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LONDON (Aug 27) – Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins’ sensational attempt to unify the light-heavyweight division, just two months shy of his 50th birthday, against the fearsome Sergey Kovalev will be shown live and exclusive on BoxNation.

‘The Channel of Champions’ is delighted to be screening one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of this year when current WBA and IBF champion Hopkins looks to add knockout artist Kovalev’s WBO crown to his incredible list of accolades.

Taking place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on November 8th, the mouthwatering clash joins some top fight action already lined up on BoxNation including Floyd Mayweather’s rematch with Marcos Maidana next month.

Hopkins attempts, however, to unify the light-heavyweight division at nearly 50 years of age is unprecedented but in the unbeaten Kovalev he faces one of the hardest hitters around having amassed a chilling 23 knockouts from 25 fights.

“Everything I do at this point in my career affects my legacy,” Hopkins 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.”

Kovalev is aware of the threat the wily Hopkins presents but can’t wait to fulfil a lifelong ambition by sharing the ring with one of boxing’s best ever.

“I respect Bernard Hopkins for taking this fight,” said the 31-year-old Kovalev. “When I came to America, it was dream to fight the best and now I am fighting, I have my chance. He says he is an alien. He punch, I punch, then we see who is going to 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 defence of his WBO light heavyweight title, defeating Blake Caparello by TKO in his last outing.

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

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Atlantic City, NJ (Aug. 22) – Since the August 4th official announcement of the Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins vs. Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev light heavyweight title unification fight, the boxing world has been waiting and wondering when and where the two will meet and put their respective titles on the line. The wait is over as Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events announced today that the fall’s most anticipated boxing event will take place Saturday, Nov. 8 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.

Both fighters have a history of big fights on the Jersey Shore as Hopkins has fought 19 times in Atlantic City, five of which took place at Boardwalk Hall. Kovalev fought his only two American title defenses in Atlantic City, both of which were knockouts. Most recently against Blake Caparello on August 2nd.

“Atlantic City is a second home to me,” said Hopkins. “Some of my most memorable victories and greatest accomplishments of my career have taken place there including my fights against Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik. I expect Philly to represent and come out to Boardwalk Hall to see me make history once again.”

“I am happy to be back in Atlantic City,” said Kovalev. “This is my third time fighting there, but this is the most special because this time I am facing the legendary Bernard Hopkins.”

“November 8 is going to be a great night for boxing in Atlantic City, said Oscar De La Hoya, founder and president of Golden Boy Promotions. “I would like to thank Caesars Atlantic City, Global-Spectrum, the Atlantic City Alliance, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) and the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority (NJSEA) for working together to bring this fight to the boardwalk, where east coast fans can get to see a historic fight between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev and show the world what a big fight night is all about.”

“This fight is exactly where it belongs,” said Kathy Duva, Chief Executive Officer of Main Events. “Sergey Kovalev made his last two title defenses in Atlantic City and Bernard Hopkins fought much of his career there. Boardwalk Hall has a rich history in boxing and it holds a lot of great memories for Main Events, working in conjunction with Ken Condon and Caesars. I look forward to making some more memories on November 8th.”

“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.”

“Bernard Hopkins is a world champion athlete who grew up and trained in the greater Philadelphia area, just a short ride from Atlantic City, so this fight is going to be a great draw for the destination,” said Kevin Ortzman, President and General Manager for Caesars, Bally’s and Showboat Atlantic City. “Some of the greatest boxing matches and sporting events have been hosted in Historic Boardwalk Hall – and this November, Atlantic City will once again be the backdrop to one of the most historic bouts in the sport – Caesars is proud to sponsor this event and look forward to an entertaining weekend this fall.”

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 and AT&T and Hortitsia Vodka. The HBO World Championship Boxing telecast begins at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.

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.

By Norm Frauenheim–

A few days after Oscar De La Hoya talked about upsets during a contentious conference call involving Danny Garcia’s perceived mismatch against Rod Salka , Bernard Hopkins scored the biggest one of the year with his decision to fight Sergey Kovalev in a many-sided move that is bold, risky and perhaps a lesson for a balkanized game divided by conflicting interests and colliding egos. Hopkins is taking a chance. Somebody has to.

Leadership is hard to find these days, but it was there in Hopkins, whose contract for a Kovalev bout in November is a declaration of independence from practices that are pushing the business beyond the fringe and into irrelevancy. It’s important, first and foremost, because Hopkins is still a fighter. He has several other roles, of course. He’s a promoter, street-corner philosopher, ex-con, CostCo customer and provocateur. Ex-promoters and feuding promotes, managers and advisors are everywhere with quotes and hidden agendas, yet not much in the way of solutions. They’re in it for themselves. But I can’t help but think that Hopkins is fighting for the craft that has made him wealthy in ways he could never have imagined as an inmate at Pennsylvania’s Graterford prison. He, more than anybody, knows what it has done for him.

An inseparable element is his relationship with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions. De La Hoya is retired, yet he is a fighter whom Hopkins beat in 2004. They shared a ring and and now share an understanding of all that goes into what defines them. Circumstances surrounding the Hopkins-De La Hoya alignment still aren’t clear. Nevertheless, it has survived the Golden Boy shake-up that led to Richard Schaefer’s exit as CEO. In the wake of Schaefer’s resignation on June 2, there was reason to think the Hopkins, a limited partner in Golden Boy, would also leave De La Hoya’s company. Then, Hopkins told the media that Schaefer could not be replaced. About six weeks later, Hopkins signs for a Kovalev fight that strengthens Golden Boy’s prospects in an HBO fight.

The HBO angle, one of many, is a key. It means Golden Boy and HBO will be doing business again. HBO had not televised a Golden Boy fight since March 2013, when Hopkins beat Tavoris Cloud. In the week after the bout, HBO terminated its relationship with Golden Boy, which proceeded to work with only Showtime. The surprising twist in Hopkins’ return to HBO is that he had been expected to fight Adonis Stevenson on Showtime. Stevenson had jumped the shark, from HBO to Showtime, by signing with manager Al Haymon. Between then and the aftermath of the front office upheaval at Golden Boy, there was an evident change in Hopkins’ thinking. Instead of moving away from De La Hoya, he’s grown closer to him.

Thus far, Hopkins and De La Hoya have shown they can be an alliance with power enough to unify that part of the sport not already tied to Haymon and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The HBO renewal represents a further step in De La Hoya’s promise to re-open doors slammed shut throughout the deadly feud between Golden Boy and Top Rank. First, De La Hoya approached Bob Arum, mending their relationship in a move that apparently enraged Schaefer. Then, Hopkins stepped up and said — through Golden Boy — that he wanted to fight Kovalev, a light-heavyweight promoted by Main Events. Within a day, the deal was done without one word that reminded anybody of the familiar rancor. What feud? The moment was a breath of fresh air for a suffocating business better at producing insults than great fights.

Make no mistake, Hopkins is also motivated by self-interest. A businessman has to be and Hopkins is a good one. Kovalev is an emerging threat, perhaps even more dangerous than Stevenson. Stevenson is powerful, yet emotional. It’s that emotional component that could have been manipulated by Hopkins, a proven master of the head-game tactic, an indispensable part of any good fight plan. Kovalev appears to be more sure of himself and less likely to be lured into a diversion that turns into defeat. Just a few months from his 50th birthday in mid-January, however, Hopkins is in a no-lose situation. The 31-year-old Kovalev will be expected to beat a man two decades his senior. If Hopkins win, a timeless legend marches on.

The fight’s timing, scheduled for Nov. 8, comes amid a decline in pay-per-view numbers and television ratings for non-PPV bouts. There’s not a whole lot on the horizon. Garcia-Salka in New York Saturday night? According to one betting site, Bovada, Salka is a 50-to-1 underdog. Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri on Nov. 22 in China? Algieri is a 16-to-1 underdog. Odds are, not many will watch either fight.

Meanwhile, it’s likely that Gennady Golovkin will retain his informal title as the world’s most feared fighter, which means he’s the one to avoid. It looks as if Puerto Rico’s popular Miguel Cotto will. There’s talk that Cotto, a newly-crowned middleweight champ, will follow up his dramatic stoppage of Sergio Martinez against Andy Lee in December in New York. Lee, an Irishman best-known for a loss to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., is seen as safe stop before a big money clash in another chapter of the Puerto Rican-Mexican rivalry against Canelo Alvarez next year.

On Sept. 13, there’s Mayweather-Marcos Maidana at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. But it’s a rematch, a remake, of Mayweather’s majority decision in May. It’s a second chance to see if Mayweather can get it right after running into a Maidana whose chaotic style appeared to unsettle him. It’s interesting, but the guess is that Mayweather will prevail in a careful, yet overwhelming fashion. He won’t hurt his claim on the pound-for-pound title. But he doesn’t figure to improve much on the pay-per-view numbers, reported to be between 850,000 and 900,000 for the first fight.

It looked like a dismal fall card, until Hopkins swiftly capitalized, filling a void with a light-heavyweight fight that promises to be a game-changer.

For him, his business partner and his craft.

(August 4, 2014) — Speed, savvy and defense will come face-to-face with explosive power and force this November when Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins takes on Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev in a Light Heavyweight Unification title fight, Golden Boy Promotions and Main Events announced today.

Hopkins, incredibly just two months short 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 dream to fight the best and now I am fighting, I have my chance. He says he is alien. He punch, I 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 Saturday night. Hopkins vs. Kovalev is set to take place in the first half of November and will be held on the East Coast at a venue still to be determined.

“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 lightening quickness and 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.”

“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.”
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.mainevents.com or www.hbo.com/boxing
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
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By Bart Barry-

Saturday in Atlantic City in another hideous but portentous mismatch on HBO, Russian light heavyweight titlist Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev raced through a helpless Australian named Blake Caparello, stumbling out the block and getting flashdropped in round 1 before spearchiseling his way to a TKO-2 result whose time was irrelevant and preordained. For the first time in Kovalev’s career as an HBO fighter, though, Saturday’s portentous match actually portended something, as word came last week Kovalev will fight Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins in November.

Bless Bernard Hopkins for making this fight.

Bless Kovalev, too, and Kovalev’s handlers, too too, and HBO and Oscar De La Hoya – whose canning of Richard Schaefer allowed others to begin imagining something like this – and even Showtime, whose subversion of HBO’s plans for a Kovalev match with Adonis Stevenson ignited, finally, a fire beneath the throne at HBO Sports. Barring a similar act of audacity by Gennady Golovkin’s handlers, Kovalev-Hopkins is now the most-anticipated fight of 2014.

There is a very real chance Bernard Hopkins will beat Sergey Kovalev, and whereas it might once, even recently, have brought a foreboding that went “what the hell kind of professional sport gets dominated by a 50-year-old?” the fact becomes ever clearer this probably is the worthiest era in our sport’s history for a stamp in crimson dye that reads: DOMINATED BY A 50-YEAR-OLD. Why the change of heart? In signing to fight Kovalev, remorseless and mean-spirited as any contemporary practitioner of fisticuffs, Hopkins demonstrated a willingness to imperil himself for greatness’ sake that none of his young inferiors possesses.

Hopkins now acts both as a counterargument to Gennady Golovkin’s small army of apologists who just can’t seem to find a fitting opponent anywhere they look, and a large black asterisk historians’ minds must set beside Floyd Mayweather’s name: *Did not fight his era’s best.

Notice what did not precede last week’s delightful announcement. No mention of Machiavellian advisors, no bickering about purse splits on message boards, no talk of one man’s cowardice matching the other’s stupidity, no insiders’ analysis of why promoters are obdurately opposed to what is best for their sport, and most blessedly of all, no midnight conference call to announce people not-fighting.

Two thoughts on why Hopkins may beat a genuinely frightening dude in his prime – frightening because who but Kovalev in the annals of boxing tragedy increased his knockout percentage after killing a man in the ring? – and apply with an alien precision his looniest stroke yet to this era: 1. Something Kovalev’s first U.S. trainer said, and 2. Kelly Pavlik.

Going in reverse order, and for those old enough to remember, Pavlik, in 2008, was the undefeated, undisputed, lineal middleweight champion of the world, having done it the right way, stretching the man, Jermain Taylor, who beat the man, Bernard Hopkins, who, by 2008, was a sprightly 43 year-old super middleweight six months removed from being outclassed by Welshman Joe Calzaghe. Pavlik was expected to overwhelm Hopkins the way volume punchers tend to overwhelm boxers, especially volume punchers possessed of a right cross like Pavlik’s. Suddenly Hopkins was not a boxer or counterpuncher, though, but a slugger, leaping at Pavlik in the opening round with left-hook leads to the Ohioan’s durable liver.

It was impossible Pavlik had trained for such an attack from a man who’d managed to take an athletic actionfigure like Taylor in 2005 and make with him 72 minutes of defensive awfulness not to be surpassed in dullness until Erislandy Lara fights Erislandy Lara. With those Hopkins left hands, though, went the trajectory of Pavlik’s right cross. Whatever ailments and dissipation Pavlik suffered immediately before he threw hands with Hopkins, his cross never flew right because Hopkins lowered Pavlik’s elbow six reflexive inches in the opening three minutes. Hopkins will do something similarly unexpected to Kovalev in their opening stanza, something neither the Russian nor his American trainer John David Jackson prepares for, and how Kovalev adjusts, what sort of plan-B game Kovalev possesses, will determine the match’s outcome.

Beside Jackson in Kovalev’s corner in November will be Don Turner, one of the few remaining sages in our sport and the man into whose North Carolina gym Kovalev strolled years ago.

“(Sergey) doesn’t hit that hard,” Turner told me in September. “He hits you on-time. When you hit a guy on-time, you’re punching him twice as hard as you naturally would.”

Here then, in the form of a question, lies the enormous challenge rushing at Kovalev: Who has ever hit Bernard Hopkins on-time? Kovalev runs opponents into his power, cocking a right cross with a left hook that was cocked by a right cross. He is a volume puncher with menacing force and radioactive meanness. But Hopkins has fought dozens such men. Whom that Kovalev has fought begins to approximate Hopkins in craft, experience or wiles?

But as a friend of mine said Saturday night, crashing together metaphors in the way men do in relaxed conversation after witnessing barbaric spectacles: “So long as you don’t look in Medusa’s eyes, Father Time stays undefeated.”

If Kovalev does not bite on Hopkins’ prefight lures, and here language barrier shall serve the Russian well, he can set a pace Hopkins cannot possibly abide a few months before his 50th birthday, and if that happens, the beating Kovalev bestows on “The Alien” will be otherworldly. But there remains a very real chance it will not happen, and if it doesn’t and Hopkins somehow beats Kovalev, may this period henceforth and universally be known as the Hopkins Era.

Bart Barry can be reached at bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

Bernard Hopkins will fight a unification bout with Sergey Kovalev provided that Kovalev wins his Saturday night fight with Blake Caparello according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“The fight got made in 30 hours, from the start of negotiations on Thursday to the signing of the contract [Friday] afternoon,” Kovalev’s promoter Kathy Duva said after faxing the signed agreements to Hopkins promoter Golden Boy. “It didn’t take very long. When you don’t have obstructionists in the middle of a deal, it’s not that hard to do. I felt like it was the old days. HBO did their part, we did our part and Golden Boy did their part.”

Main Events also named Golden Boy in the lawsuit, but Duva said the suit never came up in the negotiations for Hopkins-Kovalev.

“We never even discussed it, but we will probably drop them from the suit,” she said.

“Sergey has to win [Saturday] night, so I don’t want to talk too much about the fight with Hopkins,” Duva said. “But we are all elated. It is going to be the most-anticipated fight of this year, even more anticipated than some of the pay-per-view fights. It’s a big fight on HBO.

“Sergey keeps saying, ‘I’m not going to talk about it or think about Hopkins.’ He knows his job is to stay focused on Blake Caparello. But Sergey did have a smile on his face when he signed the contract. Normally, I would wait to sign the contract until after Saturday’s fight, but there were time pressures to get the contract to the IBF.”

“Since Bernard was already approved in Sergey’s contract, we never thought that whatever issues HBO and Golden Boy had were going to be an issue if we could make this fight and they weren’t,” Duva said. “We are just excited about Saturday’s fight and seeing Sergey in a really big fight.”

Ft. Lauderdale, FL: As Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (24-0-1, 22 KOs) prepares to defend his WBO Light Heavyweight World Title against Blake “Il Capo” Caparello on August 2nd on HBO Boxing After Dark from Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, the media is buzzing about the possibility of a unification fight between Krusher and IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs).

“Krusher”
Photo Credits:
Rich Graessle/Main Events

In a recent interview with BoxingScene.com, Hopkins called out Kovalev saying, “I got two titles and a legacy. What’s Kovalev got? A punch and a WBO title – let’s do it.” He added, “The perception is, is that Kovalev is a killer and [Adonis] Stevenson doesn’t want to fight him, he wants to fight an old man. If that’s the case, I’ll knock off Kovalev first, because I believe that I can beat him. I believe that he’s a tough fight, but I believe that I can beat him. It’s a fight where if I make a mistake I can get knocked out. And yeah Bernard Hopkins can get knocked out too, and so can Kovalev and so can Stevenson, who’s been knocked out once in his career.”

Hopkins, of course, is referring to the planned title unification fight on HBO between WBO Champion Kovalev and WBC Champion Adonis Stevenson, which was scuttled when Stevenson and his Promoter chose to take a path avoiding Kovalev. That decision is now the subject of ongoing litigation.

Kovalev
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events
Kovalev was predictably peeved when Stevenson called off their planned fight. He would especially relish the opportunity to face the legendary Hopkins before Stevenson gets the chance, though he remains circumspect. Kovalev said, “All I want to do is fight the best. I wanted to fight Stevenson but he ran away. I would get in the ring with Bernard Hopkins right now! Any time, any place! But who knows? Maybe he’s just trying to get more money from Showtime? So, I am focused on preparing for my fight on HBO on August 2nd and after we’ll see if Hopkins will really get in the ring with me.”

Kovalev vs. Agnew
Photo Credits:
Rich Graessle/Main Events

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva added, “After reading Bernard’s comments to BoxingScene.com, I immediately reached out to all of the parties potentially involved on the Hopkins side to try to make the fight happen. But what I heard from all of them is ‘I don’t know,’ including when I asked who would represent Bernard in negotiations. If Bernard Hopkins truly wants to fight Sergey Kovalev, I know we can make a deal. Like Sergey, we will focus on our preparations for his title fight against Blake Caparello on August 2nd, while Hopkins sorts out his promotional situation.”

About Kovalev vs. Caparello:

The WBO Light Heavyweight World Championship between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, (24-0-1, 22 KOs) and Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (19-0-1, 6 KOs) is on Saturday, August 2nd at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic, City, NJ. The fight will be telecast as part of a split-site triple-header on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 9:45 PM ET/PT. The event is presented by Main Events in association with DiBella Entertainment. Tickets prices are $55, $80, $160 and $250. They are available at ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000. Doors open at 6:30 PM and the HBO Boxing After Dark special triple header split site telecast begins at 9:45 PM.

About Revel

Revel Casino Hotel is Atlantic City’s newest and most spacious casino resort and convention destination. Located on Atlantic City’s world-famous boardwalk, the ocean front hotel is designed to offer endless views of the Atlantic at every turn. The casino resort offers 130,000 square feet of world class gaming, with 2,400 slots, 130 table games, electronic tables and players’ lounges, along with the high-limit table game Ultra Lounge. A member of the American Express Gold Hotel Collection, Revel features 1,399 ocean view rooms. Guests can enjoy indoor and outdoor pools, cabanas, gardens, lounges, a 32,000-square-foot spa, 13 restaurants that offer a range of fine dining to deliciously affordable menu options, a collection of boutiques, nightclubs, a dayclub, and live entertainment at The Social and showroom headliners at Ovation Hall. While taking in all the casino has to offer, guests can earn points as they play, dine, shop and relax with the Revel Card loyalty program. For additional information and updates, and for complete details and rules of all promotions, customers can visit the Revel Card desk or visit www.revelcasino.com and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/revel and follow @revelresorts on Twitter and @revelcasino on Instagram.

Philadelphia (June 25, 2014) – At almost 50-years-old, unified light heavyweight world champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins will be featured in the prestigious annual Body Issue of ESPN The Magazine, which hits newsstands Friday, July 11. The Body Issue celebrates athlete’s bodies across all sports.

Hopkins will be pictured alongside 21 other athletes in this year’s issue including tennis champion Venus Williams, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka. Click HERE for the full list of athletes.

“Being a part of the Body Issue is something I will never forget,” said Hopkins. “I am thrilled to be recognized with the great lineup of athletes included in this year’s magazine as well as in past issues. I hope that these pictures inspire people to want to be healthy, especially the over 40 crowd who I work hard to represent in and out of the ring.”

Hopkins is coming off of three consecutive victories on his way to collecting the IBF and WBA Light Heavyweight titles while breaking his own record as the oldest boxer to win a world championship.

Burbank, CA: Anatoliy “The Gladiator” Dudchenko (192-, 13 KOs) has reunited with his former trainer Jesse Reid (whose training resume includes: Roger Mayweather, Johnny Tapia, Hector Camacho and many more) as he prepares to face Nadjib Mohammedi (34-3, 20 KOs) on June 21 for #1 eliminator in the IBF. The winner will face Bernard Hopkins for the IBF Championship. Dudchenko trained with Reid earlier in his career and, when he heard he was going to be fighting for the mandatory slot in the IBF, he returned to Reid to help prepare for the fight of his life.

Anatoliy Dudchenko
Photo Credits: Zhanna Popova

Reid and Dudchenko are training at the Powerhouse Gym in Burbank, CA. According to Reid, “This camp is going very well. We sparred with a partner who has a similar style to Mohammedi – good speed and good head movement – we are working on controlling that.” Preparation has been somewhat difficult, however, because Mohammedi has never fought in a televised bout, which made finding fight footage difficult for Reid and Dudchenko. Reid said, “We were able to find a couple of Mohammedi’s fights online but we don’t have too much on him. From what he have seen he doesn’t look like he is a powerful guy. He gets in bad positions which we are going to try to capitalize on.”

