Lomachenko and Commey Set for MSG Spotlight – Quotes

The former pound-for-pound king, *Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko*, has saved
some of his best performances for the New York City spotlight. He hopes to
do it again Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden in the 12-round
lightweight main event against former world champion *Richard “RC”
Commey *(ESPN,
ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

Lomachenko vs. Commey headlines a stacked quadruple-header airing after the
Heisman Trophy Ceremony. Heavyweight knockout artist* Jared “The Real Big
Baby” Anderson *(10-0, 10 KOs) returns in an eight-rounder against
Ukraine’s *Oleksandr Teslenko* (17-1, 13 KOs), recent U.S. Olympic silver
medalist *Keyshawn Davis* (3-0, 2 KOs) takes on Mexican veteran *Jose
Zaragoza* (8-3-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round lightweight tilt, and
middleweight *Nico
Ali Walsh* (2-0, 2 KOs), grandson of “The Greatest,” opens the telecast in
a four-rounder versus *Reyes Sanchez* (6-0, 2 KOs).

The ESPN+-streamed undercard (5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT) features Puerto
Rican junior middleweight phenom *Xander Zayas *(11-0, 8 KOs) in a
six-rounder, and *Kelvin Davis* (2-0, 1 KO) in a four-rounder at
welterweight.

At Thursday’s press conference, this is what the fighters had to say.

*Vasiliy Lomachenko*

“Madison Square Garden is a special place for me because during my
professional career I had a lot of memorable fights here. It is the Mecca
of Boxing. Thank you, Commey, you are a strong fighter. I think we are
giving a very interesting fight to the fans. As I said before, he has big
power and reach and has experience and a big heart.”

“I’m very excited because this is the next step of my boxing career, and it
will be very interesting for the fans.”

*Richard Commey*

“I’m feeling good. I’m very excited. This is my second time coming here.
The last time didn’t work out well for me {against Teofimo Lopez}, so I
have the opportunity to right the wrong.”

“I’ve got all of my country {Ghana} behind me. I’ve got all of the little
children back home who want to be where I am, and I know it’s not an easy
fight, but I’m coming. Losing is part of boxing, so regardless of how you
lose, it’s all about coming back. So whatever happened with the Teofimo
Lopez fight, it is what it is and I took it as a man. I knew I needed to
come back and I came back very strong, and that is the reason why Loma
chose me, and Saturday we are going to see what happens.”

*Jared Anderson*

“I’ll be honest, he let a cruiserweight stop him, so that says it all. I
had a pretty tough camp emotionally, but we came physically. We’re now
mentally prepared, thanks to my team. They mean a lot to me. They’re behind
me.”

*Oleksandr Teslenko*

“I know I’m the underdog, but I don’t care what people say.”

*Nico Ali Walsh*

“This is such a humbling experience and it’s been an honor. It’s been a
whirlwind these last couple of months, and to be among these great
fighters… all these fighters I’ve watched before in the past. Being on
the undercard of Lomachenko is amazing.”

*Xander Zayas*

“I have to close out the year strong and put on a show here at Madison
Square Garden.”

“I’ve been having a lot of fun here in New York. It means a lot to me. it
means a lot to the Puerto Rican fans. My team came off a great victory two
weeks ago {with George Kambosos Jr.} here at Madison Square Garden, so I
want to keep that momentum going, I’m ready to put on a show Saturday
night, and now it’s laser focus.”

*Keyshawn Davis*

“I’m signed with Top Rank, the {Olympics} are over, and I feel like there
is really no more pressure. It’s all business at this point. I believe in
myself. I know I can fight. I’m going to go in there like I’ve been doing
this entire year. We’re just going to keep this train going.”

*Kelvin Davis*

“This means a lot to me. It’s like a dream come true with me and my brother
on the same card.”

*SATURDAY, December 11, 2021*

*ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT*

*Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Richard Commey, 12 rounds, vacant WBO
Intercontinental Lightweight TitleJared Anderson vs. Oleksandr Teslenko,
8 rounds, Anderson’s Jr. NABF Heavyweight TitleKeyshawn Davis vs. Jose
Zaragoza, 6 rounds, lightweightNico Ali Walsh vs. Reyes Sanchez, 4 rounds,
middleweight*

*ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT*

*Xander Zayas vs*.* Alessio Mastronunzio**, 6 rounds, junior middleweight*

*Pablo Valdez vs*.* Julio Cesar Sanchez, 6 rounds, welterweight*

*James Wilkins vs. Juan Tapia, 8 rounds, featherweightJoe Ward vs. Britton
Norwood, 6 rounds, light heavyweightKelvin Davis vs. Ryan Schwartzberg,
4 rounds, welterweightJohn Bauza vs. Michael Williams Jr., 8 rounds, junior
welterweight*