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Dirrell vs. DeGale & Rodriguez
vs. Baker Teleconference Transcript
Lou DiBella
Thanks, everybody for joining us for Premier Boxing
Champions on NBC press call. The card is Saturday, May 23rd.
That's the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend at Boston's
Agganis Arena. The start time on NBC is 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30
p.m. PT.
We're going to start the call by talking to our co-main
event fighters, the guys are going to open the telecast.
That's light-heavyweight contender Edwin Rodriguez taking on
undefeated light-heavyweight contender Craig Baker. Craig is
10-0 with 12 KO. He's coming off a KO of highly regarded
Umberto Savigne in his last fight and he's looking to upset
the apple cart and derail the career of Edwin Rodriguez
who's looking for another shot at a world title; this time
at 175 pounds.
Craig is promoted by Sampson Boxing. Craig, if you'd like to
say a few words.
CraigBaker
Well, I'm just grateful to have the opportunity to fight on
such a grand field again. It clearly is what I dream about.
It's one of those things I've always looked forward to since
I was little bity kid.
L. DiBella
Thank you. Edwin Rodriguez, the pride of Worchester,
Massachusetts and is fighting in his home state. This is his
second fight at light heavyweight. His only loss is to Andre
Ward, one of the pound-for-pound fighters in the world and
Edwin believes at light heavyweight he's stronger, better
and that he can win the title. So, Edwin, would you like to
say a few words?
Edwin Rodriguez
Yes. First of all, I'd like to thank you, Lou, for bringing
me back on NBC and giving me such a great opportunity and
also to Al Haymon and the NBC crew. I'm ready to show the
world that I'm one of the best or the best 175 pound fighter
in the world. I just got to prove it and this is one of the
steps to do it, fighting an undefeated fighter, Craig Baker,
who's hungry and I'm excited because I know that he's
hungry; I'm hungry to get at that elite level. It's going to
be a great fight for the fans.
Q
Yes, I have a question for each of you if you don't mind.
Craig, how do you feel about fighting Edwin so close to his
hometown?
C. Baker
At the end of the day that doesn't really matter to me
because everyone is out to pretty much beat the crap out of
you. So, it doesn't matter where you fight. It's the
competition, and that's how I take it.
Q
Edwin, what will it mean to you to fight so close to
Worcester?
E. Rodriguez
It means a lot because I haven't fought at home for about
four years now. So, I'm excited to come back and fight close
to home with family and friends supporting me. It's
something that helps me and pushes me to take it to the next
level.
Q
Edwin, first question; how do you feel at light-heavyweight?
Are you more comfortable now than you were at super
middleweight? Do you feel stronger, and is your stamina a
little better?
E. Rodriguez
I feel great now. I feel like 175 is the weight that I
belong at. I feel like I'm strong and I'm fast and I feel
like I'm the best light heavyweight. I just need the
opportunity to prove it, and this is one of them and I'm
excited.
Q
You're with Al Haymon. Adonis Stevenson is with Al Haymon.
Is that what boxing and fans can assume, that this is all
building towards a fight with Adonis Stevenson for the
title?
E. Rodriguez
Right now, I'm focused on Baker. He's an undefeated hungry
fighter, but that's the goal. I want to fight the best guy
so I can prove that I'm the best. Adonis Stevenson is a good
fighter. He has proved he's the world champion and that's
who I want in the future. So, I'm just setting myself up and
I'm working hard to look impressive against Baker and to get
my opportunity to show the world that I'm on the best.
Q
Craig, just what is it about Edwin that impresses you and
what will you have to do to beat him?
C. Baker
Well, I'm really impressed with the improvements that he's
made. I see him pushing forward, pushing issues and always
in your face. That's good. I like that. At the end of the
day, I just have to show up and fight. That's the way I take
the game. I have to bring my A game at all times and that's
what I do.
Q
I was looking at the records of a lot of your opponents. You
fought a lot of guys with pretty poor records. Why is that
and why did you make the step up a couple of fights ago?
C. Baker
I just felt like it was time, man.
Q
Edwin, what impresses you about Craig Baker?
E. Rodriguez
He's a hungry fighter and it doesn't matter who he's fought.
He's undefeated and you can't take an undefeated fighter
lightly, especially one that defeated a guy that had over
400 amateur fights and was a big prospect in the pros, like
Savigne. You can't take a guy like Craig Baker lightly.
Q
You've defeated undefeated fighters in the past. So, how is
your confidence level going in when you fight somebody who
hasn't lost?
