Askren vs. Hieron Welterweight World Title Fight Set for October 29 From Kansas City’s Memorial Hall

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

CHICAGO, Ill. (Oct. 1, 2011) — Bellator Fighting Championships announced today that undefeated Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren will put his title on the line against Season 4 Tournament winner Jay Hieron on October 29 at Bellator 56 from Memorial Hall in Kansas City. Bellator 56 will also host the Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament Semifinals and air LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and at the Memorial Hall Box Office.

Tune in tonight for the Heavyweight Quarterfinals that begin at Bellator 52 tonight from L’Auberge Casino Resort at Lake Charles in Louisiana at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX. You can also catch all the undercard action streaming live on Spike.com beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

A 2008 U.S. Olympian and former ESPY award nominee for Best Collegiate Athlete, Askren, the reigning Bellator Welterweight Champion, will put his title on the line for the first time since capturing the crown at Bellator 33 over then champion Lyman Good. While the fight may be the toughest test of his young MMA career, the University of Missouri product and two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion should feel right at home fighting in Kansas City.

“It’s an unreal feeling knowing I’ll be fighting so close to Mizzou,” said Askren. “It won’t affect me during the fight, I could beat Jay in his living room, but to be able to celebrate with all my friends and family after the win is going to awesome.”

Askren and Hieron have made no secret that this fight will be a grudge match of sorts as both competitors have used social media to display their dislike for one another. While both fighters certainly respect each other’s accomplishments, contrasting styles and personalities have added another level of intrigue to an already highly-anticipated fight.

“I’ve been looking forward to this fight for a while,” Askren said. “I’m more excited to dominate Jay than anyone I have ever fought, so October 29^th can’t get here fast enough. We’re going to put on a show.”

For Hieron, the former UFC veteran and Las Vegas-trained fighter is looking to extend his winning streak to 11 with a championship victory over Askren. “The Thoroughbred” earned his title shot by claiming the Season 4 welterweight tournament with victories over Anthony Lapsley, Brent Weedman, and former judoka Olympian Rick Hawn. While the New York native fully understands the Midwest crowd will mostly be in Askren’s corner, that doesn’t bother the confident Hieron.

“I’ve been getting ready for this fight for months, so location doesn’t matter,” said Hieron. “I’ve got one goal in mind, and that’s punching this guy in the face and taking his belt. We all know the game he is going to bring to the cage, and everyone knows mine, so it’s going to be a war, simple as that.”

“I’ve been waiting for this fight for some time now,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “These are two great welterweights – both are world-class athletes and neither of them like each other. Ben and Jay have been going back and forth on Twitter; and when that cage door shuts, they will have a chance to settle it.”

The night will also feature the semifinals of Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament, featuring some of the sport’s top knockout artists. The quarterfinals begin at Bellator 52 TONIGHT from L’Auberge Casino Resort at Lake Charles in Louisiana at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX and features an eight man tournament field with a combined 73-15-2 record. The stacked undercard for this event will be streamed LIVE and free around the world on Spike.com, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator

Boxing Links (10-01-11)

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

Martinez settles, but serious about Barker ESPN 17 in Showtime’s Super Six World Boxing Classic final) and titlist Lucian Bute. But Martinez said he won’t go all the way up to the 168-pound division. “I am willing to fight anyone up to 163 or 164, so if any of the big guys want to fight me, … See all stories on this topic » ESPN

Boxing: Gavin Rees title request finds favour with WBC WalesOnline The Echo can reveal the Rees camp has been in touch with World Boxing Council president Dr Jose Sulaiman about fighting for the vacant WBC lightweight title. Dr Sulaiman is keen to showcase Wales after the WBC Night of Champions boxing festival in … See all stories on this topic »

Sergio Martinez is worthy of a spot in boxing’s main event Los Angeles Times (Al Bello / Getty Images / November 20, 2010) By Bill Dwyre The premise that there are two boxers so good that they alone could set the rest of the sports world on its ear with the kind of match they would produce is only slightly flawed. … See all stories on this topic »    Los Angeles Times

The Weekend Boxing Cheat Sheet Part Two- Oct. 1, 2011 Maxboxing By Marty Mulcahey Yesterday, I explained how the big weekend of boxing, with five major cards taking place around the world, prompted a tweaking of the TV Cheat Sheet format to cover all the major bouts. In Part One, the Toshiaki Nishioka – Rafael … See all stories on this topic »

Vijender crashes out of World Boxing Championships Times of India Eight Indian boxers have now crossed the first hurdle and made it to the next round of the tournament at Baku. Vijender the world number eight and seeded seventh in the Championship, had a tough draw as he took on Olympic silver-medallist Correa in the … See all stories on this topic »

Boxing notes: Lou DiBella defends Sergio Martinez, Andre Berto Los Angeles Times Lou DiBella is a tough talker, and when boxing’s giant promoters backed him into a corner Friday, the former architect of HBO boxing matches came out swinging. First, DiBella heard that veteran promoter Bob Arum was telling people in the sport’s inner … See all stories on this topic »

Boxing Results for Fri., Sept. 30: Olusegun Tops Chebah, Wins for Ramos, Rios … Bad Left Hook I’d like to thank everyone for their patience this week with the lack of updates from me, but I pretty much fried my brain with the Mayweather fight and the fallout, and I just couldn’t get much boxingtalk going for the last few days. … See all stories on this topic »

‘Rampage’ considering switch to boxing: A fan’s reaction Yahoo! Sports Contributor Network 12 hours, 18 minutes ago Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is considering giving boxing a shot. The 33-year-old MMA veteran lost a recent attempt to reclaim the UFC’s light-heavyweight title on Sept. … See all stories on this topic »

fitlosophy and LA Boxing Team Up to Knockout Breast Cancer MarketWatch (press release) COSTA MESA, CA, Sep 30, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — fitlosophy, inc., creator of fitness + nutrition journal and goal setting system fitbook(TM), has teamed up with LA Boxing in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month with a special campaign to … See all stories on this topic »

Toshiaki Nishioka-Rafael Marquez: Pre-Fight Report Card BoxingScene.com By Cliff Rold If nothing else, it’s probably the best action fight between two fighters in their mid-30s that could be made in boxing right now. That it is also the best prizefight, on paper, taking place on a busy weekend of fistic action is high … See all stories on this topic »

 

Blogs

Former Boxing Champ Arthur Abraham (Illegally) Sets Berlin … By Luke O’Brien Boxer Arthur Abraham lost his last two super middleweight championship fights convincingly. But he would not be denied a more dubious title last Wednesday evening: the Berlin land speed record. According to various media reports out of … Deadspin

OLUSEGUN AJOSE DEFEATS ALI CHEBAH TO BECOME MANDATORY CHALLENGER TO MEXICAN LEGEND ERIK MORALES

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION

 

Don’t Miss The Replay On Tuesday, Oct. 4 At 10 p.m. ET/PT On SHO Extreme

 

SANTA YNEZ, CALIF. (Sept. 30, 2011) – Olusegun Ajose earned a shot at World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight champion and Mexican legend Erik Morales with a unanimous decision victory over Ali Chebah in Friday’s main event ofShoBox: The New Generation on SHOWTIME® from Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.

 

In the ShoBox co-feature, No. 5-ranked World Boxing Association (WBA) and 12^th-ranked World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight Darley Perez scored a sixth round knockout over Oscar Meza when Meza’s corner stopped the bout following the sixth round.  The win advanced the unbeaten prospect to 23-0 with 18 KOs. 

