By Norm Frauenheim –

Other than heavyweight and perhaps welterweight, there’s no division that has had a bigger impact on boxing than middleweight. The names tell the story. Hagler, LaMotta, Hopkins, Zale, Monzon, the original Sugar and so many more.

Suddenly, however, it’s a weight class without a face. More mediocre than middle. The top of The Ring’s 160-pound rating is blank. A division without definition. The title is vacant, an empty lot in what used to be historical real estate.

Some of that might begin to change next week, October 14. A title unification between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Vincenzo Gualtieri is scheduled for Rosenberg, Texas.

It’s an ESPN fight. But a Houston suburb is a long way from Vegas, Los Angeles or New York. There’s a reason for that. Few know Janibek, the World Boxing Organization’s champion. Nobody knows Vincenzo Gualtieri, the International Boxing Federation’s belt holder. These guys need name tags. They have titles, but no name recognition.

Janibek is probably today’s best middleweight. He’s powerful and aggressive enough to be scary. But the Kazak is unknown, a reason perhaps that he continues to be ranked by The Ring and ESPN behind the widely known Gennadiy Golovkin, the 41-year-old fellow Kazak who relinquished his 160-pound titles last March, about six months after his forgettable scorecard loss at 168 pounds to Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy fight. For all anybody knows, the next time we see GGG might be at his Hall-of-Fame induction.

Then, there’s Gualtieri. Gualtieri answers an opening bell somewhere other than his home country, Germany, for the first time next week.

Chris Eubank, a much better-known middleweight contender from the UK, probably put it best weeks after his stoppage of Liam Smith in August. He was asked about fighting Janibek or Gualtieri.

“I don’t know who they are,” Eubank told Sky Sports. “And I’m in the game. So, the general public are not going to know who these guys are, which means it’s hard for them to tune in.’’

I bring all of this up because the fabled yet faded middleweight division is desperate for a fighter who has at least some name recognition. Enter Elijah Garcia.

There was a lot of controversy about Canelo’s decision over Jermell Charlo last Saturday on Showtime at Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. But there were no complaints about Garcia’s dynamic stoppage of Armando Resendiz in the opener to a pay-per-view card that drew an audience reportedly between 650,00 and 700,000 customers.

Garcia delivered the best performance on a card that otherwise generated lots of social-media flak, mostly directed at Charlo, who appeared to be there only for a paycheck. For Garcia, there were cheers from a crowd that increasingly likes what it sees. It was the third straight time that Garcia, now 16-0 with 13 knockouts, has opened a pay-per-view show. It’s been an introduction that fans haven’t seen from Janibek, much less Gualtieri.

It’s also been an introduction that has created an appetite for more from Garcia, who has been adept at using social media since his amateur days. Potentially, his ongoing emergence is welcome news for a division fighting to reverse a slide into anonymity.

For Garcia, it’s an opportunity. The 20-year-old Arizona fighter, who grew up in Phoenix and has a ranch in Wittman, is known for a bold goal. Repeatedly, he says he wants to be a 21-year-old champion. He’s in the right place to pull that one off.

“I want to be a mandatory for a title pretty soon,’’ he said after delivering a beautiful combo – a left-handed body shot followed by a seamless right to the body then head in an eventual eighth-round stoppage of Resendiz. “I’ll be 21 in April and I’m gonna keep taking it one step at a time.’’

Garcia is clearly on the fast track. But that comes with a dilemma. Too fast is a risk. Janibek might be unknown. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous.

Garcia told 15 Rounds before the Canelo-Charlo card that he would want at least one more fight before a shot at a major title.

“I think I’m getting better every single fight and I think it starts in the gym,’’ he then said after the card. “I’m getting back in the gym on Monday. I just have to keep getting better every single fight, take it one step at a time, fight harder opponents and I’ll get that world title.’’

For now, Garcia will have to wait on the unpredictable collection of haphazard rankings by the acronyms. This week, he’s at No. 7, according to the IBF, which has vacancies at both No. 1 and No. 2. The WBC (World Boxing Council) puts him at No. 6 for a title held by the troubled and ever unpredictable Jermall Charlo, Jermell’s twin brother who reportedly will fight Arizona-born Jose Benavidez Jr. on Nov. 25 on a card projected to feature his brother — super-middleweight contender and Canelo possibility David Benavidez — against Demetrius Andrade.

Meanwhile, Garcia, No. 9 by The Ring, is suddenly at No. 2 by the notorious WBA (World Boxing Association) for a title held by Cuban Erislandy Lara, now 40.  Lara is expected to fight Danny Garcia.

In the WBO ratings, he’s No. 13 for the title held by today’s most feared middleweight, Janibek.

Add it all up, and Garcia’s ambitious goal looks doable, made possible by a young fighter who is introducing himself and maybe re-introducing an old weight class to fans.  

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 17, 2014) – Fighters on the Alexis Rocha vs. Blair Cobbs card on March 19 hosted their final press conference today at Golden Boy HQ in Downtown Los Angeles. The fights are set to take place at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center and will be streamed. worldwide on DAZN. Hosted by Beto Duran, the event featured special interviews with Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins, as they each spoke highly about the fighters on the fight card. In the main event, Alexis “Lex” Rocha (18-1, 12 KOs) of Santa Ana, CA and Philadelphia’s Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (15-0-1, 10 KOs), who are scheduled to face off in a 10-round welterweight fight, were in attendance as they both took turns taking verbal shots against each other which ultimately culminated in a very heated face off. Additional fighters in attendance also featured on the DAZN stream, were Micheal McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs) of Portsmouth, GBR, Bektemir Melikuziev (8-1, 6 KOs) and Evan Sanchez (10-0, 6 KOs) of Perlier, CA.

Fighters on the Golden Boy Fight Night live stream on YouTube, Alex Rincon (9-0, 6 KOs) of Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles’ John “Scrappy” Ramirez (8-0,7 KOs) and Miguel Gaona (1-0); and Alejandro Reyes (6-0, 4KOs), of Mexicali, Mexico; were also onsite to talk about their developing careers and the excitement of fight week in Los Angeles.

Below are what the fighters and their promoters had to say:

First off, I want to thank God, Robert Diaz and the Golden Boy team for moving me up to the main event,” said Alexis Rocha. “The fight was presented to him last November and we didn’t fight. It wasn’t my fault. Kerobyan was your only notable win. You’re acting like a clown here and there. Let’s remember Blair. Just like there’s clowns in the circus, there’s also lions and tigers there too. Remember this face. You’re one fight from the commentary booth. You’ll be announcing my fights after this.”

“There was no fight offered to me last November,” said Blair Cobbs. “Am I the kind of person to turn down fights? Does Blair the Flair look like he gives a shit… I don’t think so. I actually wanted that fight in November but we couldn’t make it happen. Finally we made it happen. I did not hesitate to sign this contract. Then we waited for Alexis to sign. I’m looking for bigger and better fights. McKinson I have nothing but respect. Me and him are cut from the same cloth. Underdogs fighting big fights, undefeated fighters in the fire. I am so good at it. When I put these young fighters in the fire with me they seem to not look the same. He’s only been tested one time against Brad Solomon and he almost lost. What happened when Solomon fought me with more than two months of training. We got the job done in the fifth round.”

“I talked to him (Vergil Ortiz),” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “He’s back home and he’s feeling better. It’s very unfortunate that it happened so close to the fight. He was ready and looking forward to it. Things happen but we have to look forward to an amazing main event. I actually want to take a moment and thank Cobbs and Rocha for stepping up and willing to fight in the main event. It’s an exciting fight. We have a lot of young prospects who we are looking at that are going to the next level. That’s why this whole card is super exciting. Especially the main event, it’s going to be fireworks. There’s a lot at stake for them but they are ready for the next level.”

“Everybody expects this fight to be exciting,” said Bernard Hopkins, Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Parnter. “To me they match up pretty evenly. This is a dangerous fight for both guys. I’d like to acknowledge Robert Diaz, our matchmaker, for pulling through and making this card work.”

