MIAMI, June 27, 2005 –In less than three weeks undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins and undefeated middleweight rising star Jermain Taylor will meet in the ring Saturday, July 16 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The championship card—“NeXt in Line”—will be presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment and televised and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9pmEST/6:00pmPST..
Hopkins and Taylor have been training less than five miles apart in Miami, Florida and have collectively logged more than 500 hours of preparation including runs, daily workouts and sparring sessions. “I’m feeling great and ready to go,” said Hopkins. “As far as I am concerned, Jermain Taylor is just next.”
Taylor, who also uses the South Florida area as his base, is looking forward to this opportunity as much as Hopkins. “Yes I am next,” said Taylor. “The next middleweight champion of the world.”
Hopkins’ Life Story To Be Featured on Fox Sports Beyond the Glory
Bernard Hopkins’ life story will be featured on Fox Sports Net (FSN) Beyond the Glory on Sunday, July 10 at 8:00pm ET/PT. The show takes a in-depth look at Hopkins background including his early years in and out of boxing. The show will include never seen before footage of Hopkins visit last April to Graterford State prison to be honored with a 60’ x 20’ mural—which is painted on a wall in the penitentiary’s gym—by the Prison’s Mural Arts program in which inmates, some lifers, study art while incarcerated. The show will reair on Tuesday, July 12 (check local listings.)
Bernard Hopkins (46-2-1, 32 KOs) is already assured a place in the Boxing Hall of Fame thanks to his ten-year reign atop the middleweight division and his amazing record. An old-school warrior who is the epitome of a Philadelphia fighter, the 40-year-old “Executioner” is one of the rare fighters who just gets better and better with age. In his last bout, on February 19, Hopkins scored a dominating 12 round decision win over highly ranked British contender Howard Eastman. Hopkins, who has publicly stated he will retire upon his 41st birthday next January is ready for a hectic career finale that begins with Taylor.
Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (23-0, 17 KOs) is a 2000 US Olympic Bronze Medalist who has carried that success with him into the professional ranks. A versatile boxer with a stiff jab and thudding power, the 26-year-old resident of Little Rock, Arkansas has defeated former world champions Raul Marquez and William Joppy. His spectacular victory over previously unbeaten Daniel Edouard at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last February made him the most logical contender for Hopkins WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
Hopkins vs Taylor “NeXt in Line”- Saturday, July 16 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The championship card will be presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment and televised and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9pmEST/6:00pmPST.
Tickets are priced: $75, $150, $250, $450, $650, On sale Saturday, May 7 at Noon and are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office outlet. Tickets also are sold at all Las Vegas TicketMaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith’s Food and Drug Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call TicketMaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
For room packages and availability as well as event ticket information, call MGM Grand at (800) 929-1111 or (702) 891-7777 or log onto the World Wide Web at www.mgmgrand.com.
The Hopkins vs. Taylor pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT on July 16, will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to over 50 million pay-per-view homes. HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For more event information log onto www.HBOPPV.com