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Heavyweights getting ready to rumble
www.eastsideboxing.com
15.06.06 - By Vanessa McConnell: June 24, 2006 Combatants Calvin Brock, Timur Ibragimov, Joel Julio and Carlos Quintana will go head to head at the Open-Air Roman Amphitheatre at Caesars Palace in the double header fight card “Undefeated…But Not For Long” promoted by Main Events, Warriors Boxing, Northeast Promotions and Caesars Palace. Calvin Brock (28-0, 22 KOs) will battle Timur Ibragimov (21-0-1, 13 KOs) in a 12-round “main event showdown” and undefeated WBA #3 welterweight Joel Julio (27-0, 24 KOs) will challenge the WBA #2 welterweight contender Carlos Quintana (22-0, 18 KOs) who is also undefeated in a 12-round double-header.
Brock, Timur, Joel got together on a teleconference call to promote the June 24th “Undefeated…But Not For Long” fight card. The doubleheader will be aired on HBO’s Boxing After Dark series at 10pm ET/PT and tickets are priced from $50 to $250 through the Caesars Palace Box Office or Ticketmaster. Brock has been in training camp for five or so weeks now and he is more than ready to face Ibragimov in the ring June 24.
He’s been working hard on his all around strengths like his jabs, offense, defense, balance and speed. “I will be at a lighter weight and you are going to be impressed,” said Brock about his performance in the upcoming fight.
He feels he definitely have a point to prove to the heavyweight boxing world and plans to not only win the double header bout this month, but he also plans to win the attention and respect from boxing fans in order to gain the heavyweight throne. “I will have to prove that by going in there and making a statement each time out,” said Brock during the conference call.
Although Brock has played baseball and football in the past he has never had the desire to become professional in either sport as he has with boxing. “Boxing was always in my heart and I had that desire since I was eight years old,” said Brock. “I like everything about it. The one-on-one competition, preparation of it, the excitement of it, the traveling and the television.”
Brock admits that achieving his goals by going to the Olympics and graduating from college before turning pro in 1996 was the best move for his career. “I may have been in the shadow of Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis and some of the others, and my body was not developed the way it is now. Right now I just put everything in God’s hands and everything has worked out just fine.”
With his confidence, ability, God blessings and influence from home, Brock found security in going to college for a degree and pursuing a boxing career. “Both my mother and father have college degrees.” Brock is no stranger to working hard, he tributes his ability to get it done by “being a workhorse. From sun-up to sun-down.” Right now his only focus is on winning the upcoming fight against Ibragimov. “What I do know about him is he is undefeated and an outside boxer. I plan on getting him out there by landing my shots. I’m good at finding my opponent and landing my shots. Once I land my shots, he’ll be out of there,” said Brock.
Brock is not only basing his future bouts on his opponent but also on the purse. “There is no one in particular that I want. What ever is economically the best,” said Brock after asked what fighter he wants next after Ibragimov. “I am the hottest heavyweight contender in the world, and I think that everyone knows they are going to have to fight me.” Being the only up and coming American heavyweight, Brock sees nothing on the horizon for America’s heavyweights. “I don’t know how is coming up that has the potential to challenge,” said Brock.
Brock also plans to bring his brains in the ring with him to show boxing fans how he “break the style” of his opponent down. “To win the boxing match and win it looking good without getting beat up in the process and taking punches,” are just a few pats on the backs he gave himself during the call. “It’s not always the boxer that beats you, but the style that he has that beats you. No matter what style you have, I am intelligent enough to adapt to that style and make that style weak and my style strong so I win.”
Brock wants boxing fans at the edge of their seat “drooling for me to take the world title holders.” USA heavyweight boxing is not generating a lot of interests right now, according to Carl Moretti. “People are a little tired of James Toney and Rahman has been there for a while,” said Moretti during the conference call. “The more Brock is on HB and seen on TV, you see the knockouts, the more he is gaining public interest and that he is as good as any heavyweight out there, including the champions.”
“People will continue to see Calvin on TV and get to know him a little bit more and get to know his personality and get to know him in the ring,” said Moretti. “He is a pleasing heavyweight to watch, whether he is knocking the guy out or trading punches like in the McCline fight. You just continue to snowball the momentum on June 24th. Calvin has done the right thing and Tom Yankello is doing the right thing and the only fight that matters right now is June 24th. Everything else will take care of itself, on June 25th we can start talking.”
