CRISTIAN MIJARES AND VIC DARCHINYAN
CONFERENCE CALL QUOTES
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008
In the biggest little fight since Vazquez-Marquez III, World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC) super flyweight world champion Cristian Mijares (35-3-2, 13 KOs), of Gomez Palacio, Mexico, faces International Boxing Federation (IBF) world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan (30-1-1, 24 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The historic showdown is being co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment, KO Entertainment and Gary Shaw Productions and will air live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
In the co-feature, undefeated super middleweight standout and ShoBox alum Andre Dirrell (16-0, 11 KOs), of Flint, Mich., will meet the power-punching Victor Oganov (28-1, 28 KOs) of Russia.
Dirrell will star in the SHOWTIME co-feature for the second time in his young career. In his SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING debut in August, Dirrell dismantled Mike Paschall by registering a fourth round TKO. Oganov is coming off a second round knockout of Kariz Kariuki in April.
Tickets, priced from $25 to $250, may be purchased at The Home Depot Center Box Office, open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and at all Ticketmaster retail ticket locations, as well as www.Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster-Charge-by-Phone, by calling 213-480-3232.
**If you would like to hear the conference call, playback numbers are below**
U.S. Toll Free: 800-355-2355
International Toll: 402-220-2946
Playback Passcode: 72048#
(Playback available up until the day of the fight)
Shaw: I want to thank Showtime very much for giving both Lou DiBella and myself the opportunity to showcase our fighters in this tremendous unification fight. Also want to thank the Home Depot Center for their cooperation.
Some fights you need to hype, some fights speak for themselves. Marquez‑Vazquez spoke for itself. I believe Mijares‑Darchinyan is another fight that will speak for itself. What more fitting than to have it at the Home Depot Center where we had Marquez and Vazquez.
I want to thank Lou and Nacho Huizar for giving us the opportunity to try to take home two more belts. I think these types of unification fights between fighters that really want to fight, real fighters is great.
And I give credit to Vic Darchinyan for only fighting the best. Most fighters these days or a lot of them want to take the easy way out, but not Vic Darchinyan.
Before I introduce Vic, I want to say the opening fight between Dirrell and Oganov in a lot of people's minds is a pick 'em, a boxer against a pure puncher, and it should be fireworks on November 1st.
Vic, why don't you say a few words to the press, and make an opening statement.
Darchinyan: Hi, guys thank you very much. I'm going to show a great fight, and I'm going to show a very good fight. I'm ready for this fight. I'm going to prove it to you on the 1st of November. You're going to see it's not only talk. I'm delivering what I'm saying.
The last press conference I was speaking in English and everyone understood what I was saying. Mijares is speaking in Spanish and not in English. But after I find out he was not translating everything. He would say something in Mexican, he said I'm talking because I'm afraid of him.
If I know he's talking like that, I will knock him out in that moment. Now I'm saying, I understand what he's said. If I'm scared, I'm going to show 1st November what I'm going to do you. I'm going to break you in half. And I did already fight (Indiscernible) but they'll be ready for him, and they'll meet you in hospital.
Shaw: You're pretty clear on your feelings about Mijares. I'd like to turn the program over now to Lou DiBella.
DiBella: Thank you, Gary, it's always good to work with you and your staff at GSP. I think we both are proud of this fight. It's totally smooth sailing so far, and I look forward to a great event on November 1.
I want to thank Ken Hershman and Showtime, this is an example of the great quality of fights that Showtime has been regularly putting on their schedule. I think they should be very proud of this also.
It's always good to work with my partner, Nacho Huizar who did a good job developing Cristian. It's really, once again, my great honor to be involved with a fighter of Cristian's quality. He's a great young champion, good kid, a lot of fun to be around. He's an announcer on television in Mexico. Very good with the microphone.
He's already one of the best pound‑for‑pound fighters in the world. And he shut up one of the biggest mouths ever at 115 pounds in Mr. Arce, and now I think he's going to shut up one of the biggest mouths in all of the lower weight classes.
I'd have to say I give you great respect, Vic, because your balls match your mouth. But I think your mouth may get shut down by Mr. Mijares on November 1.
