Karo Murat

IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO’s) will be turning 49-years-old on January 15th, and he’s a proven that he’s a unique fighter with his incredible longevity in the sport. Hopkins is still fighting at a high level at 48 in a sport where most fighters are pretty much over-the-hill by the time they’re 35.

Hopkins will be defending his IBF title for the first time this Saturday night against the much younger 30-year-old Karo Murat (25-1-1, 15 KO’s) at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. This is Hopkins’ mandatory challenger and there wasn’t any way for him to get around not taking the fight, so you can’t blame Hop for facing a less than spectacular opponent.

Blame it on the International Boxing Federation for ranking Murat at #2 off a wins against opposition like this: Sandro Siproshvili, Otis Griffin and Christian Cruz. Beating those fighters got Murat installed as Hopkins’ mandatory.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Oct. 21) – Before the legendary Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins defends his IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship against top contender Karo Murat on Saturday, Oct. 26, top talent from the East Coast and Puerto Rico will open the event on SHOWTIME EXTREME® and put their stellar records on the line against hungry opponents looking to make a name for themselves at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

Taking to the ring in undercard action will be unbeatens Zachary Ochoa, Robert Easter, Dominic Wade and Bryan Cruz, as well as Puerto Rican prospect Braulio Santos.

With a perfect 4-0 (3 KO’s) record thus far as a pro, Brooklyn’s Zachary Ochoa is making plenty of noise in the area. Returning to the site of his first-round knockout of Michael Salcido last November, Ochoa recently scored a shutout four-round decision over Calvin Smith in April. He will face York, Alabama’s Michael J. Doyle (2-5, 1 KO) in a four-round junior welterweight bout.

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 17) – IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins debuted his newfound ring persona known as “The Alien” at a media workout yesterday at Joe Hand’s Boxing Gym in Philadelphia as he prepares for his Oct. 26 title defense against top rated contender Karo Murat. In true Hopkins fashion, the oldest fighter to win a world title in boxing history showcased his “out of this world” athletic abilities in front of a large amount of media eager to hear what he had to say. The fight will take place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

“Everyone the age of 40 and over had better be on my side on October 26, or I’ll kick their ass.

Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins’ historic IBF World Light-Heavyweight title defence against Karo Murat on Saturday 26th October from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City will be LIVE and exclusive in the UK on the Channel Of Champions BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546).

In an incredible 25 year career, record-breaking Hopkins is the longest reigning middleweight champion in boxing history and became the oldest ever world champion when he won the WBC World Light-Heavyweight title against Jean Pascal in 2011. He then broke his own record when he beat Tavoris Cloud in March this year to win the IBF World Light-Heavyweight title.

Now he aims to become the oldest fighter ever, at 48, to defend a world title if he beats the mandatory and number one ranked German challenger Murat who at 29 is almost twenty years younger than the American legend.

ATLANTIC CITY (August 16, 2013) – IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins will become the oldest fighter in history to make his initial title defense when he faces highest rated light heavyweight challenger Karo Murat in a rescheduled championship event taking place Saturday, October 26 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The 12-round title fight, which was postponed from July 13 due to visa issues experienced by Murat, will air live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT). With those issues cleared up, Murat has his sights set on ending the reign of the 48-year-old future Hall of Famer.

Hopkins vs. Murat, a 12-round bout for Hopkins’ IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Caesars Atlantic City and supported by Golden Boy Promotions sponsors Corona and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP).

Veteran Scribe Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com has reported via Twitter that the scheduled fight between the Legend of Longevity Bernard Hopkins and Karo Murat has been cancelled due to Murat having visa issues.
Not long ago Kim, who can be followed on twitter @stevemaxboxing tweeted this “It looks like the Hopkins-Murat card on July 13th is off, from what I’m told. Murat has Visa issues”. Minutes later he added this, “Btw, SHO is now going ‘dark” on July 13.”

Visa issues have been a thorn in the side of many events throughout the history of boxing. With that said you can’t help but to speculate that there may be another reason for the possible cancellation of this fight. Murat’s Visa issue if he has one could be legit. It could also be perfect timing for Bernard Hopkins to move in another direction. The fight was made quickly and for a man who has limited fights left before he hits the age of 50, there could be other factors that are dictating the fight being called off.