Adrien Broner, Gavin Rees, Johnathon Banks and Seth Mitchell Media Conference Call Transcript K e l l y S w a n s o n T h a n k you, everybody, for calling in. We appreciate you participating in this conference call. We are here on the line with a wonderful card that we’re going to be announcing February 16th. It’s really kind of a return of three of the participants that were in Atlantic City on November 17th last year, again, bringing a lot of relief to the residents of Atlantic City because it had just happened after the hurricane. So, the guys did a great job. It was a wonderful fight night and now we’re back again. And we’re going to just start the call with the heavyweights and then move into the lightweights. I’m going to go ahead and introduce Oscar de la Hoya who is going to talk a little bit about the fight and then make the introductions. Oscar. Oscar de la Hoya Yes, I’m here. Thank you very much. We’re extremely, extremely excited to once again return back to Atlantic City where first and foremost we were able to raise a big amount of money that went towards the Boys and Girls Clubs there in Atlantic City. In our last outing with Adrien Broner, with Banks, also with Seth Mitchell, so it was an exciting, exciting event and a very successful event in terms of giving back to Atlantic City. The main event, as you know Adrien Broner vs. Gavin Rees will be at WBC Lightweight World Title fight and we also have the co-main events, which will be a 12 round, NABO and WBC Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship fight, which will feature Johnathon Banks vs. Seth Mitchell. This event is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Caesars Atlantic City, Corona and AT&T. We are very pleased to be televising this event live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. eastern time and the tickets are priced relatively cheap, with ringside being at $200, going down to $150 and you can watch this incredible event for only $25. At this moment I would like to take the opportunity to introduce one of the participants who will be fighting on the co-main event. His record is 25-1 with 19 knockouts. He is from Brandywine, Maryland. He’s a former standout at Michigan State University, where he was a linebacker. And he’s become relatively quickly one of the fighters in the heavyweight division to bring back excitement to the heavyweight division here in the United States. He is no stranger to Atlantic City. People, the fans there love him. He brings an exciting style. He’s a puncher who definitely brings a lot to the table when it comes to excitement. Let me introduce to you Seth Mitchell. Seth Mitchell Thanks, Oscar. Appreciate that. First and foremost I’d like to say Happy New Year to everybody that’s listening on the call. And I want to thank my promotional company, Golden Boy. I want to thank my team, Al Haymon at HBO for just providing me with this opportunity again. I also want to thank Johnathon Banks for accepting the rematch and fighting me again. It was a tough defeat for me. Mentally and physically I was fine after the fight, but just experiencing that first loss it was a tough pill to swallow, but I tell people it’s a gift. I’ve been in the game for, actually, yesterday was six years all together amateur and pro, so I’m learning on the job, but I’m a quick learner and I definitely learned a lot from that fight. And a lot of people said Emanuel Steward had a lot to do with the fight and things of that nature. I don’t really look too much into that because I said if I had gone out there and I had blown Johnathon Banks out in the first round people would have said, well, he had a lot on his plate and things of that nature, so I learned a lot. I’m excited for this fight. I’ve been in training camp basically since December. I’ve been training so I’m very focused for the fight. Again, I want to thank Johnathon for accepting the fight and I’m definitely looking forward to the fight and looking forward to a difference. I tell people I’m fighting at the same time, same venue, same opponent, just a different outcome this time. So, I’m definitely looking forward to putting on another great fight for the fans and I’m excited. De La Hoya Thank you very much, Seth. And just to add, Seth Mitchell is the one who wanted this rematch and it goes to show you the character, it goes to show you the hard work that he’s putting into this rematch. I strongly believe we will see a stronger, faster and, most importantly, wiser Seth Mitchell, one fighter who was on the canvas, got back up and is going to fight even harder, so this is one fight that we’re really, really looking forward to live on HBO Championship Boxing. So, now it is my pleasure to introduce to you, who will introduce Johnathon Banks; he is a managing director of K2 Promotions, to introduce his fighter, Tom Loeffler. Tom Loeffler Thank you, Oscar. We’re excited to be working again with Golden Boy on this fight and with the rematch. As everybody saw in the first fight it was a very exciting heavyweight fight. Seth Mitchell was touted to be, at that time, the fastest rising American heavyweight and he had a lot of exposure on HBO, had tremendous knockouts in his career, so what Johnathon accomplished in that fight with training Wladimir Klitschko the week before and then going through the funeral services of Emanuel Steward and then coming back and having his win on HBO again. So, Seth Mitchell was a tremendous accomplishment. We’re looking forward to the rematch. I’d like to at this point introduce Banks. He’s rated number three right now in the WBC and number five in the WBO, America’s Heavyweight right now, Johnathon Banks. Johnathon Banks Thanks a lot, Tom. First of all, I want to say hello to everybody who is on the call. I look forward to the fight February on HBO. I look forward to the rematch. As always, my hat continuously pulls off to Seth Mitchell because he always shows a lot of character, which is something I personally admire in fighters because a lot of fighters don’t do that. So, I personally just want to take my hat off to him, as always. And I know he’s going to come back stronger. I know he’s going to come back even more prepared than the first time and I’m really looking forward to a good competitive fight. Q Seth, can you just kind of give us an idea of what you learned from the last fight against Johnathon Banks and what you want to do differently this time to get a different outcome? Mitchell We had a great game plan going into the fight, but as I watched the fight tape, even though hands down I won the first round, my balance and my distance were terrible in that fight. And I got a little overzealous, audacious, so just patience and I’m definitely working on my balance and my distance and it’s just a learning process, but I’m a sponge, man, and learning lessons sometimes you’ve got to get knocked down to grow. In my case you’ve got to get knocked down three times. And I’ve got to say it was a tough pill to swallow, but it definitely made me a better fighter and we’ve just been working on my eyes and my balance and my distance, just not being so aggressive naturally. If you know me, when it comes to competing I’m a pit bull; I’m very aggressive, but I’ve just got to learn how to channel that and use it and do it at the right time. Q Seth, I just want to ask you, I heard what you said about it’s a learning experience and the things you said you were working on with the balance and the distance, but I think you know as well as anybody that if you go into a big time, any kind of fight, but especially a big fight on network like HBO with a lot of people watching, fans, media, etc., and you lose a second time in a row, it’s extraordinarily bad for somebody’s career. How much pressure do you feel that this is a, they’re all must wins I guess in this business, but even more than your must win fight? Mitchell Well, absolutely. I like to be where the stakes are high. When I went back in the dressing room after the fight, when I talked to Al Haymon I asked him two questions. I asked him how much did this set me back and when can I get a rematch. So, I just want it to be known that I wanted this rematch. It’s not like I was forced into the rematch. Not taking anything away from Johnathon Banks, but I feel that I can beat Johnathon Banks and that’s just the type of person I am.