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The North East Takeover Press Conference Quotes
There was plenty of energy during the final pre-fight words
ahead of a huge night of free-to-air boxing live from the
Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, live on Channel 5 from
10pm.
It was a triple-threat of title talk, as Josh Kelly (11-1-1,
7 KOs), Harlem Eubank (14-0, 6 KOs), and Pat McCormack (1-0,
1 KO) all promised sensational performances to propel their
rise to the top as part of a huge night of free-to-air
boxing on Saturday night, live and free-to-air in front a
terrestrial television audience.
The WBO International Super Welterweight Championship will
be on the line, as Sunderland's Kelly has the opportunity to
make the stadium erupt in front of his own North East
faithful. Argentina's Lucas Bastida (18- 1-1, 10 KOs)
questioned the size and physicality of his opponent at the
press conference, and promised to take a win back to his
homeland. With an entry into the world rankings the
incentive for both fighters, this guarantees to be the icing
on the cake of a stacked night showcasing the area's
unbelievable talent.
Josh Kelly
"I think I’m alright you know (wearing his Sunderland
shirt). The North East is where I’m from, but I’m a
Sunderland fan so I’ll wear my shirt proudly too."
"My performance Saturday is going to be electric, the energy
is going to be absolutely pumping through everybody on the
card from the North East. I am feeling the best I’ve ever
felt in my career, I’m consistently in the gym and
consistently focused. You’ll see my product on Saturday,
it’s going to be such a sharp performance, and this guy is
going to realise he’s swimming with the sharks. He’s come
over, had a long journey, and it’s not going to be a nice
night for him."
"I was really a Super Welterweight who boiled down to a
Welterweight. I was boxing at 69kg for Team GB which is very
similar to the Super Welterweight division professionally,
and it was only a matter of time before I made the step up.
I feel unreal. I’m strong, I’m not small for the division,
and people will see my strength on Saturday night when I get
in that ring."
"Potential fight for British/Troy Williamson – It’s not a
distraction, we’re here for all the big fights in the
division. My eyes are fixed on them top titles of this
division, I wouldn’t be in sport if I didn’t think I could
get to world level so that’s where I’m looking at. Massive
fights come along on that sort of journey, I’m 100% game."
Lucas Bastida
"I know it’s going to be a great fight. I love what I saw
yesterday (at the public workout), the people have treated
me really well. I’m confident it’ll be me winning, but I’m
hoping we give our audience a great show."
"I think he’s small for this division. He’s a Welterweight
fighting in Super Welterweight; whereas I’m a Middleweight
cutting to make it at Super Welterweight. I’ve got the
physical advantage over him."
Harlem Eubank
"It's easy to get frustrated. I feel like I’ve done what I
need to do domestically and overcome the hurdles to put
myself in line for the British title. I’ve said before that
I can’t control the rankings, I can only control what goes
on in the ring and that’s exactly what I’m doing and exactly
what I’m focused on doing. I’ll handle my business in the
ring and I’ll let everyone else handle what’s going on
outside of boxing, and with the rankings, to put me in a
position to keep developing and fight for them titles."
"To get to this point now I’ve had to block out a lot of
noise and just focus. I’m just locking in on becoming the
best version of myself and the best fighter I can be, so
there’s been plenty of blocking out anything external and
just zoning in; I believe that’s what I need to do to grow
in this sport of boxing."
"I leave all the analysis of my opponent to Adam (Booth) and
the team. I’m just focused on following the training and
executing a strong performance."
Eliot Chavez
"I’m here for one thing and that’s to win. I’m here fighting
for my family and those supporting me at home, we’ve been
working hard to make sure I’ll be leaving with that win."
"I know this is going to be a tough fight, he’s a tough
fighter. He’s good, but I’m really confident I can get the
win after some really good preparations and I’m really happy
to be here to showcase this in front of you all."
Pat McCormack
"I want to say thanks to the Sauerlands for getting me onto
the show and thanks to my management team. The journey
started here, back in my hometown with my home fans and
support. I can’t wait for Saturday night."
"I’ve been living away in Essex so there’s no distractions
at home. I’ve got Ben Davison who’s one of the best trainers
in the world as my coach. I’m one of the best fighters to
come out of Great Britain, you can see that on my track
record, so the sky is the limit. I just want to keep
climbing the ladder with my team until we get to the top and
we’re fighting for world titles."
"I’m eyeing up that British title, whoever has got it,
that’s the one I want first. Then I’ll be working my way
through the Commonwealth, European and World titles."
Dmitri Trenel
"I think Pat is a potential future world champion. It’ll be
a great show on Saturday for the UK people because they’re
some of the best fans in the world when it comes to boxing.
You don’t get this sort of atmosphere everywhere; you can
tell the sport is well-loved here. I’ll be ready to put
myself through whatever is needed to put on a performance
for the UK crowd."
Nisse Sauerland
"I see this as Josh Kelly 2.0. He showed his bravery
stepping into the ring when he suffered that loss. I think
it was too soon at that time, but now you can see the
cobwebs have been dusted off after that last fight. You
witnessed him roll through the rounds getting ready for his
next fight and his next challenge.
"You can see how confident he is up here today, he’s going
into his 14th fight at 28-years-old, a former Olympian too.
He’s got the world at his feet, he’s a superstar, and he’ll
continue to realise that in the ring on Saturday night.
Bastida’s a tough guy, but Josh has all the tools to become
British champion, European champion, and World champion. All
of them."
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