Kovalev decisions Hopkins to unify Light Heavyweight titles

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ATLANTIC CITY–Sergey Kovalev scored a 12-round unanimous decision to retain the WBO and capture the IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight championship at Boardwalk Hall.

It started well for Kovalev as he landed a lead right that dropped Hopkins in the first round. In round three Hopkins laned a double forearm that sent Kovalev to the canvas. Hopkins briefly got into the fight later in the round as he landed a perfect right in between an attempted flurry. Kovalev finished the round strong by landing a nice right. Kovalev applied constant pressure and got through with enough punches to sweep the first half of the fight.

Hopkins had a couple of moments in round seven as he landed a few rights with one seemingly knocking Kovalev off balance. In round eight, Kovalev rocked Hopkins with a hard overhand right but was unable to do any further damage. In round ten, Hopkins drilled Kovalev with a hard overhand right. In round twelve, It started well for Hopkins as he buckled Kovaleve with another hard right. That seemed to set off the Russian as Kovalev landed a flurry of punches and had Hopkins in trouble like he hasn’t been in his career. Hopkins was able to reach the final bell by taking heavy punches in the ropes. That image maybe the last in the incredible career of Hopkins.

Kovalev, 174 1/2 lbs of Russia won by scores of 120-107 on two cards and 120-106 and is now 26-0-1. Hopkins, 173
Sadam Ali scored the biggest win of his career as he stopped Luis Carlos Abregu in round nine of their scheduled 10-round Welterweight bout.

Abregu pressed the action while Ali used movement to stay out of harms way and occasionally peck in some shots. Ali started to throw a little more fire in round six. Ali then connected with a hard left hook that sent Abregu to the canvas. Ali came out in round seven and landed a hard right hand. Abregu came later in the round to catch Ali with a hard left hook. Ali started round eight with a beautiful counter left off the ropes. Abregu smelled bllod to start round nine as he pummeled Ali along the ropes. Ali fired out and landed a perfect left hook to save him from danger. Ali then landed a hard left hook to the body that buckled Abregu. Ali then unleashed a perfect left that dropped Abregu hard to the canvas. Abregu continued but not for long as Ali pounced on the hurt Abregu and the fight was stopped at 1:54 of round nine.

Ali, 146 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 21-0 with 13 knockouts. Abregu, 146.5 lbs of Salta, ARG is now 36-2.

Nadjib Mohammedi
Nadjib Mohammadi scored a 1st round stoppage over Demetrius Walker in a scheduled 10-round Light Heavyweight fight.

Mohammdi dropped Walker in the 1st from a hard right then a follow up body flurry. He dropped him again with a hard right and the fight was stopped at 2:16.

Mohammedi, 176 lbs of AIx en Provence, FRA is now 37-3 with 22 knockouts. Walker, 174.5 lbs of Kansas City is now 7-8-1.

Vyacheslav Glazkov scored a 7thround stoppage over Darnell Wilson in a scheduled 10-round Heavyweight bout.

Glazkov battered Wilson for much of the fight and the bout was stopped before round eight.

Glazkov, 220 lbs of Lugasnk, UKR is now 19-0-1 with 12 knockouts. Wilson, 239 lbs of Miami is now 25-18-3.

Eric Hunter
Eric Hunter scored a 6th round stoppage over Daniel Ramirez in a scheduled 10-round Jr. Lightweight bout.

It was a good fight with both guys landing good shots. Hunter dropped Ramirez in round six with a hard right hand. He continually hit Ramirez until the fight was stopped after Ramirez was rocked with a hard right at 1:23 of round six.

Hunter, 128 lbs of Philadelphia is now 19-3 with 10 knockouts. Ramirez, 127 lbs of Los Angeles is now 11-2.

Sullivan Barrera
Sullivan Barrera remained undefeated as he stopped Rowland Bryant after round four of their scheduled 8-round Light Heavyweight bout.

Barrera dropped Bryant in round two from a right hand. The bout was stopped in between round’s four and five.

Barrera, 175 lbs of Miami is now 14-0 with 9 knockouts. Bryant, 174 lbs of Altamonte Springs, FL is now 18-4.

Andrey Sirotkin scored a 6-round unanimous decision over Michael Mitchell in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Sirotkin, 169 lbs of Zubobo, RUS won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 5-0. Mitchell, 168 lbs of Paterson, NJ is now 3-5-2.

Ryan Martin scored a 2nd round stoppage over Isals Gonzalez in a scheduled four round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Martin, 136 lbs of Chartanooga, TN is now 9-0 with 5 knockouts. Gonzalez, 135.5 lbs of Tucson, AZ is now 17-4.




HOPKINS: ‘I DON’T BELONG ON THE POUND-FOR-POUND LIST!’ SAYS BOXING LEGEND ON EVE OF KOVALEV MEGAFIGHT LIVE ON BOXNATION

Bernard Hopkins
LONDON (Nov 7) – The world’s oldest ever world champion Bernard Hopkins believes that he has no place on boxing’s pound-for-pound list.

The current WBA and IBF light-heavyweight world champion is gearing up to face hard-hitting Sergey Kovalev this Saturday night on BoxNation in an edge of the seat unification clash, which will also see the Russian’s WBO belt up for grabs.

After rebranding himself as ‘The Alien’, due to his remarkable achievements and having become the oldest ever unified champion at 49 years of age, Hopkins says he doesn’t want to be put on boxing’s ‘pound-for-pound’ list which categorises boxing’s elite.

“I don’t want to be on anybody’s pound-for-pound list when I win this fight because to put me on a pound-for-pound list says that I’m human. It says that I’m human based on you characterise me one, two, three or four,” said Hopkins.

“To me you got to make a new list and what I’m doing now I’m making a new legacy and a new list. So don’t put me on no pound-for-pound list because that would make me human that would make me just like them.

“I respect the pound-for-pound list but you have to do another list for me. You have to sit down and think we can’t put this man in the top 10 because he’s doing something that no one has ever done. 15 years ago my career was meant to have been over,” he said.

The Philadelphian pugilist has seen it all in boxing having risen as an upstart in 1988 before reigning supreme as champion over the middleweight division for a decade before his conquest of the light-heavyweight division.

Against Kovalev he steps in against an unbeaten knockout artist who has scored 23 stoppages from his 25 wins, but Hopkins has a past of overcoming fighters with flawless records having upset the likes of Felix Trinidad and Joe Lipsey.

“I have a history of taking fighters undefeated records – starting with the first big name Tito Trinidad. This is something I have a pattern of doing. This isn’t just hype talk that’s why I haven’t got to holler and shout,” Hopkins said.

“I have a history of taking the ‘O’ away and giving a guy a devastating loss – some haven’t even bounced back.

“But one thing about a puncher is they have a punchers chance. They could be gone till the 11th round then ‘pow wow’.

“They are always dangerous but ‘The Alien’ likes to walk on his tightrope 50 feet in the air, maybe 100, with no safety net but I’m going to make it across the other side,” said Hopkins.

With 65 fights and numerous world titles, Hopkins, who turns 50 in two months, says the fight with Kovalev goes beyond just boxing for him with his hunger to succeed in life a motivating factor.

“When I hear or read or get asked a question like, ‘you didn’t have to take this fight, you could have taken a different fight,’ I think, have you paid attention to my career?,” said Hopkins.

“This isn’t about being an athlete, a boxer or whatever it is. This is something separate. Me as a man, I’ve been here since 1965. I have been special ever since.

“When you’re dealing with the spirit that I carry with me, from my personal life to here, all of that comes together in the ring.

“An opponent, he can be fast, slick or a puncher; you have to face all of these intangibles that I bring to the ring. I don’t mind putting my wits up against anyone’s wits today. I’m so calm and relaxed. I still have that hunger to prove myself,” he said.

Hopkins v Kovalev is live on BoxNation (Sky437/490HD, Virgin 546 & TalkTalk 525) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.525), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.




Encounter of Another Kind: Hopkins’ many lives get a defining challenge in Kovalev

By Norm Frauenheim-
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Bernard Hopkins’ life as street thug, ex-con, Congressional witness, peace-maker, fighter, promoter, pundit, provocateur, butcher, baker and candlestick maker includes different nicknames, a couple of masks and roles only he knows are still within him.

“I’m not human,” Hopkins said in a recent conference call.

But he is.

There’s an endless array of humanity jammed into that one being who over the many years has been called Inmate #Y4145, The Executioner, B-Hop and today The Alien.

It’s what makes him so compelling. So challenging.

He shows us what is humanly possible on either side of those proverbial ropes. He’ll have to do it all over again Saturday night in Atlantic City against Sergey Kovalev in a light heavyweight-fight (HBO 10:45 pm ET/PT) as intriguing as any bout in the last year.

By now, circumstances confronting Hopkins have been documented and over-analyzed. Kovalev’s power and relative youth – he’s 31 – are a couple of factors that some think will finally stop Hopkins’ unprecedented defiance of time’s inevitability. He’ll be 50 in January.

Half-a-century is a long time anywhere. For anybody whose mileage has taken them past that birthday and deposited them in the senior-citizen division, Hopkins’ resilient ability to fight on is science fiction-like.

Hopkins swims as part of his training regimen these days. While watching him in the water during HBO’s pre-fight documentary, I wondered if there was a youth-restoring Cocoon from director Ron Howard’s 1985 Academy Award-winning movie at the bottom of that Philadelphia pool.

It’s alien all right, which explains that silly green mask that Hopkins wears. It’s not because he’s trying to hide a gray beard. He has always understood that boxing is a mix of sport and theater. Maybe, Kovalev will prove to be nothing more than just another vanquished face in his supporting cast. I think not. I predicted a Kovalev victory by decision for The Ring. http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/362819-who-wins-bernard-hopkins-sergey-kovalev

Then again, I picked Hopkins to lose to Kelly Pavlik in 2008. Maybe, I should start wearing a fool’s mask.

Truth is, Hopkins is already a winner. The fight could get ugly, which might diminish what has already been accomplished. Nevertheless, Hopkins has done what you expect of somebody about to turn 50.

To wit: He’s become role model for a sport that badly needs one.

In stepping up to fight an emerging star and one of the game’s most feared punchers, he has embarrassed pound-for-pound contenders who are more than a couple of decades younger.

Hopkins reminds us – and hopefully them – that building a legacy is serious business. It’s a not a mere logo for a souvenir. Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s pursuit of legacy has begun to look manufactured. His TBE — The Best Ever – is on T-shirts and caps. Wonder if Manny Pacquiao has bought one? For a bonfire, maybe.

The Best Ever is not possible with a fight against the best. That’s what Hopkins is doing in his decision to face Kovalev. The build-up to the bout has included much of what is often attached to a Hopkins fight.

Race became an issue when he told ESPN that the fight is not a cover piece for Sports Illustrated or other major media, because he’s black. Because his last name isn’t Marciano or Stern, he said.

The comments, of course, generated some major-media coverage. It also was nothing new from Hopkins, who once said retired NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb wasn’t “black enough” and told Joe Calzaghe that he could never go back to the projects if he let “a white boy’’ beat him.

Any discussion of race these days is on the wrong side of the politically-correct fence. But when has race not been a part of boxing? It is the sport, after all, that created The Great White Hope, a term still used. Agree with Hopkins. Disagree with him.

But thank him for his honesty. He’ll never be able to mask that or anything else in a life full of evolving lessons about what humans shouldn’t do and what they can be. That’s a victory on any scorecard.




BERNARD HOPKINS & SERGEY KOVALEV FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES

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BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF & WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion

“When I hear or read or get asked a question like, ‘you didn’t have to take this fight, you could have taken a different fight,’ I think, have you paid attention to my career?

“This isn’t about being an athlete, a boxer or whatever it is. This is something separate. Me as a man, I’ve been there since 1965. I have been special ever since.

“When you’re dealing with the spirit, that I carry with me, from my personal life to here. All of that comes together in the ring. An opponent, he can be fast, slick or a puncher, you have to face all of these intangibles that I bring to the ring.

“I don’t mind putting my wits up against anyone’s wits today. I’m so calm and relaxed. I still have that hunger to prove myself.

“Psychological warfare, you will never win against me. Everyone on this side [points to Kovalev’s side of dais] knows you’re never going to win. I don’t care who’s sitting over there.

“When I step into that ring I’m at war with everybody.

“I have no secrets. I’m one of the cleanest athletes that has ever been in any sport. Remind yourself every now and then who you’re dealing with. Then you can say, ‘I asked him that 15 years ago.’

“It doesn’t disappoint me when I hear people say ‘He didn’t have to take this fight.’ What do you think? I’m a charity case? I’ve been wise to figure this out.

“Sergey wants to do what every fighter and athlete wants to do, put the best against the best. They want to fight the best. I’m not going to be in this game fighting nobodies.

“I know the ring like I know this building [Caesar’s Atlantic City], but that’s not because I’ve been here a bunch of times. It’s because I pay attention to everyone and everything. I believe at looking people in the eye and learning everything I need to know about them.

“I’m still calm and relaxed now, but I still have the hunger to prove myself. Sergey says he wants a fair fight. [To Sergey] You’re the Krusher, you make your own fair fight.

“John David Jackson says he knows everything there is to know about me. Sergey is the student. I’m not fighting John. But how can a teacher teach with credibility when the teacher has all F’s? How can a teacher teach a student to have all A’s when he has an F? I guarantee John did not show our fight to Sergey.”

SERGEY KOVALEV, WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion

“All roads lead to this fight. This is a huge fight in my career and in my life.

“Bernard Hopkins is a legend. He is a professor of professional boxing. This fight is dangerous for me but this fight is also dangerous for him because of me.

“November 8th on HBO in Atlantic City will be a great show and a really interesting fight. I hope that this fight will be very fair and honest.

“In the beginning of my career, I was ready to fight anywhere at anytime. No one knew me in America and I built my career from zero. I fought any place, any opponent.

“I only understand about 10 percent of what Hopkins says. He speaks in American English and slang. It’s probably a good thing because it doesn’t bother me.

“After he fights me, he can leave boxing and become a one man show in the theater or comedy. He is a great talker.

“It would be different if we fought in Russia and I could fully explain myself and what I want to say and he had what he was saying interpreted.

“The way someone explained to me what he said. He is saying interesting things.

“I understand that he is sure of himself 100 percent, and that is a good thing, but I am going to win on Saturday night.”

SADAM ALI, Undefeated Welterweight Contender

“I am very excited to be on the undercard with Hopkins and Kovalev. Every time I’m on a card with Hopkins, he is making history and it motivates me.

“I want to thank all the promoters for getting back together because that is the most important thing.

“I am ready to put on a show. Everyone has the chance to put on a show. I have been boxing for 18 years and this is my time.”

LUIS CARLOS ABREGU, Welterweight Contender

“I want to thank Sadam Ali and his team. They are good people. This is a sport. In the fight we are going to come to work and it will be a fight. After that we will go back to being friends again.

“You all know my style. I’m here to give the fans a great fight. Let’s put it all together and may the best man win.

“Now there isn’t much more to say. Lets leave it for Saturday night.”

NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins’ Trainer

“There’s not too much we can say about Bernard Hopkins that hasn’t already been said.

“This fight will put ‘The Alien’ in the Hall of Fame. ‘The Executioner’ is already in there. He is not only he oldest boxing champion he is the oldest champion in any sport. We can’t even reduce him to boxing any more, he’s no longer just ours.

“I’ve seen this man face punchers before. I’ve seen him face everything except for ‘fan man.’

“Come out and see one of the greatest athletes of all time. ‘The Executioner’, ‘The Alien’, ‘B-Hop’ or whatever your favorite segment was in his career.

“I don’t want anyone to declaw or defang Kovalev. I don’t want to hear it was this or that, or that the mind game of Bernard was too much for him. You all watch this kid. There’s no excuse for this man not to come out and do what he’s been doing.”

JOHN DAVID JACKSON, Kovalev’s Trainer

“Boxing needs fights like this. I respect Bernard and what he has accomplished in his career and I respect this young man Kovalev for what he has accomplished in his young career. He is going to go on to bigger and better things.

“It’s fights like these that keep boxing alive, with the veteran warrior and a young warrior willing to fight each other.

“The talking is done, the fight plan is together and every stone has been turned.”

EGIS KLIMAS, Kovalev’s Manager

“I want to thank Sergey for being a good person. It’s fights like these that keep boxing alive. He wants to take the old man’s title.

“It is a fight that people need to see in boxing. They could have chosen other fights. This is what boxing needs. I am respecting this man for what he’s accomplished.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President & Founder of Golden Boy Promotions

“This is the premiere event for the year in boxing. The beauty about this is that it could easily have been on pay-per-view, but its not it’s live on HBO.

“It’s the biggest fight of the year and all of the parties involved stepped up to the plate and it is going to be a highly anticipated event.

“Bernard is a future Hall of Famer who is shattering records left and right. Talk about perseverance, never giving up and fighting for what’s right.

“You can go on and on about what a perfect example of an athlete he is. He eats, sleeps, and breathes boxing. Bernard Hopkins is in a class of his own. We are never going to see another Hopkins in our lifetime, that’s how special he is and I’m not just saying that because he knocked me out.

“There is something about Hopkins psychological game plan. It puts you in a trance. It caught me by surprise. That is what Hopkins is. We know he is physically strong, fast and agile, but here there is nobody like him.

“Having the privilege to step into the ring with Bernard Hopkins is an experience that is impossible to prepare for. How are you going to deal with his brain power, mind and his plan A, B, C?”

KATHY DUVA, CEO of Main Events

“Sergey will enter the ring with one belt and wants to leave with three. He has an electrifying presence in the ring and I have no doubt he is going to give us a show.

“These are two great fighters. Bernard is a great fighter. There is no other way to describe him. I know what this legacy means to him. Taking this fight at this point in his life proves that.

“We have put together a card from top to bottom that should be entertaining. We wanted to make sure we stacked the card from top to bottom.

“Atlantic City is not out. This is a perfect example of If you bring the best fights to Atlantic City the people are going to be interested It’s been a little bit of a dry spell for us in Atlantic City. Maybe it’s an omen but Larry Hazzard was reappointed commissioner and we go this great championship fight right here on our doorstep.

“I want to thank the fighters. When you can get guys to fight that are taking chances and making fights happen that fans want to see, that is the best scenario possible for the sport.

“Bernard has been a fighter in Atlantic City for a long time, a lot longer than he probably wants to remember. I commend him for taking this fight and bringing it to Atlantic City.”

CARL MORETTI, Vice President of Boxing Operations for Top Rank

“You don’t want to say the opening fight is going to steal the show. This kind of fight is experience versus youth.

“In the welterweight division any fight you can make is a good fight because it always leads to something great. We look forward to making fights like this.

“Luis Carlos Abregu is probably the best puncher in the welterweight division.

LARRY HAZZARD, Commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission

“There’s not much I need to say. This is quite a homecoming for me. When I left in 2007 it was not a good year for me. When I left Hopkins was headlining a big event in AC. At that time you were ‘The Executioner’ and now you’re ‘The Alien.’

“It is wonderful that this is taking place in Atlantic City. This is probably the most anticipated boxing event for the entire year. It is a fight that really didn’t have to take place. These two guys could have danced around each other for another year ago, but because they consider themselves the best and in boxing the best should be fighting the best.”

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank.
The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

24/7 HOPKINS/KOVALEV, the 30-minute special narrated by Liev Schreiber and produced by HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning “24/7” production team replays Friday, Nov. 7 at 8:00 p.m. on HBO2 andSaturday, Nov. 8 at 11:00 a.m. on HBO. All times are ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.

