{"id":65207,"date":"2016-12-07T22:02:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T03:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=65207"},"modified":"2016-12-07T22:02:27","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T03:02:27","slug":"jesus-cuellar-abner-mares-press-conference-heats-up-breaking-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=65207","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Cuellar – Abner Mares Press Conference Heats UP! – Breaking Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image002\"<\/a>Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp\/SHOWTIME<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four of the top trainers in the sport, Freddie Roach, Robert Garcia, Ronnie Shields and Stephen Edwards met with media in Los Angeles to discuss their fighters\u2019 respective showdowns this Saturday, December 10 from Galen Center at USC and live on SHOWTIME\u00ae.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s event is headlined by featherweight world champion Jesus Cuellar defending against former three-division world champion Abner Mares in a long-awaited showdown. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING\u00ae telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET\/7 p.m. PT with junior middleweight world champion Jermall Charlo and top-rated challenger Julian Williams in a world championship battle of undefeated rising stars in their prime. <\/p>\n

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports and TGB Promotions, are on sale and are priced at $35, $50, $75, $150 and $200. To purchase tickets go to www.galentix.com.<\/p>\n

Roach (Cuellar), Garcia (Mares), Shields (Charlo) and Edwards (Williams) spoke to media at the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown about their fighters and the highly anticipated matchups taking place this weekend in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Here is what the participants had to say Wednesday:<\/p>\n

FREDDIE ROACH, Cuellar\u2019s Trainer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

How has your relationship with Cuellar developed?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten to know Cuellar quite well and have spent a lot of time with him. I think he\u2019s learned a lot and I think he\u2019ll carry that into the fight with him. He\u2019s prepared and he won\u2019t go out there just trying to look for a knockout. He\u2019s a good puncher and everybody thinks he\u2019s looking for the KO, but I told him to just let it happen. If you force it, it will never happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s going in there with a good opponent, an experienced fighter with a lot of good fights under his belt. He\u2019s caught punches before and knows how to handle it. And if [Mares] moves, we\u2019ll cut the ring off to make it smaller and set traps for him. If he tries to come forward, I want my guy to show his power either way and show him who the boss is.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Garcia having the upper hand by having trained Cuellar:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really know how their relationship is and I don\u2019t really know how long they\u2019ve been together. I heard that during his training camps that he had gone to Florida for another trainer so I don\u2019t know how great they\u2019re really getting along but again, I don\u2019t really worry about the other side so much. I know my guy is ready for a hard 12-round fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does know my fighter well and I\u2019ve tried to improve my fighter a lot and he said he never learned anything over there, but every day he learns in my gym. I just don\u2019t think he\u2019s the same guy that Robert is used to seeing and I think he\u2019s improved a lot in a lot of different areas and I think he\u2019ll show it in the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are you predicting for Cuellar?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m predicting better angles, not so wide with the punches, not so big with them. He goes out there looking for knockouts so many times and I\u2019ve told him to just let it happen. He needs to get behind his jab a little bit. He has a good jab but he just doesn\u2019t throw it that much because he\u2019s always looking for the home run. So, we\u2019ve worked a lot on not only looking for the home run right away and going out there and breaking this guy down.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the game plan if Abner comes to box?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s going to try to box us, yes, so we have to put pressure on him and we have to keep him close to the ropes. We have to set traps on the ropes and into the corners and we\u2019re well prepared for that. We did prepare for [Mares] coming at us also, trying to maybe catch him early and I want Cuellar to show his power right away because I think if we can get him to box and move, he can\u2019t win the fight by moving away.\u201d<\/p>\n

