Eight Count: Should BHop retire? Herschel Walker Is Crazy
Who’s in the mood for some links? You? Great! Here’s what we’re reading at Stiff Jab’s offices here in suddenly balmy Washington, D.C.
1) Earlier this month, Bernard Hopkins thrilled Chocolate City with his ageless, obvious victory over Beibut Shumanov and this week, we start off our link roundup with a story about the alien wonder: George Foreman thinks he should retire. When I first heard that, I thought he was hating. Turns out he’s just concerned and filled with admiration for Hopkins:
Foreman – who famously fought until he was 48-years-old – says he was incredibly impressed with 49-year-old B-Hop’s commanding victory over Beibut Shumenov this weekend … but cautions, “Don’t tempt fate…Leave while you can. When the curtain closes, you don’t want to be laying on your back in the middle of the ring.” [TMZ]
2) Speaking of the oldest man in boxing, he has no interest in my dream event, a matchup against Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Damnit!
“Hopkins has claimed he could come all the way back down to middleweight– where he also owns the record, this for the longest reigning middleweight titlist in boxing history– for such a fight…Whether or not Hopkins can even come close to making weight is anyone’s guess. Mayweather, who has never fought above the 154 lb. division at any point during his 18-year pro career, doesn’t seem particularly interested in finding out…” [Boxing Scene][[MORE]][[MORE]]
3) On to a good piece about Keith Thurman, from Kevin Iole: “Keith Thurman isn’t sulking after falling victim to boxing politics”:
“He has a good relationship with (Shawn) Porter and his team, but Thurman said he was told Porter wasn’t interested…A Thurman-Porter fight is one of the most entertaining fights that could be made in the sport, and Thurman doesn’t get why it didn’t occur. He knows the public would eat up a match between Porter and himself and he’s disappointed that, at least for the time being, it’s not happening.” [Yahoo]
4) It’s been well over a decade since Sugar Shane Mosley was the pound-for-pound king, but the former champion has a new reason to be proud; his son is about to make his professional debut:
“I feel great, excited and ready,” Mosley Jr. said of preparing for his pro debut…He will have help from his father, who serves as his trainer. That follows along the family way; Jack Mosley, Shane’s father, trained him for much of his career. Mosley Jr., who estimates his amateur record was about 37-10, said his style is different from his father’s. Senior was known for his tremendous combination of speed and power. “The way I am different is that I am taller and longer, so I have to fight a different style,” he said. “The similarities are that I punch hard and I am tough.” [ESPN]
5) Speaking of middle-aged fighters who are still in grrreat shape, former NFL star (and MMA fighter) Herschel Walker says he could hack it if he was still playing in the league at age 52:
“I can play in the NFL today,” he said. “I couldn’t take every snap. But running backs nowadays don’t play every down. Now they send in the choir section.“ [LA Times]
6) Weigh-ins are often filled with bluster or at least some showboating– but it’s usually the fighters who are engaging in shenanigans, not a random intruder:
"Former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs interrupted the weigh-in of world champion Vladimir Klitschko and Australian challenger Alex Leapai on Friday demanding a fight against the Ukrainian. The 42-year-old Briggs, who had made the same demands during a press conference this week after removing his shirt, was beaten by Vladimir’s brother Vitaly in 2010 and spent a few days in hospital after the fight.” [Daily Mail]
7) Poor Paulie Malignaggi. He’s a favorite here at Stiff Jab HQ and it was tough to see him get destroyed by Showtime Shawn Porter in the ring last week on the Hopkins/Shumenov undercard. Though we thoroughly enjoy his boxing commentary, the class act is taking some time off to recover fully from his injuries:
“I am feeling very good at this stage, but anytime you have any level of concussion, your best bet is to fully recover before doing virtually any activity,” said Malignaggi. “There will be plenty of action on Saturday and the audience will be in good hands with Danny (Jacobs) on the stick. But make no mistake: I will not miss next week’s event in Las Vegas. I have been looking forward to that fight card for some time. I’ll be ready.” [Eastside Boxing]
8) At one point, boxing meant HBO and HBO meant boxing. Not anymore, and the reason for that sea change is the subject of our next link: “How Stephen Espinoza Made Showtime into a Boxing Powerhouse”
“In terms of the content itself, we are televising more hours of boxing programming than we ever have and many more hours of boxing programming than any other network.” That’s good for fight fans, and the quality of programming has taken an uptick as well. In fact, according to the network, the top-five most watched bouts in the nearly 30-year history of Showtime boxing have occurred during Espinoza’s term.
[Bleacher Report]