Beibut Shumenov

By Yan D: The oldest champion ever has done it again and even now people keep finding ways to bring this living legend down. At the honorable age of 49, IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s) became the oldest man to not only defend his title but to actually unify his division.

I will admit he defeated the weakest champion and he still have some tough challenge ahead to become undisputed champion, but at an age where some are starting to think about retirement this man from Philadelphia once again showed the world why he “isn’t from this world”.

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By Gerardo Granados: Last Saturday night at Washington, D.C., U.S.A., the now unified IBF and WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Bernard “Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s) defeated a limited Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision over twelve rounds with the official score cards of 116-111 x 2 for Hopkins and 114-113 for Shumenov.

I had it 116–111 for Hopkins, but wasn’t pleased with the boxing match. Was this a “fight” that kept fans on their feet excited, cheering in awe thru the twelve rounds of action? Or was it that casual boxing fans are looking forward to see Hopkins fight again?

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By Jay McIntyre: Saturday April 19th marked another evening where the aging Bernard “The Alien” (formerly “The Executioner”) Hopkins (55-6-2-2, 32 KO’s) defied Father Time. It marked another notch in his belt, and gave him two more championship straps (the WBA super, and IBA titles) in his quest to unify the light-heavyweight division.

This unification bid started in March of last year when he dismantled former champion Tavoris Cloud – winning his IBF title – and it continued last night when he peeled away and added the two aforementioned pieces of the light heavyweight crown to his collection. Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s) did not have much to offer that Hopkins had not seen before, and herein lies the problem for most of Hopkins’ opponents: he has seen it all and he knows how to keep his rhythm going at the expense of his opponent’s.

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By Steve Davis: “For the new IBC, WBA super and IBF world light heavyweight champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s). That was the call at the armory in Washington DC as Hopkins won a 12 round split decision against WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s), taking the formers IBC, WBA titles. The scores were 116-111 twice for Hopkins and 114-113 Shumenov.

Richard Schaefer, the CEO for Golden Boy Promotions, commented “that another judge who should be retired.” and I have to agree. How could Judge Padilla score the fight for Shumenov? His score of 114-113 was shocking and a disgrace. Shumenov won two rounds at most and that’s being generous. All I can think of, is that he must have fallen asleep after the first two rounds.

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By Jim Dower: IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s) easily defeated WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision on Saturday night at the DC Armory in Washington, DC. The final judges scores were 116-111, 116-111 for Hopkins, and 114-113 for Shumenov. Hopkins now has the IBF and WBA light heavyweight titles. The only belts he doesn’t possess is the WBC title held by Adonis Stevenson and the WBO belt held by Sergey Kovalev.

Those fighters are much, much better than Shumenov, and Hopkins will have a hard time beating them by pot shotting like he did tonight. To beat Stevenson and Kovalev, Hopkins would have to let his hands go in a way that he doesn’t seem capable of doing any longer. Hopkins’ trainer Naazim Richardson was practically begging him to let his hands go and throw combinations, but Hopkins couldn’t do it.

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(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Yannis Mihanos: This Saturday night a special fight takes place between the ageless IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) and WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) at the DC Armory in Washington, DC. Each age sets limits first in our mind and then in our hearts and bodies. For example, how many Hopkins type fighters do I know in boxing? None. There were maybe few in the past. Why is that?

It is obvious that it comes a time when people in boxing want to retire. They have lost part of their focus, part of their energy, and they feel and look old. Then it is right time to retire, Bernard doesn’t.

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By Allan Fox: IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) may have a much tougher fight than he expected tonight in his important unification bout against WBA champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) in this Showtime televised fight at the DC Armory, in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Hopkins, 49, has been talking about wanting to school Shumenov like he’s done recently to his last two opponents Karo Murat and Tavoris Cloud. But Shumenov feels he’s going to take the fight to Hopkins tonight and make him look every bit his age.

“I have no doubts I’ll be the winner,” said Shumenov. “I’m going to show the world what I’m capable of. I’m going to show I’m the best one in our division.”

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By Allan Fox: WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) and IBF champion Bernard Hopkins weighed in today for their fight on Saturday night at the DC Armory in Washington, DC. Hopkins, 49, weighed in at 172.5lbs, and looked in excellent shape as he always does. Shumenov, 30, came in a little heavier at 174.5lbs, and was one-half bout below the light heavyweight limit of 175.

During the face off, both Hopkins and Shumenov exchanged words up close. It was somewhat odd to see Shumenov firing back at Hopkins, because up until now, he’d been mostly reserved and had let Hopkins do a lot of the talking. But it good to see Shumenov fire back at Hopkins to let him know that he has a fight on his hands on Saturday night.

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(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Allan Fox: WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) expects to beat 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) on Saturday night in their unification match and show fans who the best fighter is in the world in their fight on Showtime at the DC Armory, in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

For the 30-year-old Shumenov, he’s not been able to get the important fights recently to show off his talent, but now that he’s signed with Golden Boy Promotions, he’s able to get the big fights that he’s always wanted. If he can beat Hopkins on Saturday night, Shumenov will waking the boxing world up by showing them he’s for real and not just a paper title holder, which is how some boxing fans see him.

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