LAS VEGAS (Aug. 4, 2015) – In what is expected to be the final fight of his illustrious 19-year career, boxing superstar and pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) will put his undefeated record and WBC and WBA Welterweight World Championships on the line against power-punching, two-time welterweight world champion Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs) Saturday, Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).

Coming off of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao event, in which Mayweather remained undefeated by taking a unanimous decision victory, Mayweather will test himself against a hard-hitting fighter hungry for his chance to score a historic upset. Mayweather could also make history. If triumphant, he would match the record of the late heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, who retired in April 1956 with a record of 49-0. Equaling Marciano’s record, one of the most hallowed in all of sports, would reaffirm Mayweather’s legendary status in the sport and buttress Mayweather’s claim as “The Best Ever.”

Two stellar world championship fights will also be included on the pay-per-view telecast.
Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs) will risk his WBO Junior Lightweight title in a rematch against the boxer he dethroned, four-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs). Their first fight, in April of this year, is considered by many to be a leading candidate for Fight of the Year. In addition, Badou Jack “The Ripper” (19-1-1, 12 KOs) will make the first defense of his WBC Super Middleweight World title against mandatory challenger “Saint” George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs). A fourth fight on the pay-per-view telecast will be announced soon.

Promoted by Mayweather Promotions, the four-fight pay-per-view telecast will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV and is the sixth and final fight of a record-breaking deal between Mayweather and Showtime Networks Inc. SHOWTIME Sports® will support the event with the Sports Emmy® Award-winning series ALL ACCESS.

Ticket pricing and on sale information is forthcoming later this week.

“I’m ready to get back in the ring on September 12 and prove again to the whole world why I’m ‘The Best Ever,'” said Mayweather. “I always bring my A-game and this fight against Andre Berto is no exception. He’s a young, strong fighter who is hungry to take down the best. Forty-eight have tried before and on September 12, I’m going to make it 49.”

“I’m coming to kick Floyd’s ass on September 12,” said Berto. “Best believe that I plan to bring it to Floyd and I’m not concerned about what 48 other fighters have been unable to do. Somebody is getting knocked out and it won’t be me. You don’t want to miss this.”

“‘Money’ Mayweather is back and the whole Mayweather Promotions team is ready to build off of the incredible record-breaking May 2 event,” said CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe. “It’s a pleasure to bring this great fight, plus the incredible undercard of action, to the fans in Las Vegas at MGM Grand. Andre Berto is a powerful fighter who presents a real danger to Floyd. He will have to use all of his skills to slow Berto down.”

“I want to thank Showtime for this opportunity to fight in this great event,” said Martinez. “We are ready and working hard to make sure this title remains in Puerto Rico. Everyone saw the first fight against Orlando Salido and I know that this second bout will also be a war. Once again we have the rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico, which guarantees plenty of action. Training is going very well and we are 100 percent sure that on September 12 it will be another great victory to Puerto Rico.”

“I’m excited for the rematch with Rocky Martinez,” said Salido. “The first fight in Puerto Rico did not go my way. I got off to a slow start and had to fight two fights – one against the referee and one against Rocky Martinez. On September 12, I am going to take matters into my own hands and look to knock out Rocky to get my world title belt back. Mexico and Puerto Rico have had a great rivalry over the years and this September you will see me bring the belt home to Mexico where it belongs.”

“I’m very excited and I’m preparing for the toughest fight of my career against George Groves,” said Jack. “I always go into a fight with an underdog mentality, even as champion. It feels great to be defending in my adopted hometown of Las Vegas. My promoter, Floyd Mayweather, has had my back during the ups and downs of my career and I want to make him and the whole Mayweather Promotions team proud on September 12.”

“I have been fortunate enough to experience some of the greatest feelings the sport can give,” said Groves. “I have challenged for world titles and I have sold out stadiums, but my true childhood dream of winning a world title is yet to be fulfilled. I get that chance on the Las Vegas Strip – the crème de la crème for any fighter on the planet. I cannot wait to achieve my goal and become world champion. Badou Jack isn’t ‘Bad’ enough to halt my dream. His WBC belt is all that is on my mind each and every waking moment. We have studied Jack – we are prepared for his strengths and ready to expose his weaknesses. Vegas is my second home and I can’t wait to come back with a bang.”

“When Showtime Networks and Floyd Mayweather teamed up for the first time in 2013, it was called a record-breaking deal – and that’s exactly what it has been,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports®. “Through five fights of the six-fight term, the results have exceeded our grandest expectations. Floyd has never hesitated to take on the best of the best in his division. In Andre Berto, Floyd has chosen an opponent who always comes to fight and always entertains. Berto’s power and athleticism make him a legitimate threat against any opponent, and against Floyd, we expect Berto to be as aggressive as ever. We’re also assembling an action-packed undercard, highlighted by a rematch of one of the best fights of 2015, Rocky Martinez vs. Orlando Salido.”

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to host what is expected to be Floyd’s final fight in his storied career,” said Richard Sturm, president of Entertainment and Sports for MGM Resorts International. “Floyd is a tremendous champion and we look forward to witnessing this historical event against Andre Berto at MGM Grand.”

One of the most decorated fighters in the history of the sport, Mayweather, of Grand Rapids, Mich., fighting out of Las Vegas, is a 12-time world champion in five weight divisions. With his trademark speed, defensive prowess and ring generalship, Mayweather has now defeated 22 world champions.

In addition to his in-ring accomplishments, Forbes, Fortune and Sports Illustrated have named Mayweather the world’s highest-paid athlete multiple times. His events amass record-breaking numbers; he has headlined four of the six highest-grossing pay-per-view events of all time and holds the all-time record in gross pay-per-view receipts.

Mayweather, the only fighter to have headlined three events that generated more than two million pay-per-view buys each, has garnered numerous “Fighter of the Year” awards over his storied career, including five ESPY Awards and two Boxing Writers Association of America awards.

Long considered as a possible foe for Mayweather, Berto, 31, of Winter Haven, Fla. is a former amateur standout and 2004 Olympian for Haiti. A veteran of eight world title fights, all at 147 pounds, he won the WBC Welterweight World Title in June 2008 and made five successful title defenses over the next two and a half years before losing the title in April 2011. Berto won the IBF Welterweight World Title in September 2011.

The offensive-minded Berto always makes for sensational scraps – his 2012 slugfest with Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero was a Fight of the Year candidate. In his most recent outing, he scored two knockdowns en route to a sixth-round TKO over Josesito Lopez last March 13.

Style-wise, the 5-foot-7 Berto is expected to adopt an aggressive approach with a high punch output, similar to the strategy employed by Marcos “El Chino” Maidana in his first fight against Mayweather. If Mayweather fails to display his trademark speed and defense, Berto could use his power and hand speed to make Mayweather uncomfortable and force him into a brawl.

Martinez, 32, of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, will make the first defense in his third stint as WBO Junior Lightweight World Champion. He won the WBO 130-pound crown the second time with a 12-round split decision over Miguel Beltran Jr. in September 2012. The ultra-tough Martinez made two successful defenses, including a close points’ triumph over previously undefeated Diego Magdaleno, before losing by eighth-round knockout to unbeaten Mikey Garcia in November 2013.

The 5-foot-8 Martinez won his first fight following the Garcia bout and then, in his most recent outing, he survived a desperate late rush to unanimously outpoint Salido across 12 hard-fought, action-packed rounds last April 11.

Billed as “The War,” the slugfest may have exceeded its billing as both fighters expended an inordinate amount of energy over the course of 36 minutes. Utilizing his advantages in height and reach, Martinez sent Salido to the canvas in the third and fifth and won by the scores of 116-109, 115-110 and 114-111. Salido was docked a point in the 11th round for a low blow, but never quit fighting and was in it to the end.

Tough and determined with a straight-forward style that makes for crowd-pleasing affairs, Martinez captured the WBO Title the first time in March 2009 and successfully defended it twice.

Salido, 34, of Sonora, Mexico, is a relentless hard-nosed boxer-puncher who is willing to take on anyone and is no stranger to the boxing rivalry that is Mexico vs. Puerto Rico.

The 5-foot-6 Salido captured the interim WBO Junior Lightweight World Championship in his outing before last in a back-and-forth 11th-round knockout over Thailand’s Terdsak Kokietgym on September 1, 2014. The brutal battle that featured seven knockdowns (Salido went down three times, Kokietgym four) was the 2014 Yahoo! Sports Fight of the Year.

Salido is also a two-time featherweight world champion. He fought some of the best of his generation at 126, including Mikey Garcia, Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez twice, and current WBO 126-pound champion Vasyl Lomachenko who Salido beat three fights ago on a 12-round split decision in March 2014.

Jack, 31, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, who fights out of Mayweather’s Las Vegas gym, captured the WBC 168-pound belt with a 12-round majority decision over defending champion and previously unbeaten Anthony Dirrell last April 24 by the scores of 116-114, 115-113 and 114-114.

A former European amateur standout – he’s the only boxer ever to represent Gambia in any Olympic Games (2008) – the 6-foot-1 Jack turned pro in June 2009 and won his initial 16 bouts before suffering a shocking first-round knockout loss to Derek Edwards in February 2014.

A boxer with good speed and movement, Jack has since won three in a row, including the major victory over Dirrell.

The battled-tested Groves, 27, of Hammersmith, London, England, will get his third crack at a 168-pound world title. The only blemishes on his record came in back-to-back fights against then-IBF/WBA champion and countryman Carl Froch at Wembley Stadium in London. After losing by controversial ninth-round TKO in November 2013, Groves was stopped by his fierce rival in the eighth round of a May 2014 grudge rematch that attracted 80,000 fans.

Groves has rebounded since falling to Froch, winning his last pair. Groves captured the vacant WBC Silver Super Middleweight title and European Championship in Sept. 2014 against Christophe Rebrasse and scored a seventh-round TKO over Dennis Douglin last Nov. 22.

—
About Mayweather vs. Berto:
Mayweather vs. Berto, a 12-round welterweight world championship bout for Mayweather’s WBC and WBA 147-pound titles, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions LLC. The event will take place Saturday, September 12 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be televised by SHOWTIME PPV. The undercard features a WBO Junior Lightweight World Championship fight, which is a rematch between Roman Martinez and Orlando Salido. Also featured on the PPV telecast will be a WBC Super Middleweight title bout between Badou Jack and George Groves, which is promoted in association with Team Sauerland.

For more information visit www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.SHO.com/Sports andwww.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @AndreBerto, @BadouJack, @StGeorgeGroves, @sirisalido, @mayweatherpromo, @SHOSports and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/FloydMayweather,www.Facebook.com/TheRealAndreBerto,www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions and www.facebook.com/SHOsports.

About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

About the MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to annual events including Academy of Country Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Championship and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game hosted by the Los Angeles Kings.

Andre Berto scored a 6th round stoppage over Josesito Lopez in a scheduled 12-round Welterweight bout.

Berto scored a knockdown in round six from a hard right hand. Bert finished the fight a moment later when he jumped on Lopez and landed a flurry that sent Lopez down for a second time and the fight was immediately stopped at 1:03 of round six. Lopez boxed well and was ahead on all three judges scorecards.

Berto, 146 lbs of Winter Haven, FL is 30-3. Lopez, 146 1/4 lbs of Riverside, CA is 33-7.

Chris Arreola won an entertaining 8-round unanimous decision in a Heavyweight bout over Curtis Harper

Arreola dropped Harper in round one with a hard three-punch combo.

Arreola, 262.3 lbs won by scores of 78-73, 77-74 and 76-75 and is now 36-4. Harper, 265.2 lbs of Jacksonville, FLA is 12-4.

Shawn Porter stopped late replacement Erick Bone in round five of a scheduled 10-round Welterweight bout.

It was a tough and close fight for the first four rounds until Porter blooded the nose of Bone and preceded to drop Bone three times in round five. The final blow coming from a left hook that sent Bone down for referee Jack Reiss’s 10 count at 2:30 of round five.

Porter, 146.7 lbs of Akron, OH is 25-1-1 with 16 knockouts. Bone, 149 lbs of Ecuador is 16-2.

ORANGE, Calif. (Mar. 12, 2015) – Training camps have ended, the boxers have weighed in, so all that’s left to do for Josesito “Riverside Rocky” Lopez and Andre “The Beast” Berto is to meet inside the ring for their highly anticipated 12-round fight Friday night from the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.

Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs), who will have the home field advantage as his hometown of Riverside is about 30 minutes from the arena, weighed in at 146.3 lbs., while Berto (29-3, 22 KOs) measured 146 even.

The 12-round fight is televised live on Spike TV beginning at 6 P.M. PT / 9 P.M. ET (Premier Boxing Champions).

Lopez is co-promoted by Goossen Promotions and Thompson Boxing Promotions.

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, find us on Google+ and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.

ORANGE, Calif. (Mar. 11, 2015) – In what is shaping up as one of the most intriguing match-ups on this years boxing calendar, Josesito “Riverside Rocky” Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs) looks to get back to world title contention against former world champion Andre “The Beast” Berto (29-3, 22 KOs) this Friday, March 13, from the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif.

The 12-round fight is televised live on Spike TV beginning at 6 P.M. PT / 9 P.M. ET (Premier Boxing Champions).

Lopez, who is co-promoted by Goossen Promotions and Thompson Boxing Promotions, held his training camp in high elevation at Summit Gym in Big Bear, Calif.

After suffering a tough, sixth round knockout loss to Marcos Maidana nearly two years ago – a fight in which he was winning on two scorecards – Lopez has since turned his fortunes around by winning three straight. A win against Berto puts him in line for bigger fights.

The Thompson Boxing team caught up with the Southern California native at a recent training session. Below is a transcript from our interview.

Talk about the importance of this fight.

“I’m preparing for the most important fight of my career. A win on Friday basically controls the direction of where I need to go. A lot of opportunities opened up after my knock out win against Victor Ortiz. Similar things may happen with a win on Friday. It’s now or never.”

What do you expect from Andre Berto?

Andre Berto is a warrior. He’s a former world champ. He’s been in some tough fights against excellent boxers. He’s fast, strong and very intelligent too. Simply put, I expect the toughest fight of my life. But the biggest difference is not what he can do, but what I’m going to do to him.”

Why did you decide to move your training camp to Big Bear?

This is the biggest fight of my career and I needed the best training experience for this fight. I’ve trained here before so I understand the level of commitment required to succeed in high elevation training. It does a number on you mentally and physically. In my opinion, there’s no better spot to prepare for a big fight.

What kind support have you received from your fans?

“I have some of the most supportive, most loyal fans in boxing. They’re incredible. I’m super appreciative for all the support they’ve given me through the years. Even when I was coming up and nobody knew about me, they were always cheering me on. They do a great job of coming to my fights. I expect a packed house on Friday night. When the going gets tough, and it will, they’ll give me that extra edge to push forward.”

What kind of fight can fans expect?

“Like every fight, they’re going to see me give everything I have. They’re going to see the best performance out of me.”

How do you feel just a couple of days away from fight night?

“I’m definitely anxious to get inside the ring. We were in Big Bear for seven weeks, and the time spent there was all about boxing. I let my beard and hair grow. I closed myself off from a lot of distractions. I took great care in preparing for this fight. I’m physically and mentally ready to win.”

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, find us on Google+ and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.

Trainer Henry Ramirez keeps a close eye on Lopez’s training

Lopez (33-6, 19 KOs) will be fighting near his hometown of Riverside, Calif.

All eyes will be on the “Riverside Rocky” Friday, March 13, Spike TV

Berto vs. Lopez is televised live on Spike TV 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET

Lopez moved his training camp to Big Bear, Calif. to prepare for Berto

A world title shot is still within reach for Lopez

Josesito Lopez: “Hard work, that’s what we’re all about.”

Berto vs. Lopez Friday, March 13, Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif.

LONDON (4 March) – BoxNation will air a host of top fights from the Premier Boxing Champions series, starting this weekend with rising superstars Keith Thurman and Adrien Broner.

‘The Channel of Champions’ has three great fights cards as part of the deal, with the highly-touted Thurman to get the ball rolling when he takes on the unrelenting Robert Guerrero this Saturday night, in a glittering lineup which also sees the return of Mexican ace Abner Mares.

The former world champion will go toe-to-toe with the tricky Arturo Santos Reyes, before the flash and often brash Broner looks to get his year off to a bang when he challenges the tough John Molina in a mouth-watering showdown, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

In addition to this, on March 13th, BoxNation will bring subscribers an exciting night’s action when welterweights Andre Berto and Josesito Lopez share the ring at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

All-action 147-pounder Shawn Porter will also be out that night when he faces the dangerous and hard-hitting Roberto Garcia, with heavyweight hitman Chris Arreola also set to appear.

The world’s best boxing channel will also air the thrilling April 11th card which sees Irish star Andy Lee make the first defence of his WBO middleweight world title when he battles the undefeated and former champion Peter Quillin.

There will be high UK interest in that fight with the victor eyeing a potential clash with WBO mandatory challenger Billy Joe Saunders later this year.

Furthermore, the April 11th bill at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn will witness one of the most eagerly anticipated fight’s so far this year when light-welterweight kingpin Danny Garcia goes up against IBF champion Lamont Peterson.

The card will also see cancer survivor and miracle man Danny Jacobs make his first title defence following his win over Jarrod Fletcher last August, when he lays it all on the line against 31-year-old Caleb Truax.

BoxNation’s multi-fight agreement with Premier Boxing Champions demonstrates the channel’s continued commitment to delivering the very best fights to UK boxing fans.

Jim McMunn, Managing Director of BoxNation, said: “BoxNation continuously looks to deliver the very best fights out there for our viewers. This agreement once again demonstrates our commitment to boxing and our aim of airing the very best shows, both domestically and internationally, to our loyal subscribers. These are three thrilling fight cards and we’re delighted UK fans will be able to watch them live and exclusive on BoxNation.”

To subscribe to BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 546 and TalkTalk 525) for only £12 a month visit boxnation.com.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.525), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.

Adrien Broner scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Emanuel Taylor at the 1st Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohioo.

It was a great back and forth fight with both guys landing heavy shots. Taylor did well when he roughed Broner up on the ropes while Broner boxed well in the center.

Broner was cut around the right eye in round 11 from a accidental headbutt. Broner sealed the fight with a knockdown in the final frame from a booming left hook.

Broner, 140 lbs of Cincinnati, OH won by scores of 116-111 twice and 115-112 and is now 29-1-1. Taylor, 138 lbs of Edgewood, MD is now 18-3.

Former world champion Lucas Matthysse scored a controversial 2nd round stoppage over previously undefeated Riberto Ortiz in a scheduled 10-round Super Lightweight bout.

Matthysse landed a left to the body that sent Ortiz down to a knee. Ortiz got to his feet at referee Benji Esteves’s nine count but he stopped the fight at 2:45 of round two.

