minute everything was shut down and I was kind of upset that I wasn’t going to get a chance to fight. That hard training, hard work — you know what I’m saying — that I put into it, (to think I) wasn’t able to bang was kind of depressing for me. (The guys at EliteXC) came through. We had a great conversation. I thank God for those guys, man, because I’m excited about it. I’m ready to fight.

Question: Jake, what are your thoughts going into your Nov. 10 fight?

Shields: I’m excited to be fighting for EliteXC again and have been training really hard. I think Mike’s a great opponent. I’m ready to go out there and fight.

Question: KJ, what are your thoughts on fighting Nick Diaz?

Noons: He’s the No. 1 one guy in the world. He beat Gomi. I’m getting an opportunity to face the No. 1 guy for a title with EliteXC. I’m excited and I’ve been training really hard. I’m ready to definitely make this a fight of the night, fight of the month, whatever. I’m ready to mix it up with Nick.

Question: Gary, can you explain how you go about working your title fights? Why were Diaz and Noons picked for this title fight and why what was originally supposed to be a title fight in the welterweight division between Shields and Pyle is now not?

Shaw: Sure. Let me take the KJ-Diaz fight first. I believe both are deserving of a title in our organization. Diaz did beat Gomi, and at that time Gomi was considered the best in the world. And I believe that Nick showed (a lot the way) came back. He had a real tough fight against Mike Aina in Hawaii. He came out victorious. KJ Noons was someone that we had a confidence in. He obviously walked into a big, I guess it was a right hand, I’m not sure, against “Krazy Horse,’’ and then came in and upset Edson Berto, who everybody thought was going to be the actual first titleholder in EliteXC in that weight class. So we felt that both fighters were up for the challenge. We would be proud of either fighter to wear our belt. And we believe that they are some of the best fighters in the world. As for Jake Shields and Mike Pyle, he (Mike) didn’t want to fight for the belt. We gave him the opportunity. He’s unhappy. He did take the opportunity. Jake was willing to fight anybody. Everybody knows that Jake is the top one, two, or three in the world. There’s no question about it. He’s showing everybody how exciting he is, and he comes to fight. God bless him. And I think that fighters that come to fight and are willing to fight anybody should get that opportunity. And even though this probably will be our last fight with Mike Pyle, you know, we’re interested in putting on the best fights. So whether someone wants to stay with us or not stay with us, we’ll still give everybody the opportunity.

Question: Gary, your first show, “Destiny,’’ was on SHOWTIME, then you did the joint effort with Strikeforce, which was Pay Per View, now “Renegade’’ will be on SHOWTIME again, as “Uprising’’ was. Are we going to be looking at all EliteXC events on SHOWTIME or are there still going to be pay per views mixed in?

Shaw: There will be some pay per views mixed in when we feel there’s something that warrants taking money out of the customer’s pocket. But my job is to try to give the MMA fans as much product and great product as we can without them having to shell out $34.95 and $49.95, etc. So, yes, we will have some pay per views, but we’ll have plenty of shows on SHOWTIME this coming year, 2008. Some will be ShoXC shows. Some will be EliteXC and some will be on pay-per-views. We even may have something really big and special as well in 2008. (Switching gears) I’d like to take this opportunity to say that Kimbo’s opponent has fallen out with a shoulder injury. We tried all the way through Monday to get him medically well. We don’t want to put anybody in a fight that is not medically able to fight. So Kimbo’s hunt for “The Rhino” (Mike Bourke) will have to wait for another day. But we have now signed Bo Cantrell to the fight and Bo will be Kimbo’s opponent.

Question: Gary, are you going to be creating belts for each one of the weight classes you announced?

Shaw: Yes. Why? Are you selling belts?

Question: Do you have an idea as to who you want fighting for (world titles in) the 140-weight class and 150 and 160, or has that not been worked out yet?

Shaw: No, let me tell you how it works. We don’t sit around a table and decide, OK, let’s make this guy the champion or whatever. I want to see that we get the best fights so that when we present someone with a belt that they’re truly worthy of a belt. And I feel Jake Shields, well, I want to get him into a title fight. I feel he’s worthy of wearing our belt. I feel KJ or Nick Diaz is worthy of wearing our belt. I thought Ninja Rua did a great job against Joey Villasenor and he came back and gave up the belt. I’m very proud to have Robbie Lawler walking around with an EliteXC belt. So every weight class will have a belt. Eventually, after a few fights, if I believe what I know to be true, Kimbo will be fighting for one of our belts as well. He’s a legend on YouTube, he’s trained very hard with Bas Rutten and I think he’s going to surprise everybody. I want to present the best fights and guys that are championship caliber. I just don’t want to give out a belt to give out a belt.

Question: Would you consider doing a one? or two?night event to crown a champion?

Shaw: The answer is absolutely yes. We have spoken about it. The fact that the IFL or Strikeforce is doing it will not preclude us from doing it. I hope they have a great night. I hope they have great fights, because the better it is, the better it helps all MMA.

Question: The Canadian MMA fans are dying to know where Mauro Ranallo was this past Friday? Is he still going to be doing ShoXC events?

Shaw: Yes he will. He’ll be on the next one.

Question: Was that just a one?time thing that he was not involved in that one?

Shaw: Yes, that is correct.

Question: ProElite.com showed the Randy Couture press conference. Are the hopes to try and secure him once his contract expires in nine months?

Shaw: That’s a good question. Let me take that in pieces. The fact we streamed it live, that’s what ProElite.com does. We stream events live. That was absolutely an event. And we stream fights live from other organizations. ProElite.com is trying to do things that aren’t done in the MMA world. That’s a huge expense to us as a company but I think as time goes on it will be good for MMA and what’s good for MMA will be good for ProElite and EliteXC. . As far as Randy Couture goes, I don’t tortuously interfere with anybody’s contract. Until I know for sure Randy is out of his contract, I will not approach him. But, believe me, this organization would welcome Randy Couture of any facet we do either as a fighter or as a consultant or an announcer or anything else. He has a home here. But I would definitely not tortuously interfere with an ongoing contract.

Question: Does the fact that the Pyle-Shields fight is not for a title anymore have anything to do with Jake’s comments that he was potentially looking at fighting in the UFC once his contract expires?

Shaw: No, what happened with Jake ?? he was ?? the USC actually captured him. And he was tied ?? he had his hands tied behind his back on his chair. And he was blind folded and they were doing that water torture. But thank God he broke free and that’s over.

Question: Have you signed him to a new deal or what’s the situation with that?

Shaw: We’re currently working on it with Jake. Jake can answer for himself. We love Jake. I have a world of respect for him. He knows that. And I have that respect whether he’s with us, or he wouldn’t be with us. I’m hopeful that there are not any problems with Jake, but he can certainly answer that for himself.

Question: Jake?

Shields: I’m very happy, been treated very well. My manager is finalizing everything, working it out. I am letting him deal with it. Certainly at this point, I’m very happy with them. I’ll wait until everything is finalized to say for sure. But everything is good right now.

Question: Kimbo, you are going from the backyard fights to training with Bas Rutten and that is a huge jump. What aspect of your training has improved working with Bas?

Kimbo: Every aspect of my training has improved. My whole life has improved. I don’t even smoke any more. I haven’t had sex in four months. I haven’t had a cocktail in five, six months. So I’m pretty pure and I’m backed up and I’m ready to fight. You know what I’m saying? My focus is on point. I’m accurate. I know how to use my power. My wind is outstanding. I’m ready for anything coming my way. My groundwork is superb. I’m an all?around fighter. I’m no longer one?dimensional. I’m not going to stand there and bang. Working with Bas, that’s like, man, he’s like the Jimmy Johnson, the John Madden of NFL. He’s the best of the best. And Bas, he’s not light. When he trains, he trains hard. And he’s very prompt on what he does. And he’s a great guy. In order for me to even be on that level with him, it speaks a lot for my training and my characteristics because Bas would not waste his time if he felt like I was just trying to become a fighter. He tells you straight up.

Question: KJ, how do you plan to overcome Diaz’s experience factor in the ring?

Noons: If you look at my MMA record, I’m sure Sherdog’s only got me as 5?2 but actually I’m 4?1. I only have five MMA fights. But when you look at MMA, it’s mixed martial arts and I’ve got nine pro boxing fights and 14 pro kickboxing fights. So I have probably 26-28 pro fights. Do the math. I’ve got more ring experience. Granted, Nick has fought in more shows against obviously better, bigger names and opponents. But as far as ring experience, I’m right up there to get ready for this fight. I haven’t got as much TV time or as much as exposure as Nick but I definitely have the ring experience and technique and skill.

Question: Kimbo, what’s your ultimate goal in this sport?

Kimbo: I hope I don’t sound too ghetto, but you’ve got to remember, you have to bear with me. I just came off the streets yesterday. So I’m on a paper chase. I’m after the dog signs. So I’ll fight anybody. I’m in a contract right now, so whoever is coming my way, man, I’m ready to fight. Getting a title is the ultimate reason for all of us doing this. To get a nice payday and have that belt around our waist to consider ourselves a true champion. And that’s what it’s about with me, man. I’m a professional now in my life and I’m taking this thing serious, man. A guy put me in an arm bar, you’ve got to break that (sucker) off. I’m not just tapping out. I don’t know what tapping out is. I’m after something. I want to prove something. Sometimes I just get tears in my eyes when (it) doesn’t work out, when I can’t get a fight. But I want that belt around my waist like everybody else. I’m hungry for it. I’m really hungry for it. I’m not just ?? I’m after this.

Question: Were you able to find out if it’s going to be possible for you to fight Tank (Abbott)?

Kimbo: I’ll fight Tank anywhere. We don’t even have to do it in the ring. We can do it in the backyard, parking lot. I’m cool with it. But the big payday is doing it in the ring, that’s cool. I’m EliteXC, those are my guys, whatever they’ve got set up for me, you know what I’m saying, I’m ready for whatever. If Tank wants to do it, get him to sign and we’ll do it.

Question: Gary, are you going to attempt to get some sort of athletic commission recognition for the new weight classes? Obviously you can make fights at whatever weights you want. But are you going to take it to any athletic commissions and try to get it recognized?

Shaw: Yeah, look, I don’t have to legally; they’ll sanction whatever weight classes we put in. But I’m a former regulator. And I know there will be no problems getting the commissions to go along. I’m sure they’ll be all for it. They’re not for this drastic weight cutting, where people wind up in the hospital. We had that problem on our ShoXC fight Friday night. It’s unfair to the other fighter who trained so hard for a fight to suddenly not have a fight because the other guy basically drained himself so much that he winds up in a hospital. That was all the proof I needed Friday that EliteXC is right to care about the whole safety and welfare of our fighters. So I don’t think there will be a problem with the commissions.

Question: Do you have a timetable?

Shaw: To go to them?

Question: To take it to the commissions?

Shaw: Oh, within the next 30 days.

Question: Are you going to call the 160-pound division a super lightweight division or keep it at 160?

Shaw: No, 160 will be lightweight.

Question: That’s your lightweight division?

Shaw: Yes, it is.

Question: KJ, is 160 your preferred weight to fight at? Has it made a difference in the way you train and your preparation for the fight?

Noons: Yeah, 160 is definitely an easier weight for me to cut to. At 155, you know, obviously I’ve got my sights set on the 154-pound weight class for boxing and 155 for MMA. I walk around at like 175 without training. It’s really hard to cut 20 pounds when I don’t have a lot of weight to cut. So I’m really happy with the weight class being at 160. I think people will be pretty surprised how big I’m at 160.

Question: Kimbo, you talked about how your life’s changed, how your training has changed. Is there a difference in your attitude when you’re preparing for a fight and the way you’re getting mentally prepared? Is there a difference in how you enter an arena versus how you’ve entered a backyard for a fight in the past?

Kimbo: In a backyard fight, I used to enter those things high. I was smoking before I went out to fight. Definitely it’s different. It’s not the same. I’m focused. I know something’s coming. I know these guys that are fighting me, professionals. I know they’re for sure of their game. So I have to bring my A game. Yeah, there is a difference, a major difference.

Question: Kimbo, what do you take away from the Ray Mercer bought?

Kimbo: I have ground game and I know when to use it, know when to get ?? I know how to get out of a position. I’m trained to be in every position wherever possible. I have learned a lot. And it showed in that fight. The fight lasted 1:12. I did a combination of everything, you know, knees, elbows. I threw hands and we did some groundwork. It was a short fight, but everyone was able to see that, hey, man this cat’s for real, you know?

Question: What was it about that fight that made you want to stick around at MMA?

Kimbo: That it was a legitimate fight and that I get paid.

Question: Gary, are there any certain fighters you are looking to get for the new super heavyweight division?

Shaw: You mean specific fighters? There are fighters that qualify to be world champions. If they qualify to be on SHOWTIME, then we have an interest in them. If you know them, just call us e?mail us.

Question: Kimbo, would you feel better fighting in the heavyweight division or would you rather make the move up to the super heavyweight division?

Kimbo: I can make a move to super heavy weight. It all depends on the guy’s that’s training me. You’re a fighter; you can fight anybody. You guys toss me around a little bit. Put me in super heavy, put me in heavy. You make that decision for me. But I’m here to fight.