 

In the main event, Ajose, the No. 1-ranked super lightweight contender, came out with an unorthodox yet aggressive style, landing sweeping right hooks on Chebah, the No. 6-ranked contender.  Ajose opened up the third round with fireworks, landing a huge right hand to the top of Chebah’s head that send him stumbling to the canvas.  Chebah beat the count but was immediately met with another onslaught from Ajose, who knocked down his opponent in 10 seconds with a brutal right hook.  Miraculously, Chebah survived the round, although he lost it 10-7 on the judges’ scorecards. 

 

Ajose (30-0, 15 KOs), of Nigeria, continued his showmanship yet he slowed his pace and failed to inflict much damage as the 12 round contest wore on.  Chebah never relented in coming forward but an injured right hand prevented him from landing any damaging punches while the majority of Ajose’s power shots were high and wide. 

 

Chebah (33-2, 26 KOs), of France, came on strong in the championship rounds, winning the crowd over in the 12^th as they chanted his name.  In the end, Chebah didn’t do enough to win over the judges, who scored the bout 120-106 and 119-107, twice. 

 

“I have to give respect to him – he was a good opponent,” said Ajose.  “I wanted to stop him in the third but he’s strong and he kept going.  I had to be careful.  I think I hit him well but he trained hard.  I hurt my hand in the middle rounds and wasn’t able to finish him.” 

 

Ajose, who was making his U.S. debut, now has his sights on Morales and the WBC title. 

 

“I am the mandatory challenger so there isn’t any reason I shouldn’t fight him,” Ajose said.  “He’s the champion so let’s get it on.  They need to keep their promise and let us fight.  I’m ready as soon as possible.  I’d fight him tomorrow if they let me.”

 

While Chebah didn’t protest the decision loss he did think the scores should have been a little closer. 

 

“I think I lost but not by as much as the judges had it,” Chebah said.  “I wasn’t able to compete at the level I wanted.  The gamep lan was to get him tired as the rounds went on, but in the third my hand swelled and I didn’t get any body shots.  I just didn’t have any power in my right hand and that was the difference.”

 

Boxing legend and ShoBox commentator Antonio Tarver was impressed with Ajose’s performance.

 

“Ajose seemed like the real deal tonight and I don’t blame Morales if he doesn’t want to fight him,” Tarver said. 

 

In the co-feature, Perez breezed through what was supposed to be the toughest test of his young career. 

The Colombian prospect dominated the fight and dictated the pace, opening a cut over Meza’s right eye in the third and then another, deeper gash under Meza’s left eye with a hard right hook in the fifth.  Meza (22-4, 18 KOs) came out for the sixth but Perez’s speed and power were too much for the out-matched Mexican and referee Tony Crebs stopped the bout following the sixth round at the instruction of Meza’s corner. 

 

“I was just getting into rhythm when they stopped it but I’m really happy with my performance,” Perez said.  “I usually get warmed up after the sixth round so I think I would have knocked him out.”

 

“I thought they would have stopped the fight in the fifth.  I could see it in his eyes – he was hurt.  It was a good stoppage.”

 

While disappointed with his performance, Meza disagreed with his corner. 

 

“I thought I would do more damage in the fight,” Meza said.  “After I got hit in the left eye I couldn’t see the punches coming.  I was hurt but I think I could have rallied.  I’m not happy with the stoppage but I’ll live to fight another day.”   

 

Perez, a Colombian Olympian who was making his ShoBox debut, did enough against the experienced and battle-tested Meza to impress Tarver. 

 

 “Perez looked sharp,” Tarver said.  “His balance was good and he had the perfect angles.  He did everything he should and I think he’s going to be a heck of a contender in this division.”

 

Friday’s fights will be available On Demand beginning Monday, Oct. 3 and ending Sunday, Oct. 16. 

 

Curt Menefee called the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and Tarver serving as expert analysts. Gordon Hall was the executive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing. 

 

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

 

Wrestling Links (10-01-11)

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

New world’s oldest wrestler claim BBC News By Martin Vennard BBC News An 82-year-old great-grandfather from West Bromwich is claiming the record for being the world’s oldest professional wrestler. Saleh Ghaleb, who originally comes from Yemen, fought and beat 46-year-old Paul Sinclair at a bout… See all stories on this topic »    BBC News

TNA: 10 Wrestlers Who Will Lead Impact for the Next Decade Bleacher Report Is it probably a little presumptuous to expect a company that continues to bleed and make changes to its internal structure and remain a viable mark in the wrestling industry for any length of time. But I am an optimist (or an idiot) and believe at … See all stories on this topic »

OSU assistant coach Joe Wickline’s other life: Professional wrestler NewsOK.com OSU FOOTBALL – Before he started building offensive lines at Florida and Oklahoma State, Joe Wickline was a wrestler – the professional kind. “I’ve never seen wrestling that’s fake.” STILLWATER — There is a small gap on the resume in between the end … See all stories on this topic »

Partridge taught Hilton wrestlers how to win, and then some Rochester Democrat and Chronicle There are two men who have coached Hilton’s varsity wrestling team during the last 49 years. One of them is Al Krotz, a Hall of Famer in Section V. The other is a man who wrestled for Krotz’s teams, who was later asked to return and coach the school’s … See all stories on this topic »

Moneyball’s Bennett Miller Restarts Olympic Wrestling Movie Foxcatcher with … Indie Wire (blog) And after grabbing raves for wrestling pic Warrior, Gavin O’Connor has sold his speculative script with co-writer Michael Wilson, The Samurai, to Warner Bros. Carell will play disturbed John Du Pont, a paranoid schizophrenic who was heir to the du Pont… See all stories on this topic » Indie Wire (blog)

Event returns to help Cal Poly wrestling San Luis Obispo Tribune By Nick Lucero | nlucero@thetribunenews.com | purchase prints Mike Gahan, right, punches Bret Hypolite during their pro lightweight fight of the Fight For Wrestling event last year at Mott Gym. Gahan won the fight. Tribune photo by Nick Lucero By … See all stories on this topic » San Luis Obispo Tribune

wrestling duo grab medals! South Yorkshire Times Sam Oliver and Jacob Wood of Epworth are champion wrestlers. Sam won silver in the men’s < 67kg and Jacob won gold in the cadets open. Picture: Andrew Kershaw WRESTLING with success were two sportsmen from the Isle earlier this month. … See all stories on this topic »

This Week In Wrestling With Emilio Sparks The Source (blog) I blame Punk for all the wrestlers speaking their minds in these shoot style promos. The first match of the night was the Intercontinental Title 10-Man Battle Royal. Remember when the IC title was the cooler title than the heavy weight? Shit I do. … See all stories on this topic »    The Source (blog)

WWE’s Heels — the Jerks, Cowards and Miscreants — vs. Corporate Hedonism PopMatters by Kit MacFarlane Mainstream culture’s failure to examine professional wrestlingseriously — in this case, workplace safety issues — lets the WWE get away with all kinds of ridiculous villainy that no other media organisation could. … See all stories on this topic »    PopMatters

Ubisoft Wrestling With “involved storytelling” For Beyond Good And Evil 2 Just Push Start Beyond Good and Evil is a typical case of great game, underwhelming sales, firmly earning it the title of ‘cult classic’. For ages fans clamoured for a sequel and in 2008 their prayers were answered when lead writer Michel Ancel announced that a sequel … See all stories on this topic »

 

Blogs

TNA ratings for Sept. 29 Impact Wrestling show up from last week … By Geno Mrosko TNA ratings for Sept. 29 Impact Wrestling show up from last week. Cageside Seats

 

KENDALL HOLT, DANNY GARCIA AND PAULIE MALIGNAGGI CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

“I’m excited to prove to the world that I’m still the same Kendall Holt that I was when I won the world title.”