Matthysse, 139 1/2 lbs of Trelew, ARG is now 36-3-1 with 34 knockouts. Ortiz, 139 1/2 lbs of Terreon, MEX is now 31-1-1.

Andre Berto scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Steve Upsher in a Welterweight bout.

Berto, who was coming off a shoulder operation looked solid in the contest.

Berto, 148 1/2 lbs of Winter Haven, FL won by scores of 99-91 and is now 29-3. Upsher, 145 1/2 lbs of Pittsburgh, PA is now 24-4-1-1.

Michael Perez scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Jared Robinson in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

Perez wobbled Robinson at the end of round one with a left. He dropped Robinson at the beginning of the next round with a jab. Perez had a swelling at the bottom of his left eye in the second.

He stunned Robinson with a body shot and right hand in round seven.

Perez out landed Robinson 237 to 131

Perez, 140 lbs of Newark, NJ won by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice and is now 21-1-2. Robinson, 140 lbs of Charlotte, NC is now 15-2.

Three-time U.S. Olympian Rau’shee Warren scored a dominating 10-round unanimous decision over Jose Luis Araiza in a Bantamweight bout.

Warren dominated the bout and buckled Araiza a few times. He sent Araiza to the canvas in round nine with a hard double left.

Warren, 117 1/2 lbs of Cincinnati, OH won by scores of 100-89 on all cards and is now 12-0. Araiza, 120 lbs of Tijuana, MX is now 34-9-1.

Warren out landed Araiza 222 to 98.

Adrien Broner 140 – Emanuel Taylor 138 1/2
Lucas Matthysse 139 – Roberto Ortiz 139 1/2
Andre Berto 148 1/2 – Steve Upsher 145 1/2

CINCINNATI (Aug. 29, 2014) -Former welterweight world champion Andre Berto will open the
three-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast on Saturday, Sept. 6 from U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio against upset-minded veteran Steve Upsher of Philadelphia in a 10-round welterweight bout, live on SHOWTIME immediately following
“ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” Episode 2 premiere at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

In the main event, former three-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner fights in front of his hometown fans against Emanuel “Tranzformer” Taylor, and in the co-main event, Argentine knockout artist Lucas “La Maquina” Matthysse battles undefeated Roberto Ortiz.

Before the trio of exciting fights gets underway Newark’s pride Michael “The Artist” Perez will battle for the WBA Fedelatin Super Lightweight Title against South Carolina’s Jared “The Quiet Storm” Robinson in a 10-round bout on SHOWTIME EXTREME® (live at 7 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). In the opening bout, Rau’shee Wareen will face Jose Luis Araiza in a 10-round bantamweight match.

On the non-televised portion of the card, three-time United States Olympian Terrell Gausha will face an opponent to be named in an middleweight bout.

Two-time welterweight world champion and former Haitian Olympian Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KOs) is consistently one of boxing’s most exciting fighters. Berto, coming off a year-long layoff and recouping from shoulder surgery, says he intends to remind fight fans of just that. Fully healed and coming off his thrilling 2013 bout with Jesus Soto Karass, the Winter Haven, Fla., native will celebrate his 31st birthday a day early when he performs for fight fans in Cincinnati against Upsher.

Philadelphia’s Steve Upsher (24-3-1, 6 KOs) has been a respected member of the east coast fight community for years and is known for his ring knowledge, boxing skill and heart. A pro since 2003, the 29-year-old came up the hard way on the Philly fight circuit, and while he’s looking to bounce back from losses to Eddie Gomez and Luis Collazo, he has all the tools to give Berto a rough night and spoil his comeback attempt.

The 24-year-old Michael Perez (20-1-2, 10 KOs) is on an impressive hot streak, as he’s gone 5-0-1 in his last six fights, a stretch that includes back-to-back wins over Miguel Zuniga and Jorge Romero in his most recent bouts. The 31-year-old Jared Robinson (15-1, 7 KOs) has been patient in his rise through the division, and this Sept. 6 bout is the one he’s been waiting for, as he hopes to shine on national television.

Rau’shee Warren (11-0, 3 KOs) has been a steady performer throughout his pro career, and on Sept. 6 he gets the opportunity to fight in his hometown of Cincinnati for the first time as a pro when he takes on Tecate Baja California, Mexico’s Jose Luis “Tapitas” Araiza (34-8-1, 25 KOs) in a 10-round bantamweight matchup. The 27-year-old Warren has dazzled against his opponents, barely losing a round in the process. The veteran Araiza, who has won two straight, will be Warren’s most experienced opponent to date.

Two of Warren’s 2012 Olympic teammates, Cleveland middleweight Terrell Gausha (11-0, 6 KOs) and New York lightweight Jamel Herring (8-0, 5 KOs), will also be back in action at the U.S. Bank Arena when they face opponents to be announced in eight-round bouts.

In other non-televised bouts, making the short trip from Toledo will be lightweight up-and-comer Robert Easter Jr. (10-0, 8 KOs), a hard-hitting talent who will take on a foe to be determined in a 10-round bout. Other Ohio favorites in action will be lightweight Raynell Williams (4-0, 3 KOs) of Cleveland and super welterweight Jamontay Clark (2-0, 2 KOs) of Cincinnati. Williams will face an opponent to be determined and Clark faces Bryan, Ohio’s Matthew Montalvo (0-0-1). Both bouts are scheduled for four rounds, as is a lightweight matchup between Washington, D.C.’s Lamont Roach (2-0, 1 KO) and Las Vegas’ Rocco Espinoza (4-8).

ABOUT “BRONER VS. TAYLOR”
Broner vs. Taylor, a 12-round super lightweight bout, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6 and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and R&R Promotions in association with Star Boxing. In the co-main event, Lucas Matthysse faces Roberto Ortiz in a 10-round super lightweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arano Boxing and Pepe Gomez’s Cancun Boxing. In the televised opener, former welterweight world champion Andre Berto will face Philadelphia’s Steve Upsher in a 10-round welterweight match-up. The event is sponsored by Corona and AT&T and will take place at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio live on SHOWTIME immediately following “ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” Episode 2 premiere at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT. The event will also be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts in SHOWTIME EXTREME will air at 7 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast.

TICKETS: Tickets, priced at $128, $78, $53 and $28, are on sale now and are available
by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets will also be available at the U.S. Bank Arena Box Office.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.sports.sho.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @AdrienBroner ,@RobertoMassa24,@USBankArena and @SHOSports follow the conversation using #BronerTaylor, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world champions Adrien Broner, Lucas Matthysse and Andre Berto will appear on a fight card in Broner’s hometown of Cincinnati on September 6 on Showtime.

Broner will face Emanuel Taylor in a scheduled 12-round bout, Golden Boy Promotions said on Thursday. Matthysse will appear in the 10-round co-feature against Roberto Ortiz. Berto will face an opponent to be named.

“Adrien Broner is a top-level talent who always elevates his game on the biggest stages, and there is never a bigger stage than in front of your hometown fans,” Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya said. “But with speed, power and a golden opportunity, Emmanuel Taylor is a tough test. This is a life-changing fight for him, which makes him particularly dangerous.”

“It’s always good to fight at home. It is overdue and I will never disappoint my Cincinnati fans. I’ll make sure to put on a good show for them,” said Broner, who last fought at home in July 2012, also at the U.S. Bank Arena, when he failed to make weight for a junior lightweight title defense and knocked out Vicente Escobedo in a nontitle match. “Taylor is a young, talented fighter, but he’s not ready to solve this ‘Problem’ yet.”

“This is the biggest fight of my career, and I won’t let it get away from me,” Taylor said. “All of those hours in the gym were for a moment like this, and I can’t wait to show the world what I can do in the ring.”

“The title is my only goal, and to get there, I have to beat Ortiz,” Matthysse said. “I’ve heard that he’s a tough fighter, but I’m not worried about him. I just have to make sure I’m ready.

“I respect Lucas Matthysse and know how dangerous he is, but this is my time to make a statement, and I will on Sept. 6,” Ortiz said. “I see holes in his game and I think I’m the better all-around fighter. The world will see that very soon.”

Added De La Hoya, “In the co-main event, one of the hardest punchers in the game, Lucas Matthysse, will also have to dig deep to win when he fights Roberto Ortiz. The winner of this fight should be right in line for a title shot in 2015.”

“It’s been a long time and I can’t wait to get back in the ring on Sept. 6,” Berto said. “I feel stronger and better than ever, and I’m ready to make another run at the title. But first I have business to take care of in Cincinnati, and I’ll be looking for the knockout.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, formwer Welterweight champion Andre erto had successful shoulder surgery.

“I am happy to have the surgery behind me and hear that everything went well,” Berto said in a statement. “I’m going to rest up and focus all my energy on my recovery so that I can return to the ring full force in 2014.”

Former welterweight world champion Andre Berto will have Shoulder surgery on Wednesday according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Surgery is obviously never something that anyone wants to deal with, but adversity is nothing new to me,” Berto said in a statement on Monday. “I know that Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache is one of the best in the business, so I am in good hands. I’m going to tackle this latest obstacle head on and I plan to be back in the ring full force in 2014.

“I really appreciate all the support that my fans have given me over the last few weeks and promise that you are going to see much more from me in the future.”

“I threw a punch in the second round, and when Soto Karass blocked it, my right upper arm connected with his and it felt like fire shot through my arm,” Berto said. “I had no power at all in that right arm and couldn’t hold it up to defend myself. I kept trying to use it, but midway through the fight, I realized I couldn’t and just tried to work my left hand and throw jabs.

“I threw it [instinctively] in the heat of the battle later in the fight and yelled from the pain shooting through my arm. I could see that Soto Karass and the referee heard me, and the referee and doctor kept coming to the corner between rounds to check on the injury, but there was no way I was going to quit.”

SAN ANTONIO – I like to think I write quickly, finding words within the readymade template, lede to nut to quote to body, that governs ringside reporting and probably has for centuries. Yet Saturday, as I groped to describe what happened during Andre Berto versus Jesus Soto-Karass, as fine a main event as our sport may see for the rest of 2013, I was entirely alone. Before I was within 300 words of filing, there was nary a soul in AT&T Center’s other 10 rows of particleboard tables.

Turns out, half the writers left after the co-main, and those who stayed did not have editors that wanted more than a line about the walk-out match, and raced back to the media center to reserve a seat at the press conference. Such is the drawing power of Weslaco’s Omar Figueroa in South Texas, and such was the match he made with an indomitable Japanese lightweight named Nihito Arakawa.

Figueroa is every good thing South Texans say about him, but there, too, was Arakawa, all through their 36 minutes of mutual belligerence, cussedly stomping forward, making the volume puncher’s compact with Figueroa who was prepared as possible for a meaningful and violent confrontation but necessarily unprepared for the grotesquerie of Arakawa’s bottomless capacity for absorption, as if punches were an ocean and he was set on the task of patiently mopping the beach and emptying its seawater in a bucket.

That was exactly how futile Arakawa’s task appeared to three judges – a Californian, a Mexican and a Nevadan, no Texans, who scored an intensely fine match 119-107, 118-108, 118-108, grading Arakawa’s performance somewhere between Short Notice and Heavybag – yet Arakawa did not relent. There is a momentum to prizefighting, of course, but it hasn’t nearly the fluidity professional scorekeepers observe at ringside, where every fighter who won the previous round begins the next with a symmetrical lead, and keeps that till his opponent overcomes a judge’s mental inertia with force great enough to convince him something materially different has occurred. Chuck Giampa, deservedly famous for taking Showtime viewers inside the mind of a judge, instructs aficionados, elsewhere and here: There is not an iota of infallibility to be found at ringside, so do not look for it or rage at its unjust absence.

Arakawa’s secret to absorbing punishment is a kin to his having informidable punching power; he does not commit fully to any punch because he’d rather remain within himself, in full self-possession, working to a rhythmic tempo he alone hears, keeping his southpaw hands and feet in motion, right hook and shoulder and left cross and shoulder and left to the body and right to the head, shoulder, shoulder, backwards step, overhand left, backwards stutter, right foot shuffle, shoulder, left hook . . .

Arakawa’s mental resilience is not a matter of making adjustments to an opponent in mid-fight but one of preparation and self-knowledge, of reducing his required thoughts in combat to a simple yes/no question – “Am I comfortable?” – that he can answer even when partially or fully out of his mind. It is not the simpleton’s approach for which it is mistaken, always, by those who’ve not employed it, either for having natural gifts of power or reflex too great to sacrifice, or for having never worn gloves; it is the choice of our sport’s most introspective and intellectually hardy practitioners, an intelligent choice that asks, in all humility: What am I not as good at as another, and how can I reduce his advantages?

Arakawa, blasted repeatedly in the opening six minutes by a South Texas lad with 17 knockouts in 22 fights, a lad yet to meet man or beast capable of absorbing more than a baker’s dozen of his best strikes, a lad, coincidence would smilingly note, who shares a trainer with Timothy Bradley, boxing’s finest practitioner of the very style Arakawa applies pretty damn well himself, a lad who said two Fridays before he would have to strip naked in the breathless heat and pitiless light of a South Texas supermarket parking lot at two o’clock on a July afternoon that if the time came for his mind to blank in an orgy of attrition, like Bradley’s did in March, he prayed not to solicit the white feather, wilting before another man’s greater desire – blasted repeatedly by that lad, Arakawa relaxed, found his comfortable place, and forced his will on Figueroa’s fighting spirit, and Figueroa did not wilt.

But he did tire. As he took the scale Friday afternoon, he looked somewhat drawn, in the tradition of longarmed Mexican prizefighters who bring severity to other men at a weight no fewer than 25 pounds below a physique nature would not begrudge them, and then he missed by a quarter pound, 135 1/4, and had to disrobe entirely. It was an interesting spectacle of modesty and awareness, that. Figueroa, who emphasizes his desire to be a role model to kids in the Rio Grande Valley where Weslaco sits, requested a barricade of blinding towels, a square perimeter of white terrycloth, and then took to the scale, package in hand, cupping his manhood in his right fist, and made weight – disproving one physics-defying myth of Mexican prizefighters: Raising your arms overhead and inhaling will begin a negotiation with gravity that reduces slightly your weight. This curious show of modesty brought a tiny, unexpected touch of further likability that explained why Figueroa was, by far, AT&T Center’s most popular prizefighter.

And that was before Figueroa and Arakawa made a historic show of valor and sportsmanship, elevating one another’s public standing, making even wizened fight scribes grateful.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

In round one, Soto Karass rocked Berto with a hard left hook that stunned him on the ropes.. Soto Karas continued to come forward. Berto looked goo offensively, especially with the uppercut but he looked shake defensively and at times it looked as if his legs would betray him. Berto looked like he hurt his shoulder in round four and took him a few rounds to try shake out the injury and gain use of that arm.

The two continued to their high contact bout. Berto started to get the upper hand and dropped Soto Karass with a shot the body in round eleven. Sensing the bout was very close, Soto Karass did not want the judges to figure in the fight and dropped Berto with a short left hook in round twelve. When Berto got to his feet, he stumbled and referee Jon Schorle stopped the bout at 48 seconds of the final round.

Soto Karass, 147 of North Hollywood, CA is now 28-8-3 with 18 knockouts. Berto, 147 lbs of Winter Haven, FL is now 28-3.

“My corner just told me to keep on working and I didn’t think at any moment about his shoulder,” Soto Karass said. “I’m dedicated 100 percent to boxing. I stopped clowning around. My corner told me to come out and start boxing, but I said, ‘no, I’m going to knock him down.'”

“I think I tore it out of the socket early, maybe the fourth round,” Berto said. “That’s why I kept using my left. I couldn’t really use it at all. At the end of the day I show that warrior spirit every time. I don’t care if I mess up my shoulder. I’m going to put it all on the line.”

Omar Figueroa scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Nihito Arakawa in one of the best fights of 2013 in a bout where Figueroa captured the WBC Interim Lightweight title.

The two went at it from the opening bell. Figueroa rocked Arakawa in the opening frame that buckled the visitor. In round two, a huge flurry caused Arakawa’s knee to touch the ground. When it seemed like Arakawa could be done, he came back and landed some good body punches. Arakawa continued to connect in round three but it did not have much affect on Figueroa. The two continued to land at a vicious rate with Arakawa landing a huge left on the ropes but Figueroa came back to land shots to the body and head. In round four, Figueroa was cut on the nose from an accidental headbutt. Arakawa continued to land in between taking hard shots. Figueroa came back later in the round with a big right and left hook. In round five, Figueroa rocked Arakawa with a big right hand and he followed that up with a jard combination/ Arakawa just kept on coming as if he had nothing to lose. the two continues to trad hellacious shots until Figueroa landed a huge body shot that had Arakawa reeling all over the roing and referee Laurence Cole ruled a knock down.

The seond half of the fight was more of the same as the the fighters would not give an inch with Figueroa getting the better of each frame. As great as this war was, you never got the sense the at Arakawa could or would hurt Figueroa but that does not take away from this fight of the year candidate.

Figueroa, 135 lbs of Weslaco, TX won bu scores of 119-107, 118-108 and 118-108 and is now 22-0-1. Arakawa, 135 lbs of Tokyo, JP is now 24-3-1

“It’s what I’ve looked forward to since the beginning,” said Figueroa, who complained to his corner that he injured both his hands in the fight. “My respect to this guy. He can take a beating. We both took a beating. The only things that didn’t hold up were my hands.”

“The only thing I can say is Figueroa was very strong,” Arakawa said. “I was thinking about all the people that supported me up to this point to get to this level and that’s what kept me going.

Keith Thurman won the WBA Interim Welterweight title with a thrilling tenth round stoppage over Diego Chaves.

It was an exciting fight with both guys throwing and landing hard shots to the head and body. Thurman’s impact ful shots caused blood from the nose of Chaves as early as round six. Chaves contiued to fight string but was caught with a hard left hook to the body in round nine that sent him to the canvas. Thurman ended things in the tenth after a double left hook was followed by a huge right that sent Chaves to the canvas and the fight was stopped at :28 of round ten.

Thurman, 146 lbs of Clearwater, FL is now 21-0 with 19 knockouts. Chaves, 146 1/2 lbs of Argentina is now 22-1.

Thurman was awarded a $10,000 bonus by Golden Boy Promotions for the knockout of the night.

“I came in this fight to have multiple game plans,” Thurman said. “I knew he would be my toughest opponent. I wanted to punch him, I wanted to box him and later on, I was able to hit him with that beautiful body shot.

“You save the tools that you want to use for the later rounds. I had a feeling he was going to die out.”

“He connected very well on my temple and I couldn’t recuperate,” Chaves said. “I don’t regret that the referee stopped the fight. I thought I was winning the fight when they stopped it. I hope I get a rematch and come back soon.”