“The Gladiator”
Dudchenko came to the United States in 2004 from the Ukraine because he felt it would help further his career and get him one step closer to a world title. He said, “I feel very good. I am so focused. This is the chance of my life. This is why I moved to United States. I like my chances. Sparring and training is going good. I worked with Jesse before and we had a great experience.” When asked about his opponent, he said, “Mohammedi is a good fighter and I respect him. He’s tough but to me it doesn’t matter who I face because this is my chance of my life. I am not going to give it to anybody. This is a fight that people have to watch.”

Dudchenko
Despite the fact that this will be the biggest fight of “The Gladiator’s” career, Reid thinks he is ready and can handle the pressure, “I think he can handle the pressure of knowing he is on NBCSN and that this is the biggest fight of his life. I think this is a guy (Mohammedi) that can’t hurt him, which is good, but at the same time this is a guy who can match him with his speed. It is going to be interesting to see how Anatoliy carries himself. I trained Anatoliy earlier in his career and he knocked out a couple of guys while working with me and I am glad that I have him back. He is going to do extremely well and put on a great performance.” Vince Caruso, Anatoliy’s manager, added, “I have never seen Anatoliy more mentally prepared for a fight than he is right now. The 21st can’t come soon enough. This fight is going to put his name on the map.”

About June 21:

June 21 features Anatoliy “The Gladiator” Dudchenko and Nadjib Mohammedi in a twelve-round light heavyweight bout for the #1 position in the IBF live on NBCSN Fight Night from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The co-feature includes a ten-round fight between Philly natives Karl “Dynamite” Dargan and Anthony Flores for the USBA Atlantic Coast Region Title. The Fight Night telecast will begin at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Doors will open at 5:00 PM. The card is presented by Main Events and Peltz Boxing, in association with Greg Cohen Promotions. The undercard will be announced shortly. Ticket are available at ticketmaster.com (Keyword: Main Events) or at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs box office.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on June 21.
Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

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.

All NBC Sports Network live events live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

By Norm Frauenheim–

LAS VEGAS – The Golden Boy Promotions divide between CEO Richard Schaefer and founder Oscar De La Hoya appeared to widen Thursday with comments from Bernard Hopkins, who supports Schaefer’s vow to never to do business with Bob Arum despite De La Hoya’s attempt at renewing a working relationship with the Top Rank promoter.

“We don’t need Bob Arum,’’ Hopkins said after a news conference for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Marcos Maidana undercard Saturday night at the MGM Grand.

Hopkins, a Golden Boy vice-president, had a lot more to say. When does he not? But he was careful not to comment on whether there was a chance at healing the De La Hoya-Schaefer rift. He said he has a commercial interest in the company’s future. But he said he wouldn’t talk about their reported differences.

“When I was training for Beibut Shumenov, I’d hear this and I’d hear that,’’ said Hopkins, who won another piece of the light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Shumenov a couple of weeks ago. “I’m not going to comment about things I don’t know about because that makes things worse.’’

But the argument about Arum is no rumor. De La Hoya is on record about wanting to resume business with his former promoter. There’s even talk that he approached Arum with a proposal for a Canelo Alvarez fight against the Arum-promoted Manny Pacquiao. De La Hoya’s attempt to make peace with Arum has been a step in the healing process since his release from rehab.

But Schaefer is also on record about Arum. Business between the two is over, said Schaefer, whose alliance with Mayweather and his advisor, Al Haymon, appears stronger than ever. Forget business. There’s a sense that the Schaefer and Arum couldn’t even be civil to each other.

“There is so much on and off with Top Rank that Richard Schaefer has had with Arum that the relationship will never be patched up,’’ Hopkins said. “Not in this lifetime, I don’t think. It’s not just the name-calling. If it was just the name-calling, I think they could get back together. It’s the lawsuits. Then, it’s ‘we agree,’ and then ‘don’t agree.’ It’s the emotional roller coaster, again and again. I just think it’s become a worn-out soap opera.’’

If the respective positions have hardened on Arum, any chance at peace between Schaefer and De La Hoya are dim and getting dimmer. De La Hoya has not commented on the situation since the week-long build-up for Mayweather-Maidana began on Tuesday. His absence was notable at news conferences Wednesday and again Thursday.

No Golden Boy-Top Rank alliance, of course, means the most-talked-about fight of the last four years will never happen. No real news there. Pacquiao-Mayweather will go the way of Riddick Bowe-Lennox Lewis. Trouble is, the lost opportunity will take a lot of fans with it.

“We blew that opportunity,’’ Hopkins said. “We lost what would have been the Super Bowl of boxing. It’s like not having Ali-Frazier. The moment was there three, four years ago. But I think people have gotten past it.’’

For Hopkins, it was another way of saying it’s time to move on. It’s beginning to look as if Schaefer and De La Hoya will do exactly that.

Mayweather post stirs up controversy
Mayweather created a predictable buzz early Thursday by alleging that his former fiance, Shantel Jackson, aborted their two twins because he is pro-life.

Mayweather posted what he said was a photo of her sonogram on his Facebook account with this message: “The real reason me and Shantel Christine Jackson @missjackson broke up was because she got a abortion, and I’m totally against killing babies. She killed our twin babies.#ShantelJackson#FloydMayweather#TheMoneyTeam#TMT.

The post was taken down later in the day, apparently because of the furor it caused..

Notes: If Amir Khan beats Luis Collazo Saturday night, there’s talk that Khan will get a September shot at Mayweather, a one-sided favorite over Maidana. But Khan said he could not fight in a mid-September bout that coincides with a celebration Mexican Independence (Sept. 16) because of the Muslim observance of Ramadan. Khan is a practicing Muslim. …Adrien Broner took the podium Thursday and said that he was a changed man before his fight with Carlos Molina, his first bout since losing to Maidana in in December. “I’m humble, I don’t trash talk no more,’’ the bearded Broner said. Then, the real Broner appeared. “Get the hell out of here,’’ he said after a pause. “…At the end of the day, we’ve got to get back to business.’’ Yeah, the trash-talking business.

Wilkes-Barre, PA: IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard Hopkins must face the winner of the Dudchenko-Mohammedi fight as his next mandatory opponent. IBF Championship Chairman, Lindsey E. Tucker, Jr. sent IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard Hopkins a letter on April 21, 2014 informing Hopkins that he is required to fight the winner of the June 21st Dudchenko-Mohammedi fight. Anatoliy “The Gladiator” Dudchenko (19-2-0, 13 KOs) and Nadjib Mohammedi (34-3-0, 20 KOs) will face off at the new Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, PA for the #1 position in the IBF as the main event of the June 21st edition of NBCSN Fight Night.

Click to Read:
IBF Letter to Bernard Hopkins

Making his Main Events’ debut, Dudchenko, 35, is originally from Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine and now resides in Los Angeles, CA. He is currently the IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Champion and has won sixteen straight bouts in a row (seven by knockout) dating all the way back to May 16, 2008 with a first round TKO of Chris Eppley in Evansville, Indiana.

Anatoliy Dudchenko
“I started fighting to become a world champion,” said Dudchenko. “Every fight is a step closer to my dream. I’ve waited for this opportunity my entire career.”

The Gladiator
The legendary Hopkins, current IBF/WBA Light Heavyweight Champion, has been quoted in the media recently about possible fights with Adonis Stevenson and Floyd Mayweather. However, Anatoliy’s manager, Vince Caruso said, “Currently, Bernard Hopkins is under the delusion that he can just make his own rules, bypass his mandatory and go straight to a bout with Adonis Stevenson. Anatoliy and Naj Mohammedi have earned the right to face each other in an elimination bout and the winner be rewarded with a title shot. We expect Mr. Hopkins, as a world champion, will comply with the IBF’s rules.”

Nadjib Mohammedi
Photo Courtesy of:
Christel Boxing
A resident of Gardanne, Bouches-du-Rhône, France, Mohammedi, 29, has never fought in the United States. Nadjib has won ten straight bouts with seven knockouts since suffering a loss to Dmitry Sukhotsky on October 8, 2011 in Saint Petersburg, Russia and is currently ranked #4 in the IBF.

Mohammedi
Photo Courtesy of:
Christel Boxing
Mohammedi’s manager, Christel Aujoux, said, “Nadjib is happy and proud to fight in the United States for the first time. Thanks, Main Events, for this opportunity.”

Main Events’ CEO, Kathy Duva said, “I’m happy that we can bring another elimination bout to Fight Night and continue our mission to televise competitive fights with outstanding athletes who are on the road to a world title.” She added, “This will also be Anatoliy’s first fight under our banner, so I’m excited to see him in action in person.”

“This is a great opportunity for both fighters to showcase their skills in the very hot light heavyweight division,” said Jolene Mizzone, Main Events’ matchmaker. “What makes this fight even more exciting is that the winner is going to be the mandatory challenger and will face champion Bernard Hopkins.”

About June 21:

June 21 features Anatoliy “The Gladiator” Dudchenko and Nadjib Mohammedi in a twelve-round light heavyweight bout for the #1 position in the IBF live on NBCSN Fight Night from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The Fight Night telecast will begin at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. The card is presented by Main Events and Peltz Boxing. The undercard and co-feature will be announced shortly. Ticket information is coming soon as well.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT on June 21.
Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

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.

All NBC Sports Network live events live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

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By Bart Barry–

What if Michael Jordan came back tomorrow, at age 51, and won an NBA championship with, say, the Washington Wizards for whom he last played in 2003? It would be a massive event, an orgy of media celebration as one of the world’s most famous athletes, nay, men, returned to a field of glory and dominated at an age that was absurd. But once the orgy got tired and broke up and media folk went their separate ways, showing the promiscuity of spirit for which they are notorious, what would it say about professional basketball that a man in his sixth decade was able to dominate the best professionals in their 20s?

Now imagine for a second that Jordan never did retire in 2003 but rather finagled from that lousy Wizards team a four-corners offense, and as part of an ownership group selected referees prone to ignoring the shot clock, and won his 2014 championship in five games by an average score of 38-36. Would kids still wish to “Be like Mike” or would they perhaps decide football players were cooler, and spend a generation in cleats instead of Jordans?

Saturday in Washington D.C., 49-year-old American Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins decisioned 30-year-old Kazakhstani light heavyweight titlist Beibut Shumenov in a match uncompetitive enough to bring heaps of dudgeon upon the lone judge who narrowly scored the match for Shumenov – in a nod to this fact much as another: Boxing aficionados are a cantankerous lot, and they like writers who tickle their lesser impulses, and also because tributes to agelessness are, almost invariably, insipid.

Through three rounds Saturday’s match was unwatchable as any Hopkins fight. Whatever else Shumenov was in his title-winning San Antonio match in December, and he was not particularly active, he was fearless. He had a willingness to stand wherever his opponent’s punches were bound to land, arms spread, chest bared in willing reception, and blast his way through them. Shumenov was not a picture of athleticism or class, perhaps, but he was verily a picture of self-belief. Hopkins removed that from him almost instantly and instead of seeing the dangerous puncher Texans watched flatten Tamas Kovacs, a man whose 23-0 dossier was, in retrospect, filled with hot air enough to fuel at least two questions of a Hopkins interview, fans in Washington D.C. got treated to an entirely untested man who did not belong near even a WBA light heavyweight title of the Eastern Bloc, much less the world.

Hopkins’ style remains defensively flawless – he has righted what balance issues sprung up years back against men of faster reflex and activity, and his skills as a handicapper, too, have kept pace, ensuring nobody busy or quick need apply for the privilege of standing across from him. Hopkins still flashes a silent dissent that takes men’s fingers off their triggers, and make no mistake about this either: Hopkins still punches hard and accurately enough to dissuade even men previously mistaken for portraits of fearlessness.

Boxing is not a dying sport in the sense of an entity that has a terminal condition – as anyone who reads about our sport knows already. Most arguments for boxing’s health treat either this certainty, that the spectacle of men swapping blows in a primal reenactment of what was done for finite resources millennia ago will not cease in our lifetimes and draw always paying spectators, or else fetishize the iota of one percent of licensed prizefighters still making massive fortunes from duping the public semiannually with large promotional budgets, special effects, roadtours, conference calls and a medium, television, ever compelled by itself to sell its customers reheated products they’ve already purchased.

It’s all missing widely a point quieter debate fails rarely to unearth: Ours is a sport fantastically diminished. Every number, from subscribers to media-day galas to earnings to punch stats, is open to wildeyed interpretation or misunderstanding in the name of profit, in the short-term or long-. What cannot be faked but easily confirmed in the urban area of any city in the United States, though, is this: There is a fraction the interest in boxing among kids today as there was even a generation ago. The gyms are not filling the way they always did before, and if your city is blessed with a full gym here or there, you can be assured your city once hosted five more than it does right now. Every local initiative to get kids in boxing begins with a wealthy donor and an employed politician and so much hope, and every local initiative quietly loses its impetus for one reason or another and is forgotten.

There is a desire among many to conflate probability and possibility, and so now is the time we excavate a gym here or there in an urban area that hasn’t hosted a fight and hasn’t a commission to confirm it, hold that concept aloft and give fullthroat to it as if its unverified existence disproves the very thing we all know already. And those that stick around to hear this conflation get convinced anew, inevitably, but their number dwindles each time.

Bernard Hopkins’ longevity and wondrous agelessness is good a monument as any to this. Were Michael Jordan still able to ply his Washington Wizards craftsmanship and win titles, outclassing LeBron James and friends in championship games, the NBA would know there was something dreadfully wrong with its product, would know how embarrassingly it appeared to those just discovering the physics of its nature, cylinders and shots and nets and reflexes and vertical leaps and the like, and would know better than to project images of half-filled arenas on the public’s consciousness as if all were just wonderful.

No, there will never be another Bernard Hopkins.

Bart Barry can be reached via bart.barrys.email (at) gmail.com

49 year-old Bernard Hopkins continued to make history as scored a 12 round split decision pver Beibut Shumenov to to retain his IBF and capture the WBA Light Heavyweight title at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.

The 1st three rounds set the pace that Hopkins wanted as next to nothing happend and Shumenov’s offensive pace was set for the evening. Hopkins started to get his trademark lead right hand going in round four. Hopkins became a little more active as each round passed. Hopkins took took all the middle rounds and was building up a solid lead. In round 10, he landed a perfect right hand that sent Shumenov to the canvas. It looked for a minute as if Hopkins would be able to get the stoppage but he did not turn on the gas and continued to land solid shots all be that they were one at a time. Shumenov landed very few punches of note but somehow a score card read 114-113 in his favor. The two other cards were correct at 116-111 for Hopkins.

The ageless wonder will now wait for the winner of the May 24 WBC title fight between Adonis Stevenson and Andrej Fonfara. Hopkins, 172.4 lbs of Philadelphia improves his Hall of Fame mark to 55-6-2. Shumenov, 174.4 lbs of Shymkeent, KAZ is now 14-2.

On his future, Hopkins said, “We are with SHOWTIME until I end my career. Stevenson, I am coming to Canada. I am getting my papers together. I want to be the undisputed light heavyweight world champion this year, period.”
A disappointed Shumenov told Gray, “To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about the scorecard. I tried hard. Bernard, but he was the better man tonight. I chose the wrong strategy and used the wrong style. I am angry that I couldn’t get the victory. I am a true warrior and I want to fight only the best. Tonight, obviously it wasn’t my fight.”

Shawn Porter scored an explosive 4th round stoppage over Paulie Malignaggi to retain his IBF Welterweight title.

In round one, Malignaggi was cut from what looked like a jab. In round two, the fight get physical and hurt Malignaggi from a leaping left hook. Porter landed several more power shots during the round.

In round four, Porter came out and landed a right hand that sent Malignaggi to the canvas. Malignaggi was clearly hurt and ate a huge left hook that drove him to the ropes. Porter was all over Malignaggi and landed 2 hard punches in close and Malignaggi was sent to the canvas and the fight was stopped.

In the aftermath, Gray asked Porter what it was that Malignaggi had told him just moments after the bout. “Paulie, wished me the best and I don’t know what he is looking at for himself [in the future] but he said, ‘Make sure they know that I lost to a great champion. Go out there and be great.’ I am going to honor his words and his wishes.”

Speaking about the win, Porter said, “I definitely needed this victory. To get it like that from a guy like this. He touched me in every way possible being in the ring with him. I knew what he was coming with. But I always had questions of my own. I came in and answered those questions tonight.”

When asked what he wants next, Porter said, “I’m going to enjoy this and let my team handle what is next. I’m sure they will all communicate. We’ll come up with the next game plan and we’ll tackle it.”

Gray then asked Malignaggi what it was that he told Porter. “I just said, ‘Don’t make me have lost to an average fighter. Go be great so that I can say that a really great fighter beat me.’ I know that he has that potential.

Regarding retirement, “If I do retire, and I don’t want to make that decision right now while I am emotional, but I don’t want to do it off of an average champion. I want to do it off of a great champion.

Breaking down the fight, Malignaggi said, “He was controlling the distance. I couldn’t get going. He was going away and then bringing the attack. He mixed it up well. He came right at me at times and then, at other times, he moved away.”

When asked about retiring and focusing the rest of his career solely on his commentating work for SHOWTIME, Malignaggi said, “I can’t really think about that right now. If I give you an answer right now I would tell you that I am stopping fighting but maybe I’d change my mind next week. I want to go home and think about it.”

Porter, 146.8 lbs of Akron, OH is now 24-0-1 with 15 knockouts. Malignaggi, 146.2 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 33-6.

Peter Quillin scored a 12 round unanimous decision to retain the WBO Middleweight crown over Lukas Konecny.

Quillin boxed well over the 1st half of the fight and landed shots through the high guard of Konecny. At the end of round six, a right hand wobbled Konecny. Round eight saw some good action as both land hard shots. Quillin got through with a left hook while Konecny landed some left hooks. The fight turned lethargic in round ten and even drew some boos from the crowd at the Armory. Konecny started to bleed from right eye in round ten. There were a couple decent exchanges down the stretch but neither fighter was in any danger.

Quillin, 159.8 lbs of Brooklyn won by scores of 120-108 and 119-109 twice and is now 31-0. Konecny, 158.25 lbs of Usti, CZ is now 50-5

After the fight, Quillin said, “I’m thankful that I was able to get up in here with a tough customer in front of me and get up and fight.”

Sadam Ali made short work of Michael Clark by scoring a 1st round stoppage in their 10-round Welterweight bout.

Ali landed a left hook to the face that sent Clark down for the 10-count at 2:06 of round one.

Ali. 146 1/4 lbs of Brooklyn is now 19-0 with 12 knockouts. Clark, 144 lbs of Columbus, OH is now 44-10-1-1.

Marcus Browne remained undefeated by scoring an 8-round unanimous decision over veteran Otis Griffin.

Browne dominated the action and scored a knockdown from a perfet straight left in round five.

Browne, 174 lbs of Staten Island, NY won by scores of 80-71 on all cards and is now 10-0. Griffin, 176 lbs of Sacramento, CA announced his retirement before the fight finished with a mark of 24-16-2.

Zachary Ochoa scored a 5th round stoppage over Hector Marengo in a scheduled six round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Ochoa dominated and scored a knockdown in round round from a roundhouse right hand. He dropped Merango for a 2nd time from a body shot in round five. Just seconds later, Merango’s corner threw in the towel at 1:32 of round five.

Ochoa, 139 1/2 lbs of Brooklyn is now 7-0 with 4 knockouts. Merango, 140 1/4 lbs of Aricibo, PR is now 6-8-4.

LONDON (April 18) – Veteran Bernard Hopkins has warned his Kazakhstani opponent ‘to get ready for school’ as he does battle this weekend looking to enhance his unique legacy.

The 49-year-old IBF light heavyweight world champion goes up against WBA Super champion Beibut Shumenov in a world title unification taking place at the DC Armory in Washington DC, this Saturday night, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

As the oldest world champion in history and having reigned supreme in the middleweight division for over 10 years, Hopkins’ legacy in the sport of boxing was cemented long ago.

However, the man from Philadelphia, whose gripping life story has captured the imagination of so many, has warned Shumenov to be prepared to be taught a lesson as he aims to build on his incredible achievements.

“He’s motivated to fight me, he said he’s been dreaming of this all his life. Understand one thing, be careful what you wish for.” Hopkins fired. “After this is over with, let’s pray he has the career going forward. I have a track record. There’s a whole list of names that didn’t survive the mental beat down.

“Get ready for school, student. No disrespect, its logic. I am the professor with a PhD. I’m going to take his GED learning that you need more than that to make a living,” he said.

“This is really a defence of my legacy. Belts are nice, but they’re nicer when you’re younger and establishing a foundation. My foundation was laid down years ago. You get what you put in most of the time and then you get the times where you have to fight for what you want.

“Enjoy and understand that this is history. I’m defending something bigger than a title. My legendary 20 plus year legacy, is more important than anything around my waist,” said Hopkins.

The American star is also hoping that his 30-year-old opponent is at his very best, as he looks to continue his inspirational story.

“The best in Beibut will bring out the best in me. I want him to try to win every round. I want him to do this because if he doesn’t do this, you won’t see the best of me. I’ll do what I do regardless, but I don’t want to look like the worst word in America – a bully,” Hopkins said.

“This is an opportunity for me to represent the 40 and up club that is very alive in the world. Boxing and non-boxing fans are supporting me. I go and train understanding that it’s not just for me, but for you all to enjoy what is taking place while it is taking place.

“Sometimes we take personal achievements for granted. We don’t appreciate it until you get treated the opposite way. Come April 19, you will be inspired by me. The work I’ve put in all these years has already been set. Now I’m here to let you know how I feel,” he said.

Shumenov, who now resides in Las Vegas, came to prominence after he captured the WBA title in a rematch against Spaniard Gabriel Campillo.

The 2004 Olympian insists that Hopkins’ age will have no bearing on his mindset going into the fight. “You’re mistaken if you think I’m going into this as if I’m fighting a 50-year-old man,” Shumenov told Hopkins. “On Saturday night we are going to see who is taking whose belts. It’s not about money for me. I’m fighting for the honour and the glory to be acknowledged as a great fighter. I’m not thinking about future fights.

