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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Alton Merkerson Roy Jones Jr.'s trainer and Tito Trinidad's father Papa Trinidad, square off before Trinidad vs. Jones


Much strategy was divulged in the Trinidad vs. Jones trainer media conference call that took place on Monday with Roy Jones Jr.'s trainer Alton Merkerson and Tito Trinidad's father Papa Trinidad, including this from Merkerson:
'I saw some things in this camp that I haven’t seen in 3 or 4 years. I see the old Roy; some of things that I saw back when I had him in the Olympics in 88. I saw some of the things out of Roy in this training camp that I saw when he beat Bernard Hopkins with one hand. I saw some of the things in Roy at this camp how he dominated against John Ruiz as a heavyweight. So those things that I saw in him during this training camp are the same things that I saw in him as a young Olympian in 88. Actions speak louder than words. I can’t say anymore. You’ll see it in the fight as it comes up.”

Alton Merkerson



And this from Trinidad Sr.:

“Tito is prepared to go all the way. He will win by any means. He can knock him out at any time, or he is prepared to win by decision.”

Papa Trinidad


Fight info: http://www.donking.com/events/post24_media.htm

Watch today’s press conference and face-offs and other fight-week videos by clicking the link below.

http://www.emcevents.com/TrinidadJonesFIGHTPAGE.html

Trainer for Tito Trinidad – Papa Trinidad (training in Rio Piedra near San Juan, Puerto Rico):
“Tito is prepared to go all the way. He will win by any means.
He can knock him out at any time, or he is prepared to win by decision.”

Trainer for Roy Jones - Alton Merkerson (training in California, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh):
“I saw some of the things out of Roy in this training camp that I saw when he beat
Bernard Hopkins with one hand.”

Question for Papa Trinidad, What did you see in Jones that you picked him as a comeback fight?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “A long time ago, we had been thinking that this would be a good fight for Tito. And now that Tito had a willingness to return, and Tito could make the weight, we saw that it was convenient to do a fight against Jones.”

Does Papa Trinidad see any weaknesses in Jones that you are looking at, or aiming out or training for?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “To the contrary, we have nothing… Jones is a very talented fighter. We want Tito to fight at his very best all the time, and this is why this is the fight of the Titans.”

Father and son training doesn’t normally work out, what is your magic formula?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “I have respect, since he has been my son and I’ve been his father; since he was kid. I taught him to be respectful, as he has been respectful to me; he respects me as a neighbor and if you have that, then everything flows.”

Much has made of the fact that Tito’s previous highest weight has been 160, and he is moving to 170. Much has been made of “will Tito carry his punch’ and” this will be his first time fighting at 170”. Can Papa explain in detail what training regime he has put him through in Puerto Rico? Why will Tito be at his best on Saturday night?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “The feeling has been that as Tito has been changing from weight to weight that all his skills have been there. For this time, you will see an identical Tito mentally, physically, and with the punch and the power. And you will see when he fights Roy Jones that the power will be there.”

Is Papa happy with his conditioning and is he at his best weight right now?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “I am at peace. I feel happy that Tito has so much support. And we are very confident that when the fight day comes Tito will do well.”

The question has been, some people are saying that he will not knock out in 4 and he will knock out in …

PAPA TRINIDAD: “Tito is prepared to go all the way. He will win by any means. He can knock him out at any time, or he is prepared to win by decision.”

What level do you think Tito going to be at with time off; as you know, there is always a problem with ring work on the one hand, and on the other hand, it means he has not been and is not used to being hit as often and has been preserved a little? Can you tell us how the layoff is going to affect Tito?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “In regards the layoff, Tito has been training hard for six months, so he is prepared. Regarding the physical condition and his health, Tito is in excellent physical condition. All the medical exams have been done, including MRI’s and all other tests that are required. They have all been filed before the New York medical commission, so Tito is ready and the best fighter will win, and I have no doubt that who will win is my son.

It’s been a while since Tito has been an underdog going into a fight, how does it feel to be the underdog?

PAPA TRINIDAD: “That gives us motivation, motivation to train and to work hard. Tito has the skill, the motivation, the condition and that adds up to Tito winning this fight.”

Alton Merkerson

How has the training been going?

