Bernard Hopkins: Not even father time can stop the one and only B- Hop

by Andrew Picken: In another display of defiance Hopkins now, (53-6-2, 32 KO wins) rolls back the years and defies the critics by comprehensively beating Tavoris Cloud, (won 24 (KO 19) + lost 1 (KO 0) + drawn 0), to claim the IBF Light Heavyweight title of the world on Saturday night. If there’s a nickname he could steal it would have to be Paulie Malignaggis “magic man” as B Hop is still able to talk the talk and walk the walk, magic indeed at 48 years old!

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Julian Ramirez: Squarely grounded and focused

GBP Prospect Julian RamirezBy Marc Livitz: On Saturday, March 16th, at the Grand Oasis Resort in Cancun, Mexico, undefeated Featherweight prospect Julian Ramirez will meet a very recognizable name in the ring. However, the southern California fighter will give all he has to ensure that this particular Ruben Olivares does not shine in the same way as the legendary “El Puas” once did.

A Los Angeles area resident all his life, Ramirez (7-0, 5 KOs) has had an active career since turning pro in early 2012. Currently just a few weeks shy of his twentieth birthday, Julian always knew that the sweet science held the calling towards where he would ultimately head.

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Mendez KOs Salgado in 4 to capture IBF Super Featherweight title

By Joseph Herron: It took Dominican born Argenis Mendez (21-2, 11 KOs) just ten minutes and forty seconds to dispose of former IBF Super Featherweight Champion Juan Carlos Salgado (26-2-1, 16 KOs) in last night’s main event at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California.

His first championship opportunity against Juan Carlos was fought in September of 2011 and was staged in Salgado’s backyard of Jalisco, Mexico, which resulted in a unanimous decision victory for the hometown favorite.

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Hopkins The Master Does It Again, Takes Another One To School!

hop9By James Slater – Living legend Bernard Hopkins did it again last night in New York: he took a good, strong unbeaten young fighter to school and relieved him of his world title. Arguably putting on his best show since taking away Kelly Pavlik’s perfect record in 2008, the amazing 48-year-old totally confused the powerful and dangerous Tavoris Cloud over 12 enthralling rounds to take the IBF 175-pound belt.

Enthralling rounds? Well, it’s certainly been said that Hopkins is a boring fighter, but if you do not enjoy ring mastery, ring brilliance and, yes, sheer genius unfolding before your eyes, then maybe the problem is more with you and less with ‘Nard. And Hopkins, now 53-6-2(32) sure put all his ring craft, all his savvy and experience and all his boxing brains on display last night. Scoring more rounds for defence perhaps (B-Hop cares less about punch stats and more about history stats!), Hopkins bamboozled Cloud, he had him tied up in knots (as ring caller Dave Bontempo stated on air) and he had Cloud bleeding and well beaten.

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Ageless warrior Bernard Hopkins does it again!

Ageless warrior Bernard Hopkins does it again!

by Geoffrey Ciani – During the eighth round of the IBF light heavyweight title bout between reigning champion Tavoris Cloud and 48 year old challenger Bernard Hopkins, HBO commentator and boxing pound-for-pound superstar Andre Ward duly noted, “It’s not quantity for Hopkins, it’s quality—he makes every punch count”. That more or less sums up the nature of this fight. Another day at the office for Bernard Hopkins translated into another page in the history books, as he once again became the oldest boxer to ever win a major world championship—and he did so in style. It was yet another masterful performance from the Future Hall of Famer who at times made it look easy in dethroning the undefeated 31 year old Cloud via unanimous decision.

The action began slowly, but right from the start Bernard controlled the pace and the range. Hopkins was simply brilliant at maintaining optimal distance, constantly shifting and maneuvering Cloud to his liking. As a result Cloud’s activity was totally hindered. Throughout the entire encounter Cloud would have difficulty closing the gap, and he was also frequently off balance and out of position. This forced him to eat more shots and punch less, and when Cloud did throw he was usually either overextending or quickly smothered. Hopkins effectively used his feet to create angles and dictate Cloud’s movements, which enabled him to sneak in leather of his own with varying frequencies of power and volume against his befuddled foe. This all spelled disaster for Cloud, who was ultimately broken down both physically and mentally as matters progressed into the later stages.

