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Friday, January 18, 2008

The temperature heated up at the final press conference at Madison Square Garden before Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr. step into the ring

The temperature heated up at the final press conference today at Madison Square Garden before Felix Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr. step into the ring on Saturday night in a match featured on HBO Pay-Per-View.



In an unusally strong display of emotion, Tito Trinidad's father, trainer and manager Felix Trinidad Sr. turned to Roy Jones Jr. and his team and said, "I am sorry, Roy, but Saturday night you will have no break against Tito Trinidad. You are going to fight against the best Tito Trinidad that any opponent has fought against.” Jones acknowledged Tito's supporters. "That’s okay you stand for what you believe in. But come Saturday night you are going to hate me more after I beat Felix Trinidad. It’s only me and Tito in the ring and, unfortunately, I have to give Tito a bad birthday present."

DON KING

“Every time you fight, you are at the height of your career. Corbin Bleu [from High School Musical] is going to sing the national anthem.”

“Thank you for your opinion but let the people be the judge. No one can kill this fight. These young men want to fight for the pride and legacy and they have trained to make a statement.

“This fight is for finding the cure for breast cancer and it’s for every women. Roy walked for them [at a walkathon in his hometown of Pensacola in October], and Tito jumped on board and we are fighting breast cancer. This event is about fighting breast cancer and all women of all color who will hope to be cured of this disease.
“Roy Jones Jr. found redemption and in his whole career, he has not been late for one thing we did [promoting this event]. He worked tirelessly for this fight. Tito Trinidad a hero from ground zero. He was here for 9/11, just two weeks before he was to fight Bernard Hopkins. He went to Ground Zero to feed the rescue workers, the disenfranchised and all the volunteers. Tito didn’t go home he stayed with the people and part of why he lost the fight was his working for 9/11 and having to fight right after that"


“Another magical moment for the Garden like Ali vs Frazier is what this is. This fight will be talked about and go down in history as another legendary night in this historic building.”

MARK TAFFET – HBO PAY-PER-VIEW
“We can only imagine how many miles they have run and rounds they have sparred to get ready for this fight. They have put themselves through very rigorous training camps. They have great teams and they are ready. They have promised the fans a great night of boxing.“We look forward to Saturday night to a great event and a great beginning to another fantastic year of boxing.”

MIKE MOLLO
“I’m from Chicago, Illinois, and I left the cold and went to Miami to train. I am so excited to fight at Madison Square Garden under two great legends like Roy Jones and Tito Trinidad.

“I called out Andrew Golota and I am glad I got this fight. Now we are in New York and it’s going to be a great fight.



ANDREW GOLOTA [Fifth time fighting at the Garden]
“Very nice to be in New York again and I am ready for the win. I can’t wait to get back into the Garden ring and I look forward to it.”

ROMAN KARMAZIN

“I am dedicating my first fight in Madison Square Garden to two Russian New York Police Department officers who died in the line of duty. They were immigrants like me and they sacrificed their lives for saving and helping people. I am fighting for them and our freedom.”

ALEX BUNEMA
“I have had a few chances in the past where I came up short, but I’m not going to let this opportunity get away from me on Saturday. This is it for me. I am from Zaire now called Congo.I am excited to be fighting at the Garden. Roy is one of my boxing heroes and I am thrilled to be on this card. I have been here before and I can’t wait for Saturday night.”

DEVON ALEXANDER
“This is a big opportunity and I am only 20 years old. I am looking forward to being there Saturday.
We have been training for two months and the fact that my fight is on television is an extra bonus. Come Saturday night, ‘The Great’ is on.”

KEVIN CUNNINGHAM [Devon Alexander’s trainer and manager]:
“I feel like Devon is prepared to put on a spectacular performance. He’s ready to make a huge statement. Don King needs a new star and on Saturday night he’ll have one

DeMARCUS “CHOP CHOP” CORLEY
“Thank everyone for having me here. I am glad I can come back so soon after my last fight. You will see on Saturday night why they call me Chop Chop because I am coming back with two hands.”

FELIX “TITO” TRINIDAD
“Good afternoon to everyone. I hope all fighters on January 19 give the people a great fight. It is going to be a great night. .“I am feeling very good with a lot of passion and January 19. I am going to get another victory for me. I trained and worked very hard and I know I am going to win. I am confident in myself and I can’t wait for Saturday night.”

DON/ FELIX TRINIDAD
“We are on the road to this big fight and I we are very comfortable about this fight. We have been training for six months—very hard—and Tito has trained more than he ever has. He has the passion. He is in the best condition of his life. We have a team of 21 people and each one has a role and that is the reason why he will be in one of the best conditions of his career. We hear Roy is in great condition too.
“In the past all of his opponents have been prepared quite well. We had the opportunity to fight other big names for Tito’s comeback.
Don King put other big names on the table. But we said we wanted the biggest name, and that was Roy Jones. “We also want one thing that he has. We want to beat our fourth Olympic gold medalist. “And the knockout can come in any rounds. This fight won’t be decided on who is weaker, one or the other. This fight is going to be won on will, patience and the desire to win. The fighter who has the better corner in the ring and that describes a victory for Tito Trinidad. I am sorry, Roy, but Saturday night you will have no break against Tito Trinidad. You are going to fight against the best Tito Trinidad that any opponent has fought against.”

