DON KING: I would like to say first that Amir Imam will be on the card also. He is a super-sensational fighter and we are looking forward to seeing him. This program is “Return to Glory” America’s return to glory in the heavyweight division. The WBC champion Bermane Stiverne against the mandatory challenger Deontay Wilder. It is something that is going to be a great event but it is a fight for Peace. Then with the Bombs Away is an addition to. This is going to bring boxing back to where it should be and get the country back to where it should be – being able to bring the glory back to the heavyweight division, which has been lacking for quite a while now. We are going to celebrate this at the MGM Grand with a salute to Kirk Kerkorian, the founder of bringing the MGM and all the rest of the then in Las Vegas and making it the boxing capital of the world. I am very excited about this and I know you’ll be too. It is going to be a super-sensational card and a lovely night at the MGM Grand and the lion shall roar. We are very happy to be able to present this to you. Keep in mind this is a fight to unify – unify, solidarity and togetherness and you are going to have a peoples’ champion – a guy that’s name is Bermane, who reminds me of Mike Tyson the awesome devastating puncher, meeting another puncher named Deontay Wilder. I am very happy to be able to address you about it and look forward to seeing you at the fight.
STEVEN ESPINOZA: We are thrilled to have Stiverne versus Wilder on Showtime; it is a very intriguing fight. It is the perfect way to kick off the New Year on Showtime World Championship Boxing. This fight had been rumored for quite some time and it did take a little more time than usual to get the deal but, and I really want to stress this, the delay was thru no fault of either of these fighters. Neither Bermane nor Deontay ever had any hesitation in taking this fight. These are two high quality athletes and quality men – they are class acts. These are two boxers in an event that this sport can be proud of. Bermane is a great boxer, good puncher with a good chin and great power and without a doubt a worthy champion. Deontay of course is the most promising young American heavyweight that has come along in many, many years. These two young men are going to put on a fantastic show and is the mist highly anticipated heavyweight fight in the US in many, many years. Leading up to this event we will be premiering an All Access. All Access Stiverne versus Wilder will premier January 9 at 10:45 ET/PT and will be available on-line at SHO.com as well as other outlets. We look forward to seeing you on the 17th.
ERIC GOMEZ: We are very happy to be participating in this event and are working with Don King very closely. We have had some great promotions throughout the years with Don King and very thankful to be working with Showtime once again. Deontay Wilder finally gets his chance to fight for the world title. The No. 1 ranked contender has won all of his bouts by knockout and is probably the most exciting heavyweight fighter in the last twenty years. So it brings me great pleasure to introduce to you the New Champion Deontay (Don King laughter)
DEONTAY WILDER: (Loud Yell!) No better way to be introduced than that. How are you guys doing today? I am excited about this fight and excited to be able to prove my talent on Showtime and definitely with Golden Boy on my way to becoming the next heavyweight champion of the world. I have no doubt that at the end of tis fight my hand will be raised and the words will come out “The new heavyweight champion of the world.” There is no doubt. I have been waiting for this for a very, very long time. This is not something I am not used to. I have been working a very long time. Nothing has ever been given to me in my life. I don’t expect this title to be given to me – I want to earn it. I hope he is in great health because I don’t want any excuse for my victory. All of the excuses for my victories. All the excuses for my thirty-two knockouts so when I gain number thirty-three I don’t want to hear no excuses from nobody. Everything that I have I got thus far I have earned. This is going to be a great fight and one that I have looked forward to for a very long time. I commend Bermane for winning the title and becoming the first Haitian to win a heavyweight title and like I said before, I am all about history, but it’s my time. It’s my time to make history and becoming the first American heavyweight champion in a very long time. This is where I come in and give them their heavyweight world champion. I have arrived and I am here to stay for a very long time.
DON KING: I want to introduce Bermane Stiverne. He is a guy that has worked very hard and the struggles he had to go thru to get to where he is now. He had a year and a half layoff because the Klitschko’s were coming up with all kinds of excuses not to fight him and then he went on to become a politician to help Ukraine and try to become president and the mayor. So all of this time we had to hold Bermane. He was ready to fight. He is a dynamic fighter and a guy that is going to be champion for quite a long time. I have to applaud Steven Espinoza to be able to capture this imagination and put it on Showtime for the world to see this guy named Bermane Stiverne Champion, in absentee for not being able to fight for the title then he beats Arreola twice. He had to go thru that twice. So we are going to add to that a guy named Deontay Wilder. So let me introduce to you now, with no further adieu, The Heavyweight Champion of the World Bermane Stiverne. Listen quietly and open your eyes and see, this is history in the making. Bermane, tell it to them like it is.
