WEIGHTS: Marcus Johnson (20-0, 15 KOs) – 170 pounds; Dyah Davis (18-2-1, 9 KOs) – 169.25 pounds; Danny O’Connor (14-0, 3 KOs) – 137.75 pounds; Gabriel Bracero (14-0, 1 KO) – 140 pounds; Willie Nelson (16-0-1, 3 KOs) – 145.75 pounds; Vincent Arroyo (10-1, 7 KOs) – 144.75 pounds.
Here’s what the fighters had to say on Thursday, one day before the exciting tripleheader on ShoBox: The New Generation LIVE on SHOWTIME (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West coast).
Marcus Johnson:
“I don’t feel like Davis is anything special. He’s not his dad. I don’t care about legacy. I don’t care about any of that. I just have to fight him.
“To prove myself as a top super middleweight, I would fight (Lucian) Bute. I’d fight in Canada if I had to.
“I’ve got the same mentality as my last fight: knock him out. He’s a safety first fighter but I’ll push him to the limit.”
Dyah Davis:
“At this stage, I don’t need softees. It’s not going to propel me. Fighting tough opponents, this is the route we’re comfortable with.
“I’ve never tried to trade on my father’s career and I won’t now. When I’m in the ring with Marcus, it will be all me.
“This is my life. This is a business. And I’m here to take care of it. That’s why I am here — not to trash talk.”
Danny O’Connor:
“Bracero can study as much film on YouTube as he wants, nothing is going to change. If that makes him feel better, then fine. But I have plans to show him some stuff he hasn’t seen before.
“I’m a problem for anybody. I’m really good with angles and technique. Anything can happen in a fight. It’s an adapter sport.”
Gabriel Bracero:
“I have the strongest support system. My mom is here. My family came to the fight. I’ve got people flying in from New York. I’ll have my fans.
“I think I am a decent fighter, a good fighter. But it doesn’t matter what you want to call it. It’s about how bad you want it when you get in the ring. This is a big opportunity for me and I will take it.
“I just fought a real tough power puncher. I’ve beat tougher guys than O’Connor.”
Willie Nelson:
“It’s Arroyo’s job to say things like I haven’t fought a warrior like him. I’ll fight whatever fight he wants. If he fights clean, we’ll fight clean but if he wants to fight dirty, so will I.
“I want to fight Shawn Porter. I’ll do it whenever, the future, the past or now.
“Arroyo has never faced a guy at my height. He won’t be used to it. Think about it, everyone I fight is shorter than me. I’m used to it. He’s not.”
Vincent Arroyo
“Willie can say whatever he wants about me. He is the one that’s nervous. I’m coming to war.
“I spoil clean records, period. If he thinks I’m a stepping stone, just wait until he gets to the ring and realizes he is in a real fight.”
Promoted by DiBella Entertainment, the “Rumble on the Rio” will originate from the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.
Curt Menefee will call the action from ringside with Steve Farhood serving as the expert analyst.
Gordon Hall is 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.
Campbell, Hervey primed for fantastic finish
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 7, 2011) – After exchanging words through the press earlier this week, lightweights Mike “The Beast” Campbell and Tony Hervey finally met face-to-face at Thursday’s weigh-in and made it perfectly clear that both fighters plan on bringing their best to the cage Friday night.
“You ain’t backing me down,” said a confident Hervey, who enters the main event of tomorrow’s “Cage Of Pain” show at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I., with a 12-9 record, including 12 KOs. “You’re going to have to battle me.”
“Anyone who’s watched me fight knows I’m willing to battle anyone at any given time,” Campbell fired back. “No disrespect, but that’s what we’re here to do.”
Campbell is as confident as ever following his knockout win over Mike Medrano on Feb. 25, but is also wary of Hervey’s ability to end a fight with one punch. A win Friday would be the 10th of Campbell’s celebrated career and could vault him to bigger and better competition further down the line.
“Not a lot of people have heard of him, but he’s a great fighter and he’s won the majority of his fights by knockout,” Campbell said. “He doesn’t say ‘no’ to anyone. He will come here to fight, and hopefully we can get it on the way we’re supposed to do.”
Hervey’s resume is a bit more polished – he’s a former King Of The Cage lightweight champion – but he considers himself the underdog in Friday’s fight simply because he has traveled from Michigan to fight in Campbell’s backyard.
“This is a great opportunity for me,” Hervey said. “To be honest, I’ve seen a lot. He will come out fighting. I know everyone expects Mike to win. He’s the hometown hero. That’s fine with me. I’ve faced my losses. With all due respect, he will have to battle me.”
