isa Milner
Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. We are discussing the exciting June 21st PBC on CBS card that will be live from the MGM Grand, part of a huge weekend of boxing in Las Vegas, and to tell you more about that, I’m going to first turn it over to Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions, and he will be introducing the co-main event before we get to our main event later. Leonard, please take it from here. Thank you.
Leonard Ellerbe
Thank you, Lisa. I’d like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. Premier Boxing Champions on CBS returns to network television this Sunday, June the 21st. The telecast will begin at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT, and will be coming to you live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Our event is sponsored by Corona. Our main event features a 10-round super lightweight bout between Rances Barthelemy and Antonio DeMarco. The co-main event features a 10-round welterweight bout between Sammy Vasquez and Wale Omotoso.
The tickets for this event will be promoted by Mayweather Promotions in association with TGB Promotions, and are on sale now. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and MGMGrand.com.
Also featured on this exciting card will be Mayweather Promotions’ own J’Leon Love. He’ll be fighting in a very tough fight against Jason Escalera. Also one of our up-and-coming rising stars, he’s considered a knockout artist, will be Andrew Tabiti, along with a host of other Mayweather Promotions rising stars who will also be featured on the card on this Sunday on CBS Sports.
Next I would like to introduce a very, very exciting young fighter. He’s originally born in Nigeria, but he fights out of Southern California with an excellent trainer named Eric Brown. Wale made his stateside debut in 2011 and has won seven straight fights. He’ll be looking to make it his eighth on June 21st. He comes to us with a 25-1 record with 21 big KOs. Wale, would you like to say a few words?
Wale Omotoso
Yeah, I just want to say thank you for putting me on your show. I’m so happy to be part of this call. I’m looking forward to Sunday. It’s going to be fun. Just to go there, show everything I got and put a show on.
L. Ellerbe
Next up we have the very exciting Sammy Vasquez. He comes to us from Pennsylvania with an 18-0 record with 13 big KOs. Sammy has done two tours of duty in Iraq as a member of the National Guard. He’s been a professional since 2012 and has not lost. Sammy, would you like to say a few words?
Sammy Vasquez
Yeah, thank you very much. I just want to say thank you for allowing me to be a part of the show here. It’s really an honor to be able to fight on CBS, let alone boxing in Vegas at the MGM Grand, where the all-time best fight in the same arena. I’m just honored to be able to fight and be a part of that, and come the 21st, we’re going to be showing hands, and we’re going to be going to war. It’s going to be a great fight, so definitely be tuned in.
Q
What was the experience of fighting at Hard Rock in Vegas like compared to what it’s going to be like to fight at a mega monster venue in Vegas?
S. Vasquez
When I fought before in Vegas at the Hard Rock, the crowd was a little different than what I’m used to, but it was just a privilege to be able to fight in Vegas. I think the difference between fighting at the MGM, is there’s so much history that goes on at the MGM, and so even to be on the card for the fight at the MGM, I think it’s going to be a whole different atmosphere. Hopefully similar to back home when I fought back in Pittsburgh when we had 8,000 people come.
Q
How does it feel for you to be fighting away from home?
S. Vasquez
It feels good. You have to move. If you don’t move, then you stay stagnant. I wanted to bring boxing back to Pittsburgh as much as I can until eventually I got to a point where I needed to be on a bigger venue or where the world watches boxing, which is in Vegas.
It’s an honor for me even fighting at the MGM. I’m just excited for it. It doesn’t change the fact what my game plan is or regardless of whether the fight is back home in Pittsburgh or it’s in Vegas; you still want the same results and the same outcome.
Q
How satisfying was it for you to go 10 rounds in your last fight and then how disappointing was it not to get the knockout that you always crave?
S. Vasquez
I wanted to go 10 rounds in that fight. If you watch the fight, in the eighth round, he was going to quit. I pressed the action more and more in the ninth round, and I knew I could have got him out of there. But I wanted to be smart, I just wanted to box him, and I wanted to go the 10 rounds just to let it be known that I can go 10 rounds and it wouldn’t affect me or slow me down.
Q
What does it mean to you to be fighting on Father’s Day?
S. Vasquez
Obviously my Dad has got to go to work on Father’s Day. I’ve got three daughters, so I’m going to be fighting with all the heart that I have for them. They definitely support me and they’re going to be watching on TV and rooting for Dad.