BERMANE STIVERNE: What’s going on everybody. Well listen, I don’t know if I am going to be on the phone too long because I am not an entertainer or a promoter but my opponent is. Since the first time I moved to Vegas I had wanted to fight for the title in Vegas, and that didn’t happen. So now I am defending my title in Vegas at the MGM and that was another wish, and it came thru. I am prepared. I have been ready. You know what I’m saying? Like I said before, there is no one that is going to beat me. This belt is not going anywhere, and that’s about it. I could sit here on the phone and tell you this and that but I will show you all on January 17th. It’s going to be a short night. It’s going to be painful. Really painful. And I will send him home with no belt.
CAMILLE ESTEPHAN: Thank you and it is a pleasure to be here. I would like to comment a little about the fight. Deontay has thirty-two fights and thirty-two knockouts, but not to be politically incorrect, but thirty-two winds and thirty-two knockouts against who? We believe this is a choreographed career – very well done and good job. Deontay will quickly realize that fighting at this level is a whole different universe. By then it will be too late for him. B. Ware will make a statement. This is what I know and all of this talk has no place in the ring. Don’t blink guys, I really hope all the folks on this planet realize whom the new Mike Tyson is and that person is Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne. We earned this. We paid out dues. We waited a long time. We have been dodged by many for many years. We have been blocked by many for many years and now it is time for people to realize that the most beautiful talent in boxing today is Stiverne and he will show you on January 17.
Deontay, what is your response to the statement that your career has been choreographed?
DEONTAY WILDER: The things I do make your eyes not believe. Your mind definitely plays tricks on you. On the outside of the ring you see one thing but on the inside of the ring is a whole other different thing. It’s unbelievable. Like ‘How did it happen like that?’ But like you said, on January 17 we will find out and we will see that is has not been choreographed, for sure. They go off on beating one opponent – beating a Chris Arreola. They go off of beating him and said they paid their dues, but I have one guy on my resume that would kill all of Bermane’s opponents on his record and he goes by the name of Malik Scott. He would beat them hands down. I am willing to put my purse on it that he would beat any opponent that he has on his resume. Everybody can think what they want but when it comes to the night of the fight the truth will reveal itself. I am super-confident in what I can do. I am super-confident and I can’t wait. Someone is going to lose their job. I am going to put his whole team out of commission. That’s my promise.
Don, do you believe Wilder has the experience to hang with Stiverne?
DON KING: I think Wilder as a great fighter and I also think he’s a great talker. He is a guy that has been working his way up the ladder to become the heavyweight champion and I feel that Bermane is going to give him the next lesson so Wilder may try again at a later date after he meets Bermane in the ring for this heavyweight championship fight at the MGM Grand. Richard Sturm, he is the President of Sports & Entertainment there and everybody there will be entertained and rest assured Bermane “B. Ware” will be still standing, above Deontay Wilder.
Is part of your plane to take Wilder to the later rounds where he has never been?
BERMANE STIVERNE: First of all, the level of opposition that he has fought? I don’t really care about that. That is not how we have based our training camp – lie he fought nobody. I train like I am fighting the best out there. If he has not gone past four rounds, that is not my business – that is his business. Al I have to say is that after January 17, all the people that had questions about this man will get the answers. More than the answers. Not for one second and I don’t care if he went twenty-four rounds or whatever it is. It doesn’t matter. All I am saying is I can’t wait. I am just getting ready and in the meantime we just stay quiet and keep working.
Deontay, are you worried about the prospect of having to go deep into the fight?
