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| Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA |
Press
Release: By DAZN – CHICAGO,
October 10, 2019 –
Fight Season on DAZN continues this Saturday night at the Wintrust Arena in
Chicago, the site of the very first U.S. fight on DAZN one year ago. All of the
fighters gathered in downtown Chicago this afternoon to speak with the media
ahead of Saturday’s stacked event.
In
celebration of the one-year anniversary, DAZN and Matchroom Boxing USA return
with an action-packed card featuring the heavyweight debut of undefeated Oleksandr Usyk (16-0, 11 KOs)
against seasoned veteran Chazz Witherspoon (38-3,
29 KOs), who replaces Tyrone Spong following a positive drug test earlier this
week. In the co-main event of the evening, Russia’s Dmitry Bivol (16-0, 11 KOs)
will defend his WBA World Light Heavyweight Title against Lenin Castillo (20-2-1, 15 KOs)
of the Dominican Republic. Kicking off the main broadcast at 9 p.m. ET on DAZN,
WBC and WBA World Female Super Light titlist Jessica McCaskill (7-2, 3 KOs) of
Chicago will meet Erica
Farias (26-3,
10 KOs) of Argentina in a rematch of their hotly-contested fight which highlighted
the first DAZN event in Chicago.
The
three-fight preliminary card starts on DAZN at 7 p.m. ET and features three
undefeated rising prospects in separate bouts. Charles Conwell (10-0, 7
KOs), Anthony Sims, Jr. (19-0, 17 KOs)
and Arthur Biyarslanov (4-0, 4 KOs) will
showcase their elite abilities in front of the packed crowd on the Chicago’s
South Side.
Below
are quotes from today’s final press conference.
Eddie Hearn
“First
and foremost, before we begin today, our thoughts are with Errol Spence this
morning.
“This
crazy adventure started a year ago right here in Chicago. Some laughed and some
questioned us when we proclaimed we would assemble the best fight schedule in
boxing. One year later, we have the best schedule in boxing. It all started
right here.
“We
are expecting about nine thousand fans on Saturday night. This is a great fight
city and has a big future for huge fights in the U.S. We are thrilled to be
back with an excellent card. The heavyweight debut of Oleksandr Usyk, the return
of Dmitry Bivol, a rematch of one of the best fights on DAZN this year between
Jessica McCaskill and Erica Farias.
“When
you get a call like I did on Monday that Tyrone Spong had failed a drug test,
you need to move quickly or there is a chance that there is no show at
all. We want to say a special thank you to Chazz Witherspoon. He has been
undefeated for nearly six years now and we have talked to him about a bunch of
different fights of the years. He stepped up here to take a shot at Oleksandr
Usyk and we are grateful.”
Oleksandr Usyk
“I
want to thank my team for acting fast with the circumstances that took place
earlier this week. My team is the best team, thank you to everyone who is here
with me, especially my amazing wife and trainer. I invite you to Wintrust Arena
on Saturday night to witness a show.”
Chazz Witherspoon
“Thank
you so much to my team. So many people on the internet are talking badly about
me, asking me why I got this shot. But it’s all about my team. I am not with a
big time promoter and there’s no red tape in my career. I trust everyone around
me. I am now at a point where I need to take this shot. There’s a huge
opportunity for me here. It came knocking and I opened the door to see who it
was, and here I am. Usyk is a great guy, I have the utmost respect for him. I
am not one to get up here and talk crazy. That’s not me. I am a guy that is
going to show up and rumble. I’m never scared, my heart don’t pump Kool Aid. I
am the bigger guy and I am going to come in there and mix it up. I am looking
for lightning to strike here, but I am coming to rumble.”
Dmitry Bivol
“I
am glad to be in Chicago. This is a beautiful, clean city. I really like it.
Thank you to DAZN and my promotional team, Eddie Hearn, Kathy Duva and World of
Boxing. We had problems getting an opponent on this date. But Lenin Castillo
stepped up for this opportunity. This is going to be a great fight on Saturday
and I hope everyone tunes in.”
Lenin Castillo
“Thank
you to everyone for this opportunity especially Eddie Hearn and DAZN. I
appreciate this chance. This is my first time in Chicago and I am glad to have
the opportunity to take the belt away from Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night.”
Jessica McCaskill
“Welcome
to my city! Thank you to everyone who was here last year when I fought the
first time on DAZN. I put in the work, every single day. I will be in the gym
on Sunday, running or something. I used to have days off but now I am a World
Champion. The work ethic is the difference. But go get DAZN if you don’t have
it already because this is going to be a great fight on Saturday night. If you
don’t have DAZN, go and get it. You can go on there and watch a bunch of my old
fights and get a taste for what you will see on Saturday night.”
Erica Farias
“I
am back in Chicago and I am here to get back what belongs to me, my WBC belt.”
Anthony Sims Jr.
“I’m
still alive. Thanks for asking everyone. I am back and ready. I am ready to
challenge the bigger names after the fight, I am ready for a big shot. Eddie
seems to forget about his other Anthony over here. He has Anthony Joshua but
here is Anthony Sims. I plan to have a good time. It’s an honor to fight with
guys like Dmitry Bivol on the card. See you all on Saturday night.”
Charles Conwell
“Thank
you all for coming out. I want to thank DiBella, Matchroom and DAZN. Otha Jones
and I had a great camp. I worked incredibly hard and I am ready to make an
impact on Saturday night.”
Patrick Day
“I
am excited for this card, there’s a lot of talent. I am glad we all got here
safe and healthy. Conwell is a great fighter and has a lot to prove but so do I.
They look at me and my demeanor, and the fact that I am well-spoken and
well-mannered, and they ask me why I box? This is what I love. This is going to
be an entertaining fight and it’s going to be a great night.”
Arthur Biyarslanov
“First
of all, I want to thank Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing and DAZN for putting us
on this great event. We are more than ready and come Saturday night I will show
the world some great boxing.”
For more information, fans can
follow DAZN’s U.S. social channels: @DAZNUSA on Facebook, @DAZN_USA for Twitter, and DAZN_USA for Instagram.
About DAZN:
DAZN
is the largest global sports streaming platform in the world. Since launching
in 2016, DAZN has expanded across four continents with the app currently
available for download in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan and Brazil. In the U.S., DAZN has made its
mark as an attractive alternative to pay-per-view within the combat sports
industry. The platform features big fights from Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy
Promotions, GGG Promotions, Bellator MMA, the World Boxing Super Series and
Combate Americas, all for one affordable price, on any device - including smart
TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs. DAZN also features live MLB
action each day of the season with its new daily show, ChangeUp. The
much-anticipated daily program The Pat McAfee Show launched in September.
Material
Courtesy of: DAZN/ Photo Courtesy of Ed Mulholland Matchroom Boxing USA
Usyk
vs Witherspoon takes place on Saturday, October 12th at the Wintrust
Arena in Chicago, IL. The card can be seen on digital sports streaming network
DAZN in the United States and several international countries beginning at 7PM
ET/4PM PT. (U.S. Time)
For more
information about DAZN including schedules, compatible streaming
devices/platforms/smart TVs, availability around the world, and to subscribe
please visit: www.DAZN.com.
Check your local
listings internationally.
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is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
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