Become a fan on Facebookat www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/therealbhop, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.




FIGHTING HOPKINS A CHILDHOOD DREAM FOR PROUD NEW DAD KOVALEV WHO VOWS TO ‘KICK ASS’ IN WORLD TITLE UNIFICATION CLASH LIVE ON BOXNATION

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LONDON (Nov 6) – Proud new dad Sergey Kovalev isn’t in the mood for any niceties after vowing to ‘kick ass’ when he faces Bernard Hopkins this weekend.

The pair clash in what is one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of the year, with both men putting their world titles on the line when they lock horns in an historic battle at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this Saturday night, live on BoxNation.

Despite having become a father for the first time, the feared Russian knockout artist has not softened from his characteristic steely disposition and has stated he is prepared to win the fight with Philadelphian Hopkins in any way possible.

“This is a huge fight for me and this is the fight of my life. It’s a very important fight. I’m focused on this. Yes, my baby was just born and I remember this, and my son has pushed me more and is a big motivation for me. Now I understand who I’m doing everything in my career for. I’m doing it now not for me. I’m doing this for my family,” said Kovalev.

“I go into the ring and I get my victory at any cost. If I need to fight, I will fight. If I need to box, I’m going to box. This is a fight. You can keep in your mind one strategy but these fighters can change.

“I don’t have any strategy for the fight, just to go into the ring and fight like a street fight. I’m going to kick his ass because he’s my opponent. Any of my opponents want to beat me. If I’m not going to beat him he will beat me,” he said.

The reigning WBO light-heavyweight champion has made it clear that he is even prepared to push the boundaries if need be.

“Anyway I need to get a victory, dirty fight or clean fight, for me it doesn’t matter. I will fight dirty, if Hopkins will fight dirty,” he said.

“I’m going to fight a clean fight, but who knows what will happen November 8th. It will be interesting, very interesting. I can’t imagine what will happen,” Kovalev said.

The journey to this point in his career has been a long and arduous one for the big-hitting Kovalev, who has scored 23 knockouts in his 25 wins.

Having moved over to the USA to fulfil a childhood ambition of establishing himself among the elite of the sport, the 31-year-old Kovalev’s road to stardom wasn’t easy.

“You never know what will be tomorrow, but if you believe in it, it can happen, if you trust and believe in yourself and you have a goal and you’re working to this goal, then yes, this can happen,” said Kovalev, speaking on his rise to the top.

“When we fought three, four years ago with Egis [Kovalev’s manager], and we were travelling all over the country in America and fighting anyone who was ready, I didn’t think that this fight would be possible.

“But I believed that I can to do it, and I tried to do it, and some very big thanks to my promoter, Kathy Duva and to Egis that they, from their conversations led me to sign a contract with the promoter – that is when my fight began.

“I waited a long time at this level and waited for this fight, a huge fight. When I was a child I had a dream, when I watched TV I dreamed. I wanted to be there and now I’m here. Everything from your head and everything from your heart, if you want it, you can do it,” Kovalev explained.

One secret weapon that Kovalev has in his armoury going into this fight is trainer John David Jackson, who was in camp with Hopkins for four years under the tutelage of the WBA and IBF champion’s trainer Naazim Richardson.

Kovalev, however, is keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of the bout.

“The most important thing for the team and for me is just to keep going systematically, and keep disciplined, and keep working. What John David Jackson said is that it’s a secret between me and him, he has the keys to my victory.

“I understand that everybody wants to hear what happened in my training camp with John David Jackson, but everything you will see on November 8th in Atlantic City,” Kovalev said.

Hopkins v Kovalev is live on BoxNation (Sky437/490HD, Virgin 546 & TalkTalk 525) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.525), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.




WATCH HOPKINS – KOVALEV PRESS CONFERENCE AT 1 PM ET


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VIDEO: HBO BOXING NEWS–SERGEY KOVALEV




Video: HBO Boxing News–Bernard Hopkins




Bernard Hopkins: Too Great for a Single Era

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PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 5) – When 49-year old WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) faces 31-year old WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) in a unification battle on Saturday, November 8 in Atlantic City, he will bring more than a pair of gloved fists. Hopkins brings almost 30 years of history with him.

The continuing success of “The Alien” can make it easy to forget just how long Hopkins has been a part of the professional boxing landscape.

Hopkins was born in 1965 and has seen:

Nine U.S. Presidents (Johnson, Nixon. Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama)

The world’s population more than double, from 3.3 billion to over 7 billion

The average price of gas rise from 31 cents a gallon all the way up to three dollars and thirty-five cents

A 23-year-old Hopkins turned professional in October 1988. How long ago was that?

Sergey Kovalev was only five years old

Mike Tyson was Ring Magazine’s top fighter in the world pound-for-pound

Ronald Regan was President of the United States

“Rain Man” was the top film of the year

Hopkins earned his first world title shot, a loss to Roy Jones Jr. in May 1993. At that same time:

Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. was boxing’s pound-for-pound king

Mike Tyson was a prisoner in Indiana

The USSR had collapsed

“The Bridges of Madison County” topped the New York Times bestseller list

Hopkins began his historic reign as middleweight champion with a seventh-round stoppage of Segundo Mercado for the IBF crown in May, 1995, the same time that:

Pernell Whitaker followed Chavez Sr. as the pound-for-pound king while Hopkins quietly built his case

Whitney Houston graced the cover of Ebony magazine

Montell Jordan’s “This is How We Do It” sat atop the music charts

Today’s pop sensations Justin Bieber and Harry Styles were only one-year-old and Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez were just two

2001 was a banner year for Hopkins as he earned a place in the middleweight unification tournament. He defeated Keith Holmes for the WBC crown in April and set his sights on WBA Champion Felix Trinidad in September at Madison Square Garden. Their classic encounter was delayed two weeks by the events of 9/11, the then-36 year old Hopkins memorably stopped “Tito” in 12 rounds and tied Carlos Monzon’s record for consecutive title defenses at 14. Hopkins did this while:

A 17-year old Sergey Kovalev won the Russian Junior Championships Silver Medal at middleweight

Hasim Rahman was the heavyweight champion of the world after knocking out Lennox Lewis

The second George Bush had been president for less than a year

“The West Wing” won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series

The year 2004 would be memorable for Hopkins as he rose to the top of the pound-for-pound ranks following Antonio Tarver’s defeat of Jones and in September knocked out Oscar De La Hoya in the ninth round to become the first person to unify four titles in any weight class while at the same time:

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez had just fought to a draw in their first of four fights

An electric young speaker at the year’s Democratic National Convention named Barack Obama would be elected to the U.S. Senate just months later

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade had all just finished their rookie seasons in the NBA

Michael Phelps won six gold medals in swimming while competing in his first Olympic games

Hopkins finally lost the middleweight crown in 2005 and, at age 41, decided to jump two weight classes to start the next phase of his career. In June 2006, he defeated Antonio Tarver for the Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight title.

In 2009, Sergey Kovalev would turn professional with a first round knockout. By this time, Hopkins had already fought 56 times professionally.

In May 2011, Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal for the Ring Magazine and WBC Light Heavyweight titles. At age 46, Hopkins broke George Foreman’s record and became the oldest world champion in boxing history.

Throughout the Philadelphia-native and five-time world champion’s illustrious career, only one major sports team from Philadelphia has won a championship, the 2008 Phillies.

In the summer on 2014, Hopkins watched former foes De La Hoya, Trinidad, and Calzaghe go into the International Boxing Hall of Fame together.

Then, he signed to fight Kovalev.

Bernard Hopkins belongs to history even as he keeps making it.

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank.
The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.

Become a fan on Facebookat www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/therealbhop, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.




Hopkins vs. Kovalev happens Saturday Night on HBO

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HBO Sports presents the fall’s most-anticipated boxing event when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: BERNARD HOPKINS VS. SERGEY KOVALEV AND SADAM ALI VS. LUIS CARLOS ABREGU is seen SATURDAY, NOV. 8 at 10:45 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 9 (8:45 a.m.) and 10 (12:30 a.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Nov. 11 (10:30 p.m.)

The most accomplished light heavyweights in boxing take the spotlight when Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) meets Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) in a red-hot title unification fight scheduled for 12 rounds. The bout marks Hopkins’ 22nd appearance on HBO and Kovalev’s fifth appearance on the network in a 15-month span.

Philadelphia native Hopkins, who continues to defy the odds and the critics, enters the ring two months shy of his 50th birthday as the oldest champion in history. Widely considered one of the greatest middleweights ever, with victories over Oscar de la Hoya, Roy Jones, Jr., Antonio Tarver and Felix Trinidad, he unified middleweight titles when he defeated Beibut Shumenov by split decision in April. As the more traditional boxer, Hopkins will seek to use ring generalship and veteran savvy to again unify titles.

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, 31, is one of the most feared light heavyweights today. During his five years as a pro, only one opponent has lasted more than seven rounds against the heavy-handed Russian, who currently owns a nine-fight knockout streak. He will look to extend that run in Atlantic City, which has hosted his last two title defenses.

In the opening bout, Brooklyn’s Sadam Ali (20-0, 12 KOs) squares off against Argentina’s Luis Carlos Abregu (36-1, 29 KOs) in a ten-round welterweight fight. The undefeated Ali, 26, is a rising prospect making his third ring appearance of 2014. Abregu, 30, knocked out the undefeated Thomas Dulorme in his last appearance on HBO in 2012. He holds an impressive seven-fight winning streak since his only loss, against former welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. The winner will likely enter the discussion of world title contenders in this competitive division.

The special “24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev” replays Saturday at 11:00 a.m. (ET/PT) on HBO.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® is Rick Bernstein; producer, Dave Harmon; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.




‘OLD SCHOOL’ HOPKINS INSISTS HE ONLY WANTS TO FIGHT THE BEST AS HE TAKES ON THE FORMIDABLE KOVALEV IN HISTORIC WORLD TITLE UNIFICATION CLASH LIVE ON BOXNATION

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LONDON (5 Nov) – Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins insists the reason he chose to fight feared knockout artist Sergey Kovalev is because he only wants to take on the very best.

The reigning WBA and IBF light-heavyweight world champion faces the Russian ace and current WBO champion Kovalev in a mouth-watering unification clash this weekend, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

Taking place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, the Philadelphian veteran, who is remarkably just two months shy of his 50th birthday, says he is from an era where the best fight the best.

“I want the best. Hagler fought the best. Ray Leonard fought the best. The Alis of the world, they fought the best. I’m from the era where I fought the best and that’s important to me,” said Hopkins.

“I’ve been in the game for almost three decades. I look for more of what a guy brings to a gunfight other than bullets. The sweet science is not based on only one thing you can do particularly well.

“There’s no fighter I wouldn’t put my record up against in this era, in any class. I put the work in to have the track record and be taken seriously. Come November 8 you get to watch artwork. You’re watching Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong with gloves on,” he said.

But the unbeaten Kovalev has been dubbed ‘Krusher’ for a reason having amassed a formidable 23 knockouts from his 25 wins.

The future Hall of Fame fighter Hopkins, however, is well aware of the threat that Kovalev possesses and has called on observers, who are tipping Kovalev to win, to not go back on their words after the fight.

“I have the same thoughts on Kovalev that most people do. He’s a dangerous puncher, he has an over 90 percent knockout rate and anyone who fights this guy has the opportunity to not be the same,” Hopkins said.

“Kovalev is a threat to anybody. It won’t be an easy fight, even if it looks easy to you. I don’t just have to beat the man, but I have to beat a lot of people. They’re either going to watch me win or watch me lose, and I don’t mind playing that game.

“I don’t believe in luck, I believe in whoever brings the best of themselves and whoever sacrifices will win. We won’t take anything away from this guy because he’s real, but on Nov. 9 we don’t want anyone saying what they aren’t saying now,” he said.

The oldest world champion in boxing history at 49-years-old also believes that there will unlikely be another fighter who is able to defy Father Time as he has, and has urged fans to enjoy him while they can.

“This is nothing to sneeze at, that’s the main thing, but just being able to be around as long as I’ve been and still fresh as a daisy, I believe, and I’ll prove it November 8th, there’s no definition really behind it.

“Just enjoy it, understand it, and realise that you might not be alive to see it again,” Hopkins said.

The 31-year-old Kovalev, who won his first world title by devastating Nathan Cleverly when the clashed last year, is adamant that he is going to do the same demolition job on Hopkins when they get into the ring this Saturday night.

“Bernard talks and fights. I just fight,” said Kovalev “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I go into the ring and I get my victory at any cost. If I need to fight, I will fight. If I need to box, I’m going to box. I don’t have any strategy for the fight, just to go into the ring and fight like a street fight. I’m going to kick his ass because he’s my opponent.

“I always have bullets in my arsenal. My hands are my weapons. It’s my weapon in the ring. Hopkins thinks that I only have two bullets but I will bring some more,” he said.

Hopkins vs. Kovalev is live on BoxNation (Sky437/490HD, Virgin 546 & TalkTalk 525) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

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BERNARD HOPKINS AND SERGEY KOVALEV HAVE STATED THEIR INTENTIONS AND ARE READY FOR BATTLE AS “ALIEN VS. KRUSHER” FIGHT WEEK ARRIVES

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ATLANTIC CITY (November 5, 2014) – Months of grueling training and countless hours of preparation have led to arguably the most anticipated fight of 2014 featuring Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins taking on Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. This Saturday, Nov. 8 fight fans will finally get a chance to see what all the talk is about when the light heavyweight champions meet at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.

However, before fight night arrives, please take a look back at some of the noteworthy words exchanged between the Hopkins and Kovalev camps.

Bernard Hopkins, IBF and WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion

“I’ve been in the game for almost three decades. I look for more of what a guy brings to a gunfight other than bullets…The sweet science is not based on only one thing you can do particularly well.

“I’ve been watching this guy, I dug up amateur fights of this guy, and I know how he breathes, I know how he sits down, I know where he sits down, what he thinks, I know everything about him.

“There’s no fighter I wouldn’t put my record up against. In this era, in any class. I put the work in to have the track record and be taken seriously.”

“Come November 8 on HBO you get to watch artwork. You’re watching Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong with gloves on.

“I want the best. Hagler fought the best. Ray Leonard fought the best. The Alis of the world, they fought the best. I’m from the era where I fought the best and that’s important to me.

“I have the same thoughts on Kovalev that most people here do. He’s a dangerous puncher, he has an over 90 percent knockout rate and anyone who fights this guy has the opportunity to not be the same. We won’t take anything away from this guy because he’s real, but on Nov. 9 we don’t want anyone saying what they aren’t saying now.

“Kovalev is a threat to anybody. It won’t be an easy fight, even if it looks easy to you. I don’t just have to beat the man, but I have to beat a lot of people. They’re either going to watch me win or watch me lose, and I don’t mind playing that game. I don’t believe in luck, I believe in whoever brings the best of themselves and whoever sacrifices to be victorious will win.

This is nothing to sneeze at, that’s the main thing, but just being able to be around as long as I’ve been and still fresh as a daisy, I believe, and I’ll prove it November 8th, there’s no definition really behind it. Just enjoy it, understand it, and realize that you might not be alive to see it again.”

Sergey Kovalev, WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion

“Bernard talks and fights. I just fight.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I go into the ring and I get my victory at any cost. If I need to fight, I will fight. If I need to box, I’m going to box… I don’t have any strategy for the fight, just to go into the ring and fight like a street fight. I’m going to kick his ass because he’s my opponent.

“I always have bullets in my arsenal. My hands are my weapons. It’s my weapon in the ring. Hopkins thinks that I only have two bullets but I will bring some more.”

“It is not easy to overlook Hopkins. I think when he’s 60 years old he’ll be in the same condition. He’s an alien, but I have to send him to the moon and maybe from there he’ll go by himself to Mars.

“I don’t really understand what Bernard is saying. It doesn’t matter what he says. Even if I understood, I wouldn’t care. I don’t worry about him. I’ll go into the ring and do my job.

“He has pushed me little bit. I want to do everything a little bit faster and a little bit rushed. I already can’t wait for this day to come. I have patience and there is nothing I can do but wait for November 8 to get two more titles and go back and give this victory to my wife and my son.”

“Any way I need to get a victory, dirty fight or clean fight, for me it doesn’t matter. I will fight dirty, if Hopkins will fight dirty.”

Oscar De La Hoya, President and Founder of Golden Boy Promotions

“Being the best middleweight in the history of this sport, with 20 defenses and now to be 49 at light heavyweight, he’s still going strong. I’m now convinced he is an Alien.

“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.

“People respect the fact that at 49-years-old, he’s still going strong. There’s no sign of him slowing down. He’s getting faster, he’s getting stronger and he has more energy. He’s toying with young fighters, half his age. For Hopkins it’s starts outside the ring, he breaks you.

“At 49-years-old, being the oldest champion in any sport, he deserves tons of respect. The fact that he’s facing the ‘Krusher,’ is just another of the many dangerous fighters that Bernard has faced.

“At this point. Hopkins is already in the Hall of Fame, he’s already going to be talked about as one of the greats. So he doesn’t have that added pressure of trying to prove himself. I think people already have the utmost respect for him.

“I believe that Hopkins focuses not on what he’s going to do physically, but on what he can do to get his opponent out of their comfort zone and what combinations does he not expect from me. I wouldn’t say he’s awkward, but he knows how to offset you.”

Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events

“This fight is going to be the most anticipated fight of 2014. It’s so much fun putting together a fight like this that everyone wants to see. It’s great to see the excitement level and the anticipation. You can feel it in the air.

“Bernard’s never been stopped. Sergey has knocked out just about everyone he’s fought. It is a tremendous, compelling fight.

“This is going to be a tremendous event. It’s one of those fights that when the bell rings you really won’t know what is going to happen. It’s not about finding out who’s best, its about who is going to win the fight, because both are great.

“This is what boxing is supposed to be and we look forward to November 8.

“The first person I thought of when I saw Sergey Kovalev in the ring was Ray Leonard. I saw the look in his eye and I could tell he was different. I believe he is the most electrifying boxer in the world of boxing and he will prove it on November 8.”

###

ABOUT ALIEN VS. KRUSHER:
“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing
or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events,
www.twitter.com/hboboxing,www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali,
www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

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BERNARD HOPKINS, SERGEY KOVALEV & SADAM ALI BROOKLYN MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTE

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BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF & WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion

“There are so many things I’ve done that the world of boxing has witnessed. It’s going to be difficult for the boxing people to pick one of my performances as the best.

“I’ve done so many unpredictable things and so profoundly. Even the people who want to go against me, are afraid to go against me. They’ve been wrong so many times. A lot of them are just being mum right now. They must feel I can still do things.

“This is a great position to be in. I don’t really believe there is any fighter, in any decade that can be in my position of luxury that I’ve been in for many years.

“Early on in my career I had the kind of anxious where you couldn’t sleep at night. That anxiousness is like a virus we all have in us. Some you can deal with but some will wipe you out.

“The Pavlik fight was the first time I heard the masses put the word knockout attached to my opponent. I’m real keen on what people say. Ninety percent of it might be garbage, but something in there might be the plan. That woke me up and I knew I wanted to destroy.

“The only thing I can do is be right about what I say. Because I know I’m being watched. I understand what I’m facing. All I can do is put the work behind it.

“I didn’t need to take any fight for the last 10 years. But I’ve always fought the best and I’ve always wanted to prove myself to the best.

“I always not only want push the envelope in my career but I also have an itch for going against the grain.

“Enjoy that you can see me now. I would love to see the great Michael Jordan and Julius Erving in their younger days, but they’re gone. Look at me at 50, I’m going to eat right and live right so I can take less punches and look normal.

