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Paul Williams vs. Nobuhiro
Ishida & Tavoris Cloud vs. Gabriel Campillo Teleconference
Highlights
The four fighters who will compete in 12-round bouts on
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on Saturday, Feb. 18, live on
SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) at
American Bank Center Arena in Corpus Christi, Texas, and
their respective promoters took part in a national media
conference call on Wednesday.
In the main event, former world champion, southpaw Paul
Williams (40-2, 27 KOs), of Aiken, S.C., will fight for the
first time since taking a majority decision over Erislandy
Lara last July 9 when he meets 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.
Unbeaten Tavoris Cloud (24-0, 19 KOs), of Tallahassee, Fla.,
will risk his International Boxing Federation (IBF)
175-pound crown for a third time when he faces Gabriel
Campillo (21-3-1, 8 KOs) of Madrid, Spain.
Preliminary bouts will be televised LIVE on SHOWTIME EXTREME
at 8 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Here’s what the principals had to say on Wednesday.
CHRIS DeBLASIO, Vice President, Sports Communications,
SHOWTIME Networks Inc.:
“I want to thank the press for being on the call. Before we
begin I wanted to announce a couple of programming notes. On
behalf of Stephen Espinoza, our new General Manager and
Executive Vice President for SHOWTIME Sports, we are proud
to present this Feb. 18 edition of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING. This will be our first ShoChamp boxing show of what
promises to be a really big year in 2012 for championship
fights on SHOWTIME.
“Cristobal Arreola and Eric Molina will play a special role
for us on this night as it will be the first of a new boxing
series on SHOWTIME EXTREME. Arreola and Molina will fight in
the third of three bouts from that night that will air on
the SHOWTIME EXTREME platform which is going to be hosted by
Barry Tompkins and analyst Steve Farhood. Tompkins, as many
of you may know, is in the International Boxing Hall of Fame
and was inducted in 2006 for his work in the sport,
including calling such legendary bouts as Marvelous Marvin
Hagler against Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson against
Tervor Berbick, among many others.
“The SHOWTIME portion of the night will be featured in both
English and Spanish audio. The SAP telecast will be called
by Alejandro Luna and Raul Marquez as his analyst. The
English telecast will feature Gus Johnson, Al Bernstein,
Antonio Tarver and reporter Jim Gray.”
PAUL WILLIAMS:
“I’m excited to be given this opportunity and to be able to
prove myself again. I love that because it’s just more
motivation and that come Feb. 18 I’m going to put on a
helluva show for my fans and the people who aren’t my fans.”
How long did it take you to get back in the gym after what
happened in the Lara fight?
“Really about two weeks. A fight is a fight and after that
Lara fight I would have liked to have been coming off a big
knockout and got right back to the gym and stuff but for me
it was same old, same old. Like clock-work.”
How did you feel after the judges in the Lara fight had been
suspended by the New Jersey Commission because they felt
like they had done a bad job with the scoring?
“I thought that was bull crap. It’s not like the judges were
off by more than one point. It was one point. Why would they
want to make a big deal about that? I thought that was bull
crap.
“I have no reason to fight (Lara) again. He didn’t get any
fame and glory for winning that fight. All he got is me
having a bad night. That’s about it. If he had gone out and
gotten a title then I would definitely like to fight him
again.”
Has it been your plan to be inactive for so long since your
last fight?
“It’s not us. We always want to fight. It’s finding the
right opponent to say yes. A lot of times we don’t know who
we are going to fight until the last month or the last
couple of weeks.”
Is Ishida as good as advertised?
“(Against Kirkland) that was his night. You can’t fault
anybody for coming in there like he did and he won and he
knocked him out. I have to give him his props for that. He
did what not a lot of guys have been able to do. Coming up
on this fight on the 18 I know he’s in the best shape and
he’s going to try and go out and repeat that again.
“I’m going to show my fans that I’m not done. They will
always try and write you off but I will show them that I’m
not done.