DEONTAY WILDER: I am a different fighter. My name is Deontay Wilder. I am not just another boxer. I know my skills and I know my ability. My thing is, the hard work is done in the gym. Since I started boxing, nothing and I mean nothing has ever been given to me. A lot of promises have been made but never fulfilled. I don’t know the easy road. I don’t know what it’s like to be given something. I have worked for everything I have since I was a kid. I don’t know the easy road. Going past four rounds? That is nothing. Twelve rounds is an appetizer for me. I train for a four-course meal. That is nothing for me. Nothing in the back of my mind says I can’t go past four rounds. When the lights go on and the action starts – that is the fun part for me. I want to make it easy and I want to make it a short night because I don’t get paid for overtime. There is no need for me to stick around for overtime but if the fight needs to go past twelve rounds, bring it on. We can go back to fifteen if you want to do it. We can up the price on it. There are no concerns and no worries in my mind, and I promise you, if it goes past four then so be it and the people get their monies worth. If it goes less than four, so be it. But I train for a great fight. We both train hard and we both want it. It’s a highly anticipated bout and the best man will win that night and I already know who the best man is. You talk about all this experience, and really if you want to break it down, I have the most experience. Just because you started boxing earlier doesn’t mean you have more experience than me. For experience you have to work. You can’t go to a job and say ‘I have experience’ and not put in any work. Some guys – the average heavyweight – don’t even get in the gym until they have a fight coming up. I go to the gym like it’s my job, my 9-5 job, every day. I don’t miss a day. Every day I go to the gym to work on my craft. If you don’t believe me ask my trainer. That’s what I do and that’s how I gain that experience. And he definitely does no have the ring experience that I have. I have thirty-two fight and he only has twenty-six. Who’s got the most experience? We can talk about opponents and he can say what he wants and I can say all I want and sound good. But on January 17th, I hope I get to answer a lot of questions because it will all be revealed. I can’t wait. I wish it was tomorrow.
Bermane, how has your life changed since you won the title?
BERMANE STIVERNE: Nothing but blessings and love. It made me appreciate things different and go back and work harder. It gives me the desire to want more. I am not just satisfied with the one title, I want to make a lot of defenses and be a champion’s champion. I want more. This is not enough. I love it and I cherish it and I’m hungry and I still want more.
What is the best way to beat Wilder?
BERMANE STIVERNE: On January 17th don’t blink.
Camille, why did it take so long to make this fight?
CAMILLE ETEPHAN: There are a lot of people involved. Timing is what it is with the politics. But it’s here now and that’s all that matters and on the 17th I believe that Bermane will grab the opportunity. We had all of the confidence in the world that it would happen and here we are.
How did fellow Haitian boxers respond to you after winning the title?
BERMANE STIVERNE: Berto was there that night and Adonis couldn’t make it because he was getting ready for his fight. I did get a lot of calls from a lot of people and that was appreciated. It was pretty much congratulations and keep going, but all the people that called me that night were people that are always behind me. It wasn’t like I never heard from them and they just called me. These people call me after every fight. I did get calls from people I didn’t expect, but they called me and I appreciated that.
Have you been back to Haiti?
BERMANE STIVERNE: We did not make it to Haiti yet. I did get a call from the President as I was walking out of the room to go to the (Arreola) fight and I spoke to hi for about 5 seconds. Then he did call me again after the fight to congratulate me and chitchat a little bit.
Would you like to share what he said?
BERMANE STIVERNE: He wanted to congratulate me and how happy he was and the people in Haiti are behind me and love and support. It means a lot to have the country that I was born in behind me, especially the kids. Kids sent me videos with them saying my name. It’s not a rich country and a lot of things that have happened there are not pleasant, but it was great to see smiles on their faces and it is great motivation. To be a role model for those kids and to be one that inspired them to no give up and to keep the faith is just motivation.
How does your daughter, who was born with spinal bifida, inspire you?
DEONTAY WILDER: We inspire each other each and every day. When she was one year old I promised her that her day would become world champion. And know it’s going to be a reality. And I will. She has been thru so much in her nine years of living. But she’s good now. She knows what’s going on and a lot of people say that she’s my number one fan and she is my ultimate number one fan. She motivates me to keep going because I know that as a nine-year-old girl and having gone thru everything – the needles and the surgeries and she is screaming reaching for her father and if she can go thru that I can go thru the trials and tribulations of becoming world champion. All we know is working hard. Throughout my life I have never met a Wilder that wasn’t tough. We are all strong. I’ve got a big family and we don’t know what it’s like to be given anything. I’m going to be a proud father when I come back and show here what I’ve done and I can’t let her down. It’s like making God a promise. She’s counting on me and I never let my children down. If I said I was going to do something or be somewhere at a certain time, no matter how busy my schedule got I did it for them. It’s a love for your children and I love them dearly. It’s just something that I promised my daughter a long time ago and it’s got to be fulfilled.