“I prepared for this fight like it’s my last. I’m a man of my word, so you’re going to see a great fight Saturday night. I want to fight the best and I am fighting the best,” he said.

The Kazakh is also looking to fight night to realise a long held dream as he looks to prove to the world that he is the best 175 pounder in a division stacked with a host of top names.

“I’ve been dreaming all of my life for this moment. I’ve been ready to fight at this level for several years. I couldn’t get there on my own. This is a good opportunity for me.,” he said.

“I am fighting one of the greatest ever, who beat so many other legends and great fighters. I am ready to show the world what I’m capable of. I will show the world that I am the best light heavyweight champion,” said Shumenov.

This weekend’s card also sees Paulie Malignaggi challenge for his third world title as he takes on IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter, with undefeated middleweight ace Peter Quillin defending his WBO belt against Lukas Konecny.

Hopkins vs. Shumenov is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) this Saturday night. Visit www.boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-

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WASHINGTON D.C. (April 17, 2014) – The fighters, including legendary future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov, who will compete on Saturday’s eagerly awaited “History at the Capitol” world championship tripleheader on SHOWTIME®, participated in the final press conference Thursday at The Hamilton Live in Washington, D.C.

In the history-making main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® (9 p.m. ET/PT following the premiere of Episode 1 of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana) the 49-year-old Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs), of Philadelphia, will be seeking to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles when he puts his IBF Light Heavyweight title on the line against his WBA counterpart, Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs), of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, who is aiming to become the fastest fighter to unify the light heavyweight division with only 15 professional fights.

The two other world title fights on SHOWTIME — unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion Shawn Porter (23-0-1), ofCleveland, defends against former world champion Paulie Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y. and unbeaten WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs), of Brooklyn, risks his belt against the Czech Republic’s Lukas Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs). Three live preliminary fights will precede the SHOWTIME telecast on SHOWTIME EXTREME®(7 p.m. ET/PT): Sadam Ali (18-0, 11 KOs), Brooklyn, vs. Michael Clark (44-9-1, 18 KOs ) Columbus, OH., 10 rounds, welterweights; Zachary Ochoa (6-0, 3 KOs), Brooklyn, vs. Hector Marengo (6-7-4, 4 KOs), Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 4/6 rounds, junior welterweights; and Marcus Browne (9-0, 7 KOs), Staten Island, N.Y., vs. Otis Griffin, 24-15-2 (10 KOs) Sacramento, Calif., 8 rounds, light heavyweights.

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

Hopkins was honored twice during the final press conference. At the outset of the proceedings, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer presented him with a National Portrait Gallery portrait donated by Golden Boy Promotions and shot by renowned sports photographer Holger Keifel. It will become part of Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery permanent collection and is projected to appear in the museum within the next two to three years and will likely be on display for six months or longer.

Later, Marvis Frazier, the former boxer and son of the late, great former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, presented a plaque to Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions in appreciation for their contribution to the Joe Frazier Statue in Philadelphia.

What the boxers and executives said Thursday:

BERNARD HOPKINS

“This is really a defense of my legacy. Belts are nice, but they’re nicer when you’re younger and establishing a foundation. My foundation was laid down years ago. You get what you put in most of the time and then you get the times where you have to fight for what you want.

“This is an opportunity for me to represent the 40 and up club that is very alive in the world. Boxing and non-boxing fans are supporting me. I go and train understanding that it’s not just for me, but for you all to enjoy what is taking place while it is taking place.

“Sometimes we take personal achievements for granted. We don’t appreciate it until you get treated the opposite way.

“Come April 19, you will be inspired by me. The work I’ve put in all these years has already been set. Now I’m here to let you know how I feel.

“The best in Beibut will bring out the best in me. I want him to try to win every round. I want him to do this because if he doesn’t do this, you won’t see the best of me. I’ll do what I do regardless, but I don’t want to look like the worst word in America, a bully.

“He’s motivated to fight me, he said he’s been dreaming of this all his life. Understand one thing, be careful what you wish for.

“Get ready for school, student. No disrespect, its logic. I am the professor with a PHd. I’m going to take his GED learning that you need more than that to make a living.

“After this is over with, let’s pray he has the career going forward. I have a track record. There’s a whole list of names that didn’t survive the mental beat down.

“When you watch Saturday you’re going to watch something you’ve seen over and over. I can’t help if you all get bored. You’re going to have to write the story.

“Enjoy and understand that this is history. I’m defending something bigger than a title. My legendary
20plus year legacy, is more important than anything around my waist.”

BEIBUT SHUMENOV

“[To Hopkins] You’re mistaken if you think going into this as if I’m fighting a 50-year-old man. On Saturday night we are going to see who is taking whose belts.

“It’s not for me about money. I’m fighting for the honor and the glory to be acknowledged as a great fighter. I’m not thinking about future fights. I prepared for this fight like it’s my last. I’m a man of my word, so you’re going to see a great fight Saturday night.

“I want to fight the best and I am fighting the best.

“I’ve been dreaming all of my life for this moment. I’ve been ready to fight at this level for several years. I couldn’t get there on my own. This is a good opportunity for me.

“Hard work and preparation has been done. I am fighting one of the greatest ever, who beat so many other legends and great fighters.

“I am ready to show the world what I’m capable of. I will show the world that I am the best light heavyweight champion.”

SHAWN PORTER

“We could have taken any challenger, we could have taken a lesser opponent, and we could have fought two more months from now…but that’s not the Porter way.

“We work hard and we have high expectations. At Team Porter we challenge ourselves. We talk day in and day out about the game plan. We send footage and notes to one and other every single day. We diet together. I lost a lot of weight for this fight, and I feel really good right now.

“My dad’s doing the exact same things I’m doing, eating the same stuff, working the same way I do. We work hard and we’re blessed. We understand what position we’re in today and what position we’re going to be in when I get in the ring with Paulie Malignaggi.

“We’re in a privileged position – we have a world championship belt. We’re going to defend it with honor and everything we have. We know what Paulie is bringing to the ring. This is going to be a great, exciting fight.”

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI

“I’m very happy with the team I have around me, they’ve allowed me to excel. I can just focus on boxing with no other headaches.

“I have outlasted almost every single fighter that has been hyped more than me. You keep saying, ‘how is this guy still around?’

“Shawn Porter is a world champion who still has that hungry attitude. That makes it all the more difficult of a challenge. Fighting a guy like that becomes not only a game of skill, but a game of will.

“I think I’ve proven through the years that I have a lot of both and Shawn is proving he has both as well and that makes it a very intriguing matchup.

“The winner will be very deserving at the end of the day. I feel like I’m the more talented fighter not that Shawn isn’t talented. I feel what I have in my back pocket is more than what he has. We’ll see Saturday if he’s ready.”

PETER QUILLIN

“It’s an important thing for me to be here in front of you guys. I just hope I can keep doing this same thing over and over again.

“I’m going to defend my title with so much pride. There’s no ego, just pride, hard work, determination and sacrifice. It’s what got me here and it’s the most important part of boxing to me.

“I may not have much control outside of the ring, but when I’m in the ring I can create and do what I want. I’m inspiring people to be happy with themselves.

“Bernard set the bar so high and I just want to set it even higher.

“The only part of this card that’s going to be hard is watching my brothers Paulie and Shawn fight. May the best man win. When the opportunity comes you have to capitalize on it.

“I’m thankful for this opportunity to fight in D.C. I’m so inspired to be here I think my name is going to be the ‘Capital Kid.’ ”

LUKAS KONECNY, WBO European Champion & Former WBO Interim Junior Middle Champion

“I expect a hard fight, but a fair fight. I want to win and I have the most experience.

“I think it should be a good confrontation between the European and the U.S. boxing style. Hopefully the best one will win and it will be me.”

NAAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins’ Trainer

“I’ve seen a lot of these young guys as they grew up. I’ve known Shawn Porter so long I remember when his father was fighting. Seeing all these guys up in this position is great and needs to be paid attention to.

“This guy, Bernard Hopkins, you’ve said everything you could say about him. We just hope you guys appreciate it. This guy has been fighting all the way through.

“Bernard teaches me all the time. I want people to understand when they see Bernard that you’re not seeing the microwave era of boxing. You have to appreciate it, the sweet science of boxing. These guys on the undercard are lucky because they get to see it.

“I want people to acknowledge that we’re dealing with a special athlete in Bernard. Thirty is old in boxing, guys still perform at 30 but it’s old. So what he’s doing is ridiculous.

“Everything he does is history. Every bag he hits is a part of history. Because what he’s doing has never been done. Bernard is the oldest athlete to hold a title in any sport.

“Bernard now carries Joe Frazier’s spirit in Philadelphia. It’s not the same style but it’s the same mentality. He never says die and never surrenders.”

MARVIS FRAZIER, Joe Frazier’s Son

“Bernard Hopkins is a true humanitarian. My father passed away in the midst of people putting together a statue for him. No one would come to the table; Golden Boy and Bernard Hopkins said they would build the statue for my father.

“I love this guy, he’s a great brother and on behalf of the Frazier family I want to thank you and Golden Boy Promotions for what they have done and are about to do.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, Golden Boy Promotions CEO

“Now is your chance. Here in Washington and the East Coast, people from Philly, New York and Washington come here to be part of this historic event.

“With Beibut Shumenov, Bernard’s fighting somebody who as a pro has a record with 14 wins, 9 by KO. Beibut is from Kazakhstan, and he has a rich amateur history. He was a 2004 Olympian for Kazakhstan. He has been waiting for an opportunity like this. He is as dedicated as any fighter I have ever seen. He has tremendous will and desire. He has a tremendous and loyal team behind him. He’s trained hard and is ready to go and make history here in Washington, D.C.

“Paulie is one of the most recognized fighters in the world. He’s a two-time, two-division world champion who is trying to win his third world title on Saturday night.

“Shawn Porter wants to face a veteran and the welterweight division is without any question the hottest division. Shawn Porter was one of the best amateur boxers of this era and established himself as one of the most exciting, young emerging stars of the sport.

“I’ve been in boxing since 2000. Of all the fighters there’s one that stands out when it comes to loyalty and when it comes to respect and Bernard tells me that it’s because of the respect I show him. He is one of a kind in many ways. He is a true friend.”

CHRIS DEBLASIO, Vice President Communications, SHOWTIME SPORTS

“This fight Saturday night on SHOWTIME is part of a tremendous lineup of boxing programming on our network that features no less than 19 live prizefights over the next three weeks.

Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will be preceded by the premiere of All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana. And the live show will feature a special guest analyst. Middleweight contender Daniel Jacobs will be substituting for Paulie Malignaggi who will be indisposed.

“Last January, when we had a fight card here at the DC Armory, I reported record ratings and record viewership growth for Showtime Boxing. I am proud to say that the trend continues and we are looking for strong performances in the next three weeks. Thank you for your support.”

ERIK A. MOSES, Senior Vice President of Events DC

“We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to host such a fantastic fight card. As a fight fan, I’m excited about what we’re going to see on Saturday. But as a person who’s responsible for making D.C. more of a fight and sports town, I’m really excited that Golden Boy Promotions and SHOWTIME and Bernard, in particular, have decided to come back to Washington.

“For those of you who don’t know, this will be the third championship fight in 14 months that we’ve hosted in the DC Armory, which is a fantastic thing. And frankly, we should give it up to Golden Boy Promotions for that. D.C. is a good sports town, but we want to make certain that people know it’s a fight town as well.

“I will echo Scottie Irving’s [D.C. Boxing Commissioner] comments that we want to sell this fight out. And every fight that comes to Washington, we want to show that we’re a great fight town. There’s a lot of energy and buzz around this city, and there has been ever since this fight was announced.

“We want Golden Boy Promotions to come back many more times and bring many more fights to Washington, D.C. as we continue to show them what we can do to support this fantastic sport.

“We’re honored to have Bernard and Mr. Shumenov here having their fight, as well as Paulie and the other combatants who are going to be here.

“This is going to be history in the making. To see someone like Bernard, who’s been fighting as long as he has, and at his age, do what he’s trying to do in our nation’s capital has all the makings of a fantastic story.”

SCOTTIE IRVING, Chairman of the DC Boxing Commission

“We expect an outstanding, clean fight. I want to make it really clear that the last time we had a fight at the DC Armory that sold out we talked to Golden Boy and had a conversation with Bernard, and we said at that time that we did a great job and we deserve another fight. And Bernard said, ‘I will do my best to make sure you guys get another fight soon.’
“I said it before, that Bernard is a man of his word. Not only did he go out and find the best fighter that he could to fight in D.C., he offered to do it himself, and to come fight here.

“If you miss this one I’ll do my best to make sure Golden Boy is back this summer, and next time at the Verizon Center. We look forward to our continued success in boxing.”

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) immediately following ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana. The telecast will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.sports.sho.com and follow on Twitter at @TheRealBHop and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #HopkinsShumenov and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing

LONDON (April 16) – Boxing’s oldest ever world champion Bernard Hopkins believes he will once again make history as he looks to unify the light-heavyweight division this weekend.

Hopkins has already made a profound statement in the world of boxing, reigning as one of the world’s top middleweights for over a decade, before moving up the weight classes to finally become the fight games oldest champion.

Having initially dethroned George Foreman of that title back in 2011, when he captured the WBC and IBO light-heavyweight belts at 46 against Jean Pascal, the Philadelphian recently broke his own record when he beat Tavoris Cloud at 48 to win the IBF crown last year.

Now though, the boxing icon faces another momentous task as he looks to unify the 175-pound division when he faces off against WBA Super champion Beibut Shumenov this Saturday, live on BoxNation, with Hopkins urging fans to enjoy him while he’s around.

“To be 49-years-old, approaching 50, and knocking on the door of being a senior citizen – it’s a profound statement of my dedication,” said Hopkins “It’s sweeter now to be here with everybody. Everything I do is history. If you had one more chance to see something that you loved before you never see it again – here I am. You’ll have a chance to see history. You can tell your grandkids about what you saw,” he said.

The skilled veteran is determined to remain at the top and fighting the best, despite the challenges a battle with Shumenov presents.

“Name another athlete in this country that is doing it at this age and winning, not just competing, but fighting the top fighters in the world. This guy is no run-of-the-mill guy, he’s a threat,” Hopkins said.

“I’m not fighting a cream puff; this isn’t a bum of the month club. I’m fighting real dudes. These guys are hardcore, hungry and top contenders.

“Shumenov wants to make a name, like everyone else. What better place to make a name than against me?” he said.

The light-heavyweight division is packed with some of boxing’s leading names including knockout artists Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev.

Both hold the other recognised world titles in the division, with the prospect of capturing all the belts and becoming only the second fighter since Evander Holyfield to unify two separate divisions with every championship an alluring one for the ageless Hopkins.

“It [prospect of unifying the division], gets me a lot more energised than my last two fights but those last two fights played a role to get energised,” said Hopkins. “To me, this isn’t the climax, this is the pre-climax, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s where I need to be and where I had to go through to get here in the last year or two, to be patient, to fight my mandatory and to show people

“I wanted it to be Kovalev but they chose to fight [Nathan] Cleverly, smart move, good management. Now, we’re here, and I’m looking to show the world that I might be the second or the first boxer in any division that became undisputed in two weight classes in modern times,” he said.

“I love history and I love trying to break records that have been set for multiple years because I believe I have a history of doing that, and this is energising too,” Hopkins added.

The American’s disciplined lifestyle is the driving force behind his success that is seeing him not only remain competitive in his twilight years but still held in high regard as one of boxing’s truly elite fighters.

“Taking the test without studying is like taking a fight without being in the gym. The gym is studying. The test is April 19. You can put the cart in front of the horse if you’re a fool and I think people would agree I’m no fool.

“I’m a guy that loves the craft and respects the craft. You can love something, but it doesn’t mean you respect it. Love is the emotional part; respect is the dedication and hard work. That attitude and that demeanour is always going to be there. That’s just who I am,” said Hopkins.

Hopkins vs. Shumenov is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD & Virgin 546) 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 Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 16, 2014) – Several of the featured fighters for Saturday’s “History at the Capitol” event at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. worked out for media members at Bald Eagle Recreation Center in Washington, D.C. The SHOWTIME tripleheader headlined by future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins against Beibut Shumenov in an epic light heavyweight world championship unification.

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

Below please find what the fighters had to say at today’s workout.

BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

“I think my longevity has a lot to do with the early preparation in my life and my career. I took care of myself like I always have for the last 20 years and I’m reaping the benefits now.

“A lot of it has to do with just what I do and don’t put in my body. A lot of long-term discipline and staying the course, and not derailing many times during down time, or binging on things that aren’t good for you. I think that plays a big role in longevity.

“I’ll say that Shumenov is saying the right things because anything else contrary to that would hurt the fight and will not help ticket sales. People want to see you when you’re still relevant, so to me this is the time to show and perform on a worldwide stage.

“Shumenov wants to make a name for himself by defeating me. All the young guns want to make it big, and beating me would do that for Shumenov, but that’s not going to happen.

“To me, there are no butterflies. I’m eager, but it’s controlled for that moment to come and then we’ll have the fireworks. That’s the good part about it. I’m on stage, and as any entertainer loves the stage, you love the attention.

“Washington, D.C. is the nation’s capital. This is part of the foundation of East Coast boxing. So when you talk about D.C., you also say Philly and New York. There’s rich tradition and it’s all about history here.”

BEIBUT SHUMENOV, WBA Super Light Heavyweight World Champion
“I’m feeling great, most of the work has been done. I cannot wait to show what I am capable of.

“To show the world that I am the best light heavyweight in the world.

“I haven’t missed any days of training. Every day after my workout my body was exhausted and the next day I was always excited to go to the gym. Every day was valuable for me, every day I saw improvement. It made me happy to go to the gym.”

SHAWN PORTER, IBF Welterweight World Champion
“I’m excited to being fighitng in D.C. for the first time. I’ve been training well and the team is working very hard. We’re excited to get out there Saturday night and show what we can do.

“Paulie is a good fighter, he’s skillful, crafty and smart. I have everything it takes to beat him, I’m just as fast, just as quick. We’re going to go after him Saturday night.”

PAULIE MALIGNAGGI, NABF Welterweight Champion

“I enjoy being here, it’s experience. I fought in D.C. in the amateurs, and this is my first time as a professional. So this is a great welcome back.

“I think Bernard can do amazing things at his age, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues to do that for many more fights.

“Shawn Porter is a young, hungry guy who wants to make his mark on the sport, but I’m in his way. He’s aggressive. He’s got a certain physicality, but we’ll be ready for him.”

PETER QUILLIN, WBO Middleweight World Champion

“I’ve been in there working on my ability and showing what I can do. Nobody can beat me.

“What do I know about my opponent? I know he’s bald and that he’s from the Czech Republic. I also know he has a white hat on today and that he didn’t want to say ‘hello’ to me.

“This is a business, and when you get out of the ring, you’re going to get your check. There’s nothing emotionally involved in that. I just know that I’m coming here to handle business.

“I trained superbly for this fight. I know I have a lot riding on me, and that doesn’t discourage me. I just know that I have to work hard, and stay focused, hungry, and motivated, and stay inspirational to my fans. That’s what it’s all about.”

LUKAS KONECNY, WBO European Champion & Former WBO Interim Junior Middleweight Champion
“I expect a first class fight, he’s a good champion but not a great one. I want to take the belt home with me.

“I’m training twice a day, like I’ve done for over 20 years. I’ve got a lot of experience. I’ve been wathcing his fights with my trainer and I think we have a great plan.”

SADAM ALI, Undefeated Welterweight & 2009 U.S. Olympian

“I know my opponent has a lot of experience. He’s a veteran. I know I’ve learned from him, and he’s a good fighter. I’m not underestimating anybody. I’m training hard, and I’m just ready to go out there and do what I do.

“I don’t really have a game plan for anybody really. Once I see what kind of style they have, I know what to do right away. I don’t have to know who I’m fighting months before. It could be a week before my fight, and I find out who I’m fighting and I know what to do.”

ZACHARY OCHOA, Undefeated Junior Welterweight Prospect

“Training has been going good. It’s an honor for me to be fighting here on Bernard Hopkins’ undercard on Saturday.

“It’s been great, we work hard like we always do and I can’t wait to fight on Saturday. I know I have a tough opponent, but it’s my time to show the world what I’ve got.

“I know my opponent is a tough guy. He’s a tough veteran and he’s got a lot of fights -a lot more fights than me- but it’s my time to go out there and do my job and handle my business.

“We’ve been doing things like we always do. We stick to the game plan. I’m not going to say too much, but we do what we do. We work hard. We make sure we’re always in good shape, and we have a game plan that we’re going to stick to and do what we’ve got to do.”

MARCUS BROWNE, Undefeated Light Heavyweight & 2012 U.S. Olympian

“Bernard is a legend in my weight class, and it’s just like going to school. I have my fight of course and I take care of business, and then I go and take notes and learn what I can learn from the greats.

“My professional debut and my second fight were in California. But getting to fight in D.C. is great. I get to show my talent here and that’s a beautiful thing. It’s not right around the corner, but it’s like being down the block from New York City.

“This is a boxing town. So I just want to go out there and do what I have to do and look impressive.”

D’MITRIUS BALLARD, Undefeated Super Middleweight Prospect from Washington, D.C.
“I know that my opponent is from Kansas City, but I don’t know too much about his style.

“I know that my opponent is a southpaw so I’m working on that. I’ve just been working my way through my punches so they’re ready.”

LAMONT ROACH, Washington, D.C. Lightweight Prospect

“It feels great to make my professional debut. I’m ready.

“Puerto Ricans are very good fighters, so we’ll see what my opponent has to bring to the table.”

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) immediately following ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana. The telecast will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 10, 2014) – Future Hall of Famer and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins worked out in front of a throng of reporters Thursday at DSG Boxing Gym in Philadelphia as he winds down preparation for his Saturday, April 19, World Championship Unification against Beibut Shumenov.

Hopkins, the IBF titleholder, and Shumenov, the WBA Super Champion, will square off in the main event of a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING world championship tripleheader at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C., live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), immediately following the premiere of Episode 1 of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana.