Shaw: What Kimbo is saying is the mentality of a real fighter. And I’m really happy to hear Kimbo say these things. We didn’t rehearse them. But that’s what real fighters are made out of. When Mike Tyson was at his best, that was (his attitude). They don’t care who they fight. They don’t care what weight, what height, southpaw or orthodox, they’re there to fight. Those are true professionals. I haven’t spoke to Kimbo yet. But eventually I’d like to sit down with him. I’d like to possibly even take him like I did KJ and put him in a boxing ring. I do believe Kimbo has the ability to be the heavyweight world champion in boxing, as I do believe he has the ability under Bas to be the world champion in MMA in probably several weight classes. So let’s take it one step at a time, but when Kimbo’s talking, you’re talking to someone with a fighter’s mentality. And that is 70 percent of the game before you ever get in.

Question: If EliteXC brought him in, would you fight Sean “The Cannon” Gannon again?

Kimbo: I’ll fight him ?? yeah, I sure would.

Question: Kimbo, what level do you think you are at at this point in terms of being a professional mixed martial arts fighter?

Kimbo: Can’t compare myself really to any of the other guys on the level. But personally the level I think I’m on, I’m on a level that I’ve never been on, you know what I’m saying? Because I just recently stepped into the game and like I said I’m training with Bas. Yes, he hits hard, but I don’t go down and stay down. I go down and get back up and I say ‘show me how to do this.’ So if there was a level, I would say I’m almost at the top of my game. But I will know more (once I fight more). That’s how I will compare that. I can’t speak for everybody else and what they think about me. I can’t say I care much about it. But you’re going to have some ?? you’re going to have some people that love you. And it’s all good.

Question: Kimbo, are you are related to Roddy Ferguson, the Olympic Judo player?

Kimbo: I don’t want to put the guy out there or make him like whatever, but I’ve never really met him. And I guess by us having the same last names, people kind of think we’re related. But I would like to meet him and if he’s as good as everyone says he is on the ground, I can benefit from it. Can’t hurt me. I wouldn’t mind meeting him and learning, whatever, wrestling with him, rolling around with him.

Question: KJ, Nick is known more as a grappler, the fight with Gomi is something that people will remember for a long time. You’re coming primarily from a boxing background. It’s not going to be hard to figure out that he’s going to want to get that fight to the ground. Can you tell us where your ground game is at this point and also how you see you could stop him from taking it to the ground?

Noons: I’ve been working with a lot of guys that do college wrestling. I’ve been working on Jiu-Jitsu for quite a long time. It’s pretty obvious Nick will want to take it to the ground. But he’s got ?? I’ve got stripes on him. He’s got great stand?up. And I don’t think he’s going to be ?? I don’t think he’s really going to want to take it to the ground at first. I think he’ll want to test the waters. I think he’s got good stand?up. And hopefully we’ll bang it out. He’s still with Gomi and Robbie Lawler and some of the best. And those are a whole weight class and a half bigger than me, so why wouldn’t he want to stand with a smaller guy like me? I might have a lot of skill and stand?up, but I think he’s willing to test the waters. Come Nov. 10, it’s the title for a fight. So let’s get in there and fight.

Question: Jake, can you tell us what your long term plans are?

Shields: Obviously I want to get a title. First of all, I’ve got to do Mike Pyle, who is a very good fighter. I’m looking at it one fight at a time. He’s very good and I’m preparing for that, get through him. Hopefully I’ll fight for a title. I’m willing to fight whomever EliteXC throws at me. If I win the title, I hold the title.

Question: Gary, could you repeat the weight classes again?

Shaw: 140, 150, 160, 170, 185, 205 and 265.

Question: Gary, Kimbo mentioned he’d be open to fighting Shawn Gannon again. Is that something you’d be interested in making happen?

Shaw: I want to make the best fights we can make for Kimbo. If that’s one of the best fights out there, if there are revenge fights for him, if there are Tank Abbott fights for him, if there are Fedor fights for him, whatever is out there, we will move him along as his skill level moves and we’ll fight anyone. Anybody that knows my reputation in sports knows that when you sign with me, you have to be willing to fight. I don’t baby my fighters. I believe in my fighters. So, yes, there’s nobody that we won’t fight, with any of these guys, with KJ, with Jake, with Kimbo.

Question: It was reported that Yves Edwards and Antonio Silva will be on the card for Nov. 10. Is that report correct?

Shaw: Antonio Silva right now, we’re getting cleared by the commission and that’s the most up?to?date I can give you on him.

Question: Is it true that Yves Edwards is going to be involved as well?

Shaw: Yes.

Question: Gary, outside of Jake, who else do you feel like you have in the welterweight division that you feel is a strong fighter?

Shaw: The one thing EliteXC is willing to do is to fight any fighter from any organization. So it’s not just within our organization, although Paul Daley over at Cage Rage is a spectacular fighter, but there may be someone in the IFL. Everyone knows I’m very friendly with Jay Larkin. He’s like a brother to me. I have long, long history with him. Don’t have a long history with Scott Coker — not sure he would consider me a brother, unless we were in the street. Kimbo knows what I’m talking about. So maybe there’s a Strikeforce fighter out there. It could be anybody. It could be someone from K?1 or someone from Spirit MC. There’s not a fighter that we won’t bring and put on SHOWTIME. And let me tell you, Jake Shields, I believe he’s the No. 1 fighter in the world. So we’ll make that challenge.

Question: Kimbo, you have been so dominant and intimidating in your fighting career. Was it a humbling experience when you first started rolling around with a guy like Bas?

Kimbo: I’ve never considered myself to be what you just said, but I’ve always been humble. I’m humble with my kids and my girl and I’m humble with my friends. I have a humble spirit by nature. Fighting just allows me to really be the way I probably would normally feel on the regular, if you know what I mean? But I came into this experience with Bas like a sponge, not like I needed to be tamed or humbled or anything like that. When I’m working with Bas and the other guys, I’m a human sponge.

Question: KJ, what lessons have you taken from the fight with Berto that will help you against a guy like Diaz, who is relentless?

Noons: Like I said before, I’m very confident in my Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling. I just tend to want to stand. I like to fight. I like to fight people that like to fight, and I like to finish the fight. So no disrespect to great Jiu-Jitsu people but that stuff is just really boring to me. I’m definitely a crowd?pleasing fighter. And I’m coming there to fight. In the Edson Berto fight, I could have probably done more things on the ground. I wanted to stand up, not because I had the advantage, just because I wanted to fight.

Question: Gary, you mentioned Fedor. What is your impression of that organization, M?1, and the fact they don’t they have a TV deal now. How hard are you going to push to get him involved in some kind of fight with your organization?

Shaw: That’s a good question. I believe Fedor may be the best heavy weight in the world today. I have a lot of respect for him. I have a world of respect for Monte Cox. We’d like to work with anybody. When you say pushing hard, I push harder to work with Monte and Fedor than I might push to work with someone else. But we’d love to feature Fedor and work with him and work with M?1, and I wish them all the success. My party line is the same since last October. The better we make MMA, the better fights we put on TV, the better it is for the sport. The more the sport grows the better it is for my fighters and my company.

Question: Have you had talks with Randy Couture and is there anything going on behind the scenes with him to try to get him when he’s free from UFC to fight under your umbrella?

Shaw: If there’s something behind the scenes, I’m a promoter, so for sure I wouldn’t tell you. But putting my own personal hat on and trying to be honest, there’s nothing going on behind the scenes. I said earlier that ProElite does a great job of streaming live events. That was an opportunity they got to put it on. I have a world of respect for Randy Couture. He’s welcome into my organization any time he wants, as an ambassador, as a fighter, as an announcer, referee, whatever he wants to do. I think he’s a legend. But I would not tortuously interfere with the UFC’s contract. Would I love to have Randy? Absolutely. Would I love to have Randy and Kimbo in the ring? You bet I would. But until that time comes, I stay on the party line. Everybody’s welcome to fight for EliteXC but we do not tortuously interfere with any contract that any fighter has with another organization.

Question: On the battle that’s been waged the last two weeks with UFC and Couture, what’s your impression of the way it’s been handled, and with such a fighting background have you encountered this a lot where money becomes a gigantic issue in the world of fighting?

Shaw: You can quote me on this. It’s not about the money, it’s about the money. My statement is that Randy in his mind is entitled to something or whatever, and I don’t know what his contract says. And as promoters, the UFC is entitled to keep the contract that they have in good faith in place. That being said, Dana White thinks he owns the sport. He doesn’t own the sport. He works with the UFC. They have some of the finest fighters in the world. They’ve put on some great fights. But they don’t own every great fighter and they don’t own every great fight. So I don’t want to get in the middle. I don’t know the actual facts. I only know what I’ve listened to on the stream and what I read on some of the sites and I guess if there’s a real beef, then the best place to have that real beef is in a court of law. You bring out your contracts and then the judge looks at the contracts; and then if there’s a breach, the fighter wins. If there’s not a breach, the promoter wins. It’s as simple as that. The rest of this is just nonsense.

Question: From your knowledge of contracts, what’s more likely — that there are more fights left on this contract or it’s a time contract?

Shaw: You’re asking me to make a statement on a contract that I haven’t seen. We have contracts that are both time and within a number of fights. And that’s generally how I do my boxing contracts and it is generally how I do my MMA contracts. I try to be fair to the fighter. If they’re great fighters, obviously I want to keep them as long as I can. Do I think they should get paid? Yes. I don’t know what his pay-per-view deal was. I don’t know what fights are included in the contract. Sometimes you could do a contract that says you do so many fights on television and then so many on pay per view. The pay per view may not fall into the timetable of the others. So it’s hard for me to say. There’s a lot of ways you could breach. Maybe they didn’t pay him everything they’re supposed to pay him from his pay per view revenue. I don’t know. So I’m not going to sit here and say UFC’s wrong. I’m not going to sit here and say Randy Couture is wrong. Obviously they’re unhappy with each other right now. To me, the best way is either make up and kiss and make friends or you go to a court of law and let the court of law judge (decide). Then, he’s either stuck with the UFC or he’s a free agent. If he’s a free agent, I’ll send a limo for him.

Question: Gary, there is a fighter that hasn’t appeared in a little while who has a home in Canada by the name of David Loiseau. What is going on in terms of maybe working with David? He said he’s wants to get involved in the promotional side of things and maybe tag teaming up with you guys to bring an event to Canada, which is something that has not been able to happen with some of the major MMA companies. Is that a possibility or has it been discussed?

Shaw: I haven’t had that discussion but I’ll be more than happy to do a fight with David Loiseau in Canada. If it makes sense, it makes dollars and I’m always for that. So I’d love to promote in Canada. I used to represent Arturo Gatti, so I am familiar with the Canadian market and know the Canadian fans are great. I’d love to do something with David Loiseau. My phones are open. The doors are open and would love to do it.

Question: Kimbo, now that you have a different opponent, is your strategy going to change or are you just going to go in and roll with the punches?

Kimbo: I was expecting to fight that big Rhino. Now that I’m not fighting him, I’ll continue to (do my thing. I train to fight. To be honest with you, I think I’m prepared to fight anybody.

Question: Gary, what is your interest in some of the heavyweights that are available such as Josh Barnett?

Shaw: Very interested in Josh Barnett. Great guy. Had him in Hawaii as our guest.

Question: Are you going to talk to him now to see if we can secure something?

Shaw: Let me put on my promoter hat. I have no comment.

Question: Kimbo, what is your current weight?

Shaw: I think his weight right now is around 170. He wants to fight Jake Shields.

Shields: I’ll fight him at heavy.

Question: Jake, what’s your opinion of Paul Daley?

Shields: He’s a talented fighter. I think he’ll be easy. He doesn’t have the ground game. I think I’ll put him down in the first round.

Question: Is there anybody that you have a great deal of interest in fighting?

Shields: I’m just trying to get through Mike Pyle. I think he’s one of the better guys. Then, from there, we’ll see who EliteXC is talking to. I’m sure we can find someone good to bring in.

Question: Any prediction on how that fight is going to end up?

Shields: I think it’s going to be a tough fight. I think I’ll end up TKOing or submitting him in the second or third round.

Question: Kimbo, what are you weighing these days?

Kimbo: When I’m training every day, my weight goes between 225 to 235. And if I just take a couple of days off, I blow back over, right back up to 250.

Question: What do you think is a good fighting weight for you?

Kimbo: I like 235. Not too far from 240. But 235 is decent.

Question: Gary, as someone with unique experience across the board, what do you think of the overall landscape of both boxing and mixed martial arts and what can you say in general about the entire future of the fight industry right now.

Shaw: I think there’s room for both. I’ve always felt that way. Boxing was here before I got on earth. And it will be here when I leave. I think they’re attracting different demographics right now. People really like the mixed martial arts. They like the fact that it’s wrestling. They like the fact that it’s a bit of street fighting. And they like the fact that it’s highly skilled within the mixed martial arts field. And it’s very fast. The fights are fast. They’re stopped quickly. There’s a lot of action. There’s a great in?arena experience. There’s something to be learned by boxing from the mixed martial arts events, whether it’s the dancing girls that we travel with or just the high, what I call high energy, high octane. So I think mixed martial arts hasn’t even started to boom yet. You haven’t seen it all over. It’s not Olympic sport. But when it gets that way, when we could do a true World Cup, when we can do true world championships and Dana White comes off his high horse and the fighters at UFC decide they want to be true world champions and fight other champions, then you will see the sport really emerge. For those of you that don’t remember or are younger than me there was something called the AFL. And nobody thought it would make it. And it finally had something called the Super Bowl, which was actually the AFL against the NFL. That really is what my hope is for mixed martial arts, that we will all go out there, take a page from the boxing book, promoters working with promoters to go promote events, that the fighters truly become world champions, the fighters get paid really handsomely and the sport grows. For boxing, I think it will stay around. I don’t represent Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but his fight against Ricky Hatton from England is going to be a terrific fight and one that I’m looking for. And I’m not promoting it. But whether I am or not, I believe that there are fights out there that are great fights to be made and the same goes with mixed martial arts. I think the one thing that we have to be careful of in mixed martial arts is what happened to boxing. And that is where we put on what I perceive as mismatches, where the red corner, before it even begins, you know, is going to win all the time. The one great thing about mixed martial arts is that I’ve seen real fights and fighters willing to fight each other. And taking a loss is not catastrophic like it is in boxing. As long as we put on real fights and the Kimbos and the KJ Noonses and the Jake Shields of the world just say bring it on, then that’s what we need. But if we’re going to start putting on fights that aren’t what I call legitimate, meaning mismatches, putting them on pay per view, charging the fans $49.95, then mixed martial arts will be in trouble. But right now I see a bright future for mixed martial arts. This year, we’ve put on some great fights in boxing, some that I’ve been involved in like Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez and a lot that I have not been involved in. But, nevertheless, I always root for someone else’s show because the better it is for boxing, the better it is for me. The better it is for mixed martial arts, the better it is for ProElite.