“It’s a dream come true to be here,” said Michael Mckinson. “Unfortunately some things happened on the card but I’m thankful I’m still fighting. The show goes on. I have a lot of people to thank for keeping me on the card. I wish Ortiz a speedy recovery. He’s a young man and health is everything. My full attention goes to Jesus Perez. I had two choices. Spend the last three to four months working on my US debut just to go home and not fight. I’m a fighter. I’m here, I want my US debut. Hopefully I can win some American supporters and impress people on Saturday night.”

“I’m feeling great,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. “I’m feeling confident. I’ve been training in the gym ready to go. What happened [with Rosado] was I made a mistake and paid the price. I got a bit greedy. That’s boxing, one punch can change everything. I’m confident I’ll get that rematch. Even if I have to become world champion first. I just want to prove it was a mistake. I’m on a different level. Congrats to Rosado. I’m looking forward to the fight. Nothing changed for me. I’m still going to bring all the belts at 168 to Golden Boy.”

“Fans should expect a little of everything, boxing, attacking and defense,”said Evan Sanchez. “I can adjust to any fighter. It’s going to be an amazing fight. I feel good. I’ve been out of the gym for awhile because of covid and a shoulder injury. It’s an honor to be here.”

Fans with tickets to Ortiz vs. McKinson do not need to take action to attend Rocha vs. Cobbs, as their tickets and seating locations are still valid.

If a fan purchased tickets directly through the Galen Center, on-line or in-person, for Ortiz Jr vs. McKinson, and do not wish to attend Rocha vs. Cobbs refund requests made by Saturday, March 19th at 3pm PST will be honored, in full by emailing USCTO@USC.EDU. Ticket holders seeking refunds for online purchases via secondary market sites must contact those vendors directly.

Tickets for the event are on sale now and are priced at $150, $75, $50 and $25 not including applicable service charges. Tickets will be available for purchase at www.galencenter.org or www.goldenboypromotions.com. Please note that LADPH guidelines and other protocols relating to admission requirements will be in place for this event, which include that all guests age 2 and older will have to provide proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result within 24 hours for an antigen test or 48 hours for a PCR test.

Rocha vs. Cobbs is a 10-round welterweight fight presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom Boxing. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, March 19 at Galen Center in Los Angeles, and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #RochaCobbs

LOS ANGELES (June 5, 2020) – Bernard Hopkins and Eric Gomez have issued the following statements in response to the WBC’s reinstatement of Franchon Crews-Dezurn as its super middleweight champion:

“First, I’d like to thank the fans for rooting for Franchon [Crews-Dezurn] to get her belt back that she deserves,” said Bernard Hopkins, Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Business Partner. “I would also like to commend Oscar De La Hoya, Golden Boy and myself for fighting behind the scenes to get justice for Franchon. Now let’s move forward and get the best fights she deserves!”

“The WBC made the right choice by reinstating Franchon Crews-Dezurn as its world champion,” said Eric Gomez, President of Golden Boy. “We are thrilled for her. She is a very exciting fighter and a stellar representative of the best that Golden Boy offers. We can’t wait to see ‘The Heavy-Hitting Diva’ back in the ring.”

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (June 5, 2019): Golden Boy is proud to announce that the 10-round middleweight battle between D’Mitrius “Big Meech” Ballard (20-0, 13 KOs) and Elias “Latin Kid” Espadas (18-4, 13 KOs) will kick off the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame Weekend. The fights will take place on Thursday, June 20 at Ocean Casino Resort/Ovation Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The event will be streamed live globally on Facebook Watch via the Golden Boy Fight Night Page.

Golden Boy is also excited to announce that Business Partner Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins will be inducted into the 2019 Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame. The ACBHOF is dedicated to preserving the rich boxing history of Atlantic City through live historical curation, exhibits, legendary boxing stars, and personality appearances. Hopkins is a legendary figure who fought in Atlantic City an astounding 19 times, and he will be in appearance for the entire weekend as the city honors his historic trajectory.

“I’m grateful for the honor of being inducted in the Hall of Fame in a city where I had my first professional fight,” said Bernard Hopkins. “I fought against a guy named Clinton Mitchell, who was an outstanding Golden Gloves prospect at the time. I lost by decision, but I learned a lesson that night. I learned something. If you look at my record, you’ll see that I left the sport for almost two years. Most people would not have come back from that. Most people don’t want to fail, so they don’t try. As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t have a choice. I told myself, ‘Either I make it in this boxing business, or I’m going to die.’ That night at Atlantic City, where I later fought many more times, changed everything. I am profoundly grateful to be in this position, to be inducted in the Hall of Fame of a city where this journey started.”

The Hall of Fame weekend will feature events on Friday and Saturday, culminating with the induction ceremony on Sunday. The list of inductees also includes legendary pugilists such as Roberto “Mano de Piedra” Duran, Tim “Terrible” Witherspoon, Iran “The Blade” Barkley, Virgil “Quicksilver” Hill, John “Eastern Beast” Brown, and
“Irish” Micky Ward.For a full list of inductees, visit their official website here.

“Every year the Induction Weekend Celebration gets more exciting,” said
Ray McCLine, President and Founder of the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame. “Again, we have an excellent class of inductees who have made major contributions in making Atlantic City a top boxing destination around the world. I wish to thank Roxanne Passarella CEO of FantaSea and 2019 Honoree Bernard Hopkins who both played a major role in bringing this exciting event together with Golden Boy and Ocean Casino Resort.”

“The City of Atlantic City has a long and rich history with the sport of boxing,” said
Frank Gilliam Mayor of Atlantic City. “The 3rd annual Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame will begin on June 20 with a Golden Boy Fight Night at Ocean Casino Resort and culminate with the induction of Bernard Hopkins into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame. The City of Atlantic City is looking forward to an epic weekend of boxing and entertainment. I want to personally thank Ray McCline for his vision and for bringing boxing back to Atlantic City.”

The undercard of the June 20 show will feature some of Golden Boy’s best talent, along with local boxers from New Jersey.

In the co-main event, Eddie “Eboy” Gomez (22-3, 12 KOs) of the Bronx, N.Y. will return in a 10-round welterweight fight against Saul “Navajo” Corral (29-13, 19 KOs), who is originally from Sonora, Mexico but fights out of Douglas, Arizona.

Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed (24-2, 13 KOs) of Washington, D.C. will battle in an eight-round super lightweight clash.

Jaba Khositashvili (4-0, 2 KOs) of Akhalkalaki, Georgia will take on Gabriel Pham (10-1, 5 KOs) of Atlantic City, N.J. in a six-round super middleweight bout.

George Rincon (6-0, 3 KOs) of Dallas, Texas will participate in a six-round super lightweight fight.

Dan Murray (4-2) of Lanoka Harbor, N.J. will fight in a four-round super lightweight clash against Leonardo Kenon (3-5, 1 KOs) of Quincy, Florida.

Rishard Muhammad of Atlantic City, N.J. will make his professional debut in a four-round featherweight battle.

Ballard vs. Espadas is a 10-round middleweight fight presented by Golden Boy. The event is sponsored by Tecate “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Hennessy “Never Stop, Never Settle.” The event will take place Thursday, June 20 at Ocean Casino Resort/Ovation Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. The fights will be streamed live globally on Facebook Watch via the Golden Boy Fight Night Page.

Tickets for Ballard vs. Espadas are priced at $100, $50, $25, and $15, not including applicable service charges and taxes. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com.

Media interested covering in Ballard vs. Espadas must be pre-approved for credentials. Credential applications are due Monday, June 17 at 5:00 p.m. PT. Click here to apply for a media credential. Applying does not guarantee approval for a credential. You cannot transfer your credentials to someone else. Media will not be credentialed on-site, no exceptions.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com. Become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy Follow the conversation using #BallardEspadas. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing.

Photos and videos are available to download by clicking here or copying and pasting link: http://bit.ly/BallardEspadas into a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy for photos and videos used.

About Golden Boy:
Los Angeles-based Golden Boy was established in 2002 by Oscar De La Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. Golden Boy is a media and entertainment brand committed to making fighting entertainment more accessible and affordable. The company’s in-house production team develops creative original programming for ESPN, RingTV.com and international channels across the globe. The company holds the exclusive rights to top boxers and has promoted some of the biggest and highest grossing events in the history of the sport. Now, Golden Boy is one of the most successful boxing entertainment companies in the world and shapes the future of boxing for fighters and fans alike through its 2019 partnership with streaming platform, DAZN.

About Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame (akaACBHOF):
The Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame mission, vision and purpose are to offer fans and visitors alike, a highly interactive Sports and Entertainment Boxing Curation Experience. We are committed to preserving the rich boxing history of Atlantic City, through live historical curation, exhibits, legendary boxing stars, and personality appearances. We will also conduct our annual year-round events, well paired with multicultural entertainment. The excitement, victories and defeats–the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame wish to refuel the passion, and presence of the sport of gladiators in a city that needs no introduction. The Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame purpose is to, remember, acknowledge and honor the great local, national and international boxers as well as the boxing community at large for their commitment to and accomplishments within the sweet science of boxing that has helped create the boxing mecca Atlantic City has become synonymous with. Through our annual induction ceremonies, boxing greats, as well as the boxing community, will have their names enshrined in immortality by being inducted into the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame. The Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame will ensure they are always remembered, appreciated and honored by Atlantic City and surrounding communities.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (September 10, 2018) — Fight Week is here. Finally. Undefeated WBC/WBA/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golvkin will be looking to break a record everyone believed would remain untouched — the record he shares with the legendary Bernard Hopkins. On Saturday, Golovkin will attempt to make the 21st consecutive defense of the middleweight crown he has held since 2010, in a rematch against Lineal Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez. How fitting that Golovkin will be going for the record-breaker against Alvarez inasmuch as the co-promoters of Alvarez, Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya, will have front row seats to see it. Making it even more memorable, the Golovkin-Alvarez rematch will take place in the same city and on nearly the same date as the De La Hoya – Hopkins Middleweight World Championship fight which took place, on September 18, 2004.

“That was a defining fight for both Bernard and Oscar because of the way they fought and the way Bernard won. They both dared to be great,” said Abel Sanchez. “I reviewed the tape of that fight early in training camp and I saw how Bernard stopped Oscar dead in his tracks with a picture-perfect liver shot. I normally don’t like to give away our game plan but I don’t mind sharing this part of it, Gennady has trained and is prepared to do the same thing to Canelo. We have freshened it up and even gave it a name, The Ginger Snap. Personally, I think it would be poetic justice to break the record using the same type of punch that Bernard used on Oscar to unify the middleweight titles

“Saturday’s fight will define Gennady and Canelo. We are going to see if Canelo is coming to fight or coming to run, to survive, in hopes of receiving another gift from the judges,” continued Sanchez. “Gennady is ready to take the wind out of Canelo’s sails with that punch to the liver. Gennady doesn’t just fight Mexican Style, he fights like a Philadelphia fighter of old. Don’t be surprised if Gennady end things using a punch that is a throwback to those days — a classic liver shot — to puncture the Canelo myth once and for all. Bernard was the first fighter to stop Oscar and Gennady is looking to be the first one to stop Canelo.”

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“24/7 Canelo/GGG 2” is streaming on HBO GO and HBO NOW.

Canelo’s fifth “24/7” appearance and Golovkin’s third,

“24/7 CANELO/GGG 2” is the latest installment

of the acclaimed franchise that began in 2007.

Canelo vs. GGG 2 is a 12-round fight for the middleweight championship of the world presented by Golden Boy Promotions and GGG Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,” Fred Loya Insurance, Interjet, Venom, and Fathom Events. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5 :00 p.m. PT.

Remaining tickets for Canelo vs. GGG 2 are priced at $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800, $700, $500 and $300, not including applicable service charges and taxes. There will be a limit of eight (8) per person at the $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $800 and $700 price levels with a limit of two (2) per person at the $500 and $300 price levels. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849). Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.t-mobilearena.com or www.axs.com.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, ;;;

www.caneloggg.com ;;;and www.hbo.com/boxing; ;;;follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @hboboxing and @TomLoeffler1; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing,

www.facebook.com/gggboxing, and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @Canelo, @gggboxing, @HBOboxing and @OscarDeLaHoya; and follow the conversation using #CaneloGGG2.

Photos and videos are available for download by clicking here or copying

and pasting the link http://bit.ly/CaneloGGG2 into a browser. Credit must be provided to Golden Boy Promotions for any photo and/or video usage.

By Bart Barry-

Sundays like these you spend wondering if this will be it, the last Sunday, the one when the words or at least the impetus to type the words won’t come eventually. Last was scheduled for a thoroughly mediocre weekend of prizefighting and should’ve remained such but for the surprise effect of a Colombian-Canadian light heavyweight who finished what work Bernard Hopkins demonstrated as possible and Andre Ward made manifest.

There was never too much to recommend Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev but cruelty and his promoter, Kathy Duva, who is excellent at her craft and among the final and most-deserving beneficiaries of HBO’s collapsed empire. Kovalev himself was not particularly compelling unless he represented a chance at unification, which we learned last month be among the most-compelling products boxing can deliver, but once such a unification gambit went away with Adonis Stevenson’s departure for another network Kovalev became a frontrunner bully the totality of whose offseason outreach comprised punching a keyring speedbag when HBO cameras reliably panned to him during most every broadcast.

Kovalev won a boring decision over Bernard “The Fighting Quinquagenarian” Hopkins and got copious plaudits for so doing. Then Andre Ward showed the world what was what, and Kovalev rode down the usual rebranding conveyor, firing what cornermen built him and traumatizing overmatched challengers en route to a manufactured title or two. HBO ran out of money not so quickly as it ran out of talent, and so Kovalev benefited alongside his comrade at middleweight, and Danny Jacobs.

Saturday made future benefiting considerably more difficult when Alvarez fragiled Kovalev more clearly even than Ward did, dropping him thricely and yanking the bitch out him unforgettably as Ward did, which is another way of writing: There aren’t enough Vyacheslav Shabranskyys in Christendom to make Kovalev viable again unless he avenges what just happened, and he doesn’t have it in him to do that – Alvarez knowing what he now knows goes through Kovalev quicker next time, as did Ward – and so Krusher’s network is down to a couple middleweights, the super flyweight division and Andre the Giant.

This should be a celebration of Eleider Alvarez, I get that I do, but it’s too late to reverse course and was too late to do so even when a couple disbelieving texts arrived in what felt like the middle of Saturday night.

Since a weekend headlined by Kovalev, Andre Berto and Devon Alexander hasn’t quickened the pulse in a halfdecade, if ever, previous considerations for this column revolved round Lucas Matthysse’s retirement and the man who caused it and why that man continues to fight, and if there’s not 1,000 words of interest round those subjects there’s at least enthusiasm for them where there wasn’t for what preceded them.

Matthysse feels a bit like Kovalev, though it might be the calendar allowing such clumsiness of analogy; excellent in a firefight in which he’s sure he’s the outgunner but fragile in the clutch. Life’s not so symmetrical but if Krusher announces his retirement in a couple weeks the analogy matures to metaphor, and there’s another column written during the slog betwixt now and GolovCanelo 2, though I’ve a plan for just that (see author’s note below).

What’s more interesting are Manny Pacquiao’s reasons for continuing to fight. Before Pacquiao’s successful showing against Matthysse, newsletterman Rafe Bartholomew’s enjoyable “Respect Box” made insightful counterarguments against the Manny-is-broke refrain that was never convincing as its selfinterested proponents believed. Here’s a sample:

“We apply the ‘Joe Louis, casino-greeter’ narrative to Pacquiao, when it’s not a perfect fit, and we have no real way to know how rich or poor he is. The articles about Pacquiao’s finances tend to quote Freddie Roach, Bob Arum, and other Americans with some but not full insight into his situation.”

The first thing many of us noticed about Pacquiao many years ago was the joy he exuded during ringwalks – he was so delightfully eager to fight. Only Felix Trinidad springs to mind as a man so enchanted by the prospect of public combat and the injury and humiliation it might bring. While many of us can imagine the euphoria a victory might cause and imagine the humiliation a defeat might summon very few of us have the experience needed to calculate a quotient that makes one justify the other.

Probably none of us does, not even Manny or Tito. Their secret, then, is to revel in the entirety of the event, to derive euphoria from leaving the hotel room, driving to the arena and touching the toes, taping the hands and watching how nervous others around them are for them in the dressingroom, listening to their names called and punching another man in the face, being punched by him, too, and being nearly unconscious with exertion. That sort of autogenerated presence, addictive, is enough to keep a man sparring till 50 other men in empty gyms – much less thrilling a full and feral arena, a deafening collective of other men momentarily freed from their lives’ every worry. Much less making an entire country suddenly proud.

What replaces that feeling? Certainly not legislative matters or the campaign trail. Certainly not concerns about abstractions over future health. And most especially not watching the digits grow in one’s checking account.

If Manny does not fight on solely for the boundless thrill of it, that thrill, anyone can concede, is a part of why Manny fights on. Would that any man’s passion might make others so euphoric.

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Author’s note: This column will not appear next week, as its author will be in Ecuador to get krushed by a hike up Rucu Pichincha volcano.

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Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

PHILADELPHIA – The 10th Annual Briscoe Awards will be presented tomorrow, Sunday, October 15, 2017, at Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, beginning at 1:00 PM. The event is typically attended by local boxers – past and present, other boxing people, and sports fans. Expected to attend this year are the award winners, Jason Sosa, Jesse Hart, Tevin Farmer, Bernard Hopkins, Damon Allen Jr., Jaron Ennis, Christian Carto, Tyrone Brunson, Dylan Price, and Taneal Goyco.

Additionally, former and current boxing stars like Jeff Chandler, Charles Brewer, Stanley “Kitten” Hayward, Dick Turner, Nate Miller, Charlie “Choo Choo” Brown, Curtis Parker, Mike Everett, Buster Drayton, Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, Ivan Robinson, Mike Rossman, Sidney “Sweat Pea” Adams, Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz, and others typically attend.

Former two-time cruiserweight champion, Steve “USS” Cunningham will serve as the celebrity co-host of the event.

Tickets are available at the door and cost $5. Xfinity Live! is located at 1100 Pattison Avenue, South Philadelphia.

ABOUT THE BRISCOE AWARDS ON OCTOBER 15 FROM 1-4 PM

The Briscoe Awards are named in honor of legendary Philly middleweight Bennie Briscoe and the trophies given away – the Briscoe Statue and the Briscoe Medal – all bear the deceased icon’s likeness. The event brings together the local boxing community, including the award winners, their families, past and present boxers, fight fans, other boxing people, and general sports fans.

This is the tenth year for the Briscoe Awards, which are presented by Philly Boxing History Inc., a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Philadelphia’s great boxing legacy. Past winners at the Briscoe Awards include Bernard Hopkins, Danny Garcia, Steve Cunningham, and many others.

The event returns to Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, the central hub of Philly’s sports stadiums, located at 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at the door as well as BriscoeAwards.com or by calling 609-377-6413. Everyone is welcome.

For more information, please call John DiSanto, 609-377-6413 / johndisanto@phillyboxinghistory.com.

The 10th Annual Briscoe Awards will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2017, 1-4 PM, at Xfinity Live!, 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA – Legendary Philadelphia boxing champion Bernard Hopkins will be awarded with an Honorary Briscoe Medal in recognition of his 2016 retirement. The event will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2017, at Xfinity Live! in South Philadelphia.

Hopkins, who ended his storied ring career in December, won world titles in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. His run as middleweight champ included a record 20 title defenses, and important wins over Felix Trinidad, Oscar de la Hoya, Glen Johnson, John David Jackson, Keith Holmes, William Joppy, and many others.

Hopkins was named the “Philly Fighter of the Year” for 2008 at the Briscoe Awards, and returns Sunday for this special honorary award.

“Hopkins has been the top dog of Philly boxing for many years,” said John DiSanto of Philly Boxing History Inc. “We could not let his retirement pass without special recognition of everything he’s accomplished, the memories he gave those of us who love boxing, and the history that he made. Bernard Hopkins is boxing history in the flesh.”

ABOUT THE BRISCOE AWARDS ON OCTOBER 15 FROM 1-4 PM

The Briscoe Awards are named in honor of legendary Philly middleweight Bennie Briscoe and the trophies given away – the Briscoe Statue and the Briscoe Medal – all bear the deceased icon’s likeness. The event brings together the local boxing community, including the award winners, their families, past and present boxers, fight fans, other boxing people, and general sports fans.

This is the tenth year for the Briscoe Awards, which are presented by Philly Boxing History Inc., a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Philadelphia’s great boxing legacy. Past winners at the Briscoe Awards include Bernard Hopkins, Danny Garcia, Steve Cunningham, and many others.

The event returns to Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, the central hub of Philly’s sports stadiums, located at 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at BriscoeAwards.com or by calling 609-377-6413. Everyone is welcome.

For more information, please call John DiSanto, 609-377-6413 / johndisanto@phillyboxinghistory.com.

PHILADELPHIA – Philly Boxing History announced the winners of the 10th Annual Briscoe Awards, which will be presented on October 15, 2017, at Xfinity Live! in Philadelphia. The annual event is a celebration of the best accomplishments of the Philly fight scene.

JASON SOSA, who won the WBA world junior lightweight championship and defended it later in the year, was named the “2016 Philly Fighter of the Year”.

The “2016 Philly Fight of the Year” award will go to JESSE HART and DASHON JOHNSON, for their exciting super middleweight 10-rounder. Hart won the decision, but had to come off the floor to do it.

Other Briscoe Award winners include:

TEVIN FARMER – Prospect of the Year

DAMON ALLEN JR. – The One to Watch

JARON ENNIS – Rookie of the Year

DYLAN PRICE – Amateur of the Year

TEVIN FARMER – Performance of the Year (W10 Ivan Redkach)

TYRONE BRUNSON – Knockout of the Year (KO4 Carlos Hernandez)

TANEAL GOYCO – Upset of the Year (TKO5 Jerry Odom)

BERNARD HOPKINS – Honorary Retirement Award

CHRISTIAN CARTO – Everett Brothers Award

Also one photographer’s individual work will be recognized as the “Photo of the Year” in an exhibit and contest held at the live event on October 15th.

Former welterweight contender GIL TURNER, will be named the sixth honoree of Philly Boxing History’s Gravestone Program.

ABOUT THE BRISCOE AWARDS ON OCTOBER 15 FROM 1-4 PM

The Briscoe Awards are named in honor of legendary Philly middleweight Bennie Briscoe and the trophies given away – the Briscoe Statue and the Briscoe Medal – all bear the deceased icon’s likeness. The event brings together the local boxing community, including the award winners, their families, past and present boxers, fight fans, other boxing people, and general sports fans.

This is the tenth year for the Briscoe Awards, which are presented by Philly Boxing History Inc., a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Philadelphia’s great boxing legacy. Past winners at the Briscoe Awards include Bernard Hopkins, Danny Garcia, Steve Cunningham, and many others.

The event returns to Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, the central hub of Philly’s sports stadiums, located at 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at BriscoeAwards.com or by calling 609-377-6413. Everyone is welcome.

For more information, including sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please call John DiSanto, 609-377-6413 / johndisanto@phillyboxinghistory.com

The 10th Annual Briscoe Awards will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2017, 1-4 PM, at Xfinity Live!, 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia.

LOS ANGELES (January 10, 2017) – Former two-division world champion and living legend Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins will serve as the VIP guest for the dynamic Saturday, January 28th HBO Boxing After Dark®doubleheader at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino headlined by the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship bout between Champion Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas (23-0-2, 17 KOs) and challenger Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (30-1, 27 KOs).

Hopkins, who retired last month following a 28-year-career, has a resume that reads like a hall-of-fame induction ballot. Between holding the record for the number of title defenses as middleweight champion of the world (20) and moving up to light heavyweight to capture multiple belts in that division, Hopkins fought and defeated a who’s who of boxing world champions. Felix Trinidad, Roy Jones, Jr., Kelly Pavlik, Antonio Tarver, Jean Pascal, Glen Johnson and Golden Boy Promotions business partner Oscar De La Hoya all tasted defeat at the hands of “The Executioner.”

Vargas vs. Berchelt, a 12-round fight for the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship, is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Zanfer Promotions. Miura versus Roman is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Teiken Promotions and Promociones del Pueblo. The event is sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD and Casa Mexico Tequila and will take place on Saturday, January 28 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino and will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tickets are on sale and priced at $35, $45, $55, $75 and $105. They are available for purchase at the Fantasy Springs Box Office, by calling (800) 827-2946 or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo com/boxing, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @HBOboxing, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/HBOboxing, visit us on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @HBOboxing and follow the conversation using #VargasBerchelt.

