Kelly Swanson
Thanks, everybody, for calling in. We really appreciate you taking out the time of your day to have this call. We do have a lot of fighters that will be on the phone and available for your questions, and just to give you the order we are going to start with the Alfredo Angulo vs. James De La Rosa fight, followed by the Mickey Bey vs. Miguel Vazquez fight, and end with the Leo Santa Cruz vs. Manuel Roman fight.
Now I’m going to turn it over to Leonard Ellerbe, Chief Executive Officer of Mayweather Promotions to go ahead and talk us through the fights and make the introductions.
Leonard Ellerbe
I’d like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. Today we are on the call to announce the undercard of the Mayweather vs. Maidana rematch: “Mayhem.” Obviously in the main event we have Floyd and Maidana. Floyd will be defending his WBC and WBA titles, and also, in an unprecedented move, he’ll also be defending his WBC super welterweight title, which has only been done one time in boxing history.
To open up the undercard, we will be having three world championship bouts. In the first bout we’ll have Alfredo Angulo. He’ll be fighting James De La Rosa in a 10-round super middleweight bout, and in the next bout we’ll have the WBC lightweight championship where we’ll have Miguel Vazquez defending his title against Mickey Bey. Then in the co-main event we have Leo Santa Cruz defending his WBC super bantamweight championship, and he’ll be fighting Manuel Roman.
This event will be promoted by Mayweather Promotions along with Golden Boy Promotions. Our sponsors are O’Reilly Auto Parts, Corona and “The Equalizer.” “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” will be shown live in over 500 movie theaters nationwide. Before we get into the introduction of the fighters I’d like to turn it over to our partner, co-promoter, and Senior Vice President of Golden Boy Promotions, Eric Gomez.
Eric Gomez
Thank you, Leonard. Obviously we’re very excited about this undercard. We feel that we have a little bit of everything. We’ve got a strong Mexican support in the undercard, and these fights are can’t-miss. These are going to be very exciting fights and we’re going to start off the festivities with a great matchup, a dangerous fight between James De La Rosa and Alfredo Angulo.
James De La Rosa, with a record of 22-2, 13 KOs, he’s out of San Benito, Texas. He’s coming off a great win August 2, a TKO win. He has wins over Tyrone Brunson, Lenin Arroyo, and Tim Coleman, and this is probably the biggest opportunity of his career, and he obviously wants to take advantage of it.
So if I can have James De La Rosa please say a few words to the media and introduce yourself, James?
James De La Rosa
Hello. I’m doing well. I’m James De La Rosa, 22-2 with 13 KOs and looking to come out and put on a show out there in Vegas, and of course come out with a win.
E. Gomez
Great. Thank you very much, James. Now, obviously everybody knows “El Perro,” Alfredo Angulo. He’s always in action-packed fights. He’s always giving it his all. He’s got a record of 22-4, 18 KOs. He’s living in Los Angeles now and is originally from Mexicali, Mexico. Alfredo knows that this is a very important fight because if he’s going to be considered for future world title fights fighting the elite fighters in boxing he’s got to get past James De La Rosa.
This is a very dangerous fight for him but obviously a little bit-something a little bit different for Alfredo Angulo. He’s debuting as a middleweight. This fight will be fought at the middleweight division. So, Alfredo, if you could please say a few words and introduce yourself,
Alfredo Angulo
Hi. Good morning, everybody, and thank you so much for the call. This is Alfredo Angulo, and I’m ready for the questions.
Q
Alfredo, what is bringing on this move to 160 pounds and did the weight cut affect you greatly in the Canelo Alvarez fight?
A. Angulo
I think this is a good fight for my weight. I’ve been getting my weight and my body ready for the next weight class. I cut a lot of weight before the last fight and I think my body will be better at middleweight.
Q
Eric, is it any added pressure when you’re making these undercards because fight fans are holding these undercards to the standard of Lucas Matthysse and Danny Garcia type fights that you made?
E. Gomez
Well, I think that we’re a little bit of victims of ourselves. We are always competing against ourselves because we’ve had such great undercards, but that’s just part of doing a Mayweather fight. Mayweather insists he wants to have good fights, important fights, so I think that with this undercard here you have two world title fights. You have a very exciting fight and Alfredo Angulo’s fight.