MERKERSON: “It’s going great. I’d like to say hello to everyone out there. Roy has been training very hard. He’s been very enthusiastic during the training camp. We are just ready to go. Roy was very motivated during the training, he’s put a lot of money in the bank; did all the right things. I haven’t seen this in him in the last two or three years, maybe four years. Eat, sleep, thinking boxing. He is back on track, just like he was back when he was very hot in the boxing game.”

He’s been training for 3 months?

MERKERSON: “Yeah, you know, we started off camp back in Pensacola. We had a beginning stage, a progression stage, and a training stage. We are at the point now where we are ready to fight. We split the camp up into two parts. Did a lot of pre-training in Pensacola—just conditioning—then starting to box and move around in the ring. And once he started boxing, we went up to the mountains in California, Pennsylvania, to finish up the last four weeks and concluded our training at that point.”

Roy hasn’t gone away to training camp for a sometime?

MERKERSON: “It’s been a while. It’s been exciting for me. He’s been very energetic. We had a very small camp, a very productive camp. We didn’t have any problems in the camp at all. Everything went on as scheduled. And he’s just a very motivated guy, like I’ve known him to be over the years. And he’s ready to box.”

How was it getting the weight down?

MERKERSON: “No problem, no problem. I say no problem... if there was a problem, I wouldn’t tell you though (laughter). It’s all in the job. You do what you have to do. Roy will be 39 years old. It’s a little harder for him to lose weight than it was some years ago. But you know when you get a warrior who’s been in combat, he does whatever it takes and doesn’t complain about it.”

So many people remember Roy in his prime being the top…

MERKERSON: “From a training standpoint, those people who haven’t been exposed to it and deal with athletes you know, your body goes through certain transitions in life, especially when it comes with age. But with Roy, that hasn’t been a factor with him. What people fail to realize is that Roy came from a middleweight all the way up to heavyweight and won every title. And once he became a heavyweight—you have to do a lot to put on muscle to hold a solid 200 pounds to fight heavyweight—when he fought John Ruiz. So your body goes through some transitions. Now, you find a heavyweight at that weight, and within three months he came all the way back down to light-heavy, which is a much smaller weight, and you are not just losing fat, you are losing muscle because that’s what you put on. So your body is going to go through some stages that you really can’t explain to people how it is. They have to experience it. You know how people go on diets, and how hard it is to loose weight? And that’s fat, so when you have muscle, it’s that much harder. Now, his body has settled down, and he’s at a lower weight now, so it’s no problem and he’s back to where he used to be. I saw some things in this camp that I haven’t seen in 3 or 4 years. I see the old Roy; some of things that I saw back when I had him in the Olympics in 88. I saw some of the things out of Roy in this training camp that I saw when he beat Bernard Hopkins with one hand. I saw some of the things in Roy at this camp how he dominated against John Ruiz as a heavyweight. So those things that I saw in him during this training camp are the same things that I saw in him as a young Olympian in 88. Actions speak louder than words. I can’t say anymore. You’ll see it in the fight as it comes up.”

Tito Trinidad, who was generally a middle weight before this fight…Why Tito?

MERKERSON: “You talk about Sugar Ray Robinson, and you talk about all those guys in the old days, not trying to be historic, who came from a lower weight and came up to a heavier weight, to be successful. First of all, you’ve got to understand this: Tito is coming up in weight. You’ve got to look at Roy. You tell me one heavyweight who has won a heavyweight title in history, and came back down not only to light heavyweight but came to the weight of 170. So realistically, Tito is coming up. We are giving him an advantage. We are going down to 170 pounds. Do you know how hard that is to do? I’d like my client to concentrate on fighting in the ring, instead of making weight. When it comes to a case like this, Roy doesn’t have his cake and ice cream, too, like Tito does. So that balances things out. Roy has to work hard, and he has to be in shape and work very hard to be able to come down to 170 so he’s not fighting a smaller person. I think they are on even skill. And you’ve got to understand that both of these guys are legends, both of them are still energetic, both of them can still fight, both of them has had lulls in action. But every great fighter you’ve had out there in history, have had some downfalls and that doesn’t mean they didn’t come back. So I totally disagree with people who make those statements.”

In your opinion, how has Roy progressed since 2004? How has he improved?

