Hopkins vs. Kovalev

Kovalev stayed composed when he couldn’t KO Hopkins, says trainer

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kovalev5By Dan Ambrose: John David Jackson, the trainer for IBF/WBA/WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs), thinks one of the biggest reasons why Kovalev was able to beat the 49-year-old Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) in their recent fight on November 8th was due to Kovalev keeping his head and not getting frustrated easily when he was unable to score a knockout over Hopkins at some point in their fight.

Kovalev put Hopkins on the floor in the 1st round, and he also hurt him in the 12th. However, Hopkins did a good job of taking Kovalev’s best shots to continue fighting.

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Hopkins vs Kovalev drew in big numbers on HBO

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HopkinsKovalevPhilly_Hoganphotos2By Wilmar Patino: On Saturday night despite a late start on the eastcoast (midnight) the light heavyweight unification bout between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev drew in the 2nd highest numbers of views this year for HBO. A highly anticipated match of an established star in Hopkins and a fast rising star in Kovalev.

According to Nielsen Media Research the bout averaged a viewership of 1.328 million! With a peak of 1.397 million views. This makes it the 2nd most viewed fight in the United States for 2014. Only behind the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs Brian Vera rematch. Which average 1.390 views on HBO for the fight on March 1.

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Why Bernard Hopkins shouldn’t retire just yet

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hopkins673 Gav Duthie: Many boxers fail to get the timing right when it comes to avoiding losing to their most dangerous opponent “father time” . Everyone is always looking for that one last payday, one more title shot, they move up or down in weight and convince themselves they still have something left. By normal standards Bernard Hopkins has laughed in the face of father time he is now on ‘grandfather time’ only a couple of months shy of his 50th birthday. Despite this I think you have to look at a fighters longevity on a case by case basis and for me ‘The Alien’ still has a sequel left in him. 

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Hopkins-Kovalev aftermath: A good plan gone wrong

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1-IMG_9401[1]By Yannis Mihanos: Last Saturday night Sergey Kovalev krushed the hopes of Bernard Hopkins of becoming a unified world champion  at the remarkable age of 49.

Prior to that fight, expectation of Hopkins winning the fight had grown substantially big. Could the old horse pull it off again ? Kovalev was also coming with a big hype as he had crushed all his earlier 23 opponents… even if for some were considered tomato cans. As for tomato cans, even Hopkins said in an interview it takes a certain skill to open the tomato can without cutting your hand…

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Sergey Kovalev: The new era of the light heavyweight division

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1-HopkinsKovalevFinalPC_HoganphotosBy Wilmar Patino (Boxings Finest): First off I want to Congratulate Sergey Kovalev for a brilliant fight vs the ageless wonder Bernard Hopkins. As someone who has been following Sergey Kovalev since his days on NBC Sports back when he dismantled and KO’d Gabriel Campillo ( A former light heavyweight champion). I would like to give him credit for taking this fight and proving to the naysayers that he is more than just a puncher. I would also like to thank Hopkins for taking this fight and for giving us an exciting 12th round by giving his best in the closing round of a much anticipated fight.

With that being said I have read a lot of articles on here and seen a lot of love and respect being given to Hopkins for his career milestones and bravery coming into the fight. As well as some much deserved respect for his attempt at unifying the titles last night. Yet this article will be about a favorite fighter of mine Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev.

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Kovalev Drops And Dominates Hopkins Over 12 Rounds

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1-IMG_9401[1]By Robert Earle Stanton: As the bell rang for the 1st round for the IBF/WBA/WBO Light Heavyweight Unification you saw something abnormal in Bernard Hopkins (IBF/WBA Champion) going down by a right hand, at first not sure if it was a slip but yes, Bernard got dropped by WBO Champion Sergey Kovalev (only the 3rd man in history to drop him, however Hopkins has never lost to a man who dropped him) yet maybe that set the tone. Hopkins, would not only give away the 2nd but hardly threw any punches yet took some and by the end of the 3rd Hopkins was lucky the bell rang. Watching Philadelphia’s Hopkins over the years, now 49, a couple months shy of his 50th birthday, he has proved over and over again that his age held no bearing as we’ve heard “This is the end of Hopkins” before. I especially remember that being said before the Kelly Pavlik fight, as Pavlik was a big puncher yet Bernard would take the young undefeated Pavlik into the deep water and drown him with lateral movement.

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Hopkins will outclass Kovalev tonight

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1-HopkinsKovalevWeighIn_Hoganphotos2 by Bob Smith: The light heavyweight championship bout between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev is perhaps the most intriguing match-up of this boxing year. It pits a devastating knockout artist in his prime against an ageless wonder, a skilled fighter for 20 years now, who has never been knocked out even a single time in his 65 fight career. Will the power and skill of the Krusher prove to be too much for Hopkins, or with the Ageless Wonder, the Alien, somehow find a way to win, even nearly pushing 50 years old?

The first thing to ask is: should Bernard Hopkins even be in the ring with such a devastating puncher as Kovalev, much less do so at 49 years old. Hopkins is a former middleweight, and it was in this division, 15-20 years ago, that he made his greatest mark. The short answer is, yes. Hopkins went the distance against a devastating and much quicker puncher in Roy Jones Jr.; he defeated Trinidad and Oscar de la Hoya; went the distance with Calzaghe and Chad Dawson; and defeated Tavoris Cloud and Jean Pascal. While it may be true that Kovalve is a bigger puncher and man than any of them, it still shows that skill of Bernard Hopkins against world class fighters.

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Hopkins/Kovalev Weigh-In Photo Gallery

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1-HopkinsKovalevWeighIn_Hoganphotos1Weigh-In Results: Bernard Hopkins 173.5 v. Sergey Kovalev 174.5
Luis Abregu 146.5 v. Sadam Ali 146
Nadjib Mohammedi 176 v. Demetrius Walker 174.5
Vyacheslav Glazkov 220 s. Darnell Wilson 239
Sullivan Barrera 175 v. Rowland Bryant 174

The world’s oldest ever world champion Bernard Hopkins believes that he has no place on boxing’s pound-for-pound list.

The current WBA and IBF light-heavyweight world champion is gearing up to face hard-hitting Sergey Kovalev this Saturday night on BoxNation in an edge of the seat unification clash, which will also see the Russian’s WBO belt up for grabs.

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Hopkins – Kovalev Final Press Conference

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1-HopkinsKovalevFinalPC_Hoganphotos10BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF & WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion

“When I hear or read or get asked a question like, ‘you didn’t have to take this fight, you could have taken a different fight,’ I think, have you paid attention to my career?

“This isn’t about being an athlete, a boxer or whatever it is. This is something separate. Me as a man, I’ve been there since 1965. I have been special ever since.

“When you’re dealing with the spirit, that I carry with me, from my personal life to here. All of that comes together in the ring. An opponent, he can be fast, slick or a puncher, you have to face all of these intangibles that I bring to the ring.

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