BKB – ROSADO VS. STEVENS MEDIA CALL TRANSCRIPT
Marc Hello. This is Marc Altieri. I handle PR for BKB and I want to thank everybody who’s participating with us in today’s teleconference. As you know by now, we’re here today to discuss a recently announced main event match up for BKB 2, the second BKB event at the Mandalay Event Center on April 4th at 10:00 p.m. eastern time. The event is going to be, once again, nationally broadcast via pay-per-view. It will be available from DIRECTV and Dish, as well as cable and teleco providers through in-demand and Viewbiquity.
Also today, we’re on hand to talk about the unique angle of technology and fight information, digital information that’ll be delivered to the viewers of this event. So, if there are questions about that, we can certainly take those as well.
On the call with us today and available for questions are reigning BKB Middleweight Champion Gabe Rosado; his opponent for BKB 2, Curtis Stevens; Executive Director, Bruce Binkow of BKB, and DIRECTV Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Production, Chris Long. We also have Jolene Mizzone, Vice President of Operations and Matchmaking for Main Events.
Now, before we get started and jump into Q&A, I want to give everybody a bit of a background if I may about BKB. BKB was developed to provide boxing and combat sports fans with an intensified and highly aggressive version of Boxing Sweet Science. To achieve this, BKB relies on a total unique format. At the heart of the format is the pit, which is a circular fighting space that is 17 feet in diameter, is significantly smaller than a conventional boxing ring. The pit has no ropes and obviously it has no corners, and is designed to produce an increased level of toe-to-toe action and highlight real worthy knockouts.
It also includes a perimeter area that is padded and is referred to as the safety zone. Fighters are allowed to step back in this area at any point in the fight they feel is necessary. If a fighter intentionally steps into the safety zone, the referee will issue a standing eight count, much in the same fashion as when a fighter takes a knee conventional boxing. It’s the referee’s discretion whether or not the fighter intentionally or unintentionally enters the safety zone and whether not the standing eight count is required.
All other scoring and rules are the same as with conventional boxing. BKB fighters also utilize the same eight and ten-ounce gloves as are used in conventional boxing. BKB’s fights are sanctioned and regulated by and adhere to all safety and medical regulations of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Many of you may know the inaugural BKB event at Mandalay Bay back in August certainly demonstrated the format and the effectiveness of this format in delivering this more intensified, action-packed brand of boxing, and we expect nothing less for BKB 2 this coming April.
One more thing is just to iterate that BKB is by no means designed with a notion of replacing boxing, but rather to provide fight fans yet another option to feed their appetites for the sport. Now before we get started with questions, I’d like to introduce our main event fighters and allow them to make a couple of statements.
Gabe Rosado claimed the first BKB Middleweight Championship Belt in a hard fought battle against Bryan Vera at BKB 1. Gabe definitely demonstrated the type of action that BKB brings to fans during that first event, and we’re extremely excited to see what he brings to BKB 2. So without further ado, let me introduce Gabe Rosado.
Gabe Hello. Thanks for having me, Marc. I’m just excited about this event. The first one was a bang with Bryan Vera. It was like exciting for the fans and exciting for me. So, I’m just looking forward to the opportunity of putting another show come April 4th.
Marc Excellent. Thank you, Gabe. We’re also very excited to bring Curtis Stevens into BKB as Gabe’s next opponent. Much like Gabe, Curtis is well-known for being an aggressive fighter, a power puncher who likes to get to the center of a ring and proactively take the fight to his opponents. This is exactly a style of fighting that exists to showcase every step of the way. As many of you know, Curtis is currently being trained by Sugar Shane Mosley.
We have no doubt that Curtis will deliver the intensive brand of boxing action that BKB stands for when he steps into the pit at BKB 2. So with that, let me introduce Curtis Stevens.
Curtis Good morning, everyone. Thanks for having me. BKB, I like it because it’s like you can’t run, nowhere to hide in general and facing Gabe Rosado [indiscernible] as of yet. So, it should be fireworks come April 4th.
Marc Thanks, Curtis. So with that, we’d like to get to the business of the call, which is to open the floor to the media that attending for questions.