Question: What do you think about the discrepancy between the paydays and is there anything that EliteXC is really trying to make possible where you can bridge that gap there?

Shaw: Truthfully, I don’t think there is a discrepancy. I think that people believe that. But trust me, there’s not a discrepancy that you all think there is. Fighters that are starting out that are getting paid a thousand or two thousand a fight are no different than an undercard boxer. Remember one thing. In order to make the gigantic dollars, then you need two fighters. One fighter doesn’t make a fight. And the only two fighters that I know that have ever been able to put all the butts in the seats by themselves are Tyson and Oscar De La Hoya. And they’re very few and far between. Most other fights need both sides to make the huge fight. So De La Hoya and Mayweather did huge pay per view numbers but it took both fighters, it took more of a street guy in Mayweather and more of a cross?over in De La Hoya. So you need that as well in the mixed martial arts. But I don’t think that there’s the discrepancy that you all think there might be out there. I think I think there’s some bad info out there.

Question: KJ, Diaz is mostly known as a really rare fighter with his striking and groundwork. Are you confident about your ability to both stand and go to the ground with him?

Noons: Again, do I have confidence to go to the ground? Yeah, I’ve been drilling a lot of wrestling, a lot of Jiu-Jitsu. I’ve been doing it for years now and for this camp I got a really good camp going on. I’ve been training my butt off hours every day so I don’t know how much more I’ll have to train to get ready for it. But come Nov. 10 I’m going to be ready for everything because Nick Diaz brings a well rounded all around game, striking, clinch, wrestling, submission. He’s a great all around fighter.

Question: Gary, are you going to be looking to bring any professional boxers in to try to be MMA fighters?

Shaw: The answer is yes, if they really want to be an MMA fighter and they’re qualified. It can’t just be someone that can punch, because part of the game is, as you know, on the ground. But are there fighters out there that I would love to cross over, you bet.

Question: Gary, you have a couple of fighters in MMA with KJ and Muchin Corbbrey, right?

Shaw: That’s true. And Kimbo is going to be another one. Jeremy Williams is another boxer that’s crossed over. And Kimbo’s going to be the first MMA fighter to ever be the heavyweight champion of the world in boxing. And they’ll walk out with two belts, an MMA and a boxing belt and that’s the same thing that KJ Noons is going to.

Question: Gary, you mentioned the AFL when they merged with the NFL that they had a new NFL. Is there any discussion among MMA promoters to do something like that?

Shaw: Good question. First of all, I believe everybody will work with everyone except Dana White and the UFC. There’s only one organization that refuses to work with anyone. The others will all work. Personally, I wanted to wait a while and put in my time and have people believe I’m serious about MMA, that I’m not just a cross?over boxing promoter. And I think I’ve achieved that. I think I’ve put a great team together at EliteXC to implement the vision. And I think we will be sitting down with other organizations about getting some type of formation of working together and maybe putting up that one world title bought that I was talking about that would either be a Grand Prix title or World Cup like in soccer, but something that everybody can strive for. And that’s a dream of mine and hopefully it will be implemented. I can’t give you a timetable.

Question: On the Internet there have been a lot of reports about what the usual UFC contract is for fighters in the organization. Have you looked at any of those articles or any of those reports and can you comment on what kind of provisions, particularly with exclusivity, they require in their contracts?

Shaw: I have not ?? I don’t go by ?? I don’t mean it in a disrespectful way ?? I don’t go by what I read on the Internet or in the newspaper, because if I did I’d wind up hating myself. There are enough Gary Shaw haters out there; I know I’d walk around depressed. I know you know me. I don’t take that to heart. I don’t know what the UFC contract is. I haven’t seen it. I know Monte Cox knows what they are. He’s had fighters there. I know Jeremy Lappen, head of our fight operations, was an agent and knows what the UFC contracts have in them. But it would be wrong for me to comment on their contracts as I’ve not personally looked at one that’s current.

Question: Hopefully somebody will get you a copy of that. Because what I saw were very onerous provisions in terms of exclusivity and after even you quit or resign there’s a pretty long period where you can’t really do much of anything. And I don’t know how that stuff would even stand up in court. But even whether they do stand up in court or not, it just seems that it ties the fighters down in a very one?sided manner.

Shaw: Again, I don’t know what their contract says, but when a fighter signs a contract they need to live by the contract. When the promoter signs the contract, the promoter’s got to live by the contract. The only thing I’ll say is that if there’s an opportunity to fight outside of EliteXC and we believe it’s right for the fighter, we allow it. Nick Diaz, when he beat Gomi, was under contract to EliteXC. But we gave him that opportunity. He proved it. And now look at what’s happened? Turns around and it helps KJ Noons, who is now going to get the opportunity to fight Nick Diaz, who beat Gomi. So we try to do the best we can for our fighters.

Question: Gary, something you just said, when Diaz beat Gomi, he was under contract with EliteXC?

Shaw: Yes.

Question: When do you see Kimbo’s boxing career beginning?

Shaw: When I sit down man to man with Kimbo, tell him some of the visions I have for him and hear his reaction. I’ve never had the discussion. He’s hearing it for the first time on this call. He may not have any interest in being the heavyweight world champion or be in boxing, and I would respect that. So to answer your question directly, after I sit down with Kimbo, man to man, street to street, then I’ll have a better answer for you.

Question: The last time we heard from Frank Shamrock, before his fight with Phil Baroni, there seemed to be an interest in a Shamrock versus Shamrock fight, him against Ken. Have there been any talks of a brother versus brother fight?

Shaw: Yeah, I talked to my team all about it. I would love to do brother versus brother. To me if I could do that and maybe get in some other brother acts, maybe I could talk JD Penn into fighting BJ. I’d like to do it. It would be great promotion. Call it “Brotherly Love Final Chapter’’.

Question: Have you spoken to Ken about fighting for EliteXC?

Shaw: You want Gary Shaw or the promoter. Who are you asking the question to? The promoter has no comment.

Question: On Nov. 10 on HBO, there’s going to be the Cotto-Mosley fight. Do you find that it’s trying to take away from the boxing audience? Are mixed martial arts fans and boxing fans the same kind of fan or do you not concern yourself when your event is on the same night as a boxing pay-per-view fight?

Shaw: Great question. No. 1, when we scheduled, we didn’t have HBO’s schedule. That’s the first answer. Am I concerned? Sure, you split an audience and there’s no question that Cotto with Mosley is a great fight. I used to represent Mosley. But I think that the mixed martial arts audience is different than the boxing audience. For sure it’s a much younger demographic. So will it hurt one or the other? I don’t know, but we have to go forward with our show. It’s free on SHOWTIME. And the fights that we have, you know, Kimbo’s a legend and Jake and Mike and KJ and Nick, I’m proud to put on those fights. I can’t wait. I have some guys sitting around the conference table from my team. I whispered to them before I think we have a great card. I’m excited about it. It’s not just putting on fights to put on fights. But would I like it if there was no HBO show, would HBO like it if there was no SHOWTIME show, absolutely.

Question: From a personal standpoint can you discuss or describe the high points and low points of your involvement with mixed martial arts?

Shaw: That’s a heavy?duty question. Nobody’s ever asked that. Normally I’m pretty quick, because I could anticipate your questions. One of the low points I think was the show we did in June with FEG where we kind of lost control of it. And I wasn’t happy with the product, wasn’t happy with the production. And I thought it was a real bad co?promotion. So if you ask me low point, I mean to me that was the low point because I like to be proud of what we put on. As far as high points, yeah, there are several. I had a high and a low one the same night. On Feb. 10, our first show ever in Mississippi was a huge high that we pulled it off with Frank and Renzo Gracie. And the low point was when I looked at that dragon they were walking out of. So when we make mistakes, I stand up and say we made mistakes. That dragon sucked. We slayed it and left it in Mississippi. But I’ve had other high points. Getting Cage Rage and King of the Cage and Icon and Spirit MC and becoming a truly global brand has been the high point. Putting the team together that supports me, you guys all ask me the questions, but there’s a great team behind me. There’s a high point for me every day. Having some of the fighters that we have, and I’m not saying it because they’re on. I honestly believe that Jake Shields may be the best fighter in his weight class in the world. And fighters like KJ, I’m proud to represent guys like that.

Kimbo: What about me, what about me?

Shaw: I thought our Icon fight was a great production in Hawaii, probably the biggest production ever that size. The deal that we did with SHOWTIME was huge. And that’s a high point. And I have to tell you, not because he’s on, I thought that when we came up with the idea of signing Kimbo and we believed in it, it wasn’t just, well, should we? Everybody, when we said Kimbo, it was how do we get him? And we were very careful how we did it and I can tell you now that I put two people on a plane with a check in their hand and we had a stealth kind of meeting, and I was back and forth on the phone with them. And we were all holding our breath because I honestly believe that Kimbo could be maybe the biggest star ever in the history ?? I know that’s a mouthful ?? of MMA and only time will tell. I can do so much as a promoter, and the fighters have to do so much as a fighter. But he is a heavyweight. He’s unique in that he’s had his career on the Internet. He’s got more unique visits than any other fighter ever on the Internet. I think it’s over 10 million. I may stand to be corrected. And the fact that he’s a fighter now that is taking his profession (very seriously) rather than smoking a joint and going into someone’s backyard (says it all). He’s training with Bas, and only time will tell. You know I once said something, and I stick by it: The last line of the speech is “Kimbo’s story is still untold.” And we’ll know and we’ll come back and you guys will either say, hey, Gary you and your team were brilliant for signing Kimbo or it was a circus or a show. I don’t think so. Anybody that will get on a conference call and say you could break my arm in an arm bar, I’m not tapping out, that’s someone that I want to see. That was Mike Tyson. That’s the Tyson I knew. That’s the Evander Holyfield I knew in boxing. So highs and lows, I’ve had a lot of them. I’ve had a lot of good days and believe me I’ve had my share of really bad days. But that’s the job of a promoter and at the end of the day I have to live and die by the fighters that we sign, the fighters that we believe in, the fights that we put on. I think we give great matches. We really try hard. It’s not red corner, blue corner and, OK, let this guy win. And I think Jake can speak to it and KJ can speak to it. We try to get them the best fights. They know it’s not a set?up. I respect these guys. That’s why I want them to wear our belts because they’re willing to fight anybody we want them to fight. A lot of people thought Berto was going to have a easy day with KJ coming off the “Krazy Horse” fight. So I try to do my best. My team tries to do their best. Hopefully my good days outnumber my bad days. I can guarantee you when my bad days outnumber my good days someone else will be on this conference call. I thank you for your question. It was very deep and I appreciate it.

Closing comments

Question: Jake, who is out there that you want to fight?

Shields: I just want to fight the best guys, so whoever those top guys are, I’ll fight. After the fight with Pyle, I’ll worry about who I get next.

Question: Any closing thoughts, Jake?

Shields: Just that I’m training hard. I’m excited for it. This will be an interesting fight. Mike isn’t somebody I’ll just run through. But I’m training my hardest. I’m going to try to go out there and put him away.

Question: KJ, how much did the win over Berto do for your confidence and what kind of weight was lifted off your shoulders especially coming off the fight with “Krazy Horse”?

Noons: It was great for me because I got to go almost through all three rounds and I got to show people that I do have skill and that I am a serious fighter. And the other fact, too, is a lot of people probably didn’t know but I broke my left hand with the first left hook I threw in the first round, the first minute. And I fought all the way through those three rounds still with a broken hand. And I still won. And I just have that mentality that I want to go in there and I want to win. And come Nov. 10, it’s going to be a great fight for me. It’s a great opportunity. I’ve got everything to gain, nothing to lose. I’m fighting the toughest guy in the world. I just hope Nick brings his best because I’m going to bring mine on Nov. 10.

Question: Kimbo, can we just get some closing thoughts, but first, how did you get the name Kimbo Slice?

Kimbo: Kimbo has been my name all my life. Slice was given to me by fans on the Internet. I accept it. It was cool. After the first fight I had with Big D in the backyard, I caught him with a left hook that sliced the bottom of his eye, and I guess broke his whatever. His eyeball came a couple inches down, almost out of his head. They branded me with that name. Ever since then Slice has been part of the name. I kind of ?? I have the domain, so I accepted Slice. As far as my fight with this guy coming up, I don’t know anything about him. I leave that up to my trainers to do their homework. I don’t even like to watch hardly any footage on the guys I’m fighting.