I might not be there on Father’s Day, but Daddy is going to come home with a nice present.
Q
Wale, I just wanted to know, I know when you fought Jesse Vargas that in your heart you believe you won that fight. That said, have you made any changes in your style to make sure you’re not put back in that position again?
W. Omotoso
When I fought Jesse, it was a close fight, but I believe I won this fight. But that was almost two years ago. I don’t like that I lost to him, but it makes me go to the gym and get more experience and stop showing my body when I’m fighting. So all that, all stuff like that. This time will be a good fight.
Q
Was there any motivation in you taking on a fighter like Sammy Vasquez? Did you feel like this is a fight you needed to get back into the welterweight mix?
W. Omotoso
Yeah because I know his game. I go to the gym every day and just stick to the gym. I need to fight someone who was going to put me out there. This boxing world, it’s kind of crazy. You’ve got to fight again to move on and go from there.
Q
Sammy, is it really important to see you impress on Sunday rather than just get the win?
S. Vasquez
Absolutely. You always want to go into the fight to be exciting and you want to look good against every opponent. Wale is a tough opponent from what his record says. I hear he’s a knockout artist and stuff like that. So I think it’s going to be a great fight.
You know, I just think I bring a little bit different aspect to the table. I’ve got power in both hands, I’m quick, I’m fast, I move a lot, and I throw a bunch of punches, and he’s kind of like the same in a sense.
I’m prepared. I’m ready. This has probably been the best camp that I’ve been in. We’ve been at this for a while now, for this camp, probably about seven weeks. We’re definitely in shape, and I’m just ready to show everybody that tunes in on CBS Sports and the whole world what I’m about.
Q
When you got the call and found out you were fighting on Father’s Day, what were your initial thoughts? Did you think about being away from home? Was there any apprehension of taking the fight or did you know it was going to be full speed ahead the day you got it announced?
S. Vasquez
Not so much apprehension or anything like that. My daughters are very supportive of me boxing, and they like to watch me fight. So it actually motivates me more, and they know that normally after my fights, we do some things as a family, and they know that when Daddy wins that they win, too, because they get maybe a new bike or something like that.
It’s just fun. I’ve just got to let them know that I’m going to be gone for Father’s Day, but Daddy will be back on Monday, and we’ll go to the park and we’ll have fun and go do our thing. We always have like a ritual of always doing something different. That way they know boxing comes with better things.
Q
Wale, talk about this fight a little bit because we asked Sammy about the fight being exciting. How important is it to have an exciting fight that the fans can appreciate?
W. Omotoso
Yeah, you know, boxing in America is a job, so you have to go — it might be night or morning or Sunday, any day they fight, you know, so me, leaving my kids at home for Father’s Day to fight, or any day I go, sometimes I go to get there, I go for a week or go for two weeks, go anywhere. Now, they do know. They’re used to it.
My kids, I have two boys here in America, so they know when I’m gone, I will tell them, Daddy is going to be back on Monday. They’re already prepared, that Daddy is going to go for his fighting, he’s going to come home, and we’re going to have a happy Father’s Day when I get back. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Father’s Day or not. I’m going to go there and show up and show what I got.
Q
Wale, how important is it for you to put on a show for the fans that they can appreciate with a lot of excitement?
W. Omotoso
Sammy is a tough kid. I respect him for his heart. Minus that, he’s an ordinary fighter like me. He doesn’t have two heads. He has two hands, I have two hands. He doesn’t want to lose. I’ve been there. I know what he says, and I’m going to come out with victory.
L. Milner
We also do have Mr. Barthelemy and Mr. DeMarco on the line. I’m going to turn it back over to Leonard to introduce them, but we have Luis DeCubas on to translate for Rances Barthelemy, and Isaac Aldrete, who is Mr. DeMarco’s manager, on to translate for him. Leonard, if you want to introduce those guys, we can keep going.
L. Ellerbe
Next up I’d like to introduce the main event. It’s a 10-round super lightweight bout. First up will be Antonio DeMarco, coming to us with a 31-4 record with 23 KOs. He’s coming from Los Mochis, México, and he owns big victories over John Molina and Jorge Linares. One thing I can say about DeMarco, he’s willing to get in there with anyone. He’s had a very exciting career. He’s a very, very tough fighter.