Moderator Our first question comes from the line of Steve Carp with the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Steve Good morning, guys. Hello, Gabe. How are you?
Gabe Hello. How are you doing? Good morning.
Steve I’m good, good. What still resonates with you from your debut with BKB last August?
Gabe I just love the excitement that it brought; doing something new. It felt like a breath of fresh air. I got a couple of unlucky breaks in traditional boxing, and then getting involved with BKB, it just felt like something new, something fresh. I was just really excited about. I trained really hard for that fight and I became the BKB Middleweight Champion and this is a title that I want to hold on. So, I’m looking forward to just training extremely hard for this fight and put on a great show for the fans.
Steve Do you feel you have a significant advantage because you’ve been in it and he hasn’t?
Gabe You can definitely put the experience factor on my side, performing in BKB already. I’m familiar with the ring. I’m just familiar with the surroundings of it.
But, at the end of the day, being a true fighter, once the bell rings, you kind of lose yourself in the fight. You don’t think too much of it; at least I didn’t. Once the bell rung, it didn’t feel no different. I just had to fight.
Steve Very good. Bruce, are you there?
Bruce I’m here.
Steve Hello, Bruce.
Bruce Hello, Steve.
Steve Good. Two things; one, why the decision to delay BKB 2 in Nevada to April, and are you concerned at all that any momentum you may have gained from August in terms of traction with fans and people who watched may have been lost because of the long space between the two cards?
Bruce I think that the answer is that I think that the BKB management wisely chose to build a card that was worthy of the fans’ support. The reaction last time was so overwhelmingly positive, and it certainly would have been easy to squeeze another one before the end of last year, but a lot of time was spent on trying to craft the right card with the right fighters, the right styles to be able to deliver another stellar event.
Now, would we have liked to have had more frequency? Yes, and of course and hopefully going forward that’ll be the case. But, I think ultimately, the goal is to put the best product in the pit as we possibly can.
Steve All right. So, you answered my other question. Was that just an anomaly or will BKB evolve into a more frequent participant on the sports suite here in Nevada? So, you’ve answered that question. Great. Thanks, Bruce. Appreciate it.
Bruce Sure, Steve. Thank you.
Moderator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line Daniel Rauch with Full Contact Fighter.
Daniel I wanted to ask Showtime what it feels like to be in this new format. I know that Mr. Rosado mentioned that he got bad breaks in the sports, and you seem to be on top of this even though you’ve had some tough fights recently. How does it feel to be in this format, and does it feel that this BKB is actually made for your style?
Curtis I’m an aggressive fighter in general. There’s no ropes within the BKB format. So, it should fit myself very well. But, like to sum it all up, I’m a fighter in general. So, you can put me in any area. I’m going to fight regardless. So, it doesn’t really matter with ropes or no ropes. I’m going to fight. I’ve come to fight in general.
Daniel Have you had a chance to actually train in the arena and the pit and feel what it’s like to circle around in there and to move in there?
Curtis No. Like I say, I’m a fighter. I wouldn’t care what you put me in. I’m going to fight whether it’s a circle, square or triangle, octagon. But, I’m going to go see it later on and go in the ring and see, just the see the diameter of it. I really wouldn’t care what it was, whether it’s a little cage in general. I’m going to fight. I fight for a living.
Daniel Much respect to you, man. It’s excellent to see somebody at the top of their game in this new promotion.
Curtis Thank you.
Moderator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Percy Crawford with Fighthype.com.
Percy I have a question for Gabe. Gabe, are you there?
Gabe Yes, man. How are you doing?
Percy I’m doing good. How are you doing, man?
Gabe Good, man, good.
Percy When you’re training for these BKB fights, is it defensive oriented being that the opportunity to get hit in this format seems to be more—the opportunity are greater to get hit more, or do you just train like you’re preparing for a fight in a square [indiscernible]?
