Crawford-Postol undercard fighter quotes

By Karl Freitag
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Fighters featured on Saturday’s Crawford-Postol HBO-PPV undercard has their moment in the Fight Week spotlight at the undercard press conference on Thursday in Las Vegas.

In the co-feature, two-time Mexican Olympian and undefeated WBO #1 featherweight contender Oscar Valdez (20-0, 17 KOs) battles undefeated #2 rated Matias “La Cobrita” Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs) for the vacant WBO featherweight world title.

Oscar Valdez: “Ever since I was a little kid I dreamed of fighting for the WBO, trying to get the belt. And right now I’m very close to achieving [that dream]. I’m very excited for this. I train hard for all my fights, but for this one I trained extra hard because it’s for a world title. I’ve got nothing but respect for Matias Rueda. Like he said, inside the ring we’re gonna try and knock each other’s heads off…I’m going to do whatever I have to do to bring that belt back to Mexico.”

Matias Rueda: I’m ready. I come from Argentina with a great team to give a great fight on Saturday against Oscar Valdez. We came here to win. There’s no doubt about that. We did a lot of kilometers, a lot of rounds to come here to win and I’m going to show the world the next Argentinean superstar. I respect Oscar Valdez a lot, but after the first bell the respect is going to be gone and I’m here to win.

Former WBA interim world champion Jose Benavidez, Jr (24-0, 16 KOs) risks his undefeated record in a ten round welterweight bout against Francisco “Chia” Santana (24-4-1, 12 KOs).

Jose Benavidez, Jr: I’m ready to take this guy out. I know I have what it takes to beat him. I’m the stronger guy and come Saturday night we’re going to show who’s the bigger, stronger guy. I’m positive we’re gonna beat him. We had a great camp, I feel strong, I’m ready to take this guy out. I’m ready to fight!

Francisco Santana: I’m ready for this fight this Saturday to display and show the world what I’m really made of. I don’t like to talk. It’s not me, it’s not who I am. I don’t disrespect my opponents in any form or way. I let my fists do the talking. July 23rd you guys have to tune in because it’s going to be a war.

Undefeated 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (10-0, 8 KOs) defends his NABF light heavyweight title against two-time world title challenger Tommy Karpency (26-5-1, 15 KOs).

Oleksandr Gvozdyk: I’ll do my best to make this fight exciting.

Tommy Karpency: We’re here against a blue chip prospect. We know what we’e up against and we’re going to try to make the most of it.

12►