Mike Mollo: I Want Szpilka!

Mollo Decides Szpilka Rematch is Right Direction Chicago heavyweight "Merciless" Mike Mollo (20-4, 12 KOs) says he's thought it over and there is only one fight that make sense for him right now. "I want the Artur Szpilka rematch. That's the only fight I want." Mollo suddenly finds himself a hot commodity after the back-and-forth war he and Poland's Szpilka waged on February 1 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Despite fighting through a mask of blood from cuts caused by accidental fouls, Mollo had the undefeated Polish fighter on the floor twice before being knocked out by a perfect shot in round six.   The 33-year-old had been fielding offers to face other fighters, but has now made up his mind: the rematch with Szpilka (13-0, 10 KOs) will be next. "I want this rematch because of all the injustices in the last fight. I was winning! I should have never been allowed out for the sixth round with the cuts I had from elbows and headbutts. It should have been stopped and gone to the scorecards, like any other professional boxing match, but instead they sent me out to slaughter unable to see." Mollo maintains that referee Celestino Ruiz (especially) made several serious errors in judgment during the fight that prevented him from winning. "He (Ruiz) was cursing at me! You can hear it on TV. He deducted a point from me for nothing and started warning me he would disqualify me.  Not to mention all the fouls from Szpilka he missed. Even if you were at the fight, watch it on TV. Get a better look at the ESPN version and you'll see what I was dealing with. He told my corner my cuts were from legal punches after he had officially ruled they were from fouls. It was a disgrace." Mollo says given time to prepare properly, he knows he has what it takes to derail the Szpilka express in a second fight. "I know my abilities. I know how hard I punch. There's not a man in the heavyweight division that can take it when I crack them. I wasn't 100% for the first fight. I was lacking in some areas, and had some ring rust. Plus I broke my toe on Thanksgiving and couldn't run all of December. I only had four weeks to get in shape. I know if we fight again with a different ref and everybody watching to see if they try to cheat me, it'll be different." Despite losing, Mollo says his performance against Szpilka has raised people's awareness of him at home and in the boxing world. "Finally people got to see me for who I am. They got to see my abilities and will and my desire and see what Mike Mollo is about." After putting on the kind of unforgettable display of heart and desire that Mike Mollo put on in his last fight, there are plenty of lucrative avenues he could take. But first he has a score to settle. "I want Szpilka. That's what needs to be done. So let's do it."

Smith Taking an Honest Approach to Castillo Fight

Antwone "The Truth" Smith didn't get his nickname because it rhymes with his last name - the 26-year-old Miami resident has a habit of telling the truth no matter what you ask him. Smith (22-4-1, 12 KOs) will face two-time former world champion Jose Luis "EL Temible" Castillo (64-11-1, 55 KOs) in the 10-round welterweight co-main event for this Friday's (February 1) ESPN Friday Night Fights-televised "King" Carlos Molina vs. Cory "The Next Generation" Spinks 12-round main event at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. "I feel like a lot of guys on TV try to be somebody different and I want to be myself and be the truth," said Smith of his ring moniker. "What you see is what you get. I'm not one way on camera and one way off." So what does he think of his well-known and possible future hall-of-fame next opponent? "He (Castillo) has the best name of anyone I fought; I guess you could say that. But to be honest, before he passed, my favorite fighter was Diego Corrales, so I'm definitely not a fan of his. He's just a typical Mexican fighter and I'm prepared for the best version of him there has ever been, so if anything less than that shows up, he's going to have a problem." Smith has no problem admitting he's in an almost "no win" situation facing Castillo. "A loss against him would be devastating, but I don't think a win would do much for me because people will just say he's old. I just want to stay busy and get this win and hope it propels me to something bigger and better. If you win fights like this it's no big deal. If you lose, it's bad." Not one to pre-plan much of anything that happens during his fights, Smith says he's more of an ad-libber. "I never really think about how a fight is going to go. I just deal with it when it comes. When I get in the ring, I go with the flow. When you have a plan, if things don't go as planned, that's when you have a problem. It depends on what Castillo does. Maybe he'll come forward, maybe he won't. If I'm anticipating him to come forward and he doesn't, I'm already out of my game." ### Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions, Warriors Boxing and Blue Wave Boxing in association with Don King Productions, advance tickets are priced are $151, $101, $51 and $31 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000), the 8 Count Productions Offices,312-226-5800 or the UIC Pavilion Box Office, 312-413-5740. In a special attraction eight round clash, fast rising Polish heavyweight prospect Artur "The Pin" Szpilka will battle Chicago based heavyweight contender "Merciless" Mike Mollo. Additionally featuring in separate bouts will be local favorites; middleweight contender Donovan "Da Bomb" George, 23-3-1 (20 KO's), highly regarded and undefeated super middleweight prospect Mike "Hollywood" Jimenez, 8-0-0 (5 KO's) and popular welterweight newcomer Jimmy Murphy, 1-0-0 (1 KO). Further details on this world-class evening of professional boxing will be announced shortly. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, at the corner of Harrison and Racine on the campus of University of Illinois-Chicago. Doors on the night of the event will open at 7 pm with the first bell at 7:45 pm.