Gabe It’s a fight. I treat it like any other fight, honestly. There’s nothing that I really change. I think what suits me well about the pit is that, in a traditional boxing ring, I never really play the ropes. You go to any of my fights and you’ve never seen me laying on the ropes. So, it’s easy for me to stay off the ropes. I think that’s the most important thing, just being able to utilize the ring without playing the ropes. Being that there’s no ropes, that suits me.
Percy Do you see similarity in Curtis Stevens that you saw in Bryan Vera, or do you compare him to a completely different animal?
Gabe Styles are not exactly the same, but I think in this format, it’ll play out the same because, Curtis, he says he’s aggressive. So, I feel that his style will suit me and it’ll kind of play out how the Bryan Vera fight played out.
Percy Do you close the ring down any when you prepare for these fights, or are you training in a normal ring, with the space allowed in that ring, or do you close it down a little bit?
Gabe No, not really. Pretty much it’s just boxing in a circle, staying within the middle of the ring and just standing your ground. I mean that’s what it really comes down to. The man that doesn’t back up is most likely to have the upper hand. So, it’s just all about standing your ground.
Percy All right. I appreciate it. Curtis, I’ve got something for you too, man. Are you there?
Curtis Yes.
Percy At this stage in your career now, like one of the callers said earlier, you’ve had some tough breaks, but for the most part, you’ve had a great deal of success. Why bring on Shane Mosley at this stage, man? Did you just feel it was time for a change?
Curtis To tell you the truth, after my last fight—I knew Shane for quite a while. After my last fight, he came in the back and just was telling me like he see where I was having problems and he offered a helping hand. So, I’d be a fool not take on a helping hand from a future Hall of Famer and Sugar Shane Mosley. So, I just took him and he just got it to work.
Percy I actually have a similar question for Gabe. A lot of your success in the knockout department comes with your hooks. Is it important for you to close those down now that you’re in a situation where the other fighter can off just like you because of the limited space, or do you just have to beat Curtis Stevens come April 4th?
Gabe I mean I think it’s all about using—what I plan like the game plan out, it’s just kind of using that to your advantage. So, I saw that this fight is a fight of reaction, and Shane is—the speed is so quick; it’s two minute, seven rounds, that it’s all about who’s the quicker guy, who moves the ax quicker. I think when it comes to be sharp mentally I think I have the advantage and I think that’s what going to suit me best going into this fight.
Percy I appreciate it, man. Jolene, are you there?
Jolene Yes, I’m here.
Percy Hello, Jolene. How are you doing?
Jolene Good. How are you?
Percy I’m doing good. You do a great job over at Main Events. I know a lot of people don’t really understand the role, but you play a huge role over there. How is this different in helping out them as opposed to preparing for a boxing event because I know how hectic and stressful boxing events can be. Is this any different, or is this pretty much the same wavelength?
Jolene It’s pretty much the same. There’s really no difference. Like there’s the conference calls. Everything leading up to the actual fight is basically the same. It’s the same logistical obstacles as boxing. So, it’s really nothing different. It’s just different in the way of promotional-wise. Everybody does everything different.
I mean the BKB has been doing a great job promotionally, which Main Events always has embraced. So, it’s refreshing to actually see.
Percy That was another question I had. What was the, I guess, deciding factor to let Main Events fighters participate in the BKB events because it may be something that when you’re looking at wanting to increase the knockout ratio, some promoters may not want their fighters in it. What was the determining factor to let Main Events fighters to participate?
Jolene Oh, it was actually Curtis’ decisions. I mean at the end of the day, he’s the only one who’s getting in that circle, or in the square at the end of the day. So, he had to feel comfortable.
Me, speaking for myself, being in the business for 17 years, I’m a fan of BKB. I am and Curtis is also. I mean he has the right style. It makes sense. The timing, everything about it makes sense. He seems to be embracing it. It’s working out for everybody. It’s a great matchup in the circle; I mean with Gab and Curtis, I mean it’s a great matchup. So, I think everybody’s gotten everything they’ve wanted thus far, including Main Events.
Percy All right. Well, best of luck to you guys. Thank you.
Jolene Thank you.
Moderator Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Steven Gallegos with thetitlefight.com.
Steven Curtis, how are you today, buddy?
Curtis I’m okay. How are you doing?
