Jorge Linares 134.2 vs. Luke Campbell 134.8
Romero Duno 134 vs. Juan Sanchez 133.6
Azat Hovhannisyan 122 vs. Sergio Frias 120.6
Abraham Lopez 127.8 vs. Isao Carranza 126.8
Rafael Gramajo 120.8 vs. Pedro Melo 121.2
Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) and Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) hosted their final press conference today ahead of their 12-round fight for Linares’ WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Titles. The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 23 at the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT/ 7:00 p.m. ET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftfPQkb9X0
Below is what participants of HBO World Championship Boxing® had to say:
JORGE “EL NIÑO DE ORO” LINARES, WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion:
“I’m very grateful to Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions because they are presenting the best of the best. I am very happy about this big fight. Saturday is two days away, and we have trained well and are right on track with weight. I also want to give my condolences to all the people of Mexico who are going through an extremely tough time, and to Puerto Rico because I have family over there as well. I am more than ready for this big fight.”
LUKE CAMPBELL, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and Lightweight Contender:
“I’m very excited to make my debut on HBO. Thank you to Jorge Linares for giving me this opportunity with Golden Boy Promotions. I’ve had a great camp. I’m focused. I can’t remember the last time I was as focused as this, and I’ll need it against such a great champion as Linares. It’s a great challenge. It’s a challenge I’m really up for. It’s a challenge I believe I can overcome Saturday night. It’s going to be a great fight.”
ANTONIO “RELENTELESS” OROZCO, WBC USNBC Super Lightweight Champion:
“I want to thank God, Golden Boy Promotions, HBO, and everyone that’s involved here. It’s been said, Roberto ‘Massa’ Ortiz brings everything to the table. These are styles that make fights. We don’t want to disappoint anyone. As much as he’s here to win, I’m here to win. This is a fight for my career. If I want my career to move forward and presented with these opportunities, then I will not want to disappoint.”
ROBERTO “MASSA” ORTIZ, Super Lightweight Contender:
“I’m very happy with Golden Boy. I want to thank Eric Gomez, Robert Diaz and my manager Guillermo Rocha who has always supported me. I know the responsibility that this fight brings to me. I know what I have in front of me, and how talented my opponent is. But that’s what I’ve trained two and a half months for. I know how important this fight is, and I know what the fight can do for me. A win here will bring bigger and better things, and that’s what I prepared for. It will be a war. Those of you who show up to the Forum this Saturday will leave happy.”
ROMERO “RUTHLESS” DUNO, Lightweight Prospect:
“First of all I would like to thank God and Golden Boy Promotions. I want to thank my team and all of the media right here and now. Thank you all for the warm welcome.”
AZAT “ATTACK” HOVHANNISYAN, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
“I’m every happy to be on the undercard of Linares. I’m very excited. I’m going to show everybody how good and well prepared I am. I will be victorious and have a lot of success in the future as well.”
ABRAHAM “CHAMACO” LOPEZ, Featherweight Contender:
“I’d like to thank God. I’d like to thank Golden Boy Promotions for giving this great opportunity to be on an amazing undercard with great champions. I’m coming back. I’m going to do my best to have a great comeback and to give it my all until I get to the top.”
MANUEL “TINO” AVILA, Featherweight Contender:
“I’d like to thank God first, for without him I wouldn’t be in this place. I also want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for the opportunity. I had some problems in my last fight. But I’m back in the ring, and I’m back to prove a point. I deserve to be in the ring. I deserve to be with the next world champions.”
RAFAEL “EL ALIKIN” GRAMAJO, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
“First of all, I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for allowing me this opportunity on such a great card. I’m just happy to be back because I’ve been off for a while. I’m excited to give the fans a great fight, which is what I’m going to do this Saturday. I’m a 122-pound fighter, so expect a lot of action.”
ERIC GOMEZ, President of Golden Boy Promotions:
“We’re very excited for this world title fight, and believe the action will be in full swing between Linares and Campbell who have a lot to gain if they win on Saturday. We have an exciting co-feature as well with Antonio Orozco and Roberto Ortiz plus a great undercard with a bunch of Golden Boy Prospects. Some of these talented undercard fighters will become future world champions.”
FRANK SMITH, Matchroom Boxing:
“Luke is fresh. He’s young. People have written Luke off for this fight. But he’s been active. He’s had a strong camp for the last year and a half. Luke is really looking forward to it, and he understands the challenge ahead. But I think he’s ready for it, and on Saturday night he’ll be ready to take the belts back to the U.K.”
ISMAEL SALAS, Trainer of Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares:
“We’ve had a very good camp. We’ve been in camp for almost three months in London, then we finished it up in the U.S.A. For sure, we will bring the best of Jorge. He has been growing day by day. Everyone is saying that since he has lost, which was five or six years ago, he has become a different fighter. It’s time to prove it, and he is ready for that.”
