Category: Press Conferences

Terence Crawford v Amir Khan – announcement press conference

London and New York have this week been the scene for the meeting of two of the hottest Welterweight properties, in what looks to be one of the most exciting fights in the division. The Boxing Royalty team went down to the Landmark Hotel in London on Tuesday, to get full access to one of 2019’s biggest fights.

It seems disrespectful to put a P4P lister like Terence Crawford on a stage in London, and talk about a fighter like Kell Brook. Sure, the public demand for Kell and Amir to lock horns has been there for years, but Amir’s next one is a fight that transcends the British boxing casual.

Terence Crawford’s achievements at Light-Welterweight are undisputed, literally. In 2017, he became the first man since Kostya Tszyu back in 2003, to hold every single belt at 140lbs. His options are far from limited.

Speaking to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, we asked him what else was out there for Terence.

“There are so many good fighters at Welterweight. The Lithuanian [Egidijus] Kavaliauskas and the Russian [Alexander] Besputin are both unbeaten and would be easy fights to make”

Of course who are we to sit here and deny why any of these guys deserve a shot, but if Terence wants to reign supreme, he needed something a bit bigger.

Errol Spence Jr is all tied up with Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter has a scheduled defence of his WBC title, Danny Garcia is scheduled to fight on the same night as Crawford and Manny Pacquiao is fighting even sooner.

Amir Khan may have seen his best days, and on viewing against Samuel Vargas last time out it was hard to dispute otherwise. But unbeaten at Welterweight, unbeaten against southpaws and still one of boxing’s biggest names globally, the fight made perfect sense.

Despite Amir’s standing amongst boxing fans globally, Crawford was not hesitant in telling the audience that he feels Amir is slightly off of the pace of the division’s top guys. In response to being asked if Amir was top 5, he said this:

“Top 6 maybe, top 7. You know the top guys in the division, I don’t have to tell you”

Amir was in a position of power. He had a choice of two fights which were hardly going to see him go without. Amir told Boxing Royalty why this fight, more than any other, would be an easy one to get up for.

“When you’re fighting the likes of the Vargas’ and Lo Greco’s, it’s very hard to motivate yourself because you know you’re going to go in and win the fight. A fight like this will make you train and work because this is where legends are made”

Amongst the frenzy of the fight being announced, was also the news that this would be the first PPV of Top Rank’s latest deal with ESPN.

Matchroom CEO Frank Smith clarified to us that a deal is yet to be put in place for UK television.

Frank also rubbished the alleged in-house disappointment at not making the domestic clash between Khan and Brook, and said it is still a possibility despite the ending of Khan’s original three-fight deal with Matchroom.

“How disappointed can you be? Look just because we had a certain period on our deal with Amir, it doesn’t mean there is the inability to make the fight”

Moving on to the fight itself, and bookmakers and pundits across the board have Crawford as an overwhelming favourite. Surprised? Of course not, but this doesn’t mean Crawford should sleep on one of boxing’s fastest fighters.

“If you are going to give somebody as technically sound as Crawford trouble, then you need speed. Amir Khan should be a pickpocket he’s that fast” – Spencer Fearon speaking to Boxing Royalty

One thing Khan cannot do is lose concentration, because whilst Crawford may not be the most concussive of punchers, he can really hurt.

Crawford has ability to counter-punch whilst coming forward, and is perhaps the most comfortable looking switch hitter in the current game. He’s arsenal of skills is on par with some of the greats, and even led Bob Arum to draw comparisons with one of the greatest fighters to ever grace the sport.

“Crawford is the best Welterweight since Sugar Ray Leonard. He’d be comparable or maybe even a slight favourite against Sugar Ray Leonard. I really believe he matches up with that ability”

I think Floyd may have something to say about that.

Lastly on Amir Khan, who has switched back to original trainer Virgil Hunter, who was previously forced to step-away from boxing due to a health scare. Now, with Virgil back in his corner, Khan has a rejuvenated sense of confidence, drawing back on their success in their 5 fights together.

“The only fight we lost together was against Canelo. He’s a bigger guy, but even that we were still winning with our skills before I go caught with a big shot“

So, will Amir can unstuck for perhaps one final time, or will this be the time he stamps his foot down on one of boxing’s toughest divisions?

Oscar Bevis

Sergio Garcia v Ted Cheeseman – Press Conference – February 2nd

Ted Cheeseman says he is relishing the opportunity to push himself one step closer to a world title shot when he headlines the O2 Arena against European Champion Sergio Garcia early next month. 

It has been a fairly smooth career for the Bermondsey boy so far, who on his last outing picked up the British title with a win over domestic rival Asinia Byfield.

However, Cheeseman insists that if he manages to dethrone the current European Champion in Spain’s Sergio Garcia, then his domestic rivals will have to watch him move on to bigger things. Speaking to us, he said that the newly crowned WBC Champion Tony Harrison was firmly in his sites for 2019.

“With Sergio being ranked number 3 in the WBC, I can take that  ranking as long as I win, and that’s a very high ranking. You’re  basically there for a world title, and Harrison doesn’t seem like the  strongest champion. I’d be confident of fighting him and doing the business”

His opponent Sergio Garcia may have amassed a record of 28-0-0, but his ring experience should not be too far from that of Cheeseman, who unarguably has the more impressive resume. The 26 year old is managed by former world champion Sergio Martinez, and is one of the flagship stars of his promotional company. Garcia is top 15 ranked with several governing bodies, and therefore will be hoping that world title dreams of his own will not be shattered come February 2nd.