Deontay – do you wish you had fought at top-ten type opponent – one that you could hand your hat on?
DEONTAY WILDER: When I came into boxing we had a plan and a goal what we wanted to do. My team has done a damn good job in bringing me along in my career and is one of the best teams in the world. Whoever they lined up in front of me I have take care of. I didn’t care who the opponent was but I learned every time I go tin the ring. It’s about learning and going forward with that. I understand that people think that. When I got in the ring I knocked people out and it’s not easy. I would say to myself, ‘wow, and another knockout.’ Of course there were many times when I wanted a certain type of fighter and it didn’t work out. But anything that I can’t control, I don’t worry about it and I don’t let it stress me out. This is my opportunity and people are wondering what I am going to do when it’s time to fight and I go in and do the impossible. In the past they would say he’s a bum but this fight I don’t want anybody to make excuses for me. Once I go in there and do what I’m supposed to do and I know what I can do in the fashion that I know what I’m going to do it in, I don’t want people to discredit me. I have been discredited for so long I don’t listen to all that. Everybody loves a winner. I am successful. Now it is time for me to say enough is enough. A lot of people were against me when I fought Malik – Malik is one of the most technical in boxing. There are a lot of things he can do in the ring. When I went in the ring and did what I did, they changed. They were all with him but when he lost they were all against him. Now I am in against a world champion and it is a 50/50 fight. People are super-excited about this fight and I am happy about that and I want them to stay with their man. If they are for him I want them to stick with him and if they are for me stay for me.
Do you see any parallels between yourself and Michael Grant, who happened to be about the same size as you and undefeated then ran into Lennox Lewis?
DEONTAY WILDER: Not at all. I don’t like people to compare me to anyone, even if it was a greatest fighter in the world. It does me no good to be compared to anyone when I get inside the ring. What Michael Grant did was his journey. My name is Deontay Wilder. Nice to meet you guys. What he did that’s what he did. What God has for me is a whole different thing than what he had for Michael Grant. I don’t care what he did. I am on a totally different path. Everybody can’t have the same destiny or the same glory. This is my time and this is me. I don’t like to be compared to other people, whether it’s good or bad, I don’t want them. I am making my own legacy. I am Deontay Wilder and it’s nice to meet you.
Don, how was the negotiation and why did it take so long?
DON KING: It’s boxing and the fruit of the labor is what you’ve got right now. They heavyweight championship and it symbolized the essence of America – freedom, justice, equality – which makes all Americans proud and extremely grateful. It’s just what I’m looking for – bringing the heavyweight championship back to America and we are doing that. Like I said when he beat Arreola, we have an opportunity here to demonstrate what boxing really is. As the heavyweights go, so goes boxing. It’s been a downward cycle in boxing more so than an upward cycle and now we’ve got to get the groundswell of public opinion and you want people saying ‘when is the next one’ to be the battle cry. I love Al Haymon and I think he’s a great guy and Espinoza as I said, and Les Moonves and Showtime is bringing it to the forefront methodically and calculatedly bringing boxing back to the people. That’s what it’s all about – the people. It didn’t take a long time. It’s a short time. In the blink of an eye you are going to see the baddest heavyweight fight in history on January 17th, Martin Luther King’s birthday and Ali’s birthday, all in the same month. It will be sensational Lem and let the world know. Use the Ring Magazine, the Bible of Boxing get the word out. This is so great and I am so excited. Let them now what time it is – it’s heavyweight time. It’s America’s time, a Return to Glory.
STEVEN ESPINOZA: There are a lot of parties involved and it’s a big fight. Now that it has been announces, we have heard from Haiti and a number of other pro athletes have already asked for tickets. It’s been a while since I have seen the immediate ticket demand that we have seen over the past few days, other than a Mayweather fight which is the only thing I can compare it to. The heavyweights are definitely back and people are happy to hear that.