By Jimmy Tobin-

Saturday night, at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Bernard Hopkins tempted boxing’s unwritten rules for the last time. Inviolable as they are, those rules made an example of him. Hopkins’ farewell fight ended with the 51-year-old where he planned to be: beyond the ropes, surrounded by his supporters, the object of every fixed gaze in the arena. Except he reached that position courtesy of union construction worker, Joe Smith Jr., who hammered Hopkins through the ropes and onto the floor below, handing “The Executioner” his first stoppage loss in his very last fight.

Retrospectives aplenty are promised in the coming weeks, and Hopkins’ career is rich enough that sifting through his past for celebratory moments presents a unique challenge. Every fighter has such moments—Smith himself, despite being a relative unknown last year, now has two—but unlike so many of his contemporaries, with Hopkins it is selecting from abundance, not scarcity, that provides the challenge.

Reference to his protracted dismantling of Felix Trinidad—a flawless performance with few rivals since—will figure prominently, as will his humbling of self-proclaimed “Legend Killer” Antonio Tarver, so completely embarrassed by Hopkins that night he was reduced to asking trainer Buddy McGirt for ways to simply survive. Perhaps Hopkins’ one-armed destruction of Antwun Echols will also be romanticized and retold. More recently there is this: in 2014, Hopkins, at age 49, lost a unanimous decision to Sergey Kovalev in the fight that ratified the Russian. It speaks poorly of the division that a win over a man near fifty could serve such a purpose, though it is testament to Hopkins’ mystique that in his career’s third decade he remained a standard for more than longevity.

Even the version of him that fought Kovalev did not step through the ropes in Inglewood, however. And if Hopkins should choose to fight on he will do so knowing that the ring no longer welcomes him. Smith put Hopkins on borrowed time with a short right hand early, and what followed was all-too-inevitable. Hopkins lost the fight, his aura of indestructibility, and some of his dignity to a fighter who would not have ferreted a round from him in his prime.

The headbutt that opened a cut over Smith’s left eye seemed barely to register with the Long Island fighter, nor did the lead right hands that Hopkins bounced off his head once or twice a round. Kovalev suffered perplexing moments against Hopkins, Jean Pascal seemed to mentally unravel when Hopkins employed his intimidation tactics. Smith, however, perhaps because he knew there was but one path to victory for him, knew that, having interpreted the effect of his blows, that path was the only one he would need, betrayed not a tremor in his resolve. He simply followed the aged fighter around the ring, kept Hopkins at the end of his punches, and swung with the express purpose of bagging a trophy kill.

That says something about Smith, about how he will comport himself—if not fare—against the better opponents he has now earned the right to face. But it also speaks to how little Hopkins, his body softer, beard grayer, had left. Smith crossed his feet in pursuit, yet Hopkins had not the legs to escape him; Smith telegraphed his punches, yet all Hopkins could do was steel himself against their effect. Take nothing away from Smith, who did what a professional fighter should to an opponent who had little business sharing the ring with him. If Hopkins does not belong in the ring with Smith, however, he certainly does not belong in a ring in a prime television slot on a premium network. That has been the truth for years, given Hopkins’ spoiling tactics, his preservatory style, and there is no longer sufficient argument to suggest otherwise.

The image of Hopkins careening through the ropes, sent there by the fists of a man with “The Future” emblazoned on the front of his trunks is lasting. So too was Hopkins’ response. A survivor par excellence, Hopkins’ interpretation of his final departure from the ring is both untenable and predictable. Asked about the action that precipitated his trip through the ropes, Hopkins suggested Smith shoved him out of the ring, so frustrated was he by Hopkins’ right hand, elusiveness, and body work. No manipulation of the facts can support such an interpretation: Smith knocked Hopkins senseless with a right and did not stop punching until Hopkins had fallen out of reach. When Hopkins came to he was in no shape to continue, and he knew it; knew too that the insult visited upon him exceeded his injuries. So he fabricated a story absurd even by the standards of a man concussed. To witness how deeply wounded Hopkins was by the outcome of the fight is to understand that he will cling forever to this revisionist history—and do so knowing full well the truth.

The truth is Bernard Hopkins took a professional prizefight in his fifties, miscalculated, and was treated as any fighter in his fifties should be, less boxing become so talentless that even a man half a century old can mock its ranks with his presence. It was a humiliating defeat, one that will haunt Hopkins not only for its result but for what that result confirms: the even he must bend to the rules.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday at a 1/3-full Forum in Inglewood, Calif., handpicked American light heavyweight opponent Joe Smith retired Bernard Hopkins just before Hopkins’ 52nd birthday, on HBO, by rendering Hopkins unfit to continue their match in the eighth round. Smith beat on Hopkins throughout the fight, regardless of what narrative twists HBO replays tried to impart, and even taunted “The Executioner” by switching to southpaw when he wasn’t otherwise winging righthands fearlessly – exactly the way a man should do against someone twice his age. Hopkins invented an alternate ending to his KO-by, of course, and HBO let him, of course, but the good news nevertheless was twofold: Smith won the right way, and Hopkins is now retired.

That Smith knocked Hopkins clean out the ring with a left hook brought from aficionados more gasps of relief than horror, knowing as we all did how many times Hopkins had used threats of retirement and elastic conceptions of ending his career his way – and who’s going to deny a legend that! – to promote fights no fan asked for, or at least didn’t ask for in any way measurable by boxoffice receipts. From his flattened spot on the concrete outside the ring Hopkins rose, in a show of indomitable will and tactical cunning and immortal somethingorother, and began to harangue nearby officials about an illegal push that injured his ankle and was nothing like either the left hook that put him through the ropes or the left hook that put him geometrically nearer to spectators than he was to Joe Smith, suing posterity (and any other eligible parties) for a palatable outcome.

“Bernard is a difficult person to deal with,” said the late-Bouie Fisher in 2005, after Hopkins fired him. “He wants all the glory, he wants all the credit, he wants all the money. It’s all about him, him, him.”

What few dared mention during his career and no one will mention now that it finally ended is how much more Hopkins frightened the boxing media than actual boxers, how much more writers and broadcasters discussed Hopkins’ predation than other fighters did. Hopkins was by no means a media creation, for he was a self-creation first and foremost, but he was a media confirmation, filibustering as he did every interview with very little lucidity but a whole lot of autobiography and portentously delivered cliches before closing his monologues with an allusion to Graterford Penitentiary, his nearly inevitable exclamation point. He intimidated the hell out of journalists. Exploiting in his subjects some combination of privilege-induced guilt and physical inferiority Hopkins discomfited his media opponents early in interviews then talked in circles about himself until he was certain “legend” or “one of a kind” or “unbelievable” would make its way in whatever his subject soon wrote or said about him.

But few actually liked being round the guy. Plenty of writers admired him and felt honored by his meandering answers to their stock questions – as if a quarterhour soliloquy from Hopkins somehow burnished with genius an inquiry like “Talk to me about training, Champ” – but none came away from an experience with Hopkins enduringly proud of the way he comported himself while in Hopkins’ presence. That was all part of the Hopkins schtick, er mystique, exploiting others’ fears – a task at which Hopkins never failed, except in his matches with Jermain Taylor, Joe Calzaghe, Chad Dawson and Joe Smith.

“(Hopkins) thinks he can intimidate me because he’s been to prison for robbery,” said Calzaghe before beating Hopkins in 2008. “So you burgled somebody, you brave boy. That makes you a thug, not a fighter. It makes you an idiot.”

Before anyone says there are too many incredibly good moments in Hopkins’ career to approach a summary of the great man in fewer than three volumes he might admit there were a historic number of insipid moments in that storied career as well. For every Felix Trinidad there was a Morrade Hakkar, for every Antonio Tarver there was a Carl Daniels, for every Kelly Pavlik there was an Enrique Ornelas; when Hopkins wasn’t neutralizing a much larger or younger opponent he was nigh unwatchable.