Question: Ten million downloads – and counting — on YouTube and other various Internet websites is beyond astounding. How would you describe your love affair with your fans and vice versa? Is it indeed a love affair? I know you pay attention, right?

Kimbo: You know, I’m down with you. I just bought a computer earlier this year and I bought a laptop on my birthday in February, when I turned 33. But you know, those fans, some are crazy people. And they’re my type of people, you know what I’m saying. We didn’t just ?? I didn’t just capture the hearts of the people from the streets: White, black, Chinese, Australian, we caught people all over the world, old, white, old, young. Middle aged, we caught everybody. Male, female, kids we caught everyone’s attention from it. And these are the same people that are going to follow my career with EliteXC. They really are going to follow me. I get so many questions on YouTube. I get so many questions on MySpace. Even back in our main office in Miami people call up all the time asking questions about the fight. I just turn them on, I turn them all to EliteXC and ProElite and SHOWTIME. Hopefully we’ll have a good relationship with these guys and I get to do what I do.

Shaw: First of all, some may have misunderstood Kimbo. He’s 23 and he’s looking forward to a long, long career. So I just wanted to clear that up. On a serious note, I do want to say one thing about EliteXC. We were the first organization to really go into women’s mixed martial arts. And we did it with Gina Carano. We felt we had someone special, and we stood by her. We’ve made her a star. She is a star. On Friday night on ShoXC we featured Shana Bazsler, someone else who I know is going to be a huge star, and we’ll build to a fight between both girls. We said all along that we were going to do lower weights as well. So we are really trying, and I want the writers and the press to understand we’re really trying to expand the sport. So give credit where credit is due. We also have probably the largest library in the world of mixed martial arts between EliteXC, Icon, Rumble World, King of the Cage, Cage Rage, Spirit MC; and now we have Kimbo. We have a huge addition to our library and everything else. So I thank Kimbo. I thank Jake Shields. I thank KJ Noons for being on this call with us. My team that’s around me right now, I thank you all very much.

NEXT STEELE CAGE EVENT MOVED TO DECEMBER 28

Posted on | November 1, 2007 | 1 Comment

Steele Cage Promotions – Next Event moved to
Friday, December 28th to accommodate Television

—————————————————————————————————————————

Las Vegas, Nevada – October 31, 2007 – Hall of Fame Boxing Referee Richard Steele and Steve Oshins, co-owners of Steele Cage Promotions, LLC (www.steelecage.com) and the International Fighting Organization, LLC (IFO), announce that their previously scheduled December 15th event has been moved to Friday, December 28th in order to accommodate television. The event will be televised on HDNet, the network owned by Mark Cuban. The event will take place at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada at 7:00pm with doors open at 6:00pm. There will be two title fights on this card along with other exciting bouts which will include some of the most exciting fighters from previous IFO events. The fight card will be announced at a later date. Tickets will be on sale soon.

John “Ski” Stachofsky, Vice President of Steele Cage Promotions and the IFO, stated, “When we found out that we had to move the date, we decided that News Years’ weekend in Las Vegas would be ideal given the number of people in town to celebrate. Since this event is called Fireworks in the Cage IV, we have the perfect tie-in to the New Year’s celebration.”

About Mixed Martial Arts: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) encompasses many different styles of fighting in which a wide variety of fighting techniques are used, In addition to Steele Cage Promotions and the International Fighting Organization, other popular MMA organizations include the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), PRIDE Fighting Championships, Strikeforce, BodogFight, the International Fight League (IFL), EliteXC and World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).”

CAN EASTMAN REROUTE DUDDY’S TITLE TRACK?

Posted on | November 1, 2007 | No Comments

Howard Eastman will be out to turn John Duddy’s Kings Hall dream into a nightmare when they clash at the legendary Belfast venue on Saturday, December 8th on the next Hunky Dorys Fight Night – billed “The Only Show in Town”.

Eastman looks set to provide the Derry middleweight with the sternest test yet of his 22 fight unbeaten career and his CV makes for impressive reading.

The London based Guyana native goes by the sobriquet of the “Battersea Bomber” and with 35 KO’s from his 42 wins he certainly lives up to the name.

Eastman’s 13 year pro career has seen him compile an awe inspiring CV – a two time world title challenger he has enjoyed lengthy reigns as European, Commonwealth and British middleweight champion.

However the bare statistics don’t begin to explain the glorious career of a man who is often touted as one of the best British fighters to never win a world title. Eastman however still believes there is time to rectify that and a win over Duddy would put him right back in the frame for a third world title tilt.

There was certainly no shame in his previous two bids at world level, a controversial majority decision defeat to WBA champ William Joppy in 2001 and a second points defeat to then undisputed middleweight kingpin Bernard Hopkins in 2005.

Eastman though will be entering the lions den on December 8th when he tackles Duddy in front of what’s likely to be an electric atmosphere at the Kings Hall. Duddy simply can’t wait for his debut at the historic Balmoral venue and he is relishing the challenge that Eastman will present.

The Derryman said, “It’s going to be amazing, it doesn’t get much better than fighting a guy with Eastman’s reputation at the Kings Hall. He’s had almost twice as many KO’s as I’ve had fights so that tells you everything about him. He has an amazing record and there’s no doubt he’s a very dangerous man.

Promoter Brian Peters feels it’s a fight that will bring Belfast fight fans back to the halcyon days of the mid 1980’s when Barry McGuigan packed out the same venue.

Peters said, “I suppose it’s only natural that with John fighting at the Kings Hall now people are going to compare him to the likes of Barry McGuigan and the greats who have fought there before. When McGuigan beat the world class Juan La Porte at the Kings Hall it proved he was ready for the world title and I think this will be the same kind of fight for John. If he can beat a guy like Eastman then I think he’s certainly ready for that big world title fight next year but getting past Eastman will be a big, big test for John.”

The undercard for “The Only Show in Town” is already shaping up to be one of the best at the Kings Hall in years. Undefeated prospects Paul McCloskey and Stephen Haughian will feature in their first ever scheduled 12 round bouts.

Haughian will take a huge step up in class when he looks to relieve Italian Giammario Grassellini of his IBF Intercontinental welterweight title. It looks to be a big ask for the Lurgan man – the Italian holds a European ranking and has only suffered a single split decision defeat in 19 professional bouts. In his last outing he shared a draw with former European champion Michel Trabant.

However despite Grassellini’s impressive credentials trainer John Breen believes both Haughian and McCloskey are ready to win their first professional titles. The Belfast man said, “Both boys have been waiting for chances like this and now that they have them they’ll grab them, I’ve no doubt about that.”

McCloskey’s opponent for the IBF Intercontinental light welterweight title will be confirmed in the coming days. Two other title fights on the show will feature a pair of all Ulster battles with Irish title belts at stake in the light welterweight and light middleweight divisions.

At light welter recently crowned Northern Ireland champion James Gorman from Belfast goes up against undefeated Cavan prospect Andrew Murray. Then in an all Belfast battle Ciaran Healy will contest the vacant Irish light middleweight title with Leeds based Lagansider Lee Murtagh.

Also on the card is undefeated Belfast prospect Willie Thompson who will go in search of his fourth straight win in the paid ranks. Further bouts will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Tickets for “The Only Show in Town” priced from £40 go on sale from Ticketmaster.ie and all usual outlets next week.

DON’T MISS ROUNDKICK RUMBLE XI IN DES MOINES

Posted on | November 1, 2007 | No Comments

Local MMA Fighters Demonstrate
Their Stand Up Skills in Pro Muay Thai Event!

RoundKick Rumble XI

“November Knock Outs”

Val Air Ballroom, West Des Moines IA

Saturday, November 3, 2007!

Fighters from Des Moines, Ames, and Iowa City join fighters making the trip
from Minneapolis, Omaha, and Wichita KS, as they step into the ring this
weekend for incredible Muay Thai battles. If you’ve never experienced full
Muay Thai, this is the event to attend! Three hours of non-stop, battlin’
action! The match ups promise to all be outright wars!

Des Moines’ Marcellus ‘Wayne” Wilkes will take on fighter, Victor “Superman”
Moreno, also of Des Moines, as they face each other in their pro muay thai
debuts. Also demonstrating his stand up skills is local fighter Razak
“Razor” Al-Hassan as he takes on Johnny McKibben of Janjira Muay Thai, from
Wichita KS. Other local fighters include Able Mahaffey, Jeff Cunningham,
Adam Brown, Clayton Skidmore, and Alex Wells all from Team RoundKick, the
team that is quickly growing a reputation for strong fighting skills.
Fighters from Red Dragon Fight Club, of Des Moines, are Shawn Ellis, Rocky
Gabriel, and Senad Zenkovic. ISU Muay Thai Club fighters are Dan Koong and
Anthony Beccam. Log onto the website for the full lineup and event info.

The doors for this exhilarating event will open at 6, fights will begin
promptly at 7:30. If you are a boxing fan or an MMA fan and have never
experienced Muay Thai fights, you will love this event! For more
information, visit www.roundkickrumble.com or to purchase tickets, call
712-792-8178 or 866-366-7732.

Media is invited to attend. Please contact Pam in advance for media
passes: pam@roundkickrumble.com

Official Fighter Weigh-in: Friday, November 2, 2007 6:00pm at Coaches
Corner, .8th Street, West Des Moines, across from The Walnut Creek Inn.

After Fight Party: Coaches Corner is also the location for the After Fight
party! Join us for food and refreshments!

Host hotel for fighters and media:
Walnut Creek Inn, 1258 8th St, West Des Moines IA 50265. Phone:
515-223-1212
Reference Code: “RoundKick Rumble” to receive group rate of $69.95/night

SHANE MOSLEY CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES

Posted on | November 1, 2007 | 1 Comment

SHANE MOSLEY CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT/
OCT. 30, 2:00PM ET

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, PRESIDENT, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS: Thank you very much too all the media who is listening in. We are getting closer to the Fast & Furious Saturday November 10, Cotto versus Mosley at the Madison Square Garden. I do want to announce that we are close to a sellout and we expect a sellout at the Madison Square Garden. As you all know this is a much anticipated fight, which most likely will be the event of the year if not the fight of the year. A great indication of that is we have tremendous sponsors lined up for this event who will be marketing and be part of the event with the Puerto Rico tourism board. We have Beowulf, the movie, which will be out shortly. We have Tecate Beer, who’s a primary sponsor and also Southwest Airlines. I would like now to introduce to you a trainer and father of Shane Mosley. He is a two-time trainer of the year. He’s been with Shane Mosley throughout his whole career, and that is Jack Mosley who will be talking a little bit about how training camp is going.

JACK MOSLEY, TRAINER OF SHANE MOSLEY: We’ve been working very, very hard, and on all kind of combinations to for this fight coming up November 10. So I call my style power boxing, so needless to say we’ve been working on a lot of power, the cursed right hands, body shots, everything that all fighters throw. But they just put the combinations together differently. So we’re working on balance, foot work, and the whole bit. Shane is a powerful fighter, and we’ll be ready November 10. So whatever Cotto brings, we’ll be ready for it.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: We have a tremendous card lined up. Again, Golden Boy with Top Rank has put together from top to bottom a card that I’m sure most of the buyers and all of the buyers of the HBO Pay-Per-View fight will enjoy. One fight that we’re extremely proud of putting together is the best 135 pound champion, Joel Casamayor from Cuba with a record of 34 and 3 with 21 knockouts against Jose Santa Cruz with a record of 25 and 2. They will be fighting for the WBC and the Ring world lightweight title.

Also, on the card you have Antonio Margarito with Golden Johnson. And opening the show you have a great exciting young prospect that Top Rank put together from Moss Park, California, with a record of 19 and one with 14 KO’s, Victor Ortiz against the difficult and always crafty Carlos Maussa. Without any further adieu I would like to introduce to you a champion inside and outside the ring, a professional when it comes to his training. And he is world champion many times over, fighter of the year with a record of 44 and four with 37 knockouts from Pomona, California, Sugar Shane Mosley.

SHANE MOSLEY: I’ve been training very hard, as my father said, I’m a big bear and I’m ready to go. I can’t wait for the fight to happen. I’m ready to go, we’re now getting ready to do the conference and the press first thing tomorrow.

I also wanted to mention another fighter that’ll be fighting on the card, Billy the Kid from Australia. Hopefully, he can do well and maybe he can fight for his next fight because he’s been training very hard as well. You definitely can see all the things that my father and I have been working on. Madison Square Garden is definitely a great fight place. All the legendary fighters fought there, and I’m very happy to be fighting at Madison Square Garden in front of all the New York and Puerto Rican fans. My wife’s from New York so I’m always in New York a lot and it kind of feels like being at home away from home. So, I can’t wait for the fight.

DAN RAFAEL, ESPN: Shane, you’ve accomplished so many things in your career. You’ve been the number one fighter in the world. You’ve won, as they said during the introduction, many, many titles over the course of your excellent career. You’re like more the veteran now in this fight, the older guy. But what still motivates you to take these kinds of fights? Cotto’s such a young, strong champion. What’s your motivation in this type of match up?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, my motivation is beating the best fighters out there. Cotto is a tremendous WBA world champion, and it’s the fight that people want to see. You know, I think it’s a fight people want to see. And I think with me and Miguel Cotto both being, you know, fighting warriors, I believe that people will come out to see it at the Garden or watch it on Pay-Per-View. I think it’s going to be an exciting match.