Follow all the action from the AT & T Center in San Antonio as former world champion Andre Berto battles Jesus Soto Karass. There will be two world championship bouts as Omar Figueroa battles Nihito Arakawa for the Interim WBC Lightweight title and Keith Thurman takes on Diego Chaves for the Interim WBA Welterweight title. The action begins at 9pm est / 6 pm pac

12 rounds–Welterweights–Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO’s) vs Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KO’s)

Round 1 Soto Karass landing to the body…Jab from Berto..Right from Soto Karass hurts Berto..right…Counter right from Berto..Soto Karass lands another hard right…10-9 Soto Karass

Round 2 Berto lands a counter right..Soto Karass lands a left to the body and head…20-18 Soto Karass

Round 3 Berto lands a combination…Soto Karass lands a left and right..Counter right from Berto..left and right..jab..right…jab..Soto Karas lands a left hook…Left and right to the body from Berto..Soto Karass lands a left…Counter right from Berto..SK lands a left uppercut..29-28 SK

Round 4 Crisp left hook from Berto..Jab/short left uppercut from SK…double jab from Berto…left/right to body from SK..Left hook from Berto..Counter jab from SK…Huge counter left and flurry…Berto hurt...39-37 SK

Round 5 Berto hurt and his shoulder is injured….Berto is wobbling all over the place..49-46 SK

Round 6 Berto lands a left uppercut/left hook..left hook to the body…SK lands a left hook to the body and an uppercut...58-56 SK

Round 7 Berto lands a good body shot…SK lands a left to the body..straight right hand…3 uppercuts from Berto..lead right..Swelling around thr right eye of SK…3 left hooks from Berto..67-66 SK

Round 8 Straight right from SK..uppercut on inside..combination…swelling around left eye of Berto..left hook..straight right..Berto lands an uppercut..left uppercut from SK..right..counter..77-75 SK

Round 9 SK lands a straight right..Berto lands a right Uppercut..left from Berto..86-85 SK

Round 10 Berto backing SK up..left hook…95-95

Round 11 Counter left from Berto…shoRT SHOT AND DOWN GOES SK…Berto lands a left…straight right from SK…right and left…left to body from Berto..Right from SK..upercut from Berto…big shot from SK..left hook from Berto..Body.right from SK…105-103 Berto

Round 12 Toe to toe in the center of the ring…Right from SK..LEFT HOOK DOWN GOES BERTO….THE FIGHT IS OVER

12 Rounds–WBC INTERIM LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP–OMAR FIGUEROA (21-0-1, 17 KO’S) VS NIHITO ARAKAWA (24-2-1, 16 KO’S)

Round 1 Arakawa landing…3 punching combo from Figueroa..Big right..Right to the head..Phone booth fight…10-9 Figueroa

Round 2 Arakawa lands a left to the body..counter let to body from Figueroa..HUGE RIGHT HURTS ARAKAWA…HE TAKES A KNEE..Rigt to the body and left to the head from Figueroa..Arakawa coming back…20-17 Figueroa

Round 3 Body and head from Figueroa..Body from Arakawa…right from Figueroa..Left uppercut..2 lefts from Arakawa…hard left..left uppercut from Figueroa..double right to the head..right…hellacuous shots…a war...30-26 Figueroa..

Round 4 Accidental head butt causes cut on Figueroa’s nose..Left hooks by both men…counter from Arakawa..Left hook from Figueroa..Left to head and body from Arakawa…3 hard shots from Figueroa..right and left to the body from Arakawa..39-36 Figueroa

Round 5 Left hurts Arakawa..49-45 Figueroa

Round 6 Right from Figueroa..Right uppercut and right..Right hands stuns Arakawa…right and left…on ROPES RULED A KNOCKDOWN...59-53 Figueroa

Round 7 Straight left from Arakawa..Double left and right from Figueroa..Arakawa works body…69-62 Figueroa

Round 8 Left from Figueroa…Right..Right..Right…double left hand…swelling around left eye of Arakawa…Figueroa batering and hurting Arakawa..left hook..79-71 Figueroa

Round 9 Right from Figueroa…great uppercut and left hook..counter from Arakawa..89-80 Figueroa

Round 10 Figueroa lands a left to the liver..flurry off the ropes..99-89 Figueroa

Round 11 Arakawa lands a combination on the ropes…Figueroa lands a straight right..Arakawa landing in the ropes..Right to body and left to the head by Figueroa..Right from Arakawa..left upper cut/right from Figueroa..108-99 Figueroa

Round 12 Figueroa lands power shots..Right…this is a bloody war…wow…great 118-108 Figueroa

118-108. 118-108 and 119-107

12 ROUNDS–WBA INTERIM WELTERWEIGHT TITLE–DIEGO CHAVES (22-0, 18 KOS) VS KEITH THURMAN (20-0, 18 KO’S)

ROUND 1 Chaves jabs to the body..Jab..Thurman lands a left hook..Right to the boy..Chaves lands a left to the body..Thurman lands a left to the body and head..Chaves lands with a combination..10-9 Chaves

Round 2 Right from Chaves..Thurman lands a double left hook…right…19-19

Round 3 Chaves lands a left..Good counter from Thurman…good left hook…Jab..Thurman lands a right lead…counter from Chaves…29-28 Thurman

Round 439-37 Thurman

Round 5 Double jab from Chaves…Right from Thurman…double jab…counter jab…49-46 Thurman

Round 6 Chaves lands a right to the body..Big right from Thurman..Good left uppercut..Chaves jabs to the body…another jab to the body..Chaves nose bleeding..58-56 Thurman

Round 7 Chaves lands to the body…Counter left from Thurman..nice left hook…3 punch combination..Chaves lands a body shot..Thurman lands a right…Combo from Thurman..1-2..Thurman lands a left..68-65 Thurman

Round 8 Chaves lands a left hook…Thurman lands a right..left combination…Chaves lands a combination…77-75 Thurman

Round 9 THURMAN LANDS A BODY SHOT AND DOWN GOES CHAVES…87-83 Thurman

Round 10 THURMAN LANDS A BIG COMBINATION AND DOWN GOES CHAVES AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
ANDRE BERTO – 147 Pounds
JESUS SOTO KARASS – 147 Pounds

OMAR FIGUEROA JR. – 135 Pounds
NIHITO ARAKAWA – 135 Pounds

DIEGO CHAVES – 146 ¼ Pounds
KEITH THURMAN – 146 Pounds

SHOWTIME EXTREME:
ANTHONY DIRRELL – 172 Pounds
ANTHONY HANSHAW – 171 ½ Pounds

JOSEPH RODRIGUEZ – 132 ¼ Pounds
JESSE ANGUIANO – 130 ¾ Pounds

(SHOWTIME EXTREME Swing Bout – Time Permitting)
ARMANDO CARDENAS – 140 ½ Pounds
STEPHEN SALAZAR – 138 ½ Pounds

ABOUT “KNOCKOUT KINGS II”
“KNOCKOUT KINGS II,” featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round main event for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Japan’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and undefeated power- puncher Diego Chaves faces fellow unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME® at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

LOS ANGELES, July 25 – Two of the key participants in Saturday’s “Knockout Kings II” event taking place at the AT&T Center in San Antonio will first be featured this Friday night, July 26 on FOX Deportes as a special edition of Golden Boy Classics gets fight fans ready for one of the hardest-hitting nights of the summer featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto and rising star Omar “Panterita” Figueroa. The broadcast airs on Fox Deportes at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

In the main event, viewers will see Berto defend his WBC Welterweight World Championship in The Ring Magazine’s and USA Today’s 2011 Fight of the Year against Victor Ortiz while, in the co-feature, they will see Weslaco, Texas’ Figueroa make his first major statement to the boxing world in his 2012 fight with fellow then undefeated lightweight prospect Michael Perez.

On April 16, 2011, undefeated WBC Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto risked his title and his perfect record against rising star “Vicious” Victor Ortiz at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. What resulted was an epic 12-round match that saw both fighters hit the deck twice before Ortiz emerged with the unanimous decision victory in one of the best fights in recent memory.

In a rare showdown between undefeated top prospects, on January 6, 2012 Omar Figueroa put his record on the line against Newark, New Jersey’s Michael Perez at Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, California. “Panterita” was the fighter who delivered, scoring a sixth round stoppage, taking his promising career to a new level.

# # #

“Knockout Kings II,” featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round main event for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Japan’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and undefeated power-puncher Diego Chaves faces fellow unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME® at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and are available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“I want to acknowledge a person that is doing a tremendous job in bringing boxing back to the masses, that is Stephen Espinoza, SHOWTIME is bringing you the best fights and the best fighters.

“San Antonio really knows how to stand behind the sport of boxing and support boxing and Saturday’s event is going to be no exception. This is going to be a tremendous lineup.

“These are the KNOCKOUT KINGS for a reason, you have explosive fighters from top to bottom, fighters who understand what hard work is all about, fighters who go out there and fight for the fans, for the public and for the recognition of being called a “KNOCKOUT KING”.

“We are looking forward to bring the big names in the sport of boxing. Why? “Because San Antonio knows these big names.

“These Argentinian fighters like Lucas Matthysse, Sergio Martinez and Marcos Maidana are the kind of fighters that can pack a punch, they throw punches with tremendous power.

“Diego Chaves is a champion for a reason and he’s fighting, in my eyes, one of the best top three in the welterweight division, Keith “One Time” Thurman. It’s going to be an amazing fight.

“Don’t let these two fighters fool you [Figueroa and Arakawa]. You know young look.

“Figueroa has been blowing everybody out of the water with his work ethic, with relentlessness up and down the ring. He’s the kind of fighter that knows what he wants and knows what to do to get it.

“In this main event you have two warriors, two fighters that put everything on the line, their heart on the line.

ANDRE BERTO, Former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion

“There’s really not much to say, these guys had said it all.

“I’m in tremendous shape, I’m focused. I’m going to put on a hell of a performance.

“I’m just going to go in there and be me. I’m not worried about the title of the show, I’m not worried about his record. I’m just going to go in there and get the win.

“I am in great shape and I have everything to bring to the table. I have the speed, I have the power. I have the explosiveness and I’m going out there and do what I know how to do.

“I’ve known Virgil (Hunter) since I was 13 so it’s not like he’s a stranger to me. Everything’s been flowing pretty well and it’s been a great situation for me.

“The show is called Knockout Kings but no matter how it goes, I know it’s going to be exciting. You’re definitely going to see a lot of speed, a lot of power and a lot of explosiveness, it’s going to be an exciting show.

“It’s going to be a hell of a fight; I’m in shape. I’m in good spirits. I’m focused and I know Soto Karass is ready too.”

JESUS SOTO KARASS, Veteran Welterweight Contender

“My preparation has been great. My team knows what Berto brings. He’s an ex-champion. We know that he’s a quality fighter and he’s tough. But that’s why we train for this.

“The losses you see on my record, I wasn’t taking it serious. But, believe me, we’re taking Andre Berto very serious. Not only have I matured personally but I’ve matured in the ring. The preparation has been very good. We know we have a tough opponent, but we’re here and we’re prepared to win.

“Every fight I come with a different plan. We have a plan for Andre Berto. We have a Plan A, a Plan B, it doesn’t matter; we’ll be ready for him.

“My only prediction is it’s going to be a war. I’m going to leave my heart in there. If I have to die in the ring I will.

“Out of the ring we’re friends, but inside the ring it’s another thing. I don’t have anything against Andre Berto but once we get in the ring I’m looking to knock him out.

“I want everyone to help, help me with breast cancer awareness. We have a raffle going on – it’s $10 to buy a ticket and you can win the gloves and the trunks that I wear in the ring. Let’s go knockout cancer as well.

“The reason I support Susan G. Komen is because of Oscar De La Hoya. It really touched my heart that Oscar lost his mother, Cecilia, to cancer. So being a boxer I felt like I would join that fight to knock out breast cancer.

“I’m ready; I’m only a pound-and-a-half away. I can’t wait until tomorrow so I can get on the scale and go eat.”

OMAR FIGUEROA, Undefeated Rising Star & WBC Lightweight Contender

“This is it, this is seventeen years of work. This is why every boxers starts, what every boxer dreams of. This is it. The goal is the green belt, that’s the one, that’s the best one. That’s the one we all want.

“This is a great opportunity, this is what we have been working so hard for.

“I want to thank my opponent’s team for having agreed to this fight, he’s ranked number one and that’s what we wanted.

“We don’t take anybody lightly. We are ready, we know that a fight can take many directions with every step you take in the ring, so we are ready.

“I’m excited to be on this card. It’s really an honor to fight in the KNOCKOUT KINGS because is one thing to be considered a fighter and another one to be considered a knockout artist.

“I’m fighting with great knockout artist such as Keith Thurman, Berto, Chaves and Arakawa and all these are great fighters

“We are the backbone [of boxing] because we fight to knock someone out, we try to provide the fans with the most excitement we can and we go in there ready for war.”

NIHITO ARAKAWA, WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship Contender

“I’m happy to have this chance at my first world title. That gives me extra motivation to win this fight.

“I don’t think I can win by points. I have to knock him out – I think that’s my only chance to walk out of here with a world title.

“My nickname is “Baby Faced Sniper,” but when I saw Omar Figueroa it looks like he’s a little bit more baby faced than I am. So I want to give him my nickname “Baby Faced Sniper.”

“I’ve prepared for this world title chance for my entire life and I know Omar has prepared for this as well. We’re both going to fight as hard as we can to get that first world title. I know I want it and I know he wants it, so it’s going to be an exciting fight.”

DIEGO CHAVES
, WBA Interim Welterweight World Champion

“We know we have a tough opponent, we have very similar records, neither of us can lose concentration during the fight because it can end with only one punch that’s why we are very well prepared and we know we can take the win.

“I know Keith is a good fighter, but I hope he’s ready because I’m going to show him and the world why I’m a world champion and why this belt is coming back with me to Argentina.

“He may be undefeated, but he’s never faced anyone like me.

“I’ve been training hard, very hard. We are looking forward to a great fight, and we are confident the we’ll come out victorious.

“It’s going to be a war. I’m not going to leave my belt in the judges’ hands- I plan on taking care of Thurman on my own.”

KEITH THURMAN, WBA World Championship Welterweight Contender

“It’s a tremendous fight. I’m 20-0 with 18 knockouts; Chaves is 22-0 with 18 knockouts. You don’t see this very often with young fighters.

“But I’m the kind of fighter that’s knocking on everybody’s door. Everybody in the welterweight division will soon know about Keith “One Time” Thurman. We’re moving up one step at a time and we’re going to step over Diego on Saturday night, guaranteed.

“The KO bonus has nothing to do with the way I fight. My motto is already KOs for life and the nickname “One Time.” I do my best to get the fighter out of there because if we don’t have to do the distance then that, to me, is a job well done.

“We’re always looking for that knockout; we’re always looking for that one punch that can change the fight around. That’s just me, that’s just “One Time.” That knockout bonus is just another check waiting.

“I definitely don’t think he’s faced anyone like me. That’s why I’m confident. I believe he’s been spoon-fed his entire career. A lot of people say the fighters I’ve fought knew I was favored, but they were still world-class fighters and I dominated them each and every round. And I plan on dominating Diego Chaves every round Saturday night.

“Knockout Kings II – this event has that title for a reason. I guarantee you’ll get your moneys’ worth.”

ANTHONY DIRRELL, Light Heavyweight Contender

“I battled cancer and it didn’t hold me down. I’m still here and I’m ready.

“Coming up this Saturday, I’ll win with by knockout. ”

ANTHONY HANSHAW,
Light Heavyweight Contender

“It doesn’t matter what happened when I fought his brother. The fact that I lost to Andre just gives me extra motivation. When I fought Andre, I wasn’t in shape at all. But I’m in some of the best shape of my career to fight Anthony. I had a great camp and I’m ready to give him the first loss of his career.”

JESSE JAMES LEIJA, Former World Champion & Boxing Legend

“I want to thank the Susan G. Komen Beast Cancer Foundation – you are important in every one of our lives because we all have moms. But that’s not to say that men can’t get breast cancer as well.

“I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for giving us the opportunity to put on the type of fights that we’ve been bringing to San Antonio.

“I also want to thank SHOWTIME. I won my first world title on SHOWTIME and fought several times on the network, so it’s not just a thing for me to say that I’m proud to be them. It means a lot more than just face value; it’s what in my heart because they’ve been with me for several years.

“We’re still recovering from the Canelo-Trout fight and now we’re bringing Knockout Kings II where we have three world title fights and I don’t know who is going to win. Will the fights go the distance? Probably not when you have these types of punchers. Who’s going to win the fights? I have no idea. Am I going to be in the front row? You bet.

“I’ve watched these guys on TV and I’m awed by the type of power that they have. Omar – I call him ‘Mini Mike Tyson’ – I hope he gives us two rounds so we can really appreciate the power that he has.”

MIKE BATTAH, President of Leija & Battah Promotions

“I want to thank Oscar De La Hoya, SHOWTIME and James, my partner, for putting this all together. It’s been a building process, but we’re building, we’re getting there and we’re excited.

“I would like to thank Jesus Soto Karass for helping raise money for breast cancer awareness. Please ask the public to give $10 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. We’re excited to help out and hope that we can raise money for this great charity.”

GREG ALVAREZ, Combative Sports Administrator, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation

“I just want thank everybody who came here today, the fans and those who has spread the word around town. I want to say thank you to Mike and Jesse for making my life easier and making my life happier by bringing all these big fights to San Antonio.”

ABOUT “KNOCKOUT KINGS II”
“Knockout Kings II,” featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round main event for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Japan’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and undefeated power-puncher Diego Chaves faces fellow unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME® at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and are available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

ANDRE BERTO, Former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion:

“Everything has been going well. I have a new team with Virgil Hunter and we’ve been putting in good work. San Antonio asked for me and we’re here. Saturday night is definitely going to be something to tune into.

“Soto Karass is a tough opponent, but I’m here to represent and give these people a real good show.

“Our styles match up well. It sets up for an exciting fight. He’s a tough veteran that keeps going and brings the action and I’m one of the top guys that like to dish out punishment. This fight sells itself.

“I feel like I just need to go in here and do what I know how to do. I’m positive that I can do the things that I know how to do. If I do that, it might be a short night. It’s called Knockout Kings, baby.”

JESUS SOTO KARASS, Veteran Welterweight Contender:

“I’m getting into the ring to kick my opponent’s ass. That’s my game plan.

“I’m ready. I’m two pounds away [from making weight]. The weight is not a problem. I can’t wait until Saturday night. The Mexican fans here motivate me and I’m going to show why I’m the champion on Saturday night.

“I want to tell fans to come support and help Jesse James Leijah and Mike Battah in their campaign to support breast cancer awareness. I’m a part of it. Please come and donate $10. It’s cheaper than a six pack.”

OMAR FIGUEROA JR., Undefeated Texas Rising Star & Number Three Rated WBC Lightweight Contender:

“This is it. This is what we’ve been working so hard for.

“I live only four hours away, so this totally feels like home. Texas has the best fans in the world and I’m glad to be a Texan.

