Apr
18
Adrian Diaconu - Chris Henry
Tags: Adrian Diaconu, Chris Henry l 248 views
HOLLYWOOD, FL, April 18 – There is no rest for the ‘Road Warrior’. Just a week after his controversial decision loss against Chad Dawson, the People’s Light Heavyweight Champion will travel to Bucharest, Romania to serve as color commentator for the interim WBC light heavyweight championship bout between unbeaten warriors Adrian Diaconu and Chris Henry.
Diaconu vs Henry will be aired live in the United States on www.donkingtv.com beginning at 1:30pm EST.
Diaconu - Henry Final Press Conference Quotes
18.04.08 - About 100 media members (including 12 TV cameras) were able to squeeze into a packed Marriot Hotel Bucharest ballroom this afternoon for the final press conference before Saturday’s event. Tickets are virtually sold out of the 6,100 seat facility. Final Press Conference Quotes:
Adrian Diaconu
# 1 WBC Light Heavweight Contender:
“Thank you all for being here and supporting this event. This is a homecoming for me. As you may know, my father is ill with cancer. The opportunity to fight here in my home country is emotional for me already but the opportunity for him to be there in person to watch me perform is tremendous encouragement for me to do and be at my best. I have been back now for a month so I’m really ready for this fight.
“I have a lot respect for my opponent Chris Henry. Personally, he’s a very likable guy. He has the confidence and courage to take this step up in his career and fight me. Something Chad Dawson wouldn’t do.
“I have too much skill and maturity over Henry that he can’t hang with me for long. I’m in my prime and with the home crowd fans behind me I couldn’t imagine Henry getting close. Oh, he’ll fight hard for as long as he’s in there but I’m very, very focused. Thank you
Chris Henry
#3 WBC Light Heavyweight Contender:
“I wish to thank the fight fans here in Bucharest for really treating me well. I arrived here with my team early to getting acclimated to the time change and now I’m simply ready to fight.
“This is a lifetime opportunity for me and I will take advantage of it Saturday night. I realize Diaconu is an excellent fighter, maybe the next best in the division after myself. I also thank him and his team for this opportunity. But I think he has clearly
Diaconu vs. Henry - Page 2
underestimated my skill and desire. I also want to thank Mauricio Sulaiman and WBC for belief in my credibility and this great medal.”
Ronnie Shields
Trainer for Chris Henry:
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, my whole life. Chris Henry will be stepping out of the ring with the belt Saturday night. He’s ready. He’s percolating. He trained at his peak both mentally and physically and now he just needs to implement the game plan. Now, Diaconu can fight. But his biggest win was almost a year ago against Rico Hoye, who isn’t special.
Chad Dawson didn’t want to fight us either. We’ll remember these things when Chris is driving the bus.”
Chris Ganescu
Romanian Fight Promoter:
“I believe we are totally sold out. Almost 7,000 tickets sold in 2 weeks. This is obviously a big event in Romania and I hope it leads to more big fights and more youngsters turning to boxing in the near future. Bucharest is the capitol city in Romania and it deserves events of this magnitude. The business community really turned out for this fight and I thank them. I appreciate both Adrian and Chris for their professionalism and helping the promotion.”
Diaconu vs Henry live on DonKingTV.com
Don King will continue his march into Internet webcasting on Saturday with a battle of undefeated boxers vying for the interim World Boxing Council light heavyweight championship that pits Adrian Diaconu against Chris Henry that can be seen live exclusively on DonKingTV.com for free beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT (GMT 5:30 p.m.) from the Sala Polivalenta in Bucharest, Romania..
Three additional bouts will be shown live from Romania. Undefeated Ion Ionut “Jo Jo” Dan (20-0, 11 KOs), from Romania will take on Argentinean veteran Raul Balbi (55-8-1, 38 KOs) in a North American Boxing Association 140-pound championship; undefeated Romanian prospect Viorel Simion (7-0, 3 KOs) tangles with Spanish battler Rudy Encarnacion (18-11-2, 8 KOs); and 2003 world junior champion Bogdan Dinu, from Romania, will make his professional debut against Stephane Tessier, from Canada.
To celebrate his second webcast, King has broken into his vast vault of previous fights to allow DonKingTV.com visitors to see three big fights for free that have never been shown in America. Beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday through the weekend, fans can see the bout where Nikolai “Giant Russian” Valuev won his first world title in a controversial decision over two-time World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz at Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 17, 2005.
“I have been overwhelmed by the people’s blessings of success to our pioneer effort in launching DonKingTV.com,” King said. “DonKingTV.com is the people’s global network. I want to thank all the people who have logged on and will long on and to the bloggers who are the modern-day apostles of the media.”
Beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Friday through the weekend, two more fan-favorite fights will be added to the DonKingTV.com schedule: Andrew Golota’s memorable Madison Square Garden brawls with Mike Tyson conqueror Kevin “The Clones Colossus” McBride that took place on Oct. 6, 2007, and the slugfest against Chicago heavyweight contender “Merciless” Mike Mollo from Jan. 19.
Diaconu (24-0, 15 KO), born in Romania and now fighting out of Montreal, is the WBC No. 1 ranked mandatory challenger at the 175-pound weight limit and was to have faced WBC champion Chad Dawson during a Don King-promoted fight card on Sept. 29 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif. Diaconu was forced to bow out two weeks prior to that contest after suffering a hand injury that included bone contusions and soft tissue damage.
Diaconu’s perfect record, and ability to re-schedule the postponed match with Dawson, will be challenged by the similarly perfect Henry (21-0, 17 KOs), from Houston, Texas.
“I’m going to win this fight,” Henry said. “He [Diaconu] has no idea what he signed up for and is up against in Chris Henry.”
Henry has shown great power with an 86-percent knockout percentage in 21 fights after being a professional prizefighter for just over three years. Henry’s style is to come straight to his opponents, which should cause fireworks with Diaconu, who possesses power in both hands as well.
“Henry is talking a good game,” Diaconu said. “Let’s hope he brings that spirit to the ring on Saturday.”
Henry has recently teamed with Ronnie Shields, one of boxing’s greatest trainers.
“I needed Ronnie Shields to add just a little polish and experience,” Henry said. “Bobby Benton has always been my trainer and he’ll still be in my corner as a second along with Mike Roberts. Ronnie’s been working with me for about six months now and he has me ready.”
Col. Bob Sheridan will provide blow-by-blow ringside descriptions from Romania and is being joined by special guest analyst Glen Johnson, a former light heavyweight champion. Promoter of the Romanian event is Gankor Promotions. DonKingTV.com is the exclusive webcaster of this event. It’s not TV. It’s DonKingTV.com.
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