(MARCH 3) Today the final
press conference was held for the all-female card that will take
place in Flint, Michigan on March 5, 2021. These are the quotes
from the fighters and their teams and others. A special
thank you to the photographer, Silvia Jones of ILE Photography
who covered the conference earlier today. This is NOT
an all-women's boxing card---there are two male bouts also on
the card.
“…I was trying to find the words to describe Marie-Eve and I
know she’s quick and dedicated and strong. But the best word I
found… and forgive me… but she’s contagious… She always
convinces her opponents that she’s the best of the group. Be
careful, Claressa, when she touches you in the ring. She’s very
contagious.”
Yvon Michel, Promoter of Marie-Eve Dicaire
“If Marie-Eve is contagious, I want to remind you that they
just announced a one-shot vaccine, and her name is Claressa
Shields.”
Dmitriy Salita, Promoter of Claressa Shields
This card will be livestreamed at 9pm EST | 8pm CST | 6pm PST on
FITE.TV and VIVE NETWORK and distributed by InDemand through
their existing cable, satellite, and telco providers for just
$29.95.
Shields and Dicaire were joined on the press conference stage by
event and Shields promoter, Dmitriy Salita, and Dicaire’s
promoter Yvon Michel. Here is what they all had to say:
Claressa Shields
I want to thank all my fans who bought the pay-per-view. This a
huge moment for me an Marie-Eve Dicaire. I’ve never been off
boxing for 13 months ad I’ve never wanted to get back in the
ring so much. Training is ok and sparring is cool, but I don’t
have the same intensity that I have when it comes to the fight
and the belts are on the line and I’m fighting against a whole
other country.
To be honest, some of my hardest
fights in the amateurs came from girls that were from Canada,
even though I was very victorious in those fights. 77-1 in the
amateurs. Canada has a strong background in boxing. I’m excited
to be in the ring with someone like Marie-Eve Dicaire, who I
feel wants to win as much a me and can accept how big this
moment is.
Everybody is in for a good fight and this is just a great
moment.
Thank you to all my friends and fans who reached out to me. I
don’t box for a hobby. It’s not a hobby. It’s my career and I
feel like people underestimate me when I speak about how great I
am. But if I didn’t say how great I am, no one in this room
would have ever called me great because they just don’t
recognize it. Only the greats know that they’re great.
Like Muhammad Ali. Nobody called him the greatest of all time.
They actually called him the ‘Louisville Lip’ because he talked
too much. If he had never said he was the greatest of all time,
he would have never been considered the greatest of all time. No
matter what boxer comes along, nobody can get in front of
Muhammad Ali. That’s how I feel about myself.
Muhammad Ali is the greatest of all time and Claressa Shields is
second. I am the greatest woman of all time and 98% of men in
the world can’t beat me.
I want you to know I’m not taking prisoners. This is a new era
for me. My name from now on is Claressa “The Wolf” Shields.
T-Rex has long gone. T-Rex was aggressive, but the greatest of
all time has so much more. She possesses poise, power and punch
placement.
I saw in an interview she said she’s not worried about the
outcome, she’s worried about the task. Well, I’m worried about
the outcome. I’ve known what the task is for the last 13 months.
I’m concerned about the outcome because I don’t like losing.
When I lost my first fight when I was 17, I didn’t sleep again
until I was 21 when I won my second Olympics. That’s how
personally I take this fight. I’m hoping she can bring out a
different side of me because a lot of girls haven’t been able to
take me to level three. I’m hoping she can take me to level 10.
Marie-Eve Dicaire
Honestly, I don’t know with the context we are in right now with
the world, if it’s a good thing to be contagious, but I’ll take
it as a compliment.
I’m happy and thrilled to here. Like Dmitriy and Yvon said
before, it’s been a hell of a year, a year of postponement and
disappointment but now it’s finally on. I’m here and I’m
enjoying every moment of this adventure. When I became a world
champion, I was like is that it? Is there something more? This
is when I started focusing on being an undisputed champion.
Facing Claressa Shields is, for
me, the opportunity of a lifetime. I worked all my life to get
here. My work, my sweat and my blood got me here, so for sure
I’m going to be 100% in the ring. I’m looking forward to Friday.
Dmitriy Salita
We specifically, scheduled this event for March 5, on the
weekend of international women’s day, so that the best female
fight of the year happens at an appropriate time that highlights
the work of incredible women around the world.
This fight won’t only be broadcast in the United States. It’ll
also be seen in China, Argentina, Panama, Canada, in Africa,
Poland, Russia, The Philippines, and several other countries.
This event has been a year in the making. Literally a year ago,
we were first supposed to have a press conference to announce
this fight and then the pandemic came. The initial date of May 9
was cancelled. Shortly thereafter, we tried to reschedule the
fight several times to no fruition. Then in December we decided
the best way to do this fight was to do it ourselves on
pay-per-view.
Marie-Eve Dicaire could have said no and not taken this fight,
but she is a real world champion.
Claressa Shields vs. Marie-Eve Dicaire is truly one of the
biggest fights of the year.
Yvon Michel
I can’t believe how thrilled we are to be here today. Thank you
to everyone involved.
Thank you to Dmitriy Salita and Mark Taffet. It has been very
difficult we know. You had to have a lot of determination to put
on this historic event and we have a lot of respect and
admiration for you.
We have a lot of respect and admiration for Claressa Shields
also, she did everything she had to do to have this event to be
a special one for women. One day the women’s fights will be
equal to any men’s fight because the quality of the athletes is
nothing to be ashamed of compared to men.
I want to apologize for my strong French accent, but I can’t
deny my roots and I’m proud of it. I think Claressa probably
misunderstood me the other day when I spoke about Roy Jones Jr.
I didn’t mean to compared Marie-Eve to Roy Jones’ skill or
athleticism or what she has done. My comparison was about her
commitment; her dedication and her desire to get better at
everything.
You will find about Marie-Eve Dicaire… I was trying to find the
words to describe Marie-Eve and I know she’s quick and dedicated
and strong. But the best word I found… and forgive me… but she’s
contagious. She beautifies everything she touches. She has
enthusiasm for everybody who works with her. She can convince
the most skeptical to her cause. And in the ring, she can
persuade. She always convinces her opponents that she’s the best
of the group. Be careful, Claressa, when she touches you in the
ring. She’s very contagious.
The night’s co-main event will feature undefeated former amateur
world champion Danielle Perkins (2-0, 1 KO) of Houston, Texas,
fighting an eight-round rematch to her exciting non-stop
slugfest with Waycross, Georgia’s Monika “Lay Em Down” Harrison
(2-1, 1 KO) for the WBC Silver Heavyweight Championship.
Also appearing on the broadcast will be women’s star, former
amateur world champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Marlen
Esparza (8-1, 1 KO) of Houston returning to action against
Canadian veteran Shelly Barnett (3-1-2, 2 KO) in a six-round
bantamweight special attraction, and in the broadcast opener,
undefeated bantamweight Jamie “The Miracle” Mitchell (5-0-2, 3
KO) of Pacific Grove, California, will look to continue her
climb up the 118-pound rankings against tough Florida-based
veteran Noemi “La Rebelde / No-No” Bosques (12-15-3, 2 KO) over
six rounds.
This is NOT an all-women's boxing card---there are one male
bouts also on the card.
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