Vaughn Alexander

Derek Chisora vs. Kubrat Pulev 2

The O2 in London, England – 9 July 2022

Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport Chairman:

“Good afternoon everyone. Welcome to London. Big fight feels ahead of ‘Total Carnage’ this Saturday night at the incredible O2 Arena, live on DAZN around the world. This man Derek Chisora faces off against Kubrat Pulev in a huge Heavyweight matchup with an incredible undercard ready to go for your entertainment. We’re going to talk to everybody up here on the top table and the bottom table as well as we get ready for a big night at The O2.”

Derek Chisora:

“Let’s all be honest. I don’t know how many press conferences I’ve done in the past. It’s all the same talk to be honest with you. ‘Yes I have trained hard, I’ve hit the bag harder, I’ve sparred harder and I’ve done everything harder’. How many fights have I had? 45 fights. It’s the same chat. I just want to fight. We can all sit here and say, ‘I’ve trained hard and I’ve done this and done that’, it doesn’t really matter for me. All I want to do is just put my gumshield on, put my gloves on, walk out to the ring and fight. That’s all I want to do. I’m just excited for Saturday. My whole point right now is just bringing big fights, entertaining the fans and just doing what I like to do. I’m not tired, I’m just tired of your bullsh*t basically (to Pulev). I’ll be honest with you, if you’re a boxer and you don’t have the confidence then you’re in the wrong business. Mike Tyson always says everyone has a plan until they get hit. All the fighters here have a plan. Everybody wants to win their fight. It’s all about that last edge, who wants to go to the other end. That’s it. It’s all about when the bell goes and you know what time it is. My style is ‘f**ck it’, bite on the gumshield and let’s f****ing go for it. That’s what I’m bringing. I’m bringing that. This is what I love. You know what my plan is already. You know exactly what to expect. From the get-go we are going – there’s no two ways about it. I make myself go. Whatever he wants to do he can do. I think you (Pulev) beat me because we were in Germany, let’s be honest. Don’t worry about me. Just worry about yourself.”

Kubrat Pulev:

“I’m sure in myself. I believe in myself. I don’t talk so much. I talk real and I’m honest. I just talk the truth. My team and I have had amazing preparation for this fight. We had very hard training in Bulgaria. We are ready for the rematch with Derek Chisora. I took this rematch because everybody needs a second chance. That’s why man to man I’ve given him a second chance. For the people it’s going to be a really interesting fight because there’s a lot of history behind this fight. We have old history and now we will see who is better than before. It’s very interesting. He has his style; my style is a little bit different. We’re going to see on Saturday who has changed. This is very important. My style is very precise. I like to work like a doctor or a professor. Every punch precise. This is sport, Heavyweight boxing. It’s not just billiards or something like that. Nobody can say what is going to happen. That’s why boxing is so interesting. I’m sure I am very good and very strong, and I have a lot of power and energy. Every round is going to be difficult for Derek Chisora. I’ve come here for the win. Now is a different situation because I see him, and he’s made good changes. I think he is smarter than before. He’s more balanced than before. It means he’s maybe better and I must be careful about that. He’s a stronger opponent than before. For me it’s very important and I think for him it’s also very important. That’s why we give everything and that’s why I’m sure he will give everything. It’s going to be a great fight. One of us must win. I hope the judges and the referee are honest. He says this is war but for me this is not war – I don’t hate him.”

Ivaylo Gotzev:

“Let’s get down to business Eddie. We have a man on a mission here and I second your opinion. I’ve only known him for 21 years. Right now, I’ve seen this man come to his absolute peak. He’s coming in at 100% and I’ve never seen him stronger. I’ve never seen him better. Last time we visited London it was very unfortunate that we had to perform at about 40%, so imagine 60% more to that power. He’s in a shape that I’ve never see him in before. Even last night I watched him train for the last time and I’ve got to tell you, the walls were shaking. The bags were cracking. This guy is here on a mission. You and me have some unfinished business right – there’s some titles on the line. As far as I’m concerned, all roads lead to London. You guys have all of the belts, maybe Saudi Arabia for you. First things first though we’ve got to take care of a very tough man in Derek Chisora. Much respect to him. He’s going to be a terrific challenge. Now we’ll let the two warriors speak.”

Israil Madrimov:

“Hello everyone. This is my first time in London. I like it here. I am feeling great. I am feeling good and I am ready for Saturday. Last time in Tashkan Soro was definitely hurt. The referee didn’t hear the bell and I didn’t hear the bell, so we have what we have. I’ll try to win better this time without any questions. Regarding the Charlo possibility, my aim is the same, I’m focused to become a World Champion.”

Michel Soro:

“Good afternoon everyone and thank you very much to all of you. After the controversial ending of the last fight I’m really happy for this fight to be rescheduled. I’m happy for the opportunity to fight him again. It’s a good thing for me to go through and I’ll do my best on Saturday. If there wasn’t referee issues, I think it would have been a different verdict for the fight. The referee didn’t hear the bell going so he left the fight to go on and that’s why the fight ended in the way it ended.”

