Baroni Says He'll Hurt Hose

HONOLULU, March 12 -- True to form, Phil Baroni (Pictures) was not shy at a news conference Wednesday when it came to sharing his predictions on his upcoming Icon Sport middleweight title fight against Ross "Kala Kolohe" Hose (Pictures).

"I'm gonna knock this kid out," the confident New Yorker said. "It's a big shot for him, and he's gonna take a big shot Saturday night on his chin. I'm gonna put him to sleep.

"I see [the fight] going quick," Baroni continued. "I see [Hose] getting hurt. I see him realizing who he's in the ring with, you know. There's no running, there's no hiding in the Icon ring, buddy. We're gonna see what you're made of, and you're gonna see that you don't belong in the ring with me. [Icon] is putting you in over your head, throwing you to the wolves, so to speak. And I'm gonna be real hungry that night and I'm gonna eat this kid up."

Hose, on the other hand, was much more reserved in his comments. He spent most of the news conference smiling and nodding at Baroni's banter.

"My take on Phil is, to me, he's a cool guy, but to me that was a publicity act," Hose told Sherdog.com after the conference. "Phil is Phil. He's the type of guy who I guess uses that type of stuff to promote fights, but it doesn't bother me."

Twelve other bouts are also scheduled for the Icon Sport show Saturday at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, including a light heavyweight encounter between pro boxer turned mixed martial artist Jeremy Williams and Hawaiian fighter Auggie Padeken (Pictures). A 145-pound state title bout will feature Sadhu Bott and Bronson Pieper.

Full card:
185: Phil Baroni (Pictures) vs. Kala Kolohe Hose (Pictures)
205: Auggie Padekan vs. Jeremy Williams
145: Sadhu Bott vs. Bronson Pieper
135: Russell Doane vs. Tyson Nam (Pictures)
170: Wayne Perrin, III vs. Koa Ramos (Pictures)
170: Brennan Kamaka (Pictures) vs. Ross Ebanez (Pictures)
160: Eddie Rincon vs. P.J. Dean
145: Matt Comeau vs. Elias Delos Reyes (Pictures)
150: Alan Lima vs. David Padilla (Pictures)
135: Zack Rapal vs. Dwayne Haney
145: Colin McKenzie vs. Ricky Wallace
137.5: Nui Wheeler (Pictures) vs. Jay Bolos
175: Wade Ke vs. Marshall Ige