Before I hand it over to Cristian, I want to say one thing. I was taking a look at ticket pricing on the major fights left this fall. You know, there are a lot of venues right now that they haven't sold any tickets to or enough tickets to some of the biggest fights out there.
Of all the major fights remaining this year, if you look at the Roy Jones fight in New York, and the De la Hoya fight in Vegas, the tickets are all good quality seats priced between $2500 and $1,000.
The ticket pricing at the Home Depot Center for this fight. You can sit in the first row for $250, and there are tickets all the way down to $25. The majority of the building is priced at $75 or less. And it's an opportunity to see a three belt unification between two of the most exciting young fighters in the world, a fight of tremendous significance. It's a can't‑miss fight in the ring.
For most of us who in this economic climate can't afford $2500 to $1,000 for a good boxing seat, every seat in this arena is $200 or less. And ring side seats are tremendously affordable. And for people who want a great night of entertainment. In this economic climate, it's $25 seats.
So we're proud of the ticket pricing. We hope people come out to the Home Depot Center. It's a great opportunity to be present for a fight with great significance.
I want to turn it over to a man that Nacho Huizar and I co-promote, a great young champion, Cristian Mijares.
Mijares: I am very happy to be here with all of you today. I'm very happy this fight is getting close. I'm ready for November 1st. I'm aware of the fact that I'm facing a guy like Vic Darchinyan who is a very strong fighter. He talks a little bit too much. I like that, because it makes the fight more interesting for me.
Words will not prove anything. What will be proven is the fact that I have much more ability in the ring than Darchinyan, and I expect that if everything goes my way, to take those three belts back home with me on November 1st.
Shaw: Doors open on November 1st at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. I believe the first fight will start at 3:30. The Showtime telecast is 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
Question: What's it like to be fighting in Los Angeles? Everyone knows Los Angeles is a fantastic fight town. What are his feelings about fighting in L.A.? In what likely will be a mostly predominantly pro Mijares fight as far as fans?
Mijares: I want to showcase my talent on November 1st. It's obviously going to be a wonderful feeling for me. It's going to make me very happy. I'm going to feel at home, not only for the Mexican fans that will be able to see me over there, but all the Hispanics. The feeling that I have is I'm going to be very comfortable as if I was fighting at home.
Question: The perception is you're the bad guy in this fight, fighting the Mexican‑born champion. Do you feel like you're the bad guy? Does that bother you in any way? Are you motivated by it?
Darchinyan: I'm bad guy? Why I'm bad guy? He can't remember like all fighters. Who remember fighters that are running. No one will remember him after I finish him. After I finish him November 1st. No one's going to remember him. He's not going to be champion. He's history.
On November 1st, I'm going to beat him, and I'm going to prove it. And all Armenians know it's going to be me in Los Angeles. They know I'm fighting there, and you're going to see. You're going to see the excitement. You're going to see they can see what I'm saying.
I become the undisputed world champion. And after that, I'm going to fight him out, and I'm going to prove I'm the best. I'm going to deliver it that night.
Question: Cristian, can you tell all of us what life was like growing up in Gomez Palacio Durango, Mexico?
Mijares: Boxing is my passion and my life. I grew up with it. My uncle and I come from a boxing family. I was surrounded by boxing as far as I can remember. My uncle made it his career in L.A. His name is Vicente Mijares, and I grew up in this environment my whole life.
Question: Is there legitimate bad blood going on between you and Vic?
Mijares: I have no bad blood toward Darchinyan. He's doing all the talking here. He's not my enemy. He's my opponent. He's my rival. I have no bad blood towards him. I think the one that actually will enjoy the fight will be the Mexicans and Armenians in the crowd. There's no animosity that I have towards him. He likes to talk too much, but other than that, I don't feel anything bad towards him.
Question: Lou, how would you rate Cristian as a fighter for the pound‑for‑pound basis as opposed to some of the other fighters you've had as a promoter?
