Omar Figueroa vs. Robert Guerrero Media Conference Call Transcript
Lou DiBella Thanks, everybody for joining us for the main event conference call for the PBC on FOX and FOX Deportes show on July 15th live at 8:00 pm Eastern Time, 5:00 pm Pacific Time on FOX and live at NYCB Live home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum oin Uniondale, New York.
This’ll be the first boxing event on Long Island – first major boxing event at the Nassau Coliseum – in 31 years. The last event was on March 10th, 1986. It was headlined by Mike Tyson. For anyone that hasn’t been to NYCB Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum, it’s a gorgeous venue.
Opened with a Billy Joel concert a couple of months ago one of the really, really, really beautiful new venues in the world and if you had been at the Nassau Coliseum before, this is a tremendous upgrade over the old building and I want to introduce the CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment Brett Yormark, a man who’s responsible for rebuilding this great venue and bringing boxing back to Long Island, big-time boxing back to Long Island. Brett?
Brett Yormark Thank you, Lou. Appreciate everyone being on the call. Robert, thrilled that you’ll be headlining the card out at NYCB Live Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum with Omar. As Lou said, this fight effectively has been 31 years in the making. Big-time fights left Long Island many, many years ago and we’re thankful to be playing a small role in bringing back boxing to Long Island.
Everyone knows the impact that Brooklyn Boxing has had not only on the industry but obviously here in Brooklyn at Barclays Center and the great fights, the compelling matchups, all of that and more, people will experience at a very high level on July 15th when we open-up Brooklyn Boxing on Long Island for our fans.
We’re so thrilled to be a part of it, very excited about it. Ticket sales are going extremely well. It’s a great card from top to bottom and what I think I’m excited most about this card is I think it just very, very fan-friendly. Lots of action is anticipated so it should just be a great night from top to bottom of Premier Boxing Champions at the Coliseum.
So thank you Lou for all your support. Robert, thrilled that you’ll be with us on the 15th, same with you Omar and looking forward to seeing you both in a couple of weeks.
L. DiBella Thanks, Brett. The tickets start at $50 and they’re on sale now. They can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, nycblive.com by calling 1-800-745-3000 or at the Ticketmaster box office at NYCB Live so you can purchase them at the Nassau Coliseum.
It’s a terrific card as Brett said from top to bottom, an action card and all three fights televised fights on FOX should be brawls. There’s what I’m calling the Polish heavyweight championship between Artur Szpilka and Adam Kownacki who is right now the best Polish-American heavyweight. That’s been a very big anticipated bout in the Polish community and should be a brawl.
Seanie Monaghan, the pride of Long Island, lives about a stone’s throw from the Nassau Coliseum fighting Marcus Browne, one of the top young 175-pounders in the world in a fight that has great interest for Long Island and this main event between Omar Figueroa and Robert Guerrero really can’t miss. This really does figure to be an all-action, all-out war.
Both these guys are warriors. Both of them come forward and throw. Neither one of them is a runner. They’re both really, really true warriors in the historic sense of the great Mexican and Mexican-American fighters. Robert Guerrero is a six-time world champ.
He’s held titles in every organization. He’s been a champ in four divisions from featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight all the way to welterweight and this fight will be contested in the welterweight division.
He has a tremendous resume, went the distance with Floyd Mayweather, Thurman and Garcia, wins over loads of recognizable names, really one of the true champions of his generation. He’s trained by his dad Ruben Guerrero and Ruben would you like to say a few words?
Ruben Guerrero Yes, man, all I got to say is that, I want to thank everybody that’s going to be tuning-in to PBC this is going to be a great fight. It’s going to be a war like you said. This is going to come down to a war so we’re doing what we got to do.
We’re going to be ready and that’s all I got to say is we’re going to be super ready for this fight and this is a fight we want and it’s going to be great for the fans and they can’t miss this fight because like you said, it’s going to be a great fight, a tremendous fight. They both can fight.
L. DiBella Agreed, these are two guys that really can fight and two guys that need this win and two guys that are going to throw down really, really hard and frankly Robert Guerrero’s never done anything his whole career but throw down. He’s a 110 percenter as I call them, the kind of guy that never gives less than everything he has and has always been in good fights, a true champion. My pleasure to introduce Robert Guerrero. Robert Guerrero Great, thank you Lou, appreciate those words. I’m ready to go, I’ve just been training hard, been doing what I got to do, been studying a lot of film, Omar’s a tremendous fighter, he’s a barnburner.
