PHONETOOL

“Believe It Or Not!: Hopkins vs. Dawson” is a 12-round bout for Hopkins’ World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight World Championship Titles taking place on Saturday, Oct. 15 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T and Ripley’s Believe It or Not. In addition to this championship main event showdown, the televised pay-per-view undercard will also feature Antonio DeMarco vs. Jorge Linares in a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Lightweight World Title, Kendall Holt vs. Danny Garcia in 12-round bout for the vacant NABO Junior Welterweight Title and Paulie Malignaggi vs. Orlando Lora in a 10-round welterweight bout. DeMarco vs. Linares is presented in association with Teiken Promotions.


BERNARD HOPKINS, WBC & Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight World Champion

"When you get tired of making history or tired of competing, you will get exposed.

"In basketball you can call time out. In football you can call timeout. In boxing either you fight or you quit.

"In my career I have gone 12-1 against southpaws. The only loss was to Joe Calzaghe, a fight which most people say I won. It was what it was. I love fighting southpaws because I am very unorthodox. I don't do things regularly and I am not a regular fighter.

"When you look at my resume and then you look at Chad's resume, it is like looking at Harvard and community college. No disrespect to community college.

"Age and wisdom cannot be compromised. I have a PhD in what I do. It says that I am 46 years old on my birth certificate. It can be argued that I m 10 years younger than I actually am.

"Me and Father Time are always debating whether it is time or not. I get cramps. I get aches. I am human and I am willing to take that chance. I am willing to walk that tight rope without a safety net. That is what fighting means to me. To be daring or to be dangerous takes courage.

"The light heavyweight division is alive right now. It isn't because of my seven or eight pushups. It is because of the activity of my last two fights.

"I don't want Chad to be the laid back Chad. I don't need him laid back. To be laid back on an old man is not good; you are doing me a favor. I want you to give me something to work against so I can be better. I am a good dancer, if my partner is just okay, it makes me look bad.

[To Dawson] "Lets work together to see who whoops whose ass worse.

"Chumps do exist in boxing. This sport separates the chumps from champs.

"Chad Dawson has to prove that he belongs here and I have to prove that I'm special over and over again. I'm okay with that.

"I am looking forward to eventually breaking Archie Moore's record of defending a title at the age of 47 or 48. I want that title. I want that record. I want that history.

"I didn't expect Naazim to give me this money back [Richardson returned his compensation to Hopkins from the Pascal fight]. We can donate this money to a charity that Naazim feels should be supported. We can take this money and do something good. From you to me or me to you we will take this money and put it in a place where it can be productive for a worthy charity."

"October 15 it is going down at STAPLES Center. History is going to be made again!


CHAD DAWSON, Former Light Heavyweight World Champion

"I want to thank Bernard for finally taking the fight. I want to thank Gary Shaw for believing in me even though I had a bad loss to Jean Pascal.

"I'm excited about my first pay-per-view fight. I have always wanted this fight. I have been chasing this fight for three years.

"A lot of people think I can't punch. October 15, I am not going for a decision, I am going for a knockout.

"I don't see any way Bernard can beat me. I have thought that for the last three years and I still think that now.

"Bernard better be on his A-game that night because I am going to be on mine.

"I am excited to be here. I feel better than ever. I'm problem free and stress free. I'm a new Chad.

"This is my ultimate dream. I'm excited.

"He can talk smack as much as he wants. Trash talking sells pay-per-view. I can trash talk, but I just don't.

"I'm not concerned with what they say on the other side of the table. I'm concerned about them putting the belts around my waist on October 15.

"For me it's all or nothing. I'm going to give it all or die trying."


ANTONIO DEMARCO, WBC #1 Rated Lightweight Contender

"I want to work to be world champion. I want to be one of the best."


JORGE LINARES, Former Two-Division World Champion & WBC #2 Rated Lightweight Contender

"It's an honor to be fighting on a card with Bernard Hopkins. It's going to be a great night and a great fight for me.

"It's like a dream to be here today and have this opportunity to fight here in the U.S."


KENDALL HOLT, Former World Champion

"I am happy to be here. Not only because I am fighting, but because I am sharing the stage with two great champions.

"I am happy Danny Garcia took this fight. In order to become the best you have to beat the best and I am one of the best.

"I looked at Garcia when he was coming up and I said this kid has a lot of potential. I can't wait to see this kid in the future. Golden Boy Promotions has done a good job with him. They have gotten him the right fights...up until now.