“My plan is to go in there and give a great fight. He’s a great guy and he’s ranked number one for a reason. I’ve prepared really hard for this fight and I’m ready to go 12 hard rounds.

“This is what it comes down to. It’s the bottom of the ninth, two outs, full count. There’s no room for butterflies.

“This is what we’ve been working for 17 years for and it’s finally here. I’m not going to let it slip.”

NIHITO ARAKAWA, Number One Rated WBC Lightweight Contender:

“It’s great to get this opportunity for a world title. I’m going to bring the world championship back home with me.

“I don’t care what people say. I’m just happy to have the chance to fight. I know he’s the favorite here in Texas, but I’m ready. I’m ready to get in the ring.”

DIEGO CHAVEZ, WBA Interim Welterweight World Champion:

“We’ve worked very hard. I’ve had two opportunities with Paulie Malignaggi slip away and fall out, so it’s been a long time out of the ring, but I’m back in shape and ready to go. We know Thurman is very strong and he’s coming to fight, but I’m prepared for that.

“The strategy is no secret. Thurman is a strong kid and he’s going to come forward. I can’t let him come forward. I have to meet him in the center of the ring and land my punches.

“My punches are strong and they’re going to hurt him. Nobody has ever hurt him before. I think my punches will and I’ll stop him before the 10th round.

“My title stays with me and it’s going back to Argentina. I’m going to knock him out.”

KEITH THURMAN, Undefeated Number Four Rated WBA Welterweight Contender:

“I’ve been training real hard back in my camp in Florida. It’s about to be a fight Saturday night. Someone is going to sleep, I can guarantee you that. No matter what side of the fence you’re on, you better bet on the KO. No lie. One time, baby…that’s the nickname. I come and bring it all the time.

“It’s going to be a show. This is a great card with a great undercard. It’s Knockout Kings II and we’re trying to do it big here in San Antonio.

“I guarantee Saturday night you’re going to see a great performance. I’m a warrior for life. I prepare for death in every battle. I’m not scared of this. He’s 22-0 with 18 KO’s and I’m 20-0 with 18 KO’s. That’s why I can guarantee you someone is going to sleep.

“Come out and show your support, but don’t blink.”

ANTHONY DIRRELL, Undefeated Super Middleweight Contender:

“I will knock him out, but I’m not going for it.

“My brother beat him, but that has nothing to do with me. I’m just too good for him. He has nothing on me.

“After I beat him, I want a [world] championship. I’m going for Sakio Bika. That’s next. That’s the belt I want.

“I had the best training camp of my life. There’s no way I lose this fight.”

ANTHONY HANSHAW, Super Middleweight Contender:

“Training camp was good. I’m ready to go. I just came off of a bad loss. I should have won the fight, but I’m ready to go. I’m in tip top shape. I didn’t take any time off. I got this call and I was ready to go.

“I fought his brother and that pushes me. I fought Andre, but I wasn’t in good shape. I went into camp at 205 pound and had to get down to 168. I was weak, but I’m good now. I don’t think about his brother at all. I’m ready to go.”

EMANUEL LEDEZMA, San Antonio Super Middleweight Prospect:

“It feels great fighting in my back yard. We have a lot of die-hard fans here that want to see a good show, so we’re going to give it to them.

“We hit it hard. We always do. This fight is a rematch. I already beat this guy and I’m going to do it again. I did rock him in the fourth round last time, but this time if I do catch him, I’m going to finish him.

“I always prepare 100 percent, but as San Antonians we have to make a statement. We have to let people know that when they come into our house we’re going to make them feel it. This guy wants to come into our house and make a ruckus and we’re not going to let it happen.”

FELIX PIEDRA, Super Middleweight Prospect:

“I’m here to make a statement. He’s a local favorite, but I’ll have some fans form Weslaco here rooting for me. I’m going to win over the San Antonio fans by the end of the night.”

ABOUT “KNOCKOUT KINGS II”
“Knockout Kings II,” featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round main event for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Japan’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and undefeated power-puncher Diego Chaves faces fellow unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME® at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and are available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

SAN ANTONIO, TX (July 24, 2013) – A slate of action packed fights is expected this Saturday, July 27 when a roster of top talent steps into the ring at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on the undercard of the highly anticipated “KNOCKOUT KINGS II” event. Heading up the preliminary bouts before SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® goes on the air, hard-hitting, undefeated rising star Anthony Dirrell and veteran Anthony “The Tyger” Hanshaw will face off in a 10-round clash for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight Championship which will be televised live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Also in SHOWTIME EXTREME action, Texas natives Emanuel Ledezma and Felix Piedra will go toe-to-toe in a six-round super middleweight showdown. Both bouts will lead up to the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® tripleheader headlined by former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round bout for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship.

Also featured on the undercard will be rising stars from the Lone Star state including Jesse Anguiano, Jerry Belmontes, Armando Cardenas, Joseph Rodriguez and Stephen Salazar.

Anthony Dirrell (25-0, 21 KO’s) got back into the ring in May after a year and a half layoff caused by a motorcycle accident and scored an eight-round unanimous decision win over Don Mouton. The victory shook the rust off for the 28-year-old Flint, Michigan native, while getting fight fans excited for what the future holds for this talented super middleweight.

A staple among the top prospects in the sport for years, Anthony Hanshaw (23-3-2, 14 KO’s) of Warren, Ohio has scored big wins over Kingsley Ikeke, Esteban Camou and Lafarrell Bunting, but after losses to Roy Jones Jr. and Andre Dirrell in 2007 and 2008, Hanshaw took a more than four-year break from the game. In 2012, he returned and the 35-year-old is unbeaten in three of four bouts heading into his meeting with Dirrell.

Born in Los Angeles, Calif. and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Emanuel “The Lone Star” Ledezma (12-1-1, 2 KO’s) prides himself not only on being prepared physically, but also mentally for each one of his fights. This rising star proudly holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in Spanish from the University of San Antonio.

The 27-year-old native of Weslaco, Texas, Felix Piedra (8- 2-1, 5 KO’s), of Cuban, Mexican-American descent, has an impressive career with. The cruiserweight division fighter holds the hope of his hometown people in Rio Grande Valley, the southernmost tip of South Texas.

A four-round junior lightweight match-up showcasing San Antonio natives Joseph Rodriguez (3-0, 2 KO’s) and Jesse Anguiano (1-2-2) squaring off for local bragging rights will also air on SHOWTIME EXTREME time permitting.

Nicknamed “The Corpus Christi Kid,” 24-year-old Jerry Belmontes (18-1, 5 KO’s) has been a local favorite ever since turning pro in 2008. A rising star at 130 pounds, Belmontes bounced back from the lone loss of his career to Eric Hunter last December with an April win over Daniel Diaz. On July 27, he will be in tough once again when he meets Blythe, California’s Andrew “Chango” Cancio (14-2-2, 11 KO’s) in a 10-round junior lightweight match-up. Cancio has won six of his last seven fights, with the only loss over that span coming against veteran Roger Gonzalez last September.

A four-round junior welterweight bout featuring San Antonio’s Armando Cardenas (1-0, 1 KO) against Stephan Salazar, who will be making his professional debut, will open the evening’s action.

“KNOCKOUT KINGS II,” featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round main event for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Japan’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and undefeated power- puncher Diego Chaves faces fellow unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME® at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP). Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

SAN ANTONIO – The promotional posters for “Knockout Kings II” that arrived in some writers’ inboxes these last few weeks were different from the original posters that featured Haitian-American Andre Berto and Mexican Jesus Soto-Karass, the men who will fight in the main event Saturday at AT&T Center. The new posters featured Texan Omar “Panterita” Figueroa, who will fight Japan’s Nihito Arakawa for the WBC’s interim lightweight title and have to sell more tickets than Berto, Soto-Karass and Arakawa, combined, for Leija-Battah Promotions’ first post-Canelo event to succeed at the box office.

“(Arakawa) is going to be tough,” Figueroa said Friday morning. “Usually Japanese fighters are a lot like Mexicans in the fact that that they fight with a lot of pride, a lot of heart. There’s no quit in them either. I’m preparing for a good 12 rounds, hopefully . . . I mean, hopefully, it doesn’t go that long.”

There has been a gradual but pronounced shift away from the main-event fighters and towards Figueroa, as it appears circumstances have confirmed what was long known about Saturday’s headliner, Andre Berto: He does not sell tickets. Berto makes interesting fights when he is matched with someone who can beat him, a scenario to which he was rarely treated during his deservedly maligned HBO tenure. Berto was no more the next Floyd Mayweather than Victor Ortiz was the next Oscar De La Hoya, despite programmers’ hopes, though both men were close enough in appearance to make network executives believe otherwise. Now on Showtime, Berto is in the precarious place where his next loss may be his last televised loss.

He is aware of this, or aware as Berto can be; at the announcement press conference in this city’s famed Mi Tierra restaurant in May, Berto mentioned coming close to a Mayweather fight twice, against Ortiz and then Robert Guerrero, losing both tryouts, and being determined not to lose a third. How enthusiastic anyone might be about a Mayweather-Berto fight is dubious, else Golden Boy Promotions would not have announced Matthysse-Garcia, a casting call for Mayweather’s next opponent, as its Sept. 14 co-main, last week. Since Berto is not an introspective lad, though, it’s best for all parties to have him believe Saturday’s fight is to win the Mayweather lottery. There is something about the way Berto claps that bears watching as a metaphor, or insight into his connection with fans: He doesn’t mirthfully slap his hands together but rather does a two-fisted, right-pinky-knuckle-to-left-index-knuckle touch, that says: I am too cool for all this.

Omar Figueroa is the draw upon which Saturday’s gate relies. Berto’s opponent, Jesus Soto-Karass, is the fabled tough Mexican, of course, but Mexicans are quite familiar with him subsequently, and will never see him as more than Antonio Margarito’s limited stablemate. And while the third Knockout King, Florida’s Keith Thurman, might become a draw someday, he’s not known well enough to sell tickets in Texas against a welterweight who’s only once fought outside Argentina.

Figueroa is from Weslaco in the Rio Grande Valley, a four-hour drive south of San Antonio, a city in South Texas (so is the awesomeness of Lone Star State: “South” Texas begins 250 miles north of Texas’ southern border) – a place known by Texans as “The Valley” and home to more than a million persons who are Texans by both birth and generations. More than 80-percent of them share ethnic origins with the Mexicans just a few miles south of Figueroa’s Weslaco, but most of them have been in the United States, or at least Texas – whether during its time as a Confederate state, its own republic or part of Mexico – longer than your family has.

“Honestly, I do not know, but I’m glad they do,” Figueroa said, when asked why fellow Valley residents drive four to five hours to see his matches. “We’re mainly Mexicans in the Valley, and Mexicans, we have such a passion for everything we do.

“It’s a mutual thing. They support me, and I put on my best face when it comes to fighting.”

Figueroa’s fans are Texans in the very core of their being, and Texans support their own, especially when their own looks as they do and fights ferociously as Figueroa does.

“I go in there to just punish my opponent as much as possible, in the sense that the knockout will kind of, sort of, come – sooner or later?” Figueroa said. “That’s our plan, I guess.”

“Panterita” – the affectionate diminutive of the Spanish word for panther – has power in both hands and a willingness to engage in attrition fighting, the kind both Mexicans and Texans thrill to. Figueroa is trained by Joel Diaz in Indio, Calif., where Timothy Bradley shares his camp.

“Bradley, whom I have the pleasure of working with, has a lot of heart and a lot of brains,” Figueroa said, then addressed his campmate’s March showing against Ruslan Provodnikov. “If I’m ever in one of those – in that circumstance? – I hope that I react the same way, that I don’t cower and quit. I don’t know if anyone else, except for the Mexicans, those types of fighters who live to fight fights like that, would have put up with that sort of punishment and try to keep the fight going.

“It was just an amazing feat for a human being to take those kinds of punches and fight on.”

Bradley is the name Figueroa mentions first and solely when asked for prizefighters he models himself after; he hopes to react to semi-consciousness in the mindless and miraculous way Bradley does, and while he does not admit to seeking such a chance, one detects in his voice a sense he would not mind it. If somehow Nihito Arakawa takes Figueroa to that state, endures the Texan’s attack without wilting then catches him on the way in, and Figueroa fights his way through it, comporting himself with even some of Bradley’s honor, on national television, South Texas will have its new draw, and Leija-Battah Promotions will have still more of what leverage it has already earned.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Kelly Swanson
Thank you, everybody, for joining us in this sizzling week of summer, but I’m so excited to actually be doing a conference call again, and we have a great fight to talk about. I think it’s really the big first, big, big fight of the summer, and I’m looking forward to watching it. So, we have both fighters, Andre Berto and Jesus Soto Karass joining us, and to make those introductions and open it up for questions, I’m going to turn it over to Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. Oscar?

Oscar De La Hoya
Thank you, Kelly. It’s always a pleasure to introduce such a great lineup like July 27th. First of all, I want to thank everybody at Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions for all their hard work. Also, I would like to acknowledge Teiken Promotions and KO International who is an association and putting this together with Golden Boy Promotions, all the sponsors, Corona and AT&T for all of your support, your support of boxing.

We are, like I said, excited to be showcasing the first big event of the summer, Saturday, July 27th live from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. As we all know, San Antonio, Texas is now a hotbed for staging big events, for staging big fights with big names and the fans there are some of the best, if not the best, fans come out and support not only their favorite fighter but the support of boxing in general. This event will be taking place live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. Eastern. So, I want to thank, once again, our good friends Stephen Espinoza there at Showtime.

Tickets are priced and are going fast actually, and when I say going fast I’m not kidding, at $200 and all the way down to $10. So, I assure you that we will have a big sellout by the week of the fight, a few days before the event with those types of prices. We have three fights that will be televised live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing. This event is being billed as Knockout Kings II. As you all know, Knockout Kings I was a huge success led by Josesito Lopez and this main event by far will be an exciting one.

The first fight that’s being televised will be Diego Chavez versus Keith Thurman. That’ll be 12 rounds for the WBA interim welterweight world title. As you all know, Keith Thurman, at one time, is off to bigger and better things, but on the 27th, he’s got a very, very tough, tough, I wouldn’t call it test, it’s a real fight against Diego Chavez, and I’m sure everyone who’s seen Diego Chavez is a guy that you cannot take lightly.

The co-main event is an exciting one that everyone I’m sure in Texas is looking forward to, their own Omar Figueroa Jr. versus Nihito Arakawa. That will be a 12-round fight for the WBC interim lightweight world title and Omar Figueroa once again keeps on proving to the fans that he’s progressing, he’s learning, he’s got punching power with both hands.

The main event, obviously the people are really, really excited about, you have Andre Berto versus Soto Karass, which will be a 12 rounder for the vacant NABF welterweight title, and it is my pleasure to be introducing to you one of the participants in the main event. He was a member of the 2004 Haitian Olympic Team. He’s obviously known for his charity work, especially in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake that hit in the country there, and he has a tremendous, tremendous record, first winning a world title against Miguel Rodriguez, which he stopped in the seventh round to win the WBC welterweight world title.

He successfully defended his title five times before having a tremendous, tremendous fight against Victor Ortiz in 2011, which was billed fight of the year, and now he’s back. He bounced back against a very tough, tough fighter, Jan Zaveck for the IBF welterweight world championship title, and now, once again, he engaged in fight of the year candidate against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in a tremendous, tremendous fight.

And this fight here, once again, shows the character of Andre Berto. He is a fighter. He is a warrior. He wants to get back to the top and he knows that facing Jesus Soto Karass is that step to that world title. So, without any further ado, let me introduce to you with a record of 28-2, 22 knockouts out of Winter Haven, Florida, Andre Berto.

Andre Berto
Hello. Training camp has been going tremendously. I’ve been out here in the Bay Area and I’ve been having a hell of a training camp, man. I’m in definitely one of the toughest and one of the best training camps I’ve been a part of, definitely in tremendous shape mentally, physically and spiritually. So, like I said, I’m in shape, I’m ready to go, and we’re definitely going to get over to San Antonio, hell of a show coming the 27th, definitely going to be a show that’s not going to disappoint, I can promise you that.

De La Hoya
Thank you very much, Andre, and now for the other fighter participating in the main event, obviously don’t let the records fool you. He does have a record of 27-8 with 3 draws and 17 knockouts. He always gives a supreme, supreme effort against any opponent that he’s facing.

He’s coming off a fresh win in January against Selcuk Aydin, who we obviously know gave a very difficult and valiant effort against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. He has defeated fighters that include Euri Gonzalez, El Harrak, Vince Phillips, David Estrada, to name a few. He is a fighter that in the second half of his career is getting better. So, we all know that Andre Berto and Soto Karass will give a tremendous, tremendous performance. So, let’s welcome Jesus Soto Karass.

Soto Karass
Hi. Thank you all for being on the call. Thank you, Oscar, for the kind words, and I’m here. I’m in training camp at Ponce De Leon’s Gym, and I know it’s going to be a great fight. The fight’s going to be a war, and I know Berto very well. That’s why I’m preparing myself 100 percent. I don’t want to give him any advantages and I’ll be ready for the fight.

I’m very grateful to Leija Battah Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions for this opportunity. I participated in the first Knockout Kings and now I’m going to be participating again in the second go around as the main event and I’m not going to disappoint you.

De La Hoya
Before we introduce it to the media, I would like to make an announcement that I will be introducing a bonus for the best knockout among those three fights that are televised. So, this is obviously an extra incentive for the fighters, for the fans and we’re definitely looking forward to another great evening, July 27th live from Texas, Knockout Kings II. Thank you.

Q
Thank you. Oscar, very quickly on the knockout bonus, what’s the bonus how much do these guys get for the best knockout and who determines the winner?

De La Hoya
That’s actually-I have to decide and talk it over with Mike Battah, who is the co-promoter there in Texas, but it will definitely be a substantial amount.

Q
Okay, and I think, if I’m not mistaken, when you guys did that last time around for the other Knockout Kings last year, I believe you had a thing where the fans could vote for it and it was announced at the end of the SHOWTIME broadcast. Is that correct? Are you going to try to do that again?

De La Hoya
We will try and do that once again. So, it’s definitely going to make more fighting. They’re going to get their money’s worth.

Q
Oscar, I wanted to ask you to talk a little bit about the way you view the rise of Omar Figueroa who was very impressive on the undercard in April when Canelo faced Austin Trout. It seems like he has an extremely phantom like style. He’s got a growing fan base down in Texas and he’s in this fight fighting for an interim world title. Can you just talk about where you see him progressing because it seems to me with the right matches and a little more TLC with his matchmaking that he could become something really big in this sport?