ROBERT GARCIA, Mares\u2019 Trainer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCuellar is very strong and hits really hard. He has tremendous power. He\u2019s very strong physically and mentally. He has that warrior mentality that just goes out there looking for the knockout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have the secret recipe. It\u2019s just that I know Abner is in great shape and we\u2019ve had a year to prepare for this fight. And I know Cuellar very well. I know how he thinks and that could be a plus. I think facing a guy I used to train can be an advantage for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Jesus and how he is in locker room. And I can use that against him. Even though he\u2019s with a great trainer in Freddie Roach, he has never walked out to the arena with him. I did it for five fights and for two years. But I don\u2019t think I need those advantages.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Abner does everything that he needs to do, there\u2019s no doubt he will walk out of there a world champion. But this is my first fight with him so I don\u2019t know if during the fight he will forget all I told him, and do what he is used to doing. He\u2019s picked up a lot of good things from me, so I think he\u2019ll stick to the game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has impressed you most about Abner this camp?<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a full year training and having dates and then the dates being cancelled, postponed, changed. It\u2019s been four dates. They were scheduled to fight in March, then June. Then we were supposed to fight in October and now December. He never showed any signs of frustration or being upset. He always thought like I think: Things happen for a reason and this just gives us more time to work together and to learn from each other. So, I think it was the best thing that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did you always have aspirations of becoming a trainer?<\/p>\n

\u201cNever did. It\u2019s funny how it happened. When I had my last fight at 26, my plans were to forget about boxing. I hated boxing. The last couple of fights I had I didn\u2019t want to be in the ring. I didn\u2019t want to have anything to do with it. But then I started to come around my Dad\u2019s gym in Oxnard (Calif.). The thing that I loved the most was the travel — because I traveled around the world during the amateurs and the pros. My first three fights were in Japan. But we didn\u2019t enjoy it. I was always trying to make weight. And I never got to enjoy it. But I never thought I\u2019d be in this position to train nine world champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will have my 10th world champion, and I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s this Saturday. I\u2019m very confident about it. One day I\u2019ll have 15 or maybe 20, but that\u2019s one thing I hate to do is predict it. But I do feel really good we can pull this one off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is your pick for Trainer of the Year?<\/p>\n

\u201cManny Robles had two world champions and has two really good fighters. And Freddie Roach had a great year with Pacquiao. So, I think they would be good picks. I believe Manny Robles deserves it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have you gotten the credit you are due?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mostly politics and who you know. Will I get it again? I really don\u2019t care. My fighters are happy and my family is happy. I get the love from you reporters and the fans. And that\u2019s all that\u2019s important to me and my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

RONNIE SHIELDS, Charlo\u2019s Trainer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAll I hear is Charlo is scared. Jermall isn\u2019t scared to fight anyone. Why would a guy who is champion of the world be scared of fighting [Williams]?<\/p>\n

\u201cJermall and Julian ran into each other a few times as amateurs, but not as professionals. I think they both realized they would meet in the ring and that it would happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really surprised this fight happened this early in their careers, because both guys are great fighters. And they are both deserving to be at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Charlo calling Williams an \u201cundefeated nobody\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just Jermall [laughing]. All fighters are confident in their ability, and he just feels like he\u2019s the better guy. And I\u2019m glad he feels that way, because I don\u2019t have to do anything extra to motivate him. He\u2019s highly motivated, and ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

How do you think this fight will end?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t look at the ends, I only look at the beginnings. If you go in looking to knock the guy out in the early rounds and don\u2019t get it, what\u2019s going to happen in the later rounds? I think I\u2019ve got Jermall to the point where he can go 12 rounds with anyone. He doesn\u2019t care who it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does Julian Williams do well?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Julian does a lot of things well. You have to have the simple fundamentals in boxing, which I think carries a lot of fighters a long way. You have to have a good jab, combination of punches. And Jermall has the same thing. I think it will come down to who has the biggest will to win this fight. My guy has a huge will to win this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is underrated about Jermall that fight fans might now know?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that a lot of people don\u2019t know how smart an individual he is. Outside of the ring, and inside of the ring. He\u2019s so different than he appears in public. He\u2019s a really quiet guy and does not really boast a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese days you see a lot of fighters using different guys, and not just the same guys [in terms of trainers]. I think a lot of fighters are trusting different people, and not just the same guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Jermall since he was eight-years-old and I know what type of guy he is, and what his will is. I just don\u2019t see anybody beating him. He just has such a strong will to win, and he does everything right. And that\u2019s hard to say about the other guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis could be Jermall\u2019s last fight at 154 pounds. But he will make weight on Friday. If there was a chance he wasn\u2019t going to make weight, I wouldn\u2019t let him [fight at 154 pounds] because I realize it\u2019s too dangerous, and I\u2019m not going to take that chance with my guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