Moretti also admitted that it is difficult to get one of the champions in the ring because “you’ve got networks that are selective in the fights that they want to buy. When you have Calvin Brock in the picture, HBO, Showtime or somebody is going to want to see him fight in a big heavyweight fight and that works in his advantage.” Moretti is sure that the U.S. heavyweight picture will turn around once Brock gets in the ring with Valuev, Klitschko or Lyakhovich. “The fact that one of the best heavyweights in the world comes along and he has a degree in finance and the way he conducts himself is refreshing all the way around. He is extremely marketable and extremely promotable and at the end of the day, he’s got it outside of the ring too.”
The future looks very bright for Brock, he realizes now that he can command big dollars for fights, he doesn’t seem like he will sell himself short of a penny from now on. “He’ll be in a position to look at different fights and see what they are worth. It’s not like we don’t want to fight this guy or that guy…we’ll beat all of them,” boasts Morreti during the call.
Not long ago American heavyweight made noise all around the world and set a tone for heavyweights worldwide. Lately many of the Eastern Bloc fighters from the former Soviet Union have been making the biggest noise in the boxing arenas. “Before I was sure that the best heavyweights came from America,” said Timur Ibragimov during the conference call. He continued, “Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, George Foreman and now the latter champions are coming from the former Soviet Union. I don’t know what has happened, but we show everybody that we can fight too.” He also added that now when anybody asks about the best heavyweight, they never say an American. “Before yes, but no now.”
Ibragimov pays tribute to amateur school for the success of former Soviet fighters. “Maybe this is a point for us, because a lot of American heavyweights do not have amateur experience. When I was amateur, I fought in the Olympics in Atlanta and I fought in the world games in Berlin. I fought in the Asian games and in over 200 amateur bouts winning close to 170 or so.”
Ibragimov admits that he doesn’t know what’s going go happen in the ring on June 24th between Maskaev and Rahman, “but I do know they both prepared very hard for this fight.” As far as his fight with Brock, he knows that Brock is a really good fighter with heart, but “he is really nothing special, he’s like anybody else.” Ibragimov also feels like his chances in the ring against Brock are very good. “If it ends early, it is good. If not, I prepare for twelve rounds.”
There is a big deal going on with American heavyweights. “Some people say they are not hungry right now. You see Rahman and James Toney, they are good fighters, but Soviet fighters, they train like they are in the army. Even if you don’t have a fight, you get up and run. American fighters, they don’t do that, only when it gets close to the fight. I have a lot of friends in Germany and it is like they are living in the army,” said Ibragimov. “In Asia, if the fight is hard, they quit, in America, they keep coming and coming. We prepare for twelve rounds.”
Joel Julio has been training at the Buddy McGirt’s gym in Vero Beach, Florida with Buddy McGirt and Roberto Quesada. “Everything has been going very well,” said Julio. He feels very happy about the fight and the opportunity. “I feel no pressure whatsoever. I have been looking forward to this moment my whole life. I’ve got great condition and I feel great physically and mentally and I’m ready for the fight.” Julio knows that it’s going to be a good fight and that his opponent is going to try to know him out the box right away. “I am a very good counter-puncher and I will be ready for whatever he brings,” said Julio during the conference call.
Julio is realistic and knows that the fight will come down to whoever knows to manage the fight best. “I will be ready for twelve rounds, but I don’t think it will go twelve rounds,” said Julio. Julio promises to show to the world champion and the division when he fights Carlos Quintana on the 24th what the future holds for the division itself. “ I think fans will have a chance to see me. I do finish early but I have a lot of talent. I am quick and I will show them round-by-round and hopefully they will be able to see it.”
We all will have to wait until the 24th to see how it all goes down and who will end up on top. The “Undefeated…But Not For Long” doubleheader fight will be broadcast by HBO as a part of the networks “Boxing After Dark” series beginning at 10pm ET/PT. Main Events, Warriors Boxing, Northeast Promotions and Caesars Palace would like to invite you to watch the event live or on television by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com for more information.
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Originally Posted by miles
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