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<\/a>Unified middleweight world champion Claressa Shields and former world champion Ivana Habazin went face to face Thursday at the final press conference two days before they battle for the WBO and WBC 154-pound world titles live on SHOWTIME from Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint, Mich.<\/p>\nAlso featured at Thursday\u2019s press conference and competing on the SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION telecast were undefeated welterweight prospect Jaron Ennis and Argentina\u2019s Demian Daniel Fernandez, who square off in the 10-round co-feature, and unbeaten heavyweight prospect Jermaine Franklin and once-beaten Pavel \u0160our, who battle in the televised opener at 9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
At Thursday\u2019s press conference, Gordon Hall, SVP, Production, SHOWTIME Sports and Event Programming and Executive Producer of Saturday\u2019s telecast, presented Claressa Shields with a $10,000 donation to the \u201cClaressa Shields Community Project.\u201d The project is a summer camp designed to help Flint youth learn how to cope with stress, anxiety, anger, sadness and depression, and provides educational tutoring services to dozens of children. With this $10,000 donation, Shields will surpass her current fundraising goal for the project.<\/p>\n
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Salita Promotions, in association with T-REX BOXING PROMOTIONS, can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and at the Dort Center box office.<\/p>\n
Here is what the press conference participants had to say Thursday from the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center:<\/p>\n
CLARESSA SHIELDS<\/p>\n
\u201cStarting my community project with the kids and spending a lot of time with them really taught me a lot. It reminded me of the childhood that I didn\u2019t have. My whole life has always been about boxing. That\u2019s why these girls can\u2019t beat me. Growing up, boys didn\u2019t matter. Punching the bag the fastest mattered. Punching the bag the hardest mattered. Doing 25 pushups faster than the boys mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always knew I would be the one to do it for women\u2019s boxing. Yeah, we had Laila Ali, respect. But she can\u2019t do for women\u2019s boxing what I\u2019m doing. I put a lot on the line, I started my career at 168. This fight on Saturday is going to be at 154. I had to lose a lot of weight for this fight because I cleaned out the division at 160. Every time I came out of a division, there\u2019s somebody else telling me I\u2019m not the greatest woman of all time. I love when they say that because I want you to come show me I\u2019m not the greatest woman of all time. Ivana is here to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what Ivana came here to do, but I\u2019m telling you right now it\u2019s going less than five rounds. She said her game plan was to stand there and bang with me. Not with muscles like this. She\u2019s going to sleep and her coach is going to be carrying her out on a pillow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched every fight of hers. Her last six or seven fights, nothing changes. It\u2019s the same combinations. Same hand speed. Getting caught with the same shots. When you see me box, you see improvement. I\u2019m not coming here to Flint to play no games with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a 168 fighter. And I have to keep coming down to these girls\u2019 weight because they\u2019re scared to come see me. So I came to 154 and I came to see her. I\u2019m going to show her. As you can see, this is the Claressa Shields show. It\u2019s about me. There\u2019s no friction in my camp. We are about business and we\u2019re about the money. Pay me.\u201d<\/p>\n
IVANA HABAZIN<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m definitely ready for this fight. I had a very tough four-month training camp. This is the best preparation I\u2019ve ever had in my life for a fight. I\u2019m in the best shape of my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am 100 percent focused on this fight. I trained harder than I ever have before. I had the ability to work on a lot of new things. I had five different sparring partners who brought a lot to help me improve. I gave everything into this camp and I believe I will receive something in return.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of the pre-fight talk bothers me. I\u2019m not going to make a big show and trash talk. For me, this is just part of the job of what I have to do before I fight. All that matters is what is going to happen in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis win on Saturday is going to change my life. This is my biggest fight ever. She\u2019s right now the top women\u2019s boxer, so there couldn\u2019t be a bigger victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t come here to lose. I came here to win. I don\u2019t want to waste my energy talking before the fight, but I just want to say I\u2019m excited to see how happy everyone here is right now for Claressa, because they\u2019re going to be sad on Saturday when I win.\u201d<\/p>\n
JARON ENNIS<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a great training camp and Saturday night we\u2019re going to put on a show. We\u2019re going to have some fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ready to rock and roll. Saturday night I\u2019m going to show Flint, Mich., what I can do. This is about the next steps to the next level. To get to the elite level, that\u2019s what we want. And the end of the day we want everyone \u2013 champions, top 15, we want everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cStylistically it\u2019s going to be me controlling the whole fight and knowing what I want to do and having fun and eventually getting the knockout.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been sparring a lot of bigger guys because I can\u2019t spar guys my weight or lower because I\u2019m too strong for them. So it\u2019s been only bigger guys in there for sparring. Whatever he brings, we will be ready for anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate everything Claressa Shields has done for boxing and bringing this show here and hopefully I pick up some of her fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he knows what he signed up for. But we\u2019re going to show him Saturday night. We\u2019re going to have some fun so make sure you all tune in.\u201d<\/p>\n
DEMIAN DANIEL FERNANDEZ<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to be here and have this opportunity. I came here to bring a victory back to Argentina. I know that my opponent is worthy, but he\u2019s got nothing for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart will be the difference in this fight. I\u2019m going to run right through him like a train. I believe that I am better in every aspect of the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that I\u2019m going to bring a challenge that my opponent has never seen. I believe I\u2019ve faced tougher competition and that will play itself out in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see someone who\u2019s been treated carefully and had his record padded. This is a dream come true and it\u2019s all going to come together on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