DAN RAFAEL: Shane, can you talk a little bit about the fact that you are now a little bit of the older fighter? You certainly didn’t look like it in your last fight against Collazo. You looked, as many of us thought, many years younger than you really are. But have you been able to maintain that sort of style like where it doesn’t look like you’ve aged at all in the last several years the way that you’ve been fighting in your recent fights.

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I maintain it by keeping myself in the gym, and keeping myself backed up. So when I do fight I don’t have to work as hard to keep myself in shape. I’d have to work on keeping myself or making myself sharp as far as keeping my basics together, my jabs, right hand, left hooks and stuff like that. I didn’t really fight for a while, I guess, since February, probably maybe seven/eight months. But, I’ve been in the ring, sparring with Oscar, Robert Guerrero, Billy the Kid, and all these different people just keeping myself in shape and sharp. I’m already in great shape in this race to do my thing, use my experience against the other fighter, and I think that’s what’s important with me in my come back to being at the top of the class.

DAN RAFAEL: Jack, when you watch Shane in the gym today compared to what it was like when he was coming up in when he was lightweight championship or even when he was welterweight champion after beating Oscar in their first fight, what do you see as the main difference between, the Shane who was the number one fighter in the world and the Shane today who is not far off being the number one fighter in the world but maybe isn’t quite at that same ultra, ultra lead level that he was five or six years ago. Do you see many differences?

JACK MOSLEY: Well, actually Shane is getting his speed back to where it used to be. And his response reduction has come up. You know, it kind of fell off because he was lifting weights and things and looking a slow twitch muscle. But now that he’s not lifting weights and everything, his speed and everything is rapidly coming back to form. He’s looking sharp, and his sparring partners testified that he has tremendous power, tremendous body shots. So it’s basically he’s got the style that hasn’t changed, and that’s his style forever. Now, we all know as you get older you’re thrown off a little bit, but not much. Most of the fighters out there he was matching speed for speed. Certainly Cotto is not as fast as, hit as hard as, and not as strong as Shane.
I don’t know what Bob Arum was thinking about when he said, “We’ll fight Shane.” I mean, he’s thinking about age but that’s not going to work. Shane is just tremendously too powerful for Cotto. All the big people that he’s fought and sparred with right now don’t compare with Cotto’s mind, but on November 10th, we’ll see.

ROBERT MORALES, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS: I was thinking, you fought Oscar twice and of course those were great crowds. But I actually think the crowds were pretty split. And also I don’t think Oscar, simply because of some jealousies out there, ever had all the Mexican fans behind him. But I think Cotto is probably going to have, if not all, you know, 98.99 percent of the Puerto Rican fans behind them, behind him. Puerto Rican fans are extremely passionate. All that said, do you think this is going to be the wildest crowd you will have encountered in your long career? And what do you think about it?

SHANE MOSLEY: Actually, no. I don’t. I actually fought Byron Moon (ph) when I was like 17 years old, and that was the wildest crowd that I’ve ever been in the ring with, even at 17. I fought Anaba Sovero (ph) and he was a Puerto Rican guy, and that was for the junior world title. When they announced my name for the United States, I could hear the boo, you could feel the boo. It was tremendous but, that never bothered me.
I don’t think that the fans in the crowd are going to be as wild as you would think. I think I’ll have a lot more New York fans than people think. Being that I’m always in New York a lot and a lot of New Yorkers want to see me. They even love me. Even the Puerto Ricans that are in New York or in Puerto Rico, being in Puerto Rico, they tend to love me in the fight. So I think that it’s going to be more Cotto but maybe a lot of fans for me, though.

ROBERT MORALES: Shane, I have a question I’d like both you and Oscar to answer. For many years, of course, Felix Trinidad, Jr., was the hero in Puerto Rico. And I am wondering how close in your mind, Shane, in your opinion, how close do you think Miguel Cotto has come to realizing that same kind of fame that Trinidad had in his hay day?

SHANE MOSLEY: I think that it could pretty close. Trinidad had, a tremendous tele personality where the Puerto Rican fans really loved him, and really grasped to him. His personality, his being of Puerto Rican, and he was very outspoken and the Puerto Ricans just loved him. Cotto is a little quieter than and not as open as Trinidad. But I think that the Puerto Rican fans definitely respect Cotto’s heart and respect that when he goes in there and he gives his 100 percent all as a warrior and they can get behind him.

ROBERT MORALES: I was asking Shane about Felix Trinidad, Jr., and how popular he became, especially in his hay day. I mean, man, he was real, real popular in Puerto Rico.Do you think that Cotto is that popular? Or how close do you think he is? How big is his popularity in comparison to that of Trinidad’s?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: No, I mean, Trinidad still is the most popular Puerto Rican fighter here in the islands. But obviously Cotto, with what he has accomplished, has made a name for himself here on the island. But Trinidad continues to be the most loved Puerto Rican fighter in the islands.

ROBERT MORALES: Do you think anything that Cotto can do the rest of his career could get him to that same level? Or do you think that maybe Trinidad is just going to be better no matter what as far as popularity?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: I think a lot has to do with personality. Trinidad was very outgoing with the people. He was always smiling and signing the autographs and nothing bothered him. He was very likeable guy. And I think that’s been the difference.

LANCE PUGMIRE , LOS ANGELES TIMES: Hey, Shane, one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about is, you know, your experience advantage in this fight includes your previous participation in some major Pay-Per-View events including the De La Hoya fight. Can you talk about how that’s going to be to your benefit to be another part of your advantage in this fight and how you think that could affect Cotto to his detriment?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I mean, I definitely think it’s a benefit for being an experienced fighter and that experience in this type of equation. But, Cotto is a world champion, too, and he has a lot of experience of big crowds and people getting on him. So, I think it’s just going to be a great fight for both guys to see who’s the better fighter, and how we’ll deal with that.

LANCE PUGMIRE: What do you feel at this point in your career that you do have to prove? I mean, it’s been a while since the second De La Hoya fight. Do you feel that’s there’s still some skepticism out there about, your ability to be, like father and calls this young lion?

SHANE MOSLEY: At this point I’m not really champion over anybody. I just don’t have to prove it to anybody anymore. Just proving it to myself that I can do what I can do and just let it be known that I am the best fighter out there. That’s all. I just want to let people know that I’m the best. So I guess I’m proving that.

LANCE PUGMIRE: OK. And Jack, what’s your perception of the issue of, Shane’s participation in more, you know, epic fights? And Cotto, he’s not new to it but it’s a pretty major fight for him.

JACK MOSLEY: Major fight for Cotto, you mean?

LANCE PUGMIRE: Yes. I mean, the difference in, is he ready for that? Is there going to be some, not jitters but maybe some uncomfortable feelings?

JACK MOSLEY: For Cotto, you mean?

LANCE PUGMIRE: Yes. Yes.

JACK MOSLEY: He might have jitters. I’m sure he does. He’s worried sick. And, you know, like the title, the Fast & Furious, well, that title fits Shane. So Cotto is worried sick about fighting Shane I already know. You look in his eyes and tell. He knows he’s not as strong as Shane, he knows he’s not as fast as Shane, and Shane he probably hits hard. Shane hits just as hard, if not harder. Right now, like I said, he hasn’t lifted weights in a while so his speed production has picked up. He’s doing combinations again, and he’s not trying to knock everybody with one single shot, but one shot can knock you out, as Vargas can attest to that. The thing is, Cotto’s worried about fighting Shane. That’s the bottom line. He’s worried about fighting Shane. T hey’re thinking that Shane’s age is going to be a factor and that’s not a factor at all.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: I don’t think Cotto’s fight plan is too much of a secret. I mean, what he does in most fights is – particularly with guys with fast hands such as yourself that are pretty mobile, is he’ll try to go full Frazier and try to crowd them and smother them and try to work the body and take a little of the zip out of their legs. Is that what you’re anticipating from him?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I think so. That’s pretty much all he can really do is try to get in and fight me there. The only problem with that is I’m just not a boxer. So I think it’s going to be an interesting fight and I believe a great fight.

BERNARD FERNANDEZ: What opponent or opponents have tried to do that, just try to muscle and rough you up and try to do what Cotto is probably going to try to do?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, another Puerto Rican by the name of John Yelmalina definitely tried to do that and he found out that it worked good.

CHUCK JOHNSON, USA TODAY: Oscar, what does it mean to you to have a guy like Shane Mosley, a champion in his own right, spar with you in your preparation for the Mayweather fight? And what does this say about Shane that he would agree to do that?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Well, it shows you what a class act Shane Mosley is and what a true champion really is supposed to be. You know, Shane Mosley didn’t have to help me out for my fight. And, you know, it goes to show you not only a true champion in the ring but he gets it. He knows what it takes to be in all the rounds a great champion. And so that just solidified what a type of person Mosley is.

CHUCK JOHNSON: How much did it help you?

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Tremendous. I mean, the speed, you know, and the power. I mean, Mosley is a strong fighter. You know, Mosley’s – Mosley’s the type of fighter that can adjust to – adjust to your style. And what I mean by that is if he has a strong fighter in front of you, he’s going to be stronger than you. If he has a fast fighter in front of you, boy, he’s going to be faster than you. So, it was tremendous what he did. And it helped me out a great deal.

CHUCK JOHNSON: Shane as far as this challenge is concerned, where do you put this in terms of tasks or fights going in? I mean, where do you rank this task ahead of you?

SHANE MOSLEY: I rank it pretty high. But, Cotto is definitely a young fighter. He’s a young, strong, and determined fighter. He’s coming to fight, and me I’ve been up and down a little bit. And now I’m back up to the top. So it just shows my longevity in this sport and how long I can be at the top of my game in this sport. I mean, I’ve been serving one type of fighter, the top fighter for now let’s say 10 years, and it’s a good fill in. But this rates pretty high. But I wouldn’t say that it would rate as high as me and Oscar the first time or me and Philip Holiday from my first world title fight. But it definitely rates up there where people understand that Sugar Shane is still around and he’s still a major force to be reckoned with.

CHUCK JOHNSON: So what would you consider your biggest achievement at this point, Shane, in the ring?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, the biggest achievement is when I fought Oscar the first time and I thank him for that because we got a chance to let people really see me and my true talents. Oscar made a great legendary fighter going up against him as having a great 12 round fight. It definitely let people see that, “OK, well, Sugar Shane Mosley’s not just beating up these lightweight guys. He’s the real deal fighter. He can throw punches and he can take them as well. He can dish them out and give them.”

So it was a great victory the first time, you know, fighting Oscar, because it let people see another great fighter in California.

CHUCK JOHNSON: So what do you make of Floyd Mayweather? Every time somebody mentions your name or the possibility of you guys fighting, he changes the subject on that. What do you make of that?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I mean, it is what it is. When they mention my name, like I said, I’m a major force to be reckoned with. And still today 10 years later, still a major force to be reckoned with.

CHUCK JOHNSON: Is that a fight you want, a fight you feel you want to have before your career is over?

SHANE MOSLEY: Definitely. It’s definitely …

CHUCK JOHNSON: And why?

SHANE MOSLEY: I want to have it because I want to show people I’m the best fighter right now in the welterweight division. Sure it will say I’m the best and I want to beat the best. So I’ll start off with Cotto and then we’ll end up with Mayweather if he wins.

CHUCK JOHNSON: Jack, as far as the trainer/fighter relationship, I mean, you guys had split for a while and you’re back together again. Have the dynamics changed at all in terms of how you guys work from the time you’ve reunited again?

JACK MOSLEY: Everything’s the same. I have trained the same. I’m not going to change anything. If anything I want to increase the way we work, you know, plus reduction, body shots, all that good stuff. And of course I’m his father and that’ll never change. And he’s my son and that’ll never change. Like Shane said, it is what it is.

CHUCK JOHNSON: From your perspective, Shane, is it any different this time around since the break?

SHANE MOSLEY: No, it’s not different since the breakup. I mean, I’ve been working very hard. And it’s back to working hard. My father is going to push me to the limit. I’m going to definitely be in great shape when I enter the ring.

CHUCK JOHNSON: Is there more understanding between you two guys or was there ever any need to have more understanding?

JACK MOSLEY: No. We understand each other.

SHANE MOSLEY: No it’s the same as always. Yes he’s my father and I’m his son, and now we have the understanding as far as the training’s concerned. And we continue to train hard just like we’ve been doing.

GEORGE WILLIS, NEW YORK POST: Hey, Jack, you just said you’re emphasizing power during training camp. Could you just sort of talk about why that is? Because some people might think you’re playing into Cotto’s hands by trying to match power with power.

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I’m not sure. You know, my father’s just probably saying that, because everybody is saying how powerful Cotto is and I have to move and this and that. But the fact of the matter is that I’m a very strong by fighter by nature just by genetics. My father is very strong, and I don’t know where I get it from but I’m just strong physically. And so for a person to come in the lighter weight class that I am from 147 and drop from 54 to 47 and they expect to come and push me around when all I’ve been working with is bigger guys, it’s going to be very hard. So my father just can’t conceive Cotto being stronger or more powerful than I am. We already know that I’m faster, so that’s the other thing.

GEORGE WILLIS: You mentioned earlier in the conference call that you all were emphasizing power during your training. Some people might think that’s playing into Cotto’s hands trying to match power with power. Can you just talk about the idea behind emphasizing the power during your training?