GUILLERMO ROCHA, Manager of Roberto “Massa” Ortiz:
“We’re very happy and motivated to be on such a great card where we have tremendous fighters like Linares and Campbell. We know our opponent. We know he’s very talented, aggressive and does really good work to the body. But that’s what ‘Massa’ trained for. That’s what he’s prepared for. He knows that in order to make it further he has to face these types of opponents and these types of challenges. And if we want to continue being on these big cards, these are the types of opponents that we need to face.”
PETER NELSON, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports:
“I want to thank Oscar De La Hoya, Eric Gomez, everyone at Golden Boy for helping us to put together this great show, as well as Mr. Honda [of Teiken Promotions], Eddie Hearn, all the folks at Matchroom Boxing for all you do. They are responsible for the great contributions to this sport, and for continually developing the best fighters we have today.”
BERNARD HOPKINS, Golden Boy Promotions Business Partner:
“I’d like to thank everyone who is not only supporting Golden Boy, but boxing. Whether it’s HBO Pay-Per-View or HBO Boxing After Dark, we continue work with those who want to put good shows on. And you need a network that wants to do that, and HBO wants to do that. The fighters have an opportunity to get their names out there, and it is so important to do so. This Saturday is the opportunity. So if you keep that in your mind, you will realize that people will pay attention. Not only do your best, be your best. Execute this Saturday, people will pay attention.”
Linares vs. Campbell is a 12-round fight for the WBA, WBC Diamond and
Ring Magazine Lightweight World Championships, to be held Saturday, September 23 at the ‘Fabulous’ Forum in Inglewood, California. The championship event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, in association with Teiken Promotions. Orozco vs. Ortiz is a 10-round fight for the WBC USNBC super lightweight title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event is sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD, Casa Mexico Tequila, Thor: Ragnarok and Fred Loya Insurance and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT.
Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $75 and $125, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the Forum Box Office (Monday through Friday 11:00 a.m. PST to 7:00 p.m. PST) at (310) 330-7300. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.fabulousforum.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
CAMPBELL: I’M READY FOR THE BIGGEST STAGE
Luke Campbell MBE believes the time is right for him to rule the world as he prepares to challenge Jorge Linares for the WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine World Lightweight titles at the Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday, live on Sky Sports and HBO.
Campbell is gearing up for his first World title fight and the 29 year old is relishing taking on the outstanding Venezuelan star who dazzled in three fights on UK soil against Kevin Mitchell and Anthony Crolla.
The London 2012 Olympic Gold medal hero knows he’s up against a great fighter on away turf, but the Hull ace is embracing the challenge and says he always steps up to the task on the big occasion.
“This is why I turned professional, for big nights like this to test myself,” said Campbell. “I’ve had a great camp, preparation has been spot on. We’ve worked hard and we’ve worked smart. I’m physically and mentally ready for this, I believe in my own ability.
“He’s strong and durable with plenty of experience but this is my time. It would be incredible to bring home the World title. I’ve made history in Hull before, a couple of times as an amateur so let’s go for it again.
“Fighting on such a big stage doesn’t change the preparation. Motivation is a massive thing. It’s a fantastic way to introduce myself to the American market and this is my opportunity to show what I’ve got.”
World Championship Boxing this Saturday – Live from Inglewood, CA
Fighters from around the globe do battle when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: JORGE LINARES VS. LUKE CAMPBELL AND ANTONIO OROZCO VS. ROBERTO ORTIZ is seen SATURDAY, SEPT. 23 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) from The Forum in Inglewood, Cal. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
The fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.
In the main event, Venezuela’s Jorge Linares (42-3, 27 KOs), who calls Tokyo home, puts his lightweight title on the line against 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and top contender Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) from the UK in a scheduled 12-round contest.
Linares, 32, is a three-division champion, having also won featherweight and super featherweight titles. Returning to the U.S. after a three-year stretch fighting abroad, he’s on an 11-bout win streak and making the second defense of his lightweight crown. With only one blemish on his professional record, Campbell, 29, has steadily risen in the rankings and is making his first bid for a title in his U.S. debut. Turning pro in 2013, Campbell has fought his entire career to date in Great Britain.
The opening bout pits San Diego’s undefeated Antonio Orozco (26-0, 17 KOs) against ring veteran Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2, 26 KOs) from Torreón, Mexico in a scheduled ten-round super lightweight contest. Orozco, 29, is a rising star in the 140-pound division thanks to speed and counter-punching. With one controversial loss, Ortiz, 31, will rely on his experience and punching power.
Leading off the telecast with the replay of the highly-charged middleweight championship fight from Sept. 16 when superstar Canelo Alvarez challenged the undefeated Gennady “GGG” Golovkin for his crown. The sport’s top matchup of 2017, produced a classic 12-round battle that had the capacity crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas buzzing throughout.
Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.
All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.
The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Thomas Odelfelt; director, Johnathan Evans.
® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