JERMAINE FRANKLIN<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling ready to go on Saturday. I changed some stuff up. I have a nice game plan. I\u2019m going to go in there and try to chop the body down early. I\u2019m excited, this is the closest show I\u2019ve had to home. I have a lot of support coming to the fights. It\u2019s always great fighting in front of friends and family but I get a little too excited sometimes. Right now, it\u2019s about trying to stay calm and do what I came here to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn boxing, there\u2019s always a lot of distractions whether you\u2019re fighting home or not. The biggest one is just trying to stay calm. I get a burst of adrenaline when I\u2019m fighting at home. Other than that, I don\u2019t let the distractions affect me because I\u2019m dedicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe journey to get to where I am now has been tough. I went through a lot of trials and tribulations. There have been downtimes. We fight until better days come. I took all my stepping stones the right way so the journey was pretty hard. But in the end, the process was good for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m that far away from a big opportunity on a big stage. I still have some points to prove. I need to wake some people up. But I don\u2019t think I\u2019m far away from a big pay day, I\u2019m closing in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love for my next fight to be in Saginaw but that\u2019s something I need to talk to my team about. But I think I could sell out a nice card in Saginaw. They would love to see that. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a big burden representing for my city. We all show love and support to each other. Robert Simms is fighting on this card and he\u2019s from Saginaw too. I think we all feed off each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
PAVEL \u0160OUR<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really happy to be here for my first time in the U.S. I\u2019m very grateful for my team for getting me this opportunity and I\u2019m going to make the most of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFranklin is a strong fighter. He wants to go toe-to-toe, but I\u2019m going to box him from a distance and control the fight from start to finish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that I have a lot of experience in the ring that will help me in this fight. I\u2019ve boxed for 21 years. He was only a kid when I started in this sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel great achieving this dream of fighting in the U.S. I\u2019m happy to take the dream even further with a win on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
FLINT MAYOR KAREN WEAVER<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so happy to be here and the city of Flint is thrilled that the time is finally here for us to have another championship right here. Claressa said she was going to do it and we can\u2019t wait for everybody to see what\u2019s going to take place Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to say thank you to Claressa for the love and support that she has shown for her hometown. We\u2019re so grateful that there are people like you that come back home and make a mark in their community. We know that we can\u2019t do it without you, and we are with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
GORDON HALL, SVP, Production, SHOWTIME Sports and Event Programming and Executive Producer of Saturday\u2019s SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION<\/p>\n
\u201cSHOWTIME has a long history of featuring women in combat sports. Whether it was in MMA with Gina Carano, Cris Cyborg or Ronda Rousey to Laila Ali and Christy Martin in boxing. Most recently, we have the great Claressa Shields, former middleweight champion Christina Hammer, as well as Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.<\/p>\n
\u201cShields-Habazin will be the eleventh women\u2019s bout that we\u2019ve had on SHOWTIME since 2017 and Claressa Shields is leading the way. Claressa Shields is the best woman fighter today. She has accomplished more in a shorter period of time, dominated all of her opponents and yes, she is still getting better. And frankly, that\u2019s scary.<\/p>\n
\u201cMale or female, SHOWTIME is delivering the best fighters in the best matchups and we\u2019ve done that for 35 years. We expect the same on Saturday night. Claressa Shields is making her sixth appearance on SHOWTIME. She\u2019s already made history, holding two division titles including unifying the middleweight division. Now, she\u2019s looking to become the first fighter, male or female, to win three division titles within her first 10 fights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIvana Habazin is an eight-year pro. She is a former welterweight champion who has more than twice the amount of professional fights as Claressa. Both fighters have top trainers and I have no doubt that this will be a fight you won\u2019t want to miss.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the undercard, we have one of the top American heavyweights in Saginaw\u2019s Jermaine Franklin, who is making his third appearance on SHOWTIME. He\u2019s facing once-beaten Pavel \u0160our in a fight for recognition, to try to get their names in the ever-changing heavyweight division conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur co-feature spotlights Philadelphia\u2019s Jaron Ennis, who is the best prospect in boxing. No doubt. He was an amateur standout with speed and power that all will appreciate. His opponent Demian Fernandez has only one loss, but I can tell you right now he didn\u2019t come all the way from Argentina to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
DMITRIY SALITA, President of Salita Promotions<\/p>\n
\u201cOctober 5 is going to be a historic night of boxing. The WBO and WBC 154-pound world titles will be on the line when Claressa Shields takes on Ivana Habazin live on SHOWTIME right here at this arena in Flint, Michigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe undercard is going to feature explosive fights with blue chip welterweight prospect Jaron Ennis, and Saginaw, Michigan\u2019s Jermaine Franklin in separate bouts. This is going to be a fantastic night that the fans are going to remember for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSHOWTIME has been instrumental in making sure that Claressa is fighting the best fights and getting the most exposure for the sport of women\u2019s boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should save your ticket stubs because you are going to want to show your grandkids that you were here in Flint to see Claressa Shields fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
MARK TAFFET, President of Taffet Media<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the day she won gold to the day she turned pro, this is the place where Claressa always wanted to be, and it\u2019s because of the support of everyone here and we thank you so much for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we made this fight, we knew that this was a historic fight. The opportunity to win a world title in a third weight division, faster than any fighter in history, is truly special.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of experience in this sport, and Claressa Shields is once in a lifetime. I wanted to help make the vision of Claressa Shields a reality. It is because of her that women\u2019s boxing is reaching heights it has never before reached or imagined. She\u2019s on the doorstep of achieving more history. It\u2019s not that the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[AdSense-A] Unified middleweight world champion Claressa Shields and former world champion Ivana Habazin went face to face Thursday at the final press conference two days before they battle for the WBO and WBC 154-pound world titles live on SHOWTIME from Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center in Flint, Mich. Also featured at Thursday\u2019s press conference […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20750],"class_list":["post-82797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-claressa-shields-wows-media-fans-at-final-press-conference-breaking-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82797"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82797\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}