DEVIN “THE DREAM” HANEY, WBC LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:
“I want to start off by thanking God for this opportunity, this is a huge
opportunity for me and my family. This is finally my time on the big stage
to show what ‘m capable of, a lot of fighting come in there and say what
they’re going to do. He keeps saying he’s going to dog me, beat the shit
out of me, we’ll see.”
“Everybody has got a plan until they get into the ring, when it doesn’t
work then we’ll see what it really is. He can say what he wants to say, I
can say what I want to say, on December 4 I will go in there and I will
show.”
“I don’t think there’s any pressure, at the end of the say I’m going to go
in there and do what I’ve got to do. We had a great training camp, we
studied JoJo, I feel like me and my team know JoJo know him better than his
own coach. We know what he’s going to do, what he’s going to throw, we
studied him so well we know the mistakes he’s going to make and the habits
he has. We’re going to go in there and do what we do best.”
“This is what I feel with JoJo Diaz, he says he’s going to go in there and
come right at me, we saw how that worked with George Kambosos with Teofimo
Lopez, he had no respect and got caught. He can go in there and get caught
with a big shot early, or I’ll beat the will out of him. You’ll see.”
“Of course, I’m the best lightweight, you guys will see December 4. I’ll be
one step closer to having all the belts in the lightweight division, it all
starts on December 4 and I can’t wait.”
JOSEPH “JOJO” DIAZ, JR., WBC INTERM LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION:
“I’m excited for it, I’ve done everything and paid all my dues, not even
inside this training camp but inside my whole career. Fighting the best
opponents possible to make me ready for this moment, I’m ready for it and
paid my dues inside of the ring. We had a tremendous training camp, brought
in some good sparring partners as well, I’m ready to go out there and
execute my game plan December 4th.”
“I already know this is the moment I’ve prayed for my whole entire life.
For God to be blessing me with this opportunity, I’m ready. I haven’t been
cutting any corners, I’m just built the way I’m built and I’m going to go
out there and execute what I’ve got to do.”
“It’s going to be a tough fight because we’re both smart fighters, I’m not
just going to be a brawler in there I’m going to go in there and do what I
have to do to be victorious. I’m going to go out there and hurt him to the
body, hurt him in top, but also show my boxing skills as well. I’m a 2012
Olympian, I’ve fought in there with the best fighters in my divisions in
the past, Tevin Farmer, Gary Russel Jr, all these guys. I’m planning on
doing the same with Devin Haney.”
“My main focus in Devin Haney and beating the shit out of him, taking his
will and soul come Saturday night. That’s my main focus right now is just
going out there and punishing him.”
EDDIE HERN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MATCHROOM SPORT:
“Thank you to all the media that have made the trip here to Las Vegas this
week for a huge, huge night for the lightweight division. Devin Haney vs
JoJo Diaz for the WBC lightweight world championship live on DAZN all
around the world this Saturday from the historic MGM Grand.”
“We’re really lucky people, we’re really lucky to be here, the MGM Grand is
a venue steeped in boxing history. Last week of course we were in the
iconic Madison Square Garden for a fight that I think everybody was there
or everybody that watched on DAZN will never forgot. George Kambosos
dethroning Teofimo Lopez for a whole host of belts in the lightweight
division. The moment where Australian boxing just lit up to see a new star
in Kambosos. What a night it was for boxing worldwide.”
“We’ve got a great card here, some undefeated fighters that we’ll be
talking to, undisputed champions as well on the card, heavyweight action.
This is part of an incredible schedule on DAZN to finish this year. What a
schedule, we’re very lucky people to be living the dream every week on DAZN
– particularly this week in Vegas.”
ROBERT DIAZ, VICE PRESIDENT & HEAD MATCHMAKER, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
“I believe JoJo will win 100%, I know him from the young man that stepped
into the office to who he is. Bring out your pens and get them ready, don’t
call it an upset because he’s been elite from day one, from the amateurs.
You don’t become an Olympian from just being average.”
“Saturday night in front of JoJo there’s a very talented young man, a very
good world champion – but it’s good versus elite. Come Saturday night you
will all see, the beauty of boxing is nothing is ever written, last week
you saw it, this weekend you’ll see it. JoJo Diaz will take that title back
to California.”
BILL HANEY, TRAINER AND FATHER OF DEVIN HANEY:
“This has been quite a journey for Devin and our family to get to this
point, thank you Eddie of course and to DAZN and Golden Boy for stepping up
to the plate and brining on a very qualified JoJo Diaz.”
“He has a legendary reputation both inside the ring and outside the ring,
in the gym. His work ethic is unprecedented in his community, he runs
people out the gym, he’s going to come to fight. That’s what’s going to
bring out the best in Devin Haney and we look forward to that opportunity.”
“He [Roberto] said the same thing about Jorge Linares, that Jorge was going
to come and that he has everything to stop Devin, he didn’t. This is no
different than JoJo Diaz, we look forward to Devin impressively putting on
an ass-whipping on JoJo Diaz and then you give us the title of the Golden
Boy killer.”
“We don’t look past JoJo Diaz by any stretch of the imagination, you saw
what happened last week with the 13-1 underdog George Kambosos, shoutout to
him and his family – doing a tremendous job he’s quite a Cinderella story.”
“We can’t look past JoJo Diaz, but we can’t help see George Kambosos in our
city parading around as if he’s an undisputed champion. We’re hearing
conflicting messages from the Kambosos camp as if we need to do something
else better, but when you have Devin Haney you have the youngest promoter
in the game, youngest world champion and a guy that has not only
communicated with JoJo Diaz to make this fight happen, but he also
communicated with Jorge Linares and took the initiative before the world
even believed it and worked and talked with Kambosos.”
“We hope after this fight George Kambosos and his team are a man of their
word and stick behind it, let’s make this shit happen.”
JOSEPH DIAZ, SR., TRAINER AND FATHER OF JOSEPH DIAZ, JR.
“He’s not going to try and become; he is going to become the world
champion. Joseph has been ready for this moment for a long time, I know
Devin Haney, what he brings to the table and the goods that he was, but I
know my son. My son is going to do what he needs to do on Saturday night
and get the job done.”
“They have him as an underdog because of the bets and stuff but that
doesn’t mean anything. JoJo is going to go out there and do what he does,
they’re going to see something they’ve never seen before.”
“I tell him to ignore it, it’s just a bunch of hype and stuff, this is MGM
boxing and not a circus – that’s for another casino down the street. They
do what they do, he’s getting paid pretty good money to do what he does, if
he wants to embarrass himself that’s fine. We’re going to do what we need
to do on Saturday night.”
Tickets starting at $58 (plus fees) go on sale Friday, November 5 at 10:00
a.m. PT and can be purchased by visiting AXS.com.
Haney vs. Diaz, Jr is a 12-round fight for the WBC Lightweight World
Championship presented by Matchroom Boxing in association with Golden Boy.
The fight will take place on Saturday, December 4, live exclusively on DAZN.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com.
Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and www.facebook.com/DAZN.
Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation
using #HaneyDiazJr.