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| Credit: Amanda Westcott/DAZN |
Press Release: By DAZN – NEW YORK, October 2, 2019 – Boxing’s
pound-for-pound superstar attraction Gennadiy
“GGG” Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) from Karaganda, Kazakhstan
and Brooklyn-based Ukrainian challenger Sergiy
Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KOs) gathered for the final press
conference before their much-anticipated battle for the vacant IBF/IBO World
Middleweight titles on Saturday, Oct. 5, live from Madison Square Garden in New
York and streamed exclusively on DAZN. Golovkin, who has worn a world
championship belt every year since 2010, is trying to extend that streak into
2019. It is one of several highlights this fight season on DAZN – an entire
fall featuring boxing’s biggest matchups in one of the best schedules in boxing
history.
Quotes from today’s press
conference are below.
Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin
“I’m so happy. I’m happy because
my opponent is so great, so strong, everybody is ready. Everything is ready. I
want to say thanks to people who support boxing, who support my team, who
support this show, and support DAZN. This is a great time for me and a great
time for boxing right now. I’m ready. I’m so excited.”
“We had more time this camp than
previously. We have a lot of understanding of each other, we tried a lot of
different things. Of course we always need more time than we’re allowed, the
more time we have, the more we can try, the better we’ll be. Lots has been
done. We’ve come a long way. And we’ve accomplished a lot. We will demonstrate
whatever we achieved this Saturday.”
“Let’s be honest. At this level,
every contender is serious. Sergiy has a lot of experience. We’re talking about
two belts here and he has been a contender before. We are approaching this as
serious as we can.”
How likely is a fight vs. Ryota
Murata and would you go to Japan for it? “Of course that would be very interesting. Murata is an
Olympic champion, a world champion, and the platform we are on – DAZN – is
developing at a fast pace in Japan currently. I think this is something that
would be very interesting. Of course I’ll be willing to go to Japan. Look at
what Eddie’s doing right now as an example, with the Ruiz vs. Joshua rematch
organized in Saudi Arabia. This is an example for the development of boxing. Of
course, the same level needs to be maintained, it should be adequate support
and if all the requirements are met, we’ll be open to going to Japan.”
“If you want me to move to 168,
make it interesting. And, that would be a temporary move up because I’m a
natural middleweight. So going to 168 would be going outside of my comfort
zone. I feel very comfortable at 160.”
Thoughts on Canelo vs. Kovalev: “I think that was his only
option. Of all the offers he had, the only option was for him to take the fight
with Kovalev. I don’t know if he’s going to win, but I know that Kovalev is
gaining more from that fight than Canelo.”
Johnathon Banks – Trainer to
Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin
“Any camp with GGG is special.
The only difference between this camp and the last camp is we had a longer
amount of time but the goal is always the same. The longer we’re together, the
better things can be.”
“I don’t think it should always
be my way or the highway, since the fighter is the one who’s closest to the
action. For me, I like to talk to the solider who’s going into battle because
he sees things that the general up high on the horse may not see, and I also
might see things that he doesn’t see. That’s why it’s a team and a great
collaboration.”
“[Camp] felt like a year, no
offense, it was long but time flies when you have fun. For me, it’s a great
pleasure to be in the gym with GGG because he loves to be in the gym. He loves
what he does and I love what I do, so it’s a pleasure to be there working with
a like-minded individual and to perfect the craft.”
“Everybody says every training
camp is a good training camp. This one was like all the rest, it was a good
camp. GGG and I are looking forward to this fight on Saturday night. I think
it’s going to be a very competitive fight. I think it’s going to be a tooth and
nail type of fight. For me, way before this fight was announced, I was always
looking at Derevyanchenko and always thought he was a good fighter. I just
think this is going to be one of those fights where everyone keeps standing up,
sitting down, and it’s going to be another 4th of July. Just
looking at the style of the two individuals, it makes a good fight. Gatti and
Ward are two guys tailor made for each other and I believe that this fight is
going to be that tooth and nail type of fight too.”
Eddie Hearn – President of
Matchroom Boxing USA
“Sometimes we have to pinch
ourselves at how far DAZN has come over this 12 month period. When you look at
the roster of fighters, when you look at the full schedule of DAZN right now –
unquestionably, it’s the #1 schedule in the sport of boxing. There’ve been some
great fights made on other networks but most of the time you have to pay $80
for a single one. DAZN is changing that - $99.99 for the year. Their schedule
is completely head and shoulders above every other platform in the business
right now. We’re passionate about what we do and it’s only just getting
started. Things are only just getting warm, they haven’t even heated up yet.