At 49-years-old, “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs), of Philadelphia, is looking to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles, while Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs), of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, is aiming to become the fastest fighter to unify the light heavyweight division with only 15 professional fights.

Tonight on SHOWTIME EXTREME (10 p.m. ET/PT), SHOWTIME Sports® will re-air Hopkins’ unanimous decision over Karo Murat (last Oct. 26 from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City) followed by Shumenov’s knockout of Tamas Kovacs (last Dec. 14 from the Alamodome in San Antonio).

In the April 19 co-main event, IBF Welterweight World Champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter will defend his title against former two-time and two-division word champion Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi. In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME telecast, undefeated WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin will put his title on the line against former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Lukas Konecny.

Joining Hopkins at Thursday’s workout was undefeated junior welterweight prospect Zachary Ochoa, who will square off against Hector Marengo in the second of three bouts that will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Here’s what the participants had to say after Thursday’s workouts:

BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

“If you don’t respect your job, it’s going to disrespect you and kill you.

“To be 49-years-old, approaching 50 and knocking on the door of being a senior citizen. It’s a profound statement of my dedication.

“It’s sweeter now to be here with everybody. Everything I do is history. If you had one more chance to see something that you loved before you never see it again…here I am. You’ll have a chance to see history. You can tell your grandkids about what you saw today at Danny Garcia’s gym.

“Taking the test without studying is like taking a fight without being in the gym. The gym is studying. The test is April 19. You can put the cart in front of the horse if you’re a fool and I think people would agree I’m no fool.

“I’m a guy that loves the craft and respects the craft. You can love something, but it doesn’t mean you respect it. Love is the emotional part; respect is the dedication and hard work. That attitude and that demeanor is always going to be there. That’s just who I am.

“I’m still having fun. That’s the thing that a lot of us miss. I’m having more fun now than when I was in the middle or beginning of my career. There were a lot more things I had to go through in my life, but I’m having more fun now than I had in the last 16 years. Since about 40-years-old, we’re talking nine years later. It’s a big deal. I don’t want to downplay it.

“Name another athlete in this country that is doing it at this age and winning, not just competing, but fighting the top fighters in the world. This guy is no run-of-the-mill guy, he’s a threat. I’m not fighting a cream puff; this isn’t a bum of the month club. I’m fighting real dudes. These guys are hardcore, hungry and top contenders.

“The sweet science that has been missing in this sport. We hate violence, but we love it. People don’t look at the sweet science like I do in this ring. The game is to hit and not get hit.

“You can overthink or over study for a test. There’s a time and a place for everything. You have to look at some tape, but I can’t sit there every day watching and watching. Your mind starts playing tricks on you. You start seeing things you aren’t really seeing. I want some element of surprise, so I can check it right there.

“I’m not going to be surprised by his style. There’s nothing he can do that I haven’t seen. Can he say the same thing?

“I’m fresher now, living the same lifestyle. Taking care of my body the same way I did them. I’m in better shape now and with wisdom.

“I don’t get caught up in anybody else’s business where it becomes negative to me. I have tunnel vision. Everything is looking towards my fight. I don’t get sidetracked.

“Shumenov wants to make a name, like everyone else. What better place to make a name than against me?

“I’m from the old school but I’m stuck in the new era.”

ZACHARY OCHOA, Undefeated Junior Welterweight Prospect

“This is my second day training at Danny Garcia’s gym. I came because Danny gave me an open invitation so I was here Monday and he invited me back.

“Every time I fight on a Hopkins undercard its history. That’s what he is.

“I’ve never been to D.C. in my life and this is my first time in Philly. I’m a Brooklyn kid. I’m not nervous, just excited.”

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) immediately following ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana. The telecast will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

Kelly Swanson
This week has been jam-packed with information about the April 19 ‘History at the Capitol. Yesterday, we did a conference call with the undercard fighters, and now, we have our main event fighters available today to talk to the press. I’m very excited about it.

Bernard Hopkins, the IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion, certainly a future first ballot Hall of Famer is on the phone; along with Beibut Shumenov, who is the WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Champion. I think it’s going to be an amazing unification bout; let’s go ahead and talk a little bit more about the fight and its particulars as well as introduce the fighters. I’d like to introduce Bruce Binkow, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of Golden Boy Promotions.

Bruce Binkow
We’re very, very excited about this one, and I personally can’t wait as I know a lot of you can’t. It’s a great tripleheader. It’s called ‘History at the Capitol.’ The main event is outstanding, Hopkins versus Shumenov. The co-main, Shawn Porter and Paulie Malignaggi is a fight that a lot of people want to see, and the telecast will open with Peter Quillin versus Lukas Konecny. It’s going to be a great night. It’s Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. It’s promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and brought to you by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. The telecast will be on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. There are tickets still available starting at just $25. The tickets can be had at Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations. The Dc Armory Box Office is open on fight night only starting at 3 p.m.

So, without further ado, let’s get right to the main event. I’d like to start by introducing to you all, Beibut Shumenov. Shumenov is 14-1 with 9 KOs. He’s a native of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, but fights now out of Las Vegas, Nev. He was a 2004 Olympian for his home country. What’s amazing about Beibut aside from his talent is that he made his way up the ranks of the light heavyweight division with amazing speed. He won his first title in 2009 in just his eighth professional fight, and then, he added soon thereafter his WBA title in 2010. Since 2010, he’s successfully defended his title five times. So, this April 19h, he’s going to get a shot at the big one, which is the legend, Bernard Hopkins, and Shumenov is hoping to etch his name in history with a victory on the 19th. So, with that, Beibut, if you’d like to make an opening comment before we open it up for questions, ladies and gentlemen, Beibut Shumenov.

Beibut Shumenov
Hello, everyone. I’m very excited that I’m fighting with Bernard Hopkins, one of the greatest fighters and a future Hall of Famer. So, everything has been great. I’m in the final stage of my preparation camp. So, everything is great. I am looking forward to showing all my capabilities on April 19 in Washington, D.C.

B. Binkow
Now, I’d like to introduce a man that needs no introduction. As a matter of fact, you almost run out of things to say about Bernard. If you’re on this conference call, you know everything there is to know about Bernard Hopkins, so I’m not going to recite all of the amazing stats and the history and the triumphs that this man has experienced and given us through his performances in the ring, but I will just say something that we talked about when we were on our press conferences and that is I truly believe that what Bernard is doing, the level in which he’s competing as a professional athlete, in one of the toughest sports that there is at this point in his life is nothing short of remarkable. If it was any other sport, I think that he would be getting a lot more mainstream media attention, and it’s my mission to make sure that people experience the joy of watching Bernard do his thing before he finally hangs it up, whenever that’s going to be.

He’s been called ‘The Executioner,’ more recently ‘The Alien.’ I’d like to introduce to you Bernard ‘The Alien’ Hopkins.

Bernard Hopkins
Thank you, Bruce, and thanks to all the sponsors and everybody that’s had a hand in promoting this tripleheader coming up in Washington, D.C. Any of those three fights can easily be main events on any night, so that’s the bang for your buck if you can tell me that something else can match that in three championship fights. So, I’m looking forward to being the main event on that and also making a statement like I’ve done many times before.

I’m used to this type of dance, and I’m just hoping that people will tune in whether they are there personally or at home and checking it out so they can witness the three major championship fights on the same card, which is not done often in boxing.

Q
Beibut, can you talk about what the reason was for your two lengthy layoffs and was that by your design or was it just problems getting fights or you weren’t signed with a promoter or what was going on there?

B. Shumenov
At that time, I was promoting myself and we tried to make a fight against Cleverly; it didn’t happen, and then, we tried to make a unification title fight against Chad Dawson. Again, we didn’t get any success. So, I couldn’t get any of those big names, and I couldn’t get to all those big networks. That’s why I got stuck and couldn’t do anything.

Q
So, was it a matter of when you came to make your deal with Golden Boy Promotions that they outlined a plan where they said hey, we’ll get you in the ring, we’ll give you a fight, it turned out to be the Kovacs fight and then after that, we’ll get you that big fight with Bernard Hopkins?

B. Shumenov
They didn’t mention Bernard, but I told them to my manager, Mr. Al Haymon and then to Richard Schaefer that I want to fight who’s the best. I want to keep fighting until I fight for all of the championship belts. So, I want to fight all those champions.

Q
Does it offend you that no one says what about Shumenov against Stevenson because they’re sort of overlooking you I guess a little bit against Bernard Hopkins? What are your thoughts about that?

B. Shumenov
Like I said, my main goal is to unify all the titles and I’m not thinking ahead. I’m only concentrated and focused on my upcoming fight against Bernard Hopkins, and it kind of motivates me more. They’re only talking about Bernard facing Adonis Stevenson. It motivates me more. I don’t care. It makes me train even harder. It makes me be a better fighter.

Q
What are your thoughts about fighting a guy with so few fights compared to the legendary resume that you’ve compiled over your 20-plus year career?

B. Hopkins
If you look at Shumenov, you look at Shumenov’s record, you can be blinded and misled by that, he has to give you some type of blueprint to say if you’re not thinking multiple ways. You’re thinking one way, then you think what you see. But I’m smart enough to understand that when a guy has a pedigree of an amateur record, as far as I’m concerned, they need to send people to fight amateurs with 100-something fights that come out of there basically closed, they just don’t have they license yet, and that’s a big debate in amateur boxing right now.

I’m very wise in this game, and I understand when you have a pedigree and it goes deep in the Olympics for his country, Kazakhstan, it’s something that he understands the big stage. He’s been around the championship level without even having a title at the top.

So, I’m not underestimating him. I’m in a position right now where I haven’t been in many, many years, and that is people overlooking my opponent. People have overlooked Bernard Hopkins even with titles. I mean I have records to prove, but at the same time, I know what that can do to a guy. It can motivate a guy and also can put pressure on a guy, and that’s the blessing and that’s the education that I come from both sides. I’m still around to understand how he feels and how he has to be motivated, what motivates him, and that’s dealing with the IQ and that’s dealing with the experience and that’s the luxury that I have in the game today amongst anybody I fight whether it’s Shumenov, whether it’s Stevenson, or whoever you name. It doesn’t matter because I’ve been here longer than any boxer that’s boxing right now in a respectful level and position, and I think that’s an honor.

Q
What is your opinion about that aspect of sort of knowing that you have an even bigger fight perhaps in the future if everything goes good for you in April and also your thoughts about Stevenson making that jump because he’s wanted you certainly much more than he’s wanted Kovalev.

B. Hopkins
Well, first of all, it’s good for both of us. It’s good for both guys, myself and Shumenov because we going in April 19 in D.C. on SHOWTIME, and all what you just said is going to be mentioned by the commentators, and leading up to the fight it’s going to be mentioned. So, it’s out there. I mean, like you said, it was out there when Stevenson came onboard to unify the title on this end, and of course, he’d be fighting his next fight on that network. So, all these things are basically a win/win for the fans of boxing because at the end of the day, no matter which side of the street you’re on, west side, north side, east side, southwest, doesn’t make a difference. People want to see one guy who even has a title as the man that beat the man. When you’re a fighter, you want all the major belts that someone else is carrying.

Now, tell you how much I’m a dinosaur in the game, I’ve been here before, as anybody having short memories that’s listening, 2001, post-9/11, New York City. So, I have a track record of having an itch to prove if I have to have all three or four belts, forget what anybody says who’s the best in this division or who’s the best, the man beat the man, that is true I agree, but at the end of the day, Stevenson made it clear he wants to fight other champions, myself and anybody else, and as far as I’m concerned, the belts that people care about are the main three belts that people really know about and care about. Any fourth or fifth belt is just extra gravy if you want to put some more on your bread. The bottom line is we in the ring April 19. We’re going to do what we got to do, the winner will be the winner and we move forward, and I’m looking to be the winner and I’m looking to make history. What better place to make history than D.C. at the capital?

Q
Beibut, nothing can be said exactly about Bernard’s accomplishments. He’s 49-years-old, but when you look at him, why do you think he’s been able to have success as long as he’s had?

B. Shumenov
It’s truly amazing. It’s unbelievable. It’s incredible. I don’t see where in the past or in the future anybody could do what Bernard does.

Q
Do you have any fears that if this fight goes to the cards that because of his reputation, the decision will go in his favor and not yours?

B. Shumenov
Right. But since my December fight, which was before the fight, a lot of people starting asking about potential fights between us, and then, right after the fight Bernard got in the ring and I got the feeling that the fight would happen in the near future, and right after the fight, I started watching his fights and studying him. I’m preparing to win each round clearly to leave no doubt for judges, anybody.

Q
Bernard, you mentioned 2001 against Felix Trinidad. It’s been a very long time since you had a unifying title fight. Why has it been so long?

B. Hopkins
Well, you have to ask boxing. I mean, you’re asking me a question; if I had a crystal ball, every division would be unified to one champion. I mean that’s through the politics, but you’re asking a question that I think that me and you both are asking. You’re allowed to ask anything you want, but that’s self-explanatory, but I’m glad I’m the one that continues to make history, that continues to give something to scratch your head about, and that’s my main objective.

I have my own agenda, and trust me, in that agenda is to one day be part of a long conversation about where do they put Bernard Hopkins because we can’t just put him with all of the other historic legend boxers. So, I want to make y’all have a really hard time whether you’re here or not, whoevers in the future, figuring out where to put this and I have to do the work now to be able to do that later. That’s the thing. You work now, you enjoy later. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

Q
Bernard, for the third straight fight, you’re listed again as the betting favorite. Does that change your views going in?

B. Hopkins
That’s shocking, but I always say I know you might look at this as not being a boxing question, but I was born in 1965 in this great country, and anybody that knows history of 1965, I was the underdog when I was born in this country compared to my ancestors. So, when you say underdog, I got the mentality that I’m always going to be the underdog. I don’t look for any favors or any help. I go and do what I got to do, and that’s one of the reasons I’m here so long.

I’d have been long gone if it was that. If I wanted to just get a house and have some money in the bank, I’d been gone 15 years ago. Do the math. It’s 2014. Do you know how many great fights I had in the last 15-plus years? So, I mean, I’m glad you said it, but it doesn’t move me one way or the other. I was hoping that Shumenov would be the underdog because I know how he feels when people don’t give a person a chance. I mean, trust me, I’ve been through that, I understand that, but I accepted that, and I’d rather have it that way.

So, I flip it in my mind that he’s the favorite. I’m a 10-1 favorite on April 19 in D.C. He’s a 10-1 favorite over me in D.C. April 19. That’s how I train, that’s how I think. I don’t look for any favors from nobody because I never got any. Look at my career.

Q
I recently talked to your trainer, Naazim Richardson, and he said ultimately what it comes down to is Bernard is going to get tired of winning all these titles. Do you kind of see it that way, that the only way you will ultimately leave this game is throughout your own volition, giving up those titles, not having them taken from you?

B. Hopkins
Absolutely. Me and Naazim, he’s an old man. He’s been around me for 20-something years. He’s been a second trainer at one time with Bouie Fisher, the first trainer. So, he understands and he understands how I think and he understands what kind of mission that I feel that I’m on. We communicate. So, I couldn’t have been as accurate as you said. But my whole thing is, as Beibut said, he wanted to unify the titles. I’m answering that call because I want to do the same damn thing, and now, we have the pieces in line that has the same mentality. It gives you something to write about. It gives the fans and anybody that’s listening that comes along after you, it gives them a chance now to say we unified the title in that division, maybe become a good disease, a good virus that might spread through other weight divisions and that would be good, I think, for boxing. I mean that’s my opinion, I could be wrong.

Q
Are there any fights you’ve seen, for example, his last fight with Murat or probably one of the biggest fights of his recent career with Kelly Pavlik, for example, where you were able to learn from those fights?

B. Shumenov
My apologies, but I cannot discuss the knowledge that I have about Bernard’s work. Out of all the studies, I cannot discuss the knowledge as I’ve been perfecting myself against Bernard Hopkins, and I’m at the final stage with my preparation, so people will get to see my capabilities.

Q
Bernard, what do you see from Shumenov when you study him?

B. Hopkins
These are the things that I don’t have any problem telling you, how I feel whatever because whatever I tell you, if you want to hear it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be my strategy. See, The Art of War is one of my favorite books. You asked me a question, see the difference between Bernard Hopkins and Beibut, and that’s his own style and it doesn’t make him bad or good, it’s just the way he thinks.

You ask me a question, well what do you see in Beibut, that you can do to expose? Well, I can tell you anything. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. I just might want him to hear, and these are things from The Art of War. He understands what The Art of War means. You understand? Because at the end of the day, no matter what I tell you, it’s what happens in that ring, but I’ve been in this game almost three decades, and there’s no style through the amateurs, short amateur career I had, I didn’t have 100 fights, I didn’t have 50 fights, but the short amateur career that I had, that and the one in state penitentiary is that it’s no style, I repeat, there’s no style on this planet earth dealing with boxing that I haven’t seen or been in the ring with.

It’s nothing I haven’t seen that I’ve been in this game for 26, 27 years that’s going to surprise me April 19, and that’s not underestimating anybody. That’s not overlooking. That’s just keeping it real by the time I’ve been in this game and by the time I’ve been a student and still considered a student, a little edge of a teacher in this game that I’m in.

Q
Beibut said that he wouldn’t react negatively if things get dirty in the ring and that he would let the referee deal with that. What do you think about that?

B. Hopkins
I don’t know where this dirty stuff comes from. I mean, I don’t understand. Only thing I know in two weeks or less, man, we’re going to be doing what we got to do. It’s not my job to think about what a man can do to me, I can do to him. I never had a big brother. I am the big brother of six siblings. So, I never had a big brother to look over me in case something happened. Now, I let my challenge speak for itself. I let my history speak for itself. I let the last five or six fights or five or six 17 years speak for themselves. We’re going to fight, and if somebody does something they’re not supposed to do, you got checks and balances that will check that.

It’s not my job. I can’t be a fighter and the referee. I wouldn’t even bring that up to you. That’s irrelevant. It’s ridiculous, and if he said it or you said it, whoever said it, it’s just not the point. The point is that you’ve got a guy in there, it’s the reason he’s in there, and the bottom line is I’m going to come across and bring my talent to a level where people are going to be talking about something else, and they’re going to be excited and they’re going to look forward for what comes next, and that’s how I feel, and that’s how I’m training and that’s how I live.

Q
You spoke of being born 1965. You were three years old 46-years-ago today when Martin Luther King was assassinated, and I guess I would like to ask you if you would express your thoughts on the significance of this day and his legacy from your point of view.

B. Hopkins
It really in a major way speaks for itself, because I was born at a change in America, but I also was born to establish my history through the checks and balances. A lot’s been done, lots still needs to be done, that would be perfect, but at the end of the day, I’ll just say this, when I step in any challenge and I step in any era or any other ways I think about history and when I was born and people that came before me, it puts me in a situation to do what I do.

I really believe that and that means the law of God, and I really believe that and that’s from my soul, and I’m here not only because of my talent, I’m no fool. I’m here because I have not only angels watching over me, but a bigger being that got me through things that I know weren’t my doing. It couldn’t have been my doing not even having the best lawyer. It couldn’t have been my doing. This was something beyond that, and that’s what comes in the spirit when I go to fight. If he don’t have that same spirit he’s in trouble. He’s in trouble.

Q
Does it energize you the prospect of being a unified champion again?

B. Hopkins
Yes. It gets me a lot more energized than my last two fights, but those last two fights played a role to get energized; to me, this isn’t the climax, this is the pre-climax, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s where I need to be and where I had to go through to get here in the last year or two, to be patient, to fight my mandatory, to show people and get out of there, get out of the way. I wanted it to be Kovalev but they chose to fight Cleverly, smart move, good management.

Now, we’re here, and I’m looking to show the world that I might be the second or the first boxer in any division that became undisputed in two weight classes in modern time, and I stand to be corrected, but I figured I’d put it out there. Somebody can research; I know y’all will get back to me, but I love history and I love trying to break records that have been set for multiple years because I believe I have a history of doing that, and this is energizing too. This is also adding to what you said being energized, yes. [NOTE: Evander Holyfield was undisputed at cruiserweight and heavyweight.]

Q
Do you sit back and sort of notice that boxers are sort of being on top now a little bit more, having more decision and more say on the business side and whether that makes you proud of the things that you’ve done in the past and those struggles that you’ve gone through and the battles that you’ve fought to try to assert your rights as a boxer?

B. Hopkins
Well, I’m always proud when you have your fellow man that’s tired of being labeled one way and wants to get the red light district type of mentality label off their back, I’m always excited when you see change and bigger fights, better fights and also knowing your business. I think knowing your business gives you an advantage, not at a disadvantage.

The only reason why I’m here is Ali had his purpose. Jim Brown had his purpose. Jethro Page had his purpose. So many people had their purpose and their time and I’m like those people in this time. Love me or hate me, I went against the grain when it needed to be and I compromise in a respectful way when need to be, and I think that’s what leadership is about.

But April 19 starts another chapter, and this other chapter is very important because I’m 49-years-old, and I’m showing that I’m 49-years-old and competing and winning because what I’ve done in the past and I’m reaping the benefits of how you take care of yourself, and that’s the brand, that’s the Bernard Hopkins. So, Beibut, 29, 30 whatever he is, he’s 10 years younger, 15, whatever he is, I’ve got 10 or 15 years over him or more, I’m not fighting a guy my age, I’m fighting young guys. I’m fighting guys that can fight guys that are undefeated, longer stints of amateur career, not new to the game, not going to be camera shocked, not going to be D.C. shocked. I just come in to push through, man, to make him work and I’m here to do this.

I’m here to show that this is why I’m different and to show how you’re different is to show in a sport that’s so physical and so mental; what better place to prove yourself than boxing. I know no other sport and I’m biased that I’ve been a part of where you can show what you’re made of in 36, 37 minutes or less.

Q
You look up to Hopkins. How long have you been following his career?

B. Shumenov
Look-I’m not just a boxer, but I’m also boxing fan. So, I’ve always watched all the big names when they fight Bernard.

Q
Could the fans expect you to try for the knockout on April 19?

