Jesse Rodriguez Vs Phumelela Cafu Press Conference Quotes

Eddie Hearn

Welcome to the wonderful Ford Center in Frisco, Texas, this place will be full to the rafters on Saturday night, as we witness for me not just the best fight in the Super-Flyweight division, but one of the best fights in boxing.

This is what it is all about – champions against champions, and we thank both Jesse and Phumelela for putting it all on the line to test their greatness. Boxing is on fire right now, DAZN has become the global home of boxing, prior to this fight on Saturday night you have Oleksandr Usyk facing Daniel Dubois in London for the undisputed Heavyweight championship, but in here, we want to thank everyone at Ford Center and the Dallas Cowboys because we’ll have close to 12,000 in here on Saturday night, and that emphasizes the star drawing power of Bam.

Jesse has taken on all comers, a Light-Flyweight who stepped up two divisions at one week’s notice to become World champion and then unified in the divisions. Then stepped up to Super-Flyweight to become lineal and The Ring champion. People talk about weight classes and Jesse being a smaller fighter, but to see him establish himself as a top five pound-for-pound star is wonderful to watch, but with it becoming an American and Global star, bringing the big crowds, it’s very pleasing, but Phumelela is here to achieve the same dream as Bam, to unify the division, and become a star of the sport.

Jesse Rodriguez

The big fights are all I want now, no tune-ups, tie me the champions right away. Going back to the time I fought here in 2020, I was the first fight on the card and the name wasn’t even spelt right on the poster! That just goes to show how far I’ve come in the sport and how my hard work has paid off. I’m very blessed and grateful to be here and come Saturday night, it’ll be another great performance.

I’m expecting a tough fight either way whether he boxes or stands there and bangs. Anyone that knows me knows I come 100 per cent, I work my ass off like it’s my pro debut, so I’m just ready to go out and perform.

Physically and mentally, I feel like I’m growing every day, my family and my children have taken me to the next level and made me mature even more and make me even more motivated in the gym. The accumulation of all of that has all paid off. I’m a whole different person even from my last fight. I’m not overlooking him at all, I know it’s a tough fight, but my hand will be raised whether it’s knockout or decision, I don’t see anyone beating me.

Phumelela Cafu

I’m ready for this. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of. I’ve been saying I want to fight the best guys in the division. Everybody is over-looking me, but I’m cool with it. I’m talking nothing away from Bam, he’s a very good fighter, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him, and come Saturday night everyone is going to see how great I am.

I believe I have the power to knock anyone out and Bam has been down before, and my power is more than Estrada. He’s been in with all types of guys, but I have experience, I’ve fought and sparred southpaws, and I’m ready for this fight and everything he brings to the table.

A lot of people think I’ll be running away from Bam, but this is a message for him: I’ll be there in front of you, you won’t need to look too far. I feel like I’m going to knock Bam out, it won’t got the distance.

Colin Nathan – Cafu’s trainer

There is no reason for us to be confident. Everyone in this arena, globally and even back home is overlooking us, and that’s OK. We have been in positions like this before and we relish it. I can tell you right now we are ready to shock the world on Saturday night.

He’s not scared, he’s ready, and it;’s not just a great fight for South Africa, it’s a great fight for Africa and a big moment for African boxing. He can dig deep and go to the trenches. Japan was the dress rehearsal for this fight when he went there and beat Tanaka to become World champion. We know how good Jesse is, he’s a good, good fighter, but everyone has weaknesses and we’re going to exploit that on Saturday night

Robert Garcia Jr – Bam’s training team 

Since the fight got offered, we said that he’s the most dangerous guy in the division. He has 11 wins and eight of them are by KO, so he has a high knockout percentage and he’s a great counterpuncher. These are the types of fights that Bam looks forward to, unifications against the best guys available, and that’s why we’re here.

You could tell there was something special about him since he was a kid, but now he’s starting to accomplish everything that he’s accomplished, there’s more of a confidence to him, an aura around him, but we saw that something special from the first day he walked into the gym, and now he’s proving it with the fights he’s been getting.

Diego Pacheco

We started this journey when I was 17 and now, I’m here at 24 years old, ranked at the top of my division and ready to take care of business once again. Trevor is a great fighter, and we’ve prepared for my toughest fight ever, we’ve prepared for war and we’re ready to put it all on the line on Saturday night and make sure our hand is raised for sure.

I’ve been preparing for this my whole life and on Saturday night, it’s going to be another step closer to a World title and achieving my dreams, I’m doing this for myself and my family, and I’m excited to be putting on a great show against a good opponent, I feel like a fight between Trevor and I will steal the show on Saturday.

I will do what I do, and that’s dominate and put on a great performance for my fans and show the world why I’m a special fighter and the best at 168lbs.

Trevor McCumby

We put in a tremendous training camp, I know every fighter says that, but this is truly the real deal, I’ve not had a camp like this in a long time, it was very, very hard. I’ve been in the sport a long time, a long amateur career, and I just feel this is my time.

