The final press conference for what will be an intense and emotional confrontation between unbeaten Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and former Two-Division World Champion Zab Judah took place Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the site of their 140-pound title fight this Saturday, April 27 which will be televised live on SHOWTIME.
Both Garcia (25-0, 16 KO’s), the defending WBA Super, WBC and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion from Philadelphia, and the local favorite, Judah (42-7, 29 KO’s), of Brooklyn, participated in the jam-packed media event. They spoke, answered questions and posed for photos, but not at the same time.
The well-documented friction between the boxers and their camps made for a boxing rarity – a press conference during which the main event fighters and their teams did not sit on the dais simultaneously and were kept completely separated throughout the press conference, not even catching a glimpse of one another.
In Saturday’s co-feature on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, undefeated WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (28-0, 20 KO’s), of Manhattan, will make the first defense of his 160-pound crown against world-rated, hard-hitting Fernando Guerrero (25-1, 19 KO’s), of Salisbury, Md.,
DANNY “SWIFT” GARCIA, Unified Super Lightweight World Champion
“I had a tremendous eight-week camp. I calculated the miles I ran, and you could say I ran to Barclays Center [from Philadelphia] and back.
“I feel tremendous, I’m injury free, I’m solid, I’m confident and I’m really motivated for this fight. I think I’m the most motivated I’ve ever been for a fight. I grew to be a heck of a dangerous fighter, more dangerous than I was before. I’m just smarter now. Saturday night, I’m going to be smart. I’m going to just destroy.
“I don’t have to talk, because I know I can fight. When the people come to watch me, they know they’re going to see either one of the best 12 round fights or the best knockout of the year.
“You can say what you want to say, but it doesn’t matter when you’re getting hit. All that matters is whether you can you take a hit from me or not, or if you can out-think me. They’re playing checkers and I’m playing chess.”
ZAB JUDAH, Former Two-Time World Champion
“We just left the gym together. Did I say anything to Danny? Did Danny and I have any words? Not one. Angel was the one that started this. He’s the one that called me all the names and was talking loud and starting trouble like he always does.
“If you go to a Bernard Hopkins fight in Philadelphia, the whole city comes out. If you go to a fight in Los Angeles for Oscar [De La Hoya], the whole city comes out.
“He’s [Danny Garcia] going to sleep. This isn’t a game. Welcome to Brooklyn. This is my home.
“I’m a person. I’m a human being. I have class about myself. I’ve changed my life in a drastic, major way.
“Saturday night they’re going to feel it. They can do all they want to do; they’re going to feel it. I’m ready. It’s about Zab Judah and Danny Garcia.
“Angel Garcia made himself a factor. Danny is so quiet, such a church mouse, that they don’t know who he is.
“Saturday night, you’re going to see the best Zab Judah. The guy you all fell in love with and the reason why you all know me is back. The hand speed, the power, the defense…it’s all here and ready to go.
“I don’t have any problem with my hands. I bring skills to the table. Like I tell everybody, it’s never been a question ‘can he fight?’ The only question everybody has is ‘is he in shape?’ When I’m in shape, you’ve seen the best. My defense is impeccable. My hands are super fast. My power is devastating. I have one-punch knockout power in either hand. I have more knockouts than the boy has fights.
“It’s a lot to be proud of – 17 years and still strong. I’m still campaigning at this height and level of boxing. Watch Saturday night and you’re going to see the best. You’re going to think I’m 25 again. Then what are you going to say?
“Angel Garcia can’t get under my skin. I don’t worry about him.
ANGEL GARCIA, Danny Garcia’s Father/Trainer
“Danny had a great camp. February 9th, he got a caught with a little injury, but that’s in the past. That’s not the future. The future is that he’s ready. He’s ready to go 100 percent, mentally and physically.
“It’s not about Brooklyn or Philly, it’s about who is the ‘King of the East Coast,’ and that is going to be Danny.
“He’s [Zab Judah] underestimating Danny like everyone else has done. The truth is that Danny’s going to be a champion for a long time.”
PETER “KID CHOCOLATE” QUILLIN, WBO Middleweight World Champion
“I’m dedicating this fight to Boston…Boston Strong.
“We have two trained athletes. We signed up to participate in this, the people that went to run that marathon, didn’t want to participate in what happened. I just want to give them strength through this.
“I want to thank Fernando Guerrero and his team. I’m happy to see Barry Hunter in his corner so he will be getting the best advice he can. It’s going to be a tremendous fight.
“This fight has many good qualities, Dominican vs. Cuban, but we do it for the whole Latin community coming together. We both are inspired by two baseball players – Sammy Sosa and Jackie Robinson. Long hair vs. short hair. One guy who hungers for a world title and a guy that is hungry to keep his world title.