B. Hopkins
Well, I sure enough think I try hard enough. I didn’t get it with Karo Murat, and Shumenov is no Karo Murat, no disrespect to Karo Murat, he can fight, different style, different demeanor, but at the end of the day, I see opportunities. I see a lot of opportunities with Shumenov, believe it or not, that I didn’t see with Karo Murat, and the styles always make fights. I know that’s an ancient quote, but it’s legit and it’s real, and I see his style perfect. I couldn’t ask for a better style in a match up and I don’t know what he thinks. It doesn’t matter, but he might think the same thing.

As he said, he’s been studying me since his fight in San Antonio in Texas, and he’s a boxing fan. You can’t look at the record and be sidetracked and think this man doesn’t have any experience. I will not play that game, but in the same token, I’m looking for a battle. I’m looking for a battle, and when it’s all said and done, I want to be raising my hand in victory.

Q
Are you going to look into training fighters because they could use your knowledge and I think you would help?

B. Hopkins
I have so much to bring to the table to again, respecting trainers from all walks of life, to limit myself to be in a corner, to limit myself away from the big picture in boxing would be a disservice to my fellow boxers, who are in Pampers right now, and it’s going to be boxers one day. They’re walking around at six months old or a year old and they walk around in diapers and they are going to be fighters one day like myself and others.

So, why not have a venue for them where they can not only be educated first about a sport to get into and then multiple people that are going to be teachers/trainers and anything else, but I think do good for boxing. I think I played a role that I’ve been playing with Golden Boy Promotions for seven years. I think I’ve played a role when fighters come up and ask me about certain things, about taking care of the body, living a clean life amongst all the lights and the flash and the glitter and the success, how do you stay focused, disciplined. I think it would be a disservice to keep that away and just tell a person how to throw a jab and a left hook.

Q
Bernard, what should he study for?

B. Hopkins
I mean, I lost count. There’s a lot of them. You can go on YouTube. I mean it’s an information highway. You can find out anything about anybody, what you want to put out there, but in the same token, I mean it’s kind of hard to be kind of like an invisible man in a boxing business. Can you imagine that?

People going to know the style you’ve been successful with and the style that you are and just now knowing how to crack that safe. Now, it’s multiple styles I have, and I’ve said it, I don’t know, it wasn’t with you, but it was with two other callers before you, I’ve been in the game since 1988, I mean that’s almost three decades. Obviously, I’ve seen every style that you possibly can see with the short amateur career. I’ve seen the different styles how they hold their hands, how Beibut holds his hands, how he fights with a jab out, all this stuff. This isn’t giving away no secrets.

That’s the boldness of me, not the showoff because I’m confident about what I say based on putting the work behind, and understanding that I have to live up to those things, but I don’t mind being on the edge. Look at my life. Look at my career. So, whatever style, it needs to be presented. We do what we do.

So, at the end of the day, somebody’s hand is going to get raised and somebody is going to have to evaluate they’re career.

Q
How is different now going through the rigors of training than it was let’s say during the middleweight tournament days?

B. Hopkins
When you’re young, you overdo things a lot and you get away with it. When you have wisdom and you have understanding, you learn how to not overdo things where you rest and save your money like investing and you go ahead and you spend it tomorrow. A lot of things you do when you’re younger, you get away with it, a lot of things, you can’t do or you shouldn’t do wisely because it’s always the next day, there’s always next week, and it’s the preparation part.

The mindset controls the body because the body has always been right, but I’ve prepared a temple to be able to have the mind control the body. When your mind is right, everything is going to fall into place, but if your mind is right and your body is whack, it’s off balance. Life is a balance, and come April 19 on SHOWTIME, you’re going to see the balance between a guy with experience, a guy with a good pedigree, but a guy that’s in there with someone that has an IQ and a boxing ability and a body that brings it, not the look and the physical part, that’s nothing but the physical, but the youth of half his age in the ring with a guy that’s 30, 31-years-old. It’s going to be amazing to y’all, and that’s what I need to display and that’s what I will display. I’d rather show you than I can tell you. It’s better to prove it to you than talk to you all day long, but this is part of the business too. You have to talk.

Q
Do you still have long-term goals or do you just take it fight by fight now?

B. Hopkins
No. I can’t take it fight by fight because that’s boring. That’s like going to work and not knowing if you’re going to get fired each day. My thing is I always have long-term goals just to stay alive, but they are realistic goals, and I believe the realistic goals compared to the goals you just had, is nothing but a dream. It’s nothing but something just to fool yourself, and then reality comes in when those times go by and you looking at that date that you have to have things done that aren’t done, you get to now looking at reality and then you just die. So, my thing is yes, as long as I live and breathe this air called life in my lungs. So, yes, that’s how I operate. That’s how I function.

B. Binkow
That was a great call. Yes, I don’t have anything to add other than to reiterate what Bernard said at the beginning, which is that these are three potential main events in one night, another spectacular tripleheader brought to you by SHOWTIME and Golden Boy. Any chance that we have to showcase the great Bernard Hopkins is always a treat and very special. So, I urge everybody to tune in or buy a ticket, and whatever you do, just be with us on April 19 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) immediately following ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Maidana. The telecast will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online athttp://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000.The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

Washington, DC (April 7, 2014) – Golden Boy Promotions is pleased to announce the donation of portraits of living boxing legends and future Hall of Famers Floyd Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The portraits, taken by renowned sports photographer Holger Keifel, are a part of the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection in Washington, DC.

“Golden Boy Promotions is incredibly proud to donate these portraits to the National Portrait Gallery and further the widespread recognition of these two great athletes and the recognition of the sport of boxing as a mainstay in American culture,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. “This is an honor befitting these two great champions Floyd Mayweather and Bernard Hopkins.”

The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC houses portraits of Americans who have influenced the country’s history and culture. The process for choosing new additions to the museum’s collection is very selective.

In November 2013 the museum approved the inclusion of the Mayweather and Hopkins portraits into the museum’s collection. The portraits are projected to appear in the museum within the next two to three years and will likely be on display for six months or longer.

Both future Hall of Famers will be presented with their portraits before upcoming world title fights. Hopkins will receive his portrait on Thursday, April 17 in Washington, D.C. at the final press conference before his April 19 light heavyweight world championship unification bout against Beibut Shumenov at the DC Armory and on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®.

Mayweather’s portrait will be presented to him on April 30 in Las Vegas, NV at the final press conference for his May 3welterweight world championship unification bout against Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and on SHOWTIME PPV®.

Throughout Mayweather’s stellar career, he has amassed a record of 45 wins with no losses, 10 world championships and endless accolades recognizing his incomparable boxing talents. He is boxing’s biggest attraction setting and breaking records every time he fights. His September 2013 fight against Mexican boxing phenom Canelo Alvarez set a record for the highest grossing pay-per-view event of all-time. His skills in the ring are unmatched and as he continues his stellar career with a two fights planned in the coming year, Mayweather

The oldest athlete to win a championship in any major sport, Hopkins has had a long and storied career that has seen win seven world championships in two different weight divisions. In May 2011, Hopkins became the oldest fighter in history to win a title at 46-years-old, and has since broken his own record with his most recent win over Karo Murat to successfully defend his IBF Light Heavyweight title. Having just turned 49-years-old, Hopkins looks toward a successful year ahead with a goal of becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion.

Photographer Holger Keifel is an accomplished name in the world of photography. Having focused on boxing from 2002-2010, Keifel put together a collection of over 250 black-and-white portraits for his book “Box: The Face of Boxing”, published in 2010 that included photos from fighters such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Mayweather, Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya. Keifel’s boxing work has been featured in several institutions, but these will be his first portraits to hang in the National Portrait Gallery.

The Portrait Gallery’s collection includes portraits of some of the most prominent boxers and fights in the history of the sport. Among the portraits of boxers in are images of Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, Evander Holyfield and Joe Louis. Additionally there are photos and paintings of great fights including Ali vs. Joe Frazier, Louis vs. Max Baer, Louis vs. James Braddock, Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and Floyd Patterson vs. Tommy Jackson. These images date back as far as the beginning of the 20th century and together show the history of boxing in America.

“The inclusion of these two portraits is great for the sport of boxing and gives the American public another opportunity to appreciate these living legends,” said Schaefer. “At Golden Boy Promotions, we believe in giving back to the sport that has give us so much and we are thrilled to be able to do so in this way.”

The portraits can be viewed online at npg.si.edu. In addition to being featured on the website, the portraits may be used for special exhibits or printed in a museum catalog.

ABOUT GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS:
Los Angeles-based Golden Boy Promotions was established in 2002 by Oscar De La Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. In 2007, in its fifth year of promoting, Golden Boy Promotions set a record by selling over 2.5 million in pay-per-view homes in a single night. Also in 2007, Golden Boy Promotions established the record for highest grossing pay-per-view homes in a single year with more than 4 million total. Golden Boy Promotions is one of boxing’s most active and respected promoters, presenting shows in packed venues around the United States on networks such as HBO, SHOWTIME, TeleFutura, FOX Sports Networks and FOX Deportes.

Golden Boy Promotions currently has over 70 fighters under contract, from future Hall of Famers Bernard Hopkins and Erik Morales to current world champions and superstars Devon Alexander, Canelo Alvarez, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Robert Guerrero, Chris John, Amir Khan, Marcos Maidana, Abner Mares, Paulie Malignaggi, Lucas Matthysse, Victor Ortiz, Lamont Peterson, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Peter Quillin, Leo Santa Cruz and Humberto Soto. Also included on the company’s roster are top contenders Alfredo Angulo, Sharif Bogere, Pablo Cesar Cano, Danny Jacobs, Erislandy Lara, Jorge Linares, Seth Mitchell and Keith Thurman as well as highly regarded prospects Randy Caballero, Jermell Charlo, Omar Figueroa, Eddie Gomez, Frankie Gomez, Anthony Ogogo, Antonio Orozco, Gary Russell Jr. and Deontay Wilder.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 7) – Some of New York City’s most promising prospects are heading down the highway from the Big Apple to the nation’s capital to be showcased at the DC Armory on Saturday, April 19 in undercard bouts leading up to the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® tripleheader. The event is headlined by Bernard Hopkins’ history-making title unification bout against Beibut Shumenov for the IBF, WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Championship. In the televised action on SHOWTIME EXTREME, beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast), 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam “World Kid” Ali of Brooklyn, N.Y. puts his unbeaten record on the line against another former amateur standout in New Jerseys’ Jeremy Bryan of Paterson, New Jersey. Plus, another undefeated Brooklynite Zachary Ochoa, takes on Puerto Rico’s Hector Marengo. Opening the SHOWTIME EXTREME broadcast will be 2012 U.S. Olympian “Sir” Marcus Browne of Staten Island against an opponent to be announced.

Also in non-televised bouts will be local standouts D’Mitrius Ballard, Dominic Wade and David Grayton.

Brooklyn’s Sadam “World Kid” Ali (18-0, 11 KOs) has been considered a top candidate for world title honors ever since turning pro after the 2008 U.S. Olympics. Yet it wasn’t until 2013 that he truly got his chance to shine when he defeated Jay Krupp via decision followed by a knockout of Jesus Selig. On April 19, the 25-year-old steps up to the plate once again to square off with Paterson, New Jersey’s Jeremy Bryan (17-3, 7 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout. Bryan, winner of three of his last four fights, is a two-time National Golden Gloves winner who owns an amateur win over current 140-pound world champion Danny Garcia.

In a six-round junior welterweight bout, popular Zachary “Zungry” Ochoa (6-0, 3 KOs) hopes to keep his perfect record intact when he meets Arecibo, Puerto Rico’s Hector Marengo (6-7-4, 4 KOs). The 21-year-old Ochoa has built a strong local following thanks to three fights in his hometown, but he’s excited to take his show on the road for his fight against Marengo at the DC Armory.

Hailing from Staten Island, New York, “Sir” Marcus Browne (9-0, 7 KOs) has long been his borough’s favorite son. After making the 2012 U.S. Olympic team and notching wins in each of his nine professional bouts, that’s no surprise. Fresh off of a shutout win over Kentrell Clairborne in January, the 23-year-old light heavyweight will be back in action on April 19 in an eight-round bout against an opponent to be named.

Another 23-year-old phenom, Largo, Maryland’s Dominic Wade (14-0, 10 KOs) is making plenty of noise on the local scene, showing more and more skill with each fight. In January, Wade displayed his heart as he rose from a first round knockdown to defeat veteran Dashon Johnson. On April 19, he faces Jacksonville’s Marcus Upshaw (15-11-2, 7 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight match.

Unbeaten in four professional bouts, D.C.’s own D’Mitrius Ballard (4-0, 3 KOs) has electrified the city’s boxing scene with his phenomenal skills and power in the ring. Returning to the DC Armory after his third-round technical knockout of Marlon Farr there in January, the 21-year-old super middleweight prospect will meet Kansas City’s Quincy Miner (3-4) in a four-round matchup.

Also on the card will be two D.C. boxers, welterweight David Grayton (6-0, 5 KOs) and debuting lightweight Chrisshawn Alexander. Both will face opponents to be named in four round bouts.

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA
Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

Kelly Swanson
Today we have a great conference call to discuss an unbelievable undercard that will be on the “Hopkins vs. Shumenov” fight card at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 19. I’m looking forward to seeing all of these fights. We’re going to start with Lukas and Pete, and then we will move into Shawn and Paulie immediately upon the completion of these two fighters. So, to make the introductions is Bruce Binkow, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of Golden Boy Promotions. He is joining us to introduce the fighters and talk a little bit more about the fights.

Bruce Binkow
I totally agree with you; this is going to be a great night, “History at the Capitol.” In keeping with the tradition of SHOWTIME’s terrific tripleheader action, I think we have three amazing televised fights. Obviously, Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov, who you’ll be hearing from tomorrow, but today we want to talk about two outstanding fights that I think are really exciting in and of themselves. Obviously, Porter and Malignaggi, and the one we’re going to talk about first, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin and Lukas Konecny.

To reiterate, the fight is Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory. It’s promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. Our sponsors are Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. It is airing live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®, which will begin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. It will be available in Spanish via the SAP Channel. There are some tickets still available starting at just $25 at Ticketmaster.com. The DC Armory box office is open on fight only, so I wanted to stress that again.

Lukas Konecny is from the Czech Republic, and he joins us today from Germany, where he’s training. He’s 50-4 with 23 KOs. He’s a five-time National Champion for the Czech Republic and he also represented his nation in the 2000 Olympics. He’s a former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion. He made his permanent move to 160 in 2013.

He’s 35-years old, and is making his U.S. debut after years of fighting Europe’s best. He plans on making it a memorable visit as he challenges for Quillin’s WBO middleweight belt. Without further ado, let me introduce to you Lukas Konecny. Lukas.

Lukas Konecny
By me everything is okay. For example, before every fight I have a big trouble with my weight, but this time everything is okay. Sparring is going quite well and I hope that I can bring a great fight to Washington, D.C.

B. Binkow
Okay. Now I want to introduce a guy that most of you know and have heard from before, one of the most exciting fighters out there, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin. His record stands perfect at 30-0 with 22 KOs. He’s currently fighting out of Brooklyn, N.Y., although I have to say that I spotted just today a “Kid Chocolate” t-shirt at the gym in L.A., on the west side of L.A., which I think speaks to his growing popularity out there.

He’s wearing the championship belt of the division Hopkins once ruled. Quillin got his reign at 160 off to a rousing start with a decision over Hassan N’Dam for the WBO crown in 2012, and after two successful defenses with stoppages of Fernando Guerrero and Gabriel Rosado he’s ready to take on the challenge of Konecny. He’s 30-years old. He has wins over Winky Wright, Craig McEwan, Jesse Brinkley, and Fernando Zuniga, and he’s eager to begin 2014 with another knockout over the experienced Konecny. Ladies and gentlemen, Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin. Pete.

Peter Quillin
Hi. Thank you for having me on the line. I want to thank Golden Boy, want to thank Al Haymon, I want to thank my whole team, I want to thank my manager, John Seip, I want to thank Gleason’s Gym, I want to thank the D.C. Commission for letting this fight come to the capital, our nation’s capital, and I’m looking to come up in D.C. with a spectacular win, spectacular victory.

Training has been A-1. I’ve been having great sparring sessions. I’ve been learning a lot of valuable lessons about myself with this cat, and I just know that I’m looking to experience everything that Konecny is going to bring in the fight and I think this is what we do as far as challenging ourself and taking something away from every fight. I’m just very humbled by the experience to be able to go and perform at the level I’ve been performing at to hold this belt, and then for sure this belt is coming back to Brooklyn.

Q
How difficult is it not to focus on the rest of the division when you obviously want to be unifying the titles?

P. Quillin
Well, let’s just say, first and foremost, if we worry about too much and don’t remain focused then I wouldn’t have what I have. So I know that Lukas is a strong challenger, very experienced and I’m not going to focus on that. I know he’s going to come and fight for a world title shot. It gives somebody another sense of motivation, so I have to just worry about what’s in front of me, and then after the fight then I can worry these other guys and worry about unifying the belts. But I just know that nothing is possible without looking good in this fight and winning spectacularly to consider myself as one of the best in the world.

Q
Is this potentially one of your more dangerous fights?

P. Quillin
Yes. I can look at any fight and say that they’re dangerous, because, like for instance, I don’t really know anything about Lukas. I just know that I’ve seen some videos of him and he seems very determined and he brings a lot of pressure. I just think I have to really focus on what he’s going to bring, because anybody is very dangerous, especially when they’re fighting for a world title. I’m an American star. This guy is a European star, and he’s pretty big in the Czech Republic and everybody seems to know him. Being a world champion doesn’t mean that I just fight guys in America or guys that American fans are familiar with. I think a world title-holder fights everybody across the world to be able to bring the best out.

So I’ll just stay focused on that. I just know what I’ve been working towards, and motivated being at home training here in Brooklyn, and, like I said, I’m just looking for a spectacular victory.

Q
Lukas, what do you know about Peter and how do you characterize him as far as the level of opponents you faced? How difficult is he compared to the rest of the opponents you’ve faced?

L. Konecny
So, of course, I know he is a world champion, I know he’s taller than me, he’s got a good punch, and he has some skills. He’s, of course, a good world champion, but not a very good one. I think he has more experience, but not with the same style as I have. I have over 250 amateur fights, over 50 professional fights.

Q
Do you mean he’s not a very good champion or are you saying he’s not as good as the other ones? What, what does that mean?

L. Konecny
No, I think he’s a good boxer, he’s a good fighter, he’s a good champion, but I can beat him.

Q
What is his style that you haven’t seen? What about his style have you still not seen?

L. Konecny
He is fast, he moves well, but, but he didn’t have a great coverage. His defense is not the best.

Q
Peter, can you address his comments?

P. Quillin
Yes, I can definitely do that. I can just definitely say that everybody can judge me off of whatever performance they’ve seen from me, but, like he said, he has 250 amateur fights and 50 professional fights. I only have 15 amateur fights and I have 30 professional fights, and I think that’s special within itself. Being one of the first guys to ever put Winky Wright on the canvas; I think I have a lot to show for my work and dedication to boxing. I think it was very special that a lot of guys see the flaws in me, but once they actually step in there with me I fight totally different than they expect. That goes for Hassan N’Dam, Gabriel Rosado, Fernando Guerrero, all these guys that have all the experience to be able to go in a fight and say they can beat me.

Q
What does it mean for you to fight on Bernard Hopkins’ undercard as the middleweight champion knowing that he was so great in that division for so long?

P. Quillin
For me, just looking at it as a business, that part is great promotion for me, to be able to get for somebody that held the same belt and is creating legendary status every time he steps out there. A lot of guys criticize me for not having a main event, but, like I said, fighting on a Bernard Hopkins undercard like this, I learn valuable things outside the ring with Bernard, I catch moments with Bernard all the time, and I’m very thankful to be able to be part of this card. My first being in D.C., I almost thought about changing my name to the ‘Capital Kid’, because going up in there to fight on Bernard Hopkins’ undercard is a privilege to me, and I’m just very thankful.

Q
What specifically do you pick up from your time; you talk about spending outside of the ring with him, what specifically did you pick up from him?

P. Quillin
I always learn that inside of the ring when we wear our boxing uniforms we are professional boxers. When we step outside of the ring I put my business suit on and I become a businessman, and I happen to be on top of my business at all times. I’m talking to my accountant as often as I can. I’m organizing my team making sure that everybody’s delegated a task to be able to make sure that I will not step out there for a fight, that I have nothing else to think about besides how to win. And I learned a lot of those values from Bernard Hopkins and how to organize the many people. So there are a lot of things that I may not be so experienced with, but I can call Bernard up and get any knowledge that I can and he’s willing to share with me.

Q
Lukas, what does it mean to you to be fighting in America for the first time?

L. Konecny
Well, I am fighting in America first time, but only in professional ring. I was over there in ’98 at the Goodwill Games in New York and then ’99 in Houston for the World Championship. So maybe it’s not the first time, but this is a big event.

Q
What exactly is your style and can you describe it for your American audience?

L. Konecny
I think I have a good defense and I make pressure all the time; I can make pressure for all 12 rounds.

K. Swanson
Okay, guys, that is it. Thank you so much. We’re going to go ahead and transition now to talk to Shawn Porter and Paulie Malignaggi. So we appreciate you taking the time out of your training, and we will see you April 19. Thanks.

B. Binkow
So we move into our co-main event, and I would like to start with Mr. Malignaggi. Most of you guys know Paulie; he’s been around, he’s familiar to us all. He’s always exciting to watch. He is currently fighting out of Brooklyn, always fought out of Brooklyn. He’s currently the NABF Welterweight Champion, former two-time, two-division world champion, recently has been winning awards for his commentating work, which we here at Golden Boy are very delighted with. Obviously, he’s on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and the Golden Boy Live on FOX Sports 1 broadcasts, and doing a terrific job. But I think, more importantly, he’s proven that at 33 he’s still one of the top welterweights in the world, so he hasn’t quite made the transition of full time yet.