“This fight isn’t about boxing, it’s something deeper than that.

“I was made to be where I’m at. I just had to go through some challenges, so that I can educate others later.”

SERGEY KOVALEV, WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion

“Fifty is just a number. I think nothing of his age. If he was old he would be retired, but he’s still in there. He’s not an old man, he’s a young alien.

“I’m really excited for this fight. I will do my job and anything I need to do to win.

“Bernard likes to push everybody, inside the ring or outside. We’re ready to begin. We’re ready to fight. I feel like I’ve been fighting him for two months going to the gym every day.

“I don’t know what will happen November 8 because this is sports, this is boxing. But I will be ready. I will get a chance to be undisputed and I’m ready to do it. That is my goal.

“I need to do what I do and do it very well.

“I can think back and remember everything from early in my career, but I don’t want to do that. It was often very terrible and it was hard to get to this stage and this place.

“I was searching around for any promoter but no one would sign me. I fought for three years for free. In 2013, Kathy Duva signed me and my career has gotten much better. Being on a big fight on TV is what I’ve always wanted.

“Egis Klimas paid for everything when I was starting out, my opponents, my clothes and my food. He invested a lot into me.

“This fight is a great opportunity for me to create my history for me and my family. I will do that. When my son grows up he will be able to look at this and say, ‘that is my father.’ He can see that I did it for him.

“I can’t make any predictions. We will see everything on November 8. It’s boxing, it’s a fight. For me, any fight like this is a street fight, anything can happen.

“I’m going to go in to fight. I’m going to box, I’m going to show that I can fight with the best light heavyweight right now.

“From my side everything will be clean and fair. I don’t know what he will be doing.

“My life has already changed but this fight means everything.”

NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins’ Trainer

“Sergey Kovalev is an exceptional puncher. We haven’t seen him hurt guys of extreme quality yet, but we can’t take for granted what we’ve seen against the opposition he’s faced. He’s annihilated these dudes, that’s how he wins fights.

“Kovalev is a monster. He’s a beast. He punches harder than Hercules. But I don’t want people to defang him on Sunday. If Kovalev is all of these things that people say he is and Bernard beats him, you better start that car and drive him straight to Canastota and induct him into the Hall of Fame right now.

“We’re too late in the game to overhaul from training camp to training camp. We train Bernard Hopkins. The rest of the world adjusts to Bernard Hopkins. Each camp we strive to get the best Bernard Hopkins we can.

“We don’t even call it training camp. It’s a lifestyle for Bernard. They’re just dates we all get together.

“It’s genetics. It’s lifestyle. There are many variables that mesh together to make Bernard who he is. We just have to appreciate him while he’s here.

“With a win over Kovalev it separates so that now he should go to the Hall of Fame as ‘The Executioner’ and ‘The Alien.’ A win over Kovalev only adds to ‘The Executioner’ but it would also solidify a Hall of Fame career for the ‘The Alien.'”

JOHN DAVID JACKSON, Kovalev’s Trainer

“Sergey’s talent is still untapped. He could be a really special fighter. He needs to get past this fight here first and then the sky is the limit for him.

“His punching power is so unreal it makes him hard to deal with.

“I warned Bernard’s camp a few years ago, don’t fight this Kovalev kid. I don’t know what they told Bernard. But I told them please don’t fight this kid.

“This is business at the end of the day. Bernard can talk about me all night long but I don’t have to get in the ring with him.

“Sergey doesn’t understand English that well so it doesn’t matter what Bernard says. There’s mutual respect, but fight week is here so we’ll see what happens.

“Sergey is ready. Bernard is all he talks about. Beating Bernard is the next phase of the plan. If you beat a fighter of that magnitude it takes you to the next level.”

SADAM ALI, Undefeated Welterweight Contender

“Luis Carlos Abregu is not someone you should overlook or underestimate. He has power in both hands. He gives you a lot to worry about in the ring because of his tremendous power.

“There is no limit for me. I just want to keep going and going. This is the biggest fight of my career and I just have to be on my A-game.

“I worked on defense a little more than usual in training camp, I think anyone who fights Abregu should. I’ve been training hard and I’m mentally and physically prepared. No weight lifting, but a lot of calisthenics.

“It’s been a long journey to get here. It hasn’t been going as fast as I expected it to but there’s a plan for all of us. This is the biggest fight of my career, I hope there are bigger fights coming but so far it’s the biggest.

“I have a tough opponent and I think a lot of people are underestimating me. I’m the underdog now, which I’m not used to being. I’m putting in the time and the work in the gym and I’m ready.

“Everybody is entitled to their opinion and I honestly like being looked at as the underdog. I want to be underestimated, that way you’re going to be surprised by what I bring to you.

“I’ve put in the time at the gym so I’m not worried about getting tired at all. I have to be heads up in the ring.

“This fight is definitely a bigger step up than people thought I was going to take but after I win this I will prove a lot of people wrong.

“Everybody needs to take this kind of step if they want to be special and I want to be special. I know I am special. Training camp was great and I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank.
The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.

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BERNARD HOPKINS AND SERGEY KOVALEV HAVE STATED THEIR INTENTIONS AND ARE READY FOR BATTLE AS “ALIEN VS. KRUSHER” FIGHT WEEK ARRIVES

Bernard Hopkins
ATLANTIC CITY (November 3, 2014) – Months of grueling training and countless hours of preparation have led to arguably the most anticipated fight of 2014 featuring Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins taking on Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. This Saturday, Nov. 8 fight fans will finally get a chance to see what all the talk is about when the light heavyweight champions meet at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.

However, before fight night arrives, please take a look back at some of the noteworthy words exchanged between the Hopkins and Kovalev camps.

Bernard Hopkins, IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion

“I’ve been in the game for almost three decades. I look for more of what a guy brings to a gunfight other than bullets…The sweet science is not based on only one thing you can do particularly well.

“I’ve been watching this guy, I dug up amateur fights of this guy, and I know how he breathes, I know how he sits down, I know where he sits down, what he thinks, I know everything about him.

“There’s no fighter I wouldn’t put my record up against. In this era, in any class. I put the work in to have the track record and be taken seriously.

“Come November 8 on HBO you get to watch artwork. You’re watching Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong with gloves on.

“I want the best. Hagler fought the best. Ray Leonard fought the best. The Alis of the world, they fought the best. I’m from the era where I fought the best and that’s important to me.

“I have the same thoughts on Kovalev that most people here do. He’s a dangerous puncher, he has an over 90 percent knockout rate and anyone who fights this guy has the opportunity to not be the same. We won’t take anything away from this guy because he’s real, but on Nov. 9 we don’t want anyone saying what they aren’t saying now.

“Kovalev is a threat to anybody. It won’t be an easy fight, even if it looks easy to you. I don’t just have to beat the man, but I have to beat a lot of people. They’re either going to watch me win or watch me lose, and I don’t mind playing that game. I don’t believe in luck, I believe in whoever brings the best of themselves and whoever sacrifices to be victorious will win.

“This is nothing to sneeze at, that’s the main thing, but just being able to be around as long as I’ve been and still fresh as a daisy, I believe, and I’ll prove it November 8th, there’s no definition really behind it. Just enjoy it, understand it, and realize that you might not be alive to see it again.”

Sergey Kovalev, WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion

“Bernard talks and fights. I just fight.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I go into the ring and I get my victory at any cost. If I need to fight, I will fight. If I need to box, I’m going to box… I don’t have any strategy for the fight, just to go into the ring and fight like a street fight. I’m going to kick his ass because he’s my opponent.

“I always have bullets in my arsenal. My hands are my weapons. It’s my weapon in the ring. Hopkins thinks that I only have two bullets but I will bring some more.

“It is not easy to overlook Hopkins. I think when he’s 60 years old he’ll be in the same condition. He’s an alien, but I have to send him to the moon and maybe from there he’ll go by himself to Mars.

“I don’t really understand what Bernard is saying. It doesn’t matter what he says. Even if I understood, I wouldn’t care. I don’t worry about him. I’ll go into the ring and do my job.

“He has pushed me little bit. I want to do everything a little bit faster and a little bit rushed. I already can’t wait for this day to come. I have patience and there is nothing I can do but wait for November 8 to get two more titles and go back and give this victory to my wife and my son.

“Any way I need to get a victory, dirty fight or clean fight, for me it doesn’t matter. I will fight dirty, if Hopkins will fight dirty.”

Oscar De La Hoya, President and Founder of Golden Boy Promotions

“Being the best middleweight in the history of this sport, with 20 defenses and now to be 49 at light heavyweight, he’s still going strong. I’m now convinced he is an Alien.

“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.

“People respect the fact that at 49-years-old, he’s still going strong. There’s no sign of him slowing down. He’s getting faster, he’s getting stronger and he has more energy. He’s toying with young fighters, half his age. For Hopkins it’s starts outside the ring, he breaks you.

“At 49-years-old, being the oldest champion in any sport, he deserves tons of respect. The fact that he’s facing the ‘Krusher,’ is just another of the many dangerous fighters that Bernard has faced.

“At this point. Hopkins is already in the Hall of Fame, he’s already going to be talked about as one of the greats. So he doesn’t have that added pressure of trying to prove himself. I think people already have the utmost respect for him.

“I believe that Hopkins focuses not on what he’s going to do physically, but on what he can do to get his opponent out of their comfort zone and what combinations does he not expect from me. I wouldn’t say he’s awkward, but he knows how to offset you.”

Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events

“This fight is going to be the most anticipated fight of 2014. It’s so much fun putting together a fight like this that everyone wants to see. It’s great to see the excitement level and the anticipation. You can feel it in the air.

“Bernard’s never been stopped. Sergey has knocked out just about everyone he’s fought. It is a tremendous, compelling fight.

“This is going to be a tremendous event. It’s one of those fights that when the bell rings you really won’t know what is going to happen. It’s not about finding out who’s best, its about who is going to win the fight, because both are great.

“This is what boxing is supposed to be and we look forward to November 8.

“The first person I thought of when I saw Sergey Kovalev in the ring was Ray Leonard. I saw the look in his eye and I could tell he was different. I believe he is the most electrifying boxer in the world of boxing and he will prove it on November 8.”

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali, www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/therealbhop, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.




Undefeated lightweight prospect Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin Fighting Saturday night under brighter lights

NEW YORK (Nov. 3, 2014) – Undefeated lightweight prospect Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin (8-0, 4 KOs) will be fighting under much brighter lights this Saturday night in a non-televised fight on HBO World Championship Boxing, featuring the world light heavyweight unification headliner between living legend Bernard Hopkins and Russian knockout special, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Martin, a 12-time national amateur champion from Chattanooga who now fights out of Cleveland, faces a much more experienced opponent and toughest test of his young professional career, Mexican invader Martin “Marciano” Cardona (17-3, 12 KOs), in a scheduled six-round bout.

“I’m excited because I feel like I’ve earned my way to be on these events,” 21-year-old Martin spoke about fighting on such a high-profile card. “I’ve been working extremely hard since I was a young boy. HBO is considered the leader in sports and I consider myself a soon-to-be leader in the division. I’ve competed and have been among the best in the nation since I was a kid. I’m eager to showcase my skills in front of (HBO boxing executive) Peter Nelson again. Hopefully, we create more opportunities like this. (Note: Nelson sat ringside next to Martin’s promoter, 50 Cent, on Dec. 20 in New York City and watched Martin knockout Eric Goodall in the first round.)

“I don’t have a relationship with Hopkins, however, I became a big fan of his after he lost a disputed decision to Jermain Taylor when they fought for the undisputed world middleweight championship. Taylor was one of my favorite fighters. He used to give me words of advice when I was an amateur. It’s cool to see Hopkins still beating up people at 49 and Taylor looks like he recovered from his injuries and is healthier. I wish the best for both of these guys.”

Martin followed his older brother, Courtney, to a gym for the first time at the age of eight and he instantly fell in love with boxing. A self-described boxer-puncher with speed clearly his greatest attribute, Martin is also surprisingly composed beyond his years in the ring, where he often explodes like his idol, Sugar Ray Leonard.

His gold-medal performance at the prestigious U.S. Under-19 Tournament marked the highlight of his outstanding amateur career, which included action in several European cities including Berlin, Paris and London.

Martin was immediately placed on a fast track by his promoter, 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson). Saturday night will mark Ryan’s ninth professional fight in only 14 months, since his much-anticipated professional debut, September 16, 2014 in New York City, in which he stopped Darus Somieari in the second round at Resorts World Casino NYC.

“Staying active has always been stressed to me by 50 Cent and my management team,” Martin explained. “They want me comfortable under the sports brightest lights, so, that’s what we are doing, remaining consistent by competing and training as hard as possible. We plan to close out the year with at least one more fight in December.

Martin steps up in terms of the level of his opponent against 23-year-old Cardona, who won his first 17 pro fights before losing last year in France to 18-0 Roman Jacob for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight title.




Mental alignment, Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev

By Bart Barry–
Bernard Hopkins
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Three miles southwest of Texas State University is a mostly waterless stretch of terrain called Purgatory Creek Natural Area, a verdant place complete with trails named after Dante, Ripheus, Ovid and Beatrice, for those with an Italian literary bent.

Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in the American purgatory of Atlantic City, light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins and Russian Sergey Kovalev will make the most meaningful fight of 2014.

The above sentences are related, though how they are will not be apparent for a while to come.

What also may come is the day boxing makes a concerted – in the sense of coordinated – attempt to win back what fans it lost in the first half of the second decade of this 21st century, a time of fan exodus that began in the early weeks of 2010, the first time the world’s best and second-best practitioners refused to make a contest with one another despite occupying the same weightclass. A day of fans’ collective return to our sport, however, is of no consequence right now because boxing faces a nigh existential crisis this year of aficionado departures.

The casual fans are long gone, shuffling steadily if quietly away under a rainstorm of “good riddance!” from purists who didn’t know any better, and the consequences of their departure and ways they will be missed is not entirely knowable yet but guessable certainly. To indulge a hunt for those consequences, though, is an indulgence indeed in 2014 – the year our sport became so easy to abandon. This is not a crisis that will find remedy from a new television deal or browbeating about boxing’s redounding popularity in Dublin and Dubai and Dunkirk and Dongguan; boxing gyms are empty in all but a few cities in the U.S., a country that once dominated the sport and now anxiously hopes its next Olympic gold medal comes only a dozen years after its last.

This crisis finds illustration of the most ambiguous sort on Saturday, when a 175-pound American who is months from his 50th birthday makes a title-unification match with a talented Russian who is 31 years-old but still young enough to be his opponent’s son.

About a year ago, Sergey Kovalev’s first American trainer, Don Turner, said the difference between Kovalev and Hopkins was the Russian is “mean” where the American is “cunning.” Whatever the efforts at image revision – Snuggly Sergey Bedside with Wife / Speedbag Sergey Ringside with HBO – Kovalev remains the only prizefighter anyone can remember increasing his knockout percentage after causing another man’s death in a boxing ring. He smiles so much in interviews because he’s been told to do so, and because he hasn’t more than a kindergartner’s grasp of English, and because he doesn’t care what you are asking anyway. In a sport comprising exclusively men willing to hurt another man for a paycheck, there’s a good argument to be made Kovalev is the exact last man you’d wish to meet in the dark alley of badness’ proverbs.

And yet, Bernard Hopkins, a man willing to give a safety-first effort to the unlikeliest opponents, initiated a match with Kovalev, at the very moment it appeared Hopkins might have made the same dollars fighting the more limited, if possibly insane, Haitian titlist Adonis Stevenson. In an era of men burnishing their credentials as Most Avoided by avoiding bigger men, Hopkins rushes at them, men like Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson and Kovalev, all considerably larger on their 30th birthdays than Hopkins was in 1995.

While ever a delight to himself, Hopkins is a blossoming embarrassment for most of his prizefighting countrymen, showing at age 49 a willingness to fail, and be badly injured, few of today’s best American fighters have shown since their bouts got computer-matched in the amateurs. Hopkins is not charming as he thinks he is, nor eloquent, but his willingness to fail in speech – giving answers unknowable to their questions, being open and vulnerable in ways he later pretends were calculated – when married to his extraordinary courage and self-belief, makes him uniquely heroic.

He is uniquely present in a prizefighting ring, too, and this is why he came to mind during a hike along Dante’s rocky Purgatory Creek trail. Undulating coffee-dark paths covered in bleached stones and white shards of much larger bleached stones are unpleasant for any who traverse them but particularly unpleasant for those obdurate enough to traverse them in “barefoot” attire – thin rubber soles and mesh. There’s a trick to it, though: If one concentrates on solely two things as he marches, breathing through his nose and looking no more than a yard before him, accelerating till anxiety and doubt haven’t time nor room, he is able to navigate nearly any surface quickly and painlessly.

It’s a mental-alignment exercise that surpasses self-belief and approaches faith; when the mind’s processor has unfettered access to the input of its eyes and the output and input of its feet, when decisions are rendered so fast they mimic reactions, when every algorithm is executed instantly and its result immediately then forgotten, one is able to move with astounding rapidity and never misstep. (This breathing trick works at excessive speeds in traffic, too, but you didn’t read that here.) It mimics a state athletes often, and often erroneously, call “the zone” because its results surpass what workaday feats can be accomplished with mere concentration – it is instead a form of mindlessness leavened by wisdom enough to keep the mind out its own way.

Hopkins finds this place and disrupts others’ pursuits of it. His reflexes are absurdly well-preserved, yes, but the access he grants himself to a mental database of other men’s physical patterns permits him to find matches so quickly, and unman others so fully, it approaches clairvoyance.

Fatigue can undermine Hopkins’ sense of presence like any other man’s, though, and fatiguing Hopkins is Kovalev’s best chance of winning Saturday. If Kovalev has trained for a 30-round fight and is willing to hit Hopkins anywhere at all a hundred times every round, without discouragement, Kovalev should win. Otherwise, Bernard Hopkins will be Fighter of the Decade, 2010-2020.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry




SADAM ALI AND LUIS CARLOS ABREGU TRAINING CAMP UPDATE

sadam-ali
ATLANTIC CITY (Oct. 31) – As we inch closer to the epic “Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” fight night in Atlantic City, welterweight contenders Sadam “World Kid” Ali and Luis Carlos “Potro” Abregu are preparing hard for their co-featured fight on Saturday, November 8 live on HBO World Championship Boxing.

Both Ali and Abregu offered insight into how their training camps are going and what the fans can expect on November 8.

Q: Where did you train and whom did you train with?
Sadam Ali: I’ve been training at World Kid Sports for eight months, before this training camp started, it’s my little boxing cave. I’m here with my trainers Willie Vargas and Andre Rozier. My team has a close bond. We’re like family and we work together as a
team. It’s all about building and building.

Luis Carlos Abregu: I have been training in Los Angeles for about a month – I train in the Rock Gym in Carson, Calif. and CMC Pro boxing gym in Marina del Rey with my trainer Hector Roca. My trainer when I was in Argentina was Nestor Jaime.

Q: What is your main motivation in training for this fight?
SA: Being on HBO. I’ve been growing up watching HBO and watching the most famous guys shine and I’ve always envisioned myself in that position. I want to be in everybody’s eyes and I want to be known as something special, that’s very important to me.

LCA: My motivation is to get this win, so that I will have a chance to fight for a world title again. This dream was put on hold after I hurt my hand in my fight with Tim Bradley, but I’m ready to go now.

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not training?
SA: I like to shoot pool, go bowling and maybe play some ping-pong. I like competition and I love winning.

