FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, June 20th, 2015

NOTES & QUOTES FROM “PREMIER BOXING CHAMPIONS” ON NBC

“An impressive display…a huge victory for Porter.” – Marv Albert on Shawn Porter’s Victory over Adrien Broner

“It’s all Spence, and it’s all over.” – Marv Albert on Errol Spence Jr.’s Round 3 KO

“Broner the boxer is at the top of his game… Broner the entertainer is a bit concerning.” – “Sugar” Ray Leonard

LAS VEGAS – June 20, 2015 – Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC returned to primetime tonight from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Blow-by-blow announcer Marv Albert and analysts “Sugar” Ray Leonard and B.J. Flores called the action, with host Al Michaels, current middleweight titleholder and corner analyst Daniel Jacobs, and Kenny Rice reporting from ring-side. Live boxing continues now on NBCSN.

Tonight’s PBC on NBC broadcast featured three bouts — Errol Spence Jr.’s third-round KO of Phil Lo Greco, Terrell Gausha’s unanimous decision over Luis Grajeda, and Shawn Porter’s unanimous decision over Adrien Broner. 

Following are notes and quotes from tonight’s telecast:

ON BRONER-PORTER

Marv Albert on Shawn Porter’s unanimous decision victory: “An impressive display…a huge victory for Porter.”

“Sugar” Ray Leonard on Broner knocking down Porter in Round 12: “This shows the patience of Broner – he waited for the opportunity and he took advantage of it.”

BJ Flores on Broner knocking Porter down in Round 12: “Adrien Broner is a three-time world champion and he did exactly what he needed to do to get back in this fight…You have to give credit to Adrien for losing two or three of the last rounds and coming out with that perfect shot.”

Hall of Fame referee Steve Smoger on Tony Weeks taking a point away from Broner in Round 11 for holding: “Tony is an excellent referee, and you don’t want to take a point away in the title rounds but this was imperative to keep this fight straight.”

Daniel Jacobs on Broner’s corner prior to Round 7: “They are pleading with Broner to use that jab.”

Albert on Porter in Round 5: “The Porter camp flew in “Sugar” Shane Mosley to work on how to work his way out of clinches. They kind of knew what was coming up.”

Smoger on Broner in Round 4: “Tony [Weeks] is an excellent referee, but I think he’s too liberal with Adrien. All we’ve seen is four rounds of fouls and holding and forearms. There should be points starting to get taken away because he hasn’t engaged.”

Albert on Broner’s boxing trunks in Round 2: “Broner in the white – I will not begin to describe those particular trunks.”

Leonard in Round 1: “Both are nervous – although they will not say that – they’re both nervous. There’s a lot on the line here.”

Jacobs on Porter in Round 1: “Every time I fought Porter as an amateur, I always dreaded it…he’s really strong and he’s showing it.

Leonard on Broner (pre-fight): “We saw Broner a few months ago, he was very dominant. Broner the boxer is at the top of his game. He’s so quick, so accurate. Broner the entertainer is a bit concerning, because sometimes it gets a little bit too much. He’s a notorious showman, and he needs to let his hands do the talking tonight against Porter.”

Leonard on Porter (pre-fight):” Porter is the complete opposite of Broner. He’s quiet, reserved, focused, and very aggressive in the ring. Yesterday he told me he’s going to dictate this fight, using his size and his strength to go right after Broner.”

ON GAUSHA-GRAJEDA

Leonard on Gausha in Round 4: “That right hand is finding its target every time.”

Flores on Gausha in Round 3: “This is a great learning experience for Terrell Gausha, he had this guy hurt, he knocked him down, and he [Grajeda] got up. How do I finish the job and get him of here? This guy normally goes rounds with good prospects. Terrell Gausha still trying to put the paint brush on the paper and finish his Picasso.”

ON SPENCE JR.-LO GRECO

Albert on Spence Jr.’s Round 3 KO: “It’s all Spence and it’s all over.”

Leonard on Spence Jr.’s Round 3 KO: “Spence told me that he wanted this to be his coming out party – I would say he did that – very impressive.”

Leonard on Spence Jr. in Round 3: “The accumulations of punches come together quite well – body shots, head shots…He’s not rushing, he’s taking his time, very impressive.”

Albert on Spence Jr. just before his Round 3 KO: “As we mentioned earlier, 10 of Spence’s 13 knockouts have come in three rounds or less – a very impressive second round for Spence.”

Leonard on Lo Greco in Round 1: “You see those punches from Lo Greco – those are the right punches to the body. He really has to try and bring those hands down.”

Leonard on Spence Jr. (pre-fight): “U.S. Olympian, a solid amateur career, well-rounded, balanced fighter. He has great defense. He told me that a last-minute opponent change doesn’t bother him a bit.”

Al Michaels on Lo Greco (pre-fight): “A week ago tonight, Phil Lo Greco might have thought he’d be having dinner somewhere on Saturday night. He got the call four days ago.”

Jacobs on Lo Greco (pre-fight): “For any fighter, it’s always difficult to get that last minute phone call, but for Lo Greco, to his credit he was already in training camp with Jesse Vargas, and the only blemish on his record is the former world champion Shawn Porter, so he has that experience.”

ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

Smoger on being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame: “It was like achieving the Emmy, the Oscar, and even the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Albert: “Nobel Peace Price?”

Smoger: “Well, you have to keep peace in the ring. I’m very honored, I’m very humbled.”

Albert: “And as Ray and B.J. are aware, you are now making your home in Canastota, NY [home of International Boxing Hall of Fame], so you can visit those plaques on a daily basis.”

NBC Sports Group will present more than 50 hours of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) coverage in 2015, including cards on NBC and NBCSN, and NBCSN pre- and post-fight programming for NBC telecasts. The Premier Boxing Champions series is created for television by Haymon Boxing.  The PBC on NBC will feature many of today’s brightest stars, in their most compelling matches.

NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will stream coverage on NBC and NBCSN via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store and Apple TV. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–