MERKERSON: “He has improved a tremendous amount. Like I was explaining to everyone else and what people have to understand is that Roy made a big transition when he went up to heavyweight, and it took a lot of work on his part. He gained the weight to go up and fight Ruiz. Shortly after that he had to lose the weight to come back down because of the heavyweight fights that didn’t materialize. Mentally and physically, his body went into shock when he had to come down and fight light-heavy again. Not going back and trying to use it as an excuse but the first fight with Tarver when he came back down to light-heavy, his body was totally drained. He actually won that fight. It was a very ugly fight, and his body just didn’t look right and he didn’t have the stamina. But when he fought that fight, he was going through the transition of coming back down. Shortly after that, he had two fights back to back. After the last fight that he had with Johnson, his body had just started coming back around and now his body is used to holding the lower weight and he is doing very well. As I stated before, I’m very impressed with him. Mentally and physically he is very energetic and he is doing things in the gym that he hasn’t done in years and he feels comfortable doing them and now it works for him. So, I’m very pleased with his performance and progression over the past, especially, 8 weeks.”

What do you think he could have done differently, despite the weight loss, in the ring with Johnson?

MERKERSON: “With Johnson, you have to look at it realistically. The fact of the matter is both of times he lost, to Johnson and Tarver, Roy was actually winning the fight. And he got caught with a shot. I know he was in shape because he had to be in shape to get down to the weight. But the thing is, if your body isn’t properly prepared, and ready to take those punches, if you are in good shape you can take a shot most of the time that you can’t take if you aren’t in shape. But like I said, during that time frame, Roy’s body was going through some transitions. I can’t explain it. It puzzled me also. I actually made a statement one time that Roy and I were going to have to sit down and talk and see if he really wanted to do this anymore. Because, the reason I say that, Roy, when he comes to the gym is a very motivated individual, and he’s not a guy who needs the motivation from his trainer to train. When he comes into the gym he is there because he wants to be there and he wants to have fun. But during that time frame, I noticed that he seemed as though he really didn’t want to be in the gym. I think it was from the administrative portion of boxing. I think it was from his body going through fatigue from the weight gain and back down to the weight loss. And he was expecting to fight another heavyweight and couldn’t fight a heavyweight so he had to fight at light heavyweight. I think it was all these things in conjunction that put him into a rut. You know for a fact that if you are studying for a test and you don’t study as you go along throughout the course and all of a sudden, at the end, you try to brainstorm to put all this stuff together at the last minute, you know what, you will draw a blank and it’s just not there. Now, he’s not doing that. He is not cramming. He is doing stuff constantly. He is absorbing it. He is training consistently. Things are not distracting him and he’s back to where he’s supposed to be.”

Why didn’t he fight Chris Byrd after Ruiz?

MERKERSON: “Let me say it this way, I really don’t get involved in Roy’s administrative decisions. If he asks me something, I’ll give him my input. And he accepts it or he don’t accept it. When you get to that level of competition in boxing and you are considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world everybody wants the business to be lucrative. ‘Do I want to be a world champion? Do I want to make a lot of money? I want to be known as a great fighter.’ So, that wasn’t a very marketable fight in Roy’s eyesight. And this is my perception of what I see. Now even though Tyson didn’t have a title, and he could have fought Tyson over fighting Chris Byrd, who do you think would have paid to see the fight? Chris Byrd knew it himself. He went through that turmoil and criticism. It’s not an exciting fight. And Chris Byrd is that, and I’m not saying he’s not a good fighter. Boxers make fights. We are very barbaric if you look at it realistically because people like to see fights. They don’t like to see people hit people and make people miss but don’t stay in there and bang it up. Roy is a boxer himself, right? And what is Byrd? Byrd is not a big puncher and he is not a guy that really bangs it out. I don’t think a lot of people would have been interested in seeing that fight. And that is my personal opinion of it.”

What are your thoughts about people’s perception of Roy having a glass jaw? And what are you doing in particular, with this opponent, to make sure he doesn’t get caught out there?

MERKERSON: “The thing about that - looking at the whole picture - everyone has a glass jaw. If you fight long enough in this game eventually you are going to go down. Look at Muhammad Ali and look at all the other great fighters that have ever fought. If you stay in the business long enough—just like a welder, if you weld long enough, you are going to get burned with the torch. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have a glass jaw because I can tell you right now if anybody—I don’t care how big they are, how athletic they are, and they let me, even if I haven’t been in the ring in years and years—if they let me hit them and I hit them right, they are going to sleep. I don’t consider him have a glass jaw but anybody in boxing couldn’t say that he has one since he’s been down only two times in his boxing career. So in reference to him avoiding getting hit, I can’t do anything to avoid that. He is on the top of his game.”