These guys are invested in the sport.”
“The plan is Saturday night and
Gennadiy becoming a two time world middleweight champion. We already have plans
beyond that in my head but for the fighter it’s Saturday night only. The key is
to stay active and stay in control and build your destiny globally. There are
so many options in terms of 160 and 168 and I think it’s so exciting, and we as
a team are very excited about 2020, but also as a team understand that first
things first – Saturday night. We have multiple options worldwide for Gennadiy
to box around the world, but this Saturday night is so important for the career
and future of Gennadiy.”
“Integrity and respect are two
things we don’t see too much of these days in boxing, but this is something
this man carries at all times. I prefer – role model and ambassador. Someone we
can really pin the sport of boxing to, and watch how he carries himself to
inspire a younger generation to promote this sport how it should be promoted.”
“Don’t waste your breath with the
question, who will you fight next? The answer is absolutely anyone. That’s why
Gennadiy Golovkin is such a throwback fighter. Anybody. We know what he gave in
this obligation, what he committed to, there is no one in the sport of boxing
that Gennadiy Golovkin won’t fight. But the only thing that matters right now
is Saturday night and a chance for this young man to make history.”
Tom Loeffler – GGG Promotions
“This will be GGG’s 7th time
here at MSG. Most fighters dream of fighting here but to do this for the 7th time,
I believe he is the active fighter with the most fights here at the Mecca of
Boxing. We’re proud of that, we’re proud to have built him here. Regardless of
who he fights, what style, he always makes it exciting. Even if the fighter is
very defensive, Gennadiy finds a way to knock him out.”
“A fight like this wouldn’t be
possible without the support of DAZN. DAZN signed GGG to a multi-fight deal.
The schedule that DAZN has come up with this fall, when you have the top names
in boxing fighting on the same streaming service, it’s a big statement to how far
they’ve come.”
“This fight is between two guys
that actually want to fight. [GGG] doesn’t back away from anyone. Anyone you
put in front of him, he’s never wavered, he always wants to fight the best, he
considers Sergiy Derevyanchenko one of the best right now. For Andre Rozier,
this is the third time he’s taking a bite of the GGG apple, some people say
third time’s the charm, but I think Johnathon Banks would definitely disagree
with that.”
Sergiy Derevyanchenko
“I have to work on my jab, I have
to stay focused on my jab. I also can’t stay in one place so he doesn’t get
comfortable. If I work and punch the angles, that’s going to be my shot. I’ve
got a lot of confidence in myself, I also have confidence in my team. When we
get into the ring, we’ll do everything to win that fight. We’ve had a
phenomenal camp leading up to this fight and I’m extremely motivated. Saturday
night, I’m ready to rock and roll. There was a void the last two camps not
having Andre there. This camp, the whole team is together and I feel a tangible
difference. If I fight with Andre in my corner, it’s an advantage. I not only
listen to him, I actually execute on the game plan that Andre has. They see
things that I don’t see, and they bring it to me. I think the experience that Andre
has against him is going to help me. Andre knows his strengths and weaknesses
and he’s shown me a game plan for it.”
“I’m not betting on the fact that
Golovkin is getting older, he’s still a very dangerous fighter. Golovkin is
still very motivated.”
“This just means my career is
progressing the way it should progress, I should fight in small venues and
graduate to bigger venues. It means that my team is doing the right things for
me. The thing that’s left is the world championship title. I want to fight
everyone in the middleweight division and the goal is to beat everybody. To be
a true star in boxing you have to fight the best people, and this is the next
step. Everyone always wants to talk about how many belts you have, who you
beat, all the names that you beat. So, this is what you need to do to get to
that next level.”
Andre Rozier – Trainer to Sergiy
Derevyanchenko
“We are a team. This was a
fantastic training camp and you often hear people say – that was the best
training camp ever. This was THE best, and I repeat THE best training camp
ever. Why? Because this young man is the best athlete anyone can ever work with.
We’re fortunate enough to have him in our family. He knows that, he doesn’t say
a lot, it’s either yes or no, and sometimes it’s just a shake of the head, but
his work ethic is dedication to the sport and his diligence is why he’s going
to rise to the top and be victorious on Saturday.”