He comes to fight all the time and he’s very awkward, the way he switches positions, his footwork, the type of pressure he puts and the volume of punches he puts out so he’s one of the guys you got to be super ready for.
If you’re not ready for him, he’s just going to pound you down into the mat. With that being said I’m that same type of fighter. I’m the same type of fighter that comes in very great shape, who throws a lot of punches and loves to throw fastballs all the way to the end.
It’s going to be a barnburner; I think a lot of people are excited for this fight. I’m excited for it because I know Omar’s the type of guy that doesn’t run, when guys come out of Texas, they come to fight all the time so it’s going to be exciting.
It’s exciting to be back in the ring especially on FOX, the new venue out there in Long Island, I’m really pumped-up to be able to have the opportunity to come-out and fight on the East Coast and I know I have a lot of fans out there and it’s going to be a treat especially getting in the ring with a guy like Omar who comes to fight.
I’m excited for this. I’ve been training hard like I said and I’ve been doing all the homework I need to do. Some fights I come-up short, it comes down to lack of preparation and for this fight I’m going to be very prepared for it and like you said Lou, this is a must-win for both of us so I can’t wait to get out there in July and take care of business.
Q Robert, you mentioned you lost some fights because of a lack of preparation before. What would be different this time?
R. Guerrero Getting back to the basics, it’s like in any sport, you got to come back to the basics and not just, have an ego and just think you’re going to move everybody down and put that pressure and just knock somebody out.
When I came-up to 147 pounds, I had something to prove. Everybody’s saying that I’m crazy, I’m too small for the weight class so it went to my head thinking hey, I got to mow these guys down. I got to show them I’m big enough to be here and bad enough to be here and it’s not a smart fight.
My father tells me things in the corner and just it’ll go in one ear and out the other and I would do what I want and that comes down to you know, lack of preparation, mentally, just blocking stuff out and just going where you got to be smarter than that in the ring and use your head so we went back to a lot of things we’d been doing before in the ring.
What got me there, what got me to be able to get up to the 147 pounds and right through different weight divisions so getting back to those basics and using your God-given abilities is what gets you there to the show and if you don’t use them, you throw them out the door. You go back to square one
Q Are you aware of how people perceive you as a fighter and what’s your mindset?
R. Guerrero Oh, most definitely, when they start calling you the gatekeeper, that makes it start, you’re an opponent, pretty much, for the guy to make that next step. So it comes down to like I said lack of preparation and not being 100% prepared like I should, listening and doing what I have to do in the gym.
Listening to my father in the ring, what to do and just it comes down to that, but actions speak louder than words and all I can do is just show the world what I’ve been working on.
Q Where will the big fights be going to Barclays or Nassau?
L. DiBella I’ll take that one. I think that you’re going to see a lot. You’re going to see the same kind of volume of fights you’ve been seeing in Brooklyn at Barclays Center and for a card that makes sense for Nassau and Long Island and depending on date availability there’s a second venue that’s a great venue for boxing also.
I think it’s going to be a case-by-case basis but I wouldn’t expect less volume than you’ve seen previously. I think you’re going to see huge fights with the same kind of frequency at the Barclays Center.
Nassau’s another great venue run by great people and people we work with regularly and the best in the business and this’ll be the first I think of many shows at Nassau but don’t expect anything fewer at Barclays.
Q Robert, you’ve had a nice long break here, it’ll be almost a year in-between fights. How much as that helped you and how much did you need a break like that?
R. Guerrero It helped me a lot. It helped me a great, great deal because being able to regroup and rest your body. I’m in my 30s now, you got to be smart about things and take care of your body and before, I would just go all out training hard and do things that you push over the boundaries.
It’s being smart about things and then also to be able to look back at everything and regroup, what I was doing wrong, the preparation and really assessing everything in my career and what took that left turn and getting right back on path where I’m supposed to be.
And it just really helped out a lot and being ready for this next fight. I’m having a great camp so far. I’m excited. I felt great. My body feels good. I’m doing a lot of things that I haven’t been doing in a long time so I’m going to be ready for this fight and I’m excited for it.