I think that we’re going to continue to do that. We’re going to continue to do that. I know that that’s one of the things that Oscar also is very much interested in, making sure that the entire card from top to bottom is stacked and we’re making good fights, and I know that from working in the past with Floyd and his team with Leonard that they expect the same thing.
So they want action-packed fights. They want to do title fights, and it’s very important for the consumer to have a stacked show from top to bottom, and we’re going to continue to do that.
Q
Alfredo, have you already started training camp, and are you planning to get there early so that those mistakes don’t occur again in this new fight moving forward at a new division?
A. Angulo
Yes, definitely. I’ve come up early to the camp, and I’m working on a lot of things that are going to put me in top form by September.
Q
James, how do you get yourself prepared for this fight mentally because of the stage that you’re going to be on?
J. De La Rosa
I know it’s not any other fight, this is a big stage for me. Basically I’ve got to be in my zone, and I’ve got to block everything out and do what I’ve got to do and do what I do best on that stage to get that win and just train hard. That’s what I’m doing. I’ve been training hard and getting ready for it. I just can’t let the crowd distract me or anything like that. I’ve got to focus on myself.
Q
Alfredo, why the change in division, and what was it that you learned with your fights with Canelo Alvarez and Erislandy Lara?
A. Angulo
Well, basically I’ve been saying it all along I was going to stay at 154 up until my body said otherwise. It’s not a struggle. I can still make 154 but not comfortably, so that’s why the jump to 160. You know, I think I’m going to feel more comfortable. I’m going to be the “Perro” that you all know.
As far as the Lara fight, I learned a lot. It was a great experience. I showed the people that gave me no chance, that Perro is always going to be here and give great fights. Honestly, in the Canelo fight I can’t tell you I learned anything because I wasn’t there. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t the one you all know, and I didn’t feel the strength and I wasn’t able to put on the performance that I would’ve wanted.
Q
Alfredo, what do you know about your opponent James De La Rosa besides the record that obviously is very good. But what can we expect in that fight with him?
A. Angulo
You know, in all honesty I don’t really look into too much of my opponents besides obviously their record. I don’t know really too much about James as far as what style he can bring. What I do know is that all my opponents when they are going to face me, they train extra hard. They give it that extra training because they know that it’s not going to be an easy night once they step into that ring with me.
Q
Alfredo, do you still think you’ll have the same power at 160 as you did as a junior middleweight?
A. Angulo
I don’t know. Honestly I think you’ll know come Sept.13 if I have the same or even more going into the new division. We’ll let you guys decide.
K. Swanson
Okay, thank you very much. Okay, that is the last question for Alfredo and James. Both of you, thank you very much for joining us. Good luck continuing to train, and we look forward to seeing you fight on Sept. 13.
Mickey Bey is on the line, and we’re waiting for Vazquez to call in. Leonard, if you would like to come back on and join us and talk a little bit about this fight and introduce Mickey.
L. Ellerbe
Next up I’d like to introduce one of our top fighters and rising stars. He has a terrific record of 20-1-1 and fighting out of Cleveland, Ohio. Mickey’s put together an exceptional professional career, obviously with only one loss coming last July, and it was a loss that he learned a lot from personally. He made a grave mistake at the end of the fight, and it was a valuable lesson that was learned, and I think that coming into the world championship fight this is something that he’s always dreamed of, to become world champion, and come Sept. 13 he’ll get that opportunity. He’ll be facing a tough Miguel Vazquez for the IBF lightweight world championship. So without further ado, I’d like to introduce Mickey Bey.
Mickey Bey
Training camp is going great, and I want to thank my team for making this happen. I’m really excited for the opportunity on September 13.
Q
How far are you away from the mistake that cost you the win against John Molina, and in what way has that motivated you to be a better fighter?
M. Bey
I got past it probably the day after, because it wasn’t like a thing where I had to go back and get better. One thing about it, I’m a humble guy, so I feel like I was kind of showboating to the crowd and I was looking out at the crowd and stuff, against a big puncher and that’s a mistake. So I was mad that that happened, but other than that I won every round, and I took his best shots the whole fight, and that’s a big puncher.
So I got over it the day after, but yes, I was disappointed because I don’t really-I don’t think anybody can beat me as far as if I didn’t do that I would still be undefeated. I love putting on great performances for the fans, but that’s not in my character to have went that far looking outside the ring and all of that type stuff.