E. Rodriguez
I believe a lot of my skills and I'm very confident, but I'm
not stupid. I know that a fighter who's undefeated comes in
with a very strong mentality and I'm ready. I've been
working hard for this fight knowing that this guy is
undefeated and I have to take that away from him. But at the
same time, we've got to respect everyone because we're all
competitors and it's all about looking good and winning and
he's just in my way right now.
L. DiBella
Thank you. The main event of the evening is a super
middleweight world title fight and it features two guys that
have been engrained into boxing since they were amateurs.
James DeGale is an Olympic gold medalist. He'll be facing
Andre Dirrell. James is from England; Andre from the US.
Andre was a bronze medalist in the Olympics. This is a match
of two of the very best super middleweights in the world and
figures to be a terrific fight.
James is promoted by Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn is on
the call. When you go to Q&A, if anyone has a question for
Eddie, Eddie is available. We're going to start with James
DeGale. James, would you like to say a few words? James is
21-1, with 14 KOs.
James DeGale
Yeah, my time is here. My time is here, next Saturday. I've
trained extremely hard and you're in for a treat because
you're going to watch two very talented hungry fighters next
Saturday fight it out for a world title. I honestly think
it's going to be a hell of a fight, one I'm confident of
winning. So, fasten your seatbelts, man. It should be good.
L. DiBella
Thank you, James. Andre Dirrell, please say a few words.
Andre Dirrell
I agree with James. This is going to be a very good fight.
I've trained my butt off as well. Everything went very
smoothly this camp. He's a hungry fighter. I'm a hungry
fighter. We are both in desperate need or desperate want of
a world title and I myself feel very confident and I'm
excited about this match, man. He feels like he's an
undefeated fighter. I feel like I'm an undefeated fighter,
but we both have a lot to prove, man. So, we're going to
come to the full effect and I believe it's going to be a
great show.
L. DiBella
Thank you, Andre. We're going to open it up to questions
now. One more time, it's PBC on NBC broadcast. It will be on
May 23rd, Saturday afternoon of Memorial Day Weekend, 4:30
p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster,
1-800-745-3000 and we're going to open it up for questions
now.
Q
This is for James. This is your first fight in the United
States and also, this is the first time a lot of people are
going to get to see you because you're going to be on
national television. What are you expecting in terms of the
energy and what it's going to be like performing in a
completely new audience?
J. DeGale
Yeah. I'm looking forward to it. I'm used to it as well
because obviously back in England I'm promoted by Matchroom,
a well-known commercial company. So, I box on big shows in
front of 10,000-20,000 people. It should be good. They have
a lot of Irish and English over there. So, I should have
some good support and I'm looking forward to it.
Q
Let me follow-up with another question. There was a time
that you considered retiring from the sport and becoming a
personal trainer. Can you talk about that a little bit and
looking back, are you glad you made the right decision to
continue to do boxing?
J. DeGale
Yeah. It's pretty simple. I was going through a hard time
with my promoter at the time and I was a bit depressed
because I wasn't getting my chances and I wasn't getting the
right fights and I boxed on small shows. I basically was a
bit depressed and I couldn't motivate myself properly. So,
yeah, that was the way it was and then I made the change to
Matchroom and things have just gone from pretty bad to
really great.
Obviously, my last two performances speak for themself. I
boxed Brandon Gonzales, an undefeated American, a confident
American. He come over to America and I boxed him front of
80,000 people and knocked him out in four rounds.
Then four months later, I boxed Periban. If you don't know
Marco Antonio Periban, he boxed Sakio Bika for the world
title and lost on a split decision and I knocked him out in
three rounds. So, I'm confident. I'm feeling good, and I'm
motivated very well at the minute.
Q
Andre, when you brother lost, he lost a close decision .What
was your conversation with Anthony like because you lost a
close fight you thought you'd won. So, how have you been
able to converse with him about getting through that loss?
A. Dirrell
Well, I didn't have to say much because he was confident
after the fight, but I pretty much had him realize that
you've had a bad night after he had a terrific camp, but I
believe that's where he left it. He left it in that. When it
came to fight time, he had a few setbacks leading up to the
fight and unfortunately, he lost, but we saw a lot of things
that he needs to correct. I told him to watch the fight over
and over again because that's what I used to do in my fight,
any fight that I feel bad about. So, I just told him keep
his confidence up, man and stay on that run, man. Don't lay
off at all. That's all we can do, man. I've learned a lot
from past experience and one thing's for certain; you can't
take anything from the past and bring it to the future. Only
confidence.
So, I'm feeling good, man. He's excited for me and I'm going
to keep that name alive and keep the Dirrell name going.
