RODRIGUEZ VS. EDWARDS: LAUNCH PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES AND IMAGES
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Published: September 22, 2023
Flyweight rivals meet for the first time ahead of the unification blockbuster in Glendale, Arizona, on Dec 16, live on DAZN
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards came face-to-face for the first time at a launch press conference yesterday (September 21) in Orlando ahead of their blockbuster Flyweight unification clash at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday, December 16, live worldwide on DAZN.
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The unbeaten pair meet in a mouth-watering battle to determine the top dog in the division, with WBO ruler Rodriguez and IBF king Edwards defending their titles for the first and fourth times respectively and both appearing in their first unification bouts.
Rodriguez and Edwards will appear on tomorrow night’s broadcast on DAZN where Richardson Hitchins headlines against Jose Zepeda on a card that features the return of British star Conor Benn. The pair will then head to London to continue the promotional activities around their December battle next week.
Here’s what the fighters had to say:
Jesse Rodriguez (18-0 11 KOs):
“I’ve never been one to say no to a fight, I’ve always said yes. This is the best vs. the best, it’s what every boxer dreams of, unifying titles. December 16 is going to be a movie.
“We’re two different people, he shows his confidence running his mouth, I show mine in the ring. I never have my will broken, in my last fight I broke my jaw and kept going for six rounds, that shows the confidence I have in myself, I know that anyone that I get in the ring with, I am going to beat.
“Sunny is a great fighter, every fight of his I’ve seen he’s the one on the back foot, hitting and moving, hit and don’t get hit, but I feel like he hasn’t faced anyone like me, someone with good footwork and the determination to win.
“This is the biggest fight of my career and I’m excited to finally face-off with Sunny. I saw a lot of talk about the fight before it was signed, so I know a lot of people are going to buy their tickets and tune in on December 16. My people from San Antonio are coming and I think it’s going to be like another hometown fight.
“I don’t need to hurt him. I just need to outpoint him. My last fight was a little glimpse of how the fight is going to go. I feel like I will be ready on December 16 and people need to tune in for something special. I’m going to go in and do what I do, it’s got me this far, this is no different. I’ll have the same mindset, a little different game plan that Robert and I are going to work on, so I’ll be ready. That belt right there is coming back to San Antonio.”
Sunny Edwards (20-0 4 KOs)
“Thank you to you Eddie, to DAZN, Bam and his team, Robert Garcia and Mr Honda; this is the fight that I have been waiting for before it was even Bam. Before he went up in the weights and shocked a great fighter and continued to do all of that, before that I’ve been waiting for the big event, and I think Jesse is one of the best fighters under 30 in the world right now, I don’t think it’s the only time we’ll be sat here and I don’t think it’s the only weight we’ll fight at either, I think we’ll see each other again.
“I’m really looking forward to the event, the whole process so far has been great - thanks for the first-class tickets, Eddie, we flew comfortably - this is what it’s about, sitting here, seeing his WBO title. I was on the WBO route before I was on the IBF route, so I’ve got all the WBO and IBF baubles around my house, so to have the two proper belts is a dream come true.
“I crave the challenge. Boxing has probably been too easy for me; I’ve been too much within myself. I am already into camp, I’ve been in Tenerife for a couple of weeks, had great sparring, I’m flying, if anything, the amount of time is a problem, but we have a good run up, we can build the fight up and it gives Bam time to recover from the last fight and the injury, I know what that’s like because I’ve been there myself. So, there was never questions like ‘should we take this fight?’ ‘Is this a good fight for me?’ When I signed with you Eddie, I said all the names I wanted to fight and what price, whenever and wherever, it wasn’t an issue who or where. I wanted the best fight and the easiest one to make, so props to the champion on your right, he’s the first person in my pro career that is a fight that I’ve wanted and got.
“Mind games, trying to get little advantages, get them in certain gloves, the ring size - all of that is so immaterial to me. He’s a great fighter, he’s shown that he’ll fight scarier fighters than me on paper at a weeks’ notice, so am I going to try and get inside his head? I don’t need to. His approach, demeanor and character in the sport is who he is, he’s not trying to be anyone else, he hasn’t taken this fight and started acting different. I don’t think I need an advantage; I think I am good enough, Bam is a tremendous fighter but the reality is to walk through the gates and get to the other side where I show how good I am, that I’ve got to go through a 23 year old fighter, that’s just the way I see it, a 30 year old Bam will be better than a 23 year old one.