I can guarantee you’ll see the best Trevor McCumby you’ve ever seen, and my hand will be raised. I know he’s a good fighter and I know it’s going to be a great fight. I think he has been fed a few guys, and we’ll see on Saturday night, you better tune in.

Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams

(On sparring his opponent Ivan Vazquez) i just remember I’m the best in Houston. It was another day when someone came in the gym and Ivan was one of them, and I walked away from that sparring knowing I’m the best.

I spar to get better, I don’t walk away from spars wondering if I won or not. There are not many people that I haven’t got the better of in sparring, that’s just who I am, and I would know if it was a spar that I had to walk away from and assess myself, that never happened.

This fight hurts me. The preparation that I’ve had has been insane, what Kevin Cunningham and I accomplished in camp was crazy and I was very ready to hurt and harm somebody. When I get in the ring, it’s not up to me, and it hurts me because I personally know Ivan and his father, they’re good people. But boxing is business, I’m glad to get them a good pay day, but at the end of the day, it hurt that I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do, but I’ve got a family, my wife and daughter, people I’m looking out for and I’ve earned this position. These last-minute replacements, I’m thankful he saved the day coming in as I could have had that camp wasted, but it hurts to know what I’m going to do, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

Everyone knows I’m on a different level. Fighting and training is a completely different thing; this is a global stage on DAZN with Matchroom and everyone watching. This is my 20th time doing this, I’m comfortable here, this is my life, this isn’t something I’m adjusting or adapting to, I’ve been all over the world fighting top competition, there’s a reason I’m a top guy on the planet and it’s not just going into the gym. I know many people who just go in and out of the gym, you can do that for 20 years straight, but to get yourself together and go across the country, all over the world, people’s backyards and knock them out, that gives you the real credibility, the experience, takes you to a different level. You can punch bags in the gym every day, it’s not going to take you to the level I’m at right now.

This is mechanical, it’s not personal, it’s the gears of war. My coach has programmed me to do these things, it’s not an emotional thing for me in the ring, I am sad he’s signed the contract and I talked to my manager and said ‘I know this guy, you know what I’m capable of and have to do’. It’s calculated.

Ivan Vazquez

(On sparring his opponent Austin Williams) Back then he was ‘Ammo’, now he’s a whole different fighter, a great fighter and athlete. It was one of those sparrings that shut the gym down and gathered around the ring, a pay-per-view type of sparring. It never crossed my mind that we would fight but look at us now.

He is the a-side and I’m thankful. Styles make fights, we’ve sparred so much and it’s going to be a great fight. I’ve been doing this my whole life, I started boxing when I was eight years old, my Dad has been doing this his whole life, it’s all we know. And now it’s time to show it to the whole world.

This is a World title fight for me and that’s the way I’m approaching it. I’m going in there to give it my very best. I have to be smart, this is a game of hitting and not getting hit, so be smart, hit the body, hit the head, feints, and put everything I know into the ring on Saturday night.

I don’t have a crystal ball but I’m going to be giving it my best. I know I can box, and that’s what’s going to happen and what it will take to win.

Omari Jones

I want to get two or three more fights in this year, hopefully one overseas like London, and I thank God for everything that I’ve been through and I’m here in this moment for a reason.

(On Nishant Dev) If the fight presents itself, I know what I am capable of and have done, I beat him in the amateurs and I feel like I’d beat him again. The fights I’ve taken against experienced opponents compared to his last fight, which was 3-2 that he went the distance with, it doesn’t compare at all. I’m the truth and I’m ready to fight. He’s been mentioning my name, i haven’t talked about him but he’s talked about me, so it shows where I’m at and the opponents that I’ve been taking, it’s levels.

Nishant Dev

I am going to be the first ever Indian professional boxing superstar, a World champion, and it’s not that far away, it’s just a few years down the road that I become that superstar.

(On Omari Jones) If someone is at 154lbs I would like to meet them and I hope that he stays undefeated, and we can make that happen. If you think I’m lying about our fight, check on the internet and see who is lying, who was winning, there was thousands of comments on there and they were saying it was a clear robbery against Nishant Dev. I don’t care about his bronze; I was a gold medal prospect. The guy that reached the final, Marco Verde, see our quarter final fight, I was winning that one clearly too. These fighters aren’t on my level so I hope they stay undefeated, and we will meet in World championship fight and we’ll see the difference there, they will feel me I promise.

Pablo Valdez

I’m excited to be fighting in Texas. My last fight got called off, I was walking to the ring and was told I wasn’t fighting, it was heartbreaking. But that’s just made it more difficult for my opponent on Saturday as it’s given me more time to stay in the gym and train, and I have a lot of anger in me that he’ll see when I step in the ring.

Everywhere I go I steal the show, so I’ll be looking to perform my best, I’m in shape, and all respect to these fellas but when I am there and the guy is there, I’ll be going for the knockout like I do all the time.

Hector Beltran Jr

I’m super excited for Saturday, I’m fighting under Bam, one of the best in the sport and I’ve got a lot of people coming out to support me, so it means a lot. I’m a humble guy, I don’t want to say I got robbed in the amateurs or this and that.