He first made his mark at the 140-pound weight class when he defeated Lovemore N’Dou in 2007 for the IBF crown. In April 2012, he scored a ninth-round TKO over Senchenko, and it earned him the WBA Welterweight World title. And he went to the Ukraine to do that, which was pretty impressive. He successfully defended his belt against Pablo César Cano during our opening event at Barclays Center, our opening boxing event at the Barclays Center in 2012. He’s become a fixture at the Barclays Center since then. He’s won six out of his last seven bouts, and on April 19 he’s going to attempt to become a three-time world champion. So, with that, I’d like to introduce Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi. Paulie.

Paulie Malignaggi
I’m excited to be on the show. It’s exciting. I want to thank Golden Boy, Al Haymon and the rest of my team for the great job they’ve been doing with me. It’s a chance to capture my third world title, and I’m all about accolades, I’m all about trying to accomplish more in my life as best I can, be it in the ring or outside the ring. As Bruce mentioned, I just got the award for Broadcaster of the Year as well. So I’m just trying to basically be the kind of guy to stay motivated, be it with my work in the ring, out of the ring, and it’s a chance to keep that motivation going with my work in the ring with a chance to capture my third world title.

I respect Shawn; he’s a good champion, he’s a hungry champion, but I feel like I have the experience necessary to put this work into place and get this third world championship. It feels good to still be here. I’m 33-years old, still going strong. I live well; I don’t drink, don’t do drugs, I live a clean life. Even if I like to be out and about a lot I always keep myself healthy. And I think my body of work has proven it, in the last, especially the last few years since I joined up with Golden Boy and I’ve been training with Eric Brown. We’ve done a lot of good things; we’re going to try to continue to do good things.

I think, as far as I’m concerned, I haven’t lost at all in the last three years. Adrien Broner was given my world title, so I feel like I need to win another world title to kind of rightfully get what’s mine. I deserve to be a world champion; I should not have lost that bout. It was basically a win for Broner where I basically became a filler for his, for Adrien Broner’s bullshit resume that he has. My name just became a filler on that resume, and I feel like for that reason I need to get a world title to kind of redeem myself and get what’s rightfully mine.

I mean Shawn worked hard for his, but it’s, it’s a world championship that I want and now I got the chance to do it. So I’ll look forward to the challenge. I’ll look forward to putting on a good show on the 19th of April.

B. Binkow
In order to do that Paulie’s going to have to get through a very tough guy. Shawn Porter is 23-0-1 with 14 KOs out of Akron, Ohio. He was one of the best amateur boxers of this era, and he’s coming off a really impressive win that I’m sure you all saw, his 12-round unanimous decision win over Devon Alexander, where he picked up his IBF Welterweight belt. He has wins over Julio Diaz, Phil Lo Greco, Alfonso Gomez. He’s 26-years old and will be beginning his reign with the belt on April 19 against Paulie. I’d like to introduce you now to Shawn Porter. Shawn.

Shawn Porter
Thank you for the introduction. I want to thank God, want to thank my team, thank Al Haymon, Golden Boy Promotions. They’ve been promoting me since I came back in 2012, and it’s been great. I’m an IBF champion now. That’s a beautiful blessing to have and to able to say.

And with that being said, Paulie Malignaggi is meant to be. We had that feeling for quite a while, so it was nothing new to us when the fight was finally announced. We had been training since the beginning of January, so we will be prepared to do whatever it takes to hold onto this title, whatever it takes to get Paulie out of that ring. My team and I, we worked extremely hard day in and out, and we are going to be prepared and excited April 19 to get back into the ring and do what we all love to do and what we’re here to do. And with that being said, I am the IBF champion, and I plan to stay that way.

Q
Against Alexander was your mentality just that you would not be denied that night and that whatever it took was going to be the way the fight went down?

S. Porter
That was my mentality and that is my mentality. I’ve been bred that way, I’ve been trained that way my whole life. I’ve always been taught to be hungry, be aggressive, and not to allow someone to get comfortable in the ring, and that’s going to always be my mentality against whoever it is I’m going to be fighting.

Same goes with Paulie. I know he’s fast and he has good feet and he knows how to move around the ring, so my plan is to cut him off and be really aggressive and get to his body and make it uncomfortable for him for 12 rounds or less.

Q
Shawn, do you feel like by facing Devon that that was a halfway decent blueprint for the way you would approach a fight with somebody like Paulie?

S. Porter
Yes, a pretty good blueprint for going against someone like Paulie, and then you take into account everything I’ve done up until this point. Sparring with Manny Pacquiao, I mean there’s no better blueprint than that. The guy’s got the quickest hands and feet in the business. So I have all the experience in what it takes to beat Paulie, and it’s just matter of getting in there April 19 and doing it.

Q
When was the last time you were involved in Manny’s camp?

S. Porter
It’s been a few years since I’ve been involved with Manny’s camp. I want to say it was the Shane Mosley fight was the last time I had done anything with him.

Q
What did you think of that performance against Alexander and were you at all surprised by just the extreme aggressiveness that he showed?

P. Malignaggi
I remember the performance. I’ve seen it all. Shawn is a very good performer. He did a very good job of taking Devon out of his comfort zone, like you said, and he did a very good job at taking away what Devon does well, and he’s got to be given credit for it. He became world champion that night for a reason.

But sometimes in boxing it’s about fighting smarter, not harder. Shawn has a tendency to fight very hard, and that’s not a bad thing at all and it’s got him to this point. It’s gotten him a world championship and it’s got him a lot of success, even as an amateur. But in professional boxing we have 12 rounds, and that leaves a lot of time to set traps, it leaves a lot of times to bait you with a lot of things. And so aggressiveness can be made to pay, and that’s kind of my bread and butter. It’s kind of always been my blueprint.

But again, fight aside, I’ve gone over a hundred times of what the problem was in the Ricky Hatton fight. I’m not going to get into it again. But really, regardless of that, if you look at anything else I make aggressiveness pay. And we have our own game plans, and we, we feel that we have a very good game plan for that kind of aggressiveness. We expect a very high-intensity fight, and we expect to have the answers for that kind of high-intensity fight.

But this is nothing new for me, conditioning has never been a problem for me, but it’s, it’s definitely the kind of challenge that I look forward to. It’s a stylistic match up that I think, in my opinion probably could make it the best fight of the night. So I look forward to it. It’s boxing; being a both pro athlete, being a pro fighter, it’s these kinds of moments, to be a part of them, and I’m a part of them yet again. I’m a part of one of them yet again, and I look forward to being motivated and putting my skills to the test against Shawn.

Q
Hey, Paulie, one other thing for you. When, when you were, after the Broner fight and you were deciding that you were going to fight on again, and I know you wanted to fight for another title and everything, at that time Shawn was a little under the radar. Everybody kind of looked at him as this is a very good prospect, but he hadn’t won a title yet, hadn’t fought the big names yet, or anything like that. I mean at any point did you think to yourself, ‘Wow, I might be fighting this guy?’ Because we’ve known in boxing Shawn’s been around for a while as atop young guy coming up, but he didn’t have the title. So was he even remotely on your radar? When the fight came up were you sort of like, ‘Oh, yes, I’ll guess I’ll fight him because he has a belt,’ but that was not somebody that I would think was on your hit list, let’s say.

P. Malignaggi
I think before he beat Devon I looked at him as a solid fighter, but it never really crossed my mind that I might fight him. I had seen him and his father training in Wild Card Gym at times. We’ve always been friendly, we’ve always been cool. I never really looked at Shawn as somebody I would fight, but once he got the title he kind of stepped up into another dimension. People view you differently when you’re a world champion. So, obviously, once Shawn grabbed that title, it put things into a different perspective as far as okay, maybe this is somebody I may wind up in the ring against, because he’s got a world title in my weight class. And then so be it and it happened.

I wasn’t sure it would happen right off the bat, but certainly once he beat Devon Shawn put himself in another level, which is the level of guys like me who will look at and say, ‘Oh, you know what, he’s a guy to be reckoned with, he’s a force to be reckoned with, and I might wind up in the ring with him.’ All the other stuff didn’t matter before that. Once you become world champion I think you put yourself, you set yourself apart from the rest of the class, and Shawn did that by winning the world championship.

All that other bullshit about sparring with Manny Pacquiao and all that, I don’t rate Manny Pacquiao as a very good fighter. I don’t rate him as a very intelligent fighter, actually. So all that other bullshit about the sparring and all that stuff it really, for me, goes in one ear and out the other. But what Shawn did to Devon was very impressive, and certainly it put him in a different light in a lot of different ways, in a more positive way, should I say.

Q
Shawn, when you fought Devon for your first title Paulie and Zab were fighting in the main event in that night. Did you go into that night knowing that you would probably end up fighting the winner of that fight?

S. Porter
I actually did. I thought that it would be somewhat of that kind of situation where the winners would fight each other. I didn’t know if it would come so soon or when it would come, but I did kind of have a mindset of fighting the winner of Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi. So, again, we’ve been training for a long time, and when the call came that it was going to be Paulie, it was not a surprise to me or my camp.

Q
Shawn, where do you rate Paulie in terms of level of competition as far as everyone you’ve faced to date?

S. Porter
I mean he’s right up there, he’s at the top. I think out of everyone I’ve fought, other than Julio and Devon, he’s got the most spirit. So I think maybe out of those two just maybe him and Julio. So I know what I’m up against April 19. I’m up against a crafty veteran, someone who’s got the hands, feet, and likes to hustle his hands, and like he said, he’s in shape. So I’m prepared to come in there, man, and be in just as great a shape as he’s in and be just as smart as he is, and be aggressive and do what I have to do to hold onto my title.

Q
Paulie, is there anyone that you have fought that reminds you of Shawn Porter?

P. Malignaggi
I mean, I can’t say anybody for sure, but he has an aggressive mentality. Guys like Juan Diaz or Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto had that aggressive mentality. So you can’t say you’ve seen exactly what he’s bringing to the table, but I’ve seen similar stuff, I guess. I think Shawn is the biggest guy out of those guys, so it poses a little bit of different challenges and then some of the same challenges. I think we’ll make the decider as you get in there and you start to adjust as you, as the rounds progress and you start to see things more and more, and that’s going to be important on fight night. It’s about being intelligent in there. I know the fight is a long fight; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So you start toimprovise on the game plan and start to execute what you need to do.

Q
Shawn, we’ve talked a lot about what you did against Devon; Paulie’s expressed his opinion about that. What did you gain from watching Paulie against Adrien Broner? Was there anything that you could gain? I know your styles are different.

S. Porter
Yes, I’m going to say not much from that fight. We have, me and Adrien, have two different styles. So Paulie’s smart, I know that. Paulie has a good coach. Eric Brown is a good coach, I know that. They’re not going to come at me the way that they came at Adrien Broner, and it would be smoke and mirrors for me to look at that fight and say that they will. I think Paulie’s going to use his feet a little bit more and try to use his reach and move away instead of being as aggressive as he was against Adrien.

So I did look at the fight. I’m not going to say what small things I did see that I am going to take from that match, because you don’t want to give up anything at this point. But that really wasn’t one of the fights that I watched that I’m watching to get ready for Paulie.

Q
Did you score the fight? Paulie really feels like he won the fight. What are your thoughts?

S. Porter
Yes, I scored the fight, and every time I come back to it I’m just like it’s out of my hands; whatever the judges say is what it is. I honestly couldn’t — if you said it was a draw — I would have said, “Okay, it was a draw.” I didn’t really have it going Paulie’s way. I had it going more of a draw, or maybe even Adrien’s way.

Q
Paulie, what do you have to say about the fact that he says he couldn’t pick anything up? Did you learn anything, is there something you didn’t do in that fight? Did you do enough to win, and is there something you can learn, even at your age and with your experience into this fight?

P. Malignaggi
I felt like I did enough to not lose my title, to hold onto my title. I do think it was a close fight, but I did feel like I did enough to hold onto my title. Like I said, I think in the end, at the end of the day, that fight was always going to be used as a filler to fill Adrien’s bullshit resume, which is what it is pretty much if you look at it as a whole. But at the end of the day it didn’t go my way and I’m not going to sit there crying over it or to go back at it. And I think I’ve made my points about the fight, and we go on and we move on.

I actually think I’m fighting a better opponent than Adrien Broner. I think you match up Adrien Broner and Shawn Porter, and I think Shawn Porter beats him every time simply on the grind. Adrien doesn’t like to fight, and I think Shawn would force him to fight at a pace that he wouldn’t like. And Adrien, as we saw in the Maidana fight, doesn’t have an answer when you force him to fight at a pace that he doesn’t like.

So I think I’ve got a better opponent in front of me, I think I’ve got a more worthy world champion in front of me, but that makes it all the more the better of a fight, that makes it all more entertaining for the fans, and that’s going to make it a better stylistic match up overall, because there’s skill, there’s talent, there’s grind, there’s hard work in there. We’ve got the combination of everything you want to see in a fight. And so I think anything I can take from the Broner fight doesn’t really apply here. I’ve got a better fighter in front of me.

And really the only thing, at the end of the day, everybody came in saying he’s going to be the big puncher and all that stuff, and I actually came in respecting a little too much at first, and it turned out he couldn’t punch for shit. So it was a lot of aliveness that some of me subconsciously bought into with Adrien, and I’m definitely not going to make that mistake again.

But Shawn Porter, all I can say, I think he’s a better fighter than Adrien, but at the end of the day it’s a different fight, and so there’s a different kind of game plan.

Q
All right. And the difference also was that, I don’t know if you feel this is relevant, you weren’t without Haymon when you fought him. You are now. You’ve won a fight since then over Zab Judah. Do you feel that you could potentially be a filler for his resume or do you feel like the the playing field is even?

P. Malignaggi
I think the field is even. I think Al takes care of all his fighters and when they’re matched up against each other it’s just may the best man win. I think on the 19th it will be that kind of situation: may the best man win. I’ve got no complaints, I don’t believe Shawn does, so I think it’s just a matter of it’s a competition and we both want the same thing. We’re in the same weight class, we both want world championships, and so you kind of come across each other and you have to fight for what you want. So I have no beef on any of that, you know what I mean; it’s all in the name of competition, and that’s what I’m here to do.

Q
Shawn, what do you think of his thoughts of how he kept saying that you’re a better fighter than Adrien?

S. Porter
I mean I feel the same way. I think that I’m one of the best welterweight fighters here. I feel like I have everything that it takes, the mentality, the physicality, the strength, everything, the heart, everything that it takes to become a world champion. I think I have all that. And again, like Paulie said, I am extremely competitive. I would not be fighting Paulie Malignaggi if he was a filler fighter, if he was just someone for me to get in the ring with and showcase my skills against. I wouldn’t do it, because that’s not what we accept. We don’t accept anything but the best. Everybody thought he was the best opposition for us, and so with that being said I’m really looking forward to April 19. And I’m excited that Paulie is willing to get in there and be as competitive as I expect him to come into the ring and be.

Q
Paulie, you’ve always done a good job of mentally evaluating fighters before we see them in the ring. You did that with Adrien and you also did that recently with Judah when you mentioned how you did that and basically with the strategy that you brought to the ring. From what you see of Shawn Porter do you feel his aggression can be broken that same way, just based on what you’ve seen so far from him in the ring?

P. Malignaggi
I think the trick is always to take what a fighter does best and kind of try to minimize it or take it away from him. So one of Shawn’s best assets is that aggressive physicality, so as a fighter, as a veteran of the sport, as a guy myself who has been around some of the best fighters in the world and have been around some of the best fighters in the world, has been trained with some of the best trainers in the world, including the one I have now, Eric Brown, I think you gain a lot of knowledge going through all of that. And I think it’s not out of the question to say Shawn is a very good fighter, but at the end of the day there’s traps that can be set for that kind of aggressiveness, and there’s traps that will be set for that kind of aggressiveness. So you kind of you go with the flow and then you adjust as the fight goes along.

But boxing is like numbers, they never end; there’s always a counter move to a move, you know what I’m saying. So I expect that kind of fight. I really expect a demanding, physically demanding fight. We always come in very good shape. I do and I know he does, and it’s going to come down to a lot more than just grinding to win the fight. Boxing at a world-class level is a combination of a lot of things; just one thing will not win you the fight. So I think we both know that, we both understand that, and I for sure understand that, and have implemented that on my game plan going into the fight.

Q
Paulie, a couple years ago you mentioned that one of your main goals with boxing was you wanted to get into the Hall of Fame. You also mentioned at that time you felt you had a few key losses that might prevent you from getting that goal. If you were to win this fight and become a three-time world champion, do you think that would finally put you over the hump to possibly get in the Hall of Fame when you retire?

P. Malignaggi
It’s not up to me to decide that. I hadn’t really given it a lot of thought in recent years. I think a lot goes into the Hall of Fame besides what you do in the ring. I think a lot of it has to do with the kind of team you have around you. For example, if I had the team I have now from when I turned pro I think for sure I’d be a Hall of Famer. But I didn’t have the team I have now when I first turned pro, I didn’t have the team I have now from up until recently through these last few years. Getting into the Hall of Fame, there’s a lot of different things involved in that. In the last few years especially, I have not given it a lot of thought. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. Really my focus is on being the best fighter I can be and just accomplishing one goal at a time and make some good money in the process.

Q
Shawn, do you see any weaknesses in Paulie’s boxing skills that you feel that you can take advantage of? Because he’s pretty good, he’s pretty smart, and he’s always active, so what do you see that you could take advantage of?

S. Porter
Pretty good, pretty smart, and pretty active; you hit it on the nose with that one. We plan to just take advantage of that; when he’s trying to be active we want to be more active, when he’s trying to be smart we want to be feinting him and showing him things that he can’t, or not that he can’t, but things that are just going to propose questions, things that are going to make him uncomfortable in the ring. And with that being said, that’s kind of the blueprint, I think, to beating Paulie is just making him uncomfortable, and I plan to do that.

Q
Paulie, before your last fight with Judah you had said that you were examining your career and that another loss might make you want to consider if you – wanted to continue on in the sport. Now that you have beaten Judah and you have that victory do you feel like your career has been revitalized?

P. Malignaggi
Yes, I think you’re always one key win away from revitalizing your career. I think boxing at a world-class level, when you have a good resume behind you already, I think you’re always one good win away from revitalizing things. But I just take one fight at a time. I have fun doing it. I enjoy my time in boxing, I enjoy my time competing. I still love it, I still love to be in front of a big crowd and hear the crowd roar in a big championship match.

So at 33-years old, you’re not 23, you don’t have a lot of years in front of you, but at the same time I’m the kind of determined fighter, determined athlete that if I do something I’m going to do it 100 percent, otherwise I won’t do it. So my time fighting, while I’m still fighting, it’s going to be done 100 percent. I’m going to keep giving it my all every time I step in the ring and fight. I always told myself that I would refuse to be one of these older veterans that kind of just fights just to step in the ring and make an extra paycheck, but really doesn’t dig down the same way that he used to. You see a lot of older fighters tending to reach that point in their career where they just don’t want to dig down the same way, and I always remind myself that will not be me.

So I think I keep proving it. I think I always grind and hustle the way I need to, be it in the ring or be it in the gym, and so to kind of not be stereotyped in that way. When my time is done fighting, I’ll be done fighting. I don’t need to force it, right, I don’t need to force it. But I want to do it, and I think my body work speaks for itself, so I’ll keep doing it as long as I can.

Q
Paulie, do you see any weaknesses in Shawn’s boxing skills that you can take advantage of?

P. Malignaggi
There’s pros and cons to everybody’s style. Everybody does some good things, everybody has some bad habits, and so none of us are perfect as fighters. Shawn does a lot of good things, but in turn he also does some things that you can kind of make him pay for it. So come fight night we’ll see who has all the answers.

But absolutely it takes, it’s like he said, you got to grind hard, you got to be smart. Tthere’s going to be times when you do one or the other. I think a fight evolves a certain way, and then from there you start to add the pieces to it. But absolutely I don’t think anybody likes to be uncomfortable, so making each other uncomfortable is definitely a game plan for both of us I guess.

Q
Paulie, you keep talking about traps and maybe a little inexperience on Shawn’s part that you see. Do you see enough of that that you can exploit him and put yourself in the position to eventually get another big fight, maybe a Mayweather fight down the line, maybe a rematch with Broner?

P. Malignaggi
I don’t look at it. I don’t look past anything with Shawn. Right now I’m looking at April 19 and I know there might be others from the welterweight division in general, but I really don’t think about anything but Shawn right now and the fact that I’m fighting him and that I’ll handle my business on April 19with Shawn. As far as how I’m setting traps or whatnot, I mean those are just as you make on the fly. You see things in somebody’s file and you kind of look for them during the fight or maybe you’ll see something else during the fight that you may not have seen on video or whatnot. Regardless, I’m a guy that I feel like I’m very intelligent, I feel like I observe things, I catch onto things quickly, and sometimes when I’m in the ring with somebody I may see something different than I did when I wasn’t in the ring with that person. So some of the traps that get set are preordained, or whatever they’re called, we’ll set them from knowing … in setting these kind of traps, and sometimes you may see other things that you got to set different kind of traps once you get there.

So little by little; it’s one round at a time and, like I said, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So it’s two world-class fighters in there going at it putting their best effort up. So I don’t expect an easy fight, I never do, so it’s the kind of thing I know I’m going to have to think my way through.

Q
Paulie, you seem very respectful. Is it the way that Shawn approaches you or is it just your laser focus right now that if you get past this you know there’s big things at the end of the rainbow for you?

P. Malignaggi
I always feel like I’m focused, but I know Shawn and his dad, I’ve seen them, I see them training at the Wild Card back when I was there, always respectful people, just good competitive guys that want to make the best of themselves. So I don’t knock that, I don’t knock that at all. I think we’re all in this to make a buck, to make a career for ourselves, to make a name for ourselves, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that. And so they’ve always been respectful, so I have no reason to disrespect him.

Q
Shawn, going into this fight everything’s a little different for you. You’re the champ, you’re getting a lot more attention, people are recognizing you. How has this changed you, who you are as a person and also, more importantly, how you’re preparing to get into the ring?