LCA: I like to be with my family and make my parents proud with everything I do. I also like to spend time with my friends and have a good time hanging out with them.

Q: Have you been able to spend time with your family during training?
SA: I spend a lot of time with my family. My only job is boxing, so other than that I have lots of time with my family. Their support is really important and it’s always been there. Not everybody has that support, not everybody has a father that can be there for you 24/7 while you’re growing up. My family has helped put me in the position I’m in and I’m thankful for it.

LCA: My family is in Argentina, so here in the United States, I have only my team with me. But I will bring the victory home for them.

Q: What do you know about your opponent and what do you expect from him on November 8?
SA: I’m expecting a hungry fighter, a strong fighter. Somebody who sees nothing but winning, he wants to win and he wants to take me out of his way. He’s a great fighter and I have respect for him, but I’m ready to go out there and perform.

LCA: I know he is a boxer who had a very good amateur career. I hope that he engages with me so that it will be a good fight. I plan to give the fans their money’s worth and I will fight very hard. I hope that he will do the same so that everyone enjoys the fight.

Q: Do you feel any extra pressure fighting as the co-feature before arguably the biggest fight of the year?
SA: I’m used to the pressure because I’ve always seen myself in this position so it’s not really anything to get me nervous. I’m definitely ready and excited. To be on the Hopkins card is exciting, he’s such a great speaker and he says things that just inspire you.

LCA: I feel no pressure at all. I have been the main event in many important boxing shows. To the contrary, I love to be part of important cards that people want to see.

Q: With this being one of the first fights in a while between Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank fighters, do you feel any pressure company?
SA: In addition to representing myself, I always feel like I’m representing Golden Boy too. It’s great to bring everyone together, I think we should all work together. It’s for the boxing fans and everybody that’s watching.

LCA: I think it’s definitely a good thing when two important boxing companies work together. This opens more doors for boxers and it gives all of us better and bigger opportunities.

Q: What is something about you that fight fans don’t know?
SA: I’m going to win November 8.

LCA: I feel that many people don’t know about my power and what I am capable of doing in the ring and that I can beat the best boxers in the world.

Q: What is your prediction for you fight?

SA: I think it’s going to be a great performance. I’m going to fight a smart fight. It’s definitely going to be exciting, that’s just the way I am. I want to excite the fans and I want them to want to see me again. I know Abregu is coming to fight too so it’s going to be beautiful.

LCA: I predict that I will win the fight and that it will be a great fight, if we both come ready to do our jobs. I’m hoping that after the fight the real winner will be the fans.

Question for Ali: What does it mean to you to be a fighter from Brooklyn?
SA: Being a Brooklyn fighter means a lot to me, I was born and raised here. Everybody is hungry here and there have been so many great fighters from here. Even though it’s not like how it used to be, I’m trying to bring it back as well. There’s a lot of those guys I look up to, Mike Tyson obviously, I’m close with Paulie Malignaggi and Luis Collazo. Can’t forget about Riddick Bowe and Mark Breland, there are so many great ones I can’t remember them all.

Question for Abregu: What does it mean to you to represent Argentina?
LCA: I am very proud to represent my country and I also know that is a great responsibility. That is why I will do my best to take a win back to Argentina for all of the people there.

# # #

Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank.
The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.
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Remember remember the fists of November! BoxNation leads the way with spectacular lineup of fights

Manny Pacquiao
LONDON (Oct 31) – A knockout November is set to take place on BoxNation, with the world’s number one boxing channel to feature an incredible five world title fights including names such as Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, Dereck Chisora, Tyson Fury and many more, all for only £12.

Unlike rival networks, ‘The Channel of Champions’, has not only stacked its upcoming schedule with a host of back-to-back world class bouts but has offered fight fans a truly remarkable value-for-money deal in doing so.

BoxNation subscribers will get a little taste of what the month has to offer starting this weekend when undefeated bantamweight kingpin Tomoki Kameda puts his WBO world title on the line against battle-hardened Mexican Alejandro Hernandez.

Then, on November 8th from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, one of the most anticipated fights of the year is set to take place when Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev will attempt to bring the man known as ‘The Alien’, Bernard Hopkins, back down to earth.

Hopkins story in the sport is already an extraordinary one, now, just two months shy of his 50th birthday, he will look to capitalise on his record-breaking achievements as he attempts to continue his unification of the light-heavyweight division.

Up against one of boxing’s most feared punchers, Hopkins will be aiming to strip the unbeaten Kovalev of his WBO crown as he looks to add to his WBA and IBF belts.

In a division bursting with a multitude of top names whoever emerges victorious will rightly be regarded as the undisputed number one at 175-pounds.

On November 22nd, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world is back when the legendary Manny Pacquiao takes on the undefeated Chris Algieri with his WBO welterweight world title up for grabs.

The Filipino superstar will be the smaller man when he goes up against the skilled and rangy Algieri, who shocked the boxing world when he overcame the formidable Ruslan Provodnikov this summer.

‘The Fighter of the Decade’ Pacquiao guarantees fireworks whenever he steps into the ring and against the younger Algieri he will need to be at his best when they clash live from the Cotai Arena in Macau.

Also featuring on the card will be the sensational rising star Vasyl Lomachenko who makes the first defence of his WBO featherweight crown against Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo, following his impressive win over the highly-touted Gary Russell Jr.

Capping off a monster month is the British blockbuster heavyweight showdown between Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury as they battle it out to see which of them will go on to challenge Wladimir Klitschko for his WBO world title.

The heavyweight scene is becoming a vibrant one once again with Chisora and Fury leading the pack as they look to usher in a new era in what has historically been boxing’s glamour division.

The card at The ExCel in London is stacked from top to bottom with a mouth-watering chief support which sees Billy Joe Saunders take on Chris Eubank Jr in a middleweight contest set to have fans on the edge of their seat.

Saunders’, British, Commonwealth and European middleweight titles will be on the line, as both young stars look to prove they are the number one emerging talent from British shores.

Furthermore, Birmingham’s exciting talent Frankie Gavin is set to challenge the undefeated hotshot Bradley Skeete with the two men aware victory will catapult them to the next level.

That same night, live from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, the supremely skilled Terence Crawford returns following his exquisite performance over the respected Yuriorkis Gamboa, when he puts his WBO lightweight title on the line against Raymundo Beltran.

Crawford is rightfully regarded as one of boxing’s next true superstars, but Beltran has a point to prove after a highly contentious draw to Ricky Burns last year saw him lose his chance of becoming a world champion, with Crawford taking Burns’ belt six months later.

BoxNation’s November schedule is unrivalled for quality, content and value, offering sports fans a string of regular top class action over the coming month.

To subscribe to BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 546, TalkTalk 525) for only £12 a month (plus registration fee) visit www.boxnation.com.

-Ends-

About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.525), online at Livesport.tv and via iPhone, iPad or Android. BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.




Video: The Fight Game with Jim Lampley: Bernard Hopkins Interview




Sergey Kovalev Deerfield Beach Media Workout Quotes

Sergey Kovalev
Deerfield Beach, FL (Oct. 30, 2014) – Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev opened up his camp to the media today in preparation for his Nov. 8 light heavyweight unification bout with Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ and live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.

Question: How do you study Hopkins?

Sergey Kovalev: “I don’t study anybody. It is better to go to the gym to do some work for my shape or spend time to cook my breakfast or sleep in my bed. Why I need to spend the time?”

Q: Other than your power, what could be your strength against Hopkins?

S. Kovalev: “I always have bullets in my arsenal. My hands are my weapons. It’s my weapon in the ring. Hopkins think that I only have two bullets but I will bring some more.”

Q: Hopkins is usually the teacher in the ring what do you expect to learn from him?

S. Kovalev “I wanna get some lesson from the professor of boxing. He is old school boxer. I want to get some experience from this fight that can make me better for another fight. I am not going to finish my career after this fight. There will be other fighters that will also be tough and very talented and very hard like a punch machine. I should be ready for everyone in the ring and in life too.”

Q: What are your plans for theremainder of training camp?

S. Kovalev: “It is already done. One more sparring session tomorrow and that is it.”

Q: Tell us about your discipline as you prepare for this fight.

S. Kovalev: “I am trying to be disciplined because this is boxing. This is very intense and dangerous sport. Any punch from your opponent can be last for you. You must be very concentrated and focused for the fight. I just started a new level of my life with my son, so I need to be more safe. I am with my wife already 10 years. She asked me already five years ago that she want a baby. I want a baby too, but God don’t give us baby. My life was not ready to give everything for my family. If earlier we had baby, I wouldn’t fight. I started boxing because I need to get money. I box with the hope that somebody will sign me for three years. This is all a result of my patience. Our patience, me, Egis [Klimas, Sergey’s manager] and my wife’s patience. Very big thanks to my promoter and my team at Main Events. I also want to thank for my team John David Jackson and Derik Santos and everyone else who help me.”

Q: What would you tell your son if he wanted to be a boxer?

S. Kovalev:
“I not gonna stop him. I will teach him fighting. Any man must be safe and defend his family and be ready for anything in life. I will bring him to the boxing gym but if he said he don’t want to be boxer, then I’m not going to push him. Maybe he will be musician. I will give him choice. He will go to boxing gym – not for career, but to make him strong like a man.”

Q: Why do you think you are going to win?

S. Kovalev: “I don’t think – I am sure. No, I am kidding. I am sure in myself. I believe in me. In my mind I am strong, but this is boxing and I don’t what is going to happen. I hope and I wish that this fight will be very clean and fair. Who is strong should be who win. I want that this fight should be fair. I try to be polite, I try to be nice but, if my opponent don’t respect me, then I don’t respect him.”
Q: Has Bernard said anything negative about you?

S. Kovalev: “I don’t care what he saying. I don’t understand him. It’s not my language. I am very happy that this fight is in America; I am very excited that I get to participate at this level already. When I came to America, I waited long time to get to this level of fight.”

Q: What is your prediction for the fight?

S. Kovalev: “Something will happen but what it will be I don’t know. I will try everything to give to people exciting fight because I am going to continue my career. I am going to bring more people to the arena and to HBO.”

Q: Is it your plan to put on a good show for the fans?

S. Kovalev: “This will be good show. I am sure because all my fights looking good. When I was an amateur, people love to watch me fight. When I came to America, nobody watch me in the beginning. Then Egis found me good team. Kathy Duva and her team turn attention on me here and now I am fighting against Hopkins.”

Q: Are you ready to go the distance if necessary?

S. Kovalev: “I have been working hard here in the gym. I will give to my fans a great show. Working hard because it is my job. If my opponent work harder, he will get victory and I don’t want that. This push me to working hard in the gym. My dreams come true in America. My first time in America I got a new car from dealer, but I never have a new car in Russia; not even a Russian car. But Russian cars is cheap. I didn’t get money from the bank like credit because I didn’t have the opportunity. When I came to America I got new Jetta from VW and I was very excited. I can’t believe, wow I had a new car. I was happy. Now I am fighting against Hopkins and I have more of my dreams here in my mind. If they come true, you will see what is my next dream.”

Q: Who do you want to fight next?

S. Kovalev: “I don’t like to say what will be in the future until I did this one. Sometimes a lot of fighters talk about what they will do and then they didn’t do it. In Russia, they do not respect people who just speak but not do. Say and do are two different things. I can do it and afterwards say I did it.”

Q: What does it feel like to be a dad?

S. Kovalev:
“I don’t understand yet because I didn’t meet with my son personally yet, but I saw him on the Skype within minutes of when he delivered. Now I have a conversation through the Skype with my wife and my son. He is really cute but he is growing up really fast. He is changing every day. I am very happy. After my fight I am going to go home and meet him personally. When I see him, hug him and spend time with my family.”

Q: How has being away from your family affected your training camp?

S. Kovalev:
“He has pushed me little bit. I want to do everything a little bit faster and a little bit rushed. I already can’t wait for this day to come. I have patience and there is nothing I can do but wait for November 8 to get two more titles and go back and give this victory to my wife and my son.”

Q: Are you going to try to stop the fight as quick as possible?

S. Kovalev:
“If it will be possible, yes. If not, it will be 12 rounds for decision. For me it doesn’t matter. First of all, I need to get a victory. When I came to this division I started growing up. Right now light heavyweight is very interesting division. When I came to America, only Hopkins was the name in the division. Hopkins has two titles. Right now Canadian champion, Russian champion and American champion, international division. It is very interesting division because I am here (joking).”

Q: What do you think about Hopkins reputation for being a dirty fighter?

S. Kovalev: “Because he is punching open hands. Punching from the head like a deer. He fighting like a street fighter. Because he is dangerous. He can cut you from the head, from the elbow, everything, from any part of his body. He is looking like a very dirty fighter. Sometimes he is making like a clown. He is a good actor. If he is feeling like he can’t do something legally, he start playing like an actor and complaining about pain or a low blow or something. Like in his first fight against Chad Dawson, he was not ready for this fight. I saw his first round and after first round he understood that he is not going to win this fight and he complained he hurt his shoulder and got TD [technical draw] but he still keep title. We will see everything on November 8. I am not a prediction man. I don’t know. Watch HBO or welcome to Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hall and you will see everything November 8.”

Q: What should the fans expect?

S. Kovalev: “I can say only one thing that it will be a very interesting fight and everybody who support me will be happy.”

# # #

Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round bout for the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight Title promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Watch the complete episode of 24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev:

24/7 Hopkins vs Kovalev Full Episode (HBO Boxing)
24/7 Hopkins vs Kovalev Full Episode
(HBO Boxing)

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP, www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali, www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

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TWO MONTHS SHY OF HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY – BERNARD HOPKINS ATTEMPTS TO UNIFY AGAIN

Bernard Hopkins
PHILADELPHIA (October 30) – 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.

He’s already the first man to hold all four major alphabet belts in any weight class.

When the 49-year old unified light heavyweight champion puts his titles on the line against the 31-year old knockout artist Kovalev, he will be looking to raise the standard yet again.

That the feat could come at light heavyweight does fall in line with some of the all-time great pugilists who found accomplishment in the same division past their 40th birthday.

In November 1903, former middleweight and heavyweight world champion Bob Fitzsimmons outpointed George Gardner over 20 rounds to win the light heavyweight crown and become boxing’s first three-division champion. Fitzsimmons, at 40-years-old, was four years removed from losing this heavyweight title. It is an accomplishment that adds to his legend more than a century later. Fitzsimmons would hold the title until 1905 and, while he continued on for many years, would never win a title again.

“The Old Mongoose” Archie Moore was 39-years-old when he finally overcame years of hard climbing to defeat Joey Maxim by decision for the light heavyweight title in December 1952. Just shy of his 45th birthday, Moore came off the mat four times to keep the title in a legendary war with Yvon Durelle in December 1958.

George Foreman won the WBA and IBF Heavyweight crowns from Michael Moorer at age 45, but never pushed any further.

Unification at light heavyweight has been rare even among younger men. Michael Spinks was 27-years-old when he defeated Eddie Davis to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion in February 1984. Virgil Hill was 32-years-old when he defeated Henry Maske to unify the WBA and IBF belts in November 1996. Attempting to add the WBO title in his very next fight, Hill was defeated by the 29-year old Dariusz Michalczewski in June 1997. A 30-year-old Roy Jones Jr. unified the WBA, WBC and IBF titles with a win over Reggie Johnson in June 1999.

What we are witnessing is a singular pursuit of the extraordinary by a fighter already respected by his peers as one of the genuine greats.

Hopkins has always made the extraordinary look ordinary, considering that Hopkins was thought to be old for the sport when he completed his unification of the middleweight division with a ninth-round knockout of Oscar De La Hoya in 2004 at age 39. Ten years later, against larger men, he’s halfway there again.

Hopkins’ road to light heavyweight unification started when he came off the mat twice at the age of 45 to earn a draw with then-WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal in December 2010. Six months later, in May 2011, Hopkins became the oldest world champion in boxing history (for the first time) with a rematch decision over Pascal, winning the WBC and Ring Magazine titles.

Despite losing that title in a close decision to Chad Dawson, Hopkins remained determined and convincingly defeated IBF champion Tavoris Cloud to break his own record as the olden man ever in boxing to win a world championship

Two fights later, Hopkins defeated Beibut Shumenov in April of this year to win the WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship. The victory over Cloud made Hopkins the oldest major title winner in the history of the sport; Shumenov made him the oldest to unify a share of any title.

Unification isn’t easy at any age. At 49-years-old going on 50, against one of the most feared offensive machines in the sport in Kovalev, it’s remarkable in the attempt alone. History says Hopkins has always been capable of remarkable new chapters of boxing history. He’s been writing and rewriting the history books for years.

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank.
The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.

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BERNARD HOPKINS PHILADELPHIA MEDIA WORKOUT QUOTES

Bernard Hopkins
PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 28, 2014) – With just a little over a week until fight night, Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins worked out in front of a packed media contingent that traveled from far and wide to see the 49-year-old ageless light heavyweight champion train for his Saturday, Nov. 8 light unification bout against Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.

President and founder of Golden Boy Promotions, Oscar De La Hoya was also in attendance to talk to the media and watch Hopkins train. Here is what the participants had to say.

BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion

“To be able to bring a lot of the top writers in the out here to cover history is great. This fight has a lot of historic things about it.

“Oscar was talking about me fighting without pressure. It’s the pressure of the unknown. The unknown is the reward that comes after taking on such a challenge. For me it’s about never taking anyone lightly. I’m ready mentally and physically for this challenge, come November 8.

“I believe the difference comes in the execution. If you think about it too much beforehand it will keep you up at night. You can’t worry about things you can’t change. I prepare to do what I know how to do best. That rule of code has never betrayed me.

“There’s not one fighter I wouldn’t put my record up against. In this era – in any weight class. I put the work in to have the track record and be taken seriously.

“There are a lot of things I look at that I used to do, even though I was successful, as a waste of time. But those are the things you have to go through. We are young before we are old. We are immature before we become mature.

“When I look back at the last five years of my career, I’m spending less time in the gym than I did in the beginning of my career. I’m fighting 12-round fights, why am I training for four hours? These are the things you do when you’re young. When you get older you realize that you had to survive it, that’s how I got here.

“When you look at the things I do, the lifestyle and the discipline. You would say I’m preserved. You would say that I’m well kept. You would say I’m clean in the garage. The mechanics are all brand new, because I took care of them.

“I have the same thoughts on Kovalev that most people here do. He’s a dangerous puncher. He has an over 90 percent knockout rate and anyone who fights this guy has the opportunity to not be the same once he exits the ring. We won’t take anything away from this guy because he’s real.

“Kovalev is a threat to anybody. It won’t be an easy fight, even if it looks easy to you. I don’t just have to beat the man, but I have to beat a lot of people. They’re either going to watch me win or watch me lose, and I don’t mind playing that game. I don’t believe in luck. I believe in whoever brings the best and whoever sacrifices the most to be victorious will win.

“It doesn’t bother me if people are rooting for me or not. My family, are the only thing that matters at the end of the day. If you’re motivated by other things, you’ll never stop. No matter how many people you beat there will always be something else.

“No one expected me to be gone 10-15 years ago. I became their worst nightmare. I still have my senses and my intellect. I can still articulate. That makes me an even bigger force.”

NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins’ Trainer

“With some of the young guys, you have to be on them before they get comfortable. But with Bernard he comes in knowing what he wants to do and it’s just a pleasure to work with him.

“You can’t be undedicated in this job, you have to be in there and be a part of everything. We’re dealing with a freak of nature in Kovalev, he might be the hardest puncher in the history of boxing, we’ll see.