Q
Floyd was at ringside for the Molina fight. Did he have any advice or counsel for you after the fight? Was he tough on you? What were his words for you afterward?
M. Bey
No, he wasn’t tough, but he definitely gave me some great advice. After he fought Canelo we watched the fight together, and we went over some things, and he told me that was just a mistake. He said it’s boxing, and anything can happen, so it’s not over until it’s over.
Q
Can you characterize Miguel Vazquez style? And also, do you think you’re fighting the guy that everyone considers to be the best in the division, and does that motivate you even more to get a win?
M. Bey
Oh, yes. It does. Yes, I think he is because people might not credit his style, but at the end of the day he’s been the champion for years, so you’ve got to give him credit. People can say he fights this way and that way, but he’s been the champion for years, so I think it’s going to be a great fight.
You got to give us both credit because, number one, a lot of fighters they might cherry pick or wait for a title. Me, I’m getting in and I want to prove that I’m the best by fighting the guy that’s the best in the division as far as being the champion for so long.
Q
Mickey, how do you prepare for a guy who will do anything to win a fight whether it be stink it out or do anything to take away your best weapon?
M. Bey
Well, I’ll tell you I’ve got way more tools than him. He’s just got the bigger name of course because he’s been the champion, but I think this is going to be a fight where he’s going to be trying to get around my puzzles. I can do it all, and nobody saw my best but you’re going to be your best when you fight on this level.
He fought at this level, so my trainer knows even though we’re expecting an even better Vazquez. But he’s going to have more of a puzzle because nobody really fully knows all the things that I can do.
Q
What do you think is the key to what makes him so difficult?
M. Bey
I think the guys in this game today, a lot of them fight the same pretty much. They don’t really know how to box. A lot of guys can’t beat good boxers. They just like the rock ’em sock ’em robot type style, and whatever happens, happens. A lot of guys just swing for the fences and they just fight with their eyes closed.
Vazquez is a crafty fighter, so I don’t think the guys that he was fighting had the ability and the speed and everything to keep up with him.
Q
Mickey, why did you take this fight?
M. Bey
I’m a beast at the end of the day. If Godzilla came or something came down from Mars I’ll fight it and come in 100% confident. He’s a good fighter. This is what boxing is about. It’s about wanting to prove that you’re the best, and to me it’s just that I want to fight the best and to prove that I’m the best.
Q
Now, both of you are boxers are you willing to change your style for this fight and become the aggressor because he plays the outside so much?
M. Bey
I’m just going to go accordingly really. I’ve got a great trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr. and he taught me well, so I’m going to just pretty much act accordingly. You never know. I don’t really look at previous fights because any fight can go different, so I’m just going to act accordingly. It could be a boxing match. It could be a street fight. I just come out on top whatever it is.
Q
Is there pressure to not only get the win but also look good and stellar on the Mayweather undercard because of the fact that all of the people will be watching?
M. Bey
Really you’ve just got to do your job. All of you all know this cat’s style, so at the end of the day beating him is good enough. Of course I want to look good, but this dude is a legitimate fighter and a legitimate champion, so I can’t get too caught up into thinking how I look even though I’m sure I’ll look great. But getting the win, that’s the key.
Q
You were talking about a couple of different fight dates. Was it difficult for you in training camp to manage all of that not really knowing exactly what date you were going to be fighting?
M. Bey
Not really. I just pretty much I just go with the flow, man. I just stay calm, relax, and just do my job. I’ve got a great team, so I’m confident in them, and they’re confident in me. I just go accordingly pretty much.
Q
Can you just kind of talk about what this fight means to you? You’re fighting on Floyd’s card and all that. What exactly does this opportunity mean for you?
M. Bey
It’s huge for me to get to this point after so long. I know talentwise I could’ve been champion many years ago, but I just think that it shows if you stay dedicated and stick to your craft everybody’s got a different story. Some people get it fast. Some people get it later. But if you quit or you lose confidence you never get the shot to see what you can do, so I’m just mentally tough, strong, and dedicated, and that’s why I’m glad that everything paid off and I got to this point.
Q
Assuming everything goes well and you do end up winning the title, do you think that makes up for the blemish with John Molina, or is that something that you would still want to go back and take care of?