DiBella: Well, I've been lucky to promote a number of guys that have been on the pound‑for‑pound list. Bernard Hopkins and I worked with for a while and Jermaine Taylor. You know, Cristian is for a young guy, I think the three losses are irrelevant. They happened early in his career. I think he's already in the Top 10 pound‑for‑pound.
I think when he beats Darchinyan and has three major belts, that's going to be a move in that direction.
Then, frankly, as soon as he moves up to 18 pounds and hits another weight class and people get to see his dominance as a boxer, I expect him to climb up that pound‑for‑pound list. I think he has the potential to be the best pound‑for‑pound fighter I've ever worked with.
But he's still a young fighter. And he has yet to move up another weight division. He's already noted that probably next year Cristian will move up to 118 at some point. And I think when that happens and he gets to show his dominance in another weight class, people are going to start really taking notice.
Then, of course, taking the opportunity to showcase his talent on Showtime in a fight of this magnitude is a tremendous opportunity. I think either Vic or Cristian is going to walk out of this fight a lot bigger. I think despite the lack of words coming from Cristian the way they've so flowed out of the mouth of Vic, I expect it to be Cristian that walks out with three belts.
Question: Cristian, your thoughts of this fight compared to how you fought against Jorge Arce?
Mijares: No fight is the same. Every fight is different. I know though that Darchinyan is very motivated and he's a very strong fighter. He's going to try to move forward from the beginning.
I'm not going to change anything in my style. I'm still learning. I'm still learning to be a better boxer, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to box him, and that's what I should do for a guy like Darchinyan.
Question: So there's no comparison in style between Vic and Arce?
Mijares: I can make comparisons between the two. Both of them are strong fighters. They are punchers more than boxers. They are very good coming forward. But if there's a comparison, they cannot fight backwards at all.
Question: Vic, you may have to box more than you’re used to, to fight Cristian. Have you thought about that aspect?
Darchinyan: He's talking about how strong I am, I'm going to prove it in the fight. Also he's talking about he's very smart fighter. I'm not going to let him even touch, do any combination in the fight.
I want to just thank God, and wish for his corner in the first of this fight, I'm going to show what I'm going to do with him. I'm going to destroy him badly.
Also, talking about the Mexican crowd, after two rounds, you're not going to hear any Mexican crowd. You're only going to hear Armenian crowd. After few rounds after that, you're going to see Mexican crowd supporting me. Of course they'll like my style. They don't like people who are just touching and running. I'm going to prove it I'm stronger and smarter than him. He is only talk.
Only one round, and I'm going to prove it. And I'm going to fight. You're going to see. Something's happening. I'm going to prove it that he's nothing, and I'm going to destroy him. And I wish his corner the best in the fight because he's going to be badly damaged.
Question: Cristian is a very good boxer, are you going to be prepared to make possibly adjustments where the brawling style doesn't necessarily work as well as you think it might work?
Darchinyan: Mijares is a boxer. He's going to see the many skills. I'm going to prove it on that night.
I'm not going to jump in and finish him. I'm going to finish him. I'm going to make him look like stupid fight, stupid punch. And everyone's going to remember after the fight they're going to comment about me.
He will look for excuses ‑ he not ready for this fight. He did something wrong. It's not because that, it's because I'm much better than him. I'm not going to do anything. I'm not going to let him think anything. And I'm going to make him feel like stupid fighter. That's what I'm going to do in that fight.
Question: Gary, do you worry at all, I respect Vic's enthusiasm and desire to do what he's saying. Does it concern you at all that you have a guy that apparently just wants to go to him and knock him out and destroy him and is seemingly not giving thought to the possibility that there may have to be a plan B?
Shaw: I give Vic a lot of credit. And I think there is a plan B between Vic.
Question: He said he wants to push him hard. Has no skills.
Shaw: Well, that's how he feels. That's how he's going to go into this fight. In the first round or the second or the sixth, whatever it changes, then he'll make an adjustment. But he doesn't think he's going to have to make an adjustment. He thinks he's going to knock him out. He thinks he's going to knock him out early.
