CLARESSA SHIELDS<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cHammer signed up for something she shouldn\u2019t have signed up for. She\u2019s going to get hurt on Saturday. I love that she has an accomplished record. People say I don\u2019t have power or this and that but on paper I\u2019ve been an underdog in most of my fights and I\u2019ve beat all those women.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I beat Christina Hammer on Saturday, I want everyone\u2019s headline to say \u2018Shields nails the Hammer\u2019. It\u2019s not a game to me. It\u2019s going to be bad for her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy that everyone came out for this event and has supported it. This isn\u2019t as big as women\u2019s boxing can get, but it\u2019s the beginning of something great.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the hardest I\u2019ve ever trained for a fight. Not because I don\u2019t think that I can beat her, but because of the spotlight, I don\u2019t want to let my fans down. I don\u2019t want to let the women who came before me down. They never got to have a fight as big as this one. I don\u2019t want anyone to say it\u2019s all hype. I want to put on a show.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just being myself. I can\u2019t put all the pressure on me to be something I\u2019m not. I love talking trash, that comes natural. There\u2019s a bit of truth in there too. When it gets to times like this, I\u2019m not afraid to say how I feel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason why I\u2019m here is because I\u2019ve taken on the biggest challenges and fought the best fighters. It feels good. I know that I\u2019m going to beat her and take all of these belts home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she\u2019s shook. She doesn\u2019t want to say anything after all the social media talking she was doing. This is her time to say it to my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s boxing is becoming bigger and with \u2018All-Access\u2019 you can see that I train hard, spar against men and go hard for three minutes for 12 rounds. We\u2019ve been around for a long time and we haven\u2019t gotten our just do yet. We\u2019re getting more and we\u2019re getting to the point where one day it can all be equal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad Hammer is here and we\u2019re really going to fight. She\u2019s tough, but I\u2019ve beat girls way stronger, faster and taller than her over and over again. I can\u2019t wait to do it again on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
CHRISTINA HAMMER<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m so happy to be here and have this great opportunity. I can\u2019t wait to get in the ring on Saturday and get all of these belts. I\u2019m ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very confident and I can\u2019t wait to show everyone why I\u2019m 24-0 and been a champion for as long as I\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can say whatever she wants here, because I\u2019m going to show it in the ring. I don\u2019t like to talk too much. I\u2019m here to show my skills in the ring and get all these belts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m emotionless in the ring, because it\u2019s my job. None of her talk will affect me. When you\u2019re emotional in the ring, you make mistakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that it\u2019s a risk to come from Germany to the U.S. to fight Shields. But I have done everything to bring it to her and break her down round-by-round. I want to show the people who the real champion is. A real champion fights everyone, all over the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very focused. I know that this is a historic fight. There is only one champion who can take these belts and that will be me. I\u2019ve given everything for that goal. I sacrificed day after day in camp to achieve that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to show that I\u2019m the undisputed champion. I\u2019m the longtime champion and I\u2019m going to let the people see that women\u2019s boxing is exciting just like the men. This is a great match to show that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re both undefeated and in our primes. People wanted to see this fight and they got this fight. All of the talk is over. Now it\u2019s time to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
OTTO WALLIN<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI come from a small town in Sweden and started boxing in a basement. I could never dream of making it here. I read about it, but it wasn\u2019t attainable. Now I\u2019m here and I\u2019m ready to make a statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important to make an impression. This is a very big opportunity for me to be fighting on SHOWTIME in my first fight on the U.S. A lot of people will be watching and I want to put on a good performance. Most important is to get the win and take care of business.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy opponent is smaller than me and I think that suits me well. He likes to be a little cute in the ring and I think he\u2019ll try to be tricky early on. I want to establish my jab and my body work, because I know he won\u2019t like those body shots. I\u2019m going to break him down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a good plan and a really good trainer. He\u2019s prepared me well with good sparring. I think I\u2019ll know what to do to stay focus. I\u2019ve always been able to do that and focus on what\u2019s best for me in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very nice to be here. I\u2019m very happy to be on this show. It\u2019s great for women\u2019s boxing that the two best fighters are facing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
DMITRIY SALITA, President of Salita Promotions<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThis promotion has lived up to the expectations. This is the biggest fight in women\u2019s boxing history. It feels very big today and I\u2019m sure in a month a day or a year after this fight, we will know that it was a historic event.<\/p>\n
\u201cSHOWTIME\u2019s support for this fight has raised the awareness of women\u2019s boxing for the fans in the U.S and around the world. I think women everywhere have benefited from the lead up to this fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cin the opener on SHOWTIME, world ranked heavyweight Otto Wallin will make his U.S. debut. Otto is an example of hard work and dreams coming true. He grew up in a small town in Sweden and had a dream to become world champion. He\u2019s been training in New York Joey Gamache and we can\u2019t wait for his fight Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a great fight to happen it takes two to tango. Hammer is a longtime world champion and a dominant force in the middleweight division. You have seen how prepared she is for this fight. It takes championship character to fly to another country to put it all on the line and she deserves respect for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaressa Shields has passed every test ever put in front of her. She has been dominant as a pro, winning a world title in her fourth fight a second division title in her sixth fight. April 13 will be her toughest test. This is a fight that she is taking very seriously and I\u2019m excited to see her in the ring Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
STEPHEN ESPINOZA, President Sports & Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI want to acknowledge Claressa and Christina, because it\u2019s easy to forget that this is a fight. That may sound strange, but it\u2019s because there is so much discussion about the meaning and symbolism of this fight. You still have to remember, that beyond all that, these are two athletes preparing for a fight. They each want to win.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of them has taken on the challenge of representing women\u2019s boxing and that should not be overlooked. It would be very easy as a competitor to say that you\u2019re not going to get into that extra stuff. That would be the easier thing to do. But what Claressa and Christina have done is accept that mantle and that challenge. They\u2019ve taken on those discussions. Not just promoting their fight, but engaging in discussions about the future of women\u2019s boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019re tired of talking at this point and just want to fight. That challenge is something that makes the process more difficult and something they\u2019re doing for selfless reasons. It\u2019s really for the advancement of the sport as a whole. Both women deserve a lot of credit for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fight is already a success. I know there\u2019s one big piece that still remains, and I\u2019m very excited to see the fight take place. I know they\u2019re anxious to get in the ring. But what this promotion has done is advance the conversation and advance the dialogue. It\u2019s all of our hopes that this will persist beyond this event and lead to a new era of women\u2019s boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n