-Kendall Holt

 

“I’m young. I’m fast. I’m strong. I’m hungry and come October 15^th I’m going to show the world. I’m going to knock Kendall Holt out. “

-Danny Garcia

 

“I just plan to win and I plan to dominate Orlando Lora.”

-Paulie Malignaggi

 

 

Monica Sears

Thank you very much, Krista. I want to thank everyone for taking the time out of your day to join us for today’s call. On the line we have Kendall Holt as well as Danny Garcia and Dave Itskowitch of Golden Boy Promotions, as well as Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Productions.

 

After the beginning portion of this call we will be joined by Paulie Malignaggi who will be facing Orlando Lora on the card as well. After all of that we will get him on the lines. Without further ado I’d like Dave to take it from here. Thanks.

 

David Itskowitch

Thanks a lot, Monica. Thank you everyone for joining us here today for a show that all of us at Golden Boy and Gary Shaw Productions are very proud of, very excited about top to bottom a great Pay-Per-View event headlined by Bernard Hopkins versus Chad Dawson. Underneath that will also be: Antonio DeMarco and Jorge Linares for the vacant WBC Lightweight World title. Of course as we have on the call today Kendall Holt versus Danny Garcia for the NABO Junior Welterweight title. As Monica mentioned, Paul Malignaggi versus Orlando Lora—October 15^th Staples Center live on Pay-Per-View.

 

Also though good seats still available. We urge everyone in L.A. to come out—get your tickets. It’s going to be a great night of boxing starting at just $25—you can’t really go wrong. Also want to acknowledge and thank our sponsors: Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

Now I’d like to turn the call over to say a few words about Kendall Holt and introduce Kendall, our co-promoter and my friend, Mr. Gary Shaw.

 

Gary Shaw

Thank you, Dave. Thank you to the reporters that are on this call—really appreciate you coming in. It will be a great night of boxing as Dave said. The Kendall Holt/Danny Garcia fight will have a seasoned veteran and a former world champion fighting with a young guy that’s up and coming and is looking to make a name for himself or for Kendall Holt.

 

I don’t think it will happen. I’ve seen Kendall and know how he trains. He trains hard. He’s a single parent that donates all his time … boxing to his son and there is a lot to be said for that. He’s had a real rough life coming up. He won the world title and he had some trouble defending it. His team has changed completely; Kendall has changed completely and I think you’ll see a new Kendall Holt on October 15^th.

 

I’d like to turn it over to Kendall just to say a couple of opening remarks.

 

Kendall Holt

Yes, I’d like to thank everybody during this conference call. I’m excited about this fight. I’m excited to prove to the world that I’m still the same Kendall Holt that I was when I won the world title and I’m anxious to get in there and face a young lion to prove that.

 

David Itskowitch

Thanks a lot, Kendall. Now I just wanted to say a few words about Danny Garcia. As Gary alluded to he’s a young fighter trying to make a name for himself. He’s 23 years old; he’s undefeated, rated number eight in the world by the WBC and number 11 in the world by the IBF. In addition to being an NABO title fight, this fight is also an eliminator in the WBC for their number one rating and the number two rating in the IBF. There is a lot on the line in this fight.

 

Danny is a fighter with a great amateur pedigree. He was a world class amateur and that’s translated into his career in the pros. He has won four of his past five fights by knockout. He’s defeated the likes of Ashley Theophane, Mike Arnaoutis, and former world champion Nate Campbell. He’s got a record of 21-0 with 14 KO’s, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Danny “Swift” Garcia. Danny, do you want to say a few words?

 

Danny Garcia

Yes, I just want to—October 15^th, man, first of all I want to thank Golden Boy. I want to thank Al Hayman. I want to thank HBO for giving me the opportunity to shine. I’ve been training since a young kid for this opportunity. I’m young. I’m fast. I’m strong. I’m hungry and come October 15^th I’m going to show the world. I’m going to knock Kendall Holt out.

 

Monica Sears

Okay, thanks guys. Krista, can we open it up for media questions?

 

Gary Shaw

The weather must be crazy in Philly if Garcia thinks he’s going to knock out Kendall.

 

Danny Garcia

It’s going to happen, Dave.

 

Gary Shaw

There must be a lot of smog there.

 

Danny Garcia

The weather is beautiful.

 

Q

My first question is for Danny. You sound very confident obviously, but can you talk about in terms of where Kendall Holt ranks in stature compared to the opponents you’ve faced and in terms of name recognition what a win over him would do for your career?

 

Danny Garcia

I mean Kendall, he’s a good fighter. He had a lot of good fights. I respect him for that. I feel he had his chance. He was champion, but now it’s a new era. It’s time for new faces. It’s time for the next generation to come up and take control of the boxing world.

 

Q

Can you—you predict a knockout. Obviously that can be perceived as just talk, but what do you base that on, his fight with Mabuza? What are you looking at in saying that?

 

Danny Garcia

I’m not looking at no other guys he’s fought. I’m looking at myself. I believe in myself. I believe in me. I believe in my team and my speed, my power, my athleticism. I just feel like I have the complete package to do what I want to do in the ring.

 

Q

My next question is for Kendall. When you hear talk like that and being a former champion seeing somebody who drops Tim Bradley and Time Bradley looks back and always talks about your fight as the fight that basically made him. To go from that to hearing what you’re hearing from Danny, what goes through your mind when you hear that kind of talk?

 

Kendall Holt

Nothing. I look at it as he’s never been on this level before so he’s saying what he’s heard other people saying. He’s trying to get everyone to believe in him. He’s just trying to get all that energy up to make—I don’t know what he’s trying to do, but I don’t think he believes he’s going to knock me out. He’s basically saying that to get himself excited, get his confidence up. October 15^th he’s going to realize that it’s different watching great whites on TV opposed to being in the ocean with them.

 

Q

Can you put us in the ring with you? I know you’re not going to give away too much, but somebody who’s been there. Give us the tangible things—you’re saying he’s going to experience against you that he hasn’t experienced before.

 

Kendall Holt

Well, let’s take the conference call. I’ve been on conference calls before. I’ve been on big shows like this. I’ve been on network TV. I’ve headlined. I’ve done it all. Anything you can see that goes on TV, I’ve done it. He’s coming in as a young kid, a young lion, trying to make a name for himself and trying to accept his failure. I’m not trying to do anything. I’ve done it already. I’m going to continue to do it.

 

Q

My first question is for Kendall. Apparently you had some bad luck in 2009-2010. Obviously you lost back to back to Timothy Bradley and Kaizer Mabuza. You took a year off; you came back. This is going to be your third fight in 2011. You looked great in your two fights this year.

The only question that a lot of people are asking is, in both those fights this year lasted less than four rounds combined. Is there any concern that considering you’ve had so few rounds this year in the ring that you might not be ready to get in there with a younger kid like Danny Garcia who has a little bit more stamina? Have you done anything in training camp to help keep you sharp, to help shake some of that ring rust off, maybe some extra sparring?

 

 

Kendall Holt

You know I don’t think I have any ring rust for the simple fact that even though my fights have lasted less than four rounds, each fight I’ve prepared to go ten rounds. I’ve prepared myself to go 12 rounds. I’ve prepared myself to the fullest extent. That’s why these fights haven’t gone the distance.

You know what? This fight I prepared the same exact way. Not only physically have I prepared, I’ve been prepared mentally so I’m going in there. There is nothing Danny is going to be able to do that’s going to surprise me that I haven’t seen.

