By Jay McIntyre: The light heavyweight division has been without a unified champion for some time now. As the alphabet soup of world titles swirl about the sea of competitors, changing hands readily, the fans have been left unfulfilled.
Recently though, Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2-2, 32 KO’s), owner of the WBA and IBF titles has made arrangements to fight Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KO’s), owner of the WBO title on November 8th, 2014.
By Dan Ambrose: Jeff Mayweather sees the November 8th fight between 49-year-old IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) 175 pound champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) one in which Kovalev could wind up losing the fight if he gets lulled into fighting at the slow pace that Hopkins like to fight at.
Jeff sees this as big test for Kovalev because he’s going to be taking a big step up in class, and he’s also someone who will be in against a very smart fighter.
By Dan Ambrose: WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs) is saying that he wants to fight the winner of the November 8th unification fight between WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) and IBF/WBA champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs).
Stevenson, who just turned 37-years-old last month, says he’ll be attending the Hopkins-Kovalev fight next month presumably to scout out the winner.
“I will be ringside on November 8 for the fight of Bernard Hopkins vs Sergey Kovalev. I will fight the winner for the unification,” Stevenson said on his Facebook page.
By Chris Williams: WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) says he understands IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) boxing style and that he’ll be ready to face him next month in their fight on November 8th on HBO from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Kovalev, 31, says he knows how Hopkins fights, but at the same time he says he doesn’t watch his fights. He doesn’t study his opponents at all, and that makes it hard to understand how he’s going to know how to deal with Hopkins if he doesn’t study the old master.
By Dan Ambrose: 49-year-old IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins will be at a huge disadvantage against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in terms of punching power and youth in their fight on November 8th at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Hopkins hasn’t scored a knockout in 10 years, and the chances are that he’ll never record another knockout for the remainder of his career. If Hopkins chooses to stand in front of Kovalev the way he did his last opponent Beibut Shumenov then it’s quite likely Hopkins will take a terrible beating and either be stopped by Kovalev or by his own corner throwing in the towel to save him the embarrassment of being halted.
By RMC: When IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins gets in that ring on November 8th we’ll be seeing history in the making in his unification match against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. Hopkins is almost a half of a century years old and still at the top of the game. He said once that he wants to unify the whole light heavyweight division, and for the record, he is not too far from that.
Hopkins has the IBF and WBA titles in his possession, and on November 8th, he will be facing the hard-hitter Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KO) and challenging him for his WBO belt. So that night we are going to have on the line three of the four titles in the light heavyweight division up for grabs.
By Dan Ambrose: John David Jackson, the trainer for WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs), believes that IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) is going to go into survival mode once he gets hit hard for the first time by Kovalev in their fight coming up next month on November 8th at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.
Jackson thinks that Hopkins isn’t going to want to stand and trade with Kovalev once he feels his power for the first time. Jackson also doubts that Hopkins will be able to go 12 hard rounds with Kovalev at nearly 50, and after what he expects to be a very hard training camp.
By Chris Williams: 49-year-old IBF/WBA light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) says he’s motivated by the dangerous that the hard hitting Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) brings to the table in their fight in less than two months on November 8th on HBO Championship Boxing at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.
Hopkins, who turns 50 next January, says he likes the idea of going towards danger rather than going away from it like many fighters do. He doesn’t want to be one of those fighters that takes the easy path, and who says ‘It’s up to my promoter’, when asked if he would be interested in fighting a tough opponent.
Sept. 25, 2014 – In anticipation of the fall boxing season’s signature event – the world light heavyweight unification battle between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev on November 8th – HBO Sports will air “24/7 Hopkins/Kovalev,” an exhilarating one episode, 30-minute special examining the upcoming mega-showdown. In the highly-anticipated 175-pound title fight set for the venerable Boardwalk Hall arena in Atlantic City, NJ, on Nov. 8, Hopkins and Kovalev will collide in the year’s most intriguing encounter. HBO will televise it live on the flagship World Championship Boxing series.
By Dan Ambrose: The James Kirkland vs. Gabriel Rosado fight is now off of the November 8th undercard of the Bernard Hopkins vs. Sergey Kovalev card, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. The fight was never officially finalized to start with. In place of the Kirkland-Rosado fight will possibly be welterweight contenders Luis Carlos Abregu and Sadam Ali facing off.
“Kirkland out of the Rosado fight on BHop-Kovalev card,” Rafael said on his twitter. “New fight likely Abregu vs. Sadam Ali. [Top Rank vs. GB].”