“Every time I get into the ring I try and make a statement.”
NOBUHIRO ISHIDA:
“Thank you for the opportunity to fight this fight. I
appreciate it very much.
“Paul Williams will fight anyone and I thank him for that.
What is your assessment of Paul Williams?
“I think Paul Williams has a good chin and has a lot of
power and is one of the top fighters in the world.
“I didn’t expect to get a knockout against Kirkland. You
never really expect that. I’m not sure about a knockout
against Paul Williams, but I think I will get the win. I’m
going to make it a very long night for Paul Williams.”
TAVORIS CLOUD:
“This fight will be a defense of my IBF title. Come Feb. 18
I will have been in camp some four months so I’m in great
shape and I’m ready and willing to deal with all challenges.
I’m going to come and put on a great show just like I always
do. There ain’t going to be no ducking and dodging. I’m
going to go straight to my opponent. I just hope my opponent
is ready which I believe he is. On Feb. 18 I’ll be there
doing my thing.
“When I fight heard that (Zsolt) Erdei wasn’t going to be
able to fight I thought bull (crap). He didn’t hurt his
hand. He just doesn’t want to fight. He ain’t prepared to
fight and he’s just looking for a way out. At first I was
depressed about it but I got over that. We got another
fight. We got Campillo and he’s stepped up to the plate and
I’m glad he did. I’m just here to do my job and to take out
anyone they put in front of me. I’m not going to over think
the situation. My goal is to get into the ring on the 18th
and do my job and then go home to my wife and kids.
“Campillo has stepped up and taken the fight. SHOWTIME
stepped up and stayed true to their word and they gave us a
new date. I appreciate SHOWTIME for that. I’m not thinking
about the past, I’m thinking about the future. I’m just
going to keep on winning fights.”
Is it important to not only win this fight but look
impressive doing it?
“It’s always important to put a stamp on the fight because
I’m a person who just believes people respect knockouts more
than they respect decisions. Those are the types of fights
the fans like.”
Would you be in favor of a tournament-style format for your
division?
“If any one could get a tournament and get every one
together I would be impressed and happy to be a part of it.
Maybe we do need to do a tournament like a Super Six or
something like that for the light heavyweight division.
“I don’t have a problem fighting southpaws. I’ve got the
best trainer in the world. Just ring the bell. Just ring the
bell.
“I just don’t give a damn. I don’t care how hard they train.
I don’t care who their trainer is. I know I’ve trained
harder than them and my trainer is better than theirs. They
are trying to come and take something that people have tried
to take from me several times. It’s like I’m defending my
house and I’ve got thieves trying to break in. I’ve gotten
pretty good at it. I can’t put it into words what I plan to
do to my opponent. I’m going out there to win and put on a
good show.”
GABRIEL CAMPILLO:
“I feel very lucky to be on a SHOWTIME fight and fighting
against Tavoris Cloud. I’ve been training really hard and
I’m ready for the fight. I’ve been waiting my entire life to
fight a big fight like this so I will be ready.
“I’m preparing everything with my coach and trainer Pablo
Sarmiento to come up with a game plan to win this fight. I’m
going to show on the day of this fight how fast I am and how
hard I have trained for this fight.”
You are coming off a draw in your last fight, but what about
your last loss to Beibut Shumenov? How difficult was it to
come back to move on after that loss when a lot of people
thought you won that fight?
“After that fight I was obviously very disappointed. I just
tried to find the positives and to know that I put on a
pretty good fight for the viewers. After that fight I never
really stopped thinking that I wasn’t the real champion of
the world. Never.
What specifically do you think you have in your favor over
Cloud that will enable you to pull off this victory?
“No. 1 is better physical condition and then more speed and
quickness and then intelligence and smarts.”
DAN GOOSSEN, Williams’ promoter:
“Corpus Christi has always been a great fight town and we
expect a great crowd out there on Feb. 18. Texas has always
been a great state for our sport tand we thank Dicky Cole
and all their commission.