 

He talks about how he’s a strong fighter; he’s fast. Guess what? I’ve been in there with some strong fighters. I’ve been in there with some fast fighters. Has he ever been hit by somebody who hits as hard as I do, who throws punches as fast as I do? That’s why he’s saying he’s going to knock me out because he’s trying to get his confidence up. He knows he has a mountain to climb once October 15^th comes and that bell rings.

 

Q

Thanks a lot, Kendall. Danny, this question is for you. Kendall is a veteran who knows how to handle every situation, as you know. He just said it himself. He’s been in with some pound-for-pound fighters and despite this KO ratio, Kendall has deceiving knockout power. We’ve seen him stop a lot of guys in the first round. We’ve seen him drop Timothy Bradley flat on his back.

 

You’re young. You’re undefeated. You have a great future in front of you, but are you ready for an opponent like Kendall yet? Your biggest win is over Ashley Theophane—that was a split decision when Kendall is much more accomplished. Is there something you and your team are seeing in Kendall that makes you feel right now not only are you going to beat him, but you’re claiming you’re going to knock him out? What is there in Kendall Holt that you see that makes you so confident this is going to happen?

 

Danny Garcia

I’m ready. I have the speed. I’m young. I just believe in myself. I’m not looking at Kendall Holt and his flaws or whatever he does wrong because you can have a game plan and you can watch tapes all day and you could do this and do that and then you go in there and it’s a completely different story.

I believe in me and what I can do. I’m going to jump to the fight. Whatever happens—happens. I just know it’s going to be one hell of a fight and I’m going to raise my hands at the end of the fight.

 

 

Kendall Holt

He’s kind of comical. He’s saying he’s going to knock me out October 15^th. He says he’s going to knock me out.

 

Danny Garcia

It’s going to happen. You’re going to be looking at the lights.

 

Kendall Holt

Oh, man. I’ll be looking at the lights? What are you going to do with a robot? How are you going to knock me out? Are you a robot?

 

Danny Garcia

This robot is going to knock you out, baby.

 

Kendall Holt

… says get a body bag baby.

Q

Okay, you guys—

 

Danny Garcia

… retire. He’s a bum. Don’t let him hype you up.

 

Monica Sears

Okay, Eddie, let’s go ahead with your question.

 

Q

Let me ask Kendall a question first. Kendall, you talked about how you’ve turned some things around in your career where you did have a title and then you lost it and you took some time off. How have you turned things around? What did you do to improve yourself with this stage of the career?

 

Kendall Holt

At this stage of the career, well I lost my title not because of anything that I did wrong. I lost my title because my hand had a real bad contusion and I didn’t get a lot of time to let it heal up and then I re-aggravated it in the first round with that big left hook.

 

From here to the Mabuza fight and the Mabuza fight I wasn’t properly prepared mentally for that fight. I took some time off because I was going through a lot of contract negotiations and things like that. I just wasn’t prepared to come back to the ring just signing any contract because people who saw I lost two in a row and I just wasn’t prepared to sign anything.

 

I took my time, negotiated back and forth with John Binanatti and Gary Shaw and that whole instance, that whole period I didn’t take any time off the gym. I was still in the gym. I still was training with a bunch of young up and comers like Danny. I was staying with one of the guys that he fought in the amateurs that he tried to bite because he got so frustrated. I hope if he gets frustrated on October 15^th he doesn’t try to bite me. I’ve got to keep doing what I do—

 

Danny Garcia

I didn’t try to bite nobody.

 

Kendall Holt

Aw, dude, you let me … my time. You’re going to get your chance. You’re going to get your chance. Basically I just stayed in the gym working on things that I needed to improve on. While I went through the contract negotiation I stayed in there and seeing what I can do when I’m in shape against a bunch of young up and comers and some former champions. I was in there. I just got my confidence back and my old swag came back and I was ready and prepared to go back in the ring and do battle.

 

Q

Do you feel that if this goes to a decision that you’ll be able to get a fair shake from the officials?

 

Kendall Holt

That has nothing to do with it.

 

Gary Shaw

One hundred percent. That’s 100%. That’s a silly question.

 

Q

Well, I mean watching some of the recent fights I had to ask that. Let me ask a question for Danny. Danny, you’re obviously somebody that’s younger than Kendall, although you’ve beaten some experienced fighters recently, I think Nate Campbell. Nate had had a couple of losses going in. Tell us why you think you’re ready for Kendall. Kendall is older; he’s 30, and he’s coming off a couple of knockout wins. Tell us why you’re so confident that you’re going to be able to beat him.

 

Danny Garcia

It’s time to step it up. If you want to be the best then you’ve got to fight the best. That’s what I’ve been told since I was a little kid. Kendall Holt is one of the best. I want to fight the best. I want to challenge the best and I just want to help the sport of boxing. I want to give the sport of boxing great fights. I feel like I’m ready. That’s what I’ve been training for my whole life and I’m just anxious and I’m excited to show my skills on a whole new level.

 

Q

Do you see any weaknesses in Kendall’s game that you could take advantage of?

 

Danny Garcia

I know I don’t have any weaknesses and I’m going to come in there with a lot of speed, power, explosiveness, so he’s going to have to try to match me. Whatever the fight brings I’m going to adapt. I’m a chameleon in there.

 

Q

My question is for both of fighters. I was wondering you guys are fighting on the Hopkins/Dawson Pay-Per-View. Obviously they play you on the undercard—that’s obviously a big important fight, but it’s the kind of fight that a lot of people might not think will be so huge on Pay-Per-View. So from your point of view as fighters on the under card in terms of exposure, would you guys prefer the fight to be on regular HBO or is Pay-Per-View right where you guys want to be?

 

Kendall Holt

I’m going to let Danny have a chance to answer first.

 

Danny Garcia

I’m grateful. I’m just happy to be on this level. I’m happy with this opportunity—HBO, Pay-Per-View HBO, it doesn’t make a difference. I’m ready. I’m happy and I’m excited.

 

Gary Shaw

What’s the point is why would you get on the conference call? What’s the point of that question? You’re asking two guys that are on the under card of a main event that is on Pay-Per-View that didn’t have a choice. Both are grateful for being on TV.

 

Q

I’m curious if they’d prefer to be on regular HBO just in terms of exposure.

 

Gary Shaw

It’s to stir up controversy. It’s a dumb-… question.

 

Q

It’s certainly not to stir up controversy. It was an honest question.

 

Gary Shaw

Well, what’s the point of the question for two fighters that are on a conference call about their fight?

 

Q

Very good.

 

Monica Sears

Krista, sorry, that’s just the end for Kendall and for Danny, so if they have any closing comments or if Dave and Gary would like to make some comments before Paulie comes on the line.

 

Kendall Holt

I’d like to see you knock me out.

 

David Itskowitch

I’ll just say we hope everybody tunes in. Like I said earlier it’s a great top to bottom show. People at the Staples Center should come out. Gary, I don’t know if you have any closing thoughts or if you just want to turn it over to Kendall and have him say his closing words.

 

Gary Shaw

No, I just want to thank everybody for being on. Danny, I tried to recruit you when you were an amateur, but all I can tell you—you’re a great fighter. You’re going to be a champ one day. This October 15^th will not be your night.

 

David Itskowitch

Kendall, any closing remarks? All right. Danny, do you have any final words before we roll forward?

 

Danny Garcia

Yes, I just want to thank everybody. I want to thank the whole Golden Boys team, Monica, Dave, Oscar, Richard Schaefer, my whole Team Garcia, my whole training camp, Al Hayman. October 15th is going to be a great fight, me versus Kendall Holt and I’m here to show the world a great fight and I’m going to be victorious.

