By Scott Gilfoid: WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly might not be feeling too good today after the news of IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO’s) agreeing to defend his International Boxing Federation title against his mandatory challenger #3 IBF Karo Murat (25-1-1-, 15 KO’s) on July 27th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. According to ESPN, the 48-year-old Hopkins and Murat have agreed on the fight for July 27th.
It’s not as if Hopkins had a choice in the matter because Murat had already been promised by the IBF to fight the winner of the Hopkins vs. Tavorois Cloud fight regardless of who won the fight. If Hopkins had opted to fight Cleverly next, then he would have been stripped by the IBF for failing to face his mandatory challenger Murat.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBC Silver and British light heavyweight champion Tony Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KO’s) says he doesn’t want to defend his British 175 pound strap on May 25th against Bob Ajisafe (11-2, 3 KO’s), who Bellew already beat by a convincing 12 round unanimous decision three years ago in September 2010 and instead Bellew wants to face #3 WBC Isaac Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KO’s) in a rematch or #2 IBF, #10 WBO Karo Murat on the 5/25 card at the O2 Arena in London, UK. 
By Scott Gilfoid: It looks like WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (25-0, 12 KO’s) can put his dreams of a unification bout against 48-year-old IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO’s) on hold for the remainder of 2013 because Hopkins has to defend his newly won IBF title against his mandatory challenger Karo Murat (25-1-1, 15 KO’s) in what should be an easy title-milking fight for Hopkins. 
(Picture: SE) By Erik Schmidt: Number #2 ranked World Boxing Organization cruiserweight contender Marco Huck (25-1, 20 KOs) will be fighting WBO cruiserweight champion Victor Emilio Ramirez (15-1, 12 KOs) this Saturday night for the title at Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Huck, 24, will be fighting for a world title for the second time in the past two years.
By Erik Schmidt: Last weekend at the Jahnsportforum, Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, German boxers Yoan Pablo Hernandez (18-1, 11 KOs), Sebastian Sylvester (30-3, 15 KOs) and Karo Murat (19-0, 12 KOs) were each successful in their matches against typically low quality opposition. However, in winning the fights, Hernandez, Sylvester and Murat showed little improvement on the deep flaws in their game and made it hard for me to see them as potential champions in the future despite their obvious talent.