| |
|
|
Abdullah Mason vs. Albert Bell
Final Press Conference
Abdullah Mason will defend his WBO lightweight world title
against unbeaten Toledo native Albert Bell in an all-Ohio
clash this Saturday, July 4, at Cleveland State University's
Wolstein Center.
In the co-feature, Bruce Carrington puts his WBC
featherweight world title on the line against Mexico’s Rene
Palacios.
Additionally, U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson takes on
Cristopher Guerrero in a 10-round welterweight clash, while
unbeaten lightweight knockout artist Scooter Davis faces
Carlos Ramos in the eight-round opener.
Mason-Bell headlines TNT Sports and DAZN’s inaugural The
Fight event, a new monthly live boxing series, and will be
broadcast co-exclusively in the U.S. on TNT, truTV and DAZN,
and worldwide on DAZN beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
Before the main broadcast, two bouts will stream live
beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on DAZN, Top Rank and
DAZN’s YouTube channels, and the Top Rank Classics FAST
channel on Roku.
This is what the fighters from the main broadcast said at
Thursday’s press conference:
Abdullah Mason
On fighting alongside two of his brothers in Cleveland…
“I’m excited. I’m super excited. This is something me and my
brothers have been looking forward to doing since we were
amateurs. We fought on the same card a few times as
amateurs, and all of us did it together on the last show my
father threw here in Cleveland. It was huge."
“At that time, we were like, ‘Yo, when we do this on a
professional level, it’s going to be big for Cleveland.’ And
now, it’s big for not only Cleveland, but it’s on TNT, so
this is a national stage, a world stage with DAZN. I’m just
excited to be able to put this show on with two of my
brothers on the card.”
On what he gained from his last fight against Sam Noakes…
“I feel like it was definitely a much-needed experience.
That’s not the type of fight you have all the time in your
career. It was something I felt like I had to do that night.
Every fight is different, and it definitely gave me some
insight into how I’ll approach the rest of my career. So, it
was a much-needed experience and a great fight.”
On finding out about the opponent change…
“It was definitely unexpected. Albert Bell—that’s our guy
from Toledo. But it’s boxing. You’ve got to be prepared for
anything, and I’m prepared to come out on top. Everything
happens for a reason."
“One thing I do want to say is, I’m the youngest world
champion in boxing for a reason, and I’m prepared to show
that when I step into the ring.”
On adjusting to the opponent switch…
“Boxing is offense, defense and IQ, and you’ve got to put it
together and tailor it to the person you’re stepping in the
ring with. So, with the opponent switch, I just have to
tailor it to the person across the ring from me, and that’s
Albert Bell."
Albert Bell
On stepping in to face Mason…
“I mean, it caught me by surprise. It was an ideal opponent
for me. I wasn’t really thinking about fighting Abdullah,
especially not this soon. But everything made sense. I
talked to my pops about it, and it made sense, so I stepped
in to save the card, get my world title opportunity and put
on a show for all of Ohio.”
“I mean, I get turned down by a lot of guys. I’m not saying
that in a cocky way or trying to act like I’m the boogeyman
or anything like that, but a lot of guys say no when my name
comes across their table. I would’ve had the name I was
supposed to have by now if it weren’t for that, but what’s
delayed is not denied. We’re here now, and that’s all that
matters.”
On what he has to do to win…
“I just need to be the best version of myself. I know he's
coming to be the best version of himself. He's prepared, I'm
prepared. We're ready. We're two top fighters, and we're
professionals. We're both Ohioans. We've got history with
each other, and it's gonna be a show for sure.”
Bruce Carrington
On his performance against Carlos Castro…
“The performance went exactly how it was supposed to. We had
a great training camp for that fight, and we executed
everything we wanted to do. We were able to break him down
and get the victory the way we did.
But right now, I’m just looking forward to this Saturday. My
mind is focused on the opponent in front of me, Rene
Palacios. He’s a good fighter. I like to challenge myself.
There were a lot of guys who didn’t accept this fight, but
Rene Palacios took it quickly, and I respect him for that. I
see that he fights with his heart on his sleeve. His style
is challenging, and I’m looking forward to it.”
On what he learned in his last fight…
“There wasn’t really too much that I learned because it was
something that I already seen in myself that others just
haven't seen. I have that championship mentality. I've been
through adversity all of my life. Just coming up from
Brownsville, losing my brother, plenty other things that
I've gone through in life. All the losses that I put on
myself, self-sabotaging and then praying to God and getting
over those things. That's the real journey and the fights in
life. So, me going through all of that, I knew I was gonna
be able to go through something small like that inside the
ring, conquer that, and then become victorious. So it was
nothing to me.”
On what we can expect fight night…
“It’s the Shushu show, man. We’re going to perform, we’re
going to have a great time, and I can’t wait to see y’all.”
Rene Palacios
“I feel happy and excited because the day is coming when I
will fight for a world title. I think I was underestimated
in my last fight. And I’m being underestimated again. But I
come ready and prepared for anything. Mentally, I’m coming
in very strong. I had an impressive, spectacular and perfect
camp. I know July 4 is Independence Day here in the United
States, and I respect that, but that night, Mexico will
win.”
On if there are any errors he can take advantage of in
Carrington…
“Yes, of course. Like with anyone, I think there are things
he can improve and things we’ve seen from him. We’ve seen
his mistakes, but we have to follow the game plan, just like
we did throughout camp. We’re ready.”
Tiger Johnson
On fighting in Cleveland…
“I feel good, man. This is a dream come true. Outside of my
Olympic dream, I always wanted to fight in Cleveland in
front of my friends and family. We’re going to put on a show
on Saturday."
On fighting Guerrero…
“He’s 16-0 for a reason. But at the end of the day, I don’t
believe there’s anyone in my division as talented as me or
with the abilities that I have. So I’m here to prove again
on Saturday why I’m the best at welterweight.”
On how close he feels he is to a world title…
“I feel like I’m real close, but we have to take care of
business on Saturday, and then we’ll worry about that after.
Christopher Guerrero
On fighting in Tiger’s hometown…
“I have to remain calm in this fight. I have to remain
confident and block out all the noise.”
On seeing footage of Tiger…
“I see a great opponent. He is a valiant opponent. We had to
get ready for this in the best way we could. I’ll be ready
Saturday night. I will be victorious.”
Scooter Davis
“I’m a kid from D.C., and I'm in Cleveland, Ohio, with Top
Rank, DAZN and TNT. I'm ready to do my thing.”
“I can do anything in the ring. I can go rounds. I can box,
I can bang, and I can use my ring generalship. I have IQ,
and I listen to my trainers.”
“My team has a great game plan for me, and I’m going to do
what I do. I’m going to be the ‘Shark.’ That’s what I do.”
Carlos Ramos
“I’m very focused, and I'm very well prepared for this
fight. We've had great sparring, and we've had a great camp.
I'm ready to walk away with the victory on July 4. My
experience gives me a great advantage, and I plan to build
on that. I’m ready for anything that comes my way. I’ll be
ready to give a war to get the victory.”
“If everything goes as planned, the knockout will come.”
|
|
|