Q What are some of the things that you hadn’t been doing that you’re doing now? R. Guerrero Using my head. Using my head in the ring, being smart about things, just like I said earlier with the other question was not listening in the corner just wanting to mow people down, getting out there and just trying to make a statement and prove a point to everybody that I can fight at 147 pounds.
The welterweight division is stacked, you got all these guys, everybody’s putting their skills to work and you’re the one that’s just coming-in and just trying to mow guys down. It doesn’t work with the type of talent that’s at 147 pounds right now.
Q You mentioned earlier about the words gatekeeper and opponent being used as it pertains to you. How much motivation is that given you as you train for this fight?
R. Guerrero Oh, it gives a lot of motivation, you want to be known as one of the top fighters in the division and one of the best and to be categorized as a gatekeeper or the stepping stone for this guy, if this guy if he can get past this test he’s on his way.
No, you want to be the guy that they’re on their way to, so it does motivate you. It gets you excited, gets you out there to work hard and really look back at everything and think about what you’ve been doing in the ring and being smart about things so it really does light a fire under you.
You get a lot of fighters who go out there and say oh, I’ve had the best camp ever, this and that and I’ve been doing this and blah, blah, blah but 90% of the time the adversity is not there they don’t change anything.
They just keep going about their thing so when your back’s against the wall and you got to fight your way out that’s when you got to use your head. You got to be smart. You got to say hey, let’s see what’s going on, let’s see why we’re in this corner and let’s take care of business.
Q Robert, Figueroa is obviously a relentless guy who’s always coming forward and everything. Have you kind of assessed him as a fighter or maybe what some of his strengths and weaknesses are?
R. Guerrero As far as Figueroa being a fighter, he’s a very tough guy. Volume puncher, can take a good punch, puts a tremendous amount of pressure but there’s a lot of flaws in his style, there’s a lot of flaws you can capitalize on but that being said the type of style he brings makes things very awkward for other guys.
The way he switches and with the amount of pressure he puts and the volume of punches he puts out, it makes it tough for fighter to adjust to that and really get on his game plan. He’s a tough guy, he comes to fight, throws a lot of punches, he’s very awkward, it’s about putting your game plan together and being smart and not letting yourself fall apart during the fight.
Now I noticed a lot of fighters that he’s fought, with the amount of pressure and punches he throws and his awkwardness, they tend to fall apart, as they go through the fight and then, you know, they start to lose their game plan and, you got to be really headstrong in there and be able to you know, stay on your game throughout the whole fight.
Q He’s only fought at welterweight one time, it was a little lower than the welterweight limit. How much of an advantage do you feel that is for you?
R. Guerrero You can say it’s an advantage or it depends how he steps in the ring. You can say you have the advantage because I’ve had more fights at 147 pounds but then also you can say hey, you know what? I’ve had some wars at 147 pounds.
With him coming from the lighter weights, coming up, he’s more fresh, he’s had some time off, he’s been training so hey, you know what? Time will tell how it’s going to go down in the ring.
Q What do you think he’s thinking moving up to fight you and is that a mistake if he’s thinking that this is going to be an easy fight toward the end?
R. Guerrero I don’t think he’s thinking it’s going to be an easy fight, knowing my background and how I come and what type of fighter I am, but when I jumped-up in weight and fought Aydin it was one of those things where I had a spectacular fight.
I was on my game, I was boxing good, I was inside good, outside I was moving and hit him with some shots, hurt him, I mean, it was a great war and Aydin being such a big puncher, strong guy who mowed guys down and bullied them, it kind of went to my head where you know, hey, I can do this. I can stand there and trade with these guys. I can mow these guys down.
This guy Aydin right here, nobody wanted to fight him and I came and just took him out, put it on him, you know, I think that fight kind of hurt me mentally where I thought I was unstoppable and I’m just going to mow through guys and you’ve seen a glimpse with it also too after that with Andre Berto where I just walked him down and just punished him.
And those type of fights right there, moving-up to 147 really kind of I think mentally made me just say you know what, I’m big and bad and now I can walk anybody down and then you run into guys like Thurman who are the biggest guys in the weight class who are big punchers.
Like I said before in the earlier question where you know, the type of talent that’s at 147 pounds, you can’t do that. You’ve got to be smart and you got to be able to go out there and take care of business and put your skills to work.