I think Vic has a lot more power than Arce, so it may change Mijares's game plan if he comes in and gets hit by Vic a couple of times. I have a lot of respect for Cristian Mijares, and Vic and the whole team knows that. He's a tremendous boxer. But this is a fight between a puncher and a boxer. We'll see. One of them will give in first and go to plan B, I don't know which fighter that will be.
Question: This is a very important fight for Cristian Mijares because it's outside of his native Mexico. He's faced a guy like Arce who has a similar style as Darchinyan. Is there any concern on your part not only about his power, but the fact you're facing somebody that gave a bad loss to Victor Burgos? Are you worried at all about that?
Mijares: It seems funny to me all this talk that Darchinyan is doing right now. Because what happens in the ring it's only going to be the two of us. The promoters can talk, the trainers can talk. But this is a huge fight for me, because it is a unification fight, it is a very important fight. It motivates the fact that he's actually trash talking to me. Intelligence will actually beat strength.
I'm going to say one thing now and I want to make sure everybody understands. He's thinking he's going to break me in half, he's going to knock me out. I'm smart and strong at the same time. So I want everybody not to be surprised if I end up knocking out Vic Darchinyan on November 1st.
Doesn't matter what I say, everything will be proven on November 1st. It's not words, it's going to be punch by punch, blow by blow, and the better man's going to win, and that's going to be me.
Question: How do you feel when you remember the match in 2007 against Victor Burgos?
Darchinyan: I was very badly hurt. After when I found out couple of months, I found out he's okay. And it's nothing in my mind. I forget about it completely. It’s boxing. You beat your opponent or your opponent's going to beat you. I'm going to do this with Mijares. You'll see, he talk too much, I'm just very happy he's just going to bring me the best present. You're going to see, I'm going to bring you very good fight. Better prepared than my last fight, and I'm going to prove it.
Shaw: I want to clarify Vic's answer. I don't want it to be misconstrued. Vic was very concerned after the fight about Victor Burgos. He went to the hospital. When he's saying he cleared his mind of it, he's saying thank God Victor came out of the hospital, and he's not carrying it around with him into this fight. Thank you.
Question: Now that Jorge Arce has just won the interim title from Concepcion, do you think there is any possibility of a rematch?
Mijares: I don't know if I'm ever going to fight Arce again, but I'm not really concerned about that at this point. My main concern and concentration is only for Vic Darchinyan.
If I ever would fight him, I know he just won his fight. He's fighting the same night I am in a different place. I hope he wins. But I think my victory over him is so clear it doesn't really give me the chance to fight him again, because I've already beaten him in a short period.
The most important thing, like I said, is Vic Darchinyan. And the more he talks, the more motivated I am to beat him to try to shut him up. And I like to ‑‑ he talks more than Arce, and I know that. I know that for a fact. So he does more talking than Arce, and that makes me want to beat him so much.
Question: What motivates you to promote a 115 pounder like Cristian Mijares?
DiBella: I love guys at smaller weight classes that have star potential. When I was at HBO, I started Boxing After Dark. But the guys I started it with were guys like Kevin Kelly, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric Morales, Junior Jones, and none of those guys were making a lot of money or household names back then.
There's a couple things when you're a small fighter that you need. One to be a big puncher with a big mouth, and examples are Arce and Darchinyan, or you have to just be great.
And I think Mijares is great. I think Cristian's great. And he also is a good looking kid with tremendous personality. He's very, very well spoken. He does TV announcing. He transcends the level weight classes the way punchers transcend the lower weight classes and guys that are as good as Morales and Barrera, and Junior Jones transcended those weight classes.
I think he has the ability to be a star, that's why I'm involved the same way I'm sure Gary believes that Vic can be a star.
Question: Vic, although early in your career you did fight a number of fights around super flyweight. Since you've gone up to super flyweight, it seems you've shown a lot of power in the fight. Do you think fighting at 115 has been an advantage for you now that you're able to come in with more power and not have to cut as much weight?
Darchinyan: It's good thing. It doesn't make big difference. It's three pounds. I'm hard worker. I can lose weight. If I need I can fight at flyweight. That's what I mean, I want to go up after this fight.