In Vegas, 2004, when Tarver knocked him out… How did that happen?

MERKERSON: “I was there when it happened and I remember it like it was yesterday. Roy squared up on the rope. Tarver told him to be more aggressive. They were playing cat and mouse and then Tarver became more aggressive and when Roy squared up on the rope, he moved into Tarver’s power hand and he got caught.”

Alan Hopper Don King Productions

'The Ultimate Showdown II' pro-am boxing show on Janury 26 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Fiorentino fights for third world title

MANSFIELD, Mass.– Reigning IWBF featherweight and NABF super featherweight champion Missy “The Fury” Fiorentino, headlines “The Ultimate Showdown II” pro-am boxing show, presented by Peter Manfredo, Sr. in association with Bash For Cash, on January 26 at the Mansfield SportsPlex in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Fiorentino (16-1, 6 KOs), a Rhode Island Sheriff out of Cranston, fights for her third world title belt in three different weight classes having already captured the IWBF featherweight and lightweight titles. She has since relinquished the latter belt because of IWBF rules restricting champions to only one division. Roger Williams College graduate Fiorentino battles Ela “Bam Bam” Nunez (5-2, 1 KO), a single mother of four, in the 10-round main event despite Missy risking a mandated title shot against WBC super featherweight champion Jelena Mrdjenovich (21-2, 11 KOs).

Fiorentino earned that with a unanimous 10-round decision last July against previously unbeaten Cindy Serrano (15-0-1) in a WBC title elimination fight that was also for the NABF belt. “She (Mrdjenovich) has until April (to make her mandatory) and I haven’t fought since July,” Missy said. “I needed a fight in between as long as it was at 130 pounds. I want to win world titles in three different weight classes. It’ll be nice fighting close to home. Some people came to New York for my last fight but I’ll have a lot more support there this fight. Nunez is aggressive, comes forward, which is good. Her style is the same as mine and I’d rather fight somebody like than chasing ‘em around the ring. It’s going to be a good fight.” Three of New England’s brightest pro prospects are also on the card --

New Hampshire cruiserweight Rich Gingras, Whitman (MA) super middleweight Mark “The Italian Bazooka” DeLuca (3-0, 2 KOs), and Worcester (MA) middleweight Edwin Rodriguez making his pro debut. Gingras (7-0, 4 KOs), of Claremont (NH), was the 2006 Ringside World heavyweight champion before turning professional a year ago. He faces 18-fight veteran Carlos “The Headbanger” Jones in a six-round bout. DeLuca (3-0, 2 KOs), the 2004 National Silver Gloves champion, takes on Cory Jones (2-1) in a four-round match. The 22-year old Rodriguez, born in the Dominican Republic, is making his much-anticipated pro debut after winning 89 of 93 amateur matches, highlighted by gold-medal performances in the 2006 National Golden Gloves Championships and 2005 United States Championship.

Seven amateur matches also scheduled featuring four Master’s Division matches: Foxboro police officer David Fascaldo vs. Mass. Department of Corrections officer Eric Flaherty;. “Easy” Ed Nelson, of Brockton, vs. former New York City police officer Steve “The Steel” Gentile; retired U.S. Navy Seals Captain Tony “The Tiger” O’Brien, of Brockton, vs. Louisiana firefighter Bruce McDaniels; Foxboro police officer Frank Acevedo vs. Louisiana firefighter J.R. “The Lion” Moore. Other amateurs on the card are 29-year-old heavyweight James DeLuca, as well as 15-year-olds James Perella, of Mansfield, and Toka Kahn, of Pawtucket.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project assisting U.S. armed forces men and women severely injured during conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places around the world.Tickets are priced at $25.00 (general admission), $50.00 (open seating), $75.00 (ringside) and $175.00 (VIP invitation only). Call 401.723.1359, 508.509.3236 or go to http://www.bashforcashllc.com/ to purchase tickets or for additional information.

PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

Missy Fiorentino: “I’m training hard and looking forward to fighting for my third world title at three different weight classes. My last fight I won the North American title at 130 pounds. Peter’s (Manfredo, Sr.) is my trainer and he’s going to have me in great shape.”

Rich Gingras: “I’m not much of a talker but I bring a big game. I’m going to dominate the fight from the start. If it goes six rounds it’s up to him.”