“This might have been the best camp I have ever had.
“Guerrero is coming with his confidence. My confidence is there and we’re going to make this a tremendous fight.”
FERNANDO GUERRERO, Top Middleweight Contender
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life. I want to thank my opponent, Kid Chocolate. I think this is the way to promote a real good fight, if you can fight, just fight. He has character like me. We don’t need to trash talk, we don’t need to do anything, it’s just a sport that we do. I want to congratulate him on his title and I want to thank him for being a gentleman.
“A lot of times, people don’t understand that we’re not animals, we’re fighters. We fight like animals, but we’re not.
“On this card, there’s a lot of different races. Everybody’s saying I’m going for this race or that race, but there’s only one thing that matters, the only race that matters is the human race. It doesn’t matter if you’re black, white, Puerto Rican, red or blue.
“I represent whoever wants me, whoever has struggles, whoever wants to be a positive role model.
DANNY JACOBS, Top Middleweight Contender
“Not a lot of people stand up for something in boxing anymore. I want to stand for something. I want to be the face of boxing, but I want to do it in a positive light. Not a lot of people do that.
“I want to be able to say to (my son) ‘You can accomplish anything, but you don’t have to go the wrong route. You can be a positive light, you can be who you are and you can still shine and be the greatest.’ Our kids are the future.”
LUIS COLLAZO, Former World Champion
“Finally, I’m back. I’m excited to be back here in Brooklyn in my hometown. Come Saturday night, I’m going to do it for me, I’m going to do it for my fans, I’m going to do it for everyone that’s been with me since day one.”
EDDIE GOMEZ, Top Junior Middleweight Prospect
“We’ve got a lot of good fighters on the card Saturday night. Everybody’s looking to put on a show. I’m looking to put on a great show. I’m ready for this fight. I’m back at it again.”
MARCUS BROWNE, 2012 U.S. Olympian
“Like my last fight on the [Bernard Hopkins vs. Tavoris Cloud] card, I’m ready. From Staten Island to Brooklyn, I’m ready to put on a show. I trained hard for this fight. I’m ready. I’m going to let my hands do the talking.”
ZACHARY OCHOA, Top Junior Welterweight Prospect
“Not a lot of people can say, ‘I fought on a SHOWTIME card at Barclays Center.’ That really means a lot to me.
“I’ve been working hard. I’m hungry that’s why I call myself ‘Zungry, ‘because I’m hungry to make it to the top.”
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President of Golden Boy Promotions
“All is great, all is wonderful. We have a tremendous lineup for Saturday night here at Barclays Center.
“Tickets are going really fast. We’re really happy that the response from fans has been tremendous.
On Danny Garcia “Nobody has ever proven him wrong. People can say this and that, but, until you prove somebody wrong, then there’s nothing to say. That’s what he’s been doing every single fight. He’s proving everybody wrong. Because of his work ethic, because he trains hard, he does everything right. He loves boxing and he’s in the gym constantly. His dedication to boxing is why he’s on top.”
BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion & President of Golden Boy East
“This is a great facility [Barclays Center] as the writers and everybody who’s been here knows.
“I’ll tell the young guys ‘all of these guys are good fighters, but you have to stand out in today’s world to be the best out of the pack.’
“I’m looking for a great show. I thank Stephen Espinoza again for putting on a great event that’s going to happen this Saturday. Everyone in Philly is talking about this fight.”
STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports
“At Showtime, we’re now in the midst of a really exciting run of quality fights, perhaps the most exciting, highest quality run of fights maybe in the history of the network. Last week, we had over 38,000 people in the Alamodome and did the second highest rating for an individual bout in the history of the network according to Nielsen. This week, we’ve got another packed card with two 50/50 matchups on the televised portion.
“As a television executive, you’re not supposed to have favorite fights, they’re sort of like your children, you like them all. Every fight I schedule, I schedule with the full confidence that it’s something that I would want to watch as a fan, I would want to watch as a subscriber and it’s something that I’m proud of. To be honest, there are some fights, some events that have that little extra something, a little extra excitement, the little extra sizzle, and April 27th is one of those.”
BARRY BAUM, Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer, Barclays Center
“We’re really excited for our third night of championship boxing at Barclays Center. I want to thank everyone at Golden Boy for delivering another great card to Brooklyn.
“It’s very exciting to have two major fights here as well as a terrific undercard of a lot of Brooklyn fighters. I also want to let Golden Boy Promotions know how much we appreciate their commitment to bringing boxing to Brooklyn in such a big way. It’s a really a great relationship that we have. I also want to thank Steven Espinoza and SHOWTIME for all of your support for boxing in Brooklyn and for broadcasting the event on Saturday.”