Felix Cash:

“He’s a decent fighter. He’s tough. He’s been in with some big opposition. He’s been beat and few times before and he’ll be beat on Saturday night. I’m not looking past Saturday night; I’ve got to do a job on Alexander. I’ll get him out of the way on Saturday night and look good doing it. We’ll then look to get a World Title shot or something big afterwards.”

Vaughn Alexander:

“I’m grateful and thankful to be here. Yeah, I’m ready. Felix Cash is a great fighter. At this point, at 160lbs – I don’t think there’s anybody… all of the losses that I’ve had were at 168lbs. I’m an animal at 160lbs. Felix Cash is a good fighter but he’s going to have to be hitting like Chisora to beat me. I’m just where I need to be at 160lbs. The only reason that I was trying to be at 168lbs is because a lot of people at 160lbs didn’t want to fight me. I had to take risks and fights at 168lbs. I’m staying right here at 160lbs and I know I’m a problem here. A lot of people know that I did eleven and a half years in prison. I turned pro when I was 18. I was doing my thing, but I couldn’t leave the streets alone. I did eleven and a half years, but I trained extra hard when I was in prison. I didn’t lose focus. When I got out, I got right back to it and you know, I’m grateful to be here right now. I got some good wins and most definitely I’m going to be victorious on Saturday.”

Fabio Wardley:

“Everyone is talking about me next up for the British Title but that’s not going to happen if I don’t get through Saturday night. That’s the 100% focus right now – Kingsley on Saturday night. He’s a good, tough, durable and awkward opponent. Uncomfortable to fight, not always pretty. There’s going to be a few tricky situations that I’m going to have to figure out. I’m more than happy to do so. Once that’s done and dusted then we can start getting serious about me looking for the British Title. You can do it in sparring, and you can do it in training, on the bags and you can put yourself through 10/12/15 rounds going hard, but nothing compares to doing it on the fight night with your opponent in front of you. You need to know what your body feels like in those moments. I want to answer those questions as quickly as possible against the more kind of medium level opponents. I need to get those things ticked off as early as possible. An early night’s work is always good but I’m trying to get a few rounds in this time.”

Caoimhin Agyarko:

“It’s a big moment for me on Saturday. I feel like I’ve got the right opponent in front of me to showcase my skills and showcase how good I am. I didn’t really think it would be as easy making the weight as it has been. I was 3lbs over this morning and 3lbs over after having lunch. I’m happy. I expect a tough fight on Saturday and look to make my mark in the 154lbs division. I’m thankful for the opportunities Eddie has given me. It’s going to be my second title fight in three fights. I’ll look to go and put a big performance in on Saturday night and then I’ll be knocking on Eddie’s door to make Belfast happen next year. I think a punch perfect performance, showing certain aspects of my style that I haven’t shown yet is the aim. I feel like this performance will come forward and allow me to box more and show the good footwork and fast hands. I’ll be able to show angles. I expect a tough ten rounds but I’m someone that finishes my dinner and if I have him hurt then I’ll close the show.”

Ramla Ali:

“I wanted to gain that experience in the US. I’ve always said that there’s some amazing talent out there. So testing myself against some of these talents in US was an amazing opportunity and allowed me to develop and progress not only my skills, but boxing in general. I’m really excited for what everyone is calling the homecoming, to box on Saturday in front of a huge London crowd. I sold quite a few tickets, so I’ve got a lot of support coming for me on Saturday and I know they’re going to fill the arena up with noise, and I’m really excited for that. Plenty of flags, plenty of drums, plenty of chanting. Expect all of that. I feel like that sort of atmosphere will not only hype me up, but it will also hype up my opponent. It will allow for a better fight.”

Augustina Rojas:

“Thank you very much. Hello everyone. I am ready to put in a very good performance this Saturday. I’m ready to show that Argentina is here and I am prepared for this fight.”

Solomon Dacres:

“I had a little shoulder injury – something that I was boxing through. Now I’ve got that fixed and I should be coming back a lot stronger. My last performance was good against Sokolowski, a lot of people have come unstuck against him. Now I just want to get active and get my name out there. I’ve gone a little bit under the radar. I’ve got the amateur pedigree – Team GB, one of the top amateurs. Now I’ve got to get active and put myself on the big stage. I don’t want to be held back or wait around. I know I’ve got the ability to do ten rounders in the next couple of fights and then go on to British Title fights maybe next year. I believe in myself and I want to build some big shows in Birmingham.”

Yousef Ibrahim:

“I just want to say thank you to Derek, Matchroom and DAZN for giving me this opportunity. There’s going to be fireworks on Saturday, I’m going to bring it.”

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