“I’ve been in with fighters every bit as good as him, fighters that if he was in with them, it would be a hard fight for him. We’ll find out about each other in the ring. I don’t need to get in his head, I just like speaking about the fight and every day I wake up excited about it. I was talking more about Bam in the Campos fight week than I was caring about Campos. I knew I was going to beat him, I could have beaten him with my eyes closed, so I stood in range and let him throw as many punches as he wanted, and he still couldn’t beat me. Bam will be different, he’s more dangerous and a lot better, but at the same time, it’ll bring a better version of me out and I’m already seeing that in camp.
“It’s easy to just say ‘you have to cut the ring off against Sunny’ - everyone can cut the ring off. The thing with me is, I don’t go in with a set plan; I get in there, measure my range, and let them beat themselves. I don’t knock people out, I don’t need to, 16 unanimous decisions. I’ve beaten the best in the world, people that haven’t lost in 13 years, eight years, lots of KOs. I’m not scared of them, I sit in the pocket and trade with them, there’s nothing I haven’t seen in a boxing ring. He has got very good footwork, I’ll give him that, but defensively, reactions, composure, ring IQ - I feel I’ve got a skillset and mindset that is very hard to break down, to even get two rounds of success in a row is a hard enough task for most of my opponents.
“Maybe Bam is that first fighter in my 18 years of boxing that I will get in and feel like ‘he’s really good’, but I don’t think so. His youth with count against him once he gets in there. He talks about it being a home fight, they made sure of that, last year his team were saying they were coming to the UK to take my belt, that didn’t happen, he won the WBO as a vacant title at home. I never said ‘it has to be in the UK’ because I didn’t care. I never stalled on money, the ring size; that to me shows signs of a team that doesn’t have full belief in their system. I felt great disrespect from his stablemate and a legend in Chocolatito that he said that this is an easy fight for him; no-one has ever had an easy fight with me and it’s not going to start now. My message is clear, I beat Bam and there’s only one fight I want and that’s Roman Gonzalez.
“It’s only people that just watch me on fight night that say I don’t have any power. When I get in the ring, I make sure I win, I’m sorry my ego isn’t insecure enough that I’ll be sat there in the third round thinking ‘Eddie is saying I need to knock him out, I better do it’. The only thing that matters to me in my career is my contract, the roof over my kids’ heads and their schooling is winning. I get in there and win. Come down and watch me spar and then talk about who can and can’t punch hard. I don’t get in the ring and try to take people’s heads off.
“I get in there and give myself 100 per cent chance of the win. I don’t put myself in a position to land a big shot and can catch one back, and that’s going to be his biggest task in the fight. Is he the bigger puncher? Maybe. I think he plants his feet and tries to punch holes in people more, and it is, for some eyes, more exciting and entertaining, easier to market, easier to promote. It doesn’t make him any more likely to win, if anything, I would pick the fighter that gets in the ring in the first round and gets out after the 12th, and barely loses and minute or second of the fight.
“Regardless of how powerful or exciting it is, you look at the champions now, the Devin Haneys, the Shakur Stevensons, they do very little wrong. Are they going out there constantly trying to blow people out, no they are not. They box them and react to what is in front of them, and I think I do that. A 23 year old Bam is going to try to impress, maybe try to hurt me and say ‘no-one else has hurt him, but I can, I am that guy’. I am saying he’s not and no one in these weight classes is. But his ego and his pride will make him force it and that will be the thing that unravels him. If you look at me and think that I’m fragile or easy, you probably haven’t watched all my fights because I can stand there for two minutes and two or three shots get through from like 100 maybe?
“I’ve got a very good defense inside and outside the pocket. I think I am enigma, a Rubik’s cube tied up in a puzzle and a riddle after it. You can’t prepare for what I bring into the ring, you can’t plan for it because no-one sees life like I do, let alone a boxing ring. No-one sees the work I’ve put in, the years of graft. I could sit here and name fighters in your stable weights above me that I have had in my gym, fresh when I’ve six rounds work and I’ve stood them on their head. I’m not going to, but I could, World champions, European champions, British champions, Featherweights, Super-Featherweights - and they couldn’t argue. I’m comfortable in the boxing ring, it’s the only thing I know.