“Bernard can watch Kovalev’s tapes, but until you feel the punches you don’t know what it is. We don’t know how hard he can punch, but we’ve fought some guys who could punch. We saw with Pavlik, Tarver and Trinidad, those guys had power.

“The only thing Bernard hasn’t done in this sport is lose badly, so I told him to get out of this sport before he does everything. But he proved me wrong because then he beat Pavlik and Pascal and all of the other guys.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President and Founder of Golden Boy Promotions

“We’ll never see anything like Bernard Hopkins again. We won’t see any athlete in any sport compete at the highest level. It’s unheard of. You can talk about any era, or any great fighter, no one has been able to compete at this level. Everybody in America should be cheering for him.

“When you take a look at Hopkins being 49-years-old, almost 50, you have basically a kid in the other corner who punches like a man. It’s a 50-50 fight.

“I haven’t counted Hopkins out since he beat me, even before that. Hopkins is a master at what he does. The question is how will Kovalev react psychologically to an ‘alien?’ He’s never fought an athlete like Hopkins. How will he react when he hits the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.

“Everything he does is calculated. Everything he consumes. It’s all calculated. It’s clean living for a very long time. There’s more to it but that’s a lot of it.

“At this point. Hopkins is already in the Hall of Fame. He’s already going to be talked about as one of the greats. So he doesn’t have that added pressure of trying to prove himself. I think people already have the utmost respect for him.

“People respect the fact that at 49-years-old, he’s still going strong. There’s no sign of him slowing down. He’s getting faster, he’s getting stronger and he has more energy. He’s toying with young fighters, half his age. For Hopkins it’s starts outside the ring, he breaks you.

“What comes to mind from my fight with Hopkins, was one of his teeth fell off and he was, ‘well that’s old-age.’ Now I look back and think wow, he made me think I was fighting this old man. I had in my mind that if I just got through training camp, without doing any extra, that I could take this guy on. He made me complacent. He didn’t need to talk trash or get in my face, he’s a master.

“I believe that Hopkins focuses not on what he’s going to do physically, but on what he can do to get his opponent out of their comfort zone and what combinations does he not expect from me. I wouldn’t say he’s awkward, but he knows how to offset his opponents.

# # #

Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.

Become a fan on Facebookat www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/therealbhop, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.




TOP CONTENDERS NADJIB MOHAMMEDI AND VYACHESLAV GLAZKOV HEAD UP STACKED NON-TELEVISED UNDERCARD FOR “HOPKINS VS. KOVALEV” ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8

ATLANTIC CITY (October 24, 2014) – History will be made once again on Saturday, November 8 when the ageless wonder Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins attempts to unify the light heavyweight world title against Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. But before the HBO World Championship Boxing telecast, an array of top contenders and prospects from around the globe enter the ring to showcase their skills on the world stage. Pugilists from the Ukraine, Puerto Rico, France, Nicaragua, Cuba, Russia and the United States will be featured, making November 8 a testament to the worldwide appeal of the sweet science.

Fighting out of Gardanne, Bouches-du-Rhone, France, 29-year-old Nadjib Mohammedi (35-3, 21 KOs) turned professional in 2005 and is eager to step through the ropes for his second consecutive fight on U.S. shores. The WBA Continental and French champion at 175 pounds, Mohammedi is ranked number one in the world by the IBF, fourth by the WBA and eighth by the WBO, giving him every reason to watch the November 8 main event intently should he get by Kansas City southpaw Demetrius Walker (7-7-1, 4 KOs) in their 10-round matchup.

Another top contender attempting to make his case for a world title shot, Ukrainian heavyweight Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov (18-0-1, 11 KOs) is a 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist in search of world championship gold in the coming year. Currently ranked number two in the world by the IBF and number eight by the WBC, the 30-year-old owns wins over Tomasz Adamek, Derric Rossy and Tor Hamer, and on November 8, he will face off with Miami’s Darnell “Ding-A-Ling-Man” Wilson (25-17-3, 21 KOs). A former world title challenger at cruiserweight, Wilson brought his power with him to the heavyweight division, where he most recently ended the 36-0 run of David Rodriguez last December with a sixth-round knockout win.

A native of Zhytomyr, Ukraine who now makes his home in Los Angeles, unbeaten light heavyweight Vyacheslav “Lion Heart” Shabranskyy (10-0, 8 KOs) is a former world champion in kickboxing who is now climbing up the 175-pound division in boxing after a lengthy amateur career. The 27-year-old power puncher will be tested in his first 10-round bout by San Juan, Puerto Rico’s Emil Gonzalez (11-8-1, 8 KOs), an equally heavy-handed foe who has ended his last five wins in two rounds or less.

Southpaw slugger William “Chirizo” Gonzalez (27-5, 23 KOs) returns to the ring next month to take on Philadelphia’s Eric “The Outlaw” Hunter (18-3, 9 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout. Managua, Nicaragua’s Gonzalez has won six of his last eight bouts, most recently knocking out Cornelius Lock in seven rounds for the vacant NABA title. The 28-year-old Hunter, who spoiled the perfect record of Jerry Belmontes in their 2012 bout, is coming off a 10-round decision win over Yenifel Vicente in March that earned him the vacant USBA title at 126 pounds.

Owner of amateur wins over the likes of former world champions Chad Dawson and Beibut Shumenov, 32-year-old Cuba native Sullivan Barrera (13-0, 8 KOs) is looking to make up for lost time after a late start in pro boxing, and he will look to move a step closer to title contention in his eight-round light heavyweight bout against Altamonte Springs, Florida’s Rowland Bryant (18-3, 12 KOs). Already ranked in the top 15 by the WBA, Barrera has won three times so far in 2014, including knockouts of Lee Campbell and Eric Watkins. The 35-year-old Bryant has picked up two victories in 2014 thus far, stopping William Santiago and decisioning Rayco Saunders.

Also in action in a six-round super middleweight bout will be unbeaten Zubovo, Russia native Andrey Sirotkin (4-0, 1 KO) and Paterson, New Jersey’s Michael Mitchell (3-4-2, 1 KO). The opening bout of the evening will feature Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Ryan Martin (8-0, 4 KOs) taking on Tucson, Arizona’s Isaac Gonzalez (17-3,12 KOs) in a lightweight bout scheduled for four rounds.

# # #

Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round bout for the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight Title promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Watch the complete episode of 24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev:

24/7 Hopkins vs Kovalev Full Episode (HBO Boxing)
24/7 Hopkins vs Kovalev Full Episode
(HBO Boxing)

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP, www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali, www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and https://www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.




BERNARD HOPKINS AND SERGEY KOVALEV MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT

Bernard Hopkins
Kelly Swanson
Thank you, everybody, for joining us today. We’re very excited about this wonderful unification bout in the light heavyweight division between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev.

Today on the phone we will have Bernard Hopkins, Sergey Kovalev, his manager, Egis Klimas, Oscar De La Hoya, President and Founder of Golden Boy Promotions and Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events.

We will begin the call with Sergey first, and when we’re done with his Q&A Bernard Hopkins will be joining us immediately following Sergey’s portion of the call. First to make the introductions and to get started I’m going to introduce Oscar De La Hoya, President and Founder of Golden Boy Promotions.

Oscar De La Hoya
Thanks very much, Kelly. I greatly appreciate it. We are getting close to what is probably the most anticipated event of this year, the main event, “Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev,” which will be a 12-round light heavyweight unification bout. The co-feature, we’re excited to announce is Sadam Ali vs. Luis Carlos Abregu, which will be a 10-round welterweight bout, and that event is being promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank taking place at Caesars Atlantic City. We are excited to be also once again working with Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico – Live it To Believe It.

Tickets are still available but they are, as a lot of people here on this call can attest to it, going extremely, extremely well. Obviously, it’s a testament to the great card that we have put together. Now let me, without any further ado, introduce to you a co-promoter of this magnificent event to introduce to you Kovalev, is the CEO of Main Events, Kathy Duva.

Kathy Duva
I’m just so pleased to be involved in such an exciting fight. I don’t think I need to say anything to sell it, because it sells itself. It is the kind of fight that, sadly, doesn’t happen often enough, and we’re really pleased to be working with Oscar and Golden Boy and HBO and all the great sponsors involved in this fight, including our Russian sponsor, Hortitsia, to bring you such a fabulous fight.

I’m doubly proud to be able to bring it to you in my home state of New Jersey. The people at Boardwalk Hall and the people from Atlantic City, the CRDA, and the Atlantic City Alliance, and most especially, save the best for last, Caesars Atlantic City and Ken Condon, who really should be the patron saint of boxing in New Jersey, particularly Atlantic City, where he has made it his mission to keep our sport alive there. Everything came together just the way you’d want it to be, and it’s almost to the point where you think it’s meant to be. As Oscar said, we keep an eye on that box office every day, it is moving steadily and it is picking up steam every single day, we are headed to a packed house full of people who are going to be going crazy. So, it’s the kind of thing that if you can be there you’re going to want to tell your grandkids about it, so show up.

Having said that, I want to introduce to you the gentleman who I think should be the Manager of the Year in 2014 and ’15 and probably ’16. He has done an amazing job, kind of new to the boxing scene, but he has got so many terrific fighters, like Lomachenko, Gradovich and Sullivan Barrera who is also with Main Events, a few others, Lepikhin, Mikhaylenko, it is such a pleasure to work with him and the top fighter of his stable, as far as I’m concerned, someone who I think is going to lead Egis and Main Events to a whole new level in the sport. So I want to thank him for, as I do every day, for bringing Sergey Kovalev to my door, and I want to introduce Egis Klimas.

Egis Klimas
Thank you, Kathy. Hello to everybody. It is a great pleasure to participate in this conference call. I know this is going around the world. I just wanted to mention a couple things regarding how hard Sergey was working to get to this level, how hard he is still training, and how he is still dreaming about unifying the title. Of course it’s a very, very tough fight, it’s the toughest fight in his career and we all as a team are looking forward to it as well.

I wanted to thank everybody else, I wanted to thank our promoter, Kathy Duva, she does a very, very good job for Sergey Kovalev. I wanted to thank Golden Boy for putting this together. I want to thank legendary fighter Bernard Hopkins for taking this fight, because he could fight so many easy guys but he chose the most dangerous guy in the division, and I give him a lot of respect for that. I want to thank HBO. I wanted to thank all the sponsors. I wanted to thank everybody who’s participating in this bout on November 8th. It will be very, very interesting, looking forward to meet you all in Atlantic City on November 8th. Thank you.

K. Duva
Thank you, Egis. Now it is my extreme pleasure to introduce to you the WBO Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, and today much more important than that a brand new father, the father of Aleksandr Kovalev, the Light Heavyweight Champion of the World and just a spectacular athlete who keeps asking for the toughest fight; don’t give me easy ones, put me in big ones, it is such a pleasure to work with a guy like this, but again I want to publicly congratulate him now and let everybody know that Aleksandr Kovalev’s father is on the phone, Sergey Kovalev.

Sergey Kovalev
Hello, everybody. Thank you so much, Kathy, for the congratulations. I’m very happy and very excited that I got my new name, “Daddy.” It was for me the greatest day in my life. I cried a little bit out of happiness, because it was yesterday, when I saw on Skype that the baby was born, maybe two minutes after it happened. Natalia had to do this by herself, so most of the adoration goes to her, and she is still healthy, the baby is still healthy, and I am very happy.

This means for me everything right now, it is the most important thing in my life now and I felt it before in my head and also in my heart. And now I embrace this next big fight which I’m going to win and give this victory to my son, Aleksandr.

Q
If you go back in the earlier part of your career when you were fighting on untelevised shows and Egis and you were traveling around and trying to make something of your career, is this where you figured you would be, or, did you have no concept that this is where you would wind up, as one of the most significant fighters in the sport, fighting in a big fight like this and making a lot of money?

S. Kovalev
You never know what will be tomorrow, but if you believe in it, it can happen, if I trust and believe myself and you have a goal and you’re working to this goal, then yes, this can happen. It can happen and then you push more, then you do more, and it’s your dream to be getting close to you, closer and closer to you when you work as hard and push yourself.

When we fought three, four years ago with Egis, and we were traveling all over the country in America and fighting anyone who was ready, I didn’t think that this fight would be possible. But I believed that I can to do it, and I tried to do it, and some very big thanks to my promoter, Kathy Duva and to Egis that they, from their conversations led me to sign a contract with the promoter,

That is when my fight began. I’ll tell you why. I waited a long time at this level and waited for this fight, a huge fight. When I was a child I had a dream, when I watched TV, I watched it and I had a dream. I wanted to be there. I wanted to be there, and I will try to be there, and I’m here. Everything from your head and everything from your heart, if you want it, you can do it.

Q
Sergey, was there ever a time during that period where you doubted it, that it would happen, or there was never a moment where you thought, oh boy, this is not going to work out?

S. Kovalev
No, even right now I don’t think about that. It’s just the next step of my career. It’s not the finish of my career. It’s just the next step in my career. I’m not going to stop after this fight no matter the result, win or loss, it’s boxing and this is a sport, and if I win I will grow more experienced and if I lose I will get more experience. I will get to do more fights and interesting fights, but the next fight will be much more interesting because I will get more experience from my next huge fight.

This is for me a huge fight and this is the fight of my life. It’s a very important fight. I’m focused on this. Yes, my baby was born yesterday and I remember this, and my son pushed me more and is a big motivation for me, you know it. Now I understand who I’m doing everything in my career for. I’m doing it now not for me. I’m doing this for my family.

Q
Egis can you talk about the difficulties of Kovalev’s early career and what you saw in him that made you continue to do it year after year until you got to the point where Kathy signed him and you were getting bigger fights and bigger purses?

E. Klimas
First of all, I saw in him as a good human being, a good person. We were in very hard times, we were in hard times with him during his career where I had doubts, should we go further or should we drop it? Do we belong here in this world? Do we belong here in boxing, or not? We were outsiders, like many others, like people coming from Mexico and people coming from Latin America here, and it’s hard to find. But one time Sergey said, “America’s a country where your dreams come true.”

So, it was a hard time, but just because he is how he is, a human being and I have some other businesses, I have some other income in this world, so I was thinking about what he’s going to do, where he’s going to go if I’m going to say, okay, that’s it, we’re quitting. We’re both not quitters, we both win, through the long career we still have the best relationship and because of our relationship and our nature we’re still going.

The funniest thing was, I met Sergey in New York City, I met him in Russia before that, but when I met him in New York City and we already were going to North Carolina, Don Turner’s boxing camp, his question was, “Egis,” he says, “I don’t have power. Can you ask the trainer to work on my punches?” And I was like, “Okay, I will.” And I asked Don Turner, I said, “Don, can you work with him so that he can hit harder and be stronger?” And then we came in the first sparring he did in North Carolina Don Turner turned to me and he says, “Where the hell did you find this guy? This is bullshit. He doesn’t need to know how to throw punches. He has everything he needs.” That was a story I will remember probably through the rest of my life.

Q
Sergey, how much of an advantage is it to have John David Jackson in camp, given that he fought Bernard Hopkins and that he was with him for four years as an assistant to Naazim Richardson? What can he teach you about Bernard Hopkins and his abilities in the ring?

S. Kovalev
The most important for the team and for me is just to keep going systematically, and keep disciplined, and keep working, just as Egis said. I don’t know what is the answer, just to keep going, keep working, and doing the same thing, the same that we did every day for any fight. What John David Jackson said is that it’s a secret between me and him, he has the keys to my victory. I understand that everybody wants to hear what happened in my training camp with John David Jackson, but everything you will see in November 8th on HBO in Atlantic City.

Q
How do you mentally combat the fact that there’s so much pressure? If you beat Hopkins they say you were supposed to beat him because he’s 50 years old. If you lose to him it’s even worse because he’s 50 years old.

S. Kovalev
I don’t worry about who’s saying these things. I am just doing my job and doing the job for me, myself, not for them. This is my career. This is not other people’s career.

K. Duva
I’d like to make a comment on that, if I may. I saw a poll, as I’m told about polls that are being done, and basically the press is about 50-50 on this fight, so when this is over I don’t want to hear about how old Bernard Hopkins is, no matter what the outcome. This is a great fight between two fighters, it is competitive, it’s exciting. Bernard’s never been stopped. Sergey has knocked out just about everyone he’s fought. It is a tremendous, compelling fight and I’m going to be very unhappy if the press decides that when it’s over they’re going to start raising the fact that Bernard is 50 years old, because they’re not raising it now.

Q
Is that something that you have on your mind, that you can be able to be the first person to knock out Bernard Hopkins being as though that you come with so much power and force?

S. Kovalev
I don’t know what I’m going to do. I go into the ring and I get my victory at any cost. If I need to fight, I will fight. If I need to box, I’m going to box. This is a fight. You can keep in your mind one strategy but these fighters can change. I don’t have any strategy for the fight, just to go into the ring and fight like a street fight. I’m going to kick his ass because he’s my opponent. Any of my opponents want to beat me. If I’m not going to beat him he will beat me.

Q
And, Sergey, now that you’ve been training with John David Jackson throughout this time, and he has a close relationship with Bernard Hopkins, have you guys taken the time to train on defensively combating his excessive holding?

E. Klimas
Thanks for giving us the tips.

S. Kovalev
I don’t know what will be happening in the ring. I understand that there will be three judges ringside and one referee inside the ring. Any way I need to get a victory, dirty fight or clean fight, for me it doesn’t matter. I will fight dirty, if Hopkins will fight dirty. I’m going to fight a clean fight, but who knows what will happen November 8th. It will be interesting, very interesting. I can’t imagine what will happen. I don’t know who the referee is or who the judges are – American or international. If I win, I will get the referee to hold up my hands. If I lose I lose. But I’m not going to lose.

E. Klimas
I believe we have set up that new rule that was passed for the video replay, is that correct, Kathy?

K. Duva
Yes. New Jersey has informed us that they’re going to use instant replay, and HBO’s working with them to mechanically implement that. So, there will be stories about it coming out, I guess, as we get closer to the fight. It’s up to the New Jersey Commission to make those, with its new Chairman, Larry Hazzard, to make those pronouncements, but we’ve been told this is going to happen, so we’re all very happy about that.

Q
Sergey, you talked about how you would like to make this a street fight. Could you tell us why specifically you would like that, given the Hopkins style of not throwing a lot of punches and evading punches in the fight, why particularly a street fight?

S. Kovalev
This is my style. I can fight just like that. Why do I need to throw more punches if this is my style, what I use right now gives me success.

E. Klimas
Exactly what he is trying to say is he’s not saying the fight is going to be just like a street fight, that they’re going to use knees and elbows and all of that. He’s just saying when you’re on the street and you run into the fighter, you don’t have a strategy for it. You can’t say, oh, hold on a second, let me think about it, what strategy am I going to use against you. That’s what he’s comparing it to. He’s not comparing like we’re going to go in the ring and we’re going to fight like on the street. We’re going to use elbows, knees, the dirty punches, hit below the belt. No, he’s just saying I don’t have a plan. Just like walking on the street and the fight comes in. That’s what he meant.

Q
Okay. And what do you see as the weaknesses of Bernard Hopkins and where you would have advantages over him?

S. Kovalev
I think this question is very funny. I really like it. Maybe I will say to you and everybody about what you’re asking about but it is my secret for the fight.

Q
Sergey, did I hear you correctly when you said that, “I’m not going to lose, but if I lose this fight?” Are you not 100% certain that you’re going to beat Hopkins?

S. Kovalev
This is boxing. I can repeat for you, special for you, that this is boxing and everything in boxing can happen. It is not swimming. This is not cycling. This is not running. This is boxing.

