Fighters faced off at today’s final ‘Day of Reckoning’ Press Conference ahead of Saturday’s loaded DAZN PPV card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua: “I’m here to fight, I’m not here to party and get caught up in the glitz and glamour. I want to fight. I want to perform well. I put that pressure on myself. Of course I’m tense because I want to perform. I want to win. I’ve got that urge to win. I want to hurt my opponent as well.”
Otto Wallin: “People talking about upsets, I’m going to win the fight and you shouldn’t call it an upset. It’s not really an upset, it’s just natural. This is my time so I’m ready for it…he used to be a happy guy but from what I see now he seems very stiff and tense. Maybe he’s fed up with all of this stuff.”
Deontay Wilder: “I come here to do what I do best and give the fans what they want to see. At the end of the day, no one wants to see a twelve-round fight…Don’t blink. I’m gonna give you what you want to see. Nowadays I’m called Dr. Sleep and I definitely got the NyQuil in the right hand so I hope you bring a pillow and a blanket.”
Joseph Parker: “He’s a tough kid, but I know I can knock him out. 100 percent.”
Dmitry Bivol: “Everything is possible but I’m not usually focused on a knockout because it distracts me from my plan. Of course, if I see the moment I will use this moment. I’m not a fighter who only thinks about one punch. I like to enjoy the process. I like to follow my tactics.”
Lyndon Arthur: “I’m enjoying it and I’m looking forward to Saturday…I don’t believe nobody has seen the best of me yet.”
Daniel Dubois: “Yo, Big Baby. Every baby has a daddy and I’m gonna beat you like I’m your daddy!”
Jerrell Miller: “I’m gonna cook this shrimp. The two-time quitter.”
Jai Opetaia: “Putting the politics aside and the best fight the best. This is a massive change and the name Opetaia will have its print on it. I’m here to make a statement…man, I’m ready to go to war.”
Ellis Zorro: “I’m just focused on Saturday at the moment. Like I’ve been saying all week, it’s a massive opportunity for me and I’m going to take it with both hands.”
Arslanbek Makhmudov: “I’m ready. That’s why I’m here. I need this kind of fight. I need this kind of opponent. I respect him, but Saturday I’ll go there to destroy like I usually do. That’s my job.”
Agit Kabayel: This is the biggest challenge of my career. I respect Arslanbek. He’s a good opponent, a strong guy. I think I’m also the biggest challenge in his career.”
Frank Sanchez: “I’m coming here to win. If a knockout comes, it comes.”
Junior Fa: “I’m gonna bring the best version of myself and get him out of there…win by any means necessary.”
Filip Hrgovic: “I had planned with this guy to let him box for a few rounds, but because of his nasty words, I will nee to punish him earlier…I need to punish this guy really, really bad. Like he stole something.”
Mark De Mori: “It’s a ten round scheduled fight. I’ve got absolutely no desire to go ten rounds. I’ve got the arms of a Tyrannosaurus rex, I’m not gonna out-jab him. I’m gonna get in close and I’m gonna try and break him in half.”
So …the fight is Joshua vs walling ???
I thought the main fight was going to be wilder vs Parker
Millers not on the juice anymore, might not have the same motor as in the past. Wallin made a good point about AJ being stiff and tense and maybe boxing isn’t in his heart anymore. I think Aurthur may give Bivol a good technical fight.
DMV
miller will be shit. he certainly did Not look like a to 30 hvwt in his last fight
His last fight is his last figjt
I agree 2 out of 3. AJ doesn’t have “it” anymore. It’s been missing for years now. If he has trouble with Walim, it might be time to hang them up. He can, however, secure a big money fight if he looks great.
Big baby being off the juice leaves a big question to be answered. Can he go into deep waters if needed? I see trouble for him with Dubious’ right uppercut since he likes to bridge the gap by leaning in. Actually an interesting fight and I was surprised to see it on the card.
Lyndon will have a good first round as Bivol assesses the situation, but it’s over from there. Too busy, too sharp, too strong minded. Bivol waxes Johnson off of angles. I highly doubt there will be a knockout. If there is, it’s Bivol late TKO, ref stoppage.
looks to be a night of A side wins.
hopefully a couple of the bouts are competitive or at least entertaining. (no B sides needed here)
Of all the participants in this great event, Eddie Hearn is the one who is most nervous, because of Joshua and Wilder. A loss from either one and the big fight is over
Hearn nervous????
With all the money he got you think is he nervous ???
The more money they have the more they want.
Yea you right
Why Arum and King still promoting? Do you think they don’t get nervous when assembling a boxing event?
Found it kind of funny when Joshua said he is not here to party. I did not know that the capital of Saudi Arabia was the party city like Las Vegas. Betwween Dubois and Miller I think it is a pick em. I wonder if Daniel though is fighting too early after his last stoppage loss. I give Parker a chance. Wilder has been inactive and his last match went only a round. But he has that punch to win by knockout of course. But I could see upset here.
When Joshua said he did not come to party “” I think was talking about taking the fight seriously and not being a clown in the ring
It was soooooooooo good to witness arrogant Wilder being beat up 3 times by Fury. Ko’d, TKo’d.
Right because Fury has been so humble. You’re not fooling anybody. You are a small man threatened by people who look like Wilder.
Am I overreacting or is this the greatest card put together in boxing history?
We already talked about it long time ago
Arturo, it is a good card with a lot of nicely matched fighters, but most cards have at least one great fighter against a serious opponent. This card has Bivol and Jai fighting fighters they are expected to beat with ease. Then it has a bunch of heavyweight ex-champions, hopefuls, and up and comers. If you are a heavyweight fan, this is the best card since the 90s. If you’re a boxing fan, it’s a solid card of contenders in one of the least interesting divisions in boxing.
Wilder KO 3 Parker
Miller KO 4 DDD
************
No real predictions for the other fights.
we all can take a guess. And we aint taking bets so…
yer i mean anthony is doing anything now for money . wallin… what a fall from grace
yer they are very rich over there arn’t they, what can I say, probably earning more than the bouts that really mattered and you lost them all
Seems everybody on this commentary has the same ole predictions. I see this card entirely differently. Time will tell, but you folks are totally off on many. AJ. Is fine. Dubious will ko big baby, early and wilder will go the distance with Parker.. Watch and learn grasshopper. Oh, and there will be one huge upset.
@JT, ok, spill the beans re ‘upset’, Agit Kabayel, Junior Fa to win? Interesting you say Wilder vs Parker to go the distance, who you have winning?
Man JT dont know lmao
Hrgović is supposedly the highest ranked HW on this card, #1 to fight the winner of Usyk vs Fury, but he is fighting surely the worst HW, De Mori, on this card.
Sanchez is prob the most talented Heavy on this card
That one is the worst mismatch. Di Mori took that obvious dive against Haye (he wasn’t the only one who did that either), but they’ve padded his record since then with 11 straight wins. Probably be a first round KO for Hrg, but I hope Di Mori doesn’t fake a dive again. He’s not a good actor.
Another thing: I don’t like those beards. I don’t think they should be allowed in boxing. They weren’t for many many years. They act as chin cushions, especially the big ones.
Miller has slowed down considerably since he stopped the PED’s. I expect Dubois to out-speed him and stop him early.
Could very well happen, but I think it all depends on how much Miller weighs and how he closes the gap and of course Dubious’ gas tank because he will need to move around, a lot.
“I’ve got the arms of a Tyrannosaurus rex“ is a wonderful and intimidating way of saying that he’s stubby.