 

David Itskowitch

Thanks a lot, Danny.

 

Danny Garcia

All right. Thank you.

 

David Itskowitch

All right everyone we’re now going to go to Part 2 of the call, which will feature a young man from Brooklyn, New York, the former world champion will be fighting on the show against Orlando Lora, and that’s Paul Malignaggi. Any media member out there really doesn’t need an introduction to Paulie; he does most of his talking for himself. You all know him from his talking, but he also is an extremely skilled fighter, lightning fast, quick combinations and he’s ready to continue his assault on the 147-pound division on October 15^th.

 

Without any further ado I’d like to introduce Paulie the “Magic Man” Malignaggi.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

What’s up?

 

David Itskowitch

Paulie, do you want to say a few words about the fight October 15^th?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Yes, just really not too much to say. I’m excited. I want to thank Golden Boy for getting me the fight, getting me on the show. As usual Golden Boy never leaves me disappointed, making all the right moves for me and I look forward to getting this win so I can get a big fight next year. That’s always what I’m craving. That’s always what I’m working to is those bigger fights, the spotlight, the main event type fights.

 

I’m looking forward to getting this win on this big Pay-Per-View. I feel happy to be able to fight on the Pay-Per-View in L.A. where I’m training at now so all my friends can come out and check me out live. I look forward to the 15^th.

 

Monica Sears

Okay, thanks, Paulie. Krista, can we open it up for media questions?

 

Q

Tell us about this fight. Tell us what you know about Lora and how you plan to approach this fight.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Lora—I don’t know too much about him. I know he’s got a 28-1 record and he’s fought as high as Junior Middleweight and Welterweight. He’s probably a man bigger physically than me, but my style of fighting is not really of the physical kind.

 

I guess he may try to bring a physical kind of fight, but in any video that I’ve watched of him he tries to box, so I don’t know. I don’t know what to really expect from him because he may see a small guy in front of him and try to be a bully or he may just think what he really wants to do is box so I’m preparing for either thing. I’m always trying to prepare myself mainly and get myself sharp and then I’ll have the opponent really worry about me more so than me worry about the opponent. That’s the plan. That’s usually what the plan is and that’s the plan now for this kind of fight as well.

 

Q

Where do you think you are as a fighter now in terms of your career? Obviously you guys are around the same age as Lora, but you’ve had a better career. You’ve had better titles and things like that. Where do you think you are in terms of eventually getting a title shot against somebody?

 

 

 

Paulie Malignaggi

I don’t think I’m too far off. Between my ability to win fights and the strong team I have behind me with Golden Boy Promotions and Anthony Cantanzaro, my manager, I think I’m very close if not for a world title or at least for a big fight that could lead to a world title. One way or the other I’m knocking on the door for something.

 

Like I said before I feel like I still belong because guys below the world class level I tend to still dominate them. I need to be competing at a world class level and I look forward to getting back there.

 

Q

Is this weight fighting at Welterweight, how has that affected you? Do you feel that really suits you the best at this point?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Yes. Just with age it got tough to make the Junior Welterweight limit. Making Welterweight I feel like I have more spring in my legs. I’m not going to say I’m going to hit harder, but I definitely feel stronger at Welterweight just because I don’t have to struggle as much to make the weight. Definitely the biggest improvement is the spring in my legs and just the energy level I’m able to maintain and keep because I don’t have to waste it on making weight. When I get in the ring I can still have that mental spunk and just be able to box the way I want to box.

 

Q

Do you want to make a prediction for this fight?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

I don’t really have a prediction. I just plan to win and I plan to dominate Orlando Lora. If I don’t dominate Orlando Lora I’ll be disappointed in myself, obviously. Not taking anything away from Orlando Lora, but it’s just that I’ve seen … in my career than him. Like I said before anything not at the world-class level I have been dominating and Lora, although he’s 28-1, has not fought at a world class level. The plan is to dominate him and that’s pretty much, I guess, the prediction.

 

Q

I had a question too, about the weight, but you already answered that so I just want to ask about a change in getting out of Brooklyn and training in L.A. How much of a difference has that made for you?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

It’s pretty cool. Sometimes I get homesick for back East, but it’s pretty cool. The Wild Card Gym is definitely a place I don’t regret coming to train, I’ve got great sparring, I’ve got a great trainer, Eric Brown. The weather in L.A. is great; it’s a chill place.

I enjoy being out here. Don’t get me wrong, there is only one New York and I do a lot of times get homesick and stuff, but I don’t regret coming out to train here. It was a great move for my career. I’ve made some new friends out here as well and I plan to continue to train out here.

 

Q

I understand. I lived in New York, too. Living down South it’s a huge change of pace for me so I can only imagine someone who lives 1000 miles an hour like you, it’s got to be tough. You must feel like you’re living in slow motion out there.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Yes. The pace of life is definitely slower even out here. That was hard for me because I figured like L.A. would be a city like New York and everybody would be in that rush mode. Although L.A. is exactly the opposite—it’s a city, but that’s about where the comparison ends to New York. New York is a rush—everybody trying to get somewhere, do something. L.A. is more of a laid back chill atmosphere where nobody really has anything to do. At least it feels that way a lot of times.

 

Sometimes I’m in that New York mentality where I want to get somewhere and I can’t get anywhere because this L.A. traffic is hard. I guess that sometimes it does get frustrating. One thing I will say in L.A, they have the worst drivers I’ve ever seen in my life—in my life. No one compares to L.A. as the worst drives in the world.

 

Q

You’ve got to come down South for that.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

They’re able to drive off the road going two miles an hour. At least if he’s going fast that’s one thing, but if you’re able to rear-end somebody or drive off the road going five miles an hour, you’ve got a problem.

 

Q

Yes, no doubt.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Other than that, like I said I think there are more pros than cons to L.A. at the end of the day, though.

 

Q

I was going to say do you think it’s kind of a metaphor for where your career is at right now? You’re used to just running fast-paced, but now it’s become like more of a marathon for you, you’re not sprinting towards a world title now, you’re at a proper pace so it’s rebuilding toward the championship run.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Yes, yes. Actually that’s a good point. It is kind of like a metaphor where I have to like—slow and steady wins the race kind of thing, you know? That’s kind of the mentality that my team has for my career at the moment I think, that slow and steady eventually wins the race instead of the rush, rush that I always felt I needed to do and be. Yes, it’s sort of a metaphor in a way because L.A. definitely is slow and steady instead of rush, rush.

 

Q

Right, no doubt. All right, if you’re going to use it just make sure you give me credit for it, all right?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

All right.

 

Q

Hey, Dave, I just want to know—you and Paulie worked together back when both of you were with DiBella, I just wanted to know if you had a feeling to be reunited with your old Brooklyn buddy?

 

David Itskowitch

I’m sorry, can you just repeat the question again?

 

Q

I just want to know how it feels for you to be reunited with Paulie. Both of you having worked together with DiBella and now you’re together with Golden Boy.

 

David Itskowitch

Paulie, I’ve known Paulie since I guess 2001 so it’s been quite a long time. It’s great to be working with him again. We obviously didn’t lose touch while I was at Golden Boy and he was with DiBella. We worked on a few shows together. He fought Diaz twice and Ricky Hatton so we still came into contact with each other. It’s great working with him. Looking forward to what the future has to offer for him in Brooklyn and everywhere he fights.

 

Q

Believe it or not I’m getting ready to make a post off of our interview in Las Vegas. Going back to that, you kind of touched on it in your two previous answers; you seem really mentally more relaxed at this weight class. I have to think that it has to do with the fact that you don’t have to suck so much weight over the last couple of weeks to get down to weight.