STEPHEN EDWARDS, Williams\u2019 Trainer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were ready for this fight, maybe a year and a half ago but unfortunately it took a bit longer than we thought to come into fruition. But he\u2019s had a great camp. I know Jermall is a formidable fighter, he has a great coach and I\u2019m expecting a great fight. I think it\u2019s really, really difficult to beat an undefeated fighter that does not know how to lose.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a big task in front of us but he\u2019ll be the third undefeated guy that Julian has fought. So, he\u2019s used to being up under that kind of stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

On knowing Julian\u2019s past life on the streets:<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew him but I wasn\u2019t training him at the time. Ironically, I knew Julian in 2007 and I used to work at the shelter that he was at. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances I didn\u2019t meet him until I was having a fight party for the Floyd Mayweather-Ricky Hatton fight and we became pretty good friends and then later I started training him in 2010. When he came to the party I knew who he was from attending some of his amateur fights and when he was ready to turn pro, he asked me for some help. We have a relationship outside of boxing and then I started working with him and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he open up to you about his story shortly after you knew him?<\/p>\n

\u201cI kind of already knew it so it wasn\u2019t a revelation. It kind of happened organically, you know, as you get to know somebody and you\u2019re around them, I kind of started to learn different things about him and we started talking more about it. Actually, a lot of things came up through boxing because I would ask him \u2018How do you not win Nationals as good as you are?\u2019 I thought he was the best amateur in the city. I would say: \u2018How long do you run?\u2019 and \u2018What kind of diet do you do?\u2019 and he would say \u2018I just lose weight by taking laxatives.\u2019 I thought he was killing himself and that\u2019s when I wanted to take him on in training. I said man, if he was 77-10 as an amateur taking laxatives to lose weight, he is ruining the lining of his stomach and decreasing his energy level too. So, I said to myself \u2018this kid has a big upside.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could just get him to buy into a diet, buy into doing things the right way, he could be a world champion. I think that I believed that he was going to be a world champion before he did. That\u2019s how the stories started to unravel about his homelessness, that he didn\u2019t have anything to eat, that he would work at McDonalds and other places and that would be his diet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a national level fighter, ranked No. 3 in the country on a McDonald\u2019s diet. So I always just kept in the back of my mind that he had an unbelievable upside and regardless of what was going on or what people were saying, I trust my eyes more than I trust anybody else\u2019s and that\u2019s what I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much do you think his past goes into the way he fights?<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely think that he has a hint of anger. He\u2019s a little introverted and I\u2019m very similar in certain things that we don\u2019t talk about. Getting him ready for the Hugo Centeno fight when his mom passed away, we never talked about it. It\u2019s the weirdest thing in the world. I hugged him, I told him I would help him with the funeral arrangements because he\u2019s a young guy and he didn\u2019t know how to handle those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can you say about Jermall?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not better than Julian at anything. I\u2019m not trying to concede anything. He doesn\u2019t punch harder, he\u2019s not faster and you all can quote me when I say he\u2019s not better than him at nothing. And determination. If it comes down to a point of who\u2019s really willing to lose his life in the ring, I already know who\u2019s willing to lose his life in the ring. But he\u2019s not better at him at anything. Nothing. Not just determination, Julian is just the more skilled fighter and he has more on the inside and he\u2019s going to show everyone on Saturday night.\u201d<\/p>\n