Sullivan Barrera
“I want to thank everyone for coming out today. I want to thank my promoter Main Events. Thank you very much to HBO Latino for having us back on the network. Thank you to Mr. Paul Parker for accepting the fight. As usual we had a good training camp and we are going to put on a good show. Thank you so much.”
Paul “Pay Per View” Parker
“I wanted to thank Main Events for this opportunity. This is big for me to be here with no manager and no promoter. I did this the hard way. I believe in myself more than anything else in the world. I came to get what’s mine; what I’ve earned. He’s put in front of me so he has to go. I am Paul “Pay Per View” Parker. I want to thank Main Events and everyone who put this show together. I want to thank God for being in my life.”
Vaughn Alexander
“Like my brother said I want to thank God. I definitely want to thank Main Events for giving me this opportunity, for giving me a platform to build on. I started this a long time ago and had some mishaps years ago. I put the work in to display my talents and get to this place. I am just one step closer to taking over this middleweight division. I am ready to fight whoever, wherever. I am ready to go to war. I am going to put on a display. Without them giving me this platform I don’t know where I would. I want to thank everyone that supported me in my second coming. Jolene [Mizzone] and Kathy Duva have helped me so much. It was a touchy situation for me. I am going to do what I do. I brutalize people. I want to thank everyone for coming. I look forward to showcasing my talent Saturday night.”
Cassius Chaney
“I want to thank Main Events and everybody that is coming out to support me in Connecticut. I am excited to watch Sullivan and Vaughn showcase their talents. I love to learn and put on a show at the same time. I am excited to get back in the ring soon. I had a great training camp and I am excited to fight on Saturday night.”
Nicole Duva – Main Events’ COO
“Welcome everyone to the beautiful Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. We are here to discuss some fantastic fights that will air Saturday night on HBO Latino presented by Corona Extra. In the main event, we have light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera vs. light heavyweight prospect Paul “Pay Per View” Parker.
“In the co-feature we had a last minute change. Arif Magomedov had to pull out due to illness so Vaughn Alexander has stepped up and will be fighting in the co-feature. Doors at the Uncas Ballroom will open at 7 PM and the first fight will be at 8 PM. To start the evening, we have amateur standout Meiirim Nursultanov from Kazakhstan against Javier Olvera of Mexico. Both fighters are undefeated and this should be an exciting six-round middleweight fight. Enriko Gogokhia is a former professional kickboxer from Georgia who is making the conversion to boxing. He will take on Bryan Goldsby of Macon, Georgia. Featherweight Kevin Asmat will be returning to Rising Stars and he brings with him a huge crowd from New Jersey. Madiyar Ashekeyev from Kazakhstan will be fighting Shawn Cameron of Brooklyn. Both are returning to Rising Stars. In the final fight before the HBO Latino telecast we have Cassius Chaney of New London, Connecticut. Cassius was a basketball star at the University of New Haven and built up a successful following of fans in Connecticut. He is fighting Juan Goode of Detroit.
“Our co-feature is a ten-round middleweight fight. This will be Vaughn’s first 10-round professional fight. It was originally scheduled for eight rounds but when we needed to move the fight to television, Vaughn didn’t think twice about the additional rounds. I think it is great to see a fighter step into that role. He is a brother of Devon Alexander. When he fought on the last Rising Stars card, no one knew who he was. I have never seen a fighter connect with the crowd so quickly. By the end of the fight, we had a room full of Vaughn Alexander fans.
“In our main event, we have Sullivan Barrera vs. Paul Parker. Jolene Mizzone, our matchmaker, had a hard time finding an opponent willing to fight Sullivan. Parker has half the professional fights of Sullivan but he demanded the fight. We want hungry fighters. We love fighters like that.
“Sullivan Barrera is a Cuban fighter who breaks the mold of a Cuban fighter. He is aggressive and he makes it interesting. He has one loss and that was to number one Pound for Pound fighter Andre Ward. He took Ward 12 rounds and made the fight exciting. It was one of two exciting fights that Andre Ward has been in, in a decade.
“I want to thank everyone – the media and the staff at Mohegan Sun for their support, lead by Tom Cantone and Mike Mazzuli. I want to thank our staff at Main Events. Thank you to HBO Latino for all of their support and to our sponsor Corona Extra.”
Derik Santos – Barrera’s Trainer
“Thank you for being here. I want thank the staff at Main Events. I hold them near and dear to my heart. Sullivan’s manager, Luis Molina, who is the best manager in the world to work with. I would like to thank HBO for having us back. I would like to thank Mohegan Sun for hosting this event. This is a great venue. Thank you to Mr. Parker and his team for stepping up to the plate and agreeing to fight us. Hopefully everyone comes out healthy. I hope everyone has a great time. The is a lot of great young talent like Cassius [Chaney] and Vaughn [Alexander] here. We are going to put on a show.”
Lamar Alexander – Alexander’s Trainer
“First I want thank God because without him we are nothing. I want to thank Kathy and Main Events for taking a chance on Vaughn and letting him live out his dream. He has definitely done the work. Personally, I have been around a lot of fighters. I was Devon’s [former world champion Devon Alexander] assistant trainer for a long time. We won world titles. But I have never seen a fighter dedicated like Vaughn. It is an unbelievable thing to see. His dedication is second to none. I am so happy for him. We both say we don’t believe in luck. It is hard work and preparation. When preparation meets opportunity, this is what happens. I can get emotional just talking about him. His comeback story is just amazing. He is just going to show you guys Saturday night.”
Roderick Colbert – Head Coach Paul Parker
“When Paul called, and asked me what I thought about this fight. I told him to take it. He is a hard worker. He has a lot of dedication. He has a good skill set. I wish we had a little more time to prepare but he is on the right track to come out victorious. You look for fighters like Paul because he never talks back and he accepts what I say. I believe he will prove himself to be worthy of this shot on Saturday night.”
Sullivan Barrera vs. Paul Parker is a 10-round light heavyweight bout presented by Main Events and Mohegan Sun as part of the Mohegan Sun’s Rising Stars Boxing Series. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. ET. The HBO Latino Boxing telecast begins at 11:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) with the ten-round middleweight match-up between Vaughn Alexander and Andres Calixto Rey. Tickets, which are priced at $50 and $75, are available now through Ticketmaster, the Mohegan Sun box office or the Main Events’ office. The card is presented by Main Events and sponsored by Corona Extra.