“It’s going to be a good fight, a great event, people are going to show out and I am just excited to be a part of it and 100 per cent confident of the win.”
(Featured Photo: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing)
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✧ 𝟐𝟐 || umich hockey ♔
album & song: red (taylor's version) ; 22 (taylor's version)
summary: the umich men’s hockey team celebrate their favorite girl’s birthday or y/n made the captions to her birthday posts for the boys
pairings: umich hockey x reader, ethan edwards x reader
warnings: idk, tbh
notes: welcome to my nhl x taylor swift event! i'm kicking it off with '22' because i love this song. i hope you guys are excited and please keep requesting, i love reading them and you guys come up with things i never would of on my own. each player has a picture related to their and the reader's friendship, the lyric their caption is about, and a miscellaneous one (except for ethan and reader). add yourself to the taglist ➺ taglist!
red masterlist | nhl x ts masterlist | nhl masterlist | main masterlist
'It feels like a perfect night
To dress up like hipsters
And make fun of our exes'
luca.fantilli
liked by yourusername, edwards.73, adamfantilli, and 14,302 others
luca.fantilli 'it feels like a perfect night, to dress up like hipsters, and make fun of our exes'
happy birthday to this amazing girl! can't believe you dragged me into half of these things, so grateful. love you 💜
tagged yourusername, edwards.73, rutgermcgroaty, nick_moldenhauer, seamuscasey26, markestapa, dylanduke25, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13
view 129 comments
seamuscasey26 guys, i can't find my glasses!
⤷ yourusername @/seamuscasey26 don't worry, hon. i got more in my room
⤷ seamuscasey26 @/yourusername thanks mom!
user02 has y/n always been called mom?
⤷ rutgermcgroaty @/user02 yes
⤷ seamuscasey26 @/user02 yes
⤷ tj_hughes13 @/user02 yes
⤷ markestapa @/user02 yes
⤷ dyalnduke25 @/user02 yes
⤷ nick_moldenhauer @/user02 yes
⤷ tyler__duke5 @/user02 yes
⤷ luca.fantilli @/user02 yes
⤷ adamfantilli @/user02 yes
⤷ lhughes_06 @/user02 yes
⤷ edwards.73 @/user02 yes
✧༺✎༻∞
'It feels like a perfect night
For breakfast at midnight
To fall in love with strangers'
rutgermcgroaty
liked by yourusername, luca.fantilli, seamuscasey26, and 16,059 others
rutgermcgroaty 'it feels like a perfect night, for breakfast at midnight, to fall in love with strangers
in honor of y/n's 22nd birthday, we went out late for some breakfast. couldn't be more grateful for this one, love you y/n/n! 💙
tagged yourusername, edwards.73, luca.fantilli, nick_moldenhauer, seamuscasey26, markestapa, dylanduke25, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13
view 353 comments
yourusername I think I got food posioning
⤷ rutgermcgroaty yeah, i don't know what was in that food, but is not good this morning
edwards.73 I'm glad I didn't get anything
markestapa I should've picked ihop
✧༺✎༻∞
'It seems like one of those nights
This place is too crowded
Too many cool kids'
markestapa
liked by yourusername, dylanduke25, nick_moldenhauer, and 7,408 others
markestapa 'it seems like one of those nights, this place is too corwded, too many cool kids'
we're too cool for karaoke anyways. this girl has has been there for me for everything and I hope she gets everything she has ever dreamed of. love you, girly 🩵
tagged yourusername, edwards.73, luca.fantilli, nick_moldenhauer, seamuscasey26, rutgermcgroaty, dylanduke25, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13
view 349 comments
yourusername we need a redo for 'ironic' because we were nailing that until someone got us kicked out
⤷ rutgermcgroaty @/yourusername I don't know what you're talking about
user01 who is this chick anyways?
nick_moldenhauer my eardrums still hurt from your singing
✧༺✎༻∞
'It seems like one of those nights
We ditched the whole scene
And end up dreaming, instead of sleeping'
dylanduke25
liked by yourusername, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13, and 4,170 others
dylanduke5 'it seems like one of those nights, we ditched the whole scene, and end up dreaming, instead of sleeping'
so, if you guys were wondering where we ended up last night... happy brithday to this extroadinary, wonderful, amazing human being. thank you for taking me on a journey last night 💚
tagged yourusername, edwards.73, luca.fantilli, nick_moldenhauer, seamuscasey26, rutgermcgroaty, markestapa, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13
view 98 comments
edwards.73 when did you guys even leave?
