Shawn “Showtime” Porter steals the show in DC!

The DC Armory hosted the Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov card where Bernard “The alien” Hopkins made history once again by unifying titles at the the age of 49 years old. He won a split decision over Beibut Shumenov unifying the WBA and IBF titles. Hopkins was the main event but it was Shawn “Showtime” Porter 24-0-1 (14KOs) who won over the crowd.

Porter made his first title defense against the king of Brooklyn Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi 33-6 (7KOs). This fight woke the crowd from the previous fight where middleweight champion Peter Quillin defeated Lukas Konecny, which failed to please fans at the armory.

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Paulie Malignaggi never took the easy path: Is this the end for “The Magic Man?”

The end of Paulie Malignaggi’s (photo by Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones / ESB) pro career may well have come after last night’s 4th-round stoppage defeat at the hands of a relentless Shawn Porter. The slick New Yorker can now earn a living as a fine analyst for Showtime – if indeed it is the end for a fighter who began punching for pay way back in 2001 and who captured world titles in two weight divisions.

During his long career Malignaggi, as brash and as cocky as they come, more than gave his all in attempting to back up his talk. Fast, clever and possessing a sturdy chin as well as a ton of heart and courage, Malignaggi was cursed with brittle hands and with them little to no venomous punching power to speak of. It was due to this that Malignaggi knew, each time out, he was unlikely to get an early night by way of a KO. The fact that he went in with who he went in with knowing he had bad hands for a large portion of his career (with multiple breaks and fractures suffered) illustrates the Brooklyn man’s courage.

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Video: All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana – Full Episode 1

The EMMY nominated series takes you beyond the ropes, behind the scenes, and into the lives of world champions Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana as they prepare for the marquee prizefight of the year, THE MOMENT: Saturday, May 3 – live on PPV.

ALL ACCESS: MAYWEATHER vs. MAIDANA, a four-part series from SHOWTIME Sports®, premiered this Saturday, April 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, preceding the live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING tripleheader headlined by Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov. ALL ACCESS LIVE, a new 30-minute program featuring a live sit-down interview with Mayweather and Maidana, will debut on SHOWTIME on Friday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

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Porter Stops Malignaggi; Quillin Beats Konecny

Shawn “Showtime” Porter (24-0-1, 14 KOs) overwhelmed Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs) to remain undefeated and retain his IBF Welterweight World Championship with an impressive fourth-round TKO over the veteran fighter. Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) retained his WBO Middleweight World Championship with a unanimous decision win over Lukas Konecny (50-5, 23 KOs) in a fight controlled by “Kid Chocolate.”

Porter rushed Malignaggi right from the opening bell and opened up a cut on Malignaggi’s cheek in the first round. In the second round, Malignaggi was clearly hurt by a leaping left hook from the champion.

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Bernard Hopkins Outpoints Beibut Shumenov

Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs), at 49-years-old, made history once again on Saturday night. He is now the oldest man to unify a boxing world championship and the oldest fighter to defend a world title-besting his own record-as he defeated Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KOs) via split decision to become the Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion. Judges Dave Moretti and Jerry Roth scored the fight 116-111 for the future Hall of Famer while Gustavo Padilla scored the bout 114-113 for Shumenov. The event, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, took place at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C.

Boxing’s elder statesman, Hopkins was calm and confident throughout the fight, enforcing ring generalship against Shumenov who was never able to figure out a game plan to score. Shumenov, who is self-trained, threw very few combinations, and did not press the pace. Hopkins, on the other hand, dazzled with his timing, counterpunching and, at times, showmanship. In the 11th round, Hopkins landed a short right hand that sent Shumenov to the canvas for the fifth time in his career.

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Hopkins dominates Shumenov; Porter destroys Malignaggi; Quillin wins

49-year-old IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s) completed the first part of his goal of unifying all of the 175lb titles by beating arguably the weakest link among the champions in beating WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision tonight in their unification bout at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.

The judges scores were 116-111, 116-111 for Hopkins and 114-113 for Shumenov. The judge that scored it for Shumenov must have been focusing on his greater work rate and ignoring the cleaner landing shots from Hopkins. It seemed like a clear cut win for Hopkins tonight. He knocked Shumenov down with a right hand in the 11th, and continued to dominate him in the 12th. Shumenov didn’t have the hand speed or the defensive skills to compete with Hopkins, and he ended up getting badly out-boxed in this fight.

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Quigg destroys Munyai in 2 to retain Super Bantamweight title ; Crolla stops Murray in 10 in action packed battle

Scott Quigg retained the WBA Super Bantamweight title with a 2nd round stoppage over late replacement Tshifiwa Munyai. The Bout highlighted a 4-hour card that was televised live on AWE and originated from the Phones 4U Arena in Manchester, England.

“This was a great night of boxing,” said AWE President Charles Herring.

“Scott Quigg has been introduced to the American boxing fans on our network and he has established himself as one of the great 122 pound fighters in the world. The Crolla – Murray matchup was as advertised. We enjoy giving the boxing fans the most bang for their buck with these great shows and we look forward to continuing to provide the best boxing content out there.”

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Anthony Crolla stops John Murray in 10th-round of a war

In The Battle of Manchester, Anthony Crolla eventually proved to be too much for lightweight rival John Murray. The two men gave their all in a terrific fight that met, even surpassed expectations, but in the end the younger, fresher man pulled out the victory. Dropping Murray with a left hand that landed behind the ear, Crolla then finished his man with a brutal follow-up barrage that prompted the ref to dive in. The time was two-minutes and 20-seconds of the 10th. Murray, who finished the war with a badly swollen and bloodied right eye, is now 33-3(20). Crolla, the younger many by two years at age 27, improved to 28-4-1(11).

From the outset Murray came out hard and fast as expected and Crolla had to dig deep so as not to be overwhelmed. The pace was a hot one straight away and Murray’s vicious and relentless body work was proving effective. Crolla countered well, though, and he landed the cleaner work upstairs. Crolla did look like he was perhaps tiring by the 4th and 5th-round but Murray’s right eye was swelling noticeably.

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Quigg stops Munyai

Tonight in Manchester defending WBA super-bantamweight ruler Scott Quigg put on one of his most devastating and impressive showing thus far in his career as he annihilated South African danger man Tshifhiwa Munyai in two sizzling rounds.

Dropping “The Atomic Spider” with a cracking left hook to the jaw towards the end of the opening round, Quigg looked to have the fight all won. Munyai, a late replacement challenger, showed real heart in beating the count and seeing the round out. The end was not far away however. A thudding right hand to the head put the taller man down in the 2nd, and the follow-up barrage gave referee Howard Foster no option but to dive in and wave the fight off. The time was one-minute and 56-seconds.

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Mike Reed Crushes Canales; Signing Nears

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.”

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