Q Do you think he’s thinking the same thing or do you think he’s looking at you as the easier of other of all of other potential choices at this weight?
R. Guerrero No, I think he’s looking at this fight as, I’m a fighter, I come to fight, no matter what it is.
I think that’s the reason why he’s preparing very well. We were trying to make this fight earlier this year and they said they needed more time to prepare and so it got moved and it’s one of those things where I think knowing he’s at 147 pounds in his previous fight, know like hey okay, now these guys are bigger.
Now I got to change some things up so I think he’s going to be very prepared for this fight and he’s coming to fight. He’s coming ready, especially training with Joel Diaz, I know his guys.
I fought a few of his guys before and they come to fight and he gets his guys very prepared and ready to rock and roll and not just prepared as in a boxing way but they’re prepared to go to war so I know it’s going to be a great fight.
Q Do you need to be a little bit of a boss in this fight, show him that he’s in a new weight class with you guys that are perhaps stronger than he’s faced before?
R. Guerrero I think I just got to come out and do my job, come out and work and put my game plan together during the fight. Keep everything together throughout the fight and, you know, come do my job, just come 100% ready and prepared.
I know every time I get in that ring, it can change in a heartbeat where one or two punches changes my whole attitude and it’s like now I got to show this guy, but it’s about being smart and using my head in the ring and that’s what I’m going to do.
Q Do you think this is going to be a fair gauge of what you have left to offer the sport?
R. Guerrero Oh yes, most definitely, this fight right here’s going to show a lot and it’s going to show a lot to the fans, it’s going to show a lot to the boxing world, getting in there with a young Figueroa who loves to come and exchange and throw a lot of punches and who loves to just abuse the fighters and put it on them.
It’s one of those fights where you know, like I said before, action’s going to speak louder than words. It’s time to just show them what I got a lot left and I got to come and take care of business fight night but this does lead to the bigger picture where to get back into the title contention but you got to take care of business first with Figueroa to be able to take that next step.
Q Let’s say hypothetically you win on July 15, what do you envision say, in the next 12 months?
R. Guerrero It’s funny you say you don’t want to look past but every fighter does no matter what. Every fighter’s looking beyond that horizon, what are the possibilities and there’s huge possibilities.
There’s a lot of big fights out there, there’s a lot of championship fights out there. A great thing being Al Haymon and PBC he’s not scared to mix it up and throw fighters in with tough guys and make the fights.
I’m excited that I’m in this position and this fight right here, it’s going to get me over that horizon to see what’s up next, what’s next in my career so fight night we got to take care of business.
Q Do you think you have it in you to fight a smart fight against Omar Figueroa yet at the same time provide that entertainment factor that always comes with every Robert Guerrero fight?
R. Guerrero My name Guerrero means warrior so you just never know what happens. You never know what happens within that ring and sometimes you got to change it up, the game plan’s not working, sometimes it’s just like hey, listen, we got to go to war, we got to go to war.
Let’s go to war but, it’s taking this time I had off like I said before I was able to regroup and look at everything, assess everything, my career, how I’ve been fighting, stuff I’ve been doing wrong in the gym, stuff I’ve been taking advice here, taking advice there, doing this, doing that, just everything that comes along with it and I’ve been able to regroup and put it together and God willing everything goes great and we can do it fight night.
Q You spoke about using your head with these guys but ironically with Omar’s style, do you like your chances to mow him down since it’s likely he’s going to kind of keep it toe to toe and keep the pressure on you as opposed to being a pure boxer?
R. Guerrero Oh yes, don’t get me wrong, I was just kind of saying I’m using my head don’t mean I’m going to be able to be here on my toes prancing around and moving and moving, I’m there to fight.
I’m here to fight and when it comes down to talking about using my head, I’m talking about putting on my skills to use and doing things that I haven’t done in the boxing gym, listening to my father in the corner on taking advice on what I need to do and what I need to change-up.
But don’t get me wrong, using my head I was never that type of dancing around, moving around boxer. I’ve always been that type of boxer where I’ll stand there in the pocket, and stuff like that so yes, don’t get me wrong. I’m not there to run around move and shake and bake. I’m there to fight.
Q Fighting in New York, does it bring any extra excitement for you or is this a case of once you’ve been in one ring, you’ve been in all of them?
