Shumenov realizes he needs to raise his game to beat Hopkins

07/31/201402/23/2014 Bill Phanco

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) realizes that he’s got to be a lot better than he’s ever been before if he’s go escape with his WBA title in his unification match against the wily old fox IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) in their fight on April 19th at the DC Armory, Washington, District of Columbia, USA. The fight will the be televised by Showtime, and it’s going to give the 30-year-old Shumenov a lot of publicity to either shine or look bad against the 49-year-old Hopkins.

Shumenov is getting Hopkins at the right time in his career, as Hopkins didn’t look so great in his last fight against his mandatory challenger Karo Murat last October. Hopkins won that fight by a fairly lopsided 12 round unanimous decision, but Hopkins was hit more in that fight than he had in many years. Murat was able to get in close and nail Hopkins with a lot of shots to the head.

Bernard Hopkins turns 49 today

01/15/2014 Jeff Sorby

IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) turns 49-years-old today and he faces what could be the toughest part of his career if he backs up his tough talk with action in 2014 and 2015. Hopkins will be facing WBA 175 lb. champion Beibut Shumenov in April or May in a unification match. From there, Hopkins says he wants to fight unification matches against WBO champion Sergey Kovalev and WBC champ Adonis Stevenson.

Whether Hopkins does so is the real question. He’s been talking a lot, and recently he mentioned that he saw Kovalev as an easy fight for him. If Hopkins chooses to use the network squabbles as a reason why he can’t fight Kovalev and Stevenson, it’ll look like he’s ducking those guys in the minds of many boxing fans.

Hopkins sees Kovalev as easy fight for him

07/31/201401/13/2014 Jeff Sorby

IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) may never get a chance to fight WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (23-0-1, 21 KO’s) due to them fighting on different cable networks, but that’s not stopping Hopkins from giving his opinion about how he’d do against the Russian fighter if he ever did fight him. Hopkins, who turned 49 this Wednesday, thinks Kovalev would be an even easier fight for him than his fight with Kelly Pavlik.

Hopkins believes that Kovalev is a fighter with only one dimension, and be figures he’d soundly beat him if the two ever fought. The fact that they probably never will fight gives Hopkins the chance to talk as much as he’d like without having to actually prove himself against Kovalev in the ring.

Bernard Hopkins: “I’d Rather Have Floyd Than That Other Guy [Shumenov]”

07/31/201412/10/2013 Vitali Shaposhnikov

When Bernard Hopkins suggested that he is the only fighter out there that can step inside the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and come out a winner, most boxing fans as well as journalists believed that Hopkins was simply creating waves in front of the microphones and the cameras.

The idea itself seemed not only absurd, but also fictional, like a good story to tell, fantasize about, while being fully aware that it never happened, and never will. The potentiality of this has all the wrong ingredients for Mayweather Jr., with fighters of different ages and different weights, and those that have no similarity in the winding down of their careers.

Andre Ward open to fight against Bernard Hopkins

11/08/201311/07/2013 Jeff Sorby

ward544 WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) and his promoter Dan Goosen are both open to a fight against IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) if he’s game.

Ward says he’d like to take on the younger fighters, but he’d take the fight against the 48-year-old Hopkins. His promoter Goosen thinks it would be an excellent fight and believes they could make it for pay-per-view.

Ward said via Fightnews “I don’t have a desire to call Bernard out, but I am a fighter. If it makes financial sense, I’ll step to the plate. I’m more interested in fighting guys from my era, but at the same time I don’t back down from fights.”

Mayweather Sr. on Hopkins vs. Mayweather Jr.: “He Ain’t Fighting Floyd. It’s Stupid, Man”

08/01/201410/30/2013 Vitali Shaposhnikov

By suggesting that he is the only one out there who can potentially hand Mayweather Jr. his first loss, Bernard Hopkins initiated a huge wave of discussions, arguments and predictions. The idea itself had never entered anyone’s mind, until at the Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo post fight press conference Hopkins decided to bring the subject to the microphones and video cameras being shoved in his face.

Whether or not the fight is a viable option for either of the fighters, it seems nothing more but an illusion, a fantasy that feeds the boxing fans and the media ideas that are simply unrealistic.

Left-Hook Lounge: Hopkins/Mayweather Legacy, Why We Won’t See Quillin/Rosado II, & Deontay Wilder’s Next Step!!!

10/28/2013 Vivek Wallace

Thomas W. (Conyers, GA): So many have buzzed about the legacy of Floyd Mayweather, but few in the sport give Hopkins the same respect. How would you compare the two legacies?

Vivek W. (ESB): Rather than comparing the legacies of these two men, I’d like to lay out the importance of why both legacies should be celebrated. In Floyd Mayweather, you have a man who managed to put together a level of dominance that remains unparalleled in nearly any sport. His bitter breakup with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum put him in an unfortunate situation where he wasn’t able to face certain fighters at the time; but there wasn’t a man outside of the Top Rank stable in his path who he didn’t face, and those he couldn’t face under Top Rank, he later faced away from Top Rank (Cotto & ODH). The only wildcard is Paul Williams, who decided to go north in weight when Mayweather took time off after facing Dela Hoya and Hatton. When you look at those he did face, you have a tally of close to 20 champions, and more than 10 bona fide Hall of Famer’s.

Hopkins, Klitschko: When Dirty Fighters Play by their own set of Rules!

10/28/201310/28/2013 Izyaslav Koza

wlad793 All of you know that in the past I have always praised both Wladimir Klitschko, and Bernard Hopkins for their work ethic, fighting skills, and accomplishments. In the past they were somewhat deserving of said praise even if it was interspersed with shades of holding, rabbit punching, pushing on the head, and just generally speaking dirty fighting. Hopkins had always employed this as part of his style, while Klitschko only began doing so post-Sanders knockout while working with Emanuel Steward.

For a time both showed less of these illegal maneuvers and more pure skill in some of their more brilliant victories.
However, with Klitschko’s win over Alexander Povetkin, and Bernard Hopkins victory over Karo Murat it has become clear that both of these superstar fighters are now simply ignoring the rules of boxing completely.

How a Mayweather/Hopkins fight will go down…

10/28/201310/28/2013 Robert Jackson

Now before you all think I’m crazy or some rhetorical shill, hear me out. I’m not saying that Mayweather/Hopkins will be made…I still think GGG will be the GUY should he KO Curtis Stevens.

But…if Hopkins does get to fight Mayweather, and he says he can get down to 160lbs for this fight, he’ll regret losing the weight and will be severely drained most likely losing to Mayweather and maybe even stopped considering his age along with the weight loss. A hypothetical account follows.

Round 1:
Hopkins weighing in at 165lbs (as contracted) on fight night comes out on a mission to impose his will on the much smaller Mayweather who weighs 152lbs.

Hopkins wants Mayweather next’; No Stevenson or Kovalev for him

10/27/2013 Jeff Sorby

While boxing fans would like to see IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins to step it up from the likes of Karo Murat and Tavoris Cloud to fight the best in the division in Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev, Hopkins said that he’s interested in moving down in weight to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next.

Hopkins feels he can get down to 160 by next May to fight Mayweather in Cinco de Mayo if they can negotiate the fight. As for fighting Kovalev or Stevenson, Hopkins feels that the fights can’t get made due to him fighting on Showtime and Kovalev and Stevenson fighting on HBO.

Hopkins said “You give me until May of next year to make 160, that fight is on. I don’t think too many reporters would count me out.”