“RING OF FIRE”
On Saturday, April 24 Goossen Tutor Promotions and Main Events in association with Ziggy Promotions will present “RING OF FIRE” on HBO’s Boxing After Dark (11:15 PM ET/PT).
The 12-round main event for the NABO and IBF Heavyweight International Championship will take place at the state of the art Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
Top world contender Cristobal “The Nightmare” Arreola of Riverside, California will square off against former WBC Light Heavyweight, IBF and Ring Magazine Cruiserweight titleholder and current IBF Heavyweight International Champion, Tomasz “Goral” Adamek of Jersey City, NJ by way of Zywiec, Poland.
Below are the quotes from today’s press conference.
INITIAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
(February 19, Ontario, CA)
DAN GOOSSEN (Promoter): “During the time that we’ve been talking about this fight, prior to Adamek’s fight with (Jason) Estrada, we were getting emails; we were getting messages; we were getting those phone calls ‘Where’s the fight going to be’? I mean Excitement! Excitement! Excitement!”
DAN GOOSSEN: “And then once we announced we were having this press conference here Friday, it just poured in all of a sudden because of the anticipation of seeing these two great fighters in the ring together. A lot of respect that these guys show for one another for getting in the ring with each other because they know each other is going to come with everything they’ve got, and they’re both very qualified heavyweights. It’s going to be a great, great, great fight. There’s no way it’s not going to be.”
KATHY DUVA (Co-Promoter): When it became clear the fight was going to be happening here, in some respects I’m kind of happy because I think what people may not recognize is that the Polish community in the United States is huge. And there are many, many Polish people out here on the West Coast. Tomasz, to these people, is a rock star. They’re going to come out to see him. There’s going to be a lot more red and white in the arena than you’d think.”
KATHY DUVA: “You’re going to see both of them giving 1,000 percent. One thing I can say is that anybody who watches this fight on April 24th is going to be happy they did, and anybody that didn’t is going to be kicking themselves the next day.
CHRIS ARREOLA: “The first time I fought here it was a great environment. It’s close to home, so I can’t be late. I don’t like to fight; I LOVE to fight! I love hitting people; that’s my passion. Me and Thomas Adamek on April 24th are gonna go in there and beat the crap out of each other. I’m gonna try and knock his head off and he’s gonna go in there and try and knock my head off. I believe it can be a great fight. I respect him as a fighter; I respect him as a man. But, come April 24th I’m gonna come out of there with my hand raised.
CHRIS ARREOLA: “It’s a boxing fight, man; it’s a chess match. He’s gonna try to catch me; I’m gonna try to catch him. I’m gonna find some openings, just like he’s gonna find some openings. But I believe my punches are more effective than his. I’m a natural heavyweight. I became a heavyweight because of Coronas and burritos. That’s the truth. But I’ve been a heavyweight for 29 fights. That’s the way I see it.”
TOMASZ ADAMEK: “Every fight there is a different guy, so you cannot judge me on whatever I did to Estrada or Andrew Golota. Obviously, we’ll have a special idea for Chris. I always believe the best tactic is to think more in the ring and fight in a way the other guy doesn’t have an answer for it.”
THOMAS ADAMEK: “You have to be ready for a great fight. I always believe you’re always good when the people cheer you when people believe every time you go in the ring they are going to see something special. So this is my credo. This is something I live by. Every time I going into the ring, it should be something memorable. Every next fight should be an even better fight. So, the 24th of April will be my best fight ever.”
CHRIS ARREOLA: “I wanna come in at 240. 240 is easy; that’s my target weight. That’s where I really do belong. In boxing any higher than that and I’m kicking myself in the ass. There is no excuse why I shouldn’t come in at that weight. Thomasz comes up from cruiserweight and he fights at around 225. And he’s a very agile guy; he’s gonna be on his toes a lot. So, I’m gonna have to try and keep up with him because I’m gonna have to chase him.”
THOMASZ ADAMEK: “It was all about the fans (in facing Arreola in just his 3rd fight at heavyweight). Like I said before, I am fighting for the fans. Without fans there is no point in going into the ring. Having a guy like Chris Arreola, who goes forward and is relentless, and everybody knows me. I love to punch people in the mouth, there’s nothing wrong with this. I mean this guarantees a great fight, and this is a fight that HBO and the fans wanted for a long, long time. If I were to fight somebody boring there would be seven fans in the stands. No point.”
HENRY RAMIREZ (Arreola’s trainer): “Honestly, when I went to the Adamek-Estrada fight I was blown away with the reception and support he had. I hope we can duplicate that and even more for Chris here. I know I am excited and Chris is excited for this fight where the winner gets back in the title picture. Adamek is a proven fighter as far as a light heavyweight and cruiserweight, and we’ll find out what he’s about as a heavyweight on April 24th.”
HENRY RAMIREZ: “There’s no fear in fighting any big heavyweights, I just think that stylewise this is the fight that I think viewers at home and viewers in the arena will love. This kind of a fight there is no way this is going to be a boring fight.”
Photo credit: Jan Sanders/Goossen Tutor Promotions