K. Swanson
Okay, that was the last question for Sergey. Kathy, do you want to wrap this portion up, and then we’ll turn it back to Oscar De La Hoya to make introductions for Bernard Hopkins.

K. Duva
Yes, well, I think Sergey said it all. I really don’t know what I can add to that. So I just want to thank him and everybody else for being on today, and tell everybody just to make sure you tell your readers and your listeners and your viewers to be tuning in on November 8th. If they get the chance to be in the vicinity of Atlantic City they really should go get one of those tickets that’s left, because they won’t regret it. Thank you.

K. Swanson
Okay, thank you for that portion of the call. Now I’m going to turn it back over to Oscar De La Hoya to make the introductions for Bernard Hopkins.

O. De La Hoya
Thank you very much, Kelly. Now, 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. We’re not talking about just a fighter, any ordinary fighter. We’re really talking about an alien, Bernard Hopkins, who at the age of 49, going on 50, is still fighting the toughest and the very best, This man tells it old school. We will never ever in our lifetime see a fighter like Bernard Hopkins, probably ever again.

So, if anybody watched the well-produced, well put together “24/7,” you can see how Hopkins is still working hard and has never, ever lost a beat, who has captured America by storm, proving to everyone that just because you’re in your 40s it doesn’t mean anything. It means that it’s just the beginning. So, with a record of 55-6, 32 KOs, the oldest fighter in the history of the sport to be world champion, probably the best athlete, not fighter but athlete, in any sport, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins.

Bernard Hopkins
Thanks, Oscar, my partner. Everybody, thanks for being on, and I’m looking forward to it. Atlantic City is alive again, and November 8th on HBO people who view in are going to see something special, and I hope people can come down and witness something special November 8th.

Q
Tell me something, the name “The Alien” what does that mean? I know it began as a nice little joke, but now it’s really picked up. Tell me, when you hear that name “The Alien” is that better than being called “The Executioner,” or even “The Champion,” or something else?

B. Hopkins
Well, first, it wasn’t a joke. I’m very, very serious that I am different than human beings that I’ve talked to, and human beings that I interact with who can’t understand me, but I can understand them. So, it’s not a joke. It wasn’t a joke. And it’s definitely not a joke now since they realized it’s not a joke.

When “The Executioner” executed 20-something contenders, who some one or two became champion and the rest haven’t. So, “The Alien” is by age. “The Alien” is the difference between the average person who has a lifestyle that’s not on the radar of an alien. So when you can have that strong discipline to be able to not get involved in a sport and play of this world, whether you’re successful especially, or not successful, then you are looked upon as being strange, different or weird.

So, I’m neither of those things, but I am an alien. So that’s where I came up with I have to be an alien, I was diagnosed as being an alien. If you watch “24/7” Dr. Pasternak explained as much as he can, and I don’t think he had his license taken since the “24/7” was shown last week, or this past Saturday.

I really believe and understand that I am different and not a part of this world, but in the world. So that’s why people can’t understand how I can be so disciplined around all the things, recreational things to do when you’re successful, having a little cocktail or a little party, or a little celebration, or as they say, the humans, “let your hair down.”

Q
As you look back on all the big wins that you’ve had, is it possible in your mind for a victory against Kovalev, because of your age and unifying the titles is it possible in your mind to trump what you did with Trinidad, which I think is the fight you always have referred to as your most significant victory?

B. Hopkins
Yes, there are multiple things that will be debated, which were more historic in boxing, when everything is said and done. To me it’s not just another fight, because I’ve been playing it cheap, and it’s not. This is one of the significant fights of the year, if not one of the fights of the year. I just want to make sure that when there is debate about Bernard Hopkins’ legacy, that people will be up all hours of the night debating arguments amongst the world of the experts on trying to figure out where we put this, or do we start this new label, where to start Bernard at the top and anybody else that comes after that underneath.

So, it might, it might not be. There’s so many things I’ve done in my career. And in 2001 post 9-11 unification, in boxing we don’t get that a lot, but that’s why it was significant to me, to be able to do this 13 years later. You’ve been around this game a long time, and this doesn’t happen the way it is happening for me at this particular time in my life. This is nothing to sneeze at, that’s the main thing, but just being able to be around as long as I’ve been and still fresh as a daisy, I believe, and I’ll prove it November 8th, there’s no definition really behind it. Just enjoy it, understand it, and realize that you might not be alive to see it again. I might not be alive enough to see it again, so who knows?

Q
I know you’re going to let the experts and historians argue, but in your opinion would a victory against Kovalev trump the Trinidad win?

B. Hopkins
I don’t really know. I don’t really know, because “The Executioner” really put down a profound trail to be able to just try to compete. Twenty defenses, there are 21, 22 divisions in boxing, who’s going to have 20 defenses, the way these guys jump up and down every time they fight in boxing today.

So, that is a great question that I really can’t really answer. I’ll let the people see and debate, and this is the pleasure of being in this position. The multiple things that I achieved, the oldest fighter, breaking his own record, the first middleweight to become light heavyweight, Ray Robinson couldn’t do it because he couldn’t answer the 15-round bell. This is something that is going to be debated because there’s so many things to debate about one man’s career. And so to me that’s definitely not a negative. That’s a positive.

Q
There’s a lot of people that think you’re winning the fight, that they don’t doubt you anymore. So, my question is, what do you use, since you don’t have the media to pick on for this fight, what do you use to motivate yourself?

B. Hopkins
The thing is that right now if I was using the media to be motivated, which I have for many, many years, that became old after a while. You can only get so much water out of a rock before it’s dry. I’ve been to the well so many times on that particular motivation, it ran its course. I’ve been around so long that I just ran a course and the media doesn’t really help or hurt me as far as being motivated.

So what motivates Bernard Hopkins is now every 40 and up person out there that’s living, whatever job they have that they are afraid that this young intern is coming to take it and they can relate to that, then they will root for me and they will be for me, and I’m representing them. And so, black, white, Chinese, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, it doesn’t make any difference, they will look at the age and they will say “Rumble, old man, rumble,” and I will do that. And I will make them proud when I’m done November 8th being the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world for the second time in my 20 plus year career, going on three decades.

I mean, this is sports, not just boxing, this is sports. They’re going to have to recognize, and they will, and it’s starting to come around, but they will really come around after November 8th. And that’s what motivates me. That motivates me. I don’t need the media any more to be motivated. I have for many years, that then ran its course.
I must prove, and I will prove that this is not some promotional hype job. This is something that’s been said about Bernard Hopkins for years and years. He can take care of himself, he can box as long as he wants, and he ruined careers. So, I’m up to bat in a couple of weeks, I’m going to be up to bat again, and just enjoy it. Enjoy it. Enjoy it because you might never see it in our lifetime.

Q
Now, when you win the fight, if you win the fight you’re not going to be undisputed, you’ll be close to it instead.

B. Hopkins
In my mind people believe, and most minds, and you’d probably agree with this, that Stevenson somehow jumped ship because he didn’t want to fight Kovalev, and the fans believe that Kovalev is the much more dangerous light heavyweight to beat in the division.

Now, I would not go back on my word that “The man who beats the man becomes the man.” That’s the political part. That’s on paper. But I gain a strong support amongst the world of boxing fans for beating Kovalev, and beating him in grand fashion will open up a lot of debate about a lot of things, and one will be in a good way for Bernard Hopkins, where I stand at the top of the division. And if I don’t, then it will be just what it is.

But I believe this will be a bold statement, it was not only a bold statement to make, the fact that it happened in a short time fashion, but it would be even bolder with a grand performance of Bernard Hopkins, better than Pavlik, better than Tito. To outdo yourself over and over and over again, it’s going to be an exciting night, and I’m fired up for it. I’m really ready for this fight. I’m ready to show people in Atlantic City that Atlantic City isn’t dead, and Bernard Hopkins definitely isn’t dead.

Q
Do you think that we’re going to have an idea of how this fight’s going to go early? In other words, if he cracks you and you take it, that it’s going to be a long night for him? Is that sort of the way that it’s going to be, that if you can take what he delivers, that you can do your thing and just box his ears off and win this thing easy?

B. Hopkins
Well, I can’t play Monday morning quarterback, but if he can punch like everybody says he can punch, there might not be a second chance. This is the great thing about November 8th and coming down to Atlantic City or watching HBO if you have to, if you have a TV that works and you pay your cable bill you can watch it. I mean, this is the thing; can Kovalev do what he’s been doing to 90 percent of his opponents? Can Bernard Hopkins take a punch that he took from other known big punchers in boxing?

But I don’t go in there thinking that. I go in there thinking that I’ve got a game plan, and whatever gun he has I’m not going to run from the gun. I’m going to disarm him. Anybody who knows anything about military police or anything like that, or karate, or anything they might want to say, they will understand what I mean by that. You have a big punch – I’ll disarm you.

Now, if you have Plan B, buckle up because I’m going to get your money’s worth and now we’re fighting. That’s the game plan that’s not even a secret. It’s just common sense to me. And I’m hoping it’s common sense to anybody that’s listening. Whatever he has, I’ve done many, many times. He’s a human, I’m not, I will disarm him and now let’s fight, let’s see your skills.

Q
Was John David Jackson with your camp when you beat Tarver and Pavlik? And then second, is he a factor in any way? Is that a personal challenge to you in any way?

B. Hopkins
It’s not a personal challenge to me – John David Jackson. First of all, John David Jackson, I always said, is one of the elite trainers out there who never really got his respect and November 8th he wants to get that big boost to get that respect. But, again, maybe John David Jackson will show him the fight that we fought and realize that he didn’t have the code to beat “The Executioner” at the time and now it’s “The Alien.” So, maybe John realized how he should have ducked or how he should have fought at that time.

But to me, John isn’t fighting, John isn’t in the ring. You have to give the information to the athlete, the athlete has to be able to take that information, and be able to use it to his best ability. Let’s see if can he do that, because John David Jackson definitely can’t fight for him. John David Jackson had his chance. John David Jackson got knocked out, I believe, in the ninth round. So, to me how can a teacher teach a student and the teacher flunked the test too?

Q
Was Jackson with you when you fought Tarver and Pavlik? Those are two of your other really big wins in Atlantic City, where you’re going to be fighting.

B. Hopkins
Yes. Yes, I believe, yes, he was.

Q
Kovalev said he does not have a strategy for fighting you. He said he’s just going to come in and fight his normal way, and whether it’s a fight, whether it’s a brawl, or street fight, it’s going to be that. I just want your take on that.

B. Hopkins
Well, that is the strategy. He gave it to you already. The strategy, he just gave it to you. Having no strategy is a strategy. Kovalev feeds off of what you do and how you react to him. If you’re scared he’s going to get brave. If you’re not he’s got to sharpen up and get his stuff together. Some fighters are like that. I’m not. So, I can understand that comment. I’ve been around so long I can read these guys without even them speaking their mind, I understand just by their fighting style or how they fight how they think and what they’re thinking about. Your reaction is how he reacts.

My thing is I don’t want to take anything away from the guy and what he’s been doing, because I don’t want anything to take what I just said and try to use it against me when I win this fight, because there’s some slippery minded people out there who’s going to be upset after November 8th, who are going to go to bed taking a lot of drinks, shots of their whiskey bottle.

My thing is, I don’t want to take away from what’s going to happen, but he actually told you the truth, because I understand what he means when he said that to you. He feeds off the energy of the fighters he has fought, in the amateurs, and also in the pros. I’ve been watching this guy, I dug up amateur fights of this guy, and I know how he breathes, I know how he sits down, I know where he sits down, what he thinks, I know everything about him.

That’s what I do with every opponent that I’m getting ready to fight. I want to know my enemy. I want to know how he thinks. I want to know how he sleeps. I want to know what he’s uncomfortable with.

Q
Do you think that you should be more so in the discussion for being the best ever, all-time great, the best fighter ever, because of what you’re doing at this age, should you be in contention for that?

B. Hopkins
The best fighter ever is Sugar Ray Robinson. To me the best fighter after that is Muhammad Ali, and then the debate starts from on and on from there. My job is to go out and set a profound legacy that will be debated amongst generations where Bernard Hopkins sits in history. Maybe it needed to be a different title, or will be a different title started because of what I’m doing. Maybe I will be the first, and anybody else that accomplished that as years go and I’m dead in my grave will be after that.

But right now I’m going to stack that deck so high that every reporter, every historian, everybody that studies boxing and analyzes boxing from the past to now is going to have a difficult time, and that’s the fun part about it, because I want them to have a difficult time because I didn’t have a boring career and I was blessed to have a long one. I don’t know. I’m not a fool. Like some fighters would say, well, I’m greater than this man, I’m greater than that man, because there’s no 15 rounds, I wish there still was.

We’re putting on the best fights now because of Golden Boy Promotions, my partner, Oscar De La Hoya and Kathy Duva of Main Events, got the deal done and didn’t talk about it. We were about doing a fight. We talked about it, but we got the fight done. We got it done. So there are a lot of little things in there that I would not brand myself that. I would not take myself out of the conversation as one of the best that has ever done it, but I definitely would never say I’m the best. That’s up for debate amongst history.

But I know I won’t be down to the 100 and 200 line of the letters, so I’ve just got to continue to do my work. I think November 8th will be another performance where people are going to say, man, “Where do we put this guy?” Because I respect everybody, what they have, their opinion, pound for pound list, but you notice I’m not on anybody’s pound for pound list now, and that might open your eyes up.

But I don’t want to be on it after this fight is over when I win it, because to me that would be making me human. I’d be human if I’m amongst other humans on a pound for pound list. They might just start another list for me and they’d come up with a title of it. Hopefully it isn’t a pound for pound list, because if I’m not on there now I don’t want to be on there November 8th. I’m saying that because I’m setting a different bar, and it’s going to be so high I don’t think anybody is going to reach it in my lifetime, or yours.

Q
Do you think there’s anything you can do in the light heavyweight division being a champion at the age of 50 that could top your accomplishments at middleweight?

B. Hopkins
Yes, the age, the age of me doing it. The fighters I’m fighting against. I’m fighting a guy that literally smashes, the “Krusher,” listen to the name, this guy’s got loaded guns. He can take you out with one punch. It’s right there in front of our eyes to see the difference between now and then, you go back 15 plus years where the middleweight division was ruled by me for 12 years, and you put 15 years on that age, 35 on up, and you say, well, man, this guy’s now into another division, but you can never forget I’m doing it at the age of 49.

Anybody that tries to downplay that, I will not debate with them, they will just make themselves look very foolish, because one of the things you all humans pay attention to, women or men, whatever it is, and you know I’m telling the truth when I say this – it’s age. You get to look in the mirror and see little wrinkles that you might be getting because you’re not in your 20s any more. So the difference between now and the difference between then is time, and as time is everybody’s enemy that’s human, then why is it being so friendly to me? And I’ll tell you November 8th on HBO you’ll see why time is my friend and not my enemy.

Q
If you lose, will you be the first one to stand up and say “Well, look, he beat one of the best guys out there. He beat Bernard Hopkins.”

B. Hopkins
Absolutely, why wouldn’t I? I’ve said that many times when fighters, I believe won the fight. Absolutely, you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. But he will also, I hope, pay homage to the ‘OG.’ You have to understand that when you recognize talent, you recognize that you didn’t do what you said you were going to do, or couldn’t do, however it worked out for you or didn’t work out, you’ve got to pay homage to that.

But let’s not forget it works both ways. Normally fighters, nine out of 10, you know and I know we respect each other after all it’s said and done. We can talk all we talk, and at the end of the day 99.9 percent of the time, we hug each other, we do what we’ve got to do, you do your interview and you go back in your dressing room.

See, it isn’t the fighters. It’s the persons with the pen, the computers, the laptops, they sit down there and they squat down in their chair and try to hide their face behind their laptop because they’re so foolish, they went out and boldly predict what they think they are God.

So, you can’t put that on the fighters, and I’m not really saying you are, but it isn’t the fighters. Look at every fight. Look at the one last week. Look at the one before, the guy got knocked down, he hugged the guy, great fight, man. They wouldn’t even let go of each other.

So, it isn’t the fighters. It’s the ones that don’t fight who want to write everything thinking they can write, thinking they know, thinking they know boxing better than the guys that go in the ring and do it. It’s the people that watch that are the ones that don’t give credit to the fighters. The fighters will give credit, nine out of 10 to whoever dethroned them, or whoever became victorious. I’ve seen it many years. I’ve been in the game almost three decades, and I know I’m telling the truth.

You all have to pay homage after November 8th, you all, not the fighters, you all pay homage. The only thing is you’re not in the ring, but you all really got the voice, and sometimes the last voice. But that’s what people read and that’s what people see, and they know the truth, and that’s what makes the fans one of the greatest fans in sports, boxing fans, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m biased.

Q
Mr. Hopkins, you have a brave heart for fighting “Krusher” Kovalev at an ageless 49. You’re in effect fighting the Gennady Golovkin of your weight class.

B. Hopkins
Yes. Hey, listen, man, this is a unique situation and this is a challenge to me, because I feel like if you are in the game, you might as well be in the game on top. I always look for the best. I always wanted to take on the toughest, the most dangerous, and what else is new? If this was something that’s sprung up in my career, everybody would be shocked. But they know I took on some bad-asses in the last 27 years of my career where I really didn’t have to fight people but I did. That’s the old school. That’s the old throwback type of mentality that I’ve been taught, brought up with, and understand that’s important to me.

Q
With this being the biggest fight of Kovalev’s career, do you think that as you prepare and get ready for fight week and during fight week that you’ll be able to kind of throw Kovalev off his game, as you guys head towards November 8th?

B. Hopkins
No. I speak what I believe, and I’m asking what I believe, and somehow that weakens your confidence, I don’t consider that getting into somebody’s head. I’m not going to apologize for being, I guess you could say confident of my hard work and my discipline and believing in what I’m going to do. I understand most humans don’t really believe what they’re going to do, even though a lot of them say it, whether it’s boxing or anything in life, I just never looked at things like that.

So when I speak with confidence, I speak with fairness, and if that’s how I’m getting in somebody’s head, this is boxing. You have to be able to promote a fight. You have to be able to say what you really mean, and if you’re going to have some fun, then have some fun in good taste. But in the same token, it might be in bad taste.

I really don’t know when people, where humans get that from, is that how I’m getting in the guy’s head, so maybe that’s why I won so many fights over the years. To me that’s the lame excuse for being not as confident as your next guy or next opponent, or the champion or non-champion. To me that’s a lame way of saying, look, yeah, he beat me, but he got in my head. Or they’re setting up something later on to write, as I mentioned to the last caller, some reporter or somebody out there that has a bad night because somehow they’ve got to go to bed and think about writing about me tomorrow, they’ve got to feel I got in the guy’s head and so I beat him.

You give credit where credit’s due, but humans normally don’t think that way, and I understand it. I know them. They don’t know me. I understand them. They don’t understand me.

I don’t look at all of my victories, or even one of my victories out of 60-something fights, as getting in somebody’s head. I look at it as being the better fighter, better plan, better preparation and I took care of my business.

Q
If you are able to take his best shot do you think that you’re going to make him doubt himself as you go ahead and as the fight progresses?

B. Hopkins
I don’t know what’s in his head. That’s something that everybody’s going to be watching. The best puncher’s coming up with one of the best defenses in boxing, that’s why I can still talk and hold a sentence with you without you having to figure out what I’m saying. This all came from being smart in the ring and understanding the sweet science of boxing.