De La Hoya
Absolutely. Omar Figueroa is a guy who every fight, every opponent we put him in against, he’s getting better and better. He’s passing the test with flying colors, and now, it’s time to step it up and step it up big time. July 27th is not going to be an easy fight for him, but these are the types of fights that he wants and these are the types of fights that we’re comfortable putting him in with. These are difficult fights, but we feel comfortable that he will continue to pass these tests with flying colors. I don’t think there’s a limit to where he can go.

Omar Figueroa, he has fabulous and amazing fan base especially after his knockout win April 20th on the Canelo Alvarez card and Trout. Ever since we’ve signed Omar Figueroa, he keeps on proving us wrong. He keeps on proving that he can be moved faster at a faster pace. So, every fight that he has, he always tells me look, when am I going to get that world title and he started asking me that after ten fights. So, this is a kid that we feel is going to go very, very far.

Q
Andre, I wanted just to hear from you what it’s been like having your first training camp with somebody other than Tony for I think probably your entire boxing life, now that you’re working with Virgil Hunter?

How different is it and what kind of changes are there and are you learning new things or are you just fine-tuning things that are already there? Just sort of take me through what it’s been like because you’ve got to be so used to being the same kind of camp for so many years?

Berto
Yeah, definitely. This right here is definitely a different situation for me-how do I say it? I’m not sure have the right words, but definitely it’s a tough training camp, technical training camp and very-these guys are really precise on what they do and things they want you to work on and it’s not just going to camp and just working the same routines, just getting in shape. One of these guys here they definitely just work on strategy and a lot of repetition and they definitely just pound that into you so that you get the game plan right. So, it’s definitely a training camp that I love. It’s different, but it’s definitely effective, and I’m excited to show the skills off on the 27th, sure.

Q
Andre, what has been the biggest difference in the way that Virgil runs a camp with a fighter compared to the way Tony ran a camp with you? I’m just trying to get an idea. Is it more different time and date, different type of things you work on? Is he more laid back? Does he screen more? What is the main things that you were like wow, this is different than what I’m used to for the last several years?

Berto
It’s different. Here, like the schedule-my schedule situation is it’s kind of up and down. Back home in Florida, we always had the same routine, the same schedule every day. Here, things maneuver, things change and they definitely go by how you feel.

You definitely work a lot smarter than just a lot harder. Of course, they work harder, but they definitely work a lot smarter. I come from my dad and Tony and everybody back home, it was just work hard as hell, pound that out every day and just try to get in the best shape possible, and once you reach a level like this right here and you want to try to work a lot more smarter than just everybody working as hard as possible, but like I said, both coaches are great. They just have different strategies.

Q
Is there one thing that Virgil is trying to beat into your head as far as we need to do this that might have been different before … whether you want to talk about moving your head or defensively or something with one of your opponents?

Berto
Definitely. Coming out here, Virgil, of course I’ve known since I was like 13, but just being here and him just watching me go through camp and get in better shape and just see all my skills, he definitely sees that I’m a strong athlete so it doesn’t take much just to move and just to change a couple of things. So, just basically just from a defensive point or just on-just sitting on the ropes getting too comfortable and we’re doing this, doing that because I used to get a lot comfortable in training camps before and I think there’s a lot of bad habits because of that.

So, it’s just the fact on just me just being the athlete that I know I can be and just staying sharp and just staying alert and not just getting comfortable and picking up bad habits and going back to the basics on things. So, Virgil, he definitely continues to point that out for me. He doesn’t let me get lazy. He doesn’t let me get comfortable and he knows what I can do.

Like I said, he’s watched me ever since I was 13 years old, an amateur. So, he knows I’m capable of it and I have definitely been able to blossom and just be able to work on my techniques like I need to. He just has to put somebody on my ass on the regular.

Q
What’s the one bad habit, like the worst habit let’s say, that he’s trying to work out with you?

Berto
That’s kind of hard to say on the phone. I don’t want to put too much information out there, but we are working on a lot of different things, but definitely improve a lot of different areas, and just like I said, I’m the type of guy that I’m a tremendous athlete already. So, it just takes little things for me to change some things up. If it’s just me letting my back leg touch the ropes, he don’t even say one word and just moved his hand that I can slip off the rope or me just working my jab, me just doing this, me just doing that.

It’s just takes little signals and he know that I react quickly instead of me being in a predicament, being very talented and been working with the team for so long and they know what I’m capable of, but in the gym back home they would let me-they used to let me just get away with just a lot of things just because they know how talented I am, they know that when fight time comes, I’ll be ready to go, but in time, sometimes you just create those bad habits just by just continue doing them in the gym, and they start sitting on you and they start just being first nature.

So, just working some things up out of that and then getting back sharp where I need to be, but like I said, Tony, he’s a tremendous coach, man. He’s one of the best in the game. He brought me to the Olympics. He brought me to two-time world champion. He’s a tremendous guy, but I just thought I just needed a change.

Q
Talked to Virgil Hunter today and he said that the biggest thing he wants to see you do is to develop your own identity in the ring. He specifically pointed out that the shoulder roll that you tried to do against Guerrero, he had never seen that before. What does he mean by that? What do you gather he means by that by the things that you guys are working on, and are you developing the identity that you think he wants you to develop?

Berto
Yeah because I see it’s a situation I believe that just, like I said, that he’s watched me for many years in amateurs and a lot of people in general, they’ve watched me come up as a high prospect in boxing and they see that I had my own style, but in time, in time, just going through that I’m not going to say just amateur, being a young fighter just continue, me just watching the fighters, in time, you pick up certain things or just trying out certain things, it might not be for you. It might not be for you at the end of the day. So, it’s just a fact of just getting back to the basics on what I do and that’s to stay strong, stay good on my defense work on my jab and work on my strong combination and just be me at the end of the day, but it’s very easy for anybody to pick up certain things and just try to try them out to see how they affect and see how they work for you, but it’s the fact of just trying to do you and that’s work mind, that defense and staying sharp.

I have the hand speed. I have the power. I have the athleticism and it’s just the fact of just putting everything together and I believe being in a camp, Virg is able to see all of that. So, he feels that I can do whatever I want to do, but it’s better just to stick to me and do what I do.

Q
Did you kind of lose your identity? Did you get away from what you used to do and kind of get lost and you just more or less were throwing things against a wall to see if they stuck?

Berto
Yeah, the thing with me, man, I’m-everyone that knows me, man, from back home, they know I’m a hard worker and they know that every time I go out I try to improve and they know that I’m always really just looking for things to do better and just me just going to the gym just working on different things and trying to see how they work for me and see how they can improve my game or just try different things and see if it’s not too well for me. So, it was almost kind of too much of trying and try other little things to a point that almost kind of confuses you and just better just to have to set your own game plan.

So, I think that’s where everything pretty much came together for me. We really sat down and really analyzed a lot of things and we’ve been working on a lot of different things at camp, we definitely made that understood and just being in camp and just seeing tremendous, tremendous improvements, not just me being that old Andre Berto, that ferocious kid, that kid that say wow I have tight defense and combination and I’ve been able pretty much do whatever I want to do. From time to time, of course, I can work a lot of other little small things but don’t be so committed on it just pretty much just stay who I am.

Q
The last thing he said was confidence. You seem to be developing a confidence in what you’re doing right now and bringing that identity.

Berto
For sure.

Q
Are you confident you can, against a guy like Soto Karass, who’s rugged, kind of unorthodox and is always involved in brawls, can you stay away from what you did in your last two fights, which wasn’t what you’re saying now?

Berto
Yeah, for sure. Like I said, I just improved mentally, physically, spiritually, just all the way around. You see that-Virg sees it. He sees that I’m getting back to who I need to be, and that’s being a fighter that’s in tremendous shape and that’s being a fighter that’s supremely confident and being a fighter that just looks like I can do whatever I want to do in there, and when I’m on point and when I’m at the best that I can be, there’s nobody in the welterweight division that can doing anything with me. So, he’s been saying that, and like I said, man, we’re actually going to be straight, and it doesn’t matter what it gets to. He’s seen me box kids’ heads off out here in the gym. At the same time, he sees me just stay behind that defense and just bang it out, but of course, I’m going to try to be smarter in there and just try to do what we got to do.

Q
Jesus, talking about Andre is really working on getting back to where he used to be, do you feel confident that you can get him out of his game, that once he gets hit, he’ll go back to what he was in his last two fights, which is more your style and what you’ve been doing pretty much in all of your fights?

Soto Karass
I’m going to do my game plan. I can’t worry about him, about him being the fighter he was or whether he’s going to resort to being the fighter he was the last couple of fights. I can’t worry about that. I have to do my game plan, what I’ve been working towards in the gym. I will say this, that I’m going to be in great shape. I’m going to be ready for a war. If wants to box, we can box. If he wants to stand and fight, we can fight. If I have to counter or be on the inside, whatever it is, I’m just training to win and that’s my game plan; I’ve got to win.”

Q
Jesus, Oscar said in the introductory remarks you were in the first installment of Knockout Kings and I don’t think you got the bonus in that one, but you are a guy that have gotten a lot of good TV exposure and you make great fights not necessarily because you always wins. What does it means to you or is it important to you to understand that you-I know you want to win the fight obviously but that you can keep getting these kinds of fights because you are liked by the fans and by the TV people because you are highly entertaining and what does that mean to you as opposed to maybe not always getting the W but certainly getting a lot of exposure?

Soto Karass
Look, it’s great that people see me that way. It’s great that everybody that follows me, the fans and everybody, they see me that way, but I want to win. The bottom line is I want to win. That’s the important thing for me is winning. Yes, I’m going to give a great performance like I always do. I’m ready to die in the ring like every Mexican, but the important thing for me is to win. I have the mentality of winning. I have to win. It’s for the future of my family. It’s for the future of my trainers. It’s a lot of hard work. The bottom line is I want to win, and it’s okay to have great fights and this and that but my objection is to win.

Q
What is your objective?

Q
To win, I have to got to win.

Q
Given that Andre is coming off of a loss to Guerrero, he got knocked down two times in that fight by Andre’s own admission, not his best night, do you view Andre as being a little more vulnerable maybe in this fight than he has been in past fights and you can take advantage with the kind of pressure style that you employ and the tremendous amount of punching output that you have that you can keep Andre on the losing skit?

Soto Karass
I’m expecting a well-prepared Berto. I’m coming to win. I’m coming to win and that’s what I’m preparing for. I’m getting ready for the best possible Berto there is. In fact, I haven’t even studied any of the last fights because he can throw those out the window. I’m getting ready for the best possible Berto, a guy that’s going to be well prepared and is going to come to win. I know that Berto wants to be a world champion again. I also want to be a champion. That’s what I’ve been waiting for all my career, all my life and a victory here is going to possibly get the winner into position for a world title. So, no, I’m not thinking of the Berto that had the last couple of fights. I’m thinking of the best possible prepared Berto that’s going to come to win and that’s what I’m training for.

Q
My question is for Andre Berto. Much has changed in the last couple of years. Where are you as a fighter and are you satisfied with where you are as far as your career?

Berto
Of course, as a fighter and in terms of general, like I said, at the end of the day, man, we’re fighters. Do you know what I mean? As far as at the end of the day, we go through our ups and downs, but the place where I’m at now is a great place. At the top of the year, I’ve done made the changes that I need to make and now I’m at a place that I’ve been in a very long time all the way around. So, I guess I’m just ready to get back to work and really to go in here and handle business like I know how to do.

Q
What type of fight are you expecting or are you anticipating from Soto Karass?

Berto
It doesn’t matter. I just have to bring that pressure and bring the fight, but I’m anticipating whatever. He wants to do that, that’s fine. We’ve been trained for that, and if he wants to box, we can do that, that’s fine. We’ve been trained for that as well. So, we’re just trying to make sure that we’re covering all bases.

Q
This is for Andre Berto. The question on the switch of trainers, we all saw how Ortiz and Guerrero were real effective on smothering you on the inside. We know that Hunter and Ward, they’re really good at that style. Was that part of the reason that prompted you to change up the game plan because we know you’re very effective when you have space for your leverage, but on the inside is where you have trouble?

Berto
Definitely. When it came to my decision and what I needed to make, I looked at the overall situation in the end and it definitely Virgil and Ward, everybody on this side, and when it comes to working on the inside, when it comes to working on defense they’re very, very, very effective. So, like I said, I’m just trying to make sure we’ve been improving on our all-around game if it’s inside work or if it’s outside work where I’m the best at.

So, like I said, we’re covering all bases. We’re handling the shape. We’re working inside, outside, everywhere it goes. So, it doesn’t matter where the fight goes, we’re going to be ready to go.

Q
We also know there’s also we’ve seen a pattern of you kind of anemia here and there sometimes. Is there still a problem as far as low iron in your blood?

Berto
Yeah, of course, I have some doctors that work real close to me and they’re trying to make sure everything is good when it comes to my anemia situation and everything right now at this point is on point. We’re sharp. We’re in shape. All the way around, we’re good.

Q
I’ve got one question for Soto Karass regarding his underdog role continuously and bouts of. Does that motivate him, or does it anger him or how does that affect him seeing that sometimes he’s seen as the gatekeeper but fighting for the upset?

Soto Karass
It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter to me. It’s the same whether I’m favored or not. It doesn’t really matter to me. It doesn’t make me uncomfortable. What I will say is that the fans, everybody’s always going to get 100% the best of Soto Karass and it doesn’t really matter what they think. They think that I don’t have the tools or I’m not capable of winning, that’s fine. They can think whatever they want, but I do know this is that I go into every fight wanting to win and I’m always going to give the best of me and I’m going to be 100 percent.

Q
Jesus, what can we expect from you in this fight?

Soto Karass
Well, what can I say? You guys follow my career. You know who I am. You know me already. You’re going to get the best of me. I will say this that I feel a little smarter in this fight because this is going to be very tough. It’s a very dangerous fight. So, I’m going to be a little smarter in this fight, but it’s going to be the same Soto Karass. You’re going to get 100% and you’re going to get a good fight out of me.

Q
What about your nickname, El Renuente? What does that mean? Why did you get it?

Soto Karass
I actually got it from my ex-coach, and it means lazy. It means lazy. I guess because when we used to work in the past, he would ask me if I wanted to do mitts or if I wanted to work out with any of the bags and I didn’t. I just wanted to spar and it’s kind of a joke, so that’s what they call me is El Renuente.

K. Swanson
Okay, no problem. So, that was our last question. We appreciate both fighters taking the time out of their training to join us today. Again, we look forward to the fight which is July 27th for the NABF Welterweight Championship from the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, televised live on SHOWTIME, and Andre, any final comments?

Berto
To all the fans in San Antonio, definitely come out. It’s going to be a tremendous show. When it comes to Soto Karass, he knows that I know him pretty well and I’ve been around people and been training in the past with people that know him very, very, very well. So, he knows that I’m definitely going to be ready all the way across the board for him.

So, like I said, San Antonio, definitely come out. It’s going to be a hell of a show. We’ve got a hell of a main event. We’ve got a hell of a undercard and I can’t wait. Like I said, it’s been a while, man, and I’m just ready for fight and tired of training. I’m ready to go. So, like I said, I respect Soto Karass because he always comes to fight. So, it’s going to be a good show, man.

K. Swanson
Okay, great, and any final comments from Jesus Soto Karass?

Soto Karass
I just want to say to everybody thank you and I’ll see you on the 27th in San Antonio at the AT&T Center and you can expect a war, a very good fight. I’m coming to win. I know Berto’s coming to win. I hope he’s well prepared, but it’s going to be a very, very good show and a good performance. So, thank you very much.

END OF CALL

“KNOCKOUT KINGS II,” featuring former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round main event for the vacant NABF Welterweight Championship, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Tokyo’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and undefeated power-puncher Diego Chaves faces fellow unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME® at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and are available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

ANDRE BERTO, Former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion

“I’m looking forward to this challenge on July 27. As you can see, it’s an exciting undercard with my man Keith Thurman and my man Omar Figueroa.

“I’ve been through some ups and downs. I feel that I have made some of the right changes that I needed to get focused.

“I have a new team and I’m dedicated to win another world title.

“I let the big show get away from me twice, once against Victor Ortiz and once against Robert Guerrero. I’m coming to San Antonio focused.

“It’s going to be a hell of a show. Make sure you buy your tickets or tune in on SHOWTIME because there’s nothing stopping me. I’m ready.

“You can have all the power in the world, but if you don’t know technique or don’t have a strategy, then you’ve got nothing. I’ve made changes in my game plan and I’m going to fight smarter.

“Soto Karass is a good fighter. I’ve seen his fights. There’s nothing too spectacular about him, but he does have that tough Mexican fighting style.”

JESUS SOTO KARASS, Veteran Welterweight Contender

“I have a great test ahead of me. I have followed Andre Berto’s career very closely. When he was a world champion, I was hoping I was going to get to fight him someday.

“I wasn’t ready for him then, but now that I got offered the fight, I know I’m ready.

“This is a very important fight for me and I know I’m ready. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got to prove all of the doubters wrong.

“I decided that this year is the year I’m going to become a world champion.

“San Antonio is one of the best places for boxing. With these ticket prices, I’m hoping the arena is going to be full of Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

“The name of this fight is ‘Knockout Kings II’ for a reason and I’m going to try to make sure it lives up to its name.”

OMAR FIGUEROA JR., Undefeated Texas Rising Star

“This fight is called ‘Knockout Kings II’ for a reason. I always go out there looking for the knockout. This is a great fight card for the fans. This is what boxing needs.

“It especially means a lot for my home state of Texas. This is perfect for me. All of my friends, family and fans can come up and see me fight.

“I’m at a loss for words when I think about fighting for my first world title here in Texas. I pictured myself being in this position because as a fighter, you have to see it in order to achieve it. This is what we’ve wanted and what we’ve been working so hard for.

“July 27, you’ll see fireworks in the ring.

“San Antonio is the perfect place for a card like this. I can’t describe what it was like being at the Canelo vs. Trout fight. Hearing 40,000 people cheer was incredible. I’m so grateful for this opportunity and proud to be a part of this fight card.”

KEITH THURMAN, Undefeated Top Rated Welterweight Contender

“The last time I was in Texas was when I was competing as an amateur in the 2008 Olympic Trials.

“I don’t know if there is another fighter out there that’s hungrier than me. They’ve been feeding me, but I’m still starving I have a long time left in this game and I don’t know when I’m going to get enough of it.

“I’m looking forward to this fight. My opponent is a young hungry fighter with a record of 22 and 0 with 18 knockouts and I am 20 and 0 with 18 knockouts. You know this is going to be a fight.

“If you’re a boxing fan and you’re from around here, then you have to be here unless you’ve got a family emergency.

“Come support the undercard that has a lot of local fighters and local talent.

“I don’t expect this fight to go more than two rounds. If the fight goes more than two rounds, find me and I will give you a refund.”

ERIC GOMEZ, Vice President and Matchmaker of Golden Boy Promotions

“We’ve been around for a little over a decade and we’ve done great events and I don’t think we’ve had a partner like Leija and Battah Promotions. They’re committed to boxing and committed to Texas and they’re doing an amazing job.