M. Bey
Either way. I think everybody saw it, so they know. We wanted to get it done right after. He didn’t want the fight, so at the end of the day everybody saw it. They know, okay, why did this guy goof off?. In the last round why did this guy goof off and throw the fight away? I wasn’t really hit and stuff like that, but it was one of those fights where it was just a bad mistake on my end.
It wasn’t anything that he did. I can’t take credit away from him. He got the win that night, but everybody knows it was because I just started goofing off at the end, and that’s something that normally I wouldn’t have done. But I hope the fans enjoyed it, because they will never see that again.
K. Swanson
Okay Leonard could you please introduce Mr. Vazquez? Mickey, if you want to stay on the line I do believe that was your last question, but if you’d like to stay on the line in case some come up. I understand if you have to train, but stand by. Let’s hear from Mr. Vazquez.
L. Ellerbe
Next up I’d like to introduce the current IBF lightweight champion. He’s currently on an impressive 13-fight win streak that goes all the way back to 2008. He won his lightweight world title in 2010. He’s a respected veteran, always come to fight, and come Sept. 13 he’ll be looking to make himself a household name when he puts his title on the line against Mickey Bey.
So without further ado, I’d like to introduce the current IBF lightweight world champion out of Guadalajara, Mexico with a record of 34-3 with 13 KOs, Miguel Vazquez.
Miguel Vazquez
It’s a great honor, and I’m very happy to be here with you guys on this call, and I’m looking forward to it.
Q
What does it mean to you to make your debut with another promoter and to be on this significant card, a Mayweather card?
M. Vazquez
It’s a great honor to be with a new manager like Al Haymon, and obviously another great honor to be on such a great card like it is to be on the Mayweather undercard, and I’m coming very well prepared to come and defend my title.
Q
Now that you’re with a new company, now that you’re on such a big card do you have any plans to change up your style or continue on doing what you do best?
M. Vazquez
No, this is my style. My style is the style that took me to become a world champion, and I don’t plan to make any drastic changes to my style. This is why I’ve maintained and been victorious. I may modify a little bit more aggressive attack, but again, this is the style that’s kept me here.
Q
What can you tell us about Mickey Bey? Obviously it’s the big fight of his life, and what do you expect in this fight?
M. Vazquez
We know Mickey Bey is a very good fighter, very talented fighter, fast, difficult. But I know I’m very well prepared mentally, physically, spiritually. I know that I’m blessed. God blessed me, and we’re prepared. We’re prepared, and we’re going to come out with the hand raised first, God willing.
Q
Miguel, could you sort of take us through the evolution of your style and how it came to be at this point in your career?
M. Vazquez
I’ll say it started off with my father, that he started teaching me the craft, and from there on I learned from the Cubans the art of boxing, to hit and not be hit, and now currently with my current trainer I’ve learned and picked up new things. It’s a style that’s got me there. I go in there, hit, don’t be hit, and I’m blessed by God.
Q
Miguel, it was somewhat of a surprise to see you signing with Al Haymon. How important is that for you at this point in your career?
M. Vazquez
No, besides an honor it was a blessing to have signed with such an important figure in boxing like Mr. Al Haymon, and obviously the dreams of having the biggest fights have now become reality, and now come fight night I have to do everything to come out victorious so I don’t let him down.
K. Swanson
Okay, now we have both Leo Santa Cruz and Manuel Roman on the call. We’ll turn it over to Eric Gomez.
E. Gomez
Yes, here we are. Great. Thank you. Okay, so obviously the co-main event pits one of the most exciting fighters in boxing, Leo Santa Cruz, defending his world title against Manuel Roman out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico with a record of 17-2. He’s a hard-hitting fighter. He’s only 26 years old.
This is a great opportunity, the biggest fight of his career. He’s an underdog in this fight, but he’s going to give it his all, so I would like to introduce to you Manuel Roman to say a few words. Manuel?
Manuel Roman
Hi, everybody. I just want to thank God for the opportunity, and I want to thank everybody that’s listening right now. I hope everybody tunes in on Sept. 13, it will be a great night of boxing.
