By Jim Dower: IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) is hoping to get past WBA champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) on April 19th so that he can face the winner of the May 24th fight between WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and Andrzej Fonfara to ultimately decide who the No.1 light heavyweight is for Showtime televised 175 pounders.
Beibut Shumenov
Hopkins: Shumenov is in the way of me becoming undisputed light heavyweight champion
By Allan Fox: IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 3 KO’s) has a goal of becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world, and for him to do that he’s going to need to defeat WBA champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) on April 19th in the first part of his journey. The Hopkins-Shumenov fight will be taking place on Showtime from the DC Armory, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov a done deal for April 19th!
By Allan Fox: 49-year-old IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) will be taking on WBA 175 lb champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) on April 19th at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C, according to Dan Rafael. The fight will be televised on Showtime, and WBO middleweight champion Peter Quillin will be on the undercard making a defense against an opponent still to be determined. Hopkins just turned 49 last January, and he seems like he’s just playing out his string.
Fans aren’t too interested in seeing Hopkins fight Shumenov, a fighter who has fought only twice in the last three years. The guys that fans want to see Hopkins fight are WBC champion Adonis Stevenson and WBO champ Sergey Kovalev. However, it doesn’t look like Hopkins will ever fight either of them before retiring due to them fighting on HBO. Hopkins fights on Showtime.
Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins celebrates his 49th birthday today
By Allan Fox: IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) turns 49 today and he’s still fighting at a high level. It’s difficult to believe that a person as old as Hopkins is able to hold down one of the world titles. But more impressive than that is he’s got a goal of unifying all of the 175 lb. titles by his 50th birthday next year.
That would be a huge accomplishment for Hopkins if he could pull it off. For Hopkins to do that, he’ll need to beat WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson, WBA champ Beibut Shumenov and WBO champ Sergey Kovalev in his next three fights. Hopkins will be looking to accomplish the first part of that task in April against Shumenov, if he can negotiate the fight with him. The much harder part will be for Hopkins to beat Stevenson and Kovalev.
Schaefer working on Hopkins vs. Shumenov for March or April
By Dan Ambrose: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he’s looking to put a fight together between IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) and WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) in a unification bout for March or April in a fight that he may stage in Texas.
The idea that Schaefer is looking at is having a kind of mini-175 lb. tournament where Hopkins faces Shumenov while WBC champ Adonis Stevenson fights WBO belt holder Sergey Kovalev. The winner of those two sets of fights would then square off in a finals type of fight.
Hopkins interested in Shumenov unification bout
(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Dan Ambrose: 48-year-old IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO’s) recently said that he was interested in unifying the 175 lb. titles, but fans assumed that he was talking about against the best champions in the weight division in WBC champ Adonis Stevenson and WBO champ Sergey Kovalev.
That’s why it was kind of sad and hilarious to see Hopkins going up to WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KO’s) tonight after his win over little known fringe contender Tamas Kovacs (23-1, 14 KO’s) and saying that that it would be an honor for him to beat him next.
Beibut Shumenov vs. Tamas Kovacs on December 14th at the MGM, Las Vegas, Nevada
By Eric Thomas: WBA Super World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (13-1, 8 KO’s) will be defending his World Boxing Association 175 lb. title in two months against little known fringe contender Tamas Kovacs (23-0, 14 KO’s) on December 14th on the undercard of the Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Maidana card at the MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The fight won’t be on the televised pay-per-view portion of the Showtime card, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.
This is an optional title defense for the 30-year-old Shumenov, who hasn’t fought since last year in June of 2012 when he defeated Enrique Ornelas. It’s unknown why Shumenov has taken so long to get around to defending his WBA title, but he’s going to need to get a little busier if he wants to take on all the big names in the division.
Cleverly hoping to get Hopkins or Shumenov to fight him in Wales
By William Mackay: WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (24-0, 11 KO’s) is still hoping to land a fight against either 47-year-old Bernard Hopkins or WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov in Wales in 2013. Cleverly first has to get by #7 WBO Vyacheslav Uzelkov (27-2, 16 KO’s) on October 27th next month at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
Cleverly would like to fight next summer in the huge 50,000 seat Cardiff City Stadium in Wales, but he likely needs a big name like Hopkins to sell out the stadium. Shumenov probably won’t do it, and he’s already said that prefers to fight Cleverly in Las Vegas, Nevada rather than traveling to Wales to take the fight.
Shumenov vs. Ornelas on Saturday
(Picture by Emily Harney – KZ Event Productions) By Allen Fox: WBA World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (12-1, 8 KO’s) will be making his fourth defense of his World Boxing Association title on Saturday night against Enrique Ornelas (33-7, 21 KO’s) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Shumenov to take a soft defense against Ornelas on June 2nd
By Allan Fox: WBA World light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov will be facing 2nd tier super middleweight Enrique Ornelas on June 2nd in the 28-year-old Shumenov’s fourth title defense at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.