Living legend and guaranteed future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins has not boxed since his heavy points loss to light-heavyweight champ and KO artist Sergey Kovalev. That fight took place in November of 2014 and the amazing 49-year-old (Hopkins hit 50 the following January) used every ounce of his experience, his savvy and his sheer toughness to see it through to the final bell against a man who usually halts his opposition.
James Slater
New claims say Tommy Morrison boxed while HIV positive for seven years
Back in 1996, when heavyweight star and former WBO champion Tommy Morrison was announced to be HIV positive, it stunned the boxing world and fighters who had recently shared a ring with Morrison went out and got themselves tested, just in case. Well, according to a breaking news story from LawNewz, newly discovered court records say Morrison was actually HIV in 1989 – a full seven years earlier.
Fresh off his stoppage win over Haumono, Joseph Parker will box another prep fight for Joshua shot; opponent to be named Tuesday
Unbeaten heavyweight contender Joseph Parker certainly likes to keep active. The 24-year-old New Zealander picked up a 4th-round stoppage win over Solomon Haumono yesterday and he is expected to get his mandatory shot at IBF heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua late this year or early next. But in the meantime, the 20-0 contender will have another “tune-up” or “prep” fight ahead of the big one.
His promoter Dean Lonergan informed Stuff.co.nz how he will make an official announcement next Tuesday in Auckland, with Parker’s next opponent to be named. Lonergan did not give too much away yesterday, but he did say how Parker will, in his next fight, be facing “something we haven’t faced before.”
Marcos Maidana thinking possible comeback?
The last time we saw Marcos Maidana in a fight, he was losing his money-spinner of a return meeting with Floyd Mayweather Junior in September of 2014. The next time we saw him after that, in a photo that was widely viewed on the internet, Maidana was carrying plenty of excess weight and had seemingly been enjoying the money he earned in his two big fights with “Money.” it seemed we had seen the ferocious Argentine warrior’s last fight.
But now, in speaking with RingTV.com, Mikey Garcia – himself having a comeback of his own – says he has a feeling Maidana may embark on a ring return some time in the future. Garcia, Ring reports, has been sparring with Maidana’s younger brother Fabian, and he says “El Chino” has expressed interest in returning to the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy to both help his brother and work out and lose some of that excess weight he picked up last year.
Joseph Parker stops Solomon Haumono in 4th-round – Team-Haumono launch protest
Today in Christchurch, New Zealand, unbeaten IBF mandatory heavyweight contender Joseph Parker scored a dominant 4th-round stoppage over a game Solomon Haumono. A right uppercut to the head floored Haumono in the 4th, the 40-year-old being halted after 95-seconds of the session. Parker is now 20-0(17) and he awaits his shot at IBF champ Anthony Joshua. Haumono falls to 24-3-2(21) but he and his team have launched a protest insisting he was the victim of a short count.
Adrien Broner just cannot stay out of trouble – jailed for 30 days for contempt of court
Adrien Broner is in more legal trouble. The 26-year-old four-weight titlist was today given a 30 day jail term for contempt of court after he turned up three hours late to face charges over his assault case of January. Broner, according to reports, was either drunk or hungover. The judge had no sympathy for him and ordered how the former champ be detained for a month before finally standing trial for the charges relating to the incident that took place outside a bowling alley in January.
Broner, once looked at as a major talent who had the potential to be great, really has become a love-to-hate figure. Broner was dazzling down at 130 and 135-pounds, winning major belts there, before moving up to 140 and 147 where he was beaten by Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter respectively. Now, with this latest stint in jail, along with a potential return to jail when he faces charges for the January incident, Broner’s career appears to be in tatters. And the sad thing is, not too many people will really care all that much.
Warren compares Liam Smith’s challenge of Canelo to Hatton’s challenge of Tszyu
British boxing promoter Frank Warren has promoted some great fights over the years and he has also witnessed his share of big upsets, where a British fighter shocked the world. Now, ahead of his fighter Liam Smith’s September 17 fight with Mexican superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez – a fight that will actually see Smith enter the ring as the defending champion – Warren is letting us all know we need to get ready for another upset scored by a British warrior.
Amir Khan says he would fight Conor McGregor
While talk has apparently quieted over the possibility of a super fight between boxing master Floyd Mayweather Junior and MMA star Conor McGregor, another high profile boxer has thrown his hat into the ring and said he would take a fight with McGregor: Amir Khan. Speaking with Flocombat.com, the former 140-pound world champion said that he has serious doubts Mayweather – the man he chased for months whilst in search of a massive fight, all to no avail – would ever agree to fight McGregor in an MMA fight, but he himself would do so.
“McGregor is a massive name in MMA and I’m a big name in boxing, so, globally, I think it would be a massive fight,” Khan said. “I don’t think [Floyd] Mayweather would want to fight under MMA rules. I’ve been fighting all my life, so for me, I don’t think it’d be a problem for me to learn and switch over to the sport.”
20 Years Ago Today: Muhammad Ali’s finest Olympic victory
Being too young (unfortunately) to have seen the great – The Greatest – Muhammad Ali fight live, even on TV, the first indelible memory I have of the immortal legend occurred twenty years ago today. Ali, by this time ravaged by Parkinson’s, quite simply made around half the world’s population shed a tear as he bravely forced his almost uncontrollable arms to assist him in accepting one of the finest honours that can be bestowed upon any athlete: that of lighting the Olympic Torch in the opening ceremony of the planet’s most-watched sporting celebration.
Canelo Alvarez: “I only made Amir Khan go up one weight class”
Mexican superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez has taken his share of criticism for not yet agreeing (in writing) to face Gennady Golovkin in the middleweight showdown the entire world wants to see, and rightly so. But Canelo, in speaking with RingTV.com, lashed out at GGG, and the middleweight champion’s upcoming fight with welterweight titlist Kell Brook. Canelo does not agree how his catch-weight fight with another Brit in Amir Khan is comparable to GGG-Brook, as Brook is having to go up two full weight divisions, and Khan had to go up just eight-pounds.