“[GGG] is a fantastic young man,
he’s always been a consummate professional when I’ve had the chance to face
him, and this I assume is going to be the same thing. He’s going to come ready
to rock and roll and be that special individual but we have a major, major
force he will be facing on Saturday. This time, it’s going to be a truly
difficult task for him to overcome.”
Keith Connolly – Manager to
Sergiy Derevyanchenko
“If he wins this fight, he’s an
eight-figure fighter. He won’t step into the ring unless he makes at least $10
million regardless of who he fights next. He actually wanted to fight Canelo
more than he wanted to fight GGG, thought it was a better fight stylistically.
So he’d welcome a Canelo fight. They’d have to step up to the plate and pay top
dollar. But first he has to win Saturday night, and then he’ll be in a
life-changing position.”
“I can legitimately say the kid
is not nervous. He’s cool as a cucumber and he’s ready for the 5th.
You don’t have 410 amateur fights and win 390 of them and not have a chance to
win the fight against Gennadiy on Saturday. He definitely has a chance to pull
it out.”
Lou DiBella, President of DiBella
Entertainment
“This stretch that DAZN is about
to have is a stretch that is good for the sport of boxing. Unlike some people,
I never screamed pay-per-view is dead but you do have to look at value. To be
able to see what you’re about to see on DAZN with GGG and Derevyanchenko, and
back-to-back-to-back major events like Canelo vs. Kovalev, Andy Ruiz and
Joshua, those would absolutely be pay-per-view events. And it’s less than $9 a
month. If you subscribe now for a year, it’s less than $27 – that’s a third of
a pay-per-view. And there are three fights coming up that would all be
pay-per-view, not to mention everything around it. If you’re a boxing fan, you
have to acknowledge the value that is DAZN and subscribe now. Just $27 between
now and the end of the year is one of the great bargains in boxing.”
“As great as I think [GGG] is,
and I think he’s one of the greatest of all time, walking into the hall of fame
on the 5th anniversary of the day he stops fighting, one of the
greatest fighters to come out of his country, one of the greatest fighters to
come out of Eastern Europe, all good things must end. We’re not bringing Sergiy
to just compete – he’s showing up to win. GGG has always fought the best fights
available to him, and he’s always been that much better. But, Sergiy belongs in
there with him. And on Saturday night, Sergiy is going to upset the applecart
and shock the world.”
Joseph Markowski, EVP of DAZN
North America
“We are one year into our love
affair with boxing, and we’re very excited to be back here in the Garden. Many
of you saw our fall advertising campaign premier during last weekend’s Sunday
Night Football matchup, which had the biggest ever audience over the last four
or five years. The reason why we’re so confident about buying that advertising
real estate is because we believe we have the strongest schedule in the history
of boxing. Fight season on DAZN will be serving up the biggest events this
fall, including the rematch of biggest heavyweight upset in decades: Ruiz vs.
Joshua II on Dec. 7, and before that, Canelo against Kovalev on Nov. 2, and a
fantastic crossover bout to bring a whole new audience into boxing with KSI vs.
Logan II on Nov. 9. But it all kicks off this Saturday with Gennadiy Golovkin
back in title action. We’re tremendously excited about that. Sergiy –
welcome to DAZN. Gennadiy – you’ve been a great partner, this is a huge test
for you to get through and we’re excited to broadcast that live and exclusively
on DAZN.”
Joel Fisher, EVP of Marquee
Events and Operations at Madison Square Garden
“As always, we’re extremely
excited to host another great night of championship boxing here at the Garden,
at the Mecca of Boxing. There’s no better place to see a boxing match than MSG.
I want to welcome the Big Drama Show back to the Garden. We have a tremendous
and great relationship with Gennadiy, this will be his 7th fight
here, and there’s nothing like the great fans of New York, his great fans.
Saturday night he’s going to face a really tough opponent. We’ve seen him fight
here before, his fight against Daniel Jacobs was just an incredible fight so
he’s going to put up an incredible match. He’s really hungry. I think this has
got all the ingredients for a great, great fight.”
Promoted by GGG Promotions and
Matchroom Boxing USA in association with DiBella Entertainment, remaining
tickets to the latest action-packed episode of the Big Drama Show may be
purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets,
Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008), and online at www.ticketmaster.com and www.msg.com.
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.
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.
Material Courtesy of: DAZN/Photo Courtesy of:
Amanda Westcott/DAZN Used with permission.
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of
Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
