Santa Ana, California’s NABO welterweight titleholder Alexis Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) defends his belt against Anthony Young (24-2, 8 KOs) of Atlantic City, New Jersey in the main event at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA on Saturday, May 27. The pair squares off in the scheduled for 12 rounds bout live stream on DAZN. Ahead of the showdown, the fighters hosted the final pre-fight press conference.
Also partaking in the press conference were WBO minimumweight champion Melvin Jerusalem (20-2, 12 KOs) and challenger Oscar Collazo (6-0, 4 KOs). As well, Oscar Duarte (24-1, 11 KOs), who faces D’Angelo Keyes (17-2, 11 KOs) in a ten-rounder at lightweight. Plus, John “Scrappy” Ramirez (11-0, 8 KOs), who takes on Fernando Diaz (12-3-1, 4 KOs) in a ten-rounder at super flyweight.
In addition, “the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation made a $30K donation to the Lee Espinoza Coachella Valley Boxing Club. The donation was accepted by club owner and legendary trainer Librado ‘Lee’ Espinoza, who has been recognized not only by Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. for his work with boxers in the valley, but has been inducted into the West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame and the California Boxing Hall of Fame,” as per announcement sent out by the promotion.
Here is what the participants had to say:
Alexis Rocha – NABO welterweight titleholder
“I am not much of a trash talker either. My respects to him. Whatever his thoughts are, that’s good for him. I am confident in my ability. I am confident in myself. You’ll find out about who I am on Saturday night. I hope he brings this same kind of energy into the ring on Saturday.”
Anthony Young
“I looked at the odds again, and they’re kind of disrespectful – they got me 8-1 underdog. The last time they did that, we shocked the world. I plan to do that again. I didn’t come here to lose; I am not with the script. They built him up good: 22 wins, a couple of tough fights, one step-up fight didn’t go too well. I am going to win on Saturday.”
Melvin Jerusalem – WBO minimumweight champion
“Good afternoon everyone. I am very grateful for this opportunity. I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for this fight. I am excited to see my opponent today. We will see you all on Saturday night.”
Oscar Collazo
“Thank you everyone for coming. Thank you to Oscar, Golden Boy Promotions, and Miguel Cotto Promotions for making this fight happen. Thank you for this opportunity to make history, history for Puerto Rico, the opportunity to become one of the fastest to become a world champion. We’re feeling very good about this. I earned this, and you’re going to see it this Saturday.”
Oscar Duarte
“I am very happy, I am very excited for this fight, for this opportunity. I am ready for this Saturday. I will win. Thank you, everybody.”
John “Scrappy” Ramirez
“You already know, get your popcorn ready. I am not here to take part, I am here to take over. Some people feel some type of way by the way I move but I am just a man on a mission. Saturday Night I am going to make a statement, mark my words.”
Oscar De La Hoya
“I have known Lee for many years; his son, Ruben Espinoza, would beat me up all the time in the amateurs. On behalf of the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation, I would like to present this $30,000 check to the Coachella Valley Boxing Club. To the young fighters here from his gym, the fighters who sit at the dais started their love for the sport of boxing through the local gym like the one Lee has given his life to.”
“It is an honor and pleasure to be here at Fantasy Springs. We’ve had a lot of successful fights here, and we thank you for your hospitality.”
“I firmly believe that this Saturday’s fight card will leave a mark in boxing. From top to bottom, we have historic world championship matchups, world title contenders and newly signed Golden Boy Prospects that I believe are going to shake up their respective divisions.”
Librado Espinoza
Thank you, Oscar and Thank you to your organization for the support. Thanks to Golden Boy for supporting Coachella Valley boxing.
In the UK and Australia, Alexis Rocha vs Anthony Young airs live on Sunday, May 28.
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