Honesty is ever more believable than even masterful insincerity, and so: I esteemed Hopkins highly as any fighter in the world the night he beat Tito till Papa Trinidad personally intervened and I was pleasantly surprised by his activity and effect against Tarver in the first “final” match of Hopkins’ career (lest we forget the retirement angle was used to hoodwink HBO into broadcasting Hopkins-Tarver in lieu of Cotto-Malignaggi, 10 1/2 years ago) and I was impressed if dismayed by how easily Hopkins unmanned Pavlik in 2008, but all that was done happening eight years ago and since then I’ve mostly felt exploited by the entire Hopkins hustle: danger / legend / Graterford / danger / legend / legend / danger / Graterford / Graterford / legend.

If there be a genius for confrontation Hopkins has it, the sort of exquisite intuition only to be found in one who hones his expertise by treating every single interaction in every day of his life as a confrontation, through four decades, but it’s not a pleasant place to visit even vicariously and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live there or have B-Hop as a neighbor. No, I will not miss Bernard Hopkins, but I’m glad in Joe Smith he’s given us a compelling opponent for Sergey Kovalev while Andre Ward avoids that rematch.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Follow all the action as the legendary Bernard Hopkins wraps up his Hall of Fame career when he takes on Joe Smith, Jr. in a light heavyweight bout from the Forum in Inglewood, California.  The action kicks off at 10PM ET / 7 PM PT with a cruiserweight title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Thabiso Mchunu.  That will be followed by a featherweight contest between Joseph Diaz, Jr. and Horacio Garcia

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED

Round 1: Right wobbles Hopkins…Left from Smith..Good body shot..

Round 2 Smith lands 2 body shot…Smith bleeding from the head (Headbutt)..Hopkins lands a right..

Round 3 Uppercut by Smith…Right from Hopkins..Good body shot..

Round 4 Good right from Hopkins..Left hook to the body and left from Smith..Left hook from Hopkins..Left hook and good right from Hopkins..(Smith outlanding Hopkins 38-29)

Round 5 2 hard rights from Hopkins..Big left hook to body from Smith..Good right from Hopkins..Left hook..Good body shot and big right from Smith..Good jab,,

Round 6 Smith lands a right

Round 7 Hopkins lands a combination

Round 8 RIGHT HAND KNOCKS HOPKINS OUT OF THE RING—FIGHT IS OVER

Round 1: Garcia landing early..Straight left from Diaz..Good body shot..

Round 2:  Diaz lands a body shot…Good counter combo

Round 3

Round 4 2 hard rights by Garcia..Good body shot by Diaz..Good left..Hard left..body shot..straight left..

Round 5 Straight left from Diaz

Round 6 Diaz landing combinations to the head

Round 7 2 lefts from Diaz..Good combination..Good left hand lead..left to the body..Good body shot

Round 8 Diaz landing combinations

Round 9 Diaz lands right to the body..Left to the head..Combination..Good left

Round 10 Garcia lands a right..Good right to the body…Hard body shot and straight left from Diaz..Overhand right from Garcia..

100-90 ON ALL CARDS FOR JOSEPH DIAZ, JR.

Round 1: Good hook from Mchunu..

Round 2 Jab from Mchunu..Mchunu landed 17 punches; Usyk 15 through 2 rounds

Round 3 Mchunu works the body..Hook from Usyk..Right from Mchunu..

Round 4 Usyk starting to open up…Counter left from Mchunu..

Round 5 Hard right from Usyk…Hard 1-2

Round 6 Right hook from Usyk..Hard 5 punch combination..Left hurts Mchunu..Left from Mchunu..COMBINATION AND DOWN GOES MCHUNU..

Round 7:  quick uppercut from Mchunu..Counter left

Round 8 Usyk lands a left and right to head…2 counters from Mchunu…Usyk lands a left…Mchunu lands a right (Usyk outlanding Mchunu 133-67)

Round 9 Good body work by Usyk…STRAIGHT LEFT AND DOWN GOES MCHUNU..2 good counters by Mchunu..Osyk lands a big left..Body shot from Mchunu…LEFT TO TOP OF HEAD AND DOWN GOES MCHUNU…FIGHT STOPPED

Joe Smith Jr ended the legendary career of Bernard Hopkins when he knocked Hopkins out of the ring in the 8th of their scheduled 12-round light heavyweight bout at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

In round one, Smith wobbled Hopkins with a right to the top of head.  In round two, Smith was cut inside his left eyebrow from an accidental headbutt.  Hopkins fought his way back into the fight as he occasionally landed his trademark right hand and some nice uppercuts on the inside.

Smith was bombing away with his right hand and startled but never had Hopkins in much trouble.  That changed in the 8th round, when Smith rocked Hopkins with a right hand.  A follow up combination drilled Hopkins out of the ring.  Hopkins fell on the back of his head, and could not beat the 20 count of referee Jack Reiss and Hopkins was stopped for the 1st time in his illustrious 28 year career.

Smith 174 lbs of Long Island, NY is now 23-1 with 19 knockouts.  Hopkins, 174 lbs of Philadelphia will wind up his career with a record of 55-8-2.

Joseph Diaz, Jr. remained perfect by winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Horacio Garcia in a featherweight contest.

Diaz used superior handspeed and body work to control the action and outland Garcia by a 266-116 mark.

Diaz, 126 lbs of South El Monte, CA won by scores of 100-90 on all cards,  and is now 23-0.  Garcia, 125.8 lbs of Guadalajara, MX is 30-2-1.

Oleksandr Usyk retained the WBO Cruiserweight title with a 9th round stoppage over Thabiso Mchunu

Usyk started to open up in round five and in round six, dropped Mchunu with a hard combination.  Usyk continued to build his lead and then in round nine, he landed a hard straight left that sent Mchunu to the canvas.  Mchunu was able to continue, but not for much longer as a left to the top of the head put Mchunu down for a 3rd and final time.  Referee Lou Moret stopped the bout at 1:53.

Usyk, 199.6 lbs of Kiev, UKR is now 11-0 with 10 knockouts.  Mchunu, 198.6 lbs of Cato Ridge, SA is 17-3.

Jason Quigley remained undefeated by stopping Jorge Melendez in the 1st round of their scheduled 10-middleweight bout.

Quigley dropped Melendez with a short right in the 1st round. Quigley dropped Melendez a short time later with a five punch combination. Melendez went down for a 3rd time in the round from a right. Melendez was able to continue, but just for a brief time as he landed a big flurry that forced the corner to stop the fight at 2:42.

Quigley, 159.6 lbs of Donegal, IRE is 12-0 with 10 knockouts. Melendez, 158.6 lbs of Manati, PR is 28-8-1.

Ryan Garcia remained undefeated by scoring a 2nd round stoppage over Antonio Martinez in a scheduled 6-round lightweight bout.

Martinez was cut over his left eye in the 1st round from a huge flurry of punches by Garcia. Garcia scored a knockdown at the end of the round from a right hand. In round two, Garcia dropped Martinez with a left hand. Garcia continued the onslaught and landed a bug right hand that forced the referee to stop the bout at 2:00

Garcia, 131.4 lbs of Victorville, CA is 7-0 with 6 knockouts. Martinez, 131.4 lbs of Durango, MX is 6-8.

Bernard Hopkins 174 – Joe Smith, Jr. 174
Joseph Diaz Jr. 126 – Horacio Garcia 125.8
Oleksandr Usyk 199.6 – Thabiso Mchunu 198.6
(WBO Cruiserweight title)
Jason Quigley 159.6 – Jorge Melendez 158.6
Ryan Garcia 131.4 – Antonio Martinez 131.4
Carlos Morales 130 – Charles Huerta 130
Cristian Gonzalez 134.6 – Jonathan Perez
Roberto Rivera 133 – Ivan Delgado 131.4

LONDON (16 December) – Bernard Hopkins is out to prove he is ‘special’ by overcoming knockout king Joe Smith this weekend.

The future Hall-of-Famer is looking to go out in style in his final bout by overcoming the hard-hitting Smith, exclusively live on BoxNation.

51-year-old Hopkins has long proved himself as one of boxing’s greatest ever but he is hungry to show once again why he is no ordinary fighter by dazzling against his light-heavyweight opponent at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

“You have to prove you’re special, no matter how many titles you win,” said Hopkins. “If you use that to stay in the game then you become special and an icon surpasses a legend. Common man, special man. Which one do you want? I want the special, you are that before you become that.”

