Lou DiBella Quotations

We want his next fight to be in Little Rock, but it would have to make economic sense to us. I need to get a sense of the corporate reaction that, frankly, we haven't seen for the smaller fights in Little Rock. We need a gate that's competitive with Vegas.

On June 17, everybody is going to see clearly who's the real champion.

Memphis has illustrated clearly that it is a boxing town and the FedEx Forum is one of the finest arenas in the country. We look forward to the Southern hospitality in June.

Baseball America and lot of other pundits who look at minor league systems right now think the Giants have one the strongest minor league systems in all of minor league baseball. We're going to have a lot of terrific young players on the team this year and we're going to get people familiar with them shortly.

He was too brave for his own good,

He had another surgery and his hand appears to be fine. He can't afford to break it again. I think he knows that this is it. He's been cleared by his doctors and by the (New York) commission. We're hoping for the best.

He had a good 24 hours, ... Doctors said the swelling in his brain did go down. They wouldn't go so far as to say he is out of danger, but they are now more optimistic.

He could be a lot more dangerous now, ... People look at his record with the (19 wins) and five KOs and think he's got nothing. He's going to sucker someone into a real good fight. I can see him going from this next fight to a guy like Oscar Diaz and then onto DeMarcus Corley.

He is to Atlantic City what Oscar De La Hoya is to Vegas. That building loves him.

It has an extremely strong, hard-core audience. It has been marginalized as a sport of cable TV. It's never been an advertiser-friendly sport because you don't know how long a bout will go, and some advertisers are hesitant due to its perception of something of a blood sport. But I don't think anyone is going to lose money on this bout.

It has an extremely strong, hard-core audience, ... It has been marginalized as a sport of cable TV. It's never been an advertiser-friendly sport because you don't know how long a bout will go, and some advertisers are hesitant due to its perception of something of a blood sport. But I don't think anyone is going to lose money on this bout.

My partners and I are not making the huge investment in Eastern Connecticut to go someplace else. That being said, if we do everything we can. If we hold up our end of the bargain and we aren't able to move the needle appreciatively, then we'll have to reevaluate things.

Most guys wouldn't be firing back when they are getting hit with that kind of (stuff),

We have to reconnect with the fans, the community and I think we're starting to do that,

To tell you the truth, that fight should have been stopped 30 seconds before it was.

While we are far more hopeful for Leavander's continued improvement and recovery, your prayers are important, and the family believes that prayers and good wishes are a continuing source of strength. Leavander Johnson's 16-year career as a professional fighter has been characterized by courage and the heart of a champion. He is facing this ordeal with that same champion's heart.

What a wonderful guy this was. And I've never met anybody so proud or so grateful to achieve his dream. If there's any solace to be taken in this, it's that he died doing what he loved. He died a champion.

Tony Weeks was told by Dr. Goodman to, 'Keep an eye on this kid. Don't let him take too much more.' If you have just been told that, yes, he should have stopped the fight earlier.

Tony Weeks 100 percent should have stopped the fight six or seven punches earlier,

There's still a lot of work to be done to get it done.

I squeezed his hand in the ambulance and he opened his eyes and said he had a terrible headache and then he passed out again.

This diminishes nothing. He is still the undisputed champion.

There'll be a lot of people who'll take pokes at boxing for this. We can be better for protecting our athletes. But this was not a situation where anyone failed Leavander Johnson. It was just God's will. It's a sport that's inherently dangerous.

There's a school of thought that as goes the heavyweight division, so goes boxing. To be honest, we haven't had a strong heavyweight attraction for a while. The sport is a lot healthier economically when the man who has biggest title is a big attraction.

That's a disincentive to being the undisputed champion.

It's not all about the belts. It's about winning and making money. The belts are important, but I have to take care of my fighter and his future.

The Connecticut Defenders are proud to announce that Norwich, Connecticut will remain our home.

I'm devastated. He was just a great kid. He loved his sport. He was grateful for the opportunities he got.

Ike wants a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya in 2006. He feels he needs to avenge that loss (on a split decision, February 1999) and I think Ike is a fresher fighter now.

I mean, this guy could die. It's a shame. He is such a nice kid. He is the nicest guy on Earth. He has a great family and he is a great guy. A good guy from a tough neighborhood.

I hope it's a great fight with a record number of punches thrown, ... Bob Canobbio had a great idea on how to make a significant donation to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina and we are more than happy to participate.

He's the best fighter with a bad record in boxing. That's why I promote him.

He's a quality opponent and we've spoken to his people, but nothing is signed yet and there's nothing done yet.

I don't think there's anyone to blame here other than the circumstances. Leavander has a heart of a champion, and that's why he's in the hospital. He's a victim of his own courage.

He's not in good shape. The brain started swelling and they were inducing a coma.