So, I don’t know what this man wants to do. I don’t know what’s in his head, other than November 8th, I hope, on HBO. But that’s the million, billion dollar question, what’s going to happen when he hits Bernard? What’s going to happen when he does this to Bernard? If they watched and saw other fighters over the past, who to me were just as strong as punches as he was and I took it right on the chin if I had to. I’m in this contest to show that I’ve got a better chin, but what I can say to you is that there’s a chance of being knocked down, there’s a chance I get up; there’s a chance he can get knocked down, as we see in the last fight. The best man at the end of the day will raise his hand and to me, the undisputed best in the light heavyweight division, and that’s important to me. Right now in my life that’s important.

Q
Kovalev is a favorite of this fight. What is the point of you being such an experienced guy, but Kovalev is a favorite?

B. Hopkins
That’s not new to me. A lot of guys have been the favorite over Bernard Hopkins. The people who make the odds are not boxing people. They are people that set the odds so you can bet. And if you think it’s 4:1, 3:1, 2.5:1, I don’t know what the odds are, but the odds have never been for Bernard Hopkins. I made the odds for me by putting my work in and beating fighters that I shouldn’t have beaten, they say, and I did it in grand fashion.

It’s the opinions of what they feel and they’re normally right, but not with me. I’ve proven them wrong more than they’ve proven me wrong. So when you look at the odds and you look at favorites, take heed of that but also understand when it comes to Bernard Hopkins, you’ve got to look at the history of the underdog and how I made a career out of being not the favorite. In a lot of big fights out there I haven’t been the favorite, even in the De La Hoya fight, my partner, I was the underdog. This is something that I embrace.

Anybody that knows Bernard Hopkins, anybody that followed “The Alien” and “The Executioner,” they know I love this. I wouldn’t be talking different if I was the favorite. I wouldn’t feel right. I’d have a stomachache and everything. This is beautiful.

Q
Is there something that Kovalev has and you look at it and think maybe I should pay more attention at it?

Bernard Hopkins
No. I mean, I’ve been in the game so many years and I understand, I look at myself as a student and a teacher in the game, and still active. Three things, and after a while you see what you see and you get to business, and you learn how to make those adjustments, and you make those adjustments as rounds go. So, I know what I’ve got to work with, I know what I’ve got to see, and I know what I’ve got to expect. So this is going to be a fight where whoever has the best plan, whoever has the best chin, whoever has the best plan and strategy will win the fight.

Q
At the age of 49 what is your biggest asset?

B. Hopkins
Everything.

Q
The question I have, we know Kovalev’s record, he’s got a whole bunch of knockouts in a row, but do you view him as a kind of one-dimensional fighter?

B. Hopkins
No. He has a long history of amateur pedigree, and he has John David Jackson, who if he seems one-dimensional, he changed that and made some adjustments. Just like John has been around me, I’ve been around him, and so it works both ways, it goes two ways. One thing about me is that I’m not just a fighter, and I never represented myself like that. I always take a page out of old and new trainers’ books and understand the good and separate what’s not so good about certain individuals.

He only had to be one-dimensional because the guys he fought he knocked out. But now you’re stepping up to a different level, you’re stepping up to the professor, “The Alien,” the teacher, you’re stepping up into a different neighborhood. The other neighborhoods you understood, but this neighborhood is kind of strange.

See, one thing about Bernard Hopkins’ fights, normally anybody that’s going to get on the next call they can tell me if they’ve been watching me long enough, and maybe you yourself, you can sort of get a sense how this fight’s going to go after so many rounds, whatever that round is, one, two, three, four, five, whatever. Now, let’s not get mistaken, the fight’s not over until somebody gets knocked out, or 12 rounds ends, but there’s a pattern where you understand that Kovalev is not being the guy he was 10, five, four, three fights ago. So when I disarm him don’t be upset, just enjoy the art work, enjoy Miles Davis, enjoy the jazz that will be played amongst the breeze in the air at Boardwalk Hall November 8th on HBO. Enjoy. The concert is going to be great.

Q
Larry Hazzard has returned as the head of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board. Do you have any comments on that, because of course he was head of that for 20-something years and then they took him out, and now he’s just come back a couple of weeks ago. Any comment on that?

B. Hopkins
Well, I think it’s a great thing for Atlantic City. He’s always been a great ambassador and commissioner for boxing, and always been fair from the outsiders to the insiders, and no matter where you’re from he ran the rules and he told everybody how he felt, and he is strong. So to me it’s going to be in the best hands, because Atlantic City has sort of fell off in boxing in many years, and a lot of that probably had to do because of Mr. Hazzard wasn’t at the helm. But, yes, I heard that months ago, I’m glad that somebody somewhere reconsidered putting him back in position to run and get back to the boxing in New Jersey, Atlantic City. So, it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing for boxing, man, and it’s a good thing for him.

K. Swanson
Okay, that was our last question for Bernard. Thank you so much, Bernard. And if you or Oscar have any final comments, you can make them now and we’ll hang up.

B. Hopkins
Thank you very much.

O. De La Hoya
Thank you very much to all the media. Thanks, Champ. November 8th, you don’t want to miss it, live on HBO World Championship Boxing. Thank you very much.

Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout for the WBO Intercontinental Welterweight title and is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank.
The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitterat www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.
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BERNARD HOPKINS CONTINUES CHAMPIONSHIP REIGN WHILE CONTEMPORARIES WATCH FROM RETIREMENT

Bernard Hopkins
PHILADELPHIA (October 23, 2014) – There is one thing that virtually every professional athlete born in 1965 has in common – retirement from professional sports. The only exception is current IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins. On November 8, just two months shy of his 50th birthday, Hopkins will defend his titles against WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.

At a time when most athletes his age have seen their skill set fade and long since walked away from their respective sports, Hopkins continues to enjoy his prime. After nearly 25 years, in arguably the most physically demanding of all sports, Hopkins defies retirement by continuing to defeat and outbox up-and-comers that are many years his junior.

Bernard Hopkins was born on January 15, 1965, and on November 8, 2014 he will step into the ring for his 64th professional bout. On that night Hopkins will attempt to break his own astonishing record, again, becoming the oldest champion in the history of major sports to win a world title. To appreciate Hopkins’ unbelievable, age-defying accomplishments, one should consider where other notable athletes born in 1965 are today.

Former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Lennox Lewis was born on September 2, 1965. Lewis last fought professionally in 2003 when he stopped Vitali Klitschko. In 2004 he retired from the sweet science. More than a decade after Lewis’ last professional bout Hopkins is still fighting on.

Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Rod Woodson, was born on March 10, 1965. Woodson, who made an impressive 11 Pro Bowls and was elected first-team All-Pro six times over his 16-year NFL career, elected to hang up the cleats in 2003.

Another NFL Hall of Famer, Cris Carter, was born on November 25, 1965. Carter, who was elected to the NFL 1990’s All-Decade Team, was an eight-time Pro Bowl player. He was elected first-team All-Pro twice, and second-team All-Pro once. After 15 seasons in the NFL, Carter played his last professional game in 2002.

Former MLB standout Craig Biggio was born on December 14, 1965. The seven-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner, played an astounding 19 seasons in the majors, all of them with the Houston Astros. Biggio played his last professional game in 2007.

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member David Robinson, one of the NBA’s most dominating forces over the last half-century, was born on August 6, 1965. The 10-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner and 1995 NBA MVP had a prolific presence down low. Robinson was notorious for taking tremendous care of his body throughout his career, but even he was forced to retire, playing his last professional game in 2003.

Another NBA Hall of Fame inductee, Scottie Pippen, was born on September 25, 1965. During his 16 seasons in the NBA, Pippen amassed six NBA Championships, two Olympic Gold Medals and an NBA All-Star Game MVP. Pippen was selected as an NBA All-Star seven times, and during the 1996-1997 season he was dubbed one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. He played his last professional game in 2008.

Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Mario Lemieux is widely considered one of the greatest NHL players of all time. Lemieux was born on October 5, 1965. He played during portions of 17 seasons, tallying three NHL MVP awards, two Stanley Cup titles and six Art Ross Trophies as the league’s leading scorer. Lemieux laced up his skates professionally for the last time in 2006.

Despite the greatness and longevity they exhibited throughout their playing careers, and all of the titles and awards they won, every other professional athlete that was born in 1965 has retired from their respective sport. Many have gone on to experience successful post-playing careers as coaches, analysts, actors and philanthropists. Some even came back for encore performances after their first retirement from their sport, but none continue to compete professionally, nonetheless at a championship level in 2014.

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico – Live it To Believe It!. In the 10-round welterweight co-main event, Sadam Ali faces Luis Carlos Abregu in a bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev replays Sunday, Oct. 25 at 12:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. The 30-minute special is also available on the HBO On Demand® service and HBO GO®.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and #alienvskrusher.

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/therealbhop, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.




Fans Attending Nov. 8 Mansour-Kassi Fight At Sands Bethlehem Can Watch Hopkins-Kovalev On TV Screens in Vision Bar at Events Center Entrance

Bethlehem, PA: Fans attending the Nov. 8 heavyweight battle between Amir Mansour, of Wilmington, DE, and Fred Kassi, of New Orleans, LA, will be able to watch the HBO telecast of the Bernard Hopkins-Sergey Kovalev fight on numerous TV screens in the Vision Bar at the entrance to the Events Center.

Anyone with a ticket to the Mansour-Kassi contest will be permitted into the Vision Bar under the following terms and conditions: No excessively baggy clothing, athletic wear, tank tops or sleeveless shirts; no sweat shirts; no long or baggy shorts; no knit hats, baseball caps or bandanas; no plain color tee shirts; no sunglasses; fashionable shoes required; no athletic shoes, work boots or Timberlands.

Mansour, 42, is the left-handed power-puncher whose 20-1 record includes 15 knockouts. His only defeat came in his last fight April 4 when Steve “USS” Cunningham got off the floor twice in the fifth round to win by 10-round decision in Philadelphia.

Kassi, 35, has won 18 out of 20 fights, 10 by knockout. He has never been stopped.

The 10-round welterweight semifinal features popular Ronald Cruz, of Bethlehem, against Dmitry Mikhaylenko, of Russia. Cruz is 20-4, 15 K0s. Mikhaylenko, coming off a victory over former world-title challenger Sechew Powell, is 17-0, 6 K0s.

NBCSN will televise the Mansour-Kassi and Cruz-Mikhaylenko fights, plus an eight-round light-heavyweight contest between Vasily Lepikhin, of Russia, and Jackson Junior, of Brazil, from 8.30pm to 11pm (ET). Four prelims open at the live card at 7pm.

The HBO telecast of Hopkins-Kovalev begins at 10.45 pm with Luis Abregu, of Argentina, vs. Sadam Ali, of Brooklyn, NY.

About Nov. 8 at Sands:

The Nov. 8 special triple header edition of NBCSN Fight Night will take place at Sands Resort Casino in Bethlehem, PA, and will feature a 10-round heavyweight match-up between Amir “Hardcore” Mansour and Frederic “Big Fred” Kassi, a 10-round welterweight match-up between Dmitry “The Mechanic” Mikhaylenko and Emmanuel “Ice Cold” Lartey and a 10-round light heavyweight match-up between Vasily “The Professor” Lepikhin and Jackson Junior. Tickets are $75 and $50 and are available through ticketmaster.com, peltzbxing.com and the Sands box office. The card is presented by Main Events, Peltz Boxing, Bam Boxing and German Titov Promotions. The special triple header telecast of NBCSN Fight Night will begin at 8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Live Extra: NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night on Nov. 8. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.




Video: Hopkins / Kovalev 24/7




BOXING PUNDITS REVEAL THEIR “ALIEN VS. KRUSHER: HOPKINS VS. KOVALEV” PREDICTIONS

Bernard Hopkins
ATLANTIC CITY (Oct. 22, 2014) – One of the most anticipated fights of the year, the light heavyweight unification bout between Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, has the boxing world split with the fight just weeks away.

This will be one of the biggest obstacles of each man’s career as they look to unify titles and stake their claim as the best light heavyweight in the world.

Take a look at how top media members see the Nov. 8 unification bout going:

(Answers compiled by Jack Obermayer)

BOB VELIN (USA Today): “Kovalev might be the hardest puncher Hopkins has faced, and there is no doubt Hopkins is the smartest boxer Kovalev has faced. That should make for a fascinating matchup. Hopkins is older than old for a fighter, but is probably in better shape than the Russian destroyer, and has avoided damaging punishment. That said, I don’t think he will escape Kovalev’s ample power and Kovalev will not lose patience like so many of Hopkins’ most recent victims.”

Kovalev: KO 10

DAN RAFAEL (ESPN.com): “Hopkins has been in this exact position many times, and pulled an upset. I’ve learned my lesson. It’s a tough fight, but Hopkin’s ring intelligence, experience, and chin trump a Kovalev whose opponents have not been much to write home about.”

Hopkins: Decision

DAVE WEINBERG (Atlantic City Press): “Hopkins will frustrate and confuse Kovalev for the first few rounds, but Kovalev’s power will eventually be the difference.”

Kovalev: Late-round KO

GEORGE WILLIS (New York Post): “Hopkins has proved me wrong plenty of times. He hasn’t had too much trouble with punchers. He beat Trinidad and ruined Pavlik. He’ll have to prove me wrong again.”

Kovalev: KO 10

MITCH ABRAMSON (New York Daily News): “Hopkins is just too crafty, too smart and still possesses the necessary athleticism to beat a top fighter. Insane that a near 50 year old can win? No it’s not.”

Hopkins: Decision

RON BORGES (Boston Herald): “Hopkins will do what he does best. He’ll mystify Kovalev into a fog of inaction and find a way to outpoint him.”

Hopkins: Decision

KEITH IDEC (The Record, Woodland Park, NJ):
“Hopkins took this difficult fight because he sees flaws in the heavily hyped Kovalev that he knows he can exploit. Hopkins has never been stopped, either, and his vast experience advantage over Kovalev in 12-round fights will serve him well.”

Hopkins: Decision

BERNARD FERNANDEZ (veteran boxing writer): “Can’t believe I’m going to the well again. Hopkins has a history of success against big punchers who come forward, and try to take his head off. Will Kovalev be the guy who finally does hand it to him? No.”

Hopkins: Decision

DOUG FISCHER (RingTV.com): “I think Kovalev overcomes a shaky, somewhat careful start and begins making things uncomfortable for Hopkins when he hurts the living legend to the body in the middle rounds. Kovalev’s smart pressure and heavy but accurate combination punching takes over in the late rounds and puts Hopkins into survival mode.”

Kovalev: Decision

DANNY FLEXEN (British Boxing News): “Hopkins struggles with speed and work rate, far more so than strength, power and aggression. Kovalev is a dangerous predator but neither the fastest or busiest.”

Hopkins: Decision

JERRY GLICK (FightNews.com): “At 49 years old Bernard Hopkins has proven he is still great. The pick is that he will maintain his skills against the hard-hitting Kovalev and control the action to win.”

Hopkins: Decision

LEE GROVES (RingTV.com): “If Kovalev fights the man instead of the icon and avoids trying to box with him, his youth, his strength and aggression should be enough. Also, John David Jackson — who fought Hopkins and worked with him in many training camps will provide Kovalev unique insights into what makes Hopkins tick, as well as what ticks him off.”

Kovalev: Decision

GRAHAM HOUSTON (British Boxing Monthly): “I think Kovalev will out-work
Hopkins; don’t think he will try to blast out the old ring general.”

Kovalev: Decision

JAKE KAPLAN (Philadelphia Daily News): “The ageless Hopkins will defy the odds again — against an opponent young enough to be his son. Like many opponents before him, Kovalev will have trouble handling Hopkins’ mind games before and during the fight.”

Hopkins: Decision

STEVE KIM (UCNLive.com): “I have a gut feeling that Kovalev will be the one guy to not fall into the trap that Hopkins lays so well and will continue to bang away at the arms and shoulders of ‘The Alien’ to win.”

Kovalev: Decision

MICHAEL MARLEY (Boxing Examiner.com): “Bernard may be an old dog, but he is an old dog who doesn’t need to learn new tricks. His old bags, of tricks still work exceedingly well, thank you. Kovalev is a typical tough Russian, but he will be out-slicked and out-tricked by BHop.”

Hopkins: Decision

ROBERT MORALES (Los Angeles Daily News): “I rarely go against Hopkins because of his defense and trickery, but have to go with Kovalev in this one because he’ll be unfazed by the stuff that lulls others to sleep when they are in with Hopkins.”

Kovalev: Late-round KO

TONY PAIGE (WFAN 660 Radio): “Sounds crazy, but this is it for Hopkins. Kovalev’s too strong and too busy. Dare I say…”

Kovalev: KO 9

CLIFF ROLD (BoxingScene.com): “Eventually the sand runs out of the hourglass. Kovalev isn’t just a good puncher, he’s a smart boxer. Along with youth, that will be too much for the old man.”

Kovalev: KO 10

MICHAEL ROSENTHAL (The Ring): “I suspect Hopkins bit off more than he can chew in this case. Kovalev isn’t the boxer Hopkins is, but I believe his skills are better than some might realize, certainly good enough to give Hopkins trouble. That combined with the Russian’s unquestioned punching power will be too much for Hopkins to handle.”

Kovalev: KO 10

LEM SATTERFIELD (RingTV.com): “Hopkins will be completely relaxed in this fight. He once told me that Kovalev is the virtual mirror image of Pavlik. However, I don’t think that this will be as easy, but I do believe that he’ll find a way to be victorious.”

Hopkins: Decision

TIM STRUBY (ESPN The Magazine): “Once again, Hopkins will defy conventional thought. He’ll stay out of range, trash talk, hold and frustrate Kovalev. Hopkins will also pick precise spots to stick and move; it won’t be pretty.”

Hopkins: Decision

STEVE TOBEY (MaxBoxing.com): “Yes, Kovalev has youth and power, but Hopkins is smarter and still able to execute. He wouldn’t have taken this fight otherwise.”

Hopkins: Decision

FINAL TALLY – Bernard Hopkins: 12, Sergey Kovalev: 11

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.
Watch the complete episode of 24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev:

24/7 Hopkins vs Kovalev Full Episode (HBO Boxing)
24/7 Hopkins vs Kovalev Full Episode
(HBO Boxing)

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP, www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali, www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

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24/7 HOPKINS/KOVALEV PREMIERES SATURDAY, OCT. 18 ON HBO®

Bernard Hopkins
Oct. 14, 2014 – In anticipation of the fall boxing season’s signature event – the world light heavyweight unification battle between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev on November 8th – HBO Sports will air “24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev,” an exhilarating one episode, 30-minute special examining the upcoming mega-showdown. In the highly-anticipated 175-pound title fight set for the venerable Boardwalk Hall arena in Atlantic City, NJ, on Nov. 8, Hopkins and Kovalev will collide in the year’s most intriguing encounter. HBO will televise it live on the flagship World Championship Boxing series.

The “24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev” special will premiere Saturday, Oct. 18 at 12:15 a.m.( ET/PT) on HBO immediately following the live World Championship Boxing event from Carson, CA. It will preview the hotly anticipated meeting between two accomplished warriors who have been on a journey to confront each other in the ring. The special will provide all-new content including portraits of both fighters’ path to this significant fall showdown on boxing’s leading television platform.

Other HBO playdates: October 19 (10:45 a.m.), 22 (3:45 a.m.), 25 (12:30 p.m.), 27 (1:45 p.m.), 29 (8:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.) and November 5 (4:30 a.m.), and 8 (11:00 a.m.).

