Opening Bell: Bernard Hopkins Fights At D.C. Armory April 19th
Bernard Hopkins photo by Hogan Photos for Golden Boy
by Gautham Nagesh
If there was any doubt that Washington, D.C. is a fight town once again, Golden Boy Promotions has put it firmly to rest. Legendary Philadelphia light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins announced recently that he will fight in Washington for the first time in 15 years on April 19th at D.C. Armory. The main event will feature Hopkins against Kazakh contender Beibut Shumenov and will be televised on Showtime.
A partner in Golden Boy, the 49-year-old Hopkins will be the brightest star to fight in Washington since a faded Mike Tyson lost his final bout to Kevin McBride at the then-MCI Center in 2005. The co-feature could feature Peter Quillin or local featherweight Gary Russell Jr. in his biggest fight to date against Jhonny Gonzalez. Either fight would make this the biggest card in Washington since Lamont Peterson vs. Amir Khan in December 2011.
BHop has history in the DMV; he lost to Roy Jones Jr. at RFK Stadium in 1993 and later defended his middleweight title in the area three times, the last against Robert Allen in 1999 at Washington Convention Center. Hopkins told ESPN’s Dan Rafael that it was the reception he received in D.C. while promoting Peterson’s win over Dierry Jean last month (below) that convinced him to bring his next fight down I-95.
Photo by Tom Casino for Showtime
“When I was in Washington (on Jan. 25) promoting the Lamont Peterson (junior welterweight title) fight at the Armory, the people there showed me a lot of love and respect,” Hopkins told ESPN. “I got mad respect for the fans there and they got mad respect for me in D.C. Fighting in D.C. is like fighting in Philly as far as I’m concerned. It will definitely be a Bernard Hopkins house and I will give them something to cheer about.”
That was a special night at the Armory, so I’m not surprised it convinced Hopkins that D.C. would come out for his next fight. Early in the evening some of my colleagues on press row were skeptical about the turnout, with one writer I respect predicting 2,500 fans at most. I was more confident, because D.C. knows boxing and is willing to show up, when it’s worth it.
The 5,600 fans that were in attendance that evening also saved their biggest cheers for BHop, evidence that this card should play well at the box office. We’re expecting an even bigger audience, and a lot more hype, since Hopkins is a big enough name to draw D.C.’s national media outlets into the mix. Count on us to bring you all the pre-fight festivities in depth, as we always do.
Mike Reed photo by Trey Pollard for StiffJab.com
Update on March 7th Shows: The essential Gary “Digital” Williams informs us the local boxing logjam on March 7th has been resolved, as Iron Mike Promotions has postponed the show tentatively scheduled for that evening at D.C. Armory. Early word from Digital is that the show, which was supposed to feature Anthony Peterson and Joan Guzman, will take place on April 11th at Washington Convention Center. But we’re not holding our breath.
Local fight fans needn’t worry, because Keystone Boxing has a show on March 7th at Rosecroft Raceway with a terrific main event: 2013 Stiff Jab Prospect of the Year Mike Reed (above right) faces Bilal Mahasin, whose boxing career was interrupted by a decade spent in prison for armed robbery. Mahasin is 4-0, and like Reed, has fought better opposition than most fighters of his level. Folks in the know are predicting a very tough outing for Reed. The undercard will feature local lightweight prospects Terron Grant and Josh Davis, among others.
Sergey Kovalev photo by Scott Heavey
Sergey Kovalev Returns March 29th in AC: The light heavyweight division is currently one of boxing’s strongest, especially at the top. Champion Adonis Stevenson appears to be improving with each fight, and Hopkins is still a factor despite being almost a half-century old. Still, the most exciting fighter in the division might be second-ranked Russian unbeaten Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev. Kovalev has been mowing down the competition of late, as evidenced by his record of 23-0-1 with 21 KOs.
Practically everyone in the sport is waiting for Kovalev and Stevenson to square off, with Hopkins waiting in the wings for the winner. That fight will hopefully happen later this year, but in the meantime Kovalev has a date on March 29 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City with Chicago’s Cedric Agnew. Agnew is an unknown quantity to us, but his record suggests an unbeaten boxer that has never faced anyone close to Kovalev. Surviving until the final bell would be an achievement.
The HBO co-feature will match junior welterweights Karim Mayfield of San Francisco and Thomas Dulorme (below with trainer Robert Garcia) of Carolina, Puerto Rico for a scheduled ten rounds. Dulorme was perhaps the most hyped prospect in the sport before he was stopped by Luis Carlos Abregu in October 2012. He will move down from 147 to 140 lbs. for this fight. At 33, Mayfield is too old to be considered a prospect, but remains underrated. The unbeaten Bay Area native has wins over Mauricio Herrera and Raymond “Tito” Serrano, and would be our early pick to win this fight.