"When people ask me what my game plan is, I say 'I am planning on hitting him a lot more times than he hits me.'

"Chad is one of my favorite fighters. Bernard Hopkins, you mean a lot to the sport. I have always admired you. It is going to sadden my heart a little bit to see Chad walk away with that belt.

"Danny, you will be a great champion, but it won't be on October 15."


DANNY GARCIA, Undefeated Top Junior Welterweight Prospect

"At 10 years old, I started boxing. I have been boxing for 13 years. This has been one of my dreams to fight at this level, to fight on pay-per-view.

"Brother Naazim Richardson told me when I was very young that everybody gets their chance to eat at the table, not everyone gets to eat at once. He told me that one day you will get that chance, and I think this is my time to eat.

"I have come too far. I sacrificed my childhood and sacrificed what I had to get to this point. After how far I have come, losing is not an option.

"October 15 is my time and I want to be seen as one of the best junior welterweights out there and do it on HBO Pay-Per-View."


NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins' Trainer

"Chad Dawson is a great young fighter. I watched most of the kids grow up. I watched Kendall Holt, I watched Danny Garcia.

"This undercard is going to be awesome. I can't wait for that.

"You cannot speak about this man [Bernard Hopkins] with anything other than respect.

"To say you don't like Bernard Hopkins means you don't like boxing.

"These kids grew up admiring Bernard Hopkins and learning from Bernard Hopkins.

"I have known Bernard for years. It has been an honor for me and the team to work with him. Seeing him in the ring and being a part of history was an honor. Bernard handed me my payment for the Pascal fight, but he was so outstanding and that was enough for me. [Richardson returns his payment to Hopkins].

"I believe in Chad. I believe he is a young light heavyweight. He might be the one of the most technically sound fighters Bernard has fought. Pascal was definitely the most dangerous.



The pay-per-view undercard for the Oct. 15 Believe It Or Not! event headlined by the Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson world title fight at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles is complete with the addition of Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi facing Mexican contender and former Olympian Orlando Lora in a 10-round showdown. The welterweight bout will open the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast, making Oct. 15 one of the most competitive fight nights of the year from top to bottom.

A polarizing figure who probably has just as many fans cheering for him to win as there are people hoping to see him get beat on fight night, Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi (29-4, 6 KO’s) has done one thing that is undeniable and that’s to stake his claim as one of the best boxers in the world today. Malignaggi is a former IBF Junior Welterweight World Champion who has faced the likes of Miguel Cotto, Amir “King” Khan, Ricky “Hitman” Hatton, Lovemore “Black Panther” N’Dou and Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz. The “Magic Man” is now making his mark at 147 pounds and, with wins over Michael Lozado and Jose Miguel Cotto, he’s closing in on a welterweight title shot, a dream that could come closer to becoming a reality if he defeats Lora on Oct. 15.

2000 Mexican Olympian Orlando Lora (28-1-1, 19 KO’s) knows what’s on the line when he faces former World Champion Paulie Malignaggi at STAPLES Center, and he refuses to let this moment slip away. A professional since 2003, Lora is an unrelenting puncher who keeps the pressure on from the opening bell until the sooner of the closing bell or his opponent getting stopped. With 28 wins in 30 fights, his style almost always results in a win. A former WBC Continental Americas and IBA champion, the 30-year-old from Culiacan wants a world championship and, after scoring two wins in 2011 over Joel Juarez and Daniel Eduardo Yocupicio, he plans on hitting the trifecta by stopping Malignaggi’s winning streak this October.

“I’m excited to be fighting in Los Angeles for the first time in my career,” said Malignaggi. “I have been training for the past year in Los Angeles so I’m really looking forward to performing in front of my new friends out west as well as my support system I have coming from the East Coast. New York meets Los Angeles, I can’t wait to shine!”

“I’m ready for anything Malignaggi will bring to Los Angeles for this fight: his speed, his experience and his talk,” said Lora. “I expect to walk through his punches, punish him and finish him.”

“Malignaggi vs. Lora is a great way for us to begin the ‘Believe It or Not!: Hopkins vs. Dawson’ event,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “This fight is an intriguing clash of styles and with the welterweight division more competitive than it’s been in years, there could be big things in store for the winner.”

“This fight could be the fight of the night,” said Gary Shaw, President and CEO of Gary Shaw Productions. “Orlando Lora is a true Mexican warrior. I can’t wait to see what he does on October 15. I have a feeling it will be the start of a very good night for Gary Shaw Productions.”


The Hopkins vs. Dawson pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to more than 92 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD.