By Paul “Paparazzi” Jones – Former three-division World Champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) held an open workout today at the Bald Eagle Boxing Annex (DC) in preparation for his May 3rd showdown against Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7 KOs).
The 10-round Junior Welterweight bout, which is part of the Mayweather vs. Maidana (SHOWTIME PPV®) undercard at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (NV), marks the return of Broner, 24, after losing to Marcos “El Chino” Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) last December.
By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones & Justin Jones – In the aftermath of Hopkins vs. Shumenov, Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins(55-6-2, 32 KOs) wasted little time in ditching his boxing gloves for his promotional hat to campaign for a showdown with Superman. That is, WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (23-1, 20 KOs).
“The Alien vs. Superman” sounds like a snazzy title for a forthcoming DC Universe original movie, but the potential matchup between two of boxing’s elite is a match-up that many boxing fans would pay to see.
“Stevenson, I’m coming to Canada. I’m getting my papers together,” said Hopkins.
Bhops also indicated that geography would not be a barrier to making this fight. “I’ll go anywhere they pay the most,” Hopkins said. “I’ve been in Canada. I love Canada. They’ve got a big fan base for Bernard Hopkins out there. And let me tell you something. This fight would do well at the MGM [Grand].”
By Justin Jones – Fort Washington, DC — Mike “Indeed” Reed hasn’t been as fortunate as some of his peers when it comes to getting signed by a major or even local promotional outfit upon turning pro, but that hasn’t stopped the standout DMV prospect from obtaining his piece of the “attention pie.”
Reed, a Waldorf, MD native, is similar to a small town star who is trying to catch the eye of his big time college coach for a walk-on opportunity, or a free agent trying to secure a new lucrative and long-term contract with a new team. Some would call Reed’s workman-like approach of fighting every couple of months against the likes of other unbeaten competition, or at the very least fighters with the same or more fights under their belt –unlike some of the built up fighters you see today– the “hard way.”
By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones & Justin Jones
Published: April 19, 2014
Eastsideboxing.com surveyed fighters, media members, and fans to get their opinions on the winner of Hopkins vs. Shumenov:
“I always say Bernard [Hopkins], a master technician in the ring. A guy that looks like he can do it for 50 more years because he hasn’t had any big wars. He takes care of himself. He takes care of his body. So, I think he can do it again….Most importantly, he can [box] for the next 5 or 10 years because he’s not a guy that started his career like a lot of people at age 5, 10, and 11. His career started at a late time so, for him boxing, he’s a 20 year-old kid now.”
By Justin Jones & Paul “Paparazzi” Jones — Washington, DC — Official weigh-ins for the “History At The Capitol: Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov” tripleheader (SHOWTIME® Championship Boxing; 9:00 PM ET/PT) were held at the Marriott Renaissance hotel (Washington, DC) this afternoon in front of an energetic crowd.
The 49-year-old Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 2 NC, 32 KOs) and his adversary Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs) both weighed in below the Light Heavyweight limit for their unification bout (IBF/WBA/IBA). Hopkins tipped the scales at 172.5 lbs, while Shumenov weighed in at 174.5 lbs.
Co-main event headliners Shawn “Showtime” Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs) and Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KOs) made the Welterweight limit without incidence. Porter weighed in at 146.8 lbs, while Malignaggi weighed 146.2 lbs.
Comprehensive weigh-in results for the televised portion of the card appear below:
By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones & Justin Jones — Washington, DC —There is a longstanding debate as to whether experience is the best teacher or whether youth trumps experience. Given the age gap between Bernard Hopkins (IBF) and Beibut Shumenov (WBA/IBA), it stands to reason that the outcome of Saturday’s Light Heavyweight Unification bout may help to explain this question.
In the sections that follow, we breakdown the Hopkins-Shumenov match-up, consider their respective strengths and weaknesses, and offer keys to victory for each fighter.1
BERNARD “THE ALIEN” HOPKINS
By Paul “Paparazzi” Jones, Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones
Atlantic City, NJ — This Friday, NBCSN’s Fight Night series travels to the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia (PA) and features a heavyweight clash between Steve “USS” Cunningham (26-6, 12 KOs) and Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (20-0, 15 KOs) for the USBA Heavyweight Championship. However, the co-feature of this Main Events promoted card, pitting Curtis “Showtime” Stevens (26-4, 19 KOs) against undefeated prospect Tureano Johnson (14-0, 10 KOs), has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.
A product of Brownsville, Brooklyn, the 29-year-old Stevens has experienced his share of ups and downs since turning pro in 2004. From his early success as one-half of the “Chin Checkers,” to lackluster performances against Andre Dirrell (21-1, 14 KOs) and Jesse Brinkley (35-7, 22 KOs), Stevens has shown two qualities that often endear a fighter to his or her fan base: (1) resilience and (2) a desire to compete against boxing’s elite.
By Justin Jones & Paul “Paparazzi” Jones-, Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones — Atlantic City, NJ — Russian WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs) continued his winning ways on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City) by punishing previously unbeaten Cedric “L.O.W.” Agnew (26-1, 13 KOs) over seven rounds. A devastating left hook to Agnew’s gut sealed the deal in the seventh round, dropping the challenger to his knees as he winced in pain. Shortly thereafter, the referee stopped the bout when Agnew failed to beat the count.
“I hit him and hurt him with the same shot in the fourth or fifth round, so I knew he felt my punch,” said Kovalev. “I knew once I landed the left hand to the liver (in the seventh round) that he was done.”