JACK MOSLEY: No. The thing is we’re not going to just go out there and try to knock a guy on the first round or the second round or whatever. When I say power, its’s his natural power that can knock a guy out, we train with power but we box. So, if you can take the power, we’re just not boxing. I’m not going to go out there and just wing him here and wing him there, it’s nothing like that. In other words you’ve got a power jab that can bust his nose. You’ve got a power jab that can bust his eye. You’ve got a power eye that can bust his lip. You bust a guy with a jab and they aren’t going to start strong this fight anyway. But some guys have weak jabs and sometimes Shane kind of flails his jab out there, sucker a guy in or draw him in and then hit him with all of it. When you hit him with a hard jab and break his nose. Shane has knocked out three people with a jab alone early in his career.

GEORGE WILLIS: So is the game plan going to be to just see what he brings and then adjust to that? Or will you try to dictate the fight?

JACK MOSLEY: Well, whatever he does let me put it this way. Shane is too strong for Cotto, period. And, Cotto hasn’t faced anybody like Shane, period. Shane hits just as hard if not harder. We all know that. The only thing they’re looking at is his age, OK? He’s too old. He isn’t going to be able to sustain. That’s what they’re hoping. They’re wrong. Shane will be able to sustain. He will be able to use his jab, his body shots, and everything else he wants to use. Cotto is one of the smallest guys he’s fought in a long time. Everybody he’s fought, they’re much bigger. Look at this, the Wilfredo Rivera fight he had, coming from 35 to 47. They didn’t think he could do that. But look what he did. He was the first guy that knocked somebody out coming from 35 to 47. Nobody’s done that. That’s the power. See, if you knock him out with one punch but a whole lot of punches, kind of like a combination of punches. So he’s powerful. Shane is always hard his body’s hard. He’s hard. So Cotto’s going to be in for a rude awakening and Bob Arum and all the rest of the camp that believe his age is going to be a factor. It’s not going to be a factor.

GEORGE WILLIS: Shane, You’re a unique fighter in that you don’t trash talk and you don’t really make your fights personal between your opponent. It’s always business and, you know, sporting. What is that in you that you’re able to do that, not make it personal but still have peak performances, I mean, be angry?

SHANE MOSLEY: Because boxing’s fun to me. It’s something that I love to do. And when you love it, you
perform very well. You perform at your peak level. If you don’t love it, if you just fight for money or just fighting just because then you don’t do good at it. So I think that me loving the sport of boxing, me loving to be in the ring and move, slip, slide, duck, jab, knock guys out, the thrill of the crowd screaming, loving the sport, it shows as a reflection in the ring. You know, even when I do retire, I will still love the sport. So I want to see the young kids, the young guys come up and become more champions and show them different things and teach them different things that made me world champion and make them world champion. You know, my son, Shane, Jr., is thinking about being a real fighter, about fighting for real. And, I get excited about that. And it’s nothing that I did to push him into it. He kind of found his way there. And now I can take it from there and help him out as well. So, I love the sport and I love to be around, I love to fight. I love to fight, not just going in the ring and being all tired and, to fight for my life but to fight to have fun, to fight and have fun to be a man. It’s a great feeling.

GEORGE WILLIS: Have you fought anyone that you were really angry with, made it personal and was trying to hurt?

SHANE MOSLEY: The only fight I think I did that is the second fight with Bernard. And, I didn’t it was a sloppy fight for both of us, a lot of clinching going on and, it just wasn’t a good fight. So, when I’m having fun, about to have fun and I’m doing what I love then that’s when you have better fights.

GEORGE WILLIS: Oscar, I just wanted you to talk a little bit about what Shane brings to the table as far as Golden Boy Promotions.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Well, it’s kind of like the seal of approval so to speak. Shane Mosley is boxing, what a fighter should be, what boxing should be, what the imaging of boxing should be inside and outside the ring. And actually Shane Mosley solidifies what we want to do with boxing, what the image should be of boxing. It’s all Shane Mosley. He’s great fighter, he’s always in the gym and he loves the sport. Like you said, he doesn’t fight for the money. He fights for the passion of it. And you can see that. When Shane Mosley became a partner in the company, he’s one of the most important, parts of Golden Boy because of what he represents as a fighter inside and outside the ring.

GEORGE WILLIS: One last question. Shane, what’s it going to be like fighting in Madison Square Garden sold out crowd. This is anticipated to be one of the biggest fights in a long, long time. What’s it feel like to be a part of that? That’s a historic site and historic ring.

SHANE MOSLEY: It’s going to be a great feeling to be in Madison Square Garden to fight where all the legendary fighters fought. You know, Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, all the great fighters fought in this arena. And for me to fight in there in the big arena with Miguel Cotto who is a great Puerto Rican fighter, young fighter, coming up. This is history in the making. And I love to be in these types of fights, with the crowd screaming.

I have a lot of New York fans as well. Cotto has a lot of Puerto Rican New York fans that are just New York fans, period. It’s going to be a great night of fighting. And what better fight to have than me and Miguel Cotto in the ring at Madison Square Garden to give our heart and soul to the fans all over the world and the fans in the arena and just make a legendary fight. It’s going to be great.

DAN RAFAEL: Shane, Jack keeps talking, when he’s been asked some questions, talks about how he thinks you’re way too strong for Miguel Cotto. What’s your assessment of that? I’m sure you’ve watched Miguel fight over the last, you know, couple of years since he’s made his rise. Do you think that you’re too strong for him? He looks pretty strong to me.

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I believe that with the combination of power, speed and power, it might be too much for him. I mean, the guys that I’ve faced, I believe, allowing them to face be a lot stronger than Miguel. I mean, Oscar, for one, I believe is a lot faster and stronger than Miguel Cotto. Winky Wright is bigger and stronger than Miguel Cotto. And Vargas is stronger than Cotto just go down the list. I mean, even Wilfredo Riveria was kind of strong at 147 54. You know, these are a lot of big guys that I’ve been in the ring with. And Miguel coming up from 140 to 47 maybe he’s strong. Maybe we’re the same in strength. Maybe I can’t see him being stronger than me. I’ve been in the ring with too many big guys to worry about a guy that’s 140 to 47 being worried about him working me down and being stronger than me. I just can’t see it.

DAN RAFAEL: Well, I’m seeing that you were a guy that was 135 that came all the way to 47 without even stopping at 140. And I think in your early welterweight days there was the assumption by some of your opponents that, you know, “Well, he’s a little guy coming from 35 all the way up to this welterweight division,” that said, “I’m definitely going to be stronger than Shane,” but they sure found out that that was not quite the same story.

SHANE MOSLEY: That’s exactly the assumption. When I left my amateur career I left my amateur career at 140. I was really a 47 pounder fighter in my weight. Gernera Randy should always tell me when I spar with him, he said, “I know when you’re a lightweight.” He said, “I always know because you’re a lot weaker and you’re slower when you get to lightweight.”

He said, “When you get to 45, 46, 47, you’re so much faster, you’re so much stronger,” because I was naturally a big 47 pounder fighting that lightweight in all those years and struggling to make weight. That’s why I didn’t stop at 40. I was like, “I’m not stopping at 40 because it’s too hard.”

I was at 140. I fought my amateur career, 140, ’91 – 1991, ’92, I fought at 140. And when we fought around the world in dual meets, I would make 142. So it was just so hard for me to be a lightweight. I really wasn’t a lightweight ever. So when they thought that, that was like an assumption. It wasn’t really the truth.

DAN RAFAEL: Well, you did a pretty good impression with eight title defenses.

SHANE MOSLEY: Miguel Cotto, he’s 140 going to 47. He had a hard time making 40, went to 47. So like I said, we’re probably maybe around the same size. But, the strength probably really won’t matter because of the speed. It’d be so much more. But I am a very strong individual.

DAN RAFAEL: Have you watched many of Miguel’s fights? You know, he has made a lot of his fights, even though he’s won, some of them have been quite dramatic. Have you paid attention to his recent fights?

SHANE MOSLEY: Yes. I watched a lot of his fights. A lot of his fights are he beat these guys by his will, his will to win, his will power. He’s very strong mentally. And I think that mentally he breaks his guys down and eventually they fold in later rounds and either knocks them out or wins the fight by beating them down. He’s probably pretty strong. But I don’t think he’s the strongest fighter that I have ever been in the ring with or ever going to be in the ring with. I think that I’ve been in the ring with some big guys.

DAN RAFAEL: I assume, Shane, that you believe your speed is going to, power aside, your speed, which has always been top notch, is going to play a big factor in you being able to avoid his big punches while dishing out some of your own.

SHANE MOSLEY: Yes. I think also not knowing that my speed and the power but I think what’s going to and it’s already what we fight to what we fight. But I think just in general my foot speed is just too fast for him to keep up where if I’m moving around a little bit just give him little angles here and there is going to mess him up. He’s not going to be able to throw his shots the way he wants to and he’s going to be getting in more kind of shots. And he’s going to be tough. He’s going to be strong. But I just believe in just too fast.

DAN RAFAEL: You think you can knock him out Shane?

SHANE MOSLEY: I don’t think he’ll be able to keep up, but we’ll see.

DAN RAFAEL: You think it’s a knockout for you or is this going to be the type of fight where you just frustrate him to death for 12 rounds?

SHANE MOSLEY: No, no. I’m looking for a knockout. When I fight these fights I don’t go in there thinking that, I’m just going in one for 12 rounds and survive. When I fight, I’m going for the blood. And I’m pretty sure he’s going to be doing the same thing. So the optimum in this fight, we’re going for blood.

DAN RAFAEL: Just one more question for you. A couple of weeks ago, or I guess a month or so ago, there was the story that came out about the Balco situation, the steroid situation with you. And you were mad about it the way you handled it. But I just wondered if the whole situation has been in any way a distraction to you or to your family or the people in your training camp.

SHANE MOSLEY: No. Not at all. I mean, what was done, what three or four years ago. We talked about it already. And, I made a mistake at the grand juror. And it was another obstruction. It was more of a like what’s it all about, right now what are they trying to do.

DAN RAFAEL: Have you asked for any special testing, pre-fight testing in New York for the fight?

SHANE MOSLEY: I hope so. I hope we can do that for both, for both of us. It’d be great. They could test me whenever they want to. They can test me after the fight. They can test me when I’m retired. You’re only going to find organic stuff in my system, as I said. I don’t mess around like that.

JACK MOSLEY: May I interject something?

DAN RAFAEL: Yes, Jack.

JACK MOSLEY: I think whoever conjugated that backup again after four years is very insecure about the fight. That’s the only reason they brought this stuff up again because they’re insecure the fight and they want to do something to make Shane seem like the bad guy and make Cotto seem like the good guy, get the crowd down on Shane and the crowd up for Cotto. But that’s just not going to work. It’s no distraction at all. They’re just very insecure about the fight. So whoever did it, that’s what it is.

DAN RAFAEL: Jack, who do you then, the way you’re talking makes it sound like you think that someone in the Cotto camp or Top Rank side or somebody or other had something to do with the story that came out.

JACK MOSLEY: Well whoever did it, they’re insecure about the fight. Who has a stake in the fight?

DAN RAFAEL: Well, you’ve got me. Who do you think?

JACK MOSLEY: Somebody else did it. So we didn’t do it. We didn’t bring it up. So who would bring something like that up? Who would have interest in the fight to bring that stuff up?

SHANE MOSLEY: What my father’s trying to say is that he thinks that it’s very convenient for something like that to come up right now, right before a fight. Why didn’t it, come up a year ago, two years ago, right before a major fight it automatically blooms up. So he just has a suspicion about that. Be it as it may, the truth will prevail. And that’s what happened. The truth goes out there and we move on and we go on to the fight.

JACK MOSLEY: And another thing I wanted to mention, too, see, now Cotto is a very good fighter, but when he gets hurt, he always goes south on somebody, see, so we’ve been looking at that also. All his fights, or several fights he watched, he’s gotten hurt and then, some stuff happened. So we’ll be watching that, too.

DIEGO MARTINEZ, REFORMER NEWSPAPER: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

OSCAR DE LA HOYA: He asked my our relationship with Top Rank (ph) and Golden Boy and the fights we’re doing together. And I told him it’s great for boxing. And I think these are the type of fights that the sport needs. And, you know, with Sugar Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto being, you know, professionals in and outside the ring, I think this is what boxing is all about. And he asked about Golden Boy doing fights in Mexico. And I gave him an update of Golden Boy is talking with the biggest TV station in Mexico and that is Televisa (ph) to do a minimum of six fights next year where Televisa (ph) will be using all their platforms, print, TV, radio, to promote fighting in Mexico.

JASON GONZALEZ, SWEETSCIENCE.COM : Shane, the last time you fought at the Garden you were on the losing end of the decision to Varna Forrest (ph). Could you talk about what’s your mindset going into the Garden? And are you look at this sort of like, you know, redemption time?

SHANE MOSLEY: No. Not really redemption. I mean, you know, what happens in the past is in the past. I’m all about the future. And, you know, it was definitely – it was in the theater (ph) and things happen. And, you know, what can you say? It’s a different fight, different day, and, you know, I’m just looking to go in there and give the New York fans out there in New York a spectacular fight and, you know, give them their money’s worth, what they want to see. I mean, if they want to see a great fight. They want to see you give your heart and soul. They want to see, really, an individual. So it’s going to be great.