Q
Everybody talks about the super middleweights, they talk
about Andre Ward. But it seems like some people forget how
good of a boxer that you are because you had to take this
time off. With this being on NBC and getting in front of a
large audience, are you looking at this as an opportunity to
put your name back in that conversation for people who may
have forgotten how good Andre Dirrell is?
A. Dirrell
People know and in the end, it's my job to keep my name
lean. I haven't had the opportunity to do that as well. I
had a major setback as well, but with that I stayed in the
game, stayed sharp. I was sharp in my last couple of
performances. I'm looking forward to the future and this is
the breakout fight like I said. James is one hell of a
fighter. He has a lot of heart, a lot of spunk, a lot of
energy, man, and he wants to win.
If you want to put me in front of a fighter for a world
championship fight, then James DeGale is bar none one of the
best to do it in front of. So, I'm excited about this fight.
I think this is probably one of the biggest fights from
Premier Boxing Champion that they've had and I'm excited to
be on that big stage. So, I want a breakout performance and
I did everything in camp to make sure I can do so.
Q
How does it feel to be the first Brit on the verge of making
some boxing history?
J. DeGale
It feels great, but I need to stay focused and keep my eye
out on the prize. That's what I have to do. But, you know
what? A lot of people say I'm obsessed about making history,
about becoming the first Olympic gold medalist from Great
Britain to win a genuine world title. But you know what? I
am. I am because that's what drives me and that's what makes
me train hard every day. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to
it.
Q
Okay, and you touched on a little bit there. I mean not so
long ago you were boxing in front of a couple of hundred
people at the shopping center in Blue Water and now you're
making noise on TV in America. How does that feel, the
difference?
J. DeGale
Well, it's fantastic. Sure a lot of credit has to go to
Eddie Hearn. I'm a buzz fire. I like the big audience. I
like the big lights. I'm just feeling real relaxed, chilled
and ready to perform next Saturday. I'm buzzing. I really
can't wait; just being in America and knowing that I'm going
to make my debut next Saturday in front of millions of
Americans and back in the UK as well. It's going to be
fantastic.
Q
Andre, this fight seems to be your highest profile fight
since five years ago when you had the Abraham fight, when he
got DQ'ed. You were leading at that time. Can you tell us at
this point, where are you physically and mentally compared
to where you were when you were obviously at the top of the
division five years ago?
A. Dirrell
Well, I look at it all from a mental aspect. As of now, man,
I'm grown tremendously in my mind. I've realized how
important boxing is to me and what it takes to become world
champion, the work you have to put in and I just follow
those guidelines every day. I'm a very motivated fighter,
very self-motivated. A lot of fighters run with music, have
to listen to music.
If I can hear my punches while I'm hitting the bag, I'm
motivated. So, nothing motivates me more than hard work and
that's all I look for. The fight is won in the gym, not on
fight night. It's what you do in the gym, not how hard you
put up a fight.
I've done all of that and more. I feel very relaxed. I'm
very energetic and I'm feeling the vibe already and I really
can't wait to make Saturday myself. I feel I have a lot to
prove and I have a different Andre Dirrell to show, one
that's just as sharp, just as fast, just as brave, but just
has a bigger mental capacity. I'm excited about next week.
Q
What do you think your advantages are over James DeGale in
this fight?
A. Dirrell
We're pretty much evenly matched and I actually like that
scenario because I know I'm faster. I know I'm smarter and I
know I'm a better boxer. It's just as simple as that. But,
none of that can come into play without hard work, and I
know he's worked his ass off, man. He has to come over to
America just like I went over there to England to try to
fight for a world championship.
I know what kind of guy I'm going to face come the 23rd.
I've worked my butt off like I said, , and with those
advantages, I've put the hard work in so I can display that.
I just feel like I'll be the better man that night.
Q
James, tell us why you think you're confident that you're
going to be able to win this fight?
J. DeGale
Momentum is a big thing. Look at my last two performances
against good, quality opponents and look his last three.
Listen, I come from good pedigree and so does Andre. We're
good, quality, young fighters. But I just think overall, I'm
better. I think he struggles. He doesn't like it when it
gets hard in there. He's a competent fighter, but he likes
it when he's dictating the pace and he's on the front foot.
Well listen, I'm not going to let him rest. He thinks this
is going to be a boxing match. Well, this ain't. I'm telling
him now. This ain't going to be a boxing match. I'm going in
there and I'm taking the title. I'm taking it. I'm ripping
it away from him.
Q
Do you think you're a really improved fighter? I know that
the loss that you had to Groves was very controversial, but
how much do you think you've improved since that fight with
Groves?