The co-main event is definitely one to watch out for, as Craig Richards and Jake Ball are set to lock horns in a feisty encounter.

The fight was originally planned for October last year, on the Ryder v Siroktin undercard at the Copper Box Arena. Unfortunately, a hand injury for Jake meant that the fight was rescheduled for later in the year. Then, in similar circumstances to the first time, the fight was once again pushed back.

As imagined, Craig was not best pleased, and didn’t fail to highlight so during his time on the mic at the press conference. When speaking to Boxing Royalty, he vented his frustration in how the situation had impacted him.

“I never got my title fight in 2018 and that was frustrating. I trained  throughout the whole of Christmas; on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and over the New Year. That’s time I could have spent with my family”

Many domestic dust-ups that look good on paper fail to deliver, especially when involving two fighters who simply cannot afford to lose. In this instance, perhaps the slight needle that the delay has given this fight will bring the best out of both men.

We asked Jake Ball what he hopes 2019 has in store for him, however he insisted that his focus is nowhere beyond February 2nd.

“At the minute, February 2nd is the only thing on my mind. I’ve trained hard, the whole of last year was basically one big training camp. In 2019, I want to keep very busy and stay active, but let’s get February 2nd out of the way first”

3 training camps without pay is not ideal, so any claims that Jake and his team had over-reacted to his hand injury are unfair. One thing we do know is that once February 2nd comes, these two have a massive score to settle.

Britain had a record number of Commonwealth Champions in 2018,  and Felix Cash is looking to kick off 2019 by adding the same belt to his mantelpiece. 

The middleweight is looking to carry on the second phase of his career after picking up his first professional title at the back-end of last year. His opponent, 11-4-1 Rasheed Abolaji, is something of an unknown quantity. The Nigerian did lose his previous fight, but has experience of fighting on these shores, albeit in a UD loss to the now retired Sam Sheedy.

Cash may be going in as the favourite, but he will be wanting to bring his A-game. Domestically, the middleweight division has some tasty match-ups, and Cash won’t want to be sidelined with a lacklustre performance.

Also on the card is Lawrence Okolie, who’s ‘international’ opponent is  set to be named in the next 48 hours. 

A whirlwind 2018 for Lawrence included winning the British Title at Wembley Stadium, headlining at the O2 Arena and sparing with Lineal Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury in his preparation for Deontay Wilder. If things were to get better in 2019, then Lawrence could end the year as a world champion.

The crusierweight division is set to open up, with Oleksandr Usyk’s jump to heavyweight freeing up four belts in the process. Russian Denis Lebedev has been mentioned by Eddie Hearn, as the two worked closely for his win over Mike Wilson in Monte Carlo.

Present at the press conference and looking to make noise for a future fight was Wadi Camacho, who has been linked with Okolie several times in the past. Speaking to Lawrence, he welcomes all takers, but questions the minerals of Britain’s domestic crusierweights.

“I think in Britain at least, once people realise they might have a  chance to fight me they all of a sudden need one more fight or want 10xthe money. If they don’t want to respect my British title then it is what  it is and they can just keep talking online”

As for February 2nd, Lawrence will be looking to keep his winning record going and provide more excitement than he did last time out.

Finally, we have some exciting young British talent on the card,  featuring one of Britain’s most decorated amateurs. 

Commonwealth Gold Medalist and 11 time Amateur National Champion Charles Frankham has signed his first professional deal with Matchroom. The 19 year old is set to make his debut on the February 2nd card, and is one of five fighters trained by Tony Sims to be fighting on the night.

Commonwealth Games Bronze Medalist John Docherty is another, and he will be looking to extend his record to 3-0. Docherty burst onto the scene with an 8 second stoppage on debut in Newcastle, before fighting in Florence before the turn of the year. At the press conference, he told Boxing Royalty a bit about his opponent, and that despite having two knockouts from two fights, he has more strings to his bow.

“My opponent will be a light-heavyweight because for my previous two fights I’ve looked massive  to my opponents and knocked them out. I’m more than just a big puncher, I proved that in the amateurs and will show that on fight-night”

Heavyweight Fabio Wardley and Scott Fitzgerland make up the rest of the card, although more names could be added in the coming weeks. Wardley was last out 5 weeks ago and highlighted how he is looking to keep active in what are still the novice stages of his career. Scott Fitzgerald will have one eye on the main event as he looks to get a big fight for Spring, but must still complete a job of his own against an unnamed opponent.

On the conclusion of the press conference, we briefly caught up with Eddie Hearn to discuss Garcia-Cheeseman, Richards-Ball, Kell Brook, Khan-Crawford and Whyte-Klitschko.

“Garcia is top 5 with the WBC and top 15 with the IBF. Cheeseman has  just beaten Byfield so this is a massive step up, but I like the way him  and Tony Sims are moving”

“This is a really big fight for Craig and Jake, because the loser is  completely out of the picture. This fight has become high-profile now, everyone watching the press conference today is looking  forward to the fight, so the winner can go on to some big things”

“I think that the Brook fight is probably done now. Kell told me it  would never happen and he was right. As for Amir, I think his deal  with us will be extended. Let’s see how he gets on against Crawford”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Klitschko came back, I think every day he  looks at the division and thinks what a great time it is, because he  didn’t have that at his prime. We welcome that fight but for Dillian the focus is on fighting Anthony Joshua”

The February 2nd show from the O2 will be live on Sky Sports. Tickets are still available.

Oscar Bevis