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Hopkins Gearing Up For One Last Battle With Father Time And, Oh Yeah, James DeGale
He is 50 years old and lost virtually every round in his most recent bout, a light heavyweight unification matchup with Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 8. Not only that, but his normally superb defense, while still effective, is not exactly fan-friendly and calls to mind the displeasure many fight fans voiced after another hard-to-hit technician, Floyd Mayweather Jr., turned his recent “Fight of the Century” against Manny Pacquiao into a 12-round tutorial on the pugilistic equivalent of dodgeball. He might set records every time he laces up the gloves, but even Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins isn’t apt to brag on this statistic: he hasn’t knocked anyone out since he floored Oscar De La Hoya with a body shot for the full count in the ninth round on Sept. 18, 2004. That’s a KO-less streak of 17 bouts spread over nearly 11 years, during which time he posted a good but hardly invincible 10-5-1 mark with one no-decision.
Then again, the normal standards for assessing a fighter haven’t applied to Hopkins since he moved past Archie Moore and George Foreman to become the oldest individual not only to win a widely recognized world championship, but to perform at a level at or near his long-ago entrance into a prime that, like the Energizer bunny, has kept going and going and going.
Now, as he eyes what he insists will (likely) be his final appearance as an active fighter, a highly motivated Hopkins seems primed to again confound and defeat Father Time, the one opponent that no one can indefinitely outlast. There are a couple more indelible entries he expects to add to a legacy unlike any his sport has seen, and even now, after the worst defeat of his 27-year professional ring career, it would be foolish to assume that the most age-defying fighter of all time doesn’t have another miracle somewhere in his bag of tricks.
Although contracts have not been signed and nothing is definite until they are, Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) is pushing for a challenge of newly crowned IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs), a fight that would be televised by HBO and likely would be staged in October in DeGale’s hometown of London.
“This probably will be my last fight, win, lose or draw,” said Hopkins, who has periodically hinted at retirement in the past but always returned to the one thing he knows and loves best. “I’m interested in beating a guy up – the same guy that beat up (Andre) Dirrell.” That would be the 29-year-old DeGale, who scored two second-round knockdowns of Dirrell en route to a unanimous-decision victory when they squared off for the vacant IBF 168-pound title on May 23 in Boston.
“They (HBO officials) love the idea,” Hopkins continued. “It would be another feather in my historic cap. I jumped over a division (from middleweight to light heavyweight) to do something that even the great Sugar Ray Robinson couldn’t do because of heat exhaustion (when middleweight king Robinson, leading on points, had to retire on his stool after the 13th round against light heavy champ Joey Maxim in a sweltering (104 degrees!) Yankee Stadium on June 25, 1952). I can make 168 pounds, no problem. I never considered myself a full-fledged light heavyweight until I got together with (strength-and-conditioning guru) Mackie Shilstone. But that doesn’t mean I was a natural light heavyweight. Now I want the chance to backtrack to the division I jumped over. It’s something I’m really excited about doing if the fight can be made, and I think it can.”
Hopkins refers to history often, which shouldn’t come as a surprise since he is a native of Philadelphia, a city where the Declaration of Independence was signed, the U.S. Constitution ratified and Benjamin Franklin remains the most cherished civic icon. Make no mistake, it would