⤷ dylanduke5 @/edwards.73 @/yourusername ask your girlfriend
⤷ yourusername @/edwards.73 I actually have no clue
tyler__duke5 bro, you weren’t joking when you said her birthday was always wild
✧༺✎༻∞
'I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22
Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you
(I gotta have you)'
edwards.73
liked by yourusername, rutgermcgroaty, tj_hughes13, and 39,983 others
edwards.73 'i don't know about you, but i'm feeling 22, everything will be alright if you keep me next to you'
happy birthday to the best girlfriend ever. thank you for not only putting up with me but everyone else that seems to follow me. i hope you had the best day and i can't wait to spend more days like this with you. i love you. ❤️
(i gotta have you)
tagged yourusername, dylanduke25, luca.fantilli, nick_moldenhauer, seamuscasey26, rutgermcgroaty, markestapa, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13
view 653 comments
yourusername love you, eth ❤️
rutgermcgroaty dad!
⤷ edwards.73 @/rutgermcgroaty no
⤷ yourusername @/edwards.73 @/rutgermcgroaty yes
lhughes_06 please tell me you guys didn't make that cake
⤷ yourusername @/lhughes_06 I think I'd be dead if they did, lu
✧༺✎༻∞
'You don't know about me but I'll bet you want to
Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22
(I gotta have you)'
yourusername
liked by edwards.73, lhughes_06, adamfantilli, and 22,133 others
yourusername 'you don't know about me, but i'll bet you want to, everything wil be alright if we just keep dancing like we're 22'
this was defienetely a birthday for the history books. thank you to everyone who made this birthday the best day ever.
the team, thank you for allowing me into your hockey family. 💙💛
Ethan, thank you for the past three years, I don't know how we ended up as parents to these knuckleheads but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, my love ❤️
(i gotta have you)
tagged edwards.73, dylanduke25, luca.fantilli, nick_moldenhauer, seamuscasey26, rutgermcgroaty, markestapa, tyler__duke5, tj_hughes13, yourfriend1, yourfriend2
view 412 comments
lhughes_06 I miss you, y/n/n! happy birthday
⤷ yourusername @/lhughes_06 awe lukey! I miss you too. hope you and Jack are doing well out there
adamfantilli happy birthday, y/n! sorry I missed it this year, last year was certainely an experience
⤷ yourusername @/adamfantilli no need to be sorry, adam, you're doing amazing things fo CBJ, just kick some ass for me
edwards.73 love you too, pretty girl ❤️
⤷ yourusername @/edwards.73 my world 💖
rutgermcgroaty @/yourusername always apart of us, mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ seamuscasey26 @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ tj_hughes13 @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ markestapa @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ dyalnduke25 @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ nick_moldenhauer @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ tyler__duke5 @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
⤷ luca.fantilli @/yourusername mom 🫶🏻💙💛
_quinnhughes where did you guys get a blowtorch?
𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻 ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
if your name is crossed out it means i couldn't tag you
@hearts-4-luke | @pucks-goals-penalties | @sarawinson78 | @prettyinsatiable
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SUNNY EDWARDS: THERE'S NOWHERE FOR THE OTHER CHAMPIONS TO HIDE NOW
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Published: June 07, 2023
'Showtime' defends IBF Flyweight crown this Saturday
Sunny Edwards plans on defending his IBF Flyweight World Title in style against Chile's undefeated Andres Campos this Saturday, June 10, at the OVO Arena Wembley, live worldwide on DAZN, before setting his sites firmly on the other World Champions at 112lbs.