Steven Pretty good. Okay, your former trainer, Andre Rozier used to stretch that there’s no overtime in boxing and he wants you to get in and out as quickly as possible. Is that still going to be the case with BKB’s format, that you’re just going to try in there and just try and the fight as quickly as possible?
Curtis BKB is just two minutes. Regular boxing is three minutes. So, when I heard it was two minutes, I’m like, oh, it’s just like the amateur days – you get in, you get out. So, I think that’s just going to rewind me back into time when I was 17, 16, 15. You just got to get in there and just put the pain on them. There ain’t much more to do.
Steven Okay. So, how’s working with Sugar Shane Mosley—
Gabe It’s not like the amateurs. It’s nothing like the amateurs, but go ahead.
Curtis Say it again.
Steven How’s the work with Sugar Shane Mosley been?
Curtis Oh, Sugar Shane. It’s cool. It’s great. He’s showing me different aspects, different things that I stopped doing and bringing it back. He’s a fighter. He’s been in the ring. So, things that my uncle could have showed me, Shane has shown me because he’s been in the right for numerous years and been fighting as a pro. So, it’s just different that he’s been in there.
Steven Okay, and I’ve got a question for Bruce. Bruce, it’s been reported about special types of gloves that they’re going to be using for this event. Tell us some more about that.
Bruce I’m going to let Chris Long talk about that because he’s been on the forefront of it. It’s really some exciting technology, and I don’t want to risk getting it wrong. Chris, do you want to take that one?
Chris Yes, no problem. So, what we’re doing is we worked with a group of North Carolina called Fight Dynamics that invented a chip and through Bluetooth technology, the chip is put into the glove. It’s been approved by the Commission, and it’s pretty small chip. It’s about the size of a dime. What happens is with the Fight Dynamics guys and our friends at Reality Check Systems we were able to build an algorithm for the chip to speak to our graphics machines in the truck and imprint time code. We’re able to put together a pretty robust graphics package that will display the speed of the punch and the pounds per inch in real time.
So, we will be the first ones to be able to do this live on April 4th. We’ve worked the last two years trying to prefect the technology.
Steven Okay. It kind of sounds like Rocky IV, when they were training with Ivan Drago showing the punching power they had. Is it similar to that?
Chris Well, I look exactly like Dolph Lundgren. So, it’s a really good analogy that you’re using. Just kidding. It’s a little similar to that, but what happens is that because you have the chip in the glove, it basically is Bluetooth technology, which it tracks the speed of your throwing arm. The display of the graphics will be similar to Rocky IV, but I don’t want to use that as an exact analogy.
In the press release, there are pictures, still frames of what it’ll look like during the fight that you can get from Robert and Marc Altieri, but it’s pretty exciting stuff. For the viewer, that’s what we’re really concerned about is that they get to feel who’s had the hardest punch of the fight. It’s really more for entertainment value. For us, we just want to show the viewers that there’s a going on during a fight. Does a guy’s punch get stronger during the fight, or does it get weaker during the fight?
So, there are ways to do it, but this will be our first event, and we’re really going to try to give it our best to maybe perfect it and give the viewer’s something they’ve never seen before.
Steven Okay. Sounds interesting. Well, that’s all the questions I have. Best of luck to Curtis. Good luck, Gabe, as well.
Gabe Thank you.
Moderator Thank you. There are no additional questions waiting from the phone lines.
Marc Well, I think if everybody’s in agreement, if there are no additional questions, I think we can probably close the call. I would reiterate to Chris’ point that if anybody on the call, web, print writers, if you need imagery that Chris alluded to, the on-screen displays of the technology and the telemetry that’ll be shown during the fight or shots of the glove, we certainly can provide those for you. So, you would just work back with Zac Herndon and Mike Whitmark and the team that have been contacting you and facilitating your participation in the call.
I really can’t thank everybody enough for participating. We really appreciate it. We’re super excited obviously for BKB 2. We really believe this is going to take the bar just another step further for us in the evolution of this unique form of the sport.
Thanks so much for everybody’s time today. We appreciate it.
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