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Tavoris Cloud: "I Am A
Vicious Champion"
Undefeated International Boxing Federation light heavyweight
champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud (23-0, 19 KOs), from
Tallahassee, Fla., will make his fourth title defense on
Saturday against former World Boxing Association light
heavyweight champion Gabriel Campillo (21-3-1, 7 KOs), from
Madrid, Spain, at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi,
Texas. (SHOWTIME Championship Boxing at 10 p.m. ET/PT,
delayed on the West Coast.)
“I'm going to make a statement that I am a vicious champion
and I refuse to be defeated,” Cloud said. “You can train as
long as you want, you can train as hard as you want, but it
just ain't gonna help you.”
Cloud finds the mere thought of Campillo thinking he can
take his title distasteful.
“Campillo's coming to take my title,” Cloud said, “and I'm
offended. That's why he's in for a nightmare. It’s going to
be Armageddon for him. [I] need to get your [Campillo’s] ass
in the ring. Let's get this over with. I’m real serious
inside of my head right now.”
That’s tough talk, but Cloud has always backed it up in the
ring. He is a throwback fighter in the sense he comes right
at his opponents and throws lots of leather. Cloud says his
power in the ring comes from his unique training regimen.
He’s even got a name for it.
“We do somethin' called Kill-a-Bitch Training,” Cloud said.
“This ain't regular training for a regular 12-round fight. I
can't even come to the gym and say the wrong thing. My team
says, 'Get your mind right.' I'm in a good place because I
am world champion.”
Cloud also resents the fact other world champions and top
contenders are avoiding him. Cloud became world champion in
2009, and he doesn’t think they can hide from him much
longer.
“Guys are refusing to fight me, and they come up with every
excuse in the book,” Cloud said. “They don't want to deal
with my promoter, things like that. But I know it's B.S.”
Tickets to see the event live and in person are priced at
$25, $35, $50, $75, $100 and are available at the American
Bank Center box office and on Ticketmaster.com. VIP packages
are also available by calling (817) 296-4546.
SHOWTIME will also telecast a second fight (10 p.m. ET/PT,
delayed on the West Coast) when former world champion Paul
Williams (40-2, 27 KOs), of Aiken, S.C., will face Nobuhiro
Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KOs) of Osaka, Japan. Ishida has won his
last two bouts via first-round stoppage, including an upset
over then-undefeated James Kirkland in April of 2011, while
Williams owns victories over Sergio Martinez and Antonio
Margarito.
An additional heavyweight fight featuring Chris “The
Nightmare” Arreola vs. Eric “Drummer Boy” Molina will be
televised on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on
the West Coast).
The event is presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions. The
Williams-Ishida bout will be promoted in association with
Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions. The Cloud vs.
Campillo bout will be promoted by Don King Productions in
association with Sampson Boxing, LLC.
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