JASON GONZALEZ: Right. Mr. Fernandez alluded to the fact of Miguel Cotto’s style, like, I mean, you know, you don’t got to be a rocket scientist to figure out what’s he bringing to the table. With that being said, like was it easier to prepare for this fight? Or did that make it just, you know, did that make it even harder?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I mean, when I’m preparing for any fight it’s hard, it’s difficult, especially with my father as my trainer. It’s definitely going to be a hard task in regards (ph). But I’m on my toes for the whole time or I’m pounding away at the body (ph) pad or the bag doing hard body shots, hard upper cuts and upper cut bag (ph), I mean, drills, whatever. My father is definitely a conditioning type of fighter or a type of trainer. So when I get in there, I’m definitely going to be in great shape. You know, it’s going to be a great fight, I mean, a great night of boxing, a great – I’m prepared for a fight or for a war. So, I mean, when I prepare for a fight it’s always hard.

JASON GONZALEZ: Now my last question is for Mr. Mosley. Stylistically would you say that this matchup on November 10 is similar to the first fight with Oscar?

JACK MOSLEY: No. Not at all.

JASON GONZALEZ: Not even remotely close?

JACK MOSLEY: I think it’s something like – well, the fight with Rivera, even though Rivera is taller, it’s kind of like that where he’s going to keep coming and coming and coming and, you know, Shane’s going to keep punching and punching and punching until he eventually knocks him out if that’s his style. Now Cotto can box when he gets hurt. He can’t box as good as Shane, but he knows how to move around the ring to buy some time if he’s hurt. And …

JASON GONZALEZ: Well, that’s what I’m talking about, the jab and, you know, kind of putting pressure on the way Oscar did in the first fight.

JACK MOSLEY: no, Oscar’s way faster than Cotto. He’s got tremendous left hook, right hand, Oscar’s a busy fighter, so – in that first fight. So that was a tremendous fight. I don’t think anything can really match that right now. I mean, of course, Shane fighting these opponents, he’s nowhere close to what Oscar was doing in that first fight. So I mean, there again, though, Shane is older, Oscar’s older. Cotto is younger, but still Shane has a, I think, more speed and enough agility and everything to win this fight in this fashion, tremendous fashion, actually. So but Cotto, it does have the will to come forward, keeps coming forward to put his will on you to press you and throw those lefts, body shots, body shot, upper cut, left hooks, and things like that. The right hand, I don’t think – I don’t see it being too effective. I think you, he wants to throw those body shots and left hooks and upper cuts. And, the right hand is kind of like a range fighter for him. You know, most of the fight – he can use right hand. Don’t get me wrong. But I just think his power hand is his left hand and that’s what he’ll be trying to use on Shane.

But there again, Shane, he’s fine with guys that’s 160. Cotto’s height and everything to take the punches and everything and that can dish it out stronger than Cotto. He’s got Beacon Ricky (ph) there he’s sparring with, so he’s got some tough guys he’s working with. So I just think it’ll be a hard night for Cotto to try to just walk through Shane. He’s got to do some other things in there. He can’t just – he ain’t going to just walk through Shane like that. You know what I mean? So he’s got to come with some more stuff to win this fight.

EDDIE GOLDMAN, SECONDSOUT RADIO: Thank you. Hi, everybody. First question for Shane. I’d like to know how your preparation for the fight, not just the training but you’re overall approach has changed over the years as you’ve gotten a little older from the days in which you were younger.

SHANE MOSLEY: I mean, I definitely, you know, I do all my testing (ph) pretty much the same, maybe not as much because, you know, when you get older your body’s harder to regenerate back the next day. So you have to give your body time to relax and rest and make sure you’re eating properly. You know, when you’re younger you don’t have to stick to the diet as much. You know, you have to, you know – you can get away with certain things when you’re younger, you know, stay up later and, you know, doing different things where your body bounces back faster.

So I think that’s the difference. You have to be more careful. You have to be – you have to – like I had a fighter tell me you had to walk the line, like you had to walk the line straight. You can’t, you know, deviate a little bit, you know, here and there. You might be able to get away with some stuff here and there and then be able to fight and still be at peak performance. But when you’re older you just can’t – you just can’t get away with stuff anymore.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: And question also, this could be either for Shane or Jack. It was discussed earlier that Cotto, when he gets in trouble on occasion, he’s landing low blows. How much is that mental and experience factor a real fight? Because Shane has been in so many, you know, countless top fights with guys who were the top of the pound for pound list and the best in the weight class. And while Cotto is younger, it’s a little newer to this in terms of being able to adjust if he does get in trouble. So how much is that going to be a factor, you think, in this fight?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, that can be a pretty big factor. It depends on, you know, at least more (ph) experienced fighters and it may be some of the experienced and robust ones (ph) but not – you know, I think that’s an advantage that I had and Oscar and all of us, we had experienced and be able to experience, to be able to agree with these veteran fighters. And when we went to the ring as young fighters, we were more experienced than most because we had all these world champions in our weight division to work with, to learn from. So if he hasn’t had a lot of people to learn from then I guess the situation he will probably be in trouble.
But, you know, I don’t really worry about all the different things that people say, low blows and this and that. I mean, I’ve been in a fight where I got hit with low blows so many times it was ridiculous. And the guy was hitting me on the ground without – when he threw me on the ground he was still swinging at me. So I’ve been in rough, tough fights and, you know, back yard type of fights. So, you know, it doesn’t really bother me or make me feel a certain way like always giving me low blows or what I do. I don’t care.

You know, hit me with a low blow then, you know, we flew out of the way to neutralize that.

EDDIE GOLDMAN: And Jack, anything you can do particularly to prepare or anything you’re – because as you said you might be expecting something like that.

JACK MOSLEY: Well, the – just let me clarify that is to mentally prepare for it. Like no, he’s going to beat at it when he gets hurt. He watched a tape and every last one of them, he hit the guy low to buy time. You know, and I’m wondering if the trainer tells the guy to do that. I’ve heard of trainers doing that, telling the guy to hit him wherever to buy some time. Guys talk about that all the time. But apparently, you know, I’m assuming, you know, I might be wrong, but looking at the tapes, every time he got in trouble he hit low to buy some time. He jabbed you, what, two times or maybe three. So he’s hitting below, man. So they’ve got to address that.

SHANE MOSLEY: And also, I think maybe, you know, when he does get – he’s a little woozy, a little blurry, and he’s trying to assume a shot and he’s too low. I don’t buy into the low blow thing. I may be close to the cuff sometimes that’s for real. But if it’s on top of the cuff or, you know, around the top part of the cuff and, you know, he might be a little dizzy and he got hit with a shot and it throws him off. I’m not really worried. But we’ll figure that out when we get in the ring and work it out. It’s a war in there, so.

JACK MOSLEY: It is a war, you know, and the guys will be hitting all elbows, all his muscles and the whole bit. All is fair as long as they don’t just start just all out hitting low. I mean, we can deal with the arm thing, you know, muscle thing because they do that stuff, too. But we know. It’s what the business is about. They know what they’re doing.

SHANE MOSLEY: We’re allowed to fish. We’re going to go out there, give the fans a great fight. We’re going to go to war. And that’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for a great fight.

FRANKLIN MCNEIL, STAR LEDGER: Hey, a lot has been talked about punching power and speed. But one of the things that really keeps coming to my mind is ability to take a punch. We know that you can take a punch.

SHANE MOSLEY: Yes.

FRANKLIN MCNEIL: Cotto’s ability to take a punch, especially on the chin, is questionable. Will you be testing that chin? And do you think that the ability to take a punch in this fight is going to be a factor?

SHANE MOSLEY: I definitely think it’s going to be a factor because he’s just about to be able to take a punch because I’m going to definitely be dishing out a lot of heat in the fight. So I think it’s going to be a factor. Maybe if he’s in great shape, maybe he can recover faster and consume (ph) some other punches. We’ll see. You know, that’s – you know, maybe he might, you know, I might take a shot and have to get up off the ground or whatever and fight through. You know, we all know I’m willing and able to do that.
You know, I’ll – if I get on the ground, I’m getting back up. I’m fighting until the end. We’re going to have a great fight. I think that the chin is definitely, has been questionable. I kind of contribute some of that, especially at 140, you can probably try to make weight. You know, I remember when I was trying to make weight. At 135 I felt the shocks a little more.

But, you know, being he’s a 147 maybe he’s better and he can possibly take a better shot at welterweight more suitable for his weight class. So we’ll see, you know, I mean, his chin is kind of weak but we’ll see.

FRANKLIN MCNEIL: Well let me stay on that theme for a second because in the Zab fight, Zab is a good puncher but Zab is a relatively small welterweight by comparison and doesn’t throw nearly as many punches as you do. Watching that fight is it a theme that you take from that and say, “Wow, you know, this is going to really go to my advantage in the fight with Miguel Cotto?”

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, watching the fight with Zab Judah, I mean, Zab in this area of boxing, not being the most disciplined fighter. So we know that he has a good four or five rounds then he can taper off. And, maybe throw one punch at a time. And Zab, like you said, being a small welterweight, probably more suitable at junior welterweight, hit him with some terrific shots, some terrific upper cuts. And, you know, and the Cotto basically started smothering him and smothering the shots. So he can get those big shots off at him. I think it’s going to be very hard for him to do that with me being that I’m really a big welterweight. I’m not a small welter – I’m a big welterweight and I’m not a welterweight moving up from 140 like most of the guys he’s being at stopped (ph) or they basically came from 140 to 47. So it’s going to be a different type of fight. And he has to be able to put on some of those boxing shoes at some time in this fight. If he doesn’t then there’s going to be problems.

ROBERT MORALES: I know that you and Oscar have become really good friends as well as business partners. You guys go way back. So it wasn’t surprising when I talked to him in the morning of the Barrera and Pacquiao rematch that he totally had your back with this re-visitation of the Balco thing. You said he wasn’t going around, thinking in any way, shape, or form, that, you know, the only reason you beat him the second time was because you were jacked on steroids. What do you think when a guy like Oscar, especially – and, you know, because a lot of fighters might have, exactly what I just said that, “Well, you know, that’s why he won.”

But Oscar didn’t think that at all and he had your back. What does that mean to you?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, that means a lot. I mean, you know, knowing that – I mean, even if the first and second fighter, like I said, were totally different, if anything, I did worse in the second fight than I did in the first fight. And Oscar did a lot better than on the toss up. I mean, Oscar knows me. He knows what type of person I am. He’s been – we’ve been knowing each other for years. And, you know, the steroid thing, it really was a disadvantage than an advantage for me.

ROBERT MORALES: Excuse me. Was that a steroid or was it just they’re saying it was a steroid? Do you think it was different?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, what they were saying was it’s – they said it was EPO, which is a blood doping is what they’re saying. Well, it was, but …

ROBERT MORALES: Well that could have strengthened the immune system of AIDS patients or something like that? It’s a medication, ain’t it?

SHANE MOSLEY: Yes. Well that’s what it was reported to be for, for your immune system.

ROBERT MORALES: It’s a medication.

SHANE MOSLEY: As a medication. Yes. It’s a medication that they use …

ROBERT MORALES: So not a steroid.

SHANE MOSLEY: . yes, and stuff like that. But what the commission is saying that’s – you know, story – there’s many different types of steroids that have the, I guess, I’d say the winning (ph) for that so it’ll make you all ripped up and muscle bound. But that wasn’t the case where it’s a muscle bound type of thing where you get muscle bound. So I mean …

ROBERT MORALES: Shane, you know, and I appreciate that, your honesty about all that. But let me ask you one last thing and then I’ll let this go. You know, people read things and, you know, they hear things and then this stuff is reported on ESPN, I’m sure, several have seen it. Are you concerned at all about your reputation? Because I think all boxing writers believe you to be a standup guy. Are you concerned about that this might tarnish your reputation in any way, shape, or form?

SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I don’t think it should tarnish it any way, shape, or form. I mean, me being that, you know, I was the type of guy that like these guys that they have on TV have been taking this stuff for years, you know, and me being like somebody that’s come in to, “Oh, you know, what” – and being basically tricked into it, you know, is kind of – it’s not – it really didn’t do anything. It really wasn’t like something that – it didn’t help me at all. It actually went against me. And, you know, I don’t know. I can’t see it being a hindrance or anything to my reputation, you know, as far as what that stuff was concerned, you know …

ROBERT MORALES: Got you.

SHANE MOSLEY: And being that, I wrote a check to the guy. I wasn’t – and I’m thinking I’m getting something that’s good. I’m writing checks and making it – and so I have a paper trail or something like that because, you know, I’m a standup guy. I, you know, I want to do everything the right way.

JACK MOSLEY: Let me add, too, saying that you checked with the State Athletic Commission and they OK’d it before you even took it. That shows the kind of person you are. You are trying to get – you throw out somebody or mislead somebody. You went to the State Athletic Commission in Nevada and asked them, “Was this on your ban list?” And they said no. So you did no wrong.

SHANE MOSLEY: Right. No, I didn’t do anything wrong or anything but the thing is that the way we all was tricked is because, like my father said, it wasn’t on the ban list. And there was a list, you know, that they have wasn’t on the ban list and wasn’t even considered anything at the time. So when it happened it’s like, “OK, everything is clean. Everything is clean.” Even my – even my test is still – my test is clean. There’s no steroids. My test is clean. So it’s like, you know, we’re just not knowing and the commission didn’t know about it and I didn’t know about it. Nobody knew about it so it’s like, OK. And now all of a sudden, OK, it’s a steroid now. Oh, well it wasn’t a steroid a month ago, well why is it a steroid now?

So I don’t know. It’s just different. So the best thing to do, I think, is just to be organic, stay, you know, with the nice fruits and vegetables and like that. You fight better anyway. That way you think better and, you know, you get away from the chemicals so you can live a lot longer. And that’s my whole motto of life now is just to stay clean of all of those different types of, you know, new things. I mean, the first time I had experiences I had creatine, too much creatine for my lightweight fight. And, you know, I was going to the bathroom the whole time.