Edwards (19-0, 4 KOs) is determined to unify the Flyweight division before moving on to achieve his goal of becoming a multi-weight World Champion, and the gifted 27-year-old now finds himself in the perfect place for a unification clash with Mexico's big punching WBC 112lbs ruler Julio Cesar Martinez and San Antonio's WBO king Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez.
Edward's eagerly anticipated Matchroom debut tops a blockbuster triple-header of World Title action in the capital, with Nina Hughes (5-0, 2 KOs) defending her WBA Bantamweight crown against Katie Healy (6-0) and Cherneka Johnson (15-1, 6 KOs) defending her IBF Super-Bantamweight strap against Ellie Scotney (6-0).
“There’s nowhere for the other champions to hide now," said Edwards. "One at a time, they will get their turn. What I do is different to anything anyone else does in a boxing ring. The world is waiting, and I think right now I am the number one Flyweight in the world. I would argue that I am one of the best Flyweights in the world.
“Fight night is my best night of my year, better than my birthday and better than Christmas, it’s the best night of the year. I think Eddie, and the rest of Matchroom and DAZN, they genuinely know that with me, they get a fighter that wants to fight and will fight anyone. I am Sunny ‘Showtime’ Edwards – IBF Flyweight World Champion and the best Flyweight in the world."
'Showtime' looked set to face WBC ruler Martinez in a huge unification clash at the back end of last year. The pair were deep in negotiations to stage a showdown in Mexico, but Martinez instead agreed to face mandatory challenger McWilliams Arroyo.
The British star was bitterly disappointed after losing his shot at unifying the division, and believes that it was his Mexican rival that pulled the plug on the fight, instead choosing to face easier opposition in order to keep hold of his World Title belt.
“It’s not just that I want all of the belts, I don’t want anyone else to have them," said Edwards. "It sickens me, it pains me that there’s three other people at my weight that walk around saying the same s**t that I say. The fact that with professional boxing you can’t force someone in the ring with you and they can go round showing of a belt, like look at Martinez for f***s sake – that’s terrible.
"I genuinely believe, how can he even consider himself a World Champion? He won it as a vacant title, failed a drugs test, same fights rescheduled rescheduled rescheduled, fighting easy opposition that I’d get slaughtered for. Every single fight that he gets is easy, terrible records like 11-3 and 15-7, like what? You’re meant to be a World Champion.
"You’re walking around trying to tell people that you’re anywhere near the fighter that I am. Really, there are people that would agree because he’s a World Champion at Flyweight. Boxing is just obsolete because you have these World Champions headlocking World Titles, headlocking good contracts and just taking easy fights. That kills the sport."
Before any further talks of unification fights can take place, Edwards knows that he must deal with Campos in convincing fashion this weekend, and the Sheffield-based talent insists that his full attention is on the unbeaten 26-year-old.
Campos (15-0, 4 KOs), ranked at seven in the IBF rankings, has held the WBO Latino Flyweight strap since March 2020 and the South American, who has called Edwards out before, landed the 15th win of his career in January and fourth inside the distance – and now lands the World Title shot he’s been craving.
“I’m fighting Andres Campos from Chile and outside of him and his fans, abusing me on Instagram for the last however many years, I don’t really know too much about him. I don’t really care about knowing too much about him. When I get in there it’s the Sunny show. It’s showtime, and there’s not time like showtime. When I get in there, it’s whatever I want it to be. I don’t focus on him. I don’t need to talk about him."
Edwards vs. Campos tops a huge night of World Title action in Wembley, Cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (5-0, 4 KOs) looks to close in on a British Title tilt as he faces David Jamieson (10-2, 7 KOs) in a Final Eliminator for the famous Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, Youssef Khoumari (15-1-1, 6 KOs) and Reece Bellotti (15-5, 13 KOs) meet in an eliminator for British Super-Featherweight Title, The ‘Romford Bull’ Johnny Fisher (8-0, 7 KOs) will bring his Bull Army to Wembley for the third time as the 24-year-old Heavyweight fights for the ninth time in the pros against Emilio Salas (7-4-1, 3 KOs), Anthony Joshua-managed Shannon Ryan (4-0) returns to the venue of her March 2022 debut to continue her pro journey, and rising starlets George Liddard (2-0, 2 KOs) and Muhammad Ali (1-0) feature on Before the Bell.
(Featured Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
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