Mollo Looking to Flip the Script against Szpilka

"I'm going to explode on him and we'll see how he takes it." Chicago's "Merciless" Mike Mollo (20-3-1, 12 KOs) knows what the script says: Even though he's in his own hometown, he's being brought into to lose to fast-rising Polish heavyweight prospect Artur "The Pin" Szpilka. However, Mollo says that's NOT the way it's going to go. The two will meet on the undercard of the ESPN Friday Night Fights-televised "King"Carlos Molina vs. Cory "The Next Generation" Spinks 12-round IBF Junior Middleweight Title Eliminator on February 1 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions, Warriors Boxing and Blue Wave Boxing in association with Don King Productions, the exciting night of boxing will also feature a 10-round welterweight battle between two-time former world champion Jose Luis "EL Temible" Castillo (64-11-1, 55 KOs) and Florida's Antwone "The Truth" Smith (22-4-1, 12 KOs) as the televised co-main event. "I made a few bad business decisions, especially promotional-wise, and I've had three huge fights fall through on me on short notice, but what the boxing world may not know is that I haven't been sitting around drinking beer and eating pizza. That's not the case. I've been training the whole time for these fights. I'm in top shape and ready to go. I'm not some guy coming in for a payday." Mollo says he's watched Szpilka in action and remains a lot less impressed than most. "I don't think he's everything they say he is. We're going to find out February 1. He's fast and can hit a little, but I don't think he's the beast that he thinks he is. If they're looking for an easy opponent, they should keep looking. I'm in great shape. I've put in a lot of hard work and all I have to do is hit him, which I'm going to. I'm going to explode on him. We'll see how he takes it. I have never been down in my life. 25 professional fights and never hit the canvas. I know he's been down, so we'll see what he's made of. I already know what I'm made of. I'm all guts and heart." Mollo, training at Go Time Boxing in Chicago and sparring with former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski and undefeated heavyweight David Latoria, says February 1 is going to be a great night for Chicago boxing. "It's going to be mobbed. He'll probably have the Polish community out to watch him. And I have people renting buses to come watch me. It's going to be awesome. I know it'll be on Polish TV. I'm definitely TV worthy. I've proved myself." So if he's not going to follow the pre-written script, how does Mollo think the fight will go? "I'm just going to go in and do what I do, which is fight my fight and do what I'm capable of. I think it will work and so does my team. I'm going to cut the ring off and not follow him around everywhere and we'll see what he does when a determined heavyweight is walking him down all night." The colorful Szpilka, who enters the ring in a jail uniform, has been known to be unpredictable in and out of the ring. Is Mollo worried about Szpilka's antics becoming a factor at the weigh-in or press conference? "I highly recommend he not do that. I got a lot of friends in this neighborhood who won't put up with any of that stuff. He should keep the peace." ### Presented by 8 Count Productions, Round 3 Productions, Warriors Boxing and Blue Wave Boxing in association with Don King Productions, advance tickets are priced are $151, $101, $51 and $31 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000), the 8 Count Productions Offices, 312-226-5800 or the UIC Pavilion Box Office, 312-413-5740. Additionally featuring in separate bouts will be local favorites; middleweight contender Donovan "Da Bomb" George (23-3-1, 20 KOs), highly regarded and undefeated super middleweight prospect Mike "Hollywood" Jimenez (8-0-0, 5 KOs) and popular welterweight newcomer Jimmy Murphy (1-0, 1 KO). Further details on this world-class evening of professional boxing will be announced shortly. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, at the corner of Harrison and Racine on the campus of University of Illinois-Chicago. Doors on the night of the event will open at 7 pm with the first bell at 7:45 pm.