The two-weight world champion has a history of shortening the careers of his rivals, such as his demolition of former middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik in 2008, with Hopkins confident he will give Smith a similar boxing lesson this Saturday night.

“I’m not going to predict that I end his career. I’m not going to wish the Kelly Pavlik on him. But I’m going to spank him, teach him his A,B,C’s and send him back to Long Island, up the road from Philadelphia,” Hopkins said.

“Then one day if he recovers mentally then he might have something to salvage and go forward. I’m a career stopper to most of my opponents that talk like him. Joe won’t be special come Saturday,” he said.

27-year-old Smith, who has knocked out 18 opponents in his 22 wins, including an impressive stoppage over Andrzej Fonfara in the summer, enters the ring with a reputation as a big-puncher, something which holds little fear for Hopkins.

“They make it sound like he knocked out Sergey Kovalev or Andre Ward. I’m not underestimating him – power is power. I respect that. I’ve been in the game too long not to respect whether a guy can hit or not,” said Hopkins.

“But are we just talking about power here or are we talking about matrix, are we talking about reducing and negating that.

“Because once that’s gone or if that’s not working I’ve not heard anything else about what else he’s got. So you’re coming to a gunfight and I’ve got an Uzi and you’ve got a 22 with one bullet,” he said.

Smith knows the daunting challenge which is in front of him but is ready to leave it all on the line when he finally gets into the ring.

“I am prepared to go 12 rounds, he is a tough guy. If I get the opportunity to take him out, I will do that,” said Smith.

“I go into every fight the same way; whether it is a legend or a nobody that is standing in front of me, they have the potential to hurt me. Each fight I push myself a little harder,” he said.

Hopkins v Smith Jr is exclusively live on BoxNation this Saturday night. Buy now at boxnation.com.

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon).

– ENDS –
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LOS ANGELES (Dec. 16, 2016) – Placing an exclamation point at the end of a decades long career, former two-division world champion and future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (55-7 2, 32 KOs) will be delivering a performance reflective of his extensive career taking on the best as he faces a young lion and current WBC International Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Smith, Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) this Saturday, Dec. 17 on HBO World Championship Boxing®. Hopkins will be entering the ring for his last hoorah in true Hopkins style by closing out the book with a match up that will demonstrate his evolution as a fighter and his daring persona.
Bernard Hopkins Fighter Spotlight – Golden Boy Boxing

Bernard Hopkins Fighter Spotlight – Golden Boy Boxing

“The Executioner” sat down with Doug Fisher from Ring TV, and discussed some of the pivotal moments in his extensive career where Hopkins has defied the odds stacked against him and thrived on being the underdog.

Below are some highlights of the exclusive Q&A session, in which Hopkins gives an in-depth look into his boxing career.

The video is also available to view here.

DOUG FISHER: You’re an all-time great – you dare to be great. You’ve been out of the ring for almost two years now, over 50 years old, at a place in your career where nobody would fault you if you wanted to make your last hoorah an easy one, yet you have decided to go up against Joe Smith, Jr. – someone who is ranked in the light heavy weight

division, who has a powerful punch. A lot of people have asked you ‘why get in the ring with someone 17 years younger than you?’ Why?
BERNARD HOPKINS: “I dare to be great. This fight is no exception. Yes, I have had some time off, but not in the way I feel where I wouldn’t be able to take him down. Because this is my last fight it has to be with a guy like Joe Smith Jr., who presents a very serious threat not only to my legacy, but also to my health. But I recognize that in order to get the sendoff that I want, I want to show people in boxing and around the world that age is not a factor. I just have that one thing to prove. This will be the Final 1.”

FISHER: You have broken all types of records – even your own. Do you still need a guy that is perceived to be a threat to be motivated at this stage of your career?

HOPKINS: “I do – and that’s why I need someone like Joe Smith, Jr. who is a prime candidate and a threat. I say legacy, and I say that based on my wins and losses. I know I have the strength within me to do a final one based on my legacy. My legacy is what moves me, what keeps me aware of anything that doesn’t say ‘W’. It keeps me aware of anything that takes away whatever percentage away from that legacy. I am a proud champion. I am a competitor. You must go in the ring with that mentality. One fight doesn’t change 28 years of hard work or to being a future Hall of Famer or not being legendary.

“This fight is different and the fans have to know this is not a salesmanship. I think I have gone on to sell a lot, and I think I have delivered more than I have sold. This is the last memory of Bernard Hopkins in the ring. Yes, we can talk about the past fights, about the past legacy, about the past belts, the unification, the attempt to unify the light heavy weight division. But they will remember the last chapter of the book the most. This book was good when it started off, it got greater in the middle, but the end – that’s what stays in your mind when you go to sleep at night, and when you tell somebody about this book named Bernard Hopkins, “The Executioner” Hopkins, This is a real profound statement to the world, not only just boxing, that I am and will be recognized for always being different There will be no more punches being thrown in the square ring.”

FISHER: You received your nickname “The Alien” because of your age, its other-worldliness that is not human, but the nickname the executioner was given to you when you were in your prime run, when you were knocking guys out. Is that the mindset you are going in with this fight?

HOPKINS: “I haven’t had a knock out since Oscar De La Hoya. I haven’t had a knock out in almost ten to twelve years. Being on this drought, of TKO-ing or KO-ing my opponent, about to face this guy from Long Island, that to me is something to get my juices flowing, and it’s a risk, I am running to fire, I am running to the challenge in and outside the ring.”

FISHER: There aren’t many elite boxers who are esteemed to be the underdogs in a fight. You were the 3-1 underdog for Felix Trinidad, 3-1 underdog for Antonio Tarver 3-1 against Kelly Pavlik, 3-1 underdog against John Pascal, among many of your other fights. How does that affect you in this fight?

HOPKINS: “I was born into the underdog title. Jan. 15, 1965, in an era that was not so nice to colored people, I was born to Shirley Hopkins. To be born on Jan. 15 on King’s day, in America and avoid somehow the trash can because I was Black – I was born in the underdog time in America. I was born in the underdog, adolescence I was born into that trap and I fell into that trap. When the underdog comes out with only a jail house GED and the education that he has, with only the support I have and have had to come home to. That foundation has built this story. In the nine years that I had after I got out, that built the foundation as to where I am today. I came through this thing not having a chance through the statistics.”

FISHER: When you got out of Graterford prison, did you make a promise to yourself that you were going to get yourself educated, get yourself ahead, regardless of being a professional boxer, successful or not? Did you believe you could become a world champion at that level?

HOPKINS: “Did I foresee this in my future? No I did not. My entire objective was to look that far into the distance, but to stay out of trouble. Knowing that I had to see the parole man twice a month, having to do my drug tests when years of temptations came every week was very hard. Back in the 80s and 90s, it was all about the fast money, it didn’t matter if you were on the west coast or in the east coast. I came out of prison just wanting to fight, stay out of trouble, and in 1988 and lost to a forerunner. I wanted to get into the mix fast, so that I would not get distracted.”

FISHER: After your first loss to Mitchell, you took a year off. You found Huey Fisher and a couple of odd jobs. How did that year off look for you?

HOPKINS: “I worked at the Penn Tower Hotel in the kitchen, and then I worked a roofing job. That year and some months were really crucial. From the years ’88 to ’89 to ’90, all the guys that I grew up in my neighborhood were in the fast money – I could have taken that road. But I made the decision to dedicate that special time in the gym with Huey Fisher through Rob Merrick. The two of them formed a company called ‘Arise in Boxing’, and from that, and meeting Huey, and having some amateur experience in boxing jail – that was my biggest resume. When Huey first met me, his reaction was, ‘Ooh, you’re a little heavy.’ And I wasn’t heavy I was just six foot weighing in at 185. Fisher looked at me, and saw that I could make 160.”

FISHER: Huey Fisher was done with boxing by the time you started training with him, he was fed up. How was your experience training with him?

HOPKINS: “It takes a man who doesn’t want to do boxing to have that eye to see every little thing that you are doing wrong. When he looked at me and saw a light heavyweight, I didn’t know 90 percent of the boxing intelligence I know now. Huey Fisher really saw it before anyone else did.”