E. Gomez
Great. Thank you very much, Manuel. Now, one of the most exciting fighters in boxing, he’s undefeated, super bantamweight WBC world champion. He’s probably one of the most exciting fighters. This guy throws so many punches it’s hard to count, but he’s coming off so many good, impressive wins.
This is going to be a big stage for him fighting on the Mayweather card, and I would like for him to say a few words -Leo Santa Cruz.
Leo Santa Cruz
Yes, good afternoon to everyone. I just want to say that I’m very happy and excited to be on this big undercard. It’s a dream come true to be on the Mayweather undercard and to be the co-main event. For me it’s what I’ve dreamed since I was really small, and now I have to thank God, thank my manager, Al Haymon, Golden Boy, my team, and I invite you guys to come Sept. 13.
Me and Roman, we’ve known each other since amateurs. He’s a great fighter. I know a lot of people know him, but he’s a great fighter, and he’s going to come out and give me a great fight, and we’re going to give a great fight for all the fans.
Q
Do you feel that being in the co-main event before a Mayweather-Maidana fight you need to be spectacular in order to get the fight that you’ve been calling for against (Guillermo) Rigondeaux or any other fights?
L. Santa Cruz
I think that before I was knocking out people and everything, but I was never really used to fighting fighters that box a little bit more. But we weren’t used to those kinds of styles running and boxing, but now we been training in the gym. We have been fighting fighters that move a lot and chasing them, so I think we’re getting used to them, so I think we’re going to start doing what we were doing before, and of course I think that I need to look spectacular because I’m the co-main event, and that millions of people are going to be watching me.
So I’ve got to go out there and give my best, and that’s what I’m training for, and hopefully I’m going to be at 100% and go out there and give the fans what I always do, war, and go out there and throw a lot of punches so the fans can go happy.
Q
Is the fact there are so many Mexicans on the card and it’s on Independence Day weekend a motivator for you?
L. Santa Cruz
A great motivation-all my fans there are always a motivation, even the Mexicans for all the fans all over the world they give me motivation too because I have great fans. I have Mexicans, Chinese, from the UK, Colombia, Puerto Rico, everywhere, so that’s a great blessing for me, and really I always think about the fans because thanks to them I’m here and they’re always saying nice things about me and everywhere. That’s why I go out there to give them my best, and I always try my best, and hopefully we do it.
Q
Eric, can you address the style differences between Seda and Mijares when he fought them and what he said just now about wanting to look spectacular on Sept. 13?
E. Gomez
I mean, I think that if you look at the opposition that he’s faced, he’s faced really top-notch opposition. He’s fought some of the toughest guys in boxing. He hasn’t had it easy ever since he won the IBF title. I think that he’s popular because of his style, the amount of punches he throws. Obviously we put him in with Seda. He was a slick counterpuncher, a southpaw. Mijares was similar. He was similar, but I think the thing with Leo is that he wants to go to war. He wants to give the fans what they want to see. He wants to stand there toe to toe, throw a lot of punches.
But a lot of times when he starts landing those punches his opposition they change their tactics, and they change, and they start moving around and running because if they stay right in front of him they can probably get knocked out or it’s going to be a long night. They’re going to have to eat a lot of punches.
So I think that he’s one of the most exciting fighters. The amount of punches that he throws every round are incredivke and he’s just going to keep getting better.
Q
You’re going to be on a stage that you’ve never been on before as the co-main. All these eyes are going to be watching. What’s that pressure like?
L. Santa Cruz
Yeah, there’s a big, big pressure on top of me because I’m the co-main event, and to be on this big undercard is a dream come true. This is what I always dreamed, and I’m training 100% and giving my all. We trained really hard with the 12 rounds already sparring with my friend Daniel Garcia.
We’re doing 12 rounds over there, and we’re leaving it all in the ring. So on Sept. 13 we go out there and give it war because that’s what the fans want, and to be on a big undercard like this and a million people watching we got to leave it all right there.
Q
Now, we’re used to seeing you fight three, four times a year, and in 2014 you’ve only fought once. Any particular reason for the layoff, and is that something that you’re going to be giving us now, just two fights a year, or do you want to go back to your old schedule, four and more?
L. Santa Cruz
If it was up to me, I would like to fight three or four times a year, but I think the whole team decided that I needed a little rest maybe, and they are the ones that take care of me, so I respect what they say, and if they think fighting like this is better I respect them, and I’m just doing whatever they want.