S. Porter
Winning this IBF title hasn’t changed me one bit, especially not as a person, but it hasn’t changed anything around me either. I still live with my dad, we still train hard every day, and I still have the same team that I’ve had for the last ‘X’ amount of years. It’s still tight, it’s still small and we’re going to keep it that way. We know what it took to get to this championship and we know that that worked, and so we don’t want to change anything and make anything different. Maybe working harder. My dad works me extremely hard. That could be the only thing that I would say has changed is I’m working harder in some type of way. I come to the ring always strong and in the best shape of my life, so that’s a given. But if I had to say anything changed I would say we’re working harder.

Q
Shawn, Paulie has great athleticism, he’s a fast fighter, doesn’t have the pop that you might want out of a boxer, but he presents a lot to you. What do you think is the most significant thing that he can give you trouble with or offer that will give you trouble?

S. Porter
You know what, to be honest with you, I’m not sure. I’ve watched Paulie, I’ve seen what he can do. I’ve seen it before; I’ve been against it. And like he says, it’s just a matter of being smart, making adjustments: he’s quick, I’m quicker; he’s fast, I’m faster; he works hard, I’m going to work harder than him. I’m going to keep my title. What he can do to make me uncomfortable or make me slow down or anything like that remains to be seen. I really don’t know what that is, so when we get in the ring I’m going to expect that to come up. But every round we’ll take it one round at a time and make our adjustments as we go.

B. Binkow
Well thanks, Kelly, and thanks, everybody, for joining. I wanted to reiterate that the fight, again, is on April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. It’s a great, great tripleheader live on SHOWTIME starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. We heard from all four guys that are on the featured bouts, and I think it’s going to be a very memorable night. And, obviously, I urge everybody to tune in or come to the fight if they can and they’re in the neighborhood. And looking forward to speaking to Bernard and Beibut tomorrow. So until then thank you guys very much, and have a great day.

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

By Norm Frauenheim–

A couple days after 40-year-old New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter began a long goodbye to baseball with the first stop in a farewell tour, 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins talked during a conference call Thursday about a new beginning in the cruelest game of all. Jeter got golf clubs, cowboy boots and a Stetson as big as the old Astrodome before a game in Houston. That’s a lot better than a punch in the face, which is about the only thing Hopkins can be sure of getting on April 19 in a fight with light-heavyweight Beibut Shumenov, who was a four-and-a-half-year-old kid in Kazakhstan when Hopkins lost his pro debut in October 1988.

Hopkins has been fighting for so long that it’s getting hard to remember what boxing was like before him. Indeed, the youngest generation of fans and fighters have never known the sport without Hopkins, who has been around since Ronald Reagan and at this rate might still be fighting after Barack Obama moves out of the White House. Truth is, there are some in his own generation who would be happy to see him retire. They’d even buy him the boots, Stetson and clubs if he would.

But Hopkins fights on, in part out of familiar defiance, in part for an ongoing pursuit of history and, mostly, because he can.

There’s a compelling argument that Hopkins continues to fight at the highest level because of a shallow pool of world-class talent. There are fewer good Americans than ever. But an arrival of tough and talented fighters from Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan and other locales have turned that shrinking pool into dangerous waters. At light-heavyweight, there’s Haitian-turned-Canadian Adonis Stevenson and Russian Sergey Kovalev. They were supposed to fight each other in a bout that was near the top of the fans’ wish list. But Kovalev-Stevenson wound up in the trash, right next to Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr., when Stevenson signed with Al Haymon and moved across the street, from HBO to Showtime. Only the promotional feuds are older than Hopkins.

But there are plenty of reasons to think fans will continue to watch Kovalev and Stevenson, even if they don’t fight each other. To wit: The audience for Kovalev’s seventh-round stoppage Saturday of Cedric Agnew exceeded one million, according to HBO. In an HBO doubleheader on November 30, 1.305 million watched Stevenson beat Tony Bellew and 1.254 million saw Kovalev beat Ismayl Sillah.

Kovalev or Stevenson? Stevenson or Kovalev? Doesn’t matter. For Hopkins, they are just different sides of the same coin. Against either, the likely expectation is that Hopkins would finally encounter his own mortality. That, of course, was the expectation in 2008 against Kelly Pavlik, now retired and never the same after Hopkins did what few thought he could. No wonder Hopkins sounded so confident Thursday. The same circumstances are on the horizon.

“Been there, done that,” said Hopkins, who sounded as if he were anxious to be there and do it once more.

Stevenson’s move to Showtime for a May 24 bout with Andrzei Fonfara sets up a showdown with Hopkins if he beats Shumenov, a 30-year-old fighter who is hard to judge mostly because of a small sample. Shumenov, who reportedly had more than 100 amateur bouts, has only answered a professional bell 15 times for a 14-1 record with nine KOs.

“It’s bad to think beyond April 19 and Beibut Shumneov, but the Stevenson fight is going to be mentioned,” said Hopkins, who will be able to put an AARP card next to his Costco card when he turns 50 next year on January 15. “It’s out there. It’s been out there since Stevenson came on board to eventually unify titles.”

There was no hint of a farewell in anything Hopkins said. He wouldn’t know how to say goodbye to a threat anyway. He’ll let younger guys do that.

PHILADELPHIA (April 3, 2014) – IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard
“The Alien” Hopkins is pleased to announce that he and Golden Boy Promotions have made a significant donation to fund the completion of the previously announced Joe Frazier statue that will stand nine feet tall outside of Xfinity Live in Philadelphia’s sports stadium complex (corner of Patterson and 11th Street). Hopkins, a friend of the Frazier family and a Philadelphia boxing legend in his own right, is set to once again showcase his fighting roots when he steps into the ring on Saturday, April 19 against WBA and IBA titleholder Beibut Shumenov at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. live on SHOWTIME®.

“Seeing this statue built has meant a great deal to me for a very long time,” said Hopkins. “I have always felt strongly that Smokin’ Joe has a rightful place in Philadelphia history and that should be honored. We have a ‘Rocky’ statue and Rocky isn’t even real. Joe Frazier embodies the Philadelphia fighting spirit and I am so happy to be able to pay homage to him in this way.”

“When Bernard asked us to make a donation to help build the Joe Frazier statue in Philadelphia, we did not hesitate,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “We firmly believe in preserving the great history and heritage of our sport and there is no better way than honoring some of the legends that have paved the way for the fighters today. Joe Frazier is one of the all-time greats and we are pleased to be a part of this project.”

The Frazier statue will become part of Philadelphia’s public works of art as voted on by Philadelphia’s Art Commission. The statue, designed by local artist Stephen Layne, will mirror Frazier’s reaction after knocking down Muhammad Ali during their 1971 title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and is projected to be unveiled between Thanksgiving and Christmas of this year.

Members of the Frazier family will publicly thank Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions for their contributions on Thursday, April 17 at the Hopkins vs. Shumenov final press conference at Hamilton Live (600 14th St. NW) in Washington, D.C.

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, WBA and IBA
Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the 12-round co-features, Shawn Porter defends his IBF Welterweight World Title against Paulie Malignaggi and Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary bouts will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

LONDON (April 2, 2014) – Leading boxing channel BoxNation is packing a real punch this April and May with the fight games top names including Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao set to feature live and exclusive in a jam-packed schedule.

‘The Channel of Champions’ has pulled no punches in its attempt to line up the biggest and best names in the world of boxing, proving categorically that it is the undisputed pound-for-pound home of boxing.

Rising Irish sensation Carl Frampton’s world title eliminator against Mexican Hugo Cazares this Friday kicks-off a string of back-to-back world class fights on the channel.

Fan-favourite Frampton will attempt to blast his way past the sturdy Cazares in front of his adoring Belfast crowd with the hope of setting up a world title shot against WBC super-bantamweight world champion Leo Santa Cruz.

The undefeated 27-year-old will be looking to make easy work of Cazares at the Odyssey Arena with a winter showdown against the torpedo-like Santa Cruz representing an explosive matchup that could be a potential ‘Fight of the Year’ contender.

The following night, live from Germany, veteran Welshman Enzo Maccarinelli makes one last stab at the world title as he attempts to wrestle the WBA light-heavyweight belt away from the grasp of the dominant Juergen Braehmer.

The German will be looking to ensure Maccarinelli’s ‘Rocky story’ ends in tears, but the chance to seize world title glory at the latter stages of his career offers a unique opportunity for the Swansea star who will leave it all in the ring this Saturday night.

The action just keeps getting better on BoxNation, when, on April 12th, one of boxing’s biggest icons Pacquiao makes his latest ring splash when he takes on another pound-for-pound star in Tim Bradley.

Having met for the first time in 2012, amid a controversial split decision victory for the American Bradley, the rematch presents the chance for Filipino hero Pacquiao to settle an old score.

Such a task, however, will be no easy feat with Bradley having grown tremendously as a fighter following momentous wins over WBO light-welterweight world champion Ruslan Provodnikov and Mexican superstar Juan Manuel Marquez.

With Bradley’s WBO welterweight world title on the line, the bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is certain to produce fireworks with the ever-exciting Pacquiao, the first and only eight-division world champion, eager to show that time is still very much on his side.

Earlier that evening, there is great domestic action when rising star Frank Buglioni defends his WBO European super-middleweight title when he takes on Sergey Khomitsky at the Copper Box Arena in London.

The unbeaten Buglioni, who is fast making a name for himself as one of the fight game’s hottest prospects, will be looking to continue his march towards a world title shot, with Commonwealth champion Tony Conquest and starlet Bradley Skeete also on the card.

It’s back across Stateside on April 19th when, at 49 years of age, the legendary Bernard Hopkins, the current IBF world champion, will look to unify the light-heavyweight division when he faces WBA Super champion Beibut Shumenov.

The Hopkins story is unlike any other in sport, let alone the sweet science, with the Philadelphian turning his life around following a lengthy prison stint before reigning supreme in the world of boxing, becoming the oldest champion in history.

His bout with Shumenov offers the skilled technician the chance to reach another landmark in his illustrious career by unifying the belts and achieving another remarkable feat just before he hits the age of 50.

Also on the bill that night will be welterweights Shawn Porter and Paulie Malignaggi, as they battle it out for Porter’s IBF crown, with the winner set to face British ace Kell Brook in a mandatory defence.

Middleweight menace Peter Quillin will be another one starring on the night when he takes on Lukas Konecny with Quillin’s WBO world title on the line.

Then, on May 3rd, BoxNation viewers will be in for a real treat when the undisputed pound-for-pound king of boxing Floyd Mayweather takes on Argentine knockout artist Marcos Maidana in a world title unification fight.

WBC welterweight champion ‘Money’ Mayweather will be looking to extend his renowned unbeaten record against WBA champion Maidana who shocked the boxing world by blasting past rising superstar Adrien Broner last December.

A Mayweather event is not fitting without a stacked undercard, and that’s just what fight fans get when former unified light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan makes his eagerly anticipated ring return when he steps up to welterweight to face the skilled Luis Collazo.

Collazo is coming off a stunning victory over the tough Victor Ortiz, having ran Ricky Hatton extremely close in 2006 in a fight many felt belonged to the Brooklyn banger.

Khan will have his work cut out in a bout that could well steal the show on a card which also sees Broner step back between the ropes when he faces Carlos Molina.

The Cincinnati native will be looking to bounce back in style and silence the critics following his crushing defeat to Maidana.

It’s non-stop on BoxNation, with further exciting action on May 24th when The Ring Magazine’s ‘Fighter of the Year’, Adonis Stevenson, looks to blitz his way past another contender for his WBC light-heavyweight crown.

‘Superman’ Stevenson does battle with Andrzej Fonfara live from Montreal with the aim of making the Polish pugilist his 11th knockout victim in a row.

Further good news for the channel is that BoxNation will be the only place to see Tyson Fury’s impending matchup with Dereck Chisora on July 26th.

The heavyweight hitmen lock horns for the second time in their careers when they regain hostilities at the Phones4U Arena in Manchester later this summer, in a bout that will leave no stone unturned.

BoxNation has grown rapidly since its launch in 2011, and is now the recognised as the home of boxing for British fight fans who wish to see the very best action live and exclusive.

The upcoming schedule, packed with competitive world title fights, offers viewers the biggest bouts over the coming months, with a host of leading names, for only £12 a month (plus a one-off registration fee).

To subscribe to BoxNation, and make sure you don’t miss out on all this live and exclusive action, visit www.boxnation.com to join.

-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 Diaz and Mayweather vs Alvarez.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), 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 one off registration fee for Sky TV and new Livesport.tv customers.

By Norm Frauenheim
Just when Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather Jr., most of the NFL, NBA and major-league baseball have us convinced that disrespect is an athlete’s best friend, along comes Timothy Bradley with a different take and some real friends because of it.

“I don’t feel I’m disrespected at all, honestly,” Bradley said.

It was an astonishing comment, straight out of the man-bites-dog variety, especially from Bradley, who wondered if there was anything resembling respect in a world overrun by social-media vigilantes with no accountability and armed with 140 characters to express anger at his controversial decision over Manny Pacquiao.

Disrespect isn’t just another cliche when it comes in the form of death threats.

Bradley heard them, battled them and exorcised them in a personal journey through what he called “a bad place.” He whipped them and Ruslan Provodnikov in a blood, sweat and tears drama that was the 2013 Fight of the Year. He had “a look of anger in him” against Provodnikov, Bradley trainer Joel Diaz said of reckless tactics that earned him a unanimous decision at the price of a concussion. He followed up with a patient, poised split decision over Juan Manuel Marquez. The disrespect was left behind in a passage that has transformed Bradley into a fighter who sounds more confident, self-assured and perhaps wiser than ever.

Convenient excuses and that tired pursuit of motivation from imagined slights just aren’t there in Bradley’s clear sense of who he is and what he must do to beat Pacquiao on April 12 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand in a rematch of his split decision over the Filipino icon on June 9, 2012.

“It’s all about staying on TV, showing my craft,” Bradley said Thursday during a conference call. “It’s about fighting. That’s what it’s all about. Staying on TV, fighting the best fighters out there and beating them. That’s it. I came up the hard way. I came through the back door.”

Over time Bradley said, fans have gotten to know him and the way he works at his craft.

“I think now fans and people are beginning to gravitate toward me,” said Bradley, who is convinced he can beat Pacquiao with a decision that will leave no doubt on the cards or among those in the social-media mob who attacked him as if he were responsible for scores turned in by judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford. “Before, they didn’t know me. They didn’t know me before Pacquiao. And after the controversy, they really didn’t. Like I had something to do with anything. I didn’t have anything to do with anything. I’m not a judge. I always did my job. But it’s hard to make people realize that. At the end of the day, all I’ve got to do is to continue to win. Then, they’ll have no choice.”

No choice, but to respect him.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 17, 2014) – Two world championship fights on one night is great for boxing fans. But Golden Boy Promotions and SHOWTIME believe that three is even better. So, on Saturday, April 19, joining the title fights between Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov and Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin and Lukas Konecny there will be a battle for the IBF Welterweight World title between champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter and former two-time and two division word champion and current NABF Welterweight titleholder Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, making this tripleheader at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C. a must see.

“I fought hard to get this title. Paulie says he wants it, but is he willing to go through me to get it?” said Porter, who won his crown with an impressive win over Devon Alexander last December. “Fighting Malignaggi is like fighting Alexander. They don’t have the strength or power to keep me away, and I will steamroll Paulie on my way to victory April 19.”

“I’m excited to be back in a title fight so soon after my win over Zab Judah. I will become a three-time world champion on April 19,” said Malignaggi. “Porter is a good fighter and I’m sure he’ll be a champion again in the future, but he doesn’t have the tools or experience to beat me.”

A native of Akron, Ohio, unbeaten Shawn “Showtime” Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs)
showed on Dec. 7, 2013 that all of the rave reviews he received since his amateur days were well deserved, as he scored a 12-round unanimous decision win over Devon Alexander to win the IBF Welterweight World title. The win followed impressive professional victories over Julio Diaz, Phil Lo Greco and Alfonso Gomez that put Porter at the top of the 147-pound weight class. Now the 26-year-old begins his reign on April 19 against “Magic Man.”

When he’s not winning awards for his commentating work on SHOWTIME broadcasts, NABF Welterweight Champion Brooklyn’s Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KOs) is proving that, at 33, he’s still one of the top welterweights in the world. Winner of six of his last seven bouts, with the only loss coming via split decision to Adrien Broner last June, Malignaggi was in top form when he defeated Zab Judah last December, and on April 19, he has the opportunity to become a three-time World Champion.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.sports.sho.com and follow on Twitter at @Therealbhop, @Kidchocolate, @ShowtimeShawnP @PaulMalignaggi @GoldenBoyBoxing, @SHOSports and @Swanson_Comm , follow the conversation using #HopkinsShumenov and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, IBA and WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19 at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona, AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. In the co-features, Peter Quillin puts his WBO Middleweight World Title on the line against Lukas Konecny in a 12-round bout and Shawn Porter faces Paulie Malignaggi in a 12-round welterweight bout for his IBF World title. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are on sale now and available online at www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. ET.

NEW YORK (March 12, 2014) – IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins and WBA Super World Champion Beibut Shumenov continued their media tour on Wednesday at Lucille’s Bar & Grill inside B.B. King’s Blues Club in New York to formally announce their world championship unification on Saturday, April 19, live on SHOWTIME® from the DC Armory in Washington, D.C.

At 49-years-old, “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs), of Philadelphia, is looking to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles, while Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs), of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, is aiming to become the fastest fighter to unify the light heavyweight division with only 15 professional fights under his belt.

In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® co-main event, undefeated WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs), of New York, will defend his title for the third time when he meets former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Lukas Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs) of the Czech Republic.

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, went on sale today at 10 a.m. ET and are available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET.

Below is what the participants had to say at Wednesday’s presser:

BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion:
“Look at your age and look at mine. You want to risk this being done again, that you’ll be living to witness it? That’s like waiting for another black president. I wish you luck. I’m not risking that.

“You talk boxing. I live boxing. One thing that’s important to live in boxing is the lifestyle. So there’s noting that I’m doing that you haven’t written, because most of you have been writing about me for 10 years or more.

“I could have come out here with a walker, taken my teeth out, and then have him help me up to the seat there and play right into the old man syndrome. But I’m not going to play games with you.

“This is something that you’re going to remember, tell your grandkids, someone younger, someone in the boxing game, someone not in the boxing game. This is not only my personal achievement in history, but this is something that you can pass down to your kids. You can pass down to anyone you care to pass it down to. I can tell my son who’s two years old, Bernard III,that this is the legacy he inherits from me.

“Let’s talk about Father Time. He’s a son of a bitch. He is. Father Time is undefeated because time is undefeated. That’s the fight that I can’t win and nobody on this earth can win. I’m not fighting Father Time. That’s why me and Father Time really have no problem. There’s no war going on.

“So at the end of the day, Father Time says to me, “Have fun, you’ve got time.” Everyone asks me about my age because their stomach is out this big. Because they’re eating bagels. Because they’re drinking wine. Enjoy yourself. That’s what you want to do. But when you see me, don’t be envious, be motivated. Be energized, woman or man. And say to yourself: how can I start to be like him? How can I take a page out of his book and have a long life and play with my grandkids?

“When you see me April 19 in D.C. on SHOWTIME, be inspired. Be inspired that if you’re near 40, if you’re over 40, if you’re over 50, over 60, that it’s never too late to change your lifestyle. It’s only too late when you’re dead.”

BEIBUT SHUMENOV, WBA Super and IBA Light Heavyweight World Champion:
“I’m very excited that I’m fighting one of the greatest fighters ever. That’s the way for me to show the world that I am the best in the world. Don’t miss out on April 19. It will be a history-making event.

“Bernard has his legacy, but I am looking to build my own legacy. But don’t forget that I am here to make history, too.

“This is a great opportunity to show the world that I am one of the greatest champions in boxing. He’s considered the best light heavyweight champion but this is my opportunity to show the world that I am the best light heavyweight.

“My main goal is to unify all the titles, but right now I’m 100 percent focused on my fight with Bernard Hopkins. It’s the most important fight in my life and it will be the hardest fight in my life.

“Bernard is a boxing genius. He is a legend. He has the highest boxing IQ and skills ever.”

PETER QUILLIN, WBO Middleweight World Champion:
“Preparation for this fight has been awesome. I believe in being in the best shape.

“Some people say that I shouldn’t be on undercards, but I’m on Bernard’s undercard and I am working to be a legend like him.

“B-Hop is a legend. Every time he steps into the ring he creates a legacy and history. I’m working toward that.

“I do this to be the best I can be. My father came from Cuba in 1980 and came here for opportunity and now he is able to see his son live out his dreams and be the middleweight champion.

“I do this every day to be an inspiration.

“A lot of people need an inspiration. I’m going to go out there and try my best no matter what.

“If I need to take a loss to learn about myself then I’m willing to do so. Until then, I’m just going to keep on winning. We’re going to keep on putting on awesome fights and keep on fighting on SHOWTIME.

“I want to be the best fighter, the best father, the best husband and the best son I can be and I hope you all keep on supporting me.”

NAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins’ Trainer:
“I agree that this is a historic fight. Everything Bernard does now is historic. Every interview, every walk out is history. Every move he makes is history, not just inside the ring, but outside of the ring.

“He could walk out tomorrow, beat Beibut Shumenov and say I’m done. He owes us nothing and gives us everything.

“I have a lot of respect for Mr. Shumenov. Shumenov is a young 30. He did everything with such a fast learning curve. He’s not someone who is worn down.

“He is already a champion and a guy who is moving that fast and has that kind of enormous focus to be in the front and be the best. But now, not throwing the word around, you’re dealing with a legend.

“Come out to the fight because you’re going to see two men on two different paths that are going to collide on April 19.”

TEAM SHUMENOV:
“Training camp is great, Beibut is incredible. Beibut is ready because of his intelligence. He’s an attorney. He’s highly intelligent and he studies more than anyone ever. His fight IQ is through the roof.

“You will see how prepared Beibut is. He’s ready to do it.

“B-Hop is great; he has tremendous longevity in the sport. He’s a wizard. But everything comes to an end and that duration will be April 19.”

BRUCE BINKOW, COO & CMO of Golden Boy Promotions:
“Any time Bernard Hopkins steps into the ring it’s a historic event.