The co-feature between Todd “The Hulk” Chattelle (7-6, 7 KOs) of Pawtucket, R.I., and Jeff “Scary Nickname” Nader (4-3, 4 KOs) of Plymouth, Mass., promises to be equally exciting. Both middleweight warriors have won the majority of their bouts by knockout, and Nader considers himself the favorite based on the fact he’s a counterpuncher while Chattelle is more aggressive.
“I say he’s tailor-made for me, but I don’t mean that disrespectfully because I’m tailor-made for him, too,” Nader said. “He comes out in one gear moving forward. Neither one of us like to go past the first round. This will be a quick fight either way.”
Though he respects Nader’s ability, Chattelle won’t back down, especially after beating Woody Weatherby on Feb. 25 in a fight in which he was considered the underdog. A man of few words, Chattelle made his intentions perfectly clear Thursday.
“Jeff, let’s get it on!” Chattelle said.
Adam Quitt (0-2), a 35-year-old firefighter from Framingham, Mass., will face Hector Sanchez (0-2) of Woonsocket, R.I., in a special middleweight bout in which Quitt will donate all of his proceeds to the Douglas Bolanes Jr. Organization in honor of the late Doug Bolanes, a mixed martial arts fighter who died tragically in an automobile accident on March 10th, 2011.
Friday’s undercard features John Manley (5-1) of Uxbridge, Mass./Team Link facing welterweight Jason “Ba Bu” Trzewieczynski (4-5) of Lancaster, N.Y./Buffalo Training Center; Darrius Heyliger (1-0) of Courtland, N.Y./Bombsquad facing Brockton, Mass./Cape Cod Fighting Arts welterweight Pierry Pierre (2-1); and Woonsocket, R.I./B+F Boxing lightweight Justin Switzer (0-3) aiming for his first win against Billy Walsh (1-5) of South Burlington, Vt./United Fighting Arts. Lightweights Jon Marcheterre of Southbridge, Mass./Mixed Breed and Brandon Rooney of Milford, Conn./Ultimate MMA will face one another in their respective debuts.
Tickets for “Cage Of Pain” are $30.00, $50.00 and $100.00 and can be purchased by calling CES at 401.724.2253/2254, online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, at the Players Club booth at Twin River, or through any TicketMaster location. Doors open 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.
(Twin River has waived its 18+ rule for “Cage Of Pain.” Anybody under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult and must enter through the West entrance.)
HEAVYWEIGHT STARS NORTON, SPINKS & CHUVALO TO ATTEND 2011 HALL OF FAME WEEKEND
CANASTOTA, NY – APRIL 7, 2011 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced today heavyweight stars Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and George Chuvalo will attend festivities planned for the 22nd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend set for June 9-12th.
“These heavyweight stars gave their all in the ring and boxing fans got so much enjoyment from their ring wars,” said Hall of Fame director Ed Brophy. “We’re looking forward to welcoming them all back to Canastota.”
A key player in the heavyweight division during the 1970s, Norton was the
World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion in 1978. He engaged in a classic three-fight series with Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali. Also during his career Norton scored wins over Jerry Quarry and Jimmy Young among others. In 1992 Norton was elected into the Boxing Hall of Fame.
A 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist, Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali in 1978 to win the world heavyweight title in only his 8th pro bout. One of boxing’s most colorful personalities, “Neon” Leon engaged in bouts with Larry Holmes, Scott LeDoux, Tex Cobb and Dwight Qawi among others during his career.
Toronto’s Chuvalo was Canadian heavyweight champion for nearly twenty years. He registered wins over Yvon Durelle, Doug Jones, Cleveland Williams, Jerry Quarry and Mike DeJohn. He engaged in two world title bouts, first against Ernie Terrell in 1965 (L15) and with Muhammad Ali in 1966 (L15). Chuvalo retired in 1978 with a 73-18-2 (64 KOs) record.
Events planned for the weekend include a banquet, Mexican Fiesta Night, parade, golf tournament, boxing autograph card show, cocktail party and the Official Induction Ceremony honoring the Class of 2011. Living inductees to be honored at the Official Induction Ceremony on Sunday, June 12th are three-division champion Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexico), junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu (Russia / Australia), heavyweight champion Mike Tyson (USA), trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain (Mexico), referee Joe Cortez (USA) and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone (USA). Posthumous inductees will also be honored.
An impressive list of over 40 boxing greats from the United States and abroad will participate in weekend festivities.
For more information on the Hall of Fame’s 22nd Annual Induction Weekend please call (315) 697-7095 or visit www.ibhof.com.