![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image001-300x75.jpg\")
<\/a>Fighters competing on the Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT) undercard previewed their respective showdowns during a virtual press conference Tuesday before they meet in the ring on Saturday, October 31 from the Alamodome in San Antonio in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.<\/p>\nThe event featured unbeaten San Antonio native and WBA Super Lightweight Champion Mario \u201cEl Azteca\u201d Barrios and hard-hitting Ryan \u201cCowboy\u201d Karl, who meet in the co-main event, plus former super lightweight world champion Regis \u201cRougarou\u201d Prograis and unbeaten contender Juan Heraldez, who square off in in a 10-round showdown, and lightweight contenders Isaac Cruz and Diego Magdaleno, who battle in an IBF title eliminator to kick off the pay-per-view.<\/p>\n
The event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, TGB Promotions, GTD Promotions and Santa Cruz Boxing Club. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. The Alamodome has implemented a comprehensive health and safety plan to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. All fans attending the event will be screened upon entry and are required to wear a mask as well as follow social distancing guidelines. Tickets will be distributed in seat blocks known as \u201cpods\u201d to maintain distance between groups not from the same party. For more information, visit Alamodome.com<\/p>\n
Here is what the fighters had to say Tuesday:<\/p>\n
MARIO BARRIOS<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super amped for this type of fight. Ryan and I have known each other forever and we know the style that the other person will bring to the ring. For the fans at Alamodome and watching on pay-per-view, they\u2019re in for a great fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier to be in one of the first fights with a crowd since the pandemic. Having my first defense be in my hometown of San Antonio is huge. The feedback I\u2019ve been getting so far from my fans has been incredible. Onfight night that we\u2019ll both have our fan bases there for an exceptional night of boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that come fight night I\u2019ll be facing the best version of Ryan Karl that we\u2019ve seen. He\u2019s training the same way and expecting that from me. So it\u2019s going to be an action-packed fight and the fans will not be disappointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t feel any pressure fighting at home. Every time I fight at home, the energy has been unreal. If anything, it\u2019s more motivating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve watched my fight against Batyr Akhmedov a couple times. I\u2019m a warrior and I showed that in the fight. We made all the changes we needed to in this camp and I\u2019m going to show them on October 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud of the Akhmedov fight. Every great fighter has had close fights like that. It was a learning experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the route that Karl has had throughout his career and I know he\u2019s taking this opportunity and coming 100% ready. I\u2019m planning to keep the world title in San Antonio, so it\u2019s going to be a great battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
RYAN KARL<\/p>\n
\u201cThis fight is going to be a big deal. It\u2019s really surreal, to an extent. We\u2019re very excited and working really hard and putting in the work. It couldn\u2019t be better that it is taking place in Texas with fans. It\u2019s going to be a big Texas showdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve definitely evolved as a fighter. I\u2019ve trained harder than I ever have before. Ronnie [Shields] has talked to me about staying calm and getting ready for the moment and what it means to be in a world title fight. It\u2019s about just staying focused and handling business. We have to remember we are there for business and nothing else. This is no pleasure but all work, no play. And he\u2019s keeping me focused on those things and getting me in the best shape of my life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known Mario forever so as far as knowing each other and styles, we\u2019re familiar. But we\u2019ve never been in the ring with each other so we are really just guessing what we are going to do in there. As far as how we\u2019ll come out and fight, we really won\u2019t know until we are in there with each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect it to be a fan-friendly fight. A true Texas fight. As far as how it\u2019s going to play out, I really don\u2019t know. People make adjustments in the ring. I expect us both to come to win and do so at all costs and just make it a very, very fan-friendly fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really feel any pressure for this fight at all. It really doesn\u2019t make any difference to me that we are fighting in San Antonio, or not. It\u2019s nice to be fighting in Texas because I\u2019m a Texan and I\u2019d like to fight here and never have to leave. But I don\u2019t feel any pressure at all. I\u2019ll fight anybody, anywhere. There\u2019s nobody else in the ring but me and him so it doesn\u2019t really matter in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
REGIS PROGRAIS<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very excited for my first fight as part of the PBC stable. I\u2019ve been wanting to come over to this side for a long time and it\u2019s finally happening. When something bad happens, something good usually happens off of that so this is perfect. I\u2019m in Katy, Texas, which is a two-hour drive from San Antonio, is a big fight town. Plus, this is the first fight back where we\u2019re having fans. Everything is working out perfectly and I\u2019m so excited to be on such a big card and to get back in the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still feel like I\u2019m the best in the world at 140 pounds. In the Josh Taylor fight, I went over there to England, fought in front of over 20,000 people who were all against me and I still feel like I won the fight. I won\u2019t say they robbed me because that\u2019s not what happened, but I still feel like I won the fight. I feel like I\u2019m the best in the division and I need to keep proving it. This is another step for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy next move depends on what\u2019s offered to me. But first off, I have a tough fight in front of me. I\u2019m focused on Juan Heraldez. There are a lot of things on the table for me after this, but I have to get past him first. I do yearn to be a champion at 140 pounds again before I move up to welterweight. That is the plan. But the landscape of boxing changes so much that it\u2019s so hard to predict. You never know what\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of people out there right now for me to fight. Adrien Broner, Josh Taylor, Jose Ramirez. Me and Josh Taylor are definitely going to fight each other again. No matter what, we have to fight. The fight was too close and it was too much of a big deal out there in the U.K. for that not to happen again. I definitely want to fight Ramirez. I feel like he\u2019s ducked me for a little while. And the Broner fight could definitely be a huge fight. All of those names are who I\u2019m looking for. But it\u2019s one step at a time and it\u2019s Juan Heraldez next.