Bernard Hopkins Historic Return to DC

04/23/201404/22/2014 William T. Shorter

Almost 21 years ago in historic RFK stadium a boxing card was being promoted that would forever change my perspective and love for the sweet science. The main event for the card was the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world Riddick Bowe v. Jesse Ferguson.

Although the main event was noncompetitive (If my memory serves me correct Bowe knocked out Ferguson with a vicious right upper cut and a short left hook to the temple), there was another fight on the under card that unbeknownst to any one at the time would have major boxing historical ramifications in the future. The fight was Roy Jones v. Bernard Hopkins I, no need to go into the details of that fight but we all know the end result Roy Jones Jr. my unanimous decision for the IBF Middleweight title.

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Bernard Hopkins Outpoints Beibut Shumenov

04/20/201404/20/2014 Showtime Boxing

Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs), at 49-years-old, made history once again on Saturday night. He is now the oldest man to unify a boxing world championship and the oldest fighter to defend a world title-besting his own record-as he defeated Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KOs) via split decision to become the Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion. Judges Dave Moretti and Jerry Roth scored the fight 116-111 for the future Hall of Famer while Gustavo Padilla scored the bout 114-113 for Shumenov. The event, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, took place at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C.

Boxing’s elder statesman, Hopkins was calm and confident throughout the fight, enforcing ring generalship against Shumenov who was never able to figure out a game plan to score. Shumenov, who is self-trained, threw very few combinations, and did not press the pace. Hopkins, on the other hand, dazzled with his timing, counterpunching and, at times, showmanship. In the 11th round, Hopkins landed a short right hand that sent Shumenov to the canvas for the fifth time in his career.

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Hopkins dominates Shumenov; Porter destroys Malignaggi; Quillin wins

04/20/201404/19/2014 Jeff Sorby

49-year-old IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KO’s) completed the first part of his goal of unifying all of the 175lb titles by beating arguably the weakest link among the champions in beating WBA light heavyweight champion Beibut Shumenov (14-2, 9 KO’s) by a 12 round split decision tonight in their unification bout at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.

The judges scores were 116-111, 116-111 for Hopkins and 114-113 for Shumenov. The judge that scored it for Shumenov must have been focusing on his greater work rate and ignoring the cleaner landing shots from Hopkins. It seemed like a clear cut win for Hopkins tonight. He knocked Shumenov down with a right hand in the 11th, and continued to dominate him in the 12th. Shumenov didn’t have the hand speed or the defensive skills to compete with Hopkins, and he ended up getting badly out-boxed in this fight.

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Hopkins-Shumenov: Fighter, Media, and Fan Predictions!

04/19/201404/19/2014 Paul Jones

By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones & Justin Jones

Published: April 19, 2014

Eastsideboxing.com surveyed fighters, media members, and fans to get their opinions on the winner of Hopkins vs. Shumenov:

“I always say Bernard [Hopkins], a master technician in the ring. A guy that looks like he can do it for 50 more years because he hasn’t had any big wars. He takes care of himself. He takes care of his body. So, I think he can do it again….Most importantly, he can [box] for the next 5 or 10 years because he’s not a guy that started his career like a lot of people at age 5, 10, and 11. His career started at a late time so, for him boxing, he’s a 20 year-old kid now.”

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Official Weigh-in Results / Photos for Hopkins-Shumenov

04/19/201404/18/2014 Paul Jones

By Justin Jones & Paul “Paparazzi” Jones — Washington, DC — Official weigh-ins for the “History At The Capitol: Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov” tripleheader (SHOWTIME^® Championship Boxing; 9:00 PM ET/PT) were held at the Marriott Renaissance hotel (Washington, DC) this afternoon in front of an energetic crowd.

The 49-year-old Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 2 NC, 32 KOs) and his adversary Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs) both weighed in below the Light Heavyweight limit for their unification bout (IBF/WBA/IBA). Hopkins tipped the scales at 172.5 lbs, while Shumenov weighed in at 174.5 lbs.

