TOM LOEFFLER
“We saw GGG defending his titles. That’s boxing. We saw him defending his titles for the 21st time. We saw it 8-4, 7-5 for GGG, worst case maybe a draw. Glen Feldman had it a draw. Can’t take anything away from Canelo, it was a great fight from both guys. If two judges saw Canelo winning, we can’t argue with it. We said that we were happy with the officials going into the fight and we have to respect their decision after the fight.
“GGG, to us, is still the champion. He’s the peoples champion. I think we’ll probably see this fight a third time, because the second fight was even better than the first fight. So I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it a third time. They both made the most amount of money fighting each other the first time and the second time, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see it a third time.”
“Gotta give Canelo credit, he stood his ground, he pushed forward, and I was a little bit surprised about that. I thought he would be more defensive like the first time, but you gotta give him credit for fighting that way. He fought a much more entertaining fight, and you gotta give him credit for that.”
“(Gennady) said that Canelo never hurt him. They both got cut. That was the style that Gennady likes, he likes to engage, he likes other guys coming forward. Look, we thought with one point, Gennady gets a draw, and he keeps his titles, and it’s a whole different conversation. But we gotta make the best of the situation. There’s absolutely no shame for the GGG side tonight, and we’ll figure out what’s the next step.”
“I thought (GGG) fought a great fight. Like I said, we thought he won the fight, 8 rounds to 4 or 7 rounds to 5. And that’s not really being biased, that’s how we felt. If we felt that, then there was nothing off with the game plan. But at the same time, you can’t criticize Canelo. They had a great game plan, he fought a tremendous fight, I think they both fought a great fight, and it was a very entertaining fight for the fans. I have a feeling we’ll probably see this again.”
“I think Gennady had the cleaner punches. But again, that’s just analyzing it. He started out very controlling with the jab, he had some clean shots on Canelo. I think Canelo’s style, for whatever reason — Gennady will start out strong in the beginning of the rounds, and Canelo finishes strong in the end. And with what he does, he seems to sway the judging by his style.”
“I knew it was close. I had Gennady up, but I knew it was close. Harold Lederman had it 8-4 on HBO for GGG. That’s how I would’ve scored it. If you give Canelo one of the close rounds, 7-5. But again, whether it’s a draw, 7-5, or 8-4 GGG, there were close rounds. So that’s why we can’t jump up and down and complain. The 12th round, we thought that GGG won, and that would’ve been the deciding factor. Two judges, for whatever reason, gave Canelo the 12th round. That’s the way they saw it. We just go back and figure out if we do the third fight or what we wind up doing with GGG.”
“(Gennady) is OK, he’s fine. Everyone would be in a better mood if he had gotten a draw or he had gotten the decision, but Gennady’s fine. If we knew he lost or he had gotten injured, then it’s a whole different situation. When your team really feels that you won, there’s absolutely no shame in that. He’ll keep his head high.”
“It takes two to tango, and Canelo was there tonight to fight.”
“(Gennady) will definitely fight again, it depends on when. Whether it’s December, whether we wait until the spring, or May of next year. If we do the third Canelo fight, maybe May. It makes sense.”