Mark DeLuca: “I’m excited to be fighting locally instead of New York, Kansas or anywhere else we’ve fought as amateurs. I’m excited to be a New England fighter. We have some tough fighters here – Missy’s probably the toughest. I’m excited to be on this card with her, Edwin and Rich. I’m going to try and blast this guy out in the first round. I’m going to bring the heart back to Boston and New England.”

Edwin Rodriguez: “I’m looking forward to my pro debut. I’m ready. I’m dying to get into the ring and do what I do – box!

-PM-CONTACT: Bob Trieger Full Court Press

NO HOLDS BARRED: Roy Nelson, Ryan Schultz, Jay Hieron, Tim Kennedy,Papa Trinidad, Alton Merkerson On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED


NO HOLDS BARRED: Roy Nelson, Ryan Schultz, Jay Hieron, Tim Kennedy, Papa Trinidad, Alton Merkerson On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman begins previews of the first event of the 2008 season by the International Fight League (IFL), which will take place Friday, February 29, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, and the Roy Jones. Jr.-Felix Trinidad Jr. fight, scheduled for this coming Saturday, January 19, at Madison Square Garden in New York. On that IFL card, IFL lightweight champion Ryan Schultz fights John Gunderson, heavyweight champion Roy Nelson fights Fabiano Scherner,and middleweight champion Matt Horwich fights Tim Kennedy. We spoke with Ryan Schultz, Roy Nelson, IFL welterweight champion Jay Hieron, and Tim Kennedy on media teleconference calls about their plans for the new year. We also spoke with the longtime trainers of Roy Jones. Jr., Alton Merkerson, and Felix "Tito" Trinidad Jr., Papa Felix Trinidad Sr., ona media teleconference call about the fight this Saturday night. To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click the link below and just press the play button on the player: http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2008-01-15T03_40_14-08_00 You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking on the download link (right-click to save it). You can also listen to it through the NO HOLDS BARRED blog, athttp://nhbnews.blogspot.com/, and MySpace page, at http://www.myspace.com/nhbnews,also by pressing the play button on the player. Also, NO HOLDS BARRED is available through iTunes athttp://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=150801513&s=143441. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download. The NO HOLDS BARRED theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/). NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Art of War (http://www.artofwarlive.com/), the undisputed arena fighting championship, promoted by SUN Sports and Entertainment,producing world class mixed martial arts events. For more information,check out their web site, ArtOfWarLive.com (http://www.artofwarlive.com). IFL, the International Fight League (http://ifl.tv/), the world'sfirst professional mixed martial arts league. Make sure to check out their regular TV shows on FSN (Fox Sports Net) (http://msn.foxsports.com/story/1636002) in the U.S., and to check your locallistings for dates and times. Check out the IFL web site (http://ifl.tv/), for a listing of IFL live events and their TV schedule, athttp://ifl.tv/TV-Schedule.html. Gladiator Challenge (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/), shaking up themixed martial arts world since 1999, and now with 30 shows per year.For more news and info, check out their web site, GladiatorChallenge.com (http://gladiatorchallenge.com/). BJJMart.com (http://bjjmart.com/), your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more. Gladiator Magazine (http://gladmag.com/), for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com(http://bjjmart.com/) or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear (http://jiujitsuprogear.com/). FightBeat.com (http://fightbeat.com/), for news, results, interviews,and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts. Thanks, Eddie Goldman No Holds Barred bloghttp://nhbnews.blogspot.com/ No Holds Barred podcasthttp://nhbnews.podomatic.com/ No Holds Barred on MySpacehttp://www.myspace.com/nhbnews

Former Heavyweight boxer Mitchell Rose has released clips from his DVD on Youtube.


Former Heavyweight boxer Mitchell Rose has released clips from his DVD on Youtube. Rose has included a TV interview with court TV's Nancy Grace as well as his own recollection of the street fight at the Sugar Hill Night Club. To purchase the book, please contact MitchRoseBoxer@Yahoo.com or go to http://www.amazon.com/That-Beat-Butterbean-These-Streets/dp/0979779707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198692803&sr=8-1.