“Don’t blink when Keith Thurman fights, because you might miss something big.

“Everyone has been looking for the next great fighter in Texas, the next great champion from the state and I think we’ve found him in Omar Figueroa.

“In boxing, there are great events and then there are great fights. Last month at the Alamodome, there was a great event. This main event is a great fight. Styles make fights and both of these guys really come to fight. They’re going to come to fight hard because that’s what they know how to do.

“This is little bit of a crossroads fight for both Berto and Soto Karass. The winner is going to go on to bigger and better things and whoever loses is going to have to take a hard look at their career.”

JESSE JAMES LEIJA, Former Two-Time World Champion & Texas Boxing Legend

“We have a strong undercard with great local talent from San Antonio. We see great things happening for these guys in the future.

“We’re excited to have Omar Figueroa back again, but maybe he will give us two rounds this time.

“I’m a huge fan of Andre Berto and of Jesus Soto Karass. I’m also a huge fan of the sport of boxing and Mike [Battah] and I have worked really hard with Golden Boy Promotions to bring the best events to San Antonio.

“We want to fill the AT&T Center with 18,000 people and I think that’s doable.

“We’re bringing great fights, big names and we hope everyone comes out and supports boxing in San Antonio.”

MIKE BATTAH, President of Leija and Battah Promotions

“We are growing this fight business and it’s growing in a fast way. San Antonio is going to be the hub of boxing and we’re really excited about that.”

# # #

“KNOCKOUT KINGS II,” featuring Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto facing tough Mexican veteran contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round welterweight main event, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Tokyo’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions and unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman and fellow power-puncher Diego Gabriel Chaves battle for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale and will be available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com and ATTCenter.com, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

For information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.comor www.ATTCenter.com, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/AndreBerto, www.twitter.com/OmarFigueroaJr, www.twitter.com/attcenter and www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #KnockoutKings2 and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing andwww.facebook.com/ATTCenter.

AN ANTONIO, May 15, 2013 – San Antonio, Texas will once again be the site of a major boxing event when SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® returns to the Lone Star State on Saturday, July 27 with “KNOCKOUT KINGS II,” a spectacular night of world-class fights at the AT&T Center featuring a tripleheader starring some of the sport’s brightest stars live on SHOWTIME.

In the 12-round main event, former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto is back in the ring to take on tough Mexican contender Jesus Soto Karass. Plus, unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman and fellow power-puncher Diego Gabriel Chaves battle for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship and Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Tokyo’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50, $25 and $10, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, go on sale Friday, May 17 at 10:00 a.m. CT and will be available for purchase at the AT&T Center box office, online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.ATTCenter.com, all Ticketmaster locations by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Leija & Battah Promotions by calling (210) 979-3302 or emailing m@leijabattahpromo.com.

The event marks the return of co-promoters Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions to San Antonio where they recently promoted the April 20 blockbuster fight between Canelo Alvarez and Austin Trout which had almost 40,000 fans in attendance.

“Texas is our new home away from home and it’s great to be returning so soon after the Alvarez-Trout mega event in April,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “That event proved that boxing is alive and well and on July 27, we’re going to have another stacked card that will pack the AT&T Center.”

“Leija-Battah Promotions is thrilled to be co-hosting another SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event in San Antonio in collaboration with Golden Boy Promotions,” said Mike Battah, President of Leija & Battah Promotions. “The people of San Antonio and Texas demonstrated their affinity for boxing on April 20 at the Canelo vs. Trout sell-out event and we look forward to hosting multiple mega-fights yearly.”

“We have always dedicated ourselves to providing the people of San Antonio and all of South Texas with a broad variety of first-class sports and entertainment events at the AT&T Center,” said Rick Pych, Spurs Sports & Entertainment President of Business Operations. “San Antonio is a city that truly appreciates and supports boxing in a big way and this is a terrific opportunity for fight fans to witness three world-class bouts in an arena setting.”

A member of the 2004 Haitian Olympic team, Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KO’s) turned pro later that year and has never looked back. A throwback fighter willing to go into the trenches to put on exciting bouts for his fans, the 29-year-old from Winter Haven, Florida first struck professional gold in 2008 when he stopped Miguel Rodriguez in the seventh round to win the WBC Welterweight World Championship. Berto successfully defended the crown five times before losing it to Victor Ortiz in The Ring Magazine’s 2011 Fight of the Year. He bounced back five months later to defeat Jan Zaveck for the IBF Welterweight World Championship. In his most recent bout, Berto engaged in a fight of the year candidate against Roberto Guerrero, losing a hard fought 12-round decision last November.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve fought in Texas and I’m happy to be back fighting in front of the great fans here,” said Berto. “I’m hungrier than ever to get my title back and the first step is taking out Soto Karass on July 27.”

One of the fight game’s most rugged competitors, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico’s Jesus Soto Karass (27-8-3, 17 KO’s) always gives a supreme effort in the ring and, win or lose, his opponents never emerge from their fights with him unscathed. Fresh off of a January win over Selcuk Aydin, the 30-year-old Soto Karass hopes to add Berto’s name to a list of vanquished foes that includes Euri Gonzalez, Said El Harrak, Vince Phillips, David Estrada and Chris Smith.

“I respect what Andre Berto has done in his career and he’s a tough fighter, but a win over him would be the biggest of my career,” said Soto Karass. “If I want to get a world title shot, I have to go through him to get it.”

A crushing puncher with a 90% knockout rate, Clearwater, Florida’s Keith “One Time” Thurman (20-0, 18 KO’s) has raised his worldwide profile considerably since returning from a year-long injury induced layoff in 2012. Since then, Thurman has gone 5-0 with four knockouts, with wins over Brandon Hoskins, Orlando Lora and former World Champion Carlos Quintana. In his last fight in March, the 24-year-old scored a shutout win over former World Champion Jan Zaveck and on July 27, he challenges for his first world title.

“I’m looking forward to fighting for an interim title and doing it against someone like Chaves,” said Thurman. “I’m not going to have to chase him or get him to fight. We’re going to battle and I’m going to be the last man standing.”

The latest in the line of hard-hitting standouts from Argentina, Diego Gabriel “La Joya” Chaves (22-0, 18 KO’s) shares a similar fighting philosophy with his opponent, Thurman: to end matters as soon as possible. Currently sporting a five-fight knockout streak, the 27-year-old Chaves won the WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in July of last year with a second round knockout of Ismael El Massoudi and defended it two months later with an identical result against Jose Miranda. Now he’s back to fight in the United States for the first time since 2010.

“I appreciate the opportunity to fight in the United States and against someone with a great reputation like Keith Thurman,” said Chaves. “We’re proud people and proud fighters in Argentina and I’m going to show this to the world on July 27th.”

Adding to the knockout theme on July 27 is Texas’ own titan, Weslaco native Omar “Panterita” Figueroa Jr. (21-0-1, 17 KO’s), who has ended four of his last five wins with first round knockouts. In April, the 23-year-old thrilled his home state fans with a first round knockout over then unbeaten top prospect Abner Cotto, winning the NABA and WBC Interim Silver Lightweight titles in the process. He will draw on the energy from a San Antonio crowd for his third consecutive fight when he fights for his first world title against Arakawa on July 27.

“For me there’s nothing like fighting at home in Texas and the fans of San Antonio have pushed me to new heights in my last two fights,” said Figueroa. “I’m looking forward to giving them another big knockout win.”

Fighting out of Tokyo, Japan, 31-year-old southpaw Nihito Arakawa (24-2-1, 16 KO’s) is a nine-year veteran guaranteed to give Figueroa some looks he has never seen in the ring before. A Japanese and OPBF lightweight champion, Arakawa has won 11 of his last 12 bouts, most recently dispatching Pakphum Tor Pornchai in two rounds on May 4. On July 27, he’ll enter hostile territory with the goal of pinning a “1” on Figueroa’s loss column.

“I’m looking forward to fighting in the United States for the first time against a tough opponent like Omar Figueroa,” said Arakawa. “I’m coming here to put on a great show and take the title back to Japan with me.”

“KNOCKOUT KINGS II,” featuring Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto vs. tough Mexican contender Jesus Soto Karass in a 12-round welterweight main event, takes place Saturday, July 27 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Leija & Battah Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. In the 12-round co-featured attractions, unbeaten knockout artist Keith Thurman and fellow power-puncher Diego Gabriel Chaves battle for Chaves’ WBA Interim Welterweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with KO International and Weslaco, Texas’ undefeated rising star Omar Figueroa Jr. squares off against Tokyo’s Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight World Championship in a fight promoted in association with Teiken Promotions. The tripleheader will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME and will be available in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP).

For information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.ATTCenter.com, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/AndreBerto, www.twitter.com/OmarFigueroaJr, www.twitter.com/attcenter and www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #KnockoutKings2 and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing andwww.facebook.com/ATTCenter.

# # #

Fresh off his 1st round destruction of Abner Cotto, undefeated Lightweight Omar Figueroa will return to action on July 27 as part of a Showtime televised tripleheader that will feature Andre Berto taking on Jesus Soto-Karass and Keith Thurman taking on Diego Chaves in San Antonio according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“We’re going to price the tickets right, and I think we’re going to call the card ‘Bang for Your Buck’ because with Berto, Thurman and Figueroa, you have big bangers on the card,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.

“We are really looking forward to bringing another big card to San Antonio. It’s a great fight city, and we wanted Omar Figueroa to be part of this significant tripleheader,” Schaefer said. “He will be in a significant fight. He had a terrific performance against an undefeated guy [Abner Cotto], and he’s one of those exciting guys where you want to have your popcorn and drink in front of you because you don’t want to get up because you know he might knock his opponent out at any moment.

“After the fight [against Cotto], I got a lot of emails from people saying, ‘Who is this guy? He’s so exciting, so strong.’ These kind of comments. Saturday night was a big night for Canelo Alvarez but it was a big night for Omar Figueroa also to have almost 40,000 people going nuts for him. It was amazing. Omar Figueroa has arrived, and let’s see how far he can go.”

January 3, 2013 – The WBC board of governors have voted Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero vs. Andre Berto as their 2012 “Fight of the Year”. Guerrero, a four-division and six-time world champion, and former two-time world champion Berto, engaged in an all out slugfest for twelve rounds. Berto survived knockdowns by Guerrero in rounds one and two, and showed tremendous heart fighting tough to the final bell.

“First I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ,” said Guerrero. “Anytime you’re recognized by the WBC in a fight of the year candidate, the fans are the ones that benefit. When fighters step in the ring we put our lives on the line and it’s rewarding to be recognized for doing so. Next I want to show gratitude toward the WBC governing board and special thanks to José and Mauricio Sulaimán for selecting Guerrero vs. Berto as their “Fight of the Year” in 2012. In addition, I’m very grateful to Ruben Guerrero, Bob Santos and Luis Decubas Jr.”

“I also want to show appreciation to Andre Berto for being a true warrior, because without his courage and heart, we wouldn’t have had the epic showdown that people are still talking about today. Lastly I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions and HBO for airing this fight to all the fans around the world. I’m looking forward to a great 2013.”

November 27, 2012 – In a battle that had Super Bowl like stakes on the line, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) thoroughly dominated former two-time welterweight world champion Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KOs), over twelve grinding back and forth action-packed rounds, dropping him twice in the process. The slug-fest has many commentators, fans and media, considering this war to be “Fight of the year”.

Guerrero, a four-time world champion over six weight classes, is the only Mexican-American fighter, other than future Hall of Famer and promoter Oscar De La Hoya, to win as many titles in as many weight classes.

After once campaigning at the Junior featherweight (122 pounds) weight class, “The Ghost” has now triumphed over six weight divisions, being the only active fighter other than Manny Pacquiao to compete and win in as many divisions.

“My number one goal is to give the fans the fights they deserve and use my platform as a prizefighter to help save lives by directing them to BeTheMatch.org which allows people to become bone marrow donors.” said Guerrero

It’s time for fresh faces with an old school mentality to rise up and Robert has proved to pack fifteen grueling rounds into twelve-round fights, bringing back the memories of boxing’s best throwback champions.

When asked what pushes him to win fights with a blood and guts approach, Guerrero simply answered, “My faith in my Lord and savior Jesus Christ and my Family. My favorite verse is ACTS 2:38.”

Many pundits are salivating at the prospect of a Guerrero vs. Pacquiao showdown, which would be an all out offensive battle. Both fighters are rugged, present an aggressive come forward style, and the fans, media, and those watching around the world, would be anticipating a scintillating all out action packed war.

“Obviously I’ll be watching the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight closely and I’ll be ready to take either one of them out.” Guerrero concluded.

Robert Guerrero may have parlayed himself into a mega payday with a twelve round unanimous decision over Andre Berto in a WBC Interim Title bout at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

In round one, Guerrero jumped on top of Berto and landed a left to the body and another left the wobbled Berto. One more left while being held up and Berto fell to the canvas for the first time in the fight. It was repeated in round two as Berto’s eye was swelling another left dropped Berto yet again. The fight then turned into phone booth fight with both fighters being warned for roughhousing on the inside. The two would stand inches from each other for most of the fight as Guerrero would not let Berto use his speed advantage at distance.

Berto started gettung it going in the middle rounds as he landed some nice double lefts that culminated with some powerful uppercuts. In round eight, both showed the effects of the hard fought contest as there was blood from both noses and the right eye of Guerrero began to swell shut. Berto made a great effort with his power punching but was too far down on the cards and needed something special down the stretch.

The two went at it tooth and nail in the twelfth but it was Guerrero who closed the show with flying colors as he landed about eight hard shots with at least half of them coming after the final bell rang.

Guerrero of Gilroy. CA won by scores of 116-111 on all cards and now looks for a possible bout with Floyd Mayweather with a record of 31-1-1. Berto of Winter Haven, FL is now 28-2.

Upstart Jr. Middleweight prospect Keith Thurman scored the most impressive win of his career as he stopped former Welterweight titlist Carlos Quintana at 2:19 of round four of their scheduled ten round bout.

Thurman was able to land a little left to the body in round one that sent Quintana to his knees for a knockdown. Thurman continued to dominate when in round four he landed a crunching left hook that buckled Quintana that set off a plethora of nasty punches that was culminated with a hard right to the head and referee Jack Reiss stopped the contest.

Thurman of Clearwater, FL is now 19-0 with eighteen knockouts. Quintana of Moca, PR is now 29-4.

Follow all the action LIVE from the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California as WBC Interim Welterweight champion Robert Guerrero defends his crown against former two-time Welterweight champion Andre Berto. The action begins at 10pm est / 7 pm Pacific with an intriguing ten round Jr. Middleweight clash between undefeated fKeith Thurman and former world champion Carlos Quintana.

REFRESH TO GET UPDATES

12 ROUNDS–WBC INTERIM WELTERWEIGHT TITLE–ROBERT GUERRERO (30-1-1, 18 KO’S) VS ANDRE BERTO (28-1, 22 KO’S)

ROUND 1 Clubbing left by Berto..Right to the body..good right..Guerrero lands a body shot..left…BERTO IS HURT AND DOWN HE GOES…Straight left..10-8 Guerrero

Round 2 Straiht left…his eye is swelling…LEFT AND DOWN GOES BERTO…Good left…body shots..Right from Berto…20-16 Guerrero

Round 3 Guerrero working the body..lots of mugging on the ropes..Hard right from Berto…Guerrero lands a left over the top..30-25 Guerrero

Round 4 Berto lands a uppercut..39-35 Guerrero

Round 5 Good left from Berto..Good left to the body from Guerrero…Good body shot and uppercut from Berto..48-45 Guerrero

Round 6 Sharp right from Berto…another right…good body shot…Hard right from Berto…another right..57-55 Guerrero

Round 7 Good uppercut hurt Berto..3 good shots…Berto lands a good shot inside..2 right uppercuts..Guerrero lands a combo at the bell…Berto wobbles back to the corner..67-64 Guerrero

Round 8 Berto lands a good jab..good body shot..Both bleeding from the nose..Good body shot from Berto..76-74 Guerrero

Round 9 2 rights from Berto…left to the body and uppercut..big uppercut buckles Guerrero..85-84 Guerrero

Round 10 Guerrero’s right eye is swollen shut…Both of Berto’s eyes are swollen..Guys trading shots in close…95-94 Guerrero

Round 11 Berto lands a big right..Good body shot…hard left from Guerrero…104-104

Round 12 They are going at it in the ropes..3 hard lefts from Guerrero and 4 or 5 more after the bell…114-113 Guerrero

116-110 on all 3 cards for Robert Guerrero

10 Rounds–Jr. Middleweights–Keith Thurman (18-0, 17 KO’s) vs Carlos Quintana (29-3, 23 KO’s)

Round 1 Quintana lands a right hook…THURMAN LANDS A LEFT TO THE BODY AND DOWN GOES QUINTANA…UP AT 9…10-8 Thurman

Round 2 Thurman lands 2 hard body shots..2 straight rights20-17 Thurman

Round 3 Thurman lands a left to the body and a sharp hook inside..30-26 Thurman

Round 4Thurman lands a hard right..Vicious left hook sets off an awesome display of power punches and A CRUSHING RIGHT HAND TO THE HEAD FORCES REFEREE JACK REISS TO STOP THE FIGHT

LOS ANGELES, November 21 – Unbeaten contender Jermell Charlo, unbeaten prospect Randy Caballero and 2012 United States Olympian Dominic Breazeale are ready to step into the ring at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California on Saturday, November 24 in separate bouts leading up to the HBO World Championship Boxing® doubleheader featuring the WBC Interim Welterweight World title fight between Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto.

In the featured non-televised undercard bout, undefeated junior middleweight Charlo will face Dashon Johnson in a 10-round bout. Also in action will be Coachella, California’s fan favorite Caballero facing Mexico’s Rigoberto Casillas in a junior featherweight fight scheduled for eight rounds and Breazale battling Mike Bissett in a four round heavyweight matchup.

Houston’s Jermell Charlo (18-0, 9 KO’s) has been on fight fans’ radar ever since he turned pro in 2007 after an outstanding amateur career. In the last two years, he’s made even more of an impression with his big wins over unbeaten Luis Grajeda and fellow prospects Francisco Santana and Chris Chatman. Coming off of a fifth round knockout win over Denis Douglin in June, the 22-year-old Charlo will look to give fans another stellar performance this weekend against Escondido, California’s Dashon Johnson (13-8-3, 4 KO’s) who will be stepping into the ring with his third straight undefeated foe after battling Daquan Arnett and Glen Tapia in 2012.

Popular NABO Bantamweight Champion Randy Caballero (16-0, 8 KO’s) will be stepping up in weight on Saturday to face Delicias, Mexico’s Rigoberto Casillas (8-8-1, 6 KO’s). 22-year-old Caballero had an impressive title defense in August against Manuel Roman and is looking to end the year with a fourth win against the hard-hitting Casillas.

