The promoters and fighters involved with The Bantamweight Tournament: Winner Takes All – a two-stage, single-elimination tournament of 118-pounders – took center stage on Thursday in the final press conference to discuss the two Semifinal bouts set to take place on Saturday, Dec. 11, LIVE on SHOWTIME® from Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash, boxingscene.com reported.

In the opening bout, undefeated, world-ranked rising star Abner Mares (20-0-1, 13 KOs), of Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, will face two-division world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan (35-2-1, 27 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, by way of Armenia.

“Mares is good. I've seen his fights. He's strong. He's fast. But on the night of the fight, I'll slow him. I'll take away his strengths. You will see a new Vic Darchinyan, hungry and motivated like a young fighter,” Darchinyan said. “I go for the knockout. It's exciting. It's what people want to see. It's simple.”

Mares commented: “I know every boxer says that they just had the best camp of their life but this really has been a tremendous camp for me. I'm ready. I know I'm ready. As bantamweights, we are fighters known to throw a lot of punches. We're known for making fights exciting.”