R. Guerrero Yes, you hit it right on. Once you’ve been in one ring and done it for a long time and you’ve been different places, out of the country to fight and a whole bunch of different places, it comes down to just being ready and knowing how to get in there and take care of business. I’m excited to be coming-out to the East Coast and doing it.
Q Do you view this as your final opportunity for a serious run at a world title?
R. Guerrero No, you know, I think it’s at a critical point where you got to take care of business. Anything can happens in boxing, that’s the one nice thing about the type of fighter than I am, you’re always relevant in your division because you ain’t no pushover. You come to fight so every fight, you got to take it like it’s your last and you got to be ready.
Q Ruben, do you feel just as much pressure for a victory just from a training perspective for your son?
Ru. Guerrero Well, I never feel pressure, this ain’t our first bout, we’ve been there already but we’re warriors, we’re Guerreros man and once we get in that ring, it changes to a whole different ballgame.
We’re coming ready to fight, we come prepared. My son gets ready and all I’ve got to say man is we’re going to prove to the world where we’re going to be at for the next fight, man.
We’re fighting the top-tier young kid, young buck, but it all comes down like my son said it comes down to skills and listening to me and we’re going to have a defense for this kid and everybody is going to be surprised when we get in that ring.
We’re not coming just to fight, we’re coming to win and we’re coming with a smart plan and the world’s going to see what we’re all about. We’re going to be back in the game, we’ll be back in the talk and I’m confident that we’re going to win, and as he said we’re Guerreros man and we’re coming to win.
R. Guerrero I’m just ready to go. I’m excited for the fight. How’s it going, Omar? See you July. I’m excited, I’m excited and I can’t wait for the fight. I’m excited about this fight it’s a big opportunity on FOX and we’re going to be ready. We’re going to be ready to take care of business and see you guys fight night and let’s get it on the road.
L. DiBella Now I’m going to turn this over to Team Figueroa, you know, Omar 26-0-1 with 18 KOs, former WBC lightweight champion and he moved-up to welterweight in 2015, got a load of good wins, real warrior, the same kind of vein as Robert and this figures to be an all-out brawl as we’ve been saying.
He’s got one of the best trainers in the business, a guy that I have tremendous respect for, I think there’s very few better right now in boxing than Joel Diaz and Joel do you want to say a few words? Joel Diaz Well, thank you guys for having us here. Like Robert said, we’re there to put-up a great fight. Omar has been here since the beginning of the year, he took care of his issues.
He had a little bit of issues and took some time off, well deserved. He had a great career already. Omar is the type of fighter that people want to see as well as Robert Guerrero, they come to fight.
That’s why I think this fight it separates fights for the fans. Omar and Robert I think they’re going to give the fans what they want to see, a great exciting fight and, preparation for Omar Figueroa oh, it’s been great.
His weight is not an issue anymore. He’s been doing really, really well. In the past I know he had a little bit of injuries on his hand in training and that’s what we focused on, maintaining them, maintaining them so he’s healthy.
He’s 100%, have no injuries whatsoever so for July 15th, Omar Figueroa will be 100% ready to give the best of his ability and come back with a victory. I want to say thanks to Robert Guerrero, he’s such a professional person, you know, it’s been a while to see him and I’m looking forward to seeing him July 15th.
L. DiBella Thank you, Joel and now with a record of 26-0-1 with 18 KOs the former WBC lightweight champion, one of the best young welterweights in the world, a guy who’s a warrior in the truest sense like Robert Guerrero which is why this is a can’t-miss fight. My pleasure to introduce Omar Figueroa. Omar?
Omar Figueroa First off want to say thank you guys for having me on and thank you to Robert Guerrero and his camp for accepting the fight and hey, I’m at a loss for words when it comes to how excited I am to be back and I’ve missed everything that has to do with this. I’ve been on big stage before and, at the same time it’s something that I crave.
I’m not about the whole spectacle about boxing. I feel like I enjoy it in a pure form. I like the challenge. I like the adrenalin rush that I get. The bigger the challenge, the better and the thing that happened was that the challenges were getting to be too big because I wasn’t able to prepare for fights properly or I had injury and I had this and I had that.