What I'm saying, I destroy him then you're going to see. I'm not only strong fighter and smart fighter, but I will prove it in this fight. I'm going to prove it. He’s overrated. I'm going to prove it. And I'm going to make sure I'm going to fight him like there's not going to be anymore fight. He's going to be punished.
I'm very focused on this fight. I'm ready for this fight. Make sure what I'm saying now you will put on the website and put everywhere what I'm saying and I'm believing. I'm very, very focused on this fight. I'm going to destroy him badly.
Question: Did you make any adjustments other than going up in weight after the [Nonito] Donaire fight from last year?
Darchinyan: I like to be in a couple of weight classes for champion. I'm not thinking about that. But after this fight my team will talk to my promoter Gary Shaw and we'll decide what to do with me. I believe them. I know they're doing what is best for me. I'm going to prove it by getting better and better after every fight.
Question: This fight has been sort of posed as a boxer against a puncher. Do you think that's fair to describe it that way?
Mijares: Vic Darchinyan is not a fighter. He's just a puncher. That's all I can describe.
Question: Was there anything you saw in that fight that you can take advantage of?
Mijares: I've been studying Vic's style. He's saying that he's got ability and all of that, but he's only got one way of fighting like I said before. He said he's not going to learn. I know how he beat him, and I saw how well he connected in that fight.
Every fight is different. I'm not watching every single Darchinyan fight, but, yeah, we have been studying the most important ones he's had lately.
Question: Do you think the fact that this fight being televised on Showtime in the United States will start to on get more boxing fans acquainted with it who mainly have watched the higher weight classes or middleweight classes, but haven't paid attention to weight classes like super flyweight?
Mijares: This fight benefits the sport in general. It's not only about the big guys, and obviously, there's a lot of talent in our division where we're at, at 115. It is very important for us to showcase our styles on November 1st. It's great to know that we're going to have that opportunity for the American audience.
Question: After you lost did you come back more dedicated or do you feel you're a better fighter now because you suffered a loss?
Darchinyan: I didn't lose to him. Because I found he's a good fighter. He's keeping from me. I cannot come any second. In that fight in the fifth round, I make him put his head down, and I go in for the big, big punch on the head. Easing my mind I was very stupid that night. I would knock him out exactly middle of the round. That was in my mind. I was also thinking in my mind I was just want to destroy him and knock him out.
Now I know he's no great fighter. Even my opponent, some of the best they can beat him easy, you know. I know, I believe it. Also I know even I mention next time I'm going to make him out clearly.
Also in his corner he said he was ready. He was waiting for one big punch. He's going to throw the towel, you know. Something has to happen. But at night it's going to happen because it's going to keep him more satisfied. More people are going to wait for my fight, you know. I know it's going to happen.
After this fight I'm going to transfer the weight to him. I'm going to pull my best. I'm going to just fight him as soon as possible, and I'm going to destroy him and show all the world. I'm going to prove what happened in the past isn't right.
Question: Are you ready for the fight?
Darchinyan: I am good. I am very ready. I'm more ready than ever in my life.
Question: I watched your knockout loss to Donaire. What have you done to prepare yourself so it doesn't happen against a puncher like Cristian?
Darchinyan: It's not going to happen again, because I'm not going to. I'm going to go punch him. I'm going to destroy him and knock him out. It's going to happen. It's going to be first round. If I feel I'm not going to destroy him, I'm not going to go for it.
It's a no gut punch will come. I'm going to hit strong.
Question: What does this fight mean to you? Unifying the titles if you win?
Darchinyan: It's not if I win. It's when I win this title I'm going to unified, and I'm going to be the champion. Also we're going to think about coming up or stay in this division, go up a division. Get one more belt. And I know guys.
I believe 100% make some money. And you're going to see, also it's going to after this, Mexicans going to love my fight. I'm going to show Mexican fight. I'm not going to show like running and screaming or looking for a corner. This is going to help Mijares. He's going to look for his corner, and I'm going to destroy him.
How much he wants to beat me? He can't be better than me.
Question: Are you happy with your purse that you're getting for this fight. How do you feel in general?
