Tweet
Not sure if this has been posted here but apparently since Bernards fight with Murat fell thru he is getting pushed in a corner to fight Sergey Kovalev! Maybe Hopkins experience can carry him through,......or we might be looking at Dawson k.o 2.0.. What do ya'll think?
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bernard...054800740.html
Bernard Hopkins Issued Championship Ultimatum, Forced to Face Russian Wrecking Machine
By Paul Magno | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 17 hours ago
Email
Share
COMMENTARY | History-making 48-year-old world champ, Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KOs) is in a real bind. The reigning IBF light heavyweight titlist was set to face the solid, but unspectacular Karo Murat in a mandatory title defense on July 13, but only because he had to--- and, likely, because he had a good chance of winning. The Murat fight was a necessary evil if Hopkins wanted to move on to a big arena-filler later this year and bring along the IBF strap as a bargaining chip.
But Germany's Murat is suddenly out of the picture, felled by visa issues that prevented him from entering the United States. Meanwhile, as Murat was being counted out of his title shot with the future hall of famer, the IBF's no. 4 contender, Sergey Kovalev was beating the stuffing out of no. 5 contender, Cornelius White en route to a TKO 3 victory Friday night in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
This Monday morning the IBF announced that the heavy-handed Russian wrecking machine, Kovalev, would be replacing Murat as the mandatory light heavyweight contender. Representatives of Hopkins and his new mandatory challenger have until July 17 to negotiate a deal or see the bout head off to purse bid.
Hopkins, who has said that he only wants big fights at his age, was willing to take a small fight against a lesser challenger. Now, not only is he being pushed into a small fight, but it'll be a small fight against an extremely dangerous opponent with more than a fair chance of upsetting all of his plans.
The undefeated 30-year-old Kovalev (21-0-1, 19 KOs) is absolutely no joke. The only blemish on the Russian's record is a foul-induced technical draw in 2011. Taking away that fluke occurrence, Kovalev should be on a run of nine straight stoppage victories with eight of those stoppages taking place in the third round or sooner.
Roman Simakov, one of only two men to take Kovalev seven rounds or more, paid dearly for his efforts, losing his life three days after the 2011 TKO 7 loss due to brain injuries sustained in the bout.
Buddy KILLED A MAN! i didnt even know about that.....
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bernard...054800740.html
Bernard Hopkins Issued Championship Ultimatum, Forced to Face Russian Wrecking Machine
By Paul Magno | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 17 hours ago
Share
COMMENTARY | History-making 48-year-old world champ, Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KOs) is in a real bind. The reigning IBF light heavyweight titlist was set to face the solid, but unspectacular Karo Murat in a mandatory title defense on July 13, but only because he had to--- and, likely, because he had a good chance of winning. The Murat fight was a necessary evil if Hopkins wanted to move on to a big arena-filler later this year and bring along the IBF strap as a bargaining chip.
But Germany's Murat is suddenly out of the picture, felled by visa issues that prevented him from entering the United States. Meanwhile, as Murat was being counted out of his title shot with the future hall of famer, the IBF's no. 4 contender, Sergey Kovalev was beating the stuffing out of no. 5 contender, Cornelius White en route to a TKO 3 victory Friday night in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
This Monday morning the IBF announced that the heavy-handed Russian wrecking machine, Kovalev, would be replacing Murat as the mandatory light heavyweight contender. Representatives of Hopkins and his new mandatory challenger have until July 17 to negotiate a deal or see the bout head off to purse bid.
Hopkins, who has said that he only wants big fights at his age, was willing to take a small fight against a lesser challenger. Now, not only is he being pushed into a small fight, but it'll be a small fight against an extremely dangerous opponent with more than a fair chance of upsetting all of his plans.
The undefeated 30-year-old Kovalev (21-0-1, 19 KOs) is absolutely no joke. The only blemish on the Russian's record is a foul-induced technical draw in 2011. Taking away that fluke occurrence, Kovalev should be on a run of nine straight stoppage victories with eight of those stoppages taking place in the third round or sooner.
Roman Simakov, one of only two men to take Kovalev seven rounds or more, paid dearly for his efforts, losing his life three days after the 2011 TKO 7 loss due to brain injuries sustained in the bout.
Buddy KILLED A MAN! i didnt even know about that.....
Comment