And it was just getting to a point where I was killing myself just to be on that stage and at that level and that’s why I took this break. I’m back now. I’ve been training here with Joel since January and it’s been great. I feel great. My body is healed. My mind if relaxed and that is all I could ever ask for so July 15th I should be at the top of my game. If not, close to it.
Q Are there any plans to adjust during the fight and Joel also have you worked on the Plan B just in case, you know, Robert Guerrero’s effective moving and throwing a lot of punches?
J. Diaz Well, we work for every style, when we’re in the gym, we prepare for Plan A, Plan B, Plan C if it’s necessary because things change. You can prepare for one style and that night he can change but if Robert Guerrero decides to come forward and make it a fight, he’s going to have a war because, he’s stepping in the ring against one of the most aggressive fighters that I’ve known and that’s Omar Figueroa.
And if he decides to box as well, Omar’s been in the ring with the boxers, brawlers, there’s nothing Omar has not seen in that ring that we cannot be prepared for so whatever Robert Guerrero decides to do, we’ll be ready.
Q Omar, as you’re getting a little older, are you concentrating a little more on power punching maybe a little less and putting a little more behind the punches?
O. Figueroa Well, the thing is that I couldn’t put more behind my punches because my hands were just a wreck so I had to make-up for that lack of power with volume as you said and everything has to have this sort of equilibrium so I wasn’t able to put the power behind my punches, the speed like totally effective.
So I made-up with work, I worked harder to get the points that I needed to win the fight so I don’t know how my hands are going to feel. I am reluctant to go 100%. We’ve debated different things that we could do so that I can mentally just feel comfortable and let go of my hands but it’s something that lingers, my hands feel great and I can punch a wall right now with full force but mentally I won’t allow myself to do so.
So it’s something that like Joel says once you get into the fight, we’ll see what Guerrero’s going to bring to the table and we’ll adjust accordingly.
Q And Omar even though you’ve had tremendous success in your career thus far, the feeling is you haven’t gone as far as you potentially could, are you aware of that? Where did you think you would be at this particular stage compared to where you are now?
O. Figueroa Definitely, nobody knows what I’m capable of more than myself. Honestly, once I started having my injuries I kind of stopped thinking too far ahead. I never did that. I always liked to focus on the task at hand and especially like I said with the injuries, it kind of brings a little back down to Earth and it’s to see your life as it truly is and so I was taking it one fight at a time.
I’m just grateful that I’m able to be at this stage and perform at this level and to have the honor of being in the ring with these kinds of guys and to work with, one of the top trainers in the world is just I’m just grateful for the opportunity that I’m getting. I’ve worked by ass off to be here and I’m just taking advantage or trying to at least.
Q Have you looked at all past Robert Guerrero some of the possibilities that could be awaiting you?
O. Figueroa No, sir. The only thing I’ve looked at past Guerrero was going and getting a hot dog and maybe some pizza there in New York City.
Q Omar, first of all this is Father’s Day coming up what does that mean to you?
O. Figueroa Well, it means that yet another Father’s Day I’m going to spend here training away from my kids and at the end of the day I got to, look at the bigger picture and know that I’m doing this for them and I talk to my kids often on the phone and my daughter immediately the first thing she does is tells me that she loves me and I always see my son as well.
So I know that I’m missed. They know that this is a sacrifice for everybody but I know that at the end of the day that it’ll all be worth it.
Q Do you see any similarities between either the careers of the guys you’re fighting or in terms of Robert being a southpaw and DeMarco being a southpaw?
O. Figueroa There’s actually a big, big difference for each one. The preparations that the way the preparation happened for each fight. For Ricky Burns I didn’t do any boxing training whatsoever. I had a fractured hand. For DeMarco I had a messed-up elbow and I got sicker before the fight and right now I’m feeling great. My body is totally cooperating with me and so preparation has been different as well.
I feel great. The weight shouldn’t be a problem and it’s just you never know what training camp’s going to bring. It always has little surprises for us so hopefully it doesn’t surprise me too bad and we get to make it to the fight in one piece and as close to 100% as possible and I don’t know.
I’ve always said, I’m excited to see what I’m able to do in the ring when I’m close to 100% at least and it just hasn’t happened yet so I’m hoping this’ll be the one.
Q So this is would you say in terms of how healthy you’ve been in your last four or five fights, how healthy are you compared to those fights? Is this the healthiest you’ve been or close to the healthiest?
