"Yes I knew I would see this day. I only had five weeks to prepare for this fight. If I had more, I would have knocked him out. I am the WBA champion and soon to be undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. John is an average fighter. I was hoping to jab and grab,
then give him an uppercut and give him a case of whiplash. He wasn't in that good of shape and I wasn't in my best shape. All injuries are out of my mind. I buckled down and workedthrough it. I did just what I said I would do. Get rid of him from the heavyweight division. Don King will throw him in the trash can where he belongs. He gave me the opportunity and I did what I had to do. I only had four and a half weeks to prepare for this fight. I do what I do. I didn't expect much from John because he is an average fighter. John Ruiz is stupid. He can't change his style. He only knows how to fight one way. I take my hat off to him for giving me the opportunity. I want Klitschko. I will fight anyone anywhere at anytime. I don't duck anyone."
JOHN RUIZ.
SPECIAL NOTE: John Ruiz announced in his locker room at Madison Square Garden after the fight that he has decided to retire from boxing.
"He's a tough guy to fight. He moves around a lot. I connected a lot. I finished stronger and I won this fight."
LUIS PEREZ.
"I am very happy to have successfully defended my title. I now expect more
fights from Don King. I like fighting in America because it's rewarding to win new fans. I now call out the WBC champion from Japan because I want to unify the titles."
LUIS BOLANO.
"I trained for 90 days for this fight and I was in the best shape of my life. I was 100 per cent certain I would be champion, but I faced a great champion tonight, who hits very hard. I want to come back."
VICENTE MOSQUERA.
(After the bout and before the decision Mosquera went to his knees and
started crying...his father had passed away two years ago and he was
thinking about his father).
"It means a lot to me to win this fight because my father always thought I
would be a world champion. Not only did I achieve my dream tonight, I want
to be a great champion that defends his title many times. Nanthachai was a strong guy, lots of guts and a great champion."
(Mosquera the first Panamanian to win a world title in Madison Square Garden
since Roberto Duran in June 16, 1983 vs. Davey Moore's eighth round TKO WBA light middleweight title).
YODSANAN NANTHACHAI.
(Nanthachai has not lost a fight since 1994 (37 straight).)
"The plan was to knock him out Mosquera, but I got caught and knocked in the
first round and it changed everything. I thought I was going to knock him out after I knocked him down in the third round. I wasn't expecting him to
recover that quickly."
DAVARRYL WILLIAMSON.
"Jefferson could not have been more accurate when he predicted this fight
would end in a knockout. I did just that. I served notice tonight to the heavyweight division that "Touch of Sleep" is here to stay. I know I am ready to do great things. And my performance tonight showed it. Jefferson has fortitude as big as church bells and I wanted to prove that I could stop him."
Unbeaten Irish middleweight John Duddy (9-0, 9 KOs), one of the hottest prospects in boxing, feels genuinely honored to be fighting June 11th at historic Madison Square Garden.
Duddy, now >
The sweet science returns to MSG when the network airs (via tape delay) Ireland’s John Duddy’s brawl against Yory Boy Campas. Duddy vs. Campas, which took place on Friday, >
The celebrated life of the historic boxing ring of Madison Square Garden will officially be retired on Wednesday, September 19th. The legendary ring has hosted more championship bouts than any >
In looking to create a more "radical" atmosphere of music and sound for Saturday's world championship boxing pay-per-view event at Madison Square Garden, promoters Bob Arum and Todd duBoef of >
Evoking memories from the historic days of Madison Square Garden, the name ALI will once again be on the marquee at the “Mecca of Boxing” Saturday night, November 11.
Following >
Fan favorite Ireland's John Duddy (15-0, 13 KO's) will be back in the Big Apple spotlight and looking to roll off his 16th consecutive win when the middleweight battles >
At Madison Square Garden yesterday afternoon, WBO heavyweight titlist Sultan Ibragimov weighed in first, tipping the scales at 219 pounds. "I feel fantastic," said Ibragimov. "The weight is fantastic, perfect!"
IBF >
