Tomasz Adamek and Kevin McBride held a press conference yesterday to discuss their upcoming bout. Check out what both fighters and their teams had to say as they prepare for their April 9th date.
Kathy Duva. Main Events, CEO: “April 9th is an important fight for both fighters: in Kevin McBride’s case this is a great opportunity for him; in Tomasz’s case he has a great opportunity ahead of him in Poland where he has an offer to fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September. But Tomasz does not like to be idle.”
“That brings us to Kevin McBride: he is a big man: he is 6″6″; he is very wide; and very tall; and that is the kind of opponent Tomasz needs to face in order to prepare for the bigger challenge if he is successful. There are other people who have faced Kevin and not been so successful; most notably, Mike Tyson. As we know, Kevin is the man who effectively ended Mike Tyson’s career. So Tomasz, Main Events and everybody with him, knows what a big challenge this is, not to be taken lightly.”
Doug Jacobs, Integrated Sports, PPV :”It’s a bargain at $29.95 for pay-per-view. I know there’s another Golden Boy/HBO fight that night that’s $45 dollars, but I have no doubt that our show is going to be so much more exciting and a better value for you in today’s economic times. In every show we’ve done here at Prudential Center,with Tomasz Adamek, the atmosphere has been fantastic! The atmosphere comes through well on TV, and the under card matches have come through fantastic. It’s always an exciting event.”
Jerry Quinn, Kevin McBride Mgr: “We know we are the underdogs for this fight, but we were the underdogs for the Mike Tyson fight also, people underestimated us. We’re gonna come down here to win. Kevin is training very hard, day and night, and we are definitely looking forward to it. I know Tomasz is a great fighter. We give him a lot of respect, but we’re coming here to win.”
Kevin Mc Bride: “I’m from Ireland, I’m Irish, and I’m proud to be a fighter. I’m coming here to fight. This is a big fight for me. An Irish painter, Sean Scully, said to me a couple years ago, ‘Follow your dream”, and that’s what I’m going to do, follow my dream.”
“This is a great opportunity, for me to show the world I’m a bigger man. You know, if I get into the later rounds with Tomasz Adamek, when I hit him on the chin he’s going to think the whole of Poland hit him! Actually, when I fought Mike Tyson and hit him on the chin I thought, ‘when I hit him he’s gonna think the whole of Ireland hit him’, so I had to think of another statement… You know, Pope John Paul, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m gonna take the title from Tomasz Adamek, follow my dream, and become world heavyweight champion, first born Irish. It’s gonna be a great night and I’m looking forward to it!”
Ziggy Rozalski, Adamek Advisor – “I want to thank Kevin, because I think it’s going to be a great fight. When we fought Kevin with Golota he closed both of Golota’s eyes. If I didn’t tell them in Polish in the corner, ‘how many fingers does the referee have?’ he would have probably won, so I say, thank you, but this is going to be a great fight!”
Roger Bloodworth, Adamek Trainer (celebrating his birthday): “I couldn’t quite believe I was 31 today… We are taking this fight very serious, because Kevin can punch. Kevin’s Irish and he comes to fight. Tomasz is the type of fighter that can’t stay idle. He has to stay busy, so we asked for somebody big and they got us somebody big! We have all the respect in the world for Kevin and his corner, and we thank him for taking this fight.”
Tomasz Adamek: “This is my next step before Klitschko. My wife says I have ADHD, I cannot sit still at home with nothing doing, this is my life.”
“I love fighting at Prudential Center. Everyone lives very close. It feels like my home.” When referring to the amount of snow NJ has received this winter, Adamek said, “I can use only shovel, because when my neighbor sees snow blower he smiles, so I only shovel, its good training!”
“Somebody asked me why I am fighting before I have a guaranteed title fight, and I said, ‘I want to be active, this is my job. I can’t stay home 8 -9 months. So we made a fight – thank you Kevin for taking this fight.’ Tomasz added, “He’s a big man, we respect him. I’m preparing with Roger, it’s our second week in the Pocono’s. We prepare very hard and I am very healthy. I want to be the champion. I am serious, this is my life, this is my way, this is my destiny.”
