Joe DeGuardia Quotations

We are thrilled about the fact that in the first couple of hours we have sold over 5,000 tickets.

Unlike most promotions, what makes this fight so compelling is these two guys hate each other. That's what makes it so difficult to get them in the same city, let alone the same building on the same day. Unfortunately, their hatred is so deep, we can't get them in the same arena.

Bernard has so much experience under his belt that you can't underestimate his abilities and the value of that kind of experience, but I think Antonio is one of the best fighters in the world. That said, Antonio will have to be ready for the fight because Bernard will take a certain amount of emotion into the fight given that it is his last fight. And when you look at the last two fights and Bernard's feeling that he was treated unfairly by the judges against Taylor, I think it will further motivate him.

Antonio Tarver and Bernard Hopkins are two great champions who have enjoyed tremendous success. Both of them will be putting it all on the line in this highly anticipated fight. Fans will see them both fighting with the intense fire that only a fight like this can inspire.

There will be a lot on the line for these guys,

It's a pleasure to have Andre Ward on the Tarver-Jones 3 card. His accomplishments, including his spectacular gold medal winning performance in the Olympics, have shown that Andre is destined to be a world champ. In as much as Andre is a class gentleman outside the ring as well, I expect that he will be a champ to be proud of, and the HBO PPV fans should tune in early to catch a glimpse of this future star.

Tampa is not a hillbilly city. They know who Roy Jones and Antonio Tarver are. They know the deep lines of hatred these guys have for each other. That is what sells this fight. Sure, I'd love to have them in the same room because you can feel the tension. You can feel it. I'd love for the fans to see it, but if Roy doesn't show up until the week of the fight, or the night of the fight, what everybody will see is their hatred when they are in the ring.

Any time you make a fight with two stars, it's not easy. Both guys have their claim to being treated in a manner that makes it difficult when you have to slice up the pie, but we were able to do it.

Their desire to fight each other outweighed the dollar percentages. That's really what's enabled this fight to take place. They want each other.

I feel comfortable saying that the fight is on the horizon. I feel comfortable saying the fight is a 'go.' We've agreed to everything.

You won't hear any excuses from Antonio about having to lose the weight like Roy did. Antonio is a professional and he knows what he has to do. He will be on the mark. He's going to have to work to get down but it is not anything that he is unaccustomed to. When we were talking about making this fight I said to him, 'Are you sure you want to work this hard and come down to 175?' and he said he wants the biggest out there and that Hopkins was the biggest one out there.