“I think this is a great opportunity for a young champion like Beibut to make his mark on history as well by attempting to take down a legend.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager, SHOWTIME SPORTS:
“We’re very proud to be hosting and televising another Bernard Hopkins fight. The word icon is used quite a bit — thrown about very casually — within sports, within entertainment and music. Bernard is one of the few personalities, the few athletes where the term accurately applies.

“He is a legend in the sport. His accomplishments speak for themselves. Any time Bernard fights it is an event, it’s an occasion, and ‘History at the Capitol’ is a very accurate term.

“Having said all of that, Beibut is a young, hungry, strong challenger – a champion in his own right. Those of you who saw him on SHOWTIME in San Antonio had to be impressed. He’s a very intelligent young man, a very intelligent fighter, a very strong fighter. I would dare to say that he’s going to be one of the toughest challengers that Bernard has faced in quite a while. So I’m looking forward to a very strong main event on April 19.

“I’m also excited to have Peter Quillin back on the network again fighting Lukas Konecny. I think it’s particularly appropriate that we have Quillin on the undercard here, in that Peter is attempting to follow in the rather large footsteps that Bernard Hopkins has started. That is, to start and campaign as a middleweight, where Bernard spent so many years and defended his title for a world-record number of times.”

GREGORY A. O’DELL, President & CEO of Events DC
“On behalf of fight fans in Washington, D.C., we are honored to have a championship experience come back to the District. This fight validates the quality of Washington, D.C. as a fight capital.

“This is the third championship fight we’ve had in 14 months. Thank you for recognizing that D.C. is a fight town.

“Over 20 years ago, a slightly younger fighter fought on the RFK campus. We are thrilled that he will be returning on April 19 and we hope to see more fights in Washington, D.C.” [On Bernard Hopkins]

IBF Welterweight champion Shawn Porter will defend his title against former two-division belt holder Paulie Malignaggi on April 19th in Washington, D.C. as part of a championship tripleheader that will be televised on Showtime according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“This is a very meaningful fight for Paulie and for Shawn,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “I think it’s a very attractive fight in the ring as well. To be paired up with Hopkins is absolutely fantastic. I’m happy for the fans, for the fighters and for Showtime. Three world title fights. I think it’s going to be one of the biggest cards in Washington D.C., in quite some time.”

“It’s great for Shawn Porter because he is fighting one of the most recognized names in the sport of boxing,” Schaefer said. “People know Paulie Malignaggi, so for Shawn Porter to go in the ring with someone of the name recognition and resume of Paulie Malignaggi, should he win, it would be a big feather in Shawn’s cap. It would be a big win for him.

“For Paulie Malignaggi it’s a tremendous opportunity to win another world title. It really is amazing. When I think back to 2010, when most people had written Paulie off after he lost to Amir Khan, he came to see me in Los Angeles and said, ‘I’m not done, contrary to what everyone says. I really want to be with Golden Boy.’ I believed in him and since then Paulie has had some of his biggest fights and accomplishments.”

“I’m excited about this fight and excited to get back in the ring for my first defense,” Porter told ESPN.com. “I was thinking about it last night. I’ve had [regional titles] and it was just a matter of winning those fights to get to the bigger title fight. Now, this is a matter of holding onto something, holding on to this title. I’ve been looking at Paulie’s fights on YouTube and at his record. He has fought everybody and he’s still trying to do it. I won’t allow him to screw me and take me to school.

“I see him trying to beat me with his speed and trying to move against me. I know me and my father (trainer Ken Porter) will have a great fight plan consisting of a lot of things we did against Devon Alexander. I think it will be an exciting fight for fans. We knew what we wanted to do against Devon — contain his speed and movement and limit what he likes to do. Same thing goes with Paulie. The difference here is because Paulie has so much experience, he’s not going to allow me to just do anything. He’s going to fight back. From round 1 to the end, it will be a fight of making adjustments. You have two guys coming in who really want it and who both legitimately have what it takes to win the fight.”

“I’ve seen Porter through the years,” Malignaggi told ESPN.com. “He’s a young fighter, an improving fighter. He’s gotten better over the years and is maturing into a good solid pro. I’m excited about the chance to win my third world championship. I’ve been through a lot of naysayers. A chance to win a world title for the third time is special and a motivator and something a lot people didn’t expect from me. I’m here and I’m looking to make good by winning a third championship.”

Porter-Malignaggi was made possible when the IBF approved Porter’s application for an exception to his mandatory defense against Kell Brook of England. April 19 is 12 days beyond the window by which Porter could have made an optional defense without an exception, but that did not match Showtime’s schedule.

The IBF granted the exception under the condition that Porter and Malignaggi agree in writing that the winner will make his next defense within 90 days against Brook, as long as Brook wins his stay-busy fight against Alvaro Robles on Saturday in Liverpool, England.

“We had to wait for the IBF for their ruling and they ruled, so the fight is on,” Schaefer said. “Both fighters will agree with the ruling of the IBF. Whatever the IBF ordered is fine and both fighters will agree to whatever the IBF stipulates.”

Said Porter, “Right now it’s Paulie for me. After this fight, it would be Kell Brook. Unless something happens Kell brook, he’s supposedly the next guy.”

Bethlehem, PA: On March 15th in front of a sold out house at Sands Casino and Hotel, Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba will take on Denis “The Pirate/Drago’s Son” Grachev in the light heavyweight co-feature on NBCSN Fight Night. The light heavyweight division is one of the hottest divisions right now with world class fighters like Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, Adonis Stevenson and Bernard Hopkins and the winner of this fight could be poised to face any one of them. Currently, Chilemba is ranked #2 in the WBC and Grachev is ranked #7 in the WBC.

Isaac Chilemba
Photo Credits:
Rich Graessle/Main Events
Chilemba’s trainer, former IBF Light Middleweight and WBC Welterweight Champion Buddy McGirt, wouldn’t make a prediction but said, “If Isaac does what I know he can do he can do, which is frustrate the hell out of this guy and out box him, this fight should be a walk in the park. It is all up to him come fight night.”

Denis Grachev
Photo Courtesy of DiBella Entertainment
Grachev’s manager/trainer, Baruch Ferreira, said, “We have had our best training camp so far. Denis is looking sharp and he is in amazing shape. He is ready to make an exciting fight against Chilemba on Fight Night.”

Category
Isaac Chilemba
Denis Grachev
Age
26
31
Record
21-2-2, 9 KOs
13-2-1, 8 KOs
Strength
Chilemba is very poised in the ring and maintains his composure, even when he’s behind. He also has a solid defense.
Grachev has good power and the will to win. According to Main Events’ matchmaker Jolene Mizzone, “He can starch an opponent with one punch.”
Weakness
Chilemba has mediocre punching power and his accuracy is average.
Grachev has poor footwork and lacks amateur experience.
Experience
Despite being five years younger, Chilemba has nine more professional fights (25 vs. 16) than Grachev. Chilemba boxed 183 rounds compared to 80 rounds for Grachev.
Grachev’s last four opponents had a combined record of 103-1 and all were either contenders or former or current champions. Grachev’s endurance has not been tested yet.
Chin
Chilemba has a pretty good chin; he has been down and gotten back up. According to Mizzone, “Chilemba fights better when his back is up against the wall.”
Grachev was only down once against Sillakh and came back to win but later was knocked out by Edwin Rodriguez in the first round.
Style
Chilemba is more of a boxer and is better defensively.
Grachev is more of a defensive fighter and has one-punch power.
Intangibles
Chilemba agreed to fight a game underdog and that cannot be overlooked.
Grachev did not think twice before taking the fight – confident.
The Match-Up
Will Chilemba be able to stand up to Grachev’s power?
Is Grachev the same fighter after his TKO loss to Edwin Rodriguez?
Will Chilemba fold under the bright lights?
Can Grachev redeem himself?

After getting blown away by Rodriguez, Grachev needs to prove it was just a fluke and that he has what it takes to compete at this level. If Chilemba loses to Grachev, he’ll lose his #2 spot. Bottom line: neither fighter can afford to lose.

About March 15th:

The March 15th edition of NBCSN Fight Night at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem features the twelve-round heavyweight match-up between Tomasz “Goral” Adamek and Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov for the IBF North American Heavyweight Title and IBF #2 Position Eliminator. The co-feature is a ten round light heavyweight match-up between Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba and Denis “The Pirate/Drago’s Son” Grachev. Doors open at 6:00 PM ET. The co-feature and main event will be broadcast live on NBCSN Fight Night at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT. Tickets are no longer available. The card is presented by Main Events, Peltz Boxing, Ziggy Promotions, and Pushka Promotions in association with BAM Boxing and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT on March 15th.

Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

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.

All NBC Sports Network live events live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 11, 2014) – IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins and WBA Super World Champion Beibut Shumenov held a press conference on Tuesday at The W Hotel in Washington, D.C., to formally announce their world championship unification on Saturday, April 19, live on SHOWTIME® from the DC Armory.

At 49-years-old, “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs), of Philadelphia, is looking to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles, while Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs), of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, is aiming to become the fastest fighter to unify the light heavyweight division with only 15 professional fights under his belt.

In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® co-main event, undefeated WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs), of New York, will defend his title for the third time when he meets former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Lukas Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs) of the Czech Republic.

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, went on sale today at 10 a.m. ET and are available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET.

Below is what the participants had to say at Tuesday’s presser:

BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion:

“I’m looking to put on something special. Because my thing is, you’re only as good as your last fight. Here in D.C. you’re only as good as your last vote. At the end of the day, I’ve realized that you can be a champion yesterday, but if you dwell on yesterday you will never go forward.

“I’m pretty sure that a lot of people don’t know who Shumenov is. And I tell them he’s a fast guy who is rising in the sport of boxing quickly. He comes to fight and he comes to win.

“You haven’t seen guys rise this quickly in boxing for many years. You usually see 30 or so fights before a guy gets a world title. But I’m not reading into all that stuff. All I know is that the guy signed up to fight a world champion. And he has something that I need to be the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world. He’s in the way of that.

“Not only is he in the way, I have to use a lot of other things that motivate me even more to be successful on April 19. This fight is about my legacy. I unified the middleweight division and now my goal is to unify the light heavyweight division.

“I am blessed to be here through hard work and disciplinee. Shumenov will learn from this fight because he’s still young and he still has some experience to gain after this fight. But I’m not playing him cheap and I’m not playing him short because anyone who steps in the ring with Bernard Hopkins has the skill to be a world champion.

“I believe I’m the most feared fighter in the world or maybe the last 15-20 years in spite of my age. Love me or hate me, people understand how dangerous I can be to a fighters’ career moving forward.”

BEIBUT SHUMENOV, WBA Super and IBA Light Heavyweight World Champion:
“I’m very excited that I’m going to fight one of the greatest fighters ever. I know that I’ve never faced anyone on his level and I know it’s going to be the hardest fight of my life. But I will do whatever it takes to win this fight. And I’ll do anything possible and impossible to get the victory.

“People will find out on April 19 that I belong in the elite level. That I am the best light heavyweight champion in the world. I’m looking to make a statement to the world.

“I’m confident, he’s confident. You have to be prepared for all styles. I never faced anybody at Bernard’s level. I consider him the best light heavyweight champion. And he is in my way to prove that I am the best light heavyweight champ.

“It’s a dream of mine to have this kind of opportunity. I’ve been ready to fight at this type of level for several years and now I have this platform to show off all my skills.

“I was honored to see the ambassador of our country [Kazakhstan] here. I have a lot of fans here in the U.S. and Las Vegas and all over the country.”

NAZIM RICHARDSON, Hopkins’ Trainer:
“When you’ve been in the game so long that you outlive your nickname … well, this guy has been in boxing longer than the ‘Executioner.’ Now he’s ‘The Alien.’

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to actually watch him culminate into the type of athlete that he is today.

“A lot of people don’t understand our sport and they don’t understand that 30 in boxing is old. This guy is ancient. You have to sit back and realize how impressive this is.

“Beibut is just an exceptional athlete. If you look at this fast pace he’s been on you have to respect it and the success he’s had.

“But no one can ever tell you what you see when you climb into those ropes and you look across the ring and it’s not a fighter, it’s not a fighter that fights well, it’s not a champion, it’s not an elite-lever fighter. When you look across that ring and you see an absolute legend, no one can tell you what that’s like.

“I hope that we can appreciate this guy [Hopkins] while he’s here. Every single thing this guy does in this sport is history. Every press conference he has, every mouthpiece he puts in his mouth. Everything he does in this sport now is absolute history.”

BRUCE BINKOW, COO & CMO of Golden Boy Promotions:
“D.C. is becoming a hotbed for big fights and we’re excited to bring this world championship unification to our nation’s capital.

“Every time Bernard Hopkins fights it’s a historical event and we also have a world champion who is looking to make his mark and history by taking Bernard’s belt.

“Shumenov has successfully defended his title five times, and this April he gets an opportunity to add his name to the history books if he can do what very few people have done and beat Bernard Hopkins.

“I could remind you that Bernard won his middleweight title in 1995 and successfully defended it 20 times. But what’s really amazing is that Bernard has had a spectacular last couple of years. He’s already twice become the oldest man to win a major world championship and in 2013 he had one of his greatest years ever.

“I believe that if a baseball, football or basketball player was performing anywhere near the level that he is performing at his age he would be in a lab being studied by science. It’s absolutely unbelievable. “

SCOTTIE IRVING, Chairman of D.C. Boxing Commission:
“We’re very happy to have this world title fight here in Washington D.C. When we had the Peterson fight back in January we talked to Bernard and Golden Boy Promotions about having another fight back here in D.C., but what we didn’t know was that Bernard was going to fight here himself.

“What I think that came from was as he walked around the DC Armory, he saw he had a lot of fans enchanted with his boxing career that wanted to see him fight in D.C. So we’re happy to bring this world championship event to D.C. and we’re looking forward to a great fight.”

# # #

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, IBA and WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19, at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona,AT&T and Casamigos Tequila. The live SHOWTIME telecast will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).

Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges are on sale now and are available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 7, 2014) – Washington, D.C. is known as a city where history is made. On Saturday, April 19, another historic event will take place in the nation’s capital when IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins faces WBA World Champion Beibut Shumenov in an attempt, at 49-years-old, to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles. The DC Armory, the site of several championship boxing matches in the last year, will host the return of the future Hall of Famer to the capital for the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® main event (9 p.m. ET/PT delayed on the West Coast).

In the co-main event, popular undefeated WBO Middleweight World Champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin defends his title for the third time when he meets WBO European titleholder and former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Lukas Konecny. Quillin has been one of boxing’s most exciting competitors over the last few years; scoring 11 knockdowns in his last three title fight wins. In Konecny, he will be in the ring with a crafty and experienced veteran, a former Olympian who has never been stopped.
Tickets priced at $25, $50, $75, $200 and $300, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, go on sale today at 10 a.m. ET are available online at http://www.ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling (800) 745-3000. The DC Armory Box Office will be open on fight night only from 3:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET.

“It’s no secret that my one of my biggest goals has been to unify the titles and getting to do that in a city where I have a lot of history is the best-case scenario,” said Hopkins, who defended his middleweight title with a seventh-round technical knockout of Robert Allen in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 6, 1999. “I’m coming back to break another record by unifying the title and I’m looking to get my first knockout since I fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2004. I know Shumenov is tough, but I’m tougher and I’m not going to let him make a name for himself by being the one to stop me.”

The legendary Hopkins made his first attempt at a world title in Washington, D.C. in 1993 when he lost to Roy Jones Jr. at RFK Stadium, just steps away from the DC Armory. A year later, he faced Segundo Mercado in neighboring Landover, Md. and won the IBF middleweight world title, which he held for over a decade.

“I am very excited that the fight is going to happen against one of the greatest fighters ever,” said Shumenov. “I am going to do everything possible and impossible to get the victory.”

“I can’t wait to get back in the ring and defend my title once again,” said Quillin. “I’m excited to be fighting in front of the great fans in D.C. and I will give them a show on April 19. Konecny is an experienced challenger, and you can’t overlook anyone with 50 wins, but I’m going home with the title, and I’ll be looking for another knockout.”

“I have a lot more experience than Quillin and the fans will see that on April 19,” said Konecy. “This is my first fight in the U.S. and I don’t plan on going home without that belt. Every fighter dreams of fighting for and winning a world championship, and I am thankful for the chance to do that against Peter Quillin.”

“The fans in D.C. have been enthusiastic and supportive of the sport whenever we’ve brought an event there, and I know they will love this championship doubleheader,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Bernard Hopkins continues to amaze everyone with his performances in the ring, but when he faces Shumenov, he’ll have to pull out all his veteran tricks to keep his amazing streak going. This may be the toughest test he’s faced at light heavyweight.”

“Coming off of a very successful fight card in January, we are pleased to welcome back Golden Boy Promotions and SHOWTIME to the historic DC Armory,” said Erik A. Moses, managing director of Events DC’s Sports and Entertainment Division, which manages the DC Armory and RFK Stadium. “D.C. is a great fight town, and hosting a fight of this caliber will certainly add to the rich history of professional boxing in the nation’s capital. It’s great to see the DC Armory come alive again with big-time boxing, and we look forward to continuing this tradition.”

Boxing’s elder statesman, Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs) continues to achieve remarkable goals in the world of boxing-and has done just that since turning pro in 1988. But he has amazed even more with his exploits over the last few years, as he twice became the oldest man to win a major world championship in the ring. Now 49-years-old, the pride of Philadelphia, Pa., had one of his best years yet in 2013, defeating Tavoris Cloud in March to win the IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship, and then successfully defending his title in October with an exciting win over Karo Murat. On April 19, the future Hall of Famer returns in an attempt to unify the 175-pound title. Additionally, as a partner in Golden Boy Promotions, Hopkins has undertaken out-of-the ring promotional duties that further solidify him as one of the most recognized and revered figures in the sport.

A native of Shymkent, Kazakhstan who now fights out of Las Vegas, 30-year-old Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs) made his way to the top of the light heavyweight division with lightning-fast speed, winning his IBA title against Byron Mitchell in 2009, in just his eighth professional fight before adding the WBA title by defeating Gabriel Campillo two fights later in 2010. Since then, Shumenov, a 2004 Olympian for Kazakhstan, has successfully defended his title five times, defeating Vyacheslav Uzelkov, William Joppy, Danny Santiago, Enrique Ornelas and Tamas Kovacs. But this April, Shumenov gets his opportunity to make a name for himself in the history books if he can defeat Bernard Hopkins.

Proudly wearing the championship belt of the division Hopkins once ruled, New York’s
Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) has gotten his reign atop the 160-pound division off to a rousing start with a decision win over Hassan N’Dam for the WBO crown in October of 2012, then going on to successful defenses twice with stoppages of Fernando Guerrero and Gabriel Rosado. Now ready to take on the challenge of Konecny, the 30-year-old boxer-puncher–who also owns wins over Winky Wright, Craig McEwan, Jesse Brinkley and Fernando Zuniga-is eager to begin his 2014 campaign with another knockout victory.

A five-time National Champion for the Czech Republic who also represented his nation in the 2000 Olympics, 35-year-old Lukas Konecny (50-4, 23 KOs) will make his United States debut on April 19 after years of fighting Europe’s best. Konecny plans on making it a memorable visit as he challenges for the WBO Middleweight World Championship. A former interim WBO Junior Middleweight Champion, Konecny made a permanent move to 160 pounds in 2013, and after winning the WBO European Title with a win over Karim Achour and successfully defending it by defeating Moez Fhima, he put himself in line for world title honors against Quillin.

Hopkins vs. Shumenov, a 12-round fight for the IBF, IBA and WBA Light Heavyweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, April 19, at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) and will be available in Spanish via secondary audio programming (SAP).
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.sports.sho.com and follow on Twitter at @THEREALBHOP, @KIDCHOCOLATE and @SHOSports, follow the conversation using #HopkinsShumenov and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

Springfield, NJ: Totowa, NJ-based promoter Main Events won the purse bid for the IBF-mandated eliminator for the #1 position in the IBF’s light heavyweight ratings between #2-ranked Dmitry “The Hunter” Sukhotsky (21-2-0, 16 KOs) and #4-ranked Anatoliy “The Gladiator” Dudchenko (19-2-0, 13 KOs). The purse bid was held this morning at the IBF offices in Springfield, NJ. The winner of the fight will become the mandatory challenger for Bernard Hopkins’ IBF Light Heavyweight Title.

Main Events plans to add the elimination bout to the Friday, April 4th edition of NBCSN Fight Night featuring the USBA Heavyweight Championship battle between Steve Cunningham and Amir Mansour at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Dudchenko, 35, is originally from Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine and now resides in Los Angeles, CA. He is currently the IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Champion. This will be his first fight in the Northeast and his first since signing with Main Events. “The Gladiator” has won sixteen straight bouts in a row (seven by knockout) dating all the way back to May 16, 2008 with his first round TKO of Chris Eppley in Evansville, Indiana.

Sukhotsky, 32, of Barnaul, Russia will make his east coast debut on April 4th. He has only fought once in the United States, on July 14, 2012 in Las Vegas, NV where he lost to Cornelius White via unanimous decision. However, “The Hunter” has won his last three fights in a row – all by knockout – dating back to December 8, 2012 with his first round TKO over Volodymyr Borovskyy in Podolsk, Russia.

Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events, said, “Sukhotsky versus Dudchenko is going to be a war that deserves this kind of exposure in the United States. The winner will be in line to challenge Bernard Hopkins for the IBF Light Heavyweight Championship, so it’s great that fight fans will get to see this eliminator.”

About April 4th:

The event features a ten-round bout for the USBA Heavyweight Title between Steve “USS” Cunningham and USBA champion Amir “Hardcore” Mansour live on NBCSN Fight Night from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. The Fight Night broadcast will begin at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. The card is presented by Main Events and Peltz Boxing in association with BAM Boxing and Joe Hand Promotions. The undercard will include the IBF Light Heavyweight Eliminator between Anatoliy Dudchenko and Dmitry Sukhotsky. The remaining undercard fights will be announced shortly. Tickets are on sale now at www.comcastTix.com and the Liacouras Center Box Office.

NBC Sports Live Extra:

NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream Fight Night at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT on April 4th.
Coverage will be streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

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.

All NBC Sports Network live events live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.