By Rick Reeno
Bernard Hopkins (53-6, 32KOs) vs. Karo Murat (25-1-1, 15KOs), which was scheduled to headline a Showtime televised card on July 13th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York - is off due to visa issues. Malik Chambers, a member of Hopkins' training team, confirmed the information to BoxingScene.com.
"Bernard was training hard. He's very disappointed, but we're being told that Murat is having visa issues and he's unable to get in the country," Chambers told BoxingScene.com.
Details are sketchy at the moment, but one source indicates to BoxingScene that Hopkins will likely return on a date in September – but not against Murat, the current mandatory challenger to Hopkins’ IBF light heavyweight crown. Hopkins apparently wants to move forward with his plan to have a fall unification fight with one of the other current titleholders - Adonis Stevenson, Nathan Cleverly and Beibut Shumenov.
Editor's Note: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer tells BoxingScene that Murat has launched an appeal over his visa denial but the process will take quite a while and as a result the card is canceled.
