Robin Safar admits it was a win over a big-name fighter that earned him the approval of a Hall-of-Fame fighter.
When the 32-year-old defeated Sergey Kovalev last year, he defeated a fighter who had 10 years earlier beaten Bernard Hopkins.
The Philadelphian, wearing his Golden Boy Promotions hat, had seen Safar’s performance, and so when they were introduced by Safar’s advisor, Kevin Mubenga, it became clear where Safar’s promotional future would lie.
Mubenga knew several Golden Boy staffers, as well as figureheads Oscar De La Hoya and Hopkins, and he introduced the Swedish cruiserweight to the legendary Hopkins.
“And Bernard got super happy that day when I met him, because obviously, I beat Kovalev,” Safar said.
“But also because I'm Muslim and he's Muslim as well. So I just felt like everything just happened. It was like destiny, man. Like, I was supposed to meet Kev that day. We were supposed to be at that show. I was supposed to meet Bernard that day. And it was supposed to be Bernard, you know?”
Mubenga agreed.
“But most importantly, why I felt Golden Boy made the most sense for Rob was exactly that, that correlation between Rob and Bernard, the hardship that Rob has been through in his life, coming from the streets, a very hard life. Bernard coming from the streets, a very hard life. Excellent boxers, I think almost overlooked. I saw a correlation there. And also, Oscar, having climbed as a fighter to a promoter, understanding what it takes for a fighter to succeed. I saw Bernard, I saw Oscar, and I said, ‘You know what, Rob, coming from Europe, being in America, there's no better promoter for him to go with than those two guys.’ Because they know the business and they understand what's going on. And also, I felt like people didn't really appreciate the job he did on Sergey Kovalev. I think a lot of people overlooked it. But I knew one person who was not going to overlook it was Bernard Hopkins, because of how Rob did it. And him, Bernard being in the ring with Kovalev, I knew he would appreciate every second of every minute of that fight. It was literally a match made in heaven. As soon as Bernard saw Rob, he hugged Rob. He was like, ‘Yo, yo. This is the guy. This is the guy.”
Mubenga knew he did not need to speak to another promoter. Now, Safar is looking at a possible January fight with Gilberto Ramirez, although Mubenga likes a fight with fellow WBO contender Chris BIllam-Smith as much as any of the big guns. Regardless, Safar, 19-0 (13 KOs), is in title contention.
“I said, ‘This is going to happen. And that’s how it happened,” Mubenga said.
