Hopkins-Soliman Talks To Begin

By Rick Reeno

Promoter Dan Goossen was in Australia to watch his middleweight Sam Soliman win another bout by way of a fourth round stoppage.

Goossen told the Australian press that he was flying back to the states to begin negotiations for a bout between Bernard Hopkins and Soliman.

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Soliman is the mandatory challenger to the IBF version of Hopkins’ middleweight crown.

Hopkins stated after his recent win over Howard Eastman that this was his last year fighting and he was not going to fight more mandatory challengers. Some insiders feel that Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins will face each other in May, but others feel that Taylor is not ready for a Hopkins bout.

With Felix Trinidad fighting in May, the options for Hopkins are pretty slim for a mid-year opponent, he would have to face either Soliman or Felix Sturm.