O. Figueroa Yes, it’s the healthiest I’ve been. This is the healthiest I’ve been since 2013 that year that I had my I had two first-round knockouts and then I had fight of the year with Arakawa but the difference is that in the Arakawa fight I fractured both of my hands in that fight so I mean, before the fight for the preparation like I said this is as healthy as I’ve ever been.
Q Do you predict that it’ll be a brawl just like Lou DiBella said at the beginning of the calls?
O. Figueroa Well, that’s what they all say. They all say that they’re going to stand in the middle of the ring and go toe to toe and blah, blah, blah but it tells a different story once you start getting hit. It’s like Mike Tyson says, everybody has a plan till you get hit.
So I feel that things will change once he steps in the ring with me and he sees how hard I hit and how effective I am on the inside and then it’ll be more of me chasing after him for a few rounds hopefully. Hopefully I’m right.
Q So do you feel as though you’re going to back him up and if you do back him up, have you seen him in any fights at this weight being effective in retreat?
O. Figueroa I have not. That’s something Joel and I have to discuss and go through, see what the plan’s going to be. We prepare it like he says we prepare for every style, we’re ready for whatever comes our way and normally like everyone knows I go forward. I don’t know, we’re going to have to figure that out as a team.
Q Omar, did it kind of ease the pain watching your brother Brandon develop in the ring for the past year because I know you’ve been a constant presence in his career?
O. Figueroa Yes, no, I mean, if it’s kind of been bittersweet. It’s made me miss the fight game but at the same time it’s kind of eased my worries having him in the spotlight, having him go through what I go through and I was kind of living vicariously through that so it did help and actually what was one of the reasons why I decided to take that break physically because I wanted him to be in the spotlight.
I needed that break regardless but he can shine and take advantage of the opportunities to prove he hasn’t taken anything for granted, so it’s better for me.
Q Why Robert Guerrero after a 17, 18-month layoff?
O. Figueroa Oh that wasn’t my decision. <y team already knows that I don’t care who I step in the ring with so I tell them you guys find fighters that’s your job. My job is to train and fight and put up a good show and your guys’ job is to make sure that things go well and when it comes to the other side of boxing.
So I don’t really delve too much into that side and my team handle their job and that’s it. That’s as far as I go when it comes to any of that.
Q Do you see yourself as a welterweight going forward or given the trend you feel like you can even campaign at 140 at some point in the future if it makes sense?
O. Figueroa No, I’m trying to go down to 140, it’s like you said, it’s been a while since I stepped in the ring so, once I get down to 147 and whatnot, I try to linger around there, not get to heavy and get back down to 140 in the future.
Q Have you done anything experimental for your hands such as changing gloves or wrapping them differently or to something more cutting edge like looking at different technology that might be out there?
O. Figueroa No, there really isn’t much I can do, from trying-out different way to wrap my hands, different padding, different gloves, aside from that really all I did was give my hands time. I mean, I’ve done some crazy stuff before. I’ve gone to some experimental doctors before that believe in all this different kind of medicines and they’ve injected this sort of monkey blood on my hand.
I’ve had acupuncture. I’ve had all sorts of crazy stuff done to my hands in the past but that has been, you know, three-four-five years since I’ve done that. I’ve stuck to more I guess conventional methods, not that they didn’t work or anything. At that point when you’re desperate and you just want healthy hands, you’ll do anything to have them.
But no, aside from like I said just trying out different padding, different ways of wrapping them, being careful, that’s one thing that I do too. I am which I actually I get in trouble for. Joel gives me shit for not, you know, going all out in sparring and whatnot and he goes back to the good old days when I dropped everybody in a round or two and I tell him, I mean, I wish I could do that but things are different.
L. DiBella Okay, well that was the last question guys so thank you all for joining us. Again, Omar Figueroa vs Robert Guerrero, Sean Monaghan versus Marcus Browne, Artur Szpilka against Adam Kownacki, PBC on FOX and FOX Deportes, 8:00 pm Eastern Time, 5:00 pm Pacific Time at NYCB’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, Saturday, July 15th, 2017.
So it’ll be the first fight in Nassau Coliseum in 31 years, ticketmaster.com, nycblive.com or the Ticketmaster box office at the Nassau Coliseum. Thanks you all for joining us and we hope to see you there.