2012 United States Olympian and heavyweight prospect Dominic Breazeale (1-0, 1 KO) introduced himself to professional boxing earlier this month taking just 66 seconds to stop Curtis Tate. He’s not about to let that momentum slip away, as he returns to the ring to take on fellow unbeaten Mike Bissett (1-0, 1 KO) of Nashville, a fighter who needed just 1:43 to win his pro debut against Roberto White in October.

In additional undercard bouts, Vallejos, Calif. heavyweight Gerald Washington (4-0, 3 KO’s) faces Jamiah Williamson (3-4, 2 KO’s) of Gardena, featherweight Manny Robles Jr. (2-0, 1 KO) takes on fellow Los Angeles product Misael Martinez (0-6) and Cincinnati lightweight Robert Easter Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) meets Bell’s Carlos Gonzalez (1-2). This trio of bouts are scheduled for four rounds each.

# # #

Guerrero vs. Berto, a 12-round world title fight between Four-Division and Six-Time World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto for Guerrero’s WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship, will take place on November 24 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. The event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Also featured will be a junior middleweight fight between rising star Keith “One Time” Thurman and former World Champion Carlos Quintana. The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable service charges and taxes, are available for purchase by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or AXS at (888) 9AXS- TIX (888-929-7849), at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com, www.cbbankarena.com or www.axs.com.

ROBERT “THE GHOST GUERRERO, Four Division and Six Time World Champion
“There is nothing left to say. It’s time to fight. I’m ready to fight and take care of business on November 24.”

ANDRE BERTO, Former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion

“This has been a long time coming. I’ve had a hell of a year, going through a lot of trials and tribulations. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I’ve learned a lot about myself and how strong I am to get through what I’ve been through. I’m in a whole other mind frame and have a whole new motivation.

“I had a tremendous training camp and I’m in the best shape that I’ve been in in a long time. I’m focused and I think that’s the most important thing.

“I want to thank Team Guerrero for taking the fight. He’s a tough opponent and you definitely have to respect him for going through what he’s been through with his wife. There’s nothing to do but respect a man like that.

“I know he’s coming to fight, so that’s going to make it more exciting.

“I’m in shape and I’m ready to get back out there under the lights and have fun like I used to.”

KEITH “ONE TIME” THURMAN, Rising Junior Middleweight Star

“I’m living the dream right now. I’ve been fighting since I was seven years old and this is what I want, to be in a big fight on a big stage on HBO.

“We both want to be champions and one of us already has been and I’m up and coming. I plan on taking out many people during my career and being champion at 154 or 147.

“I have a lot of confidence going into this fight. I’m strong and ready. I’m going to do my thing ‘One Time.’

“This fight is what I’m talking about..I don’t want no chumps. He’s already looking forward and talking about fighting Canelo Alvarez, but I like that. I like the confidence he has, because I want to be in a good fight.

“I have plenty of confidence as well. So don’t blink, as I have a lot of early knockouts and I have the abilities and skills to make that happen again on Saturday night.”

CARLOS QUINTANA, Former World Champion

“I’m very excited to fight on this card on HBO, especially at 154 pounds.

“At 147 pounds, I had a very difficult time making weight, but I’m never looking back, I’m only looking forward to my future. At 154, I’m a new fighter and I’m undefeated.

“I expect a difficult fight from my opponent. He is young, strong and knows how to box, but come November 24, I’ll be victorious.

“I was once his age and know what it’s like to be hungry, but this is my time.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions

“November 24 is a special Thanksgiving treat for fight fans. In both fights, you have two warriors wiling to face each other to prove they are the best in their weight classes. It will be electrifying night of boxing.

“The co-featured fight is going to be a great fight. It’s a 50-50 fight, where it will be a toss of the coin type of fight. On one side you have a fighter who has the experience, confidence, speed, power and intelligence of a veteran [in Carlos Quintana], but on the other side, you have a future world champion who doesn’t have as much experience, but has youth, confidence and is an unbeaten rising star that brings excitement to the game.”

“With the main event, we are expecting record breaking numbers on HBO because of the magnitude of this fight. The winner of this fight is in line to face the best, the Mayweather’s and guys like that. Guerrero is a tough guy in the welterweight division and not scared to fight anybody. He is fighting one of the best and that’s why we respect him.

“I don’t care when you [Andre Berto] lose or how you lose, but when you come back and knockout your next opponent in the fifth round, that’s a man on a mission.”

# # #

Guerrero vs. Berto, a 12-round world title fight between Four-Division and Six-Time World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto for Guerrero’s WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship, will take place on November 24 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. The event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Also featured will be a junior middleweight fight between rising star Keith “One Time” Thurman and former World Champion Carlos Quintana. The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable service charges and taxes, are available for purchase by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or AXS at (888) 9AXS- TIX (888-929-7849), at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com, www.cbbankarena.com or www.axs.com.

Kelly Swanson
Thank you so much. I know one thing; I’m very grateful and thankful that we are going to be talking about a special fight Thanksgiving week leading into the Thanksgiving weekend. That’s Robert Guerrero versus Andre Berto.

Before I introduce Oscar De La Hoya to talk about the particulars of the fight, I did want to let everybody know that because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, the fight week schedule will be bumped up a little bit. For those in the Los Angeles area, on Monday, November 19th there will be a media workout with all of the fighters, the main events on the show; Guerrero, Berto, Thurman, and Carlos Quintana. That’s going to be at the West Side Boxing Club in Los Angeles, and Tuesday there will be a final press conference at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live.

So those two events normally take place Wednesday/Thursday, this next week will be Monday/Tuesday. Then we’ll take a break, and on Friday we will have the official weigh-in, and that will be at Dave & Buster’s in Ontario close to the site of the fight near the Citizens Business Bank Arena. So, please watch for your fight week schedule.

And now at this time I’m going to turn this over to Oscar De La Hoya who will introduce the fighters. Oscar.

Oscar De La Hoya

Thank you very much, Kelly. Yes, we have Guerrero versus Berto. It’s a very exciting main event. It will be 12 rounds for the interim WBC Welterweight World title. We also have as a co-main event, Keith Thurman versus Carlos Quintana, which will be a 10 round Junior Middleweight Fight. This event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, and the sponsors are Corona and AT&T. We’re very, very excited. Putting this fight together was a no-brainer.

You have Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero who is an exciting champion, who is willing to fight the best, who is moving up weight divisions and conquering the best and fighting the toughest guys out there and really showing his skills and what he’s really all about inside that squared circle. Then you have Andre Berto, who comes out with everything to fight. He has talent. He has speed. He’s explosive.

So, this fight really should be-has fireworks written all over it. We feel that the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario will have an electric crowd on that night, which will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Tickets are priced ringside for $200, $100, $75, $50, and $25. Tickets are still available but going fast. So I urge you, go out there. This is a great fight Thanksgiving week.

I believe these two great warriors are just going to give it all inside that squared circle. So at this moment, I would like to introduce to you the two-time Welterweight World Champion. At 29 years old, he competed in the 2004 Olympics for Haiti. He’s obviously well known for his charity efforts in Haiti, especially in the wake of the devastating earthquake in 2010, which he immediately after spent time assisting in recovery efforts.

He won his first world title in 2008 with a seventh round technical knockout over Miguel Angel Rodriguez. And he’s successfully defended it five times before having a tremendous, tremendous fight of the year battle versus Victor Ortiz. And the warrior he is, the champion he is, he bounced back in his next fight with a fifth round knockout stoppage over Dejan Zavec in September of 2011. Without any further ado, I would like to introduce to you to say a few words with a record of 28-1 and 22 knockouts, out of Winter Haven, Florida; Andre Berto.

Andre Berto

How are you doing? I want to say thank you to everybody that’s on the call today. Like I said, at the end of the day, it’s going to be a good show. We’ve been training our asses off down here in Florida. We’re having a tremendous training camp and I’m excited about it. Just like Oscar said, there are going to be some fireworks on Saturday night, November the 24th. So, it’s going to be a good one.

O. De La Hoya

Thank you very much, Andre. Now, to introduce to you the former six-time Four Division World Champion. He’s obviously one of the best fighters inside that squared circle today. We obviously know him for his charity work in this community with the LLS.organization, which is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

At 29 years old, he has put together wins over Roberto Arrieta; the Cuban legend, Casamayor. He defeated Olympian, Vicente Escobedo, had a great tremendous win over Michael Katsidis. He’s rapidly climbing that ladder in the pound-for-pound list. He had a very, very impressive win in his last fight against then undefeated Selcuk Aydin, which he won the WBC Interim Welterweight World Title.

Here’s a young man who wants to fight the best in order to become the best, willing to take all comers. And this fight here with Andre Berto is a dangerous fight for both of them, but that’s really what these guys are all about. It’s fighting the best and giving the fans the best show possible. Let me introduce to you with a record of 31-1 with 18 knockouts out of Gilroy, California, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero.

Robert Guerrero

Thank you, Oscar. I just want to thank everybody that’s on the call. Thank God for all of the blessings he’s blessed us with, and I’m excited for this. I can’t wait to get out there. We’ve got a week left, so man, I’m just chomping at the bit. All the hard work’s done, now it’s just all that’s left is to go in there and fight.

Q

Andre, Oscar talked about in his introductory remarks about the excellent performance that Robert had a couple months ago when he fought against Selcuk Aydin. That was his first fight at welterweight. I wondered if you saw that and what your take was on that fight seeing him-maybe having known about him when he was featherweight champion and junior lightweight, lightweight; but how he looked fighting at a much heavier weight than he’d ever fought at before.

A. Berto

Yes. I was there, actually. I was there at the fight. I had to actually go to do some things for the commission, so I was actually there at the fight. I think he put on a good performance. By the end of the day, like I said, me and Aydin we’re two completely different fighters. Aydin, basically kept his hand tied and just changes in his style like a punching bag all night. But like I said, Robert did what he had to do. He came in there, and I think he looked good at the weight, and he did what he had to do. He stayed busy and kept turning him all night; and fighting a guy like Aydin, that’s what you have to do.

Q

When you were watching him, did you at all think that he would be your next opponent? I know you were just at the fight, but were you at all thinking, you know what, he might be my next guy.

A. Berto

No, I didn’t think so at the time at all, because I was worried about my situation. The things I had to clear up, but like I said, it is what it is. The time is here. And he’s here in the welterweight division now and he put on a good show against Aydin, so I respect him for that.

Q

Now, you mentioned some of the things you had to clear up with the commission. That was obviously the steroid test that you failed previous to the rematch with Victor Ortiz that got canceled. I’m wondering now that you’ve been licensed to fight again in California, what was it like for you during that period of time with the uncertainty of-if you get a license the things that were being discussed about you being a cheater essentially? And now you have your license back and just the amount of desire and anxiousness to just finally get back-

A. Berto

It was a tough situation. But, me and my team, we really didn’t worry too much, because we knew we didn’t do anything wrong. It was just the fact of just coming out and proving that. After we did, we hired some real top level scientists and attorneys that really go in take a sample and find out exactly what it was, and we found out exactly what it was. It was a contamination of very, very, very small trace, but we presented all the results to the commission and everything’s cleared up and we were able to move forward. But, it was just sad that we had to go through all of the bull that we had to go through. Like I said, right now we’re here and we’re excited. We’re happy and ready to get back in it.

Q

Hello, Robert. You heard him talk about; he said that with Aydin when you were fighting, you had pretty much a punching bag in front of you and that Andre is not the same kind of fighter as Aydin is. When you look at the game that Andre has, how do you view that differently in your approach then going up in weight to fight Aydin; now that you’re still at that weight, but now fighting what is a much different sort of opponent?

R. Guerrero

Yes. Aydin did come and take some punches, but he wasn’t a punching bag. He was a punching wall. He’s a tough guy, comes in strong, and he was determined to win. And the one thing that’s hard to sock is a determined man. But Andre Berto, like you said, is obviously a different fighter. He knows how to make fights. I’m happy with the style that I bring to the ring, because I can bring a bunch of different stuff to the ring. And making that adjustment to 147 pounds, I got the breaking in out of the way.

Q

Robert also, you heard him talk a bit about getting relicensed after the drug test situation. I know when this fight was first brought up, I didn’t hear it from you but I heard it from your managers, talking about that you didn’t want to fight him because you felt like he was a cheat and why should you give him the opportunity. Obviously, something changed between then and when the fight was signed. I’m wondering, what happened that you decided that this was the fight that you wanted to take? And do you think he’s a cheater?

R. Guerrero

Everybody’s guilty until they’re proven innocent, and he was proven innocent. Like he said, he hired the right people, he took the proper steps and did the right things to get back licensed and we go from there. But I’ve been in situations with people who’ve been on steroids and been in the ring with somebody on steroids, so we take real caution against that. Because every time we step in that ring, were putting our life on the line. And when somebody enhances, they’re playing with somebody’s life.

Q

So, do you think he’s clean or do you think he was cheating?

R. Guerrero

Who knows? Only God knows and he knows. So, that’s the least of my concern. My concern is to be prepared for this fight and to go do my job.

Q

Andre, you mentioned that Robert looked good at the weight fighting welterweight against Aydin. But do you really think he’s a legitimate welterweight who can hurt you?

A. Berto

He’s weighing in at 147, so he’s a legitimate welterweight.

Q

Okay. Do you think he can hurt you?

A. Berto

Like I said, at the end of the day, man, this is boxing. This is boxing. At any time, any right punch can land at any right time that can hurt a fighter that you wouldn’t even expect. So right now, me personally, no, I don’t think he can. But then again, like I said, it’s a fight game, man. It’s a fight game, so anything can happen. We’re looking forward to just going and putting on a good performance.

Q

When’s the last time you had a fight that you just thought, yes, I really kicked butt in this fight. This is who I want to be and this fight really showed who I am.

A. Berto

It’s been a while. I don’t think people really realistically have seen the best Andre Berto at all. I’ve had a lot of exciting performances or one-punch knockout performances, this and that, but I have so much more to my arsenal, man. I’m my biggest critic, so I kind of analyze myself to the max, so it’s hard for me to think I’ve really had an impressive performance that impressed me. I can say it’s been a while, I don’t think people have seen all they can see of me.

Q

Is it correct to have a sense that you seem a little bit feistier these days, in the last couple of years? With maybe getting a little more impatient for a fight of this magnitude, or maybe trying to ramp up some media interest and talk on the social medium and all that. Are you feeling more sort of feisty and edgy and ready to get some things done?

R. Guerrero

Yes. I’m always feeling like that. The thing is a lot of people are kind of befuddled because now I’m speaking up. Before, I always just did my job and sat back and waited for it to come my way. Unfortunately, if you don’t open your mouth in this business and you don’t talk, nothing gets done.

So, I’m starting to speak out now and it’s time. I’ve won six world championships. It’s time to make these big fights and that’s why I’m opening my mouth and calling everybody out. I’m not the type of guy that does that, but sometimes you’ve got to step out of your own comfort zone and go make it happen.

Q

Robert, I’m wondering with the things you’ve been through with your wife and with cancer; I’m wondering how you feel that gives you perspective? Or how that influences you and how you approach a fight nowadays? Now, that you’re back on track and back in the ring fulltime?

R. Guerrero

It gives you a lot of determination. Get in there and be the best, and do what you love to do. The situation being there with my wife, seeing what she had to go through, it makes you step back and look at the bigger picture. She was out there fighting for her life, and I have the privilege to do what I love to do in the ring and get paid for it and be successful at it.

So take advantage of it, use that drive and go out there and make it happen. That’s why I love what I do. That’s why I work very hard, because you can’t take things for granted. You can’t look past anything. You’ve got to enjoy the little things in life and everything that comes your way.

Q

Okay. Andre, the last year must have been a roller coaster ride for you mentally. While you haven’t been in the ring, have you been able to stay in boxing shape during this time?

A. Berto

Yes, definitely, man, it was pretty much the only thing I could do at the time. Just like I said, this last year it’s been one of the hardest years I really had to go through. And like I said, it has definitely matured me just as a man. Just to get ready for everything in your head. Just like they always say it’s always a storm before a blessing, man. And I went through a hell of a storm within this last year, and it does put me in perspective with a lot of different things, and I’m right here in the position just to move forward. Me, I’m blessed. The family’s blessed, and we’re ready just to move forward and make it happen.

Q

Okay. Now you’re facing probably the toughest test of your career when you face Guerrero, what advantages do you feel you have in this fight?

A. Berto

Well, my advantages I think are definitely my speed, and I have a power advantage. Again, like I said, Robert, he’s a tough fighter. So like I said, we’ve been putting everything to work. I’ve been working with some tremendous people. We’re just going to be ready for whatever.

Q

Okay. What do you feel your biggest weapon in this fight will be?

A. Berto

For me. I can’t let it all out, my man. Come on, now. Who you working for here?

Q

Now, I’ve got a few questions for you, Robert. Robert, you fought in and won world titles from featherweight up to welterweight. How comfortable do you feel at welterweight and will you stay there permanently?

R. Guerrero

I feel really good at welterweight. So who knows? I’ve got to take care of business this fight. But if not, I’m willing to move. Like I said, I’m looking for the best fights out there, and I want to fight the best and be the best. So right now I’ve got Andre Berto in front of me and that’s who is the next best opponent for me, and I’ve got to take care of business, so all the focus right now is just on Berto and taking care of that.

Q

Okay. Now the last few years have been tough dealing with your wife, Casey’s, battle with leukemia. How important is it to have the full support of your family during your boxing career?

R. Guerrero

It’s very important. Having that support behind you all the time, knowing what you’re working for and who you’re working for. So that’s important right there, and it’s the biggest part of my career is having my family support me through everything.

Q

First of all, Andre, I know you’re fighting Robert. He’s a southpaw. A lot was made from your fight against Victor Ortiz, which was a great fight. I know they’re two different southpaws as far as their styles are concerned. I know Robert being more of a measured boxer, but what lessons did you learn from that fight, Andre? And how do you compare and contrast those two styles?

A. Berto

With the Ortiz fight, a lot of people really just don’t know what went on behind the scenes getting ready for that fight. I wasn’t where I needed to be at all, at all for that fight. Like I said, it is what it is and it happened. But they are different fighters, of course. Victor Ortiz is more of a pressure fighter, trying to back you up to the ropes and tries to bang you out, and he’s more of that type of fighter. Guerrero is more of a boxer.

Q

How do you prevent a guy like Robert from turning you, like the way he did Aydin?

A. Berto

I don’t fight like Aydin. Right?

Q

That’s right.

A. Berto

Aydin is flat footed. Aydin puts his block up, and just like Robert said he is a guy, he is a strong wall. He just walks to you and tries to bang you out, and I’ve seen that in that fight with him and Aydin. But to turn somebody like him is easy to do. . Like I said, different styles make different fights, but I don’t fight too much like Aydin, so it’s going to be a different situation.