Mitch Rose Speaks On The Tyson Incident - http://youtube.com/watch?v=zgyDHMYk9mE

Mitchell Rose and Lawyer Sanford Rubenstein On Court TV - http://youtube.com/watch?v=AyFaxpaluRg&feature=related

Mitchell Rose: The Family Man - http://youtube.com/watch?v=1MP_mYOcia0

MAIN EVENTS SIGNS WORLD-RANKED CONTENDER TOMASZ ADAMEK

MAIN EVENTS SIGNS WORLD-RANKED CONTENDER TOMASZ ADAMEK


TOTOWA, NJ– Main Events has signed world-ranked cruiserweight contender and former WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek, it was announced today by Main Events CEO Kathy Duva. Main Events and Warrior Promotions (promoter of O’ Neil Bell) have begun negotiations for a spring IBF-eliminator showdown between Adamek and Bell. The winner would become the mandatory to IBF champion Steve Cunningham.

Ike(l) and Steve Cunningham


“Main Events is proud to sign Tomasz,” said Duva. “He is a former light heavyweight champion and soon to be world cruiserweight champion

Adamek (33-1, 22 KO’s) has stopped 15 opponents within the first three rounds. The 31-year-old Zywiec, Poland native captured the vacant WBC light heavyweight championship on May 21, 2005, when he decisioned Paul Briggs (W 12). He defended the title twice before losing to Chad Dawson on Feb 3, 2007 (L 12). Since moving to cruiserweight he is 2-0, 1 KO. Adamek is also the IBO Cruiserweight Champion and is ranked #6 in the IBF and #7 in the WBA.

Main Events and Ziggy Promotions will co-promote Adamek.

For more info: Main Events (973) 200-7050 Donald Tremblay

Roy Jones Jr., Andrew Golota, Mike Mollo & DeMarcus Corley

Jones, Andrew Golota, “Merciless” Mike Mollo and DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley all performed a light workout and answered questions.

NEW YORK— Roy Jones Jr. worked the mitts and showed the blazing speed that made him the pound-for-pound best boxer on the planet for a decade during a media workout today at Kingsway Gym in New York featuring fighters from Saturday’s “Bring on the Titans” boxing event at Madison Square Garden and on HBO Pay-Per-View.

“Guess who’s back, Roy Jones Jr.,” Jones declared. “Ain’t nobody got the speed to handle me. Only Floyd Mayweather comes close to me and he’s still 10 miles an hour slower,” Jones quipped.

Jones will face Felix “Tito” Trinidad in the main event; the International Boxing Federation North American champion Golota will take on once-beaten World Boxing Association Fedelatin champion Mollo; and the former World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion Corley will take on undefeated 20-year-old phenom Devon Alexander “The Great” to kick off pay-per-view telecast.

Roy Jones Jr. “The best birthday present for me would be a knock out on Saturday night. Tito’s fighting the toughest fight of his career. He picked me to get up for this fight. He knows I’m a guy who normally beats him so he knows what type of shape he’s got to get in to step into the ring with me. I understand that.
“Ain’t nobody got the speed to handle me. Only Floyd Mayweather comes close to me and he’s still 10 miles an hour slower. I feel good. Now is just the waiting. You fight the fight a bunch of times in your head and I think of different ways to do it. I have several options and every night I think of a different option.

Andrew Golota “Everybody is talking about Mollo’s speed and his offensive abilities. Why isn’t anybody talking about his defense? I guess we’ll know more after the first round. It shouldn’t go the distance. I can’t see it going the distance.
“He says he wants to start fast and be aggressive. I feel the same. It’s better for me because now I know what he is going to try to do. Mollo’s a good fighter and I know he wants to win. How is he going to win? Be there to watch me.
“Bernard Hopkins is my role model. I’m not too old yet. I stay in shape. I even got a hair cut to be more aerodynamic. I feel much lighter!”
Andrew Golota


Mike Mollo: “Golota’s an old fighter. He’s been great and I respect him. He’s fought in some tremendous fights that have slipped away from him for whatever reason.
“I feel like I’m younger and faster and should win the fight. Now I need to get in the ring to prove I’m ready to move to the next level. I fear no one. I have butterflies like I should but no fear.
“I’ve been to the Garden before for a basketball game but this will be my first fight there.”

DeMarcus Corley: “It’s do or die for me right now. I’m fighting on one leg. I’m like a dog with a broken leg. If I lose this one I’m out. I can’t call Don King and ask for another match if I lose another fight. “If I knock this kid Devon Alexander out it would help me. Just getting past him is not enough. I need to knock him out. He and his team have shown me a lot of respect. I appreciate that. After the stare down at the press conference, I told him to bring his “A” game. He asked for me. You gotta be careful what you ask for because you might get it.”
DeMarcus Corley (L) and Yano