We talked about your fight against Amir Khan, obviously he’s a good fighter, but it factored in that you were having to lose so much weight. Can you talk about the freedom of not having to do that and how much it allows you to concentrate more on your skill closer to the fight as opposed to concentrating on losing the weight?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Yes, well, first of all it has more of a positive effect on me in that my moods are better and I’m just a happier person. As the fight comes along I can be more focused on the fight because I know even if I’m above weight I know I’m not going to have trouble making it. Obviously knowing that, I’m able to really put pieces together to the puzzle better as far as solving my opponent and concentrating on a game plan and just all that other stuff.

 

Really though, more than anything is, like I said, it’s the energy level, the energy level that I get to keep and maintain. Because when you have nothing to lose and you’re losing an extra five, six, seven pounds, on top of having nothing else to lose, it gets difficult. It’s difficult to maintain the energy level. Knowing I’m going to have that and then just being in a much better mood for not having to suck out that weight.

It allows me to be able to focus and concentrate better. It’s definitely a move that I needed to make and it’s definitely a move that I’m glad I made.

 

Q

Your last fight you beat Jose Miguel Cotto, who some people might say you had an easier time against him than Canello did. Do you make that comparison and how much emphasis do you place on the way that you beat Cotto as far as the way you’re going to fight in this division?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

I don’t really emphasize or compare how I beat one opponent to how another guys beats an opponent. I just kind of just go out there and do my job. I know when I dominate an opponent when I look good and when I have to—what it is for my style to do it. Me and Canelo have sort of different styles so Canelo dominating an opponent may mean something else as opposed to me dominating an opponent, or anybody else dominating an opponent that I’m having.

 

I don’t really make that comparison. I felt like I dominated my opponent Cotto once we got past the first round I got timing down. I was able to box his ears off. If I hadn’t hurt my hands I think I could have actually stuck it out more to really at least—he’s got a good chin, but I could have at least upped the tempo of the fight to where it might have forced a stoppage. My hands were just killing me there. I actually hurt both of my hands in the last fight. They were hurting so bad that the second half of the fight I just lowered them. I basically was on a budget for my hands and I lowered the tempo.

I was happy with the performance, all things considered. I outboxed him. I outboxed him very well. I’ve got to credit my trainer Eric Brown and Wild Card Gym while we work on a lot of new things and also we get a lot of great sparring. Being out West and training out West also helps out.

 

Q

How are your hands?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

My hands felt good so far. Honestly in the gym I don’t really have too many problems with them because I get to wear big gloves and I get to wrap them the way I want to. Obviously in a fight you can’t pad the hands as much as you have little aeon plugs so that’s sometimes where I run into problems, but so far so good. Hopefully everything remains fine and dandy on the 15^th.

 

Q

I have a question—you said you felt like if your hands weren’t hurting you could have knocked him out. Your first fight at Welterweight you scored a knockout and it was pretty impressive against Michael Lozada. Do you feel like you’re able to somehow sit down more in your punches? What is your power a function of at this weight class?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

I don’t know if I’m sitting down more on the punches. I do think my trainer has imposed—to implementing a little bit of a more of an offensive approach to it. I think that comes more from training out West. I know this Wild Card Gym is a very offensive minded gym so I think it just kind of starts to rub off on me, just training out here.

Having said that I think it’s just more of a matter if I’m at a world-class level and I’m fighting non-world class opponents there is always the potential to stop them as long as my hands are healthy because you start putting punches together and ripping off combinations and you kind of overwhelm people.

I don’t know how many one punch knockouts you’re going to see me get, although I have had those in the past as well, but just because somebody is not on your level—it doesn’t matter how many knockouts you’ve had you’re going to stop them just on the beating.

I think that’s what happened with the Mike Lozada fight and I think had I not hurt my hands it would have happened in the Jose Cotto fight. It’s hard to stop a world-class opponent, but when you’re fighting sub-world class opposition and my hands are healthy, I think I get a bad rap for the power and the KO ratio because a lot of it has to do with the injured hands. Early in my career I had many more problems than I do have now. That was really affecting the KO ratio at the time where why shouldn’t we get more stoppages?

 

 

 

Q

Paulie, I’ve got a question for you. We pretty much talked about everything with the weight issues, your hands, and everything. In 2009-2010 you had a lot of up and down moments. People were starting to write you off, a lot of people questioned why would you even go to Welterweight feeling that was a division you were way too small for, but thus far you’ve been great with your last two wins.

Do you feel any pressure that every win or every bout that you have now you have to win in like a dominant, very convincing fashion to have people starting to talk about you again and consider you a genuine threat in the title mix at that weight class? Or are you just willing right now just to slow it down, take it one fight at a time and just let things come how they are?

 

Paulie Malignaggi

I did put a lot of pressure on myself to try to make everybody happy and try to win a certain way and make sure I was doing and make sure I was doing that and all that stuff, but honestly man, I don’t really think about that anymore.

 

I don’t really read too many magazine articles or web sites or anything. I kind of just—so I don’t really—it’s not even that I made a conscious effort I actually just lost interest in doing that stuff. If everybody wants to have an opinion on what I’m supposed do and what I’m not supposed to do I’m really not hearing it. The way I look at it is this, Golden Boy is my promoter; they get me the fights.

 

They line them up and if I can keep knocking them down then eventually something good is going to happen—a world title shot is going to come my way and then hopefully everything works out. I’m just looking at it more like I’m doing my job and my team does their job and together we move forward.

I don’t really have to look at the criticism or the compliments even. I can just go forward and do my job. Boxing is my job. It’s how I make my money so it’s more so that’s how I look at it. I have a job to do when I get in the ring. It’s my responsibility to go out there, put on a show, and win fights. I try to do that to the best of my ability every time I go out there.

 

Monica Sears

Paulie, that was our last question for today so if you want to say any closing remarks before getting off the line.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

No, basically I’ll close it out the way I started it. I look forward to being on the show October 15^th. I’m glad Golden Boy put me on the TV portion so thanks to Golden Boy; thanks to my team. I’m really happy I signed with them and I’m glad the more opportunities they give me the more I hope I can show my gratitude to you guys by continuing to win.

 

Monica Sears

Thanks, Paulie. Thanks for all the media on the call today and we will keep you informed of all of the upcoming activities for Believe It or Not … October 15^th.

 

Paulie Malignaggi

Thank you.

 

Monica Sears

Thanks everyone.

Mixed Martial Arts Links (10-01-11)

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

Mixed martial arts fighter Mike Easton is doing it for the District Washington Post JT Torres, a world-renowned jiujitsu black belt, had meant to kick Easton in the chest during amixed martial arts training session this early September morning. He missed. It certainly would have been easy enough for Easton to quit, but he feels he … See all stories on this topic »

Sonnen shows refreshing, refined side ESPN (blog) The Marine hero and emerging mixed martial arts star is an impossible person to challenge in the way Sonnen went after division king Anderson Silva. Outside of being the man with the belt, Silva did nothing really to earn Sonnen’s contempt. … See all stories on this topic »     ESPN (blog)

For MMA Fans When Does It All Become Too Much thescore.com (blog) I’ve always believed that, at least on the fan level, mixed martial arts is a sport for nerds. Driven as it is by the internet and the special brand of obsessive fascination that goes along with that medium, it appeals to the geek within all of us, … See all stories on this topic »

Review: Supremacy MMA (PS3/360) GamePro.com Disappointingly, Supremacy MMA is a shallow, brainless, meatheaded take on mixed martial arts, hiding an almost-decent fighting game under a mountain of awkwardly violent combat and poorly executed gameplay. by McKinley Noble Before we talk about this … See all stories on this topic »    GamePro.com