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Hopkins defeats Cloud; Thurman decisions Zaveck

hop11By Bill Phanco: 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins defeated IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud by a 12 round unanimous decision to capture his IBF title at the at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA. The final judges’ scores were 116-112, 117-111, 116-112.

Undefeated welterweight Keith Thurman (20-0, 18 KO’s) put in an impressive power punching display in pounding out a nice 12 round unanimous decision on against #1 WBO Jan Zaveck (32-2, 18 KO’s) in an WBO title eliminator bout. The victory locks Thurman in as the mandatory challenger for WBO 147 lb. champion Tim Bradley.

The judges scored the fight 120-108, 120-108, 120-108. Thurman kept a constant flow of power shots raining down ont he shorter Zaveck through the full 12 rounds.

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Barker stops Rotolo; Groves defeats Balmaceda

By Jeff Sorby: Super middleweight contender George Groves (17-0, 13 KO’s) made easy work of Dario Balmaceda (11-7-2, 7 KO’s) in stopping him in the 3rd round in a two knockdown performance on Saturday night in the 24-year-old Groves’ first fight with Matchroom Sport at the Wembley Arena in London, UK. Grove put the lanky Balmaceda down with a short right hand to the body in the 2nd.

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Taylor defeats Cayo; Abdusalamov stops Bisbal

taylor454By Bill Phanco: Light welterweight contender Victor Cayo (31-4, 22 KO’s) suffered a disappointing 8th round stoppage loss to Emmanuel Taylor (17-1, 12 KO’s) tonight at the Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Cayo seemingly had the fight in the bag until getting put down with a series of solid right hands from the 22-year-old Taylor in the 8th. Taylor then hammered the hurt Cayo with several more shots after he got back up to his feet, and the fight was then halted by referee Benjy Esteves Jr. at 1:11 of the round.

Cayo fought reasonably well until getting hurt late in the 7th round, and then finished off in the 8th. Cayo knocked Taylor down in the 5th round with a sweeping right hook to the head. Cayo was effective when fighting out of the southpaw stance, but he only rarely used this stance despite the success he had in the fight when he was using it.

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The Biggest Bernard Hopkins Fight That Never Happened

hop11Bernard Hopkins is fighting tomorrow, March 8, 2013, possibly for the last time, depending on the outcome of the fight. The Bernard Hopkins-Tavoris Cloud fight is a win-win situation for Bernard, because if he wins the fight, he sets a record for being the the oldest man to ever win a major world title in boxing and breaks the standing record, which he holds right now, and he continues to make money as a boxer and a promoter.

If he loses his fight tomorrow, he still gets respect and praise for taking on a young, undefeated champion who is in the prime of his life, and he can devote all of his time to being a boxing promoter, instead of splitting his time training for fights and maintaining his weight.

Bernard Hopkins could get another age-related injury tomorrow night and have to quit fighting for health reasons. He says his surgically-repaired shoulder is 100 percent healed now, but it wasn’t fully healed in his last fight – the Chad Dawson rematch. If Bernard Hopkins last fight is not tomorrow, but he decides to have one last fight after this one, what well-known opponent could he fight to maximize his last boxing purse?

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Bernard Hopkins and Cloud: A Battle of Old Versus New

hopkins9291By Jack Scales: Age and time eventually catching up with us are two inevitabilities we are faced with in this life. However, one man who has continued to evade this fact, is none other than Philadelphia’s treasured son, Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins. For years, critics, fighters and trainers alike, have predicted his fall from the upper echelons of the sport, but as every boxing fan knows he has constantly proven his doubters wrong, whilst simultaneously defying common trends in human biology.

Throughout his 40s, he has systematically broken down a vast number of much younger fighters who were touted to finally put an end to his illustrious career. Despite the best efforts of these young pretenders, at 48, B-Hop remains a major force in the Light Heavyweight division, and on Saturday night he will again challenge for a world title. This time, it will be against the IBF belt holder, Tavoris Cloud. Judging on Bernard’s performance against Chad Dawson, perhaps father time is finally catching up on the slick veteran, but as history has shown us, his opponents should count him out at their own peril.

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