FISHER: What are your top three biggest moments in boxing?
HOPKINS: “In 2001 – the circumstances, the underdog, the flag went down, a lot of hype, two weeks after 9/11 – Felix Trinidad. That was a historic moment in a lot of ways. Next would be the De La Hoya fight. Right behind De La Hoya would be Pavlik which happened in between the Trinidad and De La Hoya fight and made them respect me even more. Pavlik and just defeated someone who had a better record than me, and when I got into the ring with him, that artwork on display – man! This fight, people were very open and vocal about what they thought was going to happen to me. He was the middleweight champ who was undefeated – I was the 3-1 underdog. I wanted to take on the challenge and shut him down. That’s why you got to do with the young boxers.”

FISHER: Was there any point last year, 2015, where you decided to give up the idea of singing the last song, where you finished your transition into becoming a full time broadcaster?

HOPKINS: “If I wouldn’t have taken a fight the end of this year, or at the beginning of next year, the years would have just passed and I wouldn’t have gotten back into the ring. My thing is, the fight happened, the fight is the way I wanted it, the way I wanted to go out. I deserve to go out like Kobe Bryant. This is taking a page out of respect of the book for athletes who put in the points for their teams. Whether there was a title or no title, this is the final one. Every round that goes by, that’s important to my legacy that I go out the way that I want to be remembered. You write your own exit. Come Dec.17, that is exactly what I am doing, writing my own exit.”

Hopkins vs. Smith, Jr. is a 12-round WBC International Light Heavyweight Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Star Boxing. Diaz, Jr. vs. Garcia is a 10-round NABF featherweight title match presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Usyk vs. Mchunu is a 12-round WBO Cruiserweight World Title battle presented by K2 Promotions in association with Main Events. The event is sponsored by “Cerveza Tecate, BORN BOLD” and Casa Mexico Tequila. The event will be televised live on Saturday, December 17, 2016 from Inglewood, California’s “Fabulous” Forum on HBO’s flagship series beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The RING TV telecast will begin approximately at 7:45 p.m. ET/ 4:45 p.m. PT for Garcia vs Martinez and Quigley vs Melendez.

Tickets for Hopkins vs. Smith, Jr. are on sale and are priced at $25, $50, $75, $105 and $205, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the Forum Box Office (Monday through Friday 11:00 a.m. PST to 7:00 p.m. PST) at (310) 330-7300. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.fabulousforum.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

B-roll and images of Hopkins vs. Smith, Jr. are available for use and download HERE. Video and photo credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Shtick is often strategy and sometimes dangerous. Bernard Hopkins knows that, perhaps better than anybody. He’s been using it like a survival skill throughout an uncommon career that has always been about being ready for fights waged in all of their various forms, from brutal to subtle.

Hopkins was at it, all over again, during a news conference Wednesday a few days before what he says will be his last bout within the ropes Saturday night against Joe Smith Jr. at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) sat on one side of the dais, looking like a hawk searching for an opening – rhetorical prey – to appear. Sure enough, there it was.

Smith (22-1, 18 KOs), a laborer with an active union card from New York’s Local 66, was called the common man in an introduction from his promoter Joe DeGuardia. Smith is a good story. But this was Hopkins’ moment. His stage. Smith’s story was Hopkins’ opportunity.

The best fighters can turn a foe’s strength into a weakness and that’s what Hopkins tried to do nearly three days before opening bell to his planned finale in an HBO-televised light-heavyweight bout (10 p.m. ET/PT).

“I listen to what people say,’’ Hopkins said in his turn at the bully pulpit. “I listen to words, because words give you some kind of blueprint on what a person is thinking. What he’s about.

“How articulate, or whatever, it’s not fully judging, but it gives you some type of platform to work with. Joe DeGuardia said ‘common.’ ‘’

Hopkins went on to say he is not.

In a theatrical gesture, he looked directly at Smith and then delivered words that he has so often used as psychological blows – punches before the opening bell.

“Special,” Hopkins said as he pointed to himself.

Then, he paused, almost as if he had rehearsed it.

“Common,” he then said, pointing at Smith.

Smith, a common man with a common name, never blinked. He must of felt like a prop, albeit a dangerous one if the power he exhibited in his June stoppage of Andrzej Fonfara is any sign.

It wasn’t as if Smith could have done or said much. Hopkins was on a roll.

“Common man, special man,” Hopkins repeated. “Which one you want?

“I want the special.’’

He has been, in large part because of the defiance that has driven him since the day he walked out of Graterford Prison after serving five years on a robbery conviction. Then, he was going to follow the common path of an ex-con. When he was released, warden Buddy Rush told him he’d be back in six months. Hopkins promised he wouldn’t. Turns out, that was the first in a lifetime full of fulfilled promises. Rush heard what sportswriters, promoters, lawyers and fans have been hearing from him ever since.

Hopkins’ life has been about doing what everybody says he can’t. There were 20 successful defenses of the middleweight title. There was the victory over Felix Trinidad. And another one over Kelly Pavlik. Nobody beats Father Time. Then again, no 49-year-old has ever held a world-title belt, either. Now 51, Hopkins will challenge Father Time once more against the 27-year-old Smith.

For anybody else in the post-50 crowd, the task would just be foolish. But Hopkins has made it special, because of his cunning and – also his clever mastery of every aspect of what it takes to be a fighter.

But there’s another element, too. He understands what it is to be common. His common touch is part of his charm. Writers who have been around him throughout his long career know he remembers names and faces. Then, he’ll always be remembered for carrying that Costco card, which is a lot more familiar to the common man than one of Floyd Mayweather’s Jr.’s Bugattis ever will be.

He keeps his common roots close to him, almost as if they were a touchstone of motivation. Hopkins’ identity as an inmate is a number he never forgets.

“He’s from the Union, I’m from the Union of the State Correctional Facility of Gratersford,” Hopkins said, talking to Smith. “I never bought silk underwear, but let me tell you what I did keep in my pocket. It’s called a Y-4145 prison I.D. card with my picture on it.’’

He went on to say that the prison I.D card reminds him of who he was, who he is and why he fights.

“You can always be common, it’s so easy to be common,” said a special fighter, who has taken the commonplace to a place never envisioned.

LONDON (15 December) – Legend Bernard Hopkins wants to end his illustrious career on a high as he enters the ring for the final time on Saturday night.

The 51-year-old who has enjoyed one of the most remarkable journeys in the sport takes his last step against the big-hitting Joe Smith, exclusively live on BoxNation, where he will look to go out with a bang following a glorious four-decade stint at the top.

The future Hall-of-Famer and two-division world champion has overcome many obstacles in his life, including a lengthy prison sentence before his fortunes changed and he embarked upon a path that will seen him go down as one of boxing’s greatest ever.

“I want the book to be written good. The last thing you remember about a good book is not the beginning, it’s the ending,” said Hopkins.

“I look at this as the final icing on the cake or that exclamation point. This is it. You know this is history. I achieved my first goal of success in the first part of my life. That was rougher than boxing.

“If you know anything about Bernard Hopkins’ history, if you go into details about the inner city Philadelphia guy, who was in the penitentiary from age 17 to 25, and survived, you’d realise I became champion a long time ago,” he said.

Hopkins has not been one to avoid testing himself having shared the ring with some of the very best during his career, with names such as Felix Trinidad, Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr all appearing on his résumé.

Now, though, he goes in against a young and hungry fighter in 27-year-old Smith, who has only a solitary loss in his 23 fights, with 18 wins by knockout.

“I’m in a competition with myself. When you reach this level of professionalism, you have done things that most fighters, especially the young fighters haven’t done yet. I want to overdo myself,” Hopkins said.

“Joe Smith is a hard puncher, he won’t run, is a union guy, he won’t lay back, and he won’t try not to execute me. However, Joe Smith has to be trained to pass four, five, six different styles that I will utilise in the ring, and he is going to have to be smart.

“I will be the matrix, I will be the executioner. I will be everything that I need to be to win. The sweet science is something that I’ve always been addicted too. My fight will be like watching the last game of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant,” he said.

Hopkins v Smith Jr is exclusively live on BoxNation this Saturday night. Buy now at boxnation.com.

BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon).

– ENDS –
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