Shooto Champion Siyar Bahadurzada Signs with UFC Yahoo! Sports It’s sometimes funny how quickly fortunes can change in the mixed martial artsworld. The latest example of that is when Team Golden Glory fighters were excised from the Zuffa list of talent due to an issue in negotiating with the team’s management.… See all stories on this topic »    Yahoo! Sports

Brock Lesnar and the 10 Most Intense Fighters in MMA Today Bleacher Report Condit is also the owner of perhaps the best mean-mugging face in all of mixed martial arts, coupled with the fact that he regularly walks out to Rage Against the Machine—he’s a very scary dude. The “Ruthless” one has made a career pre-dedicated to … See all stories on this topic »      Bleacher Report

Power Ranking the 10 Best Gyms in MMA Today Bleacher Report Mixed Martial Arts has undoubtedly become the world’s fastest growing sport over the past decade and shows no signs of slowing down. Organizations such as UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator have catapulted MMA into a league of their own. … See all stories on this topic » Bleacher Report

UFC champ Cruz controls what he can Yahoo! Sports But as it turned out, UFC closed the network deal with Fox instead of NBC, meaning Saturday’s show will mark the end the five-year run of Zuffa-branded mixed martial arts events on the network. The relationship was originally built on the backs of the … See all stories on this topic »

 

Blogs

UFC 136 conference call updates and LIVE blog today (Sept. 30 … By Brian Hemminger UFC 136 conference call updates and LIVE blog today (Sept. 30) MMAmania.com

The UFC storms Parliament Hill | Fightlinker – UFC, Strikeforce, and … By fightlinker Now it’s teeming with MMA events and the UFC is going after the federal law that many provinces have used to keep MMA out: Current federal law says anyone who engages in or aids, abets, umpires or reports on a prize fight “is guilty of an … Fightlinker – UFC, Strikeforce,…

PHIL LO GRECO STRIPPED; VICTOR LUPO TO FIGHT FOR VACATED WBC INTERNATIONAL WELTERWEIGHT TITLE

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | No Comments

Xyience Bankruptcy Hearing Yields No Decision On Sanctions For Now: Lorenzo Fertitta Suit May Be In Pipeline

Posted on | October 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

By: Rich Bergeron

An adversary case filed in Nevada bankruptcy court by the trustee’s counsel for Xyience against Fertitta Enterprises, Zyen, and Zyen’s General Manager William Bullard is suddenly getting very interesting. A contentious hearing Friday, October 30th in the case addressed a sanctions request for discovery violations. The hearing gave way to suggestions from Trustee’s Counsel Jon Backman that Lorenzo Fertitta could be named in an entirely new future complaint as a result of what his recent, last-ditch discovery efforts uncovered.

Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King seemed to take some limited interest in the sanctions motion and made some remarks indicating he agreed with Backman’s factual take on the situation. Still, he made no final decision on the motion and asked for supplemental briefs from both sides regarding the procedural technicalities involved. Judge King also indicated that a follow up hearing featuring witness testimony would likely have to be held to determine the direction and breadth of any sanctions that could possibly apply. The judge also later set a proposed trial date for the existing case in April, 2012.

Despite what Backman described as harsh conditions for collecting evidence, he explained to Judge King that what he did find so late in the game changed the whole direction of his case.  Backman argued that the lack of cooperation from his adversaries made the case far more difficult to deal with. The real tragedy, he explained, is the evidence that’s just impossible to uncover. “We’re never going to see those emails,” Backman lamented about a situation in which he sought official Xyience email servers his adversaries somehow could not produce despite rigorous attempts to force them to. “There’s nothing left to compel production of.”

The complicated scenario that led to the sanctions request left both sides in the legal wrangling claiming the other was being unreasonable. A previous article previewing this hearing explains the nuances of the trustee’s claims. Missing and now impossible to recover email communications are at the center of the controversy. A Fertitta right hand man of sorts, William J. Bullard, became public enemy number one for Attorney Backman at Friday’s hearing.

Bullard is the General Manager of Zyen, LLC, formed as a Fertitta Enterprises subsidiary to provide a loan to Xyience. Once in the chief lien position over Xyience, the Fertitta side company quickly foreclosed on the debt. Zyen then became Manzen and assumed control of Xyience after the company declared bankruptcy in early 2008.  Manzen was actually a combination of the Fertitta group (Zyen) and a company made up of four individuals  named Manchester Consolidated. The combined parties coordinated to enter into a payment program in order to allow Manchester to appear to be buying the company out of bankruptcy. The monthly payments from Manchester eventually stopped coming in, giving control of Xyience back to Fertitta Enterprises once again.

To add another layer of intrigue to the complicated scheme, Machester Consolidated consisted of a total of four people with two of them being former executives of Cott beverages. Cott is the manufacturer of Xenergy. Had the bankruptcy resulted in another ownership group acquiring the company, Cott might not be guaranteed a chance to continue doing business creating the company’s popular drink product that touts itself as the official energy drink of the UFC.

Friday’s hearing discussed emails, some of which were only discovered after the trustee had to resort to delivering a subpoena to Gordon Biersch, a brewery and restaurant chain also owned by the Fertittas and managed by Bullard. Due to what he described as a painstaking process, Backman eventually did get a hold of some crucial emails, including one he described as “one of the hottest smoking guns I’ve ever seen in litigation.” Fittingly called Exhibit G, the email between Bullard and Lorenzo Fertitta mentioned a $150 million offer for the purchase of Xyience from the Cott Corporation. The date of the email was aligned very closely with the first $12 million in financing the Fertittas provided to Xyience to gain control of it down the line. The offer, if company officials capitalized on it, could have helped Xyience shareholders recover some value for their shares. Instead, it seems the Fertittas were intent on locking the shareholders out at the first opportunity they could, refusing to hold scheduled shareholder meetings and neglecting to pay the first interest payment on their loan with company funds. Hundreds of shareholders lost nearly all hope of any recovery when the Cott offer morphed into a scheme involving former Cott executives and their associates pretending to purchase the company for $15 million as a “stalking horse bidder” in the bankruptcy.

Coincidentally, I have a pending motion in these proceedings under my own adversary case which seeks $150 million in relief to be granted to shareholders burned by a campaign to silence my reporting that was trying to bring the whole Fertitta scheme to light. At the time I filed that motion I had no idea this smoking gun of an email existed, but it certainly fits a pattern I’ve described time and again for my readers here and at xyiencesucks.com in intricate detail.

Traditional mainstream media surrounding the sport of MMA and the world of finance is really missing the boat when it comes to the meat of this story. Yet, even a publishing entity that painted the Fertittas in a more positive light in the past picked up this vein of the tale surrounding Backman’s sanctions request. Forbes Magazine didn’t afford the trustee’s attorney the courtesy of spelling his name correctly in the piece, and the author falsely asserted there is formal mediation involved in the case, but they did make an attempt to tell the story’s most important points.

Forbes didn’t send anyone to the actual hearing, though. None of the local papers had reporters there, either. It was not hard to find a seat in the courtroom. This is a story that’s still unfolding in a controlled environment of sorts, so damage control for the Fertittas and the UFC so far has been fairly limited.

Backman is on track to make this case into much more of a spectacle if he indeed names Lorenzo Fertitta in any future complaint.  The subpoena of Gordon Biersch’s email server information led Backman to some documents he professed to never seeing before, documents that could pinpoint Lorenzo Fertitta’s role in the conspiracy to bankrupt Xyience and defraud the company’s shareholders and creditors.