And I entered the ring at 137. I never entered the ring at 137 before a fight at 135. And that was my first experience of taking, you know, creatine and all these different supplements and vitamins and stuff to try to boost yourself up, make you stronger. You know, that’s natural – they’re supposed to be, you know, all right by legal vitamins.

So the best thing I think for any fighter is just to be natural. You have to take supplements, but take the mostly mineral supplements and the natural supplements that just naturally give you energy and you’ll do good.

ROBERT MORALES: I know about the creatine. That stuff is nasty. Hey, thanks for everything, Shane. I appreciate it.

” Fast & Furious!” is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank, in association with Madison Square Garden and sponsored by Rums of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Tourism, Paramount Pictures new film Beowulf, Tecate Beer and Southwest Airlines . “Fast & Furious!” will take place Saturday, November 10, at the “Mecca of Boxing” Madison Square Garden. The Cotto vs. Mosley four-bout pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View.

UNTAMED 17 POST-FIGHT REPORT

Posted on | October 31, 2007 | 3 Comments

UNTAMED 17: CAGED CHAOS
POST FIGHT REPORT

By: Rich Bergeron

Bringing a new dimension to an already stellar fight promotion, Full Force Productions brought their new cage to Plymouth’s memorial Hall for the first time this past Friday as part of a packed fight card in the Untamed series. Headlining the card was a phenomenal match-up between Paul Gorman (Academy of Mixed Martial Arts) and Leandro “Tatu” Escobar (American Top Team) at 135-pounds. Both fighters were coming off tough losses, and they both had plenty of reasons to redeem themselves in the cage in addition to the belt that was at stake to inaugurate the 135 pound weight class in the Untamed series.

Escobar maintained control through much of the first round despite suffering a glancing kick to the face from Gorman in the early going. “Tatu” managed three takedowns in the first. Gorman displayed an exceptional guard and did escape to his feet at one point where he landed some heavy blows, but Escobar’s wrestling skills persevered. He kept his composure and slipped in a few solid hooks to the ribs while manhandling Gorman through most of the round. Gorman through a lot more accurate shots and landed some solid leg kicks in the round, but the fact that he spent most of the round didn’t bode well for the final scoring.

Gorman, notorious for his relentless Guillotine attempts, couldn’t get one locked on Escobar to start off the second round. Escobar managed yet another takedown with a nicely executed slam. Gorman managed to squeeze out again, and he spent the rest of the round hammering Escobar with elbows and punches every time he saw an opening to land. Escobar had no options but to try to sneak in a triangle choke, but he could pull it off.

The third round looked like it might decide everything when it began, and it was one of the closest rounds of the night. Gorman started strong with jabs and combinations landing solidly. Once again, “Tatu” went low and took Gorman down. While Escobar made the best of being in top control, Gorman began to throw some punches from his back. They weren’t very effective, but eventually he managed to hold off any attack from Escobar until the referee stood both fighters up. Gorman’s chances of winning began to wane after Escobar managed to gain the top position again where Gorman could only eke out a few hammer fists before the closing bell.

Despite looking gassed, dejected, and defeated after the fight, Escobar was delighted when the split decision was announced and his hand was raised as the victor in the end. By three scores of 29-28 and only one point deciding the final outcome, “Tatu” secured himself some new hardware by edging out the win.

Ultimately it came down to control, and it seems losing to Spencer Paige in a back and forth brawl this past June forced Escobar to develop a stronger takedown. Paige managed to keep most of that fight on the feet by sprawling every time Escobar shot in on him in that bout. The win over Gorman puts the new champ’s record at 6-3 as a pro. Gorman falls to 5-6 with the loss.

Just before the main event two 155-pound sluggers took to the cage and put on a great show for the crowd. Glenn Brown (3-0, Green Mt. Boys) took on Hitalo Machado (3-1, Best Way/ATT) in the match, showcasing an aggressive style from the opening bell. Early in the fight Brown landed a 1-2, attempted a flying knee, and then brought the fight to the ground with a leg lock. Machado freed himself from the hold and made it back to his feet. Both fighters waded into some awesome toe-to-toe action with Brown getting the better shots in. Brown’s hooks began to take their toll, forcing Machado to go for a Guillotine choke. Brown reversed control and landed a few nice right hands only to fall into a sloppy triangle attempt. Machado transitioned into an arm bar hold that looked like it could end the fight, but somehow Brown escaped at the end of the round and revealed a bad cut on his nose.

Round 2 ended almost as soon as it began. Brown managed to get Machado’s back briefly, but the slippery Machado reversed position. He secured an arm bar of his own to bring the fight to a close with Brown tapping out.

The heavyweights were also entertaining with Randy Smith of Team Bombsquad (2-1) facing Josh Watson of AMMA. For Watson the match would be his first pro fight, though Smith looked more like the rookie in the match. Smith came out with a nice leg kick and some good jabs and 1-2 combinations early, but Watson answered with his own kick, an overhand right, and a slam. Punching from the bottom, Smith managed to escape to his feet again where Watson closed in on him. Smith tried to lock a Guillotine hold, but his massive opponent wasn’t about to go down to the mat. Watson fought off the submission and transitioned from bombing right hooks to straight rights before storming in and lifting Smith off his feet again. Not wanting to take another trip to the canvas, Smith grabbed the cage to the dismay of the referee, and Watson had to trade the slam for a single leg takedown. The round ended before Watson could do any further damage.

The second round kicked off with a flurry of punches from Smith that looked like they might turn the tide in his favor. Instead, Watson steered Smith smack dab into the chain link fence where he crumpled from the impact. Watson didn’t hesitate and stormed his dazed opponent with an absolute barrage of punches. The final flurry of blows was enough for the referee to halt the action and give Watson the knockout in his pro debut.

James Blanco (Pedro/Bucket Brigade) also had an impressive pro debut at 145 pounds against Kurt Calash (IMBCT), who fell to 0-2 with the loss. Blanco secured an early Guillotine only to lose it and give up the takedown to Calash in the opening seconds. Blanco was able to reverse control and get another Guillotine after some sloppy, awkward punches landed. Calash couldn’t escape the new and improved attempt and tapped out at the 2:05 mark of the first round.

Ron McEvilly (Tigon) and Scott Rehm (CCFA) both made their pro debuts against each other at 205. The short, squat, heavy, but tough Rehm was easily the fan favorite and faced a tall, well-conditioned McEvilly. First impressions can be extremely deceiving.

McEvilly launched a high kick early that Rehm simply walked through. Other than a few jabs and a great 1-2 combo, McEvilly couldn’t do much else in the round. Rehm stalked him around the ring throwing overhand rights from all kinds of awkward angles. Rehm also slipped in a few knees. McEvilly escaped early trouble when Rehm pinned him up against the fence and dropped him after an exchange that left Rehm with a serious welt under his eye. McEvilly recovered and mounted a weak rally inside the last minute of the round, but Rehm came right back with his overhand rights and dropped the skinnier man yet again. A series of hammer fists finished McEvilly off and left him bleeding heavily from the nose by the time the referee waded in to stop the match.

The first two professional bouts of the night ended with some great submissions. Untamed veteran Chris Rondeau (Fightzone) improved to 3-2 with an impressive arm-bar submission in the first round over 1-2 Robbie Roberts (Brute Force) in their 185-pound match. Pat Audinwood (Bombsquad) triangle choked his way to a victory over Chris Murphy (Pedro/Bucket Brigade) in another showdown between fighters making their first professional appearances. Audinwood and Murphy fought a pitched, back and forth 170-pound match before Audinwood was able to secure the choke and tap out Murphy at 1:40 in the second round.

The night also included some incredible amateur fights:

145 POUNDS:

John Warnock (ATT) and Tateki Matsuda (Sityodong) featured three solid rounds of action with Warnock getting the Unanimous decision.

155 POUNDS:

Dennis Jones (Aggression) wasted no time tapping out Dustin Lebel (IMBCT) with a reverse arm bar that ended the fight inside the first 30 seconds.

Mark Rodriguez (Boneyard) and Joe West (Bishops) fought through three rounds to a unanimous decision for Rodriguez.

170 POUNDS:

Jim Reopelle (IMBCT) locked in a rear naked choke to finish things early against Dan Conway (Bishops) in the first round.

185 POUNDS:

Dave Stewart (ATT) dominated Matt Burke (Feijao) and finished off the fight with a Kimoura in the second round.

215 POUNDS:

Travis Bartlett (Irish) notched another win to keep his undefeated record (now 4-0) intact with a decision against Leon Dutra (Independent).

220 POUNDS:

Shawn Galano (Eclectic) secured an arm bar at the very last second of the first round in the final amateur fight of the night to submit Eric Spicely (Independent).

UNTAMED 18: Featuring three title bouts, December 15th at Plymouth Memorial Hall promises to be a purely exciting night. Heavyweight Champion Josh Diekman is still looking for an opponent. Visit www.fullforce.tv to find out more about the event and get tickets. Check out the following clip to see more of Josh in action:

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Posted on | October 31, 2007 | No Comments

CALZAGHE VS. KESSLER TO CROWN UNDISPUTED MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMP

Posted on | October 30, 2007 | No Comments

JOE CALZAGHE V MIKKEL KESSLER
Undisputed Super middleweight championship of the world.

MILLENNIUM STADIUM, CARDIFF, WALES.

“There’s only one left”

As Joe Calzaghe makes his way to the ring on Saturday night, one can only imagine, what will be going through his mind. Will he be thinking, about his 10 years as a world champion ? Will he be thinking about the millions he has made in that time ? Will he be thinking about his 43 fight unbeaten record, or his legacy as one of the greatest super middleweights in the history of the sport? Probably not, but I will be.

Joe Calzaghe is arguably the best fighter, to ever come out of Wales , and that in itself is a tremendous honour.

Tommy Farr, Steve Robinson, Howard Winstone, Johnny Owen, and Jimmy Wilde. All brilliant in their own ways, all heart, and all legendary Welshmen.

I’ll be thinking about my old mate, Don James and the time we had together, talking about Calzaghe in a New York bar, but most of all, I’ll be thinking about Calzaghe, and “will this be his last fight”? I think he is ready to retire. Ready to seal his legacy, and go out with “ a good old tear up” for the fans. Beating the big punching Kessler, will finally silence the critics for good.

So what can we say about Mikkel Kessler? Experience wise, not too much. Fighting since, 1998, he had 29 fights, working his way up to 8 rounds, fighting all but one of them outside Denmark. He then fought the South African super middleweight, Dingaan Thobela, for the vacant IBA title in 2002 , in a fight that he won over the championship distance. Since then, he has stopped the world’s top contenders, and champions [ albeit jaded champions in ] Manny Siaca, Eric Lucas, and Marcus Beyer. He traveled to Sydney, Australia, to fight Anthony Mundine [ even though he was suffering from injury ] and still looked too strong for “The Man” at the weight. In March this year, he defended his titles against the highly touted, Wayne McCullough trained fighter, Librado Andrade in Denmark, and won by unanimous decision. Boxing ability? Kessler is a good boxer, and does a lot of things, very well. He has a hard jab which he doubles up on, before he follows up with the thudding right hand bomb. He cuts the ring off brilliantly, and has great balance and stance. The uppercut is a favourite punch for him, and I think he will be throwing it a lot against Calzaghe. In fact, I think he can only fight one way. Jab, Jab, straight right hand, left hook, get in close, and give it the old up and under. If you watch his fights, Kessler is dangerous and strong early, as he throws everything at his opponent. He likes to get set, and dictate his fights, which in the past he has done pretty easy, but he does have a few chinks in his armour.

Kessler drops his left hand low after he jabs, and when he opens up, throwing his 4 or 5 punch combinations, he leaves his chiseled chin wide open to the counter. As I said, he has a good strong jab, but he can be out jabbed. Calzaghe must find a way to “be first”

Kessler , when hit in flurries, gets disorientated and his body stops when chinned. He is open to the right hand.

Experience, and quality of opponents has to taken into account, but not by just the fighters they both have fought, but by each mans fights. Calzaghe has been hit so hard, that he was spun around, and came back brilliantly, to knock his opponent out in the same round. [ Byron Mitchell] He has proved he can take a shot. Kessler hasn’t been in with any real, explosive punchers, so he hasn’t had to take any. Calzaghe was a defending world champion, when Kessler was making his pro debut. Kessler has fought three southpaws in his career thus far, and he “iced” the three of them [ Marcus Beyer, 2006, Manny Sobral, 2002, and Fernando Hernandez in 2001.] Kessler has only been 12 rounds on three occasions, whilst Calzaghe has been there 10 times.

MY PREDICTION.

I see Calzaghe coming out, hard and fast, trying to establish the jab. [ he has to ] Kessler will chase him around and he will try to get him early. Calzaghe will have to be at his best, counterpunching, but will have to take Kessler’s best, for the first 8 rounds. Calzaghe knows he has to take him into the later rounds, building up a good points lead, and try to get the big Danish super middleweight to lose his legs.
[ Kessler fades after 9 rounds] Calzaghe must out jab him and set the pace. If he does he will finish this fight, the way he started his reign as a world champion, all those years ago, and beat “the only one left”

Gary Todd is an International author with his book on world champions, and their training methods, “Workout’s From Boxings Greatest Champs” He has been involved in all aspects of the sport of boxing for over 25 years, and he is a proud member of “The Boxing Writers Association Of America.

e-mail: brave_haggis@hotmail.com

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