“You look at a fighter like (Miguel) Cotto and It’s really a
shame that two losses in our sport and people are writing
you off. Media, the experts, all these people think that
you’re through. Cotto as we know suffered two losses to
Pacquiao and Margarito and obviously he has shown that he
isn’t through. I have the same impression after the Sergio
Martinez and Lara fights for Paul. I heard the broadcasters
halfway through the Lara fight say that Williams should
retire. But I didn’t see a fighter against Martinez or Lara
who I thought was through. I saw a fighter that’s ready to
go out there and prove himself to these naysayers that
believe he’s still the Punisher. He’s a three-division
fighter the same as Cotto was. He’s got two losses as Cotto
and he will be back as strong as Cotto after the 18th.”
ERIC GOMEZ, Vice President and Matchmaker - Golden Boy
Promotions:
“For years Paul Williams has been considered one of the
greatest pound for pound fighters out there. This is a big
opportunity for Nobuhiro Ishida. He had a great win over
James Kirkland who everyone knows is a hot fighter again and
Ishida came in and knocked him out in one round. He
obviously wants to repeat that again. You know, he wants to
make it here in the U.S., to fight the big names and to win.
He has a tall task in facing Paul Williams and it’s going to
be exciting.
“When Ishida beat Kirkland we went and tried to make any
fight we could but nobody wanted to fight him. A lot of guys
came back with he’s too tall, he’s difficult, he’s awkward,
this and that, but Paul Williams was pretty much the only
guy who stepped up. I want to thank Paul Williams for coming
forward and taking this fight. He’s always been one of the
few fighters who will fight anybody. Paul Williams does what
he preaches and he was the only guy who would take this
fight. We even approached Kirkland about a possible rematch
and he’s our own guy. Paul Williams stepped up and said, ‘I
want to fight Ishida. I don’t care who he is or who he has
beaten.’
“Ishida has never been knocked down before. This is going to
be a great fight.”
DON KING, Cloud’s promoter:
“We are going to have a sensational show on Feb. 18. It’s
going to be a day that will be marked by friend and foe
alike as a battle of the ages. I think Tavoris Cloud is the
best light heavyweight in the world and we intend to prove
that, so we are calling every one out on this night. After
he diminishes this great young fighter, Gabriel Campillo, we
will then move on to greatness. I was talking to Bernard
Hopkins and he was saying how we should start a light
heavyweight tournament and I said by all means, and that he
and Tavoris can open it up.
“We take anyone and everything as quickly as possible, right
after one another. We haven’t been getting the TV dates and
we haven’t been getting the fighters we’ve wanted to fight
because everyone is afraid to face us. So what we will do to
stop that is put up a ground swell of public support and
opinion that Tavoris Cloud is the best in the world, and if
you don’t believe that you better come and disprove that.”
On the prospects of a tournament:
“I think if Tavoris goes in there and does his business
there will be a public demand and public outcry for it. I
think that’s why we are losing and not gaining constituents
because no one wants to challenge anyone and they are
manipulating and maneuvering around for their own selfish
and vested interests. We want to fight each and every one of
them, tournament or otherwise. We want to fight Bernard
Hopkins to (Jean) Pascal or whoever else is out there who
has a title. We will take on whoever they consider is the
best as quickly as we possibly can. A tournament would be a
super attraction as to who is really the best and not just a
verbalization of it.
“I would like to see him fight Bernard Hopkins if he can get
Bernard. That’s the best name out there and the oldest name
out there.”
SAMPSON LEWKOWICZ, Campillo’s Promoter:
“I really appreciate that no one believes in my boxer and I
think that everyone is underestimating my fighter. I will
see you on the 18th and it will not be the first time that
one of my fighters will come out victorious when every one
in the press says that my guy has no shot. Thank you very
much.”
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