Don, what was it like to deal with Al Haymon on this fight?
DON KING: You know, think back. This is the 40th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle – Ali and George Foreman. So everything that I have had to come thru and talking to Al Haymon, a brilliant intelligent man is something that is really great. At this time you are talking about difficulties, and still difficulties back then when I had to go from country to country to country looking for a site because I couldn’t even put it on in America – so you’ve got to understand what is real and what is practical. At the height of racism and segregation there wasn’t enough water to cry with. So I end up in Zaire and it has become legendary. The 40th anniversary of the heavyweight championship from then until now and in the ring again to carry on and how to make things happen in this great country. Al Haymon is icing on the cake – it’s like having a glorious dinner with wine and everything you are going to have then have the main course. I think Al Haymon is great. The idea is to just deal with what is real and what is practical. I was talking to Imelda Marcos about two months ago and I am going to invite her to the fight because of the Thrilla in Manila because it is the 40th anniversary of the Thrilla in Manila and she said ‘than you for putting Manila on the map.’ This is about the struggle of life and the reward is in the journey. I am just so happy to be able to meet and discuss such an event with Al Haymon and Steven Espinoza and Richard Sturm and the founder of Coca Cola who is 96 years old right now. These are the things I am looking at – bring them all together for today and tomorrow and make them happen. So it was a piece of cake. Let’s try to go out there and change things for the betterment of the world and around the world.
Don, how will this fight bring world peace?
DON KING: Communication, inclusiveness and fighting have been the catalyst to bring people together. The world leaders that we will invite and to go to the different countries which I plan to do when Bermane continues to reign he displays the talent that he has after beating a gifted young fighter in Deontay Wilder – all of the people from the middle east and Egypt, just as I did with Ali in Zaire with George Foreman. There is a thing here; we have opened up a line of communication, something that we can deal with. It can’t be one-sided. It can’t be my way or the highway. You can open up things that we all find out can be descriptive. Do I have eyes? Can I see? Can I hear? If you prick me do I laugh? Do I hurt? If you prick me t=do I bleed. If you tickle me do I laugh? It’s the same thing. People are basically human beings so therefore we find the common denominator, not say I thought it was this way. Sit down and talk to one another. So peace is embryonic. We can make this thing happen. My fights go for world peace and national peace. A way of life in our great nation called America. Everything has to be able to be talked out. It is deeply rooted in America blood. You need to discuss it in a matter than you can enlighten and education and make things happen for the betterment of our country and that’s what Bermane is going to become now, The People’s Champion, which means understanding and “Freedom, justice, equality and liberty. America’s creed.” We live and practice the self-evident lie. Change that. Bring people of all walks of life together. We’ve got the opportunity to do so.
Deontay, as a puncher, what is your assessment of Bermane’s punching power?
DEONTAY WILDER: I really don’t know. The guy has some credible knockouts on his resume. But like he said before, on January 17th, don’t blink. He said it perfectly, so we’ll find out. I am looking forward to answering a lot of questions about me. Some will be answered and some not. We will see. Like you said before, January 17, don’t blink.
Can you tell me how this fight effects the heavyweight division?
DEONTAY WILDER: I think this is the most anticipated, most exciting heavyweight bout in a very long time. Not just going off my own feelings but going off the energy that’s around. Even in my city and I am from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and this is a football state but over my years and what I’ve done with my success coming up in the heavyweight division and being undefeated and now getting my opportunity to fight for a world title – even the people from around here to grab a hold of the heavyweight division – people that never watched boxing before in their life but read the stories about me. They will all tune in. They’ve got football going on. They are (were) getting ready to win another football championship and they are still talking about boxing as well. It’s exciting times right there alone, how big this match-up is and it’s going to be. I am super-excited just to be a part of it. The movement of the heavyweight division and my name could be on it. When the division gets back I can say I was a part of the movement, along with a lot of other people. So I am just happy and excited and my heart is warm and filled with joy. I get to spend time with my family thru the holidays and then come around next year I get to shock the world. Like Muhammad Ali once said ‘I shocked the world,’ now I get the opportunity to shock the world as well. I am excited and I can’t wait.
