Hopkins vs. Kovalev

The Rodney Dangerfield of Boxing: Bernard Hopkins aka Bhop

The Rodney Dangerfield of Boxing: Bernard Hopkins aka Bhop

Rodney Dangerfield made the catchphrase “I don’t get no respect” famous. Bernard Hopkins must be thinking the same.

This coming weekend Bhop goes up against hard hitting WBO Lt. Heavyweight Champion Sergey Kovalev, which is an intriguing matchup. Can the hard hitting Kovalev catch Bhop and make him pay or will Bhop once again figure out how to win? The predictions are pretty much 50/50. There are those that think Bhop can’t keep betting against Father time and win, but truth be told we have seen him do this time and time again and there lies my pet peeve. Dislike him for his antics outside the ring and his ranting and sometimes ill advised comments (I will never let a white boy beat me), but please give this man credit for his accomplishments inside the ring. Only that alone is cause to give him benefit of the doubt. At 48 he is taking on the most dangerous guy in the division hands down, something Stevenson didn’t do. Bhop has ducked no one. Some other self proclaimed ATG can take a page from his book.

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Hopkins: I have 10 weapons to Kovalev’s one bomb

Hopkins: I have 10 weapons to Kovalev’s one bomb

IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) respects the power that WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) will be bringing to their fight this Saturday night on HBO Championship Boxing at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. However, Hopkins feels that he’s got more ways to beat Kovalev than he does.

Hopkins figures that all he needs to do is nullify Kovalev’s power and he’ll have the fight won. That’s obviously going to be a lot easier said than done, because Kovalev is going to be on top of Hopkins for the full 12 rounds looking to blast him out with each shot. If Kovalev does fade in the later rounds, it likely won’t be unless the 8th or 9th. By then, he’ll have hit Hopkins with a lot of really hard head and body shots, and that might take a lot of the fight out of the aging 49-year-old.

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Bernard Hopkins Attemps To Unify Once Again

Bernard Hopkins Attemps To Unify Once Again

Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) isn’t the first elder statesman of the sweet science to hold the light heavyweight crown.

With a win on Saturday, November 8 against WBO Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, Hopkins would be just one belt away from becoming the first fighter in boxing history to hold all four major alphabet titles simultaneously in two different weight divisions.

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Bernard Hopkins Interview Transcript

Bernard Hopkins Interview Transcript

O. De La Hoya – Let me introduce to you the current WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion and obviously a future first ballot Hall of Famer. He won the Middleweight World Title in 1995, and defended that title 20 times, solidifying his place as one of the best, if not the best middleweights in boxing history.

Bernard Hopkins, not only are we talking about the fighter who is the best in this era, but can possibly be the best in any era. When you talk about comparing the ’80s and the ’70s and the ’60s and 1990 and the 2000s, well Hopkins is a fighter you can say would have competed, if not would have been the best, in any era. That’s what we’re talking about right here.

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Kovalev with no specific plan for Hopkins fight

Kovalev with no specific plan for Hopkins fight

WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) says he has no specific game plan for his fight next month against the more experienced and much older 49-year-old IBF/WBA 175 pound champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) on November 8th at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.

Kovalev’s style of fighting is one oriented around him going all-out in an attack mode to try and score a quick knockout. He’s throws a lot of heavy combinations, putting a massive of pressure on his opponents. His opposition generally fold pretty quickly even with them fighting 100% a defensive fight. They’re unable to stand up to Kovalev’s power for long with him throwing combinations with huge power.

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Sergey Kovalev Training Camp Notes

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As current WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev prepares for the fight of his life against Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins next month, he is on the precipice of a life-altering event as his wife, Natalya, is moments away from giving birth to their first child.

The Kovalevs are expecting their son any day now, with the official due date scheduled for October 17. Despite the stress and distractions that come with expectant-parenthood, the 31-year-old Kovalev assured everyone at his media day at Wolf Total Fitness in Big Bear City, Calif. yesterday that his focus is still fixated 100 percent on Hopkins, “I’m living for this fight. Only for this fight. I’m leaving for Florida when my [first] baby is due. I’ll be in training camp in Florida because this is the most important thing in my life right now.”

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Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev quotes from New York press conference

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Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev held a press conference in New York City and a media roundtable in Philadelphia Tuesday to officially announce their light heavyweight unification bout on Saturday, Nov. 8 taking place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City live on HBO World Championship Boxing®. Check out what the fighters and promoters had to say below:

BERNARD HOPKINS, WBA & IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

“When fighters want to fight, this is what happens. When we really want to do it and our promoters do as well, we get it done.

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Kovalev plans on taking Hopkins’ scalp to make history on November 8th

Kovalev plans on taking Hopkins’ scalp to make history on November 8th

WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) plans on adding 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins’ scalp to his resume on November 8th in what he feels will make history for him and put his name up there with the other top fighters in the sport of boxing. In addition, Kovalev will capture Hopkins’ IBF and WBA 175lb titles, and that would give Kovalev 3 of the 4 world titles at light heavyweight.

“I’m happier I’m going to be fighting Bernard Hopkins there [Atlantic City] because that’s going to put my name into the history of boxing,” Kovalev said via RingTV.com. “Most likely, also, I’m going to be making history in boxing by winning against Bernard Hopkins. That’s going to put me in the top tier,” Kovalev said.

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Hopkins thinks some fans see Kovalev as their savior

Hopkins thinks some fans see Kovalev as their savior

IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) thinks that some boxing fans are hoping to a high degree that WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) will knock him out in their unification fight on November 8th in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Hopkins believes for some fans, they’ve circled their wagons around Kovalev and embraced him as the guy that can finally put him down after all these years and put him in his place by showing him that he should have retired like they wanted to.

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Is Hopkins overmatched against Kovalev?

Is Hopkins overmatched against Kovalev?

49-year-old Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) has surprised a lot of boxing fans by being able to come back from a 12 round decision loss to Chad Dawson in 2012 and turning things around by winning his last three fights against Tavoris Cloud, Karo Murat and Beibut Shumenov.

Hopkins was seen as nearing the end of his career when Dawson beat him, but Hopkins has definitely turns things around with his last three wins. While it was nice that Hopkins beat Cloud, Murat and Shumenov, the wins were still largely shallow ones given how vulnerable all three of those fighters were.

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