Antonio Tarver vs. Lateef Kayode & Undercard Final Quotes
By Special Report on Doghouse Boxing (June 1, 2012) Photo © Esther Lin / SHOWTIME
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CARSON, Calif. – All
eight fighters participating in Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING “Four Warned” event and the SHOWTIME EXTREME fighters participated in a final press
conference on Thursday, just two days before the highly anticipated June 2 Quadrupleheader which will be
telecast live on SHOWTIME® (9:00
p.m. ET/PT) from The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
“Four Warned,” a rare
four-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, features former Light
Heavyweight World Champion Antonio
“Magic Man” Tarver (29-6, 20 KO’s) facing unbeaten Lateef Kayode (18-0, 14
KO’s) in a 12-round cruiserweight fight, former undisputed junior
middleweight kingpin Winky Wright (51-5-1, 25 KO’s) returning to the ring to meet undefeated Peter Quillin (26-0, 20 KO’s) in a
middleweight bout, Austin Trout (24-0, 14 KO’s) risking his perfect record and WBA Super Welterweight
belt against Delvin Rodriguez (26-5-3, 14 KO’s) and IBF number one rated bantamweight contender Vusi Malinga (20-3, 12 KO’s) facing
IBF number five rated bantamweight contender Leo
Santa Cruz (19-0-1, 11 KO’s) for the vacant IBF bantamweight
title. All four bouts are set for Saturday, June 2, airing live on
SHOWTIME (9:00 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from The Home Depot
Center in Carson ,
Calif. “Four Warned” is
presented by A.T. Entertainment, Golden Boy Promotions and Gary Shaw
Productions with Trout vs. Rodriguez being presented in association with Greg
Cohen Promotions and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Malinga vs. Santa
Cruz being presented in association with Branco Sports Productions. The
event is sponsored by Corona
and AT&T.
Headlining
the SHOWTIME EXTREME preliminary fight telecast will be a 10-round battle for
the NABF and vacant WBO Inter-Continental Super Middleweight titles between
talented up-and-comer Dyah Davis (21-2-1, 9 KO’s) and perennial contender Sakio Bika (29-5-2, 20 KO’s), beginning live at 8:00
p.m. ET/PT. Also featured on the SHOWTIME EXTREMEM telecast (time
permitting) will be highlights from the showdown between unbeaten lightweight
rising star Sharif “The Lion”
Bogere (22-0, 14 KO’s) and crafty southpaw Manuel Leyva (21-5, 12 KO’s).
Tickets for “Four Warned” are available for as low as $25, with VIP
floor seats priced at $200. Other tickets in the 8,000-seat outdoor
stadium at The Home Depot Center are available at $50 and $100. Fans can
purchase tickets at AXS.com or by phone at 1-888-9-AXS-TIX (1-888-929-7849), as
well as The Home Depot Center Box Office (open Monday through Friday, 10:00
a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available for purchase by calling
1-877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages,
please call 1-877-234-8425.
Here’s
what the fighters had to say on Thursday:
TARVER:
“Sometimes
when you sign for a fight you never know how it will turn out, but this event
took a life of its own. It wasn’t until the kickoff (press
conference) when I realized what I was really in for. Everything had to
take a back seat to my training. The passion and love for the sport still
lives inside.
“Age
is nothing but a number. I know this is the fight that will bring the
best out of me because I know he will press hard all night long looking for
that lightning in the bottle that I know won’t come. You’ll
see on Saturday.”
“They
(SHOWTIME) wanted to mic me up for the bout [to commentate and fight
simultaneously], but I know I have my hands full with Lateef.
“I
guess Lateef took offense to how I critiqued his fighting – he was used
to the compliments. It’s different to look in the mirror and say I
need to do this and that. We need training camp to become better,
well-rounded fighters. I was trying to help him and he thought I was
disrespectful.
“It’s
going to be an interesting fight. Trust me, I’m in good
shape. I haven’t taken him lightly. I know he has potential,
I know he has the power to end the fight in one punch and that’s why I
went back and trained hard for this.”
KAYODE:
“I’m
ready for this fight. This is the happiest I’ve ever been. I
stay in the gym, I work hard and I listen to my trainer.
“I’ve
never fought anyone like this. For me to fight this man I’ll need
to dig deep into my soul.
“I
will knock you down. I’m sorry to say this to my brother, but on
June 2, you will have to go down.
“He
said I was too aggressive when I was fighting, but I’m going to show him
aggressive on Saturday.”
WRIGHT:
“I’m
so excited to be back in the ring – it’s been three years.
Boxing got real boring for me and and no one wanted to fight me.
“Now
that I’m back, I needed a great challenge. I’m coming back
because I want to be champion. Peter is a great fighter, he’s coming
to fight and I’m coming to fight. You’re going to see on
Saturday. I wouldn’t come back if I wasn’t ready.
I’m back to be the champ.
“To
be the best, you got to fight the best, and Peter is a step in that
direction.”
QUILLIN:
“I
know this is a tough fight and a great opportunity for me. I trained
harder than ever for my time in the spotlight.
“There
are a bunch of inspiring stories on this card and I’m glad to be part of
it.
“Hard
work means easy work. I believe that I’m a future superstar of this
sport.
“My
dad came here 32 years ago on Saturday to this country for opportunity and now
I’m fighting here for opportunity. I came from the floor to the big
stage.”
TROUT:
“I
can’t tell you how excited I am to fight alongside these guys. All
excitement aside, I have my eye on the prize. I’m ready to make a
statement.
“I
want to be the pound-for-pound champ and I feel like Delvin is the gatekeeper
to bigger and better things. I’m excited to get in there and put my
stamp on the game. Win or lose, I’m going to give it all.”
RODRIGUEZ:
“This
fight speaks for itself. The fans know it’s going to be
exciting.
“Austin
must be doing something right to be in the position he is now as an undefeated fighter,
so we have a lot of respect for him.
“I’ve
been training hard for this opportunity and this shot at the world title.
I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs so to get this opportunity is a
blessing. We trained for seven weeks and now the fight is finally
here. It’s going to be a great night of boxing.”
MALINGA:
“I’m
happy to stand next to these legends. I’m prepared and have been
training very hard. I’m hoping to take the title to Africa and on
Saturday. I’m going to win.”
SANTA CRUZ:
“This
is my first time fighting for a title. This is what I’ve been
training for. I know Malinga will come ready because he wants the title,
but Mexicans are warriors, too.
“I
trained harder than ever because I want this title and I want it to stay in
California. I can’t wait to get in there and win it.”
DAVIS:
“There’s
a lot of history here and I’m happy to be part of it. I’m
ready and it’s my time to shine. I’ll let my fists do the
talking.”
BIKA:
“I’ve
trained very hard and I’m happy to be on the undercard of these
legends. I’ll bring my best Saturday because I know everyone will
be watching.”
BOGERE:
“We’re
coming to fight. I’m the lion. I’m happy to be put on
with these legends of boxing. This is like a dream come true and I
can’t wait for my time to shine.”
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