J. DeGale
It's like night and day. Listen, and another thing, I was in
this for two years as well. I had two operations on my
groin. So, I couldn't throw my shots with any power. I
couldn't run the ring properly. Even in the fight at Wembley
in front of 80,000 I wasn't 100% right. Even against Periban
I wasn't 100% right. Now I'm 100% right, fully healthy,
fully focused and mentally right. So, you're going to see me
step up again next Saturday.
Q
James, you mentioned about being a buzz fighter and this is
the biggest stage, the biggest pressure you've ever been
under. So, does this mean we're going to see your best ever
performance?
J. DeGale
I honestly do. The way I've been in the gym training,
sparring, running, I honestly think you're going to see the
performance of my career so far. My last couple of fights
after my injuries have been sorted and I just got better and
better and I think this one is going to top it and winning
my world title as well and making history.
Q
But, do you deal with the pressure and does that inspire you
more?
JamesI thrive on it. You know me. I thrive in it. I'm just
looking forward to it. As I say, it's my debut as a
professional in America. So, I'm buzzing right now. You
don't understand. I'm just really looking forward to it.
Q
Andre. You've obviously fought Carl Froch and you've watched
video of James I imagine. How do they compare as fighters
and who do you rate as a better fighter?
A. Dirrell
As far as skill, I can give it to James DeGale, but as far
as toughness, mental toughness, physical toughness, that's
Carl Froch. We all know how mentally strong he is. So, I
have to give the edge to Carl Froch in that aspect, but as I
said before, I know DeGale is coming to fight and no one
gets in that ring and fights me as they want to fight. You
know what I'm saying? Just like he thinks it's going to be
an easy fight. I feel like I have a lot more to prove as
well.
So, I'm looking to bring the fight as well and I'm working
hard in the gym. I made it tough on myself. The more
pressure you actually put on me, the more dangerous I
become.
I'm really excited as well, man. I have a lot to prove. He
has a lot to prove. This is going to be the best fight yet
on Premier Boxing Champions.
Q
Basically for Andre, there was a chance obviously this fight
could end up going to Britain. You've been to Britain before
and you were very unlucky against Carl Froch. Was that
something you were against, to face another title fight in
Britain?
A. Dirrell
I'm not going to say that because I enjoyed my time over
there. I believe I won the fight like I said and it just
didn't go my way unfortunately. I don't like to judge my
future fights based on past. I look forward to fighting in
Britain again, in England again, the UK again whenever that
day may come. I had a lot of fans over there; I have a lot
of fans over there and I enjoy my time over there. I've been
going over there since the amateurs. I enjoy it very much
and I'm a world-class fighter. So, I want to be displayed on
a world-class level.
I'm definitely looking forward to it. If it was over there,
if it had to be over there, so be it. I would have came over
there to fight James. We are world competitors, world-class.
We fight for world titles. Why should it be in America all
the time? This is a world-class sport and we should treat it
like one.
Q
Arthur Abraham kind of robbed you of your great win when he
hit you on the floor. That was looking like such a great
performance that night. In the sort of layup after that, how
close did you come to actually having to retire? Was there
ever a time you thought you might not box again?
A. Dirrell
I was going through some stuff with my family. I actually
wanted to. I knew in my heart that I'd get my time again. I
knew my time would come. I knew I had a chance of getting
out of my contract. So, I kept training. Of course, there
were times that I would hit slumps and feel like I'm doing
it for nothing, but it was quite a stressful time for me. I
think I always knew that I would be able to get back in that
ring. So, I stayed busy and it didn't really totally veer me
away from the sport, but I do know the feeling.
I did feel like any moment could come up to where that it
could be over just like that and I had to deal with it and I
could easily retire. If it happened again, I just might. I
knew that my time was coming again. There's always hope
there. I just kept pushing forward and here I am now.
Q
One for you, James, quickly. You're in Florida now. Can you
tell us where you are and how's it going?
J. DeGale
Yeah, no, I'm in Miami. I've been training here for the past
week. So, we climatized and we adjusted and we're ready to
go.
L. DiBella
Just a couple of final words. Thank you, Edwin, Craig, Andre
and James. This is a great undercard that features a lot of
New England talent and I want to acknowledge Murphys Boxing,
our friend Ken Casey who's with the legendary Irish band,
the Dropkick Murphys, and is helping us with local
promotion. We're going to have a lot of announcements coming
about some great fight week activities.
Premier Boxing Champions on NBC, PBC on NBC Saturday, May
23rd at Boston's Agganis Area, 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT for
the beginning of the broadcast. Tickets for the live event
are available at Ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone, call
Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Tune into NBC on Saturday,
May 23rd, but if you can be with us in Boston, join us at
the Agganis Arena. Thank you, everybody, for joining us.
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