But hopefully next year we fight three or four times because we like to stay busy. We’re always staying in the gym. We’re ready, and we’re asking for more fights in the future.
Q
I’d just like to know why you would like to fight Guillermo Rigondeaux, being as though you know that he’s a slick counterpuncher and basically undefeated.
L. Santa Cruz
No, of course. I thought he was running away from me, and then I heard that he’s saying that I’m scared, and some people are saying that I’m scared. So I want to prove that I’m not scared of fighting nobody. I’m here to fight the best, and if he’s the best why not fight him?
Like I say, he does have a hard style, very difficult and everything, but hopefully everything goes well on Sept. 13, and hopefully next year we get to fight that war. We know that it will be a great fight and a hard fight for me, but no matter if we lose, we win.
But we want to give the fans what they want because that’s what the fans want, and if they want it I’m here for them to fight for them and we’re going to try our best to make that fight happen.
Q
You said that you’ve been fighting fighters that move around a lot and that you’ve been chasing them. Is this in preparation for Rigondeaux or no? Is this just so you’re trying to broaden your range?
L. Santa Cruz
Yes because I know Rigondeaux, he’s going to be a future opponent, and we’ve been fighting boxers because we want to be ready so that whenever we fight Rigondeaux we’re ready to go out there and fight boxers that move a lot. We know that that fight is going to happen sooner or later, but we want to be able change styles because I want to know how to fight every kind of style from people that stay there, that bang and that move or fighters like me who want to move too. So I think we’re going to work on any style so that when we go out there we’re ready for anything.
Q
Manuel, are you inspired by all the other upsets you’ve seen so far this year?
M. Roman
Of course I’m inspired. It’s a big card. I’ve never been in the stakes like this, and I thank Leo for the opportunity and all his team, and it’s a great inspiration for me. It means the world to me right now.
Q
What do you say to the detractors that might say this fight isn’t worthy of being a co-main event for Mayweather vs. Maidana 2?
L. Santa Cruz
Yeah, they can say on paper it might be-you guys might say this and that and other things, but I’ve known Roman since amateurs, he was a really good in amateur, and I sparred with him two or three years ago, and we used to work really good in the gym. We used to go to war in the gym and the sparring and everything.
So other people that don’t know him but he’s a great fighter. He has great punches, great technique. He’s good at everything, so I think he’s going to give it his all just like me like me, I never underestimate nobody. I always train 100% because those are the fights that are harder. They’re the ones that are hungrier.
Manuel is going to come out here and he’s going to get a war, so I think we’re both 100% ready, and we’re going to go out there and give a great, great fight.
Q
So after this, considering if you’re successful, will you push for more crowd-pleasing fights or more difficult challenges? Are you interested in fighting anyone else besides him?
L. Santa Cruz
Yes, of course I am. Hopefully everything goes good and we do well in September. We want to look for harder fights, for the stronger ones, again Carl Frampton, Scott Craig and other fighters at 122. All of those, they’re great fights, but we’re going to push it, and we’re going to try to get those fighters to get in the ring.
Q
Manuel, are there certain things that you know from training with Leo in the past that you might be focusing on and try to take advantage of when you guys fight?
M. Roman
As far as I know, Leo is a warrior. He’s a warrior, and that’s what we’re getting ready for, war. So that’s why we’re training so hard too, and this is a big opportunity, and like he said we know each other, and we know it’s going to be a great match, so we’re ready for that.
Q
Leo, how is training going for this fight?
L. Santa Cruz
Training is going great. We’ve been doing 10 rounds, and today we did 12 rounds of sparring. The training camp, the sparring, the miles, everything is going great, strength, conditioning all great. Everything is going great, so we’ve been training really hard. We’ve been leaving it all in the ring and in the camp, so I think it’s going great, and we’re ready for Sept. 13 already.
Q
Carl Frampton was saying that his team and your team were talking, and it was looking good. What happened? Why did that breakdown?
L. Santa Cruz
The truth is I don’t know. I never heard about those talks. I was just training, and I was always in the camp training getting ready for the fight. I never knew the camps were talking or anything. They never told me about a possible fight with him, but like I said, if it was up to me I’d say yes to that fight. I’m here to fight the best, and Carl is one of the fighters I want to fight.