Co-main event headliners Shawn “Showtime” Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs) and Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-5, 7 KOs) made the Welterweight limit without incidence. Porter weighed in at 146.8 lbs, while Malignaggi weighed 146.2 lbs.

Comprehensive weigh-in results for the televised portion of the card appear below:

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Showtime Tripleheader gives BHOP a chance to add more legend to his longevity

04/19/201404/18/2014 Chris Carlson

The legend of longevity Bernard Hopkins returns to a familiar place of Washington D.C. to once again add more depth to an already legendary career.

Standing in his way of becoming the oldest unified champion is Beibut Shumenov, a fighter with one loss facing his first huge test. Will it be another day at the office for Hopkins? Or will power and youth be the deciding factor?

In the illustrious career of a living legend one can’t help to wonder how much longer Hopkins can stay on top of his game. Every current athlete is on a Hunger Games list of nature eventually taking course.

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Boxing Cheat Sheet: Breakdown of Hopkins-Shumenov

04/17/2014 Paul Jones

By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones & Justin Jones — Washington, DC —There is a longstanding debate as to whether experience is the best teacher or whether youth trumps experience. Given the age gap between Bernard Hopkins (IBF) and Beibut Shumenov (WBA/IBA), it stands to reason that the outcome of Saturday’s Light Heavyweight Unification bout may help to explain this question.

In the sections that follow, we breakdown the Hopkins-Shumenov match-up, consider their respective strengths and weaknesses, and offer keys to victory for each fighter.¹

BERNARD “THE ALIEN” HOPKINS

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Bernard Hopkins Vs. Beibut Shumenov: Preview And Prediction

04/17/201404/16/2014 Bill Barner

On March 9, 2013, Bernard Hopkins (54-6-2 with 32 KOs), then 48 years old, broke the world record for the oldest boxer to win a world title. Whose record did he break? His own.

On April 19, 2014, the self-proclaimed Alien will step into the ring to set yet another world record. Bernard Hopkins will fight to become the oldest boxer in history to unify two major world titles. His opponent is Kazakh lawyer-turned-pugilist Beibut Shumenov. In a sport filled with unique and inspiring backstories, Shumenov’s stands head and shoulders above the rest.

ABOUT THE FIGHTERS

As a child, Shumenov was inadvertently poisoned by his aunt. As his parents took their blue, shriveling child to the hospital, they were informed that their boy would not survive. Doctors managed to save the boy after running an IV through his skull. Subsequent to these life-saving measures, doctors told Shumenov’s parents that he would always be small and that he should avoid physically taxing activities. The 6’2” WBA Light Heavyweight Champion has spent a lifetime proving that those doctors were dead wrong. In his 30 years on this planet, Shumenov has gone from begging relatives for food to becoming a millionaire attorney and a champion fighter.

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Bernard Hopkins and Beibut Shumenov media conference call transcript

04/10/201404/08/2014 Golden Boy Promotions

Kelly Swanson

This week has been jam-packed with information about the April 19 ‘History at the Capitol. Yesterday, we did a conference call with the undercard fighters, and now, we have our main event fighters available today to talk to the press. I’m very excited about it.

Bernard Hopkins, the IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion, certainly a future first ballot Hall of Famer is on the phone; along with Beibut Shumenov, who is the WBA and IBA Light Heavyweight World Champion. I think it’s going to be an amazing unification bout; let’s go ahead and talk a little bit more about the fight and its particulars as well as introduce the fighters. I’d like to introduce Bruce Binkow, the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of Golden Boy Promotions.

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Bernard Hopkins: ” I want to unify the titles, that’s good for boxing”

04/03/2014 Brandi Miller

The 49 year old boxing legend Bernard Hopkins has no plans on retiring anytime soon. He wants to unify the light heavyweight division and he plans on starting April 19th against Beibut Shumenov. Beibut is the current WBA champion and Bernard holds the IBF championship.

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