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Taylor fight definitely showed me that there are things I need to improve on. Going into that fight, I questioned myself if I could fight 12 hard rounds. I had only gone 12 rounds against Terry Flanagan but that was a boxing lesson, not 12 hard rounds. I fought 12 hard, hard rounds against Taylor so it was kind of a question in my head before that. Now I know that I can do it. Josh Taylor is a very big puncher and I took his punches like it was nothing. As far as things I need to work on, I guess we\u2019ll see. But I\u2019ve been working really hard and I\u2019ve been in training camp since before the pandemic started. I had a lot of fights that didn\u2019t happen so I\u2019ve been working that whole time, working on different things and busting my ass. I\u2019m going to do whatever it takes to get to the top spot at 140 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
JUAN HERALDEZ<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my last fight against Argenis Mendez I learned that I have to really control of the fight. I can\u2019t let there be 50-50 rounds and leave it in the judges\u2019 hands. I have to take as much control as I can over the fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn paper Prograis has a good resume, but when it comes to skills in the ring, it\u2019s a totally different thing. People can say what they want, but skills pay the bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only watched a couple of rounds against Josh Taylor because that was a fight against a southpaw. I don\u2019t think I can take much from that. I\u2019m a totally different fighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just believe in my skills and ability. Whether it\u2019s my footwork, speed or overall ability, I don\u2019t believe that he does anything better than me. He had his time at the top of the division, but now it\u2019s my time. It\u2019s my time to shine.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter this fight I think the whole division is going to fear me. I think it\u2019s going to be hard to find me a fight after I\u2019m through with Regis.\u201d<\/p>\n
ISAAC CRUZ<\/p>\n
\u201c[Magdaleno] is definitely a good fighter and has a lot of experience, but me and my team are ready to take advantage of the experience we have and to use it for our purposes to be able to prevail in this fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that this will be the first big fight with fans in the stands in the United States just fills me with happiness. It motivates me even more to do my best at the Alamodome on October 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Mexican fans know what I\u2019m all about. We will now head over to the United States and show the American fans what Isaac Cruz is capable of. I know I can be a contender with the likes of Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia and [Vasiliy] Lomachenko and show people that there is another Mexican fighter that can be a contender and make noise in this division.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m prepared for his experience. It\u2019s going to be a great fight from the start, but as the rounds go on, he will start to realize the fighter I am and the power that I\u2019m capable of.\u201d<\/p>\n
DIEGO MAGDALENO<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my second fight with my trainer, Bones Adams. It\u2019s a family affair. Boxing is family to me. Going into every fight, being a mature old man that they are calling me nowadays, it feels good because I know where my priorities are. My last win over Austin Dulay was huge because my last team that I had was pretty much saying that I was old, that I was washed up and done. I didn\u2019t like that idea. I went back and rejuvenated my whole team. Rejuvenation over here is Bones Adams.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re never too old to get better and we\u2019re here to serve beatdowns to the young guys. My last opponent was 24 years old coming over to face an old man, and I proved the world wrong. Now everybody is believing again in \u20182FUEGO\u2019. I\u2019m going to start this show off with some fire. They have me opening the show on a stacked card and I\u2019m going to get in there and give it my all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m surrounded by people who want me to progress. If I believe in myself, I want my team to believe in me and I felt that my old team didn\u2019t believe in me. That\u2019s why you saw what happened in that Teofimo Lopez fight. I\u2019ve learned from my mistakes and moving forward I have positive gym vibes. I have a great coach who has been in the ring with me and knows me personally. I definitely made a huge change and look what I did against Dulay, a guy with vicious knockout power. Numbers and strategies can say one thing, but at the end of the day, when we get in the ring, it\u2019s up to me to prove everyone wrong like I did in my last fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be the first fight back with a crowd and I think that favors me. I fight off other people\u2019s energy and you guys will all see that on October 31.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[AdSense-A] Fighters competing on the Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz SHOWTIME PPV (9 p.m. ET\/6 p.m. PT) undercard previewed their respective showdowns during a virtual press conference Tuesday before they meet in the ring on Saturday, October 31 from the Alamodome in San Antonio in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions. The event […]<\/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":[23829],"class_list":["post-94758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-gervonta-davis-leo-santa-cruz-undercard-press-conference-quotes-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94758","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=94758"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94758\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}