HBO2 playdates: October 21 (11:50 a.m. & 8:30 p.m.), 23 (3:45 p.m.), 26 (10:20 a.m. & 3:20 a.m.) 30 (7:35 p.m. & 12:00 a.m.) and November 2 (3:45 p.m.) and 7 (8:00 p.m.).

All times are ET/PT.




Training Camp Notes: Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, Expectant Father Focused Still On Bernard Hopkins

Sergey Kovalev
Big Bear City, CA (Oct. 3, 2014) – 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.”

Sergey is scheduled to conclude his strength and conditioning training in Big Bear on October 9, then he will return to Ft. Lauderdale, FL to begin the sparring portion of his training with his trainer two-division world champion John David Jackson. With this schedule, there is a very good chance he will not be with his wife in Los Angeles when she goes into labor.

“The doctor says my baby is due October 17, but also said that we can plan one week early because in the last week the baby will be one pound more so for my wife it will be harder,” explained Kovalev.

“Right now she’s very afraid she will stay alone in LA. She’s most worried that I won’t see him after [he is born] for one month. She says that for her it’s very important. I said, why? I will see a picture,” joked Kovalev. “I don’t understand yet, but maybe she is 100 percent right that I will see him Thursday and after that I will crush Hopkins. I need to see him first before I give him a name.”

Despite potentially missing out on the birth of his son, Kovalev feels training for this fight is the most important thing he can do for his new family, “I have in my body, I have in my face, I have in my mind, the motivation that I need to get this win because it’s my future.” He added, “My goal still is to be undisputed in this division. This fight is two more titles, it’s my goal. I want all four.”

Sergey knows he is facing no small feat in the 49-year old Hopkins, “Our styles are different. American and Russian boxers are from different boxing schools. Hopkins’ style is old school. He’s doing some things that nobody does. Nobody does it how he does it,” explained ‘The Krusher.’ “This fight for me will be a big test. Hopkins is very good fighter. He is a very tough fighter and very smart. It will be a very good fight. His defense is incredible too. We’re working on everything. I have prepared for twelve rounds because I understand his strategy, what he wants to do and we’ll be prepared for anything.”

Training camp always begins for Kovalev with strength and conditioning in Big Bear. “In Big Bear everything is close. Nobody can touch you, nobody can call you, nobody can disturb you – just you and your mind and your focus on the fight,” said Kovalev. “Big Bear helped me to be focused on my workout, on my job. Florida is boxing training camp. Only boxing, only sparring, not for physical training. Here [in Big Bear] is for strength and condition to be stronger in the ring.”

When asked about his strategy for Hopkins, Sergey said, “I don’t have any strategy. I just go into the fight. What will happen, will happen. I’m not scared to lose, I’m not scared to win. This is a sport. But Hopkins is a legend. He’s a professor of boxing. He’s a very proud man as a boxer. He’s very smart, he’s very technical. It will be very difficult to fight him and for me it will be very big test. I’m ready for any test in my life. I have prepared for this test.”

Sergey is known as “The Krusher” because of his uncanny ability to secure the knockout; 92 percent (23 of 25) of his victories have come via the stoppage. However, according to Kovalev, that is not his game plan going into each fight, “I don’t have a goal to knockout anybody. I just go into the ring and make a fight. When it happens, it’s good for me. Less work, less job in the ring, more happy and more happy for my fans. I don’t have a goal that I need to knock him out.” He added, “When you want to knockout somebody, you can’t do it because your opponent can see your punch. I just go in to do boxing.”

# # #

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

“24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev” premieres Saturday, Oct. 18 at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT on HBO immediately following the live World Championship Boxing telecast.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP, www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali, www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

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SADAM ALI VS. LUIS CARLOS ABREGU ANNOUNCED AS BERNARD HOPKINS VS. SERGEY KOVALEV CO-FEATURE

sadam-ali
Atlantic City, NJ (Oct. 2) – A member of the 2008 United States Olympic team who is rapidly speeding up the welterweight ladder, Brooklyn’s Sadam “World Kid” Ali will look to announce his arrival on the international stage at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ on Saturday, November 8, when he faces his biggest challenge to date in the form of veteran Luis Carlos “El Potro” Abregu. The bout will open the HBO World Championship Boxing telecast headlined by the light heavyweight title unification showdown between Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev beginning at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

“This is the big fight I’ve been asking for, and I’m ready to perform on November 8,” said the unbeaten Ali. “Abregu is a seasoned veteran. He hits hard and he comes to fight. It’s the type of win that will put me in the title picture, and I can’t wait to put on a great fight for the fans and bring the win back to Brooklyn.”

“I’ve been sitting back watching my fellow Argentinian brothers Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysse and Diego Chaves all get their opportunities to fight in the U.S. and now its my time to show the boxing world the best fighter from Argentina is me,” said Abregu. “I have been avoided by Manny Pacquiao, Brandon Rios and Ruslan Provodnikov so I thank Sadam Ali for stepping up to fight me. November 8 I will show the fans why I am the best and most exciting fighter from Argentina! Viva!”

“The cold war is officially over – but that peace will not extend to the ring when two of the top contenders in the 147-pound division go head to head in Atlantic City,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions. “I have made a promise to the fans that nothing will stand in our way of putting on the best fights our sport has to offer – consider this monster match-up between a Top Rank fighter and a Golden Boy Promotions fighter another example of making good on that pledge.”

“Can’t miss this battle,” said Carl Moretti, Vice President of Boxing for Top Rank, “This is youth versus experience. There is no chance of it going the distance – whoever wins, wins by knockout.”

“A main event of the caliber of Hopkins vs. Kovalev merits a worthy co-feature like Ali vs. Abregu,” Peter Nelson, Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports said. “An even match-up, this fight is likely to be decided on whether Ali has perfected his multifaceted style to a greater purity than Abregu’s lethal punch.”

One of the welterweight divisions top young talents, 26-year-old Sadam “World Kid” Ali (20-0, 12 KOs) took a slow and steady approach to his professional career after representing the U.S. in the 2008 Olympic Games, but since signing with Golden Boy Promotions in 2013, Ali has been fighting in the fast lane and looking more and more impressive each step of the way. Winner of recent bouts over Jay Krupp, Jesus Selig, Michael Clark and Jeremy Bryan, the dynamic Ali can make a move into the 147-pound top ten with a victory over Abregu this November.

A shining example of the hard-hitting and rugged fighters produced by Argentina, Salta’s Luis Carlos “El Potro” Abregu (36-1, 29 KOs) goes for the knockout every time he steps into the ring making him a fan favorite both at home and abroad. Winner of seven straight fights (six by knockout) since the lone loss of his career via decision to Timothy Bradley in 2010, the 30-year-old power hitter and WBC Silver champion has scored victories over Thomas Dulorme, Antonin Decarie and Jean Carlos Prada in his last three bouts, and with that trio holding a combined 73-1-1 record, Abregu is more than ready for the unbeaten Ali.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

“Alien vs. Krusher: Hopkins vs. Kovalev” is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T, Hortitsia Vodka and Mexico, Live it To Believe It!. Ali vs. Abregu is a 10-round welterweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT.

“24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev” premieres Saturday, Oct. 18 at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT on HBO immediately following the live World Championship Boxing telecast.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing, www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP,
www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev, www.twitter.com/realworldkidali, www.twitter.com/potroabregu, www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall and follow the conversation using #alienvskrusher.

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Abregu to take on Ali on Hopkins – Kovalev card

sadam-ali
In the first made fight between Top Rank and Golden Boy in several years, Luis Carlos Abregu will take on Sadam Ali in a Welterweight bout on November 8 in Atlantic City as the HBO-televised co-feature to Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev Light Heavyweight unification bout, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Hopefully, this is the first of many fights to be made with Golden Boy,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN.com, adding that negotiating the bout with Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez was “easy.”

“Abregu is the most avoided welterweight in the world,” Sean Gibbons, his agent, told ESPN.com. “He was turned down by Manny Pacquiao, Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado. They didn’t want to fight him. They didn’t want anything to do with him. So he is very happy to finally get back on HBO (where he faced Bradley and Dulorme) and follow in the footsteps of his successful countrymen, Marcos Maidana and Lucas Matthysse. Now it’s his turn.

“Like he did with Dulorme, Abregu is here to make a statement against Ali and show that in 2015 he can get an even more meaningful fight with one of the champions.”

“The best sparring Abregu ever got was against Sadam Ali,” Gibbons said. “They were both training in the gym for their own fights and they gave each other great work. I was really surprised and happy that Sadam Ali believes he can beat Abregu. He must think highly of the sparring sessions they had.”




24/7 HOPKINS/KOVALEV PREMIERES SATURDAY, OCT. 18 ON HBO®

Bernard Hopkins
Sept. 25, 2014 – In anticipation of the fall boxing season’s signature event – the world light heavyweight unification battle between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev on November 8th – HBO Sports will air “24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev,” an exhilarating one episode, 30-minute special examining the upcoming mega-showdown. In the highly-anticipated 175-pound title fight set for the venerable Boardwalk Hall arena in Atlantic City, NJ, on Nov. 8, Hopkins and Kovalev will collide in the year’s most intriguing encounter. HBO will televise it live on the flagship World Championship Boxing series.

The “24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev” special will premiere Saturday, Oct. 18 at 12:15 a.m. ET/PT on HBO immediately following the live World Championship Boxing event from Carson, CA. It will preview the hotly anticipated meeting between two accomplished warriors who have been on a journey to confront each other in the ring. The special will provide all-new content including portraits of both fighters’ path to this significant fall showdown on boxing’s leading television platform.

Hopkins, 49, will enter the ring just two months shy of his 50th birthday as the oldest champion in history and boasts a Hall of Fame- caliber career record of 55-6-2 with 32 KOs. Kovalev, 31, sports an undefeated record of 25-0-1 and his 23 knockouts illustrate the punching power that the Russian native who now calls Ft. Lauderdale home will display in Atlantic City on November 8.

The 30-minute special narrated by Liev Schreiber and produced by HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning “24/7” production team will also be available on the HBO On Demand® service, HBO GO® and at www.hbo.com/boxing as well as various other new media platforms that distribute the series.

Other HBO playdates: October 19 (10:45 a.m.), 22 (3:45 a.m.), 25 (12:30 p.m.), 27 (1:45 p.m.), 29 (8:30 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.) and November 5 (4:30 a.m.), and 8 (11:00 a.m.).

HBO2 playdates: October 21 (11:50 a.m. & 8:30 p.m.), 23 (3:45 p.m.), 26 (10:20 a.m. & 3:20 a.m.) 30 (7:35 p.m. & 12:00 a.m.) and November 2 (3:45 p.m.) and 7 (8:00 p.m.).

All times are ET/PT.




BOXING LEGEND BERNARD HOPKINS TO MEET UNDEFEATED SERGEY KOVALEV IN LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT UNIFICATION BOUT LIVE ON HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®

Bernard Hopkins
Atlantic City, NJ (Sept. 2, 2014) – Ring generalship will come face-to-face with explosive power and force on Saturday, Nov. 8 when Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins takes on Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev in a light heavyweight unification title bout at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ live on HBO World Championship Boxing.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, go on sale on Friday, Sept. 5 at noon ET and will be available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Hopkins, incredibly just two months shy of his 50th birthday, is seeking to add the WBO Light Heavyweight Championship to his collection of IBF and WBA belts. Kovalev, who burst on the scene just a year ago, has never lost a fight and has won 23 of his 25 victories by knockout.

“Everything I do at this point in my career affects my legacy,” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) said. “I’ve set and broken many records, but becoming the oldest undisputed light heavyweight world champion is the goal and Kovalev stands in the way of that goal. He’s another young, hungry fighter and just like the ones that came before him, he will leave the ring beltless.”

“I respect Bernard Hopkins for taking this fight,“ said the 31-year-old Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs). “When I came to America, it was my dream to fight the best and now I am, I have my chance. He says he is alien. He will punch, I will punch, then we see who is gonna go to Mars.”

In April, Hopkins defeated Beibut Shumenov to win the WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, breaking his own record as the oldest fighter in history to win a world title, which he set in May of 2011 after defeating Jean Pascal at age 46. Kovalev comes off of the third defense of his WBO Light Heavyweight Title on HBO, defeating Blake Caparello by TKO on August 2.

“Golden Boy Promotions has been crystal clear that we will make the best fights for our fans no matter who else is promoting it, where it takes place or what network broadcasts it; this is Exhibit ‘A’ of our keeping that commitment,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “At 49 years of age, Bernard continues to electrify crowds with impregnable defense; Sergey hits with thunderous force and is an early-round knockout threat every time he steps in the ring. With those two forces coming together, fans are in for a real treat.”

“Throughout boxing’s history, great champions have always been motivated by fighting the best,” said Main Events’ CEO, Kathy Duva. “Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya are both living legends who never back down from a challenge. Sergey Kovalev made it clear that all he wants to do is test his skills against the finest in the world. Main Events has always been able to deliver the biggest fights for its fighters and their fans. Since George Foreman defeated Joe Frazier in 1973, HBO has been synonymous with boxing at its highest level. It shouldn’t be any surprise that when you combine those elements, you get the most anticipated fight of the year.”

“We’re thrilled to have one of the top boxing matches in the country here in Atlantic City,” said John Palmieri, Executive Director of CRDA. “We’ve been known for hosting great fight events for many years, and we welcome the fans, as usual, to experience all the action at both Boardwalk Hall and throughout the city.”

“Sports capture our imagination when elite athletes seek superlative challenges of the highest stakes, which is precisely the caliber of fight these two intrepid champions have given their fans by choosing to face-off against one another,” Peter Nelson, Vice President of Programming, HBO Sports said. “Hopkins vs. Kovalev is a destination event, and HBO is delighted to present this light heavyweight unification championship to our subscribers.”

Hopkins vs. Kovalev is a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T and Hortitsia Vodka.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing,www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP, www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall.

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Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev Quotes From NYC Press Conference and Philadelphia Media Roundtable

Bernard Hopkins
NEW YORK (Sept. 2, 2014) -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.

“I take everything I do extremely seriously. But people ask me, how can I continue to do this? I have no plan or timetable when I put my mind to something.

“I want the best. Hagler fought the best. Ray Leonard fought the best. The Alis of the world, they fought the best. I’m from the era where I fought the best and that’s important to me. I receive undisputed status in 2001 and that was special.

“I bloomed late. I didn’t bloom by the timing of the experts. I want to make it as difficult as possible for you to come up with a headline for me. I don’t want to be on the pound-for-pound list because that would make me human.

“What I’m doing now is making a new legacy and a new list and a new way to judge. ‘Where do we put this man? We can’t put him in the top 10. He’s doing things no one has done!’

“Enjoy this while you can and come see it. Don’t worry about when or how I’m going to leave or break down. You guys are all humans, I understand you, but you don’t understand me.

“The last time I heard, he [Kovalev] can box. He’s shown that he can box…People are traumatized by the punch and the knockout.

“I’ve been in the game for almost three decades. I look for more of what a guy brings to a gunfight other than bullets…The sweet science is not based on only one thing you can do particularly well.

“If he comes in the game thinking a punch is all he’ll need, he might be right, so you should watch.

“I’m walking a tightrope hundreds of feet in the air. He crushes people. Only three or four people survive his hammer.

“There’s no pressure on me but one thing that is on Bernard Hopkins – that no other fighter really has to do deal with because they’ve never been in my situation is – how I continue to keep making history

“Anybody at the right time and the right place can get knocked out. It is his job to do what others try to do. It is my job to do what I’ve been doing.

“Come November 8 on HBO you get to watch artwork. You’re watching Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong with gloves on.

“It’s such a testimony to see a 50-year-old man – less than 100 days from now – go 30 plus minutes with a young strong Russian puncher and not get a scratch on him.

“I understand humans have a timeline of when they are supposed to go. Age 35 and you’re done – I don’t care what sport you’re in. It’s a fact. I don’t know what type of evidence I need to show I’m an alien other than what is there.”

SERGEY KOVALEV, WBO Light Heavyweight World Champion

“It is not easy to overlook Hopkins. I think when he’s 60 years old he’ll be in the same condition. He’s an alien, but I have to send him to the moon and maybe from there he’ll go by himself to Mars.

“I want to say that one day in Big Bear when I trained, I met Oscar De La Hoya and asked him to sign me and he turned me down, but now here we are on different sides.

“I am not a talker, I am a fighter and I am sure Bernard will promote the fight for both of us.

“I don’t really understand what Bernard is saying. It doesn’t matter what he says. Even if I understood, I wouldn’t care. I don’t worry about him. I’ll go into the ring and do my job.

“Bernard talks and fights. I just fight.

“I can’t say what the fight will be like. This is boxing and anything can happen.

“It is my secret what I will do on fight night. I will give it my all and come out with the win.”

OSCAR DE LA HOYA, President & Founder of Golden Boy Promotions

“This fight is the best against the best in the light heavyweight division.

“I really do feel that this is not just a fight, but an event. I am glad that it’s on HBO and I’m glad its not on pay-per-view, which it easily could have been, but you have to give credit to the fighters who are doing it for the fans.

“I believe that many people over the years have doubted Bernard Hopkins. He’s over 40-years-old, how can he win? All of those questions are no longer being asked. Everything that he does, he deserves.

“At 49-years-old, being the oldest champion in any sport, he deserves tons of respect. The fact that he’s facing the ‘Krusher,’ is just another of the many dangerous fighters that Bernard has faced.

“Being the best middleweight in the history of this sport, with 20 defenses and now to be 49 at light heavyweight, he’s still going strong. I’m now convinced he is an Alien.”

KATHY DUVA, CEO of Main Events

“This fight is going to be the most anticipated fight of 2014. It’s so much fun putting together a fight like this that everyone wants to see. Its great to see the excitement level and the anticipation, you can feel it in the air.

“This is going to be a tremendous event. It’s one of those fights that when the bell rings you really won’t know what is going to happen. It’s not about finding out who’s best, its about who is going to win the fight, because both are great.

“This is what boxing is supposed to be and we look forward to November 8.

“The first person I thought of when I saw Sergey Kovalev in the ring was Ray Leonard. I saw the look in his eye and I could tell he was different. I believe he is the most electrifying boxer in the world of boxing and he will prove it on November 8.”

KEN CONDON, Caesar’s Entertainment Consultant

“This is an Atlantic City fight, it’s in Bernard’s backyard and this is where the fight belongs.

“Sergey has also developed a great following from his last two fights in Atlantic City.

“Caesar’s stepped up to the plate and continued its tradition of great championship boxing in Atlantic City. We believe in the future of Atlantic City and we believe in boxing. We expect a sellout on November 8.”

AARON DAVIS, NJSAC Director

“November 8 is going to be a nice fight with premier fighters and premier promoters. We want to keep on the legacy that we have created in New Jersey.”

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Hopkins vs. Kovalev, a 12-round unification bout for the IBF, WBA and WBO Light Heavyweight World titles, taking place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday, November 8 is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events in association with Caesars Atlantic City, Corona Extra, AT&T and Hortitsia Vodka.

Tickets priced at $300, $200, $150, $100 and $50, plus applicable fees and service charges, go on sale on Friday, Sept. 5 at noon ET and will be available for purchase at the Boardwalk Hall box office, by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 736-1420 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com, www.hbo.com/boxing or http://www.boardwalkhall.com/.

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/main_events, www.twitter.com/hboboxing,www.twitter.com/THEREALBHOP, www.twitter.com/krusherkovalev and www.twitter.com/BoardwalkHall.

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/maineventsboxing, www.facebook.com/hboboxing and https://www.facebook.com/BoardwalkHall.