ROY JONES JR.—SUPERMAN
“Thank God for being here and I appreciate the patriotism for you [Tito’s fans] booing me. That’s okay you stand for what you believe in. But come Saturday night you are going to hate me more after I beat Felix Trinidad.

It’s only me and Tito in the ring and, unfortunately, I have to give Tito a bad birthday present.

“I do know that they have trained very hard to fight me. They know I am a problem. Just like I knew I had a problem when I was going to face John Ruiz. I worked then just like they are now. I respect that they know they have a problem in me. And they say they are in shape. But you should have seen what I did in my training camp. My trainer’s been telling people about it because Roy Jones Jr. is all the way back. All I can tell you is I’m going to be raw on Saturday night. You don’t want to miss it.”

ALTON MERKERSON [Roy Jones Jr.’s longtime trainer]
“What a great night it is going to be Saturday night. This is going to be an electrifying fight. These guys are legends and have accomplished such great goals in their careers.
“But there are other challenges and this is a great challenge for Roy. I can say this. I have been training Roy since 1993 and I saw Roy do things in our training camp that he has not done in a long time. You are going to see the old Roy Jones Jr. on Saturday night and he is going to be great.”
Alan Hopper Don King Productions Fight info: http://www.donking.com/events/post24_media.htm

‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL’ STAR CORBIN BLEU TO SING NATIONAL ANTHEM AT TRINIDAD vs. JONES BOXING MEGA-BOUT

‘HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL’ STAR CORBIN BLEU TO SING NATIONAL ANTHEM SATURDAY NIGHT AT MADISON SQ. GARDEN AT TRINIDAD vs. JONES BOXING MEGA-BOUT LIVE ON HBO PAY-PER-VIEW


NEW YORK— Teen sensation and famed Hollywood actor Corbin Blue, best known for his starring roles in High School Musical (2006), High School Musical 2 (2007), and Jump In! (2007), has been tapped to sing the national anthem at the highly anticipated boxing showdown between Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr. on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The anthem will be shown as part of the live HBO Pay-Per-View telecast.

CORBIN BLEU


ABOUT “BRING on the TITANS”

Two of the greatest boxers in history, Felix “Tito” Trinidad and Roy Jones Jr., will face each other in a battle that boxing fans have been waiting for years to see at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Jan. 19, 2008, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View. For information contact: http://www.donking.com/events/post24_media.htm


Tickets are still available at all Ticketmaster outlets.



Trinidad is a five-time world champion with a stunning career knockout ratio of 80 percent who has won titles in the welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight classes. Jones is an eight-time world champion, winning belts in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, becoming the first former middleweight champion to win a world heavyweight crown in more than 100 years.

The domestic pay-per-view telecast will begin at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT and is being produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View, available in more than 61 million pay-per-view homes. This domestic telecast will be available in HDTV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For your Trinidad vs. Jones fight week updates, log on to http://www.hbo.com/.



The event is being promoted by Don King Productions in association with Madison Square Garden.

NO HOLDS BARRED: Roy Jones, Don King, Tank Abbott, Kimbo Slice, GaryShaw, Devon Alexander, Zuffa-Couture Lawsuit On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED,


NO HOLDS BARRED: Roy Jones, Don King, Tank Abbott, Kimbo Slice, Gary Shaw, Devon Alexander, Zuffa-Couture Lawsuit On this edition of NO HOLDS BARRED, host Eddie Goldman begins by discussing the disgraceful lawsuit filed Monday in Clark County District Court in Nevada by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, against their most popular fighter, Randy Couture.
As usual, this commentary is no-holds-barred. We next discuss the card scheduled for this coming Saturday, January19, at Madison Square Garden in New York, headlined by the clash between boxing legends Roy Jones. Jr. (51-4, 38 KOs) and Felix "Tito"Trinidad Jr. (42-2, 35 KOs). This card will be telecast in the U.S. on HBO Pay-Per-View. We got comments from Roy Jones. Jr. about why he is so confident thathe will win this fight. We spoke with promoter Don King to get his response to criticisms by some in the media of this card. And we spoke with 20-year-old rising junior welterweight prospect Devon Alexander(13-0, 8 KOs), who has the toughest assignment of his young pro career when he faces former world champion DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley(31-7-1, 17 KOs). We also begin to preview the EliteXC mixed martial arts card scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Bank United Center on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables, FL. That card will be shown live in the U.S. on Showtime. The main event of that card pits Internet streetfighter Kimbo Slice, who is now a professional MMA fighter training with Bas Rutten, against the MMA veteran David "Tank" Abbott. We spoke with both Tank Abbott and Kimbo Slice about this fight on a media teleconference call Wednesday. We also spoke with promoter Gary Shaw, the EliteXC Live Events President, about how his view on what EliteXC is and will do, and about how they treat their fighters. To listen to NO HOLDS BARRED, click the link below and just press theplay button on the player: http://nhbnews.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2008-01-17T05_04_46-08_00 You can also download it by scrolling down that page and clicking onthe 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 IanCarpenter (http://iancarpenter.com/). NO HOLDS BARRED is free to listen to and is sponsored by: Art of War (http://www.artofwarlive.com/), the undisputed arenafighting 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 local listings 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 allBrazilian 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. GladiatorMagazine 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