“Whole cases can turn on single documents,” Backman reminded the judge in open court on Friday. Getting a hold of the evidence that turned his case in a completely new direction added enormous excess costs for Backman to absorb on a case he took on contingency. These very documents, had Backman acquired them earlier, could have allowed the estate to make much more progress in the complicated litigation surrounding the estate at a much earlier date in the process. Instead, Backman now has to backtrack and reflect on the countless hours of wasted time spent chasing down company email servers he could never actually obtain.

The destruction, loss, and/or failure to preserve these servers and hard drives sought by Backman leaves a gaping hole in the case. The frustrating scenario caused irreparable damage that Backman had some trouble fully quantifying for the judge Friday. During much of his argument before the court, Fertitta Attorneys Gregory Garman and Joel Schwarz busily took notes, whispered to each other, and appeared to be genuinely agitated by the accusations against them and their clients. There really isn’t much hard evidence of a driven, purposeful campaign to destroy the evidence in question, but the situation is about as suspicious as it could possibly be.

Attorney Garman explained away the accusations from Garman as “outrageous” and personally referred to Exhibit G sarcastically with the same “smoking gun” label Backman applied to it. Garman provided a basic timeline and list of efforts he personally undertook to assist the trustee in finding evidence. He vehemently disputes the claims that his actions constituted the hindering of Backman’s discovery efforts. Instead, he explained that he did everything in his power and his clients assisted to the best of their abilities to voluntarily provide every shred of evidence they possibly could. Garman, at one point citing his high blood pressure, seemed clearly disturbed that his reputation might take a hit because of this case. Deep into one of his rants about how cooperative and misunderstood he is, he actually had to apologize when he almost uttered my name instead of Backman’s.

Even though Garman is an expert litigator and an excellent speaker, Backman’s accusations and evidentiary support are clearly bothersome for the Gordon Silver attorney. During my own past interactions with Garman he’s come across as overly concerned about how others perceive him professionally. He told me himself at one point earlier this year that he considers the Fertittas one of his least significant clients, but at this point the task of protecting them and their associates seems to be causing him some “xtreme” stress.  He even asked the judge for a recess and extra time afterward to argue more points surrounding his purported cooperation with the discovery process that he felt Backman misrepresented. Traditionally, a lawyer bringing a motion introduces it, the opposition gets a chance to refute the claims, and the moving attorney gets the final word. Garman’s protests led to another round of back and forth at this hearing, and it seemed to expose the attorney’s nervousness.

My personal impression of Garman’s tactics–though certainly swayed by my intimate knowledge of the case and his basic character–left me convinced that he is running out of confidence on this one. He let the judge, Backman, and the few in attendance at the hearing see him sweat Friday.  Backman, even when he was at a loss for words, came across as perpetually relaxed in his tone, speaking with the conviction of someone who knows he is right.

Backman wore a sharp suit that seemed a little too big for him Friday, but he filled the courtroom with the authority in his voice. He called the evidence debacle “one of the most egregious discovery violations I’ve ever seen.” He seemed to have trouble even fathoming a world where sanctions would not apply to what his opposition’s been caught in the middle of. Judge King conceded that there was no question he had the power apply sanctions, but he also said he wanted to know “the source” of that power. There are multiple categories and tiers of sanctions based on certain litigation behavior. Whatever stream of relief is applicable here will be best suited to become the basis for a formal order on the matter.  Judge King seems to be thinking ahead about not wanting his order appealed if he sides with Backman.

Backman described the discovery difficulties as a “shocking development” in the case and confessed, “I want this case to be over.” He further explained he had no vendetta or personal issues with Garman or his clients. “A serious mistake was made here,” he stated plainly at one point.

Garman, in his second crack at a response to the charges against him and his clients, reported that he’d never been engaged in “such contentious litigation.”   He called Garman’s strategy a “fabricated emergency.” He insisted Backman’s allegations did not mesh with the established record in the case and that he and his clients “did comply” with the discovery process. “I took this case exceptionally seriously,” he said before listing off a series of numbers quantifying how many documents were turned over to Backman and when. He argued that some of the same emails Backman recovered from the Gordon Biersch subpoena were volunteered by other defendants in the case on previous occasions.

Garman went on to contend that he’s gone out of his way to try to offer Backman concessions in the wake of the discovery mess. He told the court he was willing to expand the discovery process and allow further depositions of key witnesses but Backman refused these options. Garman also spent a considerable amount of time harping on the $150 million Cott offer being insignificant since it never actually materialized.

The question Garman seemed to miss in his explanation of the multi-million dollar Cott purchase offer is why it went away so fast after a meeting between Xyience insiders and the Cott folks in Canada. The deal didn’t dissolve for no reason. There’s no witness testimony as of this point in this litigation that adequately gives the exact reason why the $150 million offer came off the table and why it’s not suspicious that people associated with Cott ended up with an ownership interest in the company anyway.  Still, Garman insisted that if there was any conspiracy involved in this case it was “a conspiracy in the light of day” and his clients were open and honest about their intentions and actions.

The record simply doesn’t reflect Garman’s explanation as the full truth. The shifty approach to discovery adds more suspicion to what’s already a clear-cut case of deceptive practices involved in the takeover and bankruptcy of Xyience by the Fertitta group. Garman also made the mistake of calling Former Xyience Co-CEOs Adam Frank and Kirk Sanford cooperating witnesses in Backman’s case. Backman clarified that while Sanford and Frank agreed to provide information and evidence without the need for subpoenas and settled their own adversary cases, they are still “co-conspirators” in the case and will be treated accordingly.

Perhaps the most pretentious portion of Garman’s argument on Friday was his framing of Backman as being dishonest for not holding up his end of a bargain struck at a previous hearing to split the costs of restoring computer drives that were reportedly destroyed by a system crash at Xyience. The agreement between attorneys came to pass only because the drives were represented to Backman as the ones with the company’s crucial email servers contained within them. It turned out the drives were essentially worthless once they were restored and did not contain any email records whatsoever. So, essentially Garman wants full payment on a debt for services provided that were wholly misrepresented by him and his clients.

Judge King admitted not even bothering to read previous filings I presented to the court when it came time for hearings regarding those matters. I came into Friday’s hearing not expecting him to give Backman much more of a fair shake. He surprised me when he picked up on a nuance neither side considered up to that point.

Focusing on Bullard’s lack of record preservation related to his emails, Judge King pointed out that Bullard was savvy enough to know that being on Xyience’s board of directors would require him to fulfill certain fiduciary responsibilities including keeping accurate records. Yet, at the same time, Bullard insisted that he did not save certain material because he did not anticipate being named in litigation. Bullard pointed to the liability issues he would be embroiled in as his reason for not wanting to be on Xyience’s board as a formal member. So, the evidence shows Bullard purposely avoided being held accountable for accurate record keeping at one point and yet he still claims not keeping and volunteering crucial emails was an honest and innocent mistake.

Garman did not seem to have any adequate explanation for that reality. He later wondered aloud why both sides were spending so much money on a sanctions motion and requested a trial date at “the earliest possible date.” Depending on how dueling summary judgment motions end up impacting the case once they are heard in December, the two sides will face each other at trial the week of April 9th, 2012. Before then, Backman will pursue some other serious evidence issues through additional motions for relief.

It’s clear that Backman’s approach has Garman flustered and desperate for a rush to judgment before the case gets out of hand. His clients are in a precarious position at this point, and it’s not looking like conditions will ever improve. The Fertitta attorney was clearly off his game on Friday, apparently the result of knowing that the longer this case goes on, the worse he and his clients will look in the end.

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