Next up is the very exciting Rances Barthelemy. He’s coming to us with a 22-0 record with 13 KOs. He’s originally from Cuba. He’s fighting out of Las Vegas. He’s undefeated as a professional. He won the super featherweight world title in July of last year and delivered a big second round TKO against Angino Perez in March. Rances, would you like to say a few words?
R. Barthelemy
Thank you, everybody. Don’t miss Sunday my fight. I’m very excited. Sunday
is going to be an exciting fight, and I’m ready to get in there.
Q
Rances, moving up in weight, how did that feel, and is that why you were able to knock out Perez, that you just feel stronger at a higher weight?
R. Barthelemy
Absolutely. I feel much stronger at 140 pounds. I used to cut a lot of weight to get down all the way to 130 pounds. I feel much stronger. You saw it in my last fight and you’ll see it this fight, and the way I just jumped 135 because I wanted to go straight to where the big fights were. There was no reason for 135 I’m going straight to 140 pounds.
Q
What challenges does DeMarco present?
R. Barthelemy
I respect DeMarco a lot. He’s a fighter who always brings it all to the ring. He’s an exciting guy. You can’t take his merits away; he was a world champion, but with respect to that, he’s never fought anybody like me, and when the bell rings he’s going to find that out. I just feel very confident in my preparation and in my camp and in the game plan I put together with my trainer Ismael Salas, and we look forward to Sunday.
Q
Leonard, I know you don’t have direct ties to the fighters in either fight, but being the promoter of record for the event, I just want to know from your perspective what you envision for the winners.
L. Ellerbe
I see the winners in both fights moving on to bigger and better things. Both fights are very competitive. I expect big things from the winner of each fight, that they’ll move on and be able to put themselves in a position with the top names in the sport.
Q
My question is for Antonio. I just wanted to know if you feel like 140 is the division that you want to compete at, at least for the foreseeable future, or if it’s just the weight you agreed to for the sake of the fight?
Antonio DeMarco
This is a weight class that my body right now is comfortable. I feel great. I feel stronger. This is where I should be now, at 140 pounds. This is my weight.
Q
Also if you can talk about just how Rances compares to some of the opponents you’ve faced over the course of your lengthy career.
A. DeMarco
He’s a fighter that moves a lot, a hard fighter, of course he’s Cuban, so he’s got skills. I’ll come out with a victory though.
Q
What does it means to you to be fighting on Father’s Day?
Antonio DeMarco
First of all, I’m very happy that CBS is showing our fighting here. To fight on Father’s Day is truly a motivation for me, me with my family.
Q
Can you talk about the opportunityfighting in Las Vegas on this huge card against a top tier opponent?
A. DeMarco
It’s a great opportunity to be here. We know he’s a difficult fighter, and it’s a key point in my career to come up with a victory/I feel very comfortable now. I’m very happy with my camp, and it’s time to show my family and my fans that I’m ready.
Q
Could you both talk about this huge opportunity to fight on free network TV?
R. Barthelemy
It’s a huge opportunity. I understand what a big opportunity this is to fight on CBS in front of so many homes, not only in the U.S. but all over the world. I know that I have to put on a great performance and come out victorious, just not to be known here but known internationally and become the next star coming up in boxing, and I know on Sunday on Father’s Day on CBS, this is it. This is the opportunity I’ve always wanted my whole career. So come Sunday, Rances Barthelemy’s name is going to be on the face of boxing as one of the new superstars.
A. DeMarco
It’s a great motivation to me. It’s a great opportunity, and I’m very thankful. I am thankful towards the network and the promoter. This is what we were looking for, to come back here and show my name one more time.
L. Milner
Great, that concludes the call. Leonard, do you want to make any closing comments just about promoting both these huge shows as we head into fight week?
L. Ellerbe
I would just like to thank everyone for joining us on the call today. We have a very exciting card. It’s going to be on CBS, and both fighters are prepared and are looking forward to it on Sunday, on this special Father’s Day. This fight card will also feature J’Leon Love. He’ll be fighting Jason Escalera in a very competitive fight. Also featured is one of our top rising stars and a knockout sensation, Andrew Tabiti, I’d like to thank everyone for joining us today.
