Angulo and Trainer Virgil Hunter Media Conference Call Transcript
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ALFREDO “EL PERRO” ANGULO AND TRAINER VIRGIL HUNTER MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT Kelly Swanson We’re excited to be joined today by one of the main event contestants in the “TOE TO TOE Canelo vs. Angulo” pay-per-view event Saturday, March 8. On today’s call is Alfredo Angulo, former WBO Interim Junior Middleweight World Champion; also, Virgil Hunter, Alfredo’s trainer and Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Eric Gomez to translate. And of course now to make further introductions and talk a little bit more about the show is Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions. Richard Schaefer This is going to be the first pay-per-view of the year here in the United States, and it is an all action card, it is “TOE TO TOE.” I was looking this morning again at the card, and even the non-televised fights I think are just great match ups and exciting fights. It’s definitely one of those cards where you want to be early at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and see all these fights. I saw Jo Jo Diaz is going to be on there, Avery Gibson at 8-0 is going to be on; Francisco Vargas against Abner Cotto, what a great match up that is; the recent signing of Will Tomlinson from Australia, Junior Lightweight, 21-0, against Jerry Belmontes; and then of course Jorge Linares against Nihito Arakawa. Some of those fights will be on the SHOWTIME preview, so they’ll be available to a large audience as a lead-in to the pay-per-view. And then you get to the SHOWTIME PPV card with Carlos Molina and Jermall Charlo for the IBF Junior Middleweight World Championship; you have Omar Figueroa against Ricardo Alvarez for a WBC Lightweight World Championship, and then you have Leo Santa Cruz against Cristian Mijares for the WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship. I mean, it’s just an unbelievable night of boxing and I think it will be very well received by the pay-per-view audience here in the United States. It is distributed internationally as well, of course, and if the ticket sales are an indication I think this will be a home run. We have over 12,000 tickets sold. Some of the categories are sold out, but there are still tickets available, $600, $400, $200, $150, and I do expect a complete sell out at the MGM Grand. I want to thank our colleagues at MGM. I want to thank our sponsors as well, Corona, AT&T, and Casamigos Tequila. The Carlos Molina-Jermall Charlo fight is promoted in association with Warriors Boxing. The fight of course is going to be distributed live on SHOWTIME PPV beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. Pacific, and it can be heard in Spanish as well using a secondary audio programming. So, without any further ado I’d like to thank Virgil, and I’d like to thank Alfredo Angulo as well, for making themselves available today. I’ve got an update from camp, and I hear Alfredo is looking sensational. This is exactly the kind of fight one gets up for; where you will see without any question the best Alfredo Angulo we have seen. And we know Alfredo Angulo, with a record of 22 wins, 2 losses, and 18 KO’s, when Alfredo is at his best it’s very, very difficult for anyone to beat him. So he not only has heart but he has that iron will to win. The man who gets him in shape to get him ready is the 2011 Boxing Writers of America Trainer of the Year, Virgil Hunter, who is obviously one of the most respected trainers in the world and trains many, many stars, including of course Andre Ward and Amir Khan. So, I know he’s very confident in Alfredo, and I’d like to turn it over now to Virgil to make some opening comments and talk maybe a little bit about training camp. Virgil Hunter I agree with Richard, Alfredo is very much up for this fight and into this fight. That’s not to say he wasn’t in any other bouts that he did, but we understand the magnitude of this opportunity and we intend to make the most of it. I’m very pleased with the camp situation. We’re fortunate to have several of the guys in camp doing mini camps and conditioning, and because of that we’re able to provide Alfredo with a lot of different looks in sparring, which I feel complements the style that he has and he has the opportunity to pick up on various things that the styles offer. Everything’s going great, no injuries, no setbacks, we’re right on schedule, we’ll be on target on everything, and you’re going to have a very determined fighter now, Alfredo Angulo, on March 8, and it’s going to be a fight that I don’t think the world, anybody in the boxing world should want to miss. I think everybody should tune in. R. Schaefer You mentioned the word “opportunity” and I agree with you, I think in boxing a lot of it has to do with opportunity. There are a lot of talented fighters, there are a lot of hungry fighters, but it is about creating these opportunities, and when Alfredo talked to me and really wanted a fight with Canelo, obviously there are a lot of fighters out there who would love to have this fight because Canelo is one of the superstars of the sport. When you are the kind of fighter like Alfredo is, a warrior, always looking for the biggest and best challenges, then that is exactly what he wants. For us here at Golden Boy I like to get these kinds of opportunities and then it is up to Alfredo to have the right motivation, we know he has the talent and we know he has the desire to get up and show on March 8 who is the best 154 pounder. With Alfredo, I got to know him a bit outside of the ring as well. He truly is one of the kindest and nicest people outside of the ring I have ever met, and a stark contrast with the person in the ring, where he is just a vicious warrior and always on the attack, and I think that’s why he has so many fans all around the world. When Angulo fights, people watch, and there’s going to be no exception on March 8. It is a pleasure now for me to introduce to you one of the most exciting fighters, his battle in 2011 with James Kirkland was a candidate for Fight of the Year. He is originally from Mexicali, Baja California, fighting now out of Los Angeles, record of 22-2 and 18 KO’s, Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo. Alfredo Angulo Hi, guys. I really appreciate everybody being here and I really appreciate the opportunity for this conference call. Thank you so much to SHOWTIME and Golden Boy for this opportunity, it’s very exciting to be on this pay-per-view. Thank you so much for this opportunity, I really appreciate it, and I have been working really hard for this fight and will put on a really great fight for the fans. R. Schaefer OK, gracias, Alfredo. We are going to open it now to the media for questions; if you have any questions for Alfredo or for Virgil Hunter, they’re both on the line. Q Richard you talked about opportunity for Alfredo, obviously he’s getting some special treatment and respect being on this call by himself, it’s a great opportunity for him, but can you characterize what happens if he wins and what happens if he loses. R. Schaefer Well, I think you don’t just get the opportunity, you earn the opportunity, and I think Alfredo has earned that in the way he fought and the way he fights. Boxing has really moved away, I think, particularly in the last couple of years or so, where excitement, win or lose, is being more rewarded than it used to be and fighters don’t really have to go back in the line if they lose in an exciting fashion, and sometimes an exciting loss these days is, frankly, more valuable than a boring win. I will give you an example, like a Rigondeaux, and I don’t mean to knock in any way or shape Rigondeaux, I respect him, I admire his talent, he’s one of the best fighters in my opinion, but crowds like to be entertained, and Alfredo has that style. So I think he has earned this through his hard work and dedication to the sport, and of course a win, nobody wants to lose, but you know, Alfredo is must-see TV, and I don’t think anything changes in that regard. Now, if you beat somebody like Canelo and you are in the 154- pound weight class, there are of course many big names and opportunities out there, and I don’t need to tell you who the biggest name is, we all know that, that of course is Floyd Mayweather. So I am not going to go and make any statements or promises and so on now, ‘if you win you’re going to get Floyd or so,’ but there are other big names there whether it’s Miguel Cotto or so on, so the door certainly would open and it would lead to mega-fights.