By Edward Chaykovsky
Main Events CEO Kathy Duva will not take kindly to any excuses being presented with respect to the outcome of next month's unification between WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23KOs) and WBA/IBF champion Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins (55-6-2, 32KOs). The fight is set for November 8th at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
There have been microscopes zeroing in on Hopkins' age. The near 50-year-old fighter is facing one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport. Hopkins' ability to continue winning titles and dominating fighters half his age has earned him the nickname of "The Alien."
If Kovalev wins in impressive fashion, the last thing Duva wants to hear are critics raising the issue of Hopkins' age to water down her fighter's biggest career win.
"I saw a poll, as I'm told about polls that are being done, and basically the press is about 50-50 on this fight, so when this is over I don't want to hear about how old Bernard Hopkins is, no matter what the outcome," Duva said.
"This is a great fight between two fighters, it is competitive, it's exciting. Bernard's never been stopped. Sergey has knocked out just about everyone he's fought. It is a tremendous, compelling fight and I'm going to be very unhappy if the press decides that when it's over they're going to start raising the fact that Bernard is 50 years old, because they're not raising it now."