Q

Okay, and very last question, Andre. I know there’s going to be USADA testing for this fight, and obviously you’ve gone through the VADA process before, and I’m just wondering if you can compare and contrast the two different testing protocols now that you’ve done both?

A. Berto

It’s pretty much the same. VADA realistically, they came probably five or six times already to test me-to take urine tests and blood testing. VADA was more every other, couple days, but USADA, they’ve been very relentless on coming to test. Sometimes they came back to back. USADA testing is very relentless with it. VADA testing you have the same way. They’re great testing companies, so I don’t really have anything bad to say about it. Both of them do the same thing; take blood and urine, so it’s not too much of a difference.

Q

Andre, you haven’t fought in what’s going to be close to 14 months by the time you step into the ring with Robert on Saturday night. Are you worried at all about any ring rust, especially going into a fight against a guy who’s a slick southpaw boxer who can give guys trouble on their best nights and you haven’t been in the ring for a while? Are you worried at all about that coming into the fight?

A. Berto

No, not really. Because like I said we’ve been having tremendous work here and I’ve been working with some tremendous, tremendous southpaws. I’m in great shape, man. I’m in really good shape, and I believe if there is some rust, it should shake off pretty quickly. But like I said, I’m ready. I’m in great shape. I’ve been having some great workouts. I’ve been working my ass off though, and I don’t think it’s going to be too much ring rust.

Q

Okay, I just have one more that’s actually addressed to both guys, but I’ll stick with you, Andre, first quickly. It wasn’t that long back, Andre, that you were considered by many to be one of the top young fighters in the sport. Your name was mentioned up in the pound-for-pound rankings. Then obviously, you’ve had a very tough last year in your personal life and your career. How important is it for you on Saturday night to give a big type of a performance that will get people talking about Andre Berto again the way they were not too long ago?

A. Berto

Yes. I think it’s going to be really important for me. With my style of fighting, I don’t think it will take too much to get people talking again. Right now, it’s on us to win. That’s it. We come there with a win and everything else will come into work, into play. Because you need to understand the thing with boxing, man, you can be the man one night and everybody act like they don’t know you the next night.

You can always just turn into an overnight star here in this boxing game. So this is something that I’m not really worried about, too focused on. The only thing I’m focused on Saturday night is to win, and I believe everything else will play out.

Q

I just want to direct a similar question to Robert. Robert, you’re one of those guys who have been around for a little while now. Kind of quietly accumulating a lot of wins, some world titles, but you haven’t really had that big career defining fight yet. Both you and Andre are two of those guys who are often considered to be the most avoided fighters in the sport. So I guess the flip back question to you in a similar way, how important is it for you, Robert, to establish yourself on Saturday night and make a big name for yourself with the mainstream boxing community?

R. Guerrero

It’s very important. You’re just as good as your last fight. You’ve always got to come out and impress and that’s the one thing with boxing is you’re always have to look better every time you come out and do your job. The number one thing is going out there and getting the W. You know, that’s what we’re working on. We’re working on going out there to get that W. Whether it’s short or not, you still got to keep going out there and do your best and put out your best work.

Q

Andre, you mentioned the Ortiz fight. You said that people didn’t really know what was going on behind the scenes. Maybe you could fill people in. What was going on behind the scenes? Why weren’t you 100% for that fight?

A. Berto

Just a lot of things; it was really hard just to-not really going to speak too much on it, but it’s just the fact that trying new things during training that kind of backfired on us. I’ll just say that. It just affected my body terribly and to the case that I had to of course had to go to the hospital after the fight.

And I had some severe problems that I had to get managed and had to get fixed up and had to make sure to get medical attention on, basically. So like I said, we weren’t 100%. But we still put on a tremendous fight for the fans, and it was something that definitely everybody’s going to remember for a while.

Q

For sure. The rematch was scheduled to go off earlier this year. It didn’t. Much has happened since; Ortiz fought Josesito Lopez. Is a rematch with Ortiz something that’s still on your agenda? Or are you beyond that at this point?

A. Berto

The only thing that’s on my agenda right now is Robert Guerrero. That’s it. Everything else can plan out how it’s going to plan out. But like I said, after everything I went through, I’m just focused on what’s ahead of me and just taking one fight at a time. That’s pretty much it, so all my focus right now is on Robert Guerrero and that’s it. I’ve been eating and sleeping that. That’s the only thing that matters to me right now.

Q

Hello, Robert. After jumping from 135 to 147, lightweight to welterweight; I was wondering, how much confidence did it give you to find out that you could really stand your ground and fight against a strong big welterweight like Selcuk Aydin?

R. Guerrero

I’ve always got confidence in myself. If I didn’t have confidence in myself, I wouldn’t even move to 147. But, it does reassure you. You have a tough guy like Aydin in there, who’s a hard puncher with both hands. Wherever he hits you, it’s going to hurt. So to stand in there and trade with him and trade combinations with him, you push yourself to the limit. You test yourself, and that’s the type of guy I am. I’m going to test myself all the whole time I get in that ring. One of things that everybody knows is that I can take a shot in that ring at 147 pounds.

Q

Speaking about 147 pounds welterweight; can you talk about what your ultimate goals are in the welterweight division? And how much higher in weight do you think you can go?

R. Guerrero

My goal is just to push it as far as I can push it, fight the best fighters that are out there. Challenge the best fighters, if I can get them in the ring. Right now, the focus is Andre Berto, taking care of that. Because if you don’t take care of business with Berto, it just puts a stop to your training. So we’ve got to take care of that first, and after that there are a lot of big fights there. Even if I have to move to 54, I’m confident in moving to 54.

Q

Just a little follow-up question for Robert, something that Andre Berto had said. He said there may be a little bit of rust and shake it off quickly, and I’m pretty sure that you’re not going to talk too much about strategy. But is it unreasonable to think you might try to get after it a little bit more very, very early on just to see where he stands in terms of the rust?

R. Guerrero

I said it early on when the fight got made, we’re going to pedal to the metal; full gas from start to finish. That’s the way I’m coming in to fight. We’re going to go all the way hard.

K. Swanson

Okay, guys. I think that was our last question. We thank everybody for participating. Robert, do you have any last comments before we get off the line here for the media?

R. Guerrero

Berto, I’m just looking forward to that execution you’re talking about.

A. Berto …

I say. I’ll see you then. You been doing a lot of barking yourself, for some reason. But like I say, fight night, you’re going to know what it is. It’s going to be something exciting, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited. I’m really excited, so it’s going to be good. Race you to the top.

R. Guerrero

All there is to do now is just fight.

K. Swanson

Alright. Well, we’d better get off the phone before you guys come through and start hitting each other early. On that note, thanks everybody for joining us. And again, please watch for your fight week schedule, as activities will start next Monday, November 19th with the media workout in Los Angeles. Thank you everybody for participating. Good luck you guys.

END OF CALL

\Guerrero vs. Berto, a 12-round world title fight between Four-Division and Six-Time World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto for Guerrero’s WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship, will take place on November 24 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. The event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Also featured will be a junior middleweight fight between rising star Keith “One Time” Thurman and former World Champion Carlos Quintana. The doubleheader will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable service charges and taxes, are available for purchase by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or AXS (888) 9AXS- TIX (888-929-7849), at the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com, www.cbbankarena.com or www.axs.com.

Andre Berto, Former Two-Time World Champion

“I’ll use my speed, power and I’ll be smart against Guerrero. “I’m already in shape and ready to work.

“I’m hungry. Sometimes you have to go through tough times, sit back, appreciate what you have in life and move forward.

“I went through a hell of a year for me. Now I’m back to the basics. This is what I needed.

“I want to make statements with my fights, not take tune up fights. I know the level of fighter that I am and that’s what I expect from my opponents too.”

Robert Guerrero, Four-Division & Six-Time World Champion

“I believe I can knock him out. I want to send him home hurting and damaged.

“They don’t give me the credit I deserve, so I just have to keep winning. I wanted to find one of the strongest guys out there that no one else wanted to fight to prove I’m the best.

“I know Berto is coming to fight and he’s hungry, but so am I. I’m always hungry. I’m hungry all the time because I want to be the best in the world, not just a world champion. I don’t want to settle, I want to be the best.

“I’m looking forward to taking care of business on November 24.”

Richard Schaefer, CEO Golden Boy Promotions

“Robert Guerrero is one of the most underrated champions in the world. I can’t understand why he’s not at the top of the pound for pound list.

“We have Andre Berto vs. Robert Guerrero, Keith Thurman vs. Carlos Quintana and Richar Abril vs. Sharif Bogere. This is a huge event.

“The fights on November 24 are ‘pick em’ bouts where either fighter can win.

“November 24 is a ‘thank you’ to fight fans on Thanksgiving weekend. Tickets are priced extremely low, starting at $25.00.”

Tony Morgan, Berto’s Trainer

“He can call himself whatever he wants (“The Ghost”), but at the end of the night, he’ll be calling himself a loser.

“Guerrero is a great fighter, but he’s never been hit by someone as hard as Berto can hit in the 147 lb. division.”

Ruben Guerrero Sr., Guerrero’s Father/Trainer

“We’re going to have the advantages in all aspects against Berto.

“Robert is hungry, like a lion. He’s going to swallow him up on November 24.

“We’re going to be 100% ready for Berto and I promise it’s going to be a great fight.”

# # #

Berto vs. Guerrero, a 12-round welterweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Also featured will be a junior middleweight bout between rising star Keith Thurman and former World Champion Carlos Quintana and a 12-round battle between WBA Interim Lightweight World Champion Richar Abril and number 3 rated WBA lightweight contender Sharif Bogere for the WBA Lightweight World Championship. The event will take place at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and are available for purchase by calling (888) 9AXS TIX (888-929-7849), at the Citizens Bank Arena box office or online at www.cbbankarena.com or www.axs.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing,www.twitter.com/AndreBerto, www.twitt.ercom/GHOSTBOXING, www.twitter.com/KeithThurmanJr, www.twitter.com/SharifBogere, www.twitter.com/Richard_Abrilwww.twitter.com/CBBankArena, www.twitter.com/HBOboxing, follow the conversation using #BertoGuerrero or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/cbbankarena, orwww.facebook.com/HBOboxing.

LOS ANGELES (October 23) – One of the biggest fights of 2012 is coming to Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., on Saturday, November 24 when former Two-Time Welterweight World Champion Andre Berto faces Four-Division and Six-Time World Champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero.

This 12-round matchup, a surefire “Fight of the Year” candidate, will air live on HBO World Championship Boxing. The event will also feature two compelling co-featured bouts with unbeaten rising star Keith “One Time” Thurman facing his toughest test to date when he takes on former World Champion Carlos Quintana in a junior middleweight showdown and WBA Interim Lightweight World Champion Richar Abril taking unbeaten WBA #3 rated lightweight contender Sharif “The Lion” Bogere for the vacant WBA Lightweight World Championship.

“I’m happy to be back and to be fighting someone as talented as Robert Guerrero,” said Berto. “It’s a great challenge for me to face one of the best coming off of my layoff. I know I have the ability to be the best in my division and in the sport, and proving that to everyone starts with this fight.”

“I am looking forward to this opportunity and it will be a nice way to spend the holiday weekend doing what I love to do which is to fight,” said Guerrero. “Berto has proven himself over the years as one of the best, but I am confident that I will come out on top and close out 2012 with a big win. I have a lot to be thankful for in my life and a win over Berto over Thanksgiving weekend will be one more thing to add to that list.”

“There are a lot of fighters saying they are the best, but not everyone is willing to prove it in the ring,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Andre Berto and Robert Guerrero put on a show every time they step through the ropes and I’m excited that they’ll be putting on a show against each other on November 24. On Thanksgiving weekend, I’ll be giving thanks that we have a great fight between two of the best young fighters in the world and I know they’ll be giving everything they have to walk out of that ring victorious.”

“Fight fans can add to the enjoyment of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with this action-packed World Championship Boxing tripleheader,” said Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports. “Andre Berto and Robert Guerrero will be primed for the main event showdown and we think boxing fans are in for a real treat.”

“Citizens Business Bank Arena, managed by AEG Facilities and the City of Ontario, is extremely pleased to have been selected by Golden Boy Promotions to be the host venue for this exciting boxing event,” said Steve Eckerson, General Manager of Citizens Business Bank Arena. “The Inland Empire is a great market and will certainly support this great night of boxing.”

Berto vs. Guerrero, a 12-round welterweight bout, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. Also featured will be a junior middleweight bout between rising star Keith Thurman and former World Champion Carlos Quintana and a 12-round battle between WBA Interim Lightweight World Champion Richar Abril and number 3 rated WBA lightweight contender Sharif Bogere for the vacant WBA Lightweight World Championship. The event will take place at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale and available for purchase by calling (888) 9AXS TIX (888-929-7849), at Citizens Business Bank Arena box office or online at www.cbbankarena.com or www.axs.com.

A 2004 Olympian for Haiti, Winter Haven, Florida’s Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KO’s) has been among the top welterweights in the world for years, starting in 2008, when he won the WBC 147-pound title with a seventh round technical knockout win over Miguel Angel Rodriguez. After five successful defenses, Berto lost the title in his 2011 “Fight of the Year” battle against Victor Ortiz, but the 29-year-old bounced back with a fifth round stoppage over Jan Zaveck in his next bout to capture the IBF Welterweight World Championship, proving that he was still amongst the elite at 147 lbs. On November 24, he’ll look to continue to make that fact evident against a Four Division and Six-Time World Champion in Guerrero.

The pride of Gilroy, California, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (30-1-1, 18 KO’s) is a Four-Division World Champion who may prove to be more dangerous than ever now that he can concentrate one hundred percent on his boxing career. With his wife Casey healthy after a battle with leukemia and Guerrero’s shoulder surgery a thing of the past, the 29-year-old southpaw got back to work in July with a hard-fought 12 round win over previously unbeaten Selcuk Aydin that earned him the WBC Interim Welterweight World Championship. Now he’s looking forward to closing out the year with another big win over former World Champion Berto.

A one-punch knockout artist who has ended 12 fights in two rounds or less, Clearwater, Florida’s Keith “One Time” Thurman (18-0, 17 KO’s) brings excitement every time he steps through the ropes. Fully healed from injuries that kept him sidelined in 2011, the 23-year-old returned with a fury in 2012, stopping Christopher Fernandez, Brandon Hoskins and Orlando Lora in succession to extend his knockout streak to seven. On November 24, he faces his toughest opponent yet in former World Champion Carlos Quintana.

Still dangerous at age 35, Moca, Puerto Rico’s Carlos “El Indio” Quintana (29-3, 23 KO’s) has found new life in the junior middleweight division, where he has scored technical knockout victories over Yoryi Estrella and Deandre Latimore in his last two fights. The owner of wins over Paul Williams and Joel Julio and having faced Miguel Cotto and Andre Berto, former WBO Welterweight World Champion Quintana has the skills and experience to find out whether Thurman is the real deal on November 24.

Thirty-year-old Richar Abril (17-3-1, 8 KO’s) was fairly unknown outside of diehard fight circles heading into 2012, but when the Cuban-born resident of Miami, Florida took on highly-touted Brandon Rios for the WBA Lightweight Title in April of this year, he quickly became better known. Although Abril lost a split decision to Rios that night, the boxing media and fans around the world voiced their displeasure, calling it one of the worst decisions ever. On November 24, Abril rightfully gets another shot at the title, this time against Sharif Bogere.

Uganda native Sharif “The Lion” Bogere (23-0, 15 KO’s) was a five-time African champion in his amateur days, and he’s eager to add some professional gold to his trophy case on November 24. An aggressive contender with impressive power, the 24-year-old who now makes his home in Las Vegas has impressed fight fans with wins over Ray Beltran, Francisco Contreras, Sergio Rivera and Manuel Leyva, putting him in prime position for a shot at the world title.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing,www.twitter.com/AndreBerto, www.twitt.ercom/GHOSTBOXING, www.twitter.com/KeithThurmanJr, www.twitter.com/SharifBogere, www.twitter.com/Richard_Abril www.twitter.com/CBBankArena, www.twitter.com/HBOboxing, follow the conversation using #BertoGuerrero or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/cbbankarena, or www.facebook.com/HBOboxing.

Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that an intriguing Welterweight clash between WBC Interim champion Robert Guerrero and former two time champ Andre Berto will happen on November 24th on HBO.

“We have a deal in place and it’s a great fight, a fight for the fans,” said Guerrero’s co-manager Luis DeCubas Jr on Monday.

“They’re both warriors and known for putting on great fights. Come Nov. 24, there will be a new superstar in boxing, Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero. The sky is the limit for this kid. He’s a million dollar fighter and he will prove why he’s the best 147-pound fighter in the world.

“Robert wanted to fight Bradley (on Dec. 15 on HBO) but Bradley punked out and we moved on to the next best guy, who we think is Andre Berto.”

“I’m excited to be back in there,” Berto told ESPN.com. “I went through a lot in the last year but I had a lot of good people continue to support me and give me encouragement, and then it all got cleared up. It’s time to move forward and get back in the ring. I didn’t care who it was against. I was just looking forward to the challenge.”

“We’re using USADA. They will do extensive drug testing and we will also be tested by the California commission, and we expect Andre Berto to have integrity for the sport and fight clean,” DeCubas said. “Everybody in life makes mistakes and he is getting a second chance.

“We wanted to use VADA, which had contacted Robert, and we looked into that. But Berto’s side wanted to use USADA. Robert is not going to make or break a fight over this. We’ll kick his ass whether it’s VADA, USADA or the California commission doing the testing. If Berto thinks Victor Ortiz roughed him up (in his lone loss) then wait until he fights Robert Guerrero.”

Said Berto, “I’m hyped and I’m motivated. A lot of things happened this year. I learned so much and I’m ready to put everything behind me and work.

“I went through all the testing with the commission. They know it was contamination (that led to the positive test), not enhancement drugs.

“My mind and my heart is real numb to that and I’m ready to move on,” he said.

“This is a kid who is clean inside the ring and outside the ring and if there’s anyone who deserves it it’s Robert Guerrero,” said DeCubas, adding that Guerrero would begin his training camp in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “He’s earned it. He hasn’t been given anything.”

“I was at his fight with Aydin and it was really close to me,” Berto said. “Aydin didn’t really have too much to bring, just that power and pressure. He was one dimensional. I bring a lot more to the table — speed, power, I can box and I can bang it out if I have to. I’m an all-around fighter. It’s gonna be an exciting fight.

“I don’t really think (Guerrero) will bring too much of that power up with him to 147, but at the same time he’s a crafty little southpaw. Aydin was so one dimensional but, at the end of the day, Guerrero got the ‘W.’ That the only thing that matters.”

“Floyd hasn’t defended the title in over a year and he won’t fight Robert, so we expect the WBC to do what’s right by Robert Guerrero and make this fight for the full title,” DeCubas said.