Mijares: I am confident I'm going to earn my third title with this fight. I'm very confident and happy about that. As far as what I'm making on this fight, it's very decent pay, and I can't complain.
Question: Come fight night on November 1st, will Cristian Mijares be willing to trade with Vic Darchinyan?
Mijares: I definitely want to make history in this sport, not only in Mexico, but worldwide. I will stand and trade if I have the opportunity on November 1st.
I'm not only just an intelligent fighter in the ring, I'm also a strong fighter. I have faced other opponents in which I have had to trade. I trade in a smart way. I throw punches, and I did very well against those opponents. Not only am I smart, but I'm strong. On Nov. 1, I want to trade punches.
Question: With the Mijares and Darchinyan fight looking to be nothing but fireworks come November 1st, what are the chances of us seeing Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez IV in the future?
Shaw: We're trying to make that fight as we speak on this teleconference call. We are trying to make that fight for the early part of '09. I believe that Mijares‑Darchinyan could wind up a trilogy as well.
You don't always get chances like this to put on great fights with great fighters. These are two really exciting fighters that come to fight.
Question: If you were to be successful November 1st, who would be the first opponent you'd go after? Would it be Nonito Donaire? An immediate match?
Shaw: I want to answer that before Vic does. I read a column coming out of the Philippine papers. And Nonito Donaire said he wanted to fight Vic Darchinyan but the talks broke down because of money.
I want to go on the record, there were never any talks. That never existed. It's a figment of his imagination. He never has called out Vic, the promoter never called me to fight Vic.
The only call I ever got was from Lou DiBella who said let's make Mijares and Darchinyan, and the negotiations took us about a minute and a half.
Lou was on the phone, and he can speak for himself. But Nonito Donaire has not called out Darchinyan, and there was never one discussion, ever, with Darchinyan fighting Nonito Donaire.
DiBella: I can take that one step farther. With Nonito Donaire, we actually communicated to them about fighting Mijares. We offered him the opportunity at the two belts before we spoke to Gary.
In fact, I think this was before Vic knocked out Kirilov. We had an initial conversation, and they sort of indicated they had no interest in fighting Cristian.
Question: If you get by Vic Darchinyan, do you see yourself fighting Fernando Montiel in the future?
Mijares: That is a fight I would love to happen, but we have to win on November 1st. I would love to face Montiel either at 115 or 118 pounds. I think that eventual we'll meet one another.
I think I'll enjoy it more, because Montiel doesn't talk as much as Darchinyan does.
Question: Have you done anything special or different in preparation for this fight?
Darchinyan: Don't ask anymore questions about next. Next is about boxing. He's already finishing. He's going to be retiring after this fight.
I'm very confident for this fight. I'm very confident. I know I'm going to win this fight. I'm going to make him look like a very silly fighter and I'm going to knock him out.
You're going to see how he is after this fight. You’re saying my style is very, very awkward. I know what I'm doing. If I'm not getting too much of a big fight, I'm going to destroy them all.
You're going to see more punches. It's going to be more punches, more combination, and more fight.
Shaw: I thank everybody for being with us. The fight will speak for itself. I thank you all very much.
Darchinyan: Thank you very much for everything, guys. You're going to be very satisfied. I just hope he will stay in the ring and not throw the towel and stop the fight. You're going to see very big punishment. He's going to be punished.
I believe he's not going to fight for a couple of years. He is young, and he can wait a few years before he comes back. You're going to see a very good fight.
DiBella: Thanks to SHOWTIME. For everyone out of town, watch this fight because it's going to be terrific. And for those who can get to the Home Depot Center, tickets are priced affordably from $250 down to $25. It's a great opportunity to see a three‑belt unification between two very exciting, young, terrific fighters. I urge you to see it.
Mijares: Thank you very much, and I hope to see you all on November 1st.
Darchinyan: It seems like he has very nice voice.
DiBella: Very classy, Vic. The last time somebody had a mouth as big as yours, his name was Arce, and Cristian knocked him out.
Darchinyan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll see.
Mijares: He said come and get it. Come and get it and I'll show you.
Darchinyan: I'm going to get his head.
