ADRIEN BRONER, WBC Lightweight World Champion
“I knew he [Rees] was going to come to fight. He’s a world-class fighter.
“He [Rees] kept coming. He threw every shot like it was his best shot. I knew he would hang.
“When you have two world-class fighters going toe-to-toe, it’s going to be a great fight.
“Thanks to everyone who came out. It’s [NBA] All-Star Weekend and you came to see an All-Star.
“He’s [Rees] tougher than a steak that’s been well done.
“If I fought Ricky Burns, he would get burnt out. I want to fight him, but if he doesn’t want to fight me. Oh well.
“There are high expectations for me to take boxing over after [Floyd] Mayweather and [Manny] Pacquiao hang up their gloves.
“Tonight was a nice fight. I have to go back and watch it. Overall I felt pretty. I just looked in the mirror and I still look good.
“I would fight 10 times a year if I could.”
GAVIN REES, Former World Champion
“He’s [Broner] the best I have ever been in [the ring] with. It’s not a case of whether he will go on to be a super star… he is already there.
“I made a lot of mistakes and I believe I have a better skill set than that.
“I knew he [Broner] hit hard, but his power just stunned me. I got reckless and that was the end of the night, but I was always going to get back up.
“I would have gone on until I was knocked out cold. I disagree with Gary pulling me out, but he knows that I would have gotten hurt. We are good friends and he was just looking out for me.”
MIKE STAFFORD, Broner’s Trainer
“We knew Gavin was going to come in [to fight]. I wanted Adrien to take his time and pick his punches.
“He made mistakes and Adrien countered each mistake he made.
“Gavin was a great fighter for two rounds. I knew he was going to try his best to take Adrien out and Adrien capitalized on his mistakes and picked him apart.
“Believe it or not, you haven’t seen the whole package deal. It’s a secret that we behold in the gym.”
GARY LOCKETT, Rees’ Trainer
“I was going to pull him out in the fourth. I considered pulling him out after the third, but I knew he would say ‘there is no way.'”
# # #
Broner vs. Rees, a 12-round fight for Broner’s WBC Lightweight World Championship took place Saturday, February 16 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, R & R Promotions, sponsored by Caesars Atlantic City and Corona and was televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing. The co-main event was a 12-round WBC super middleweight title eliminator between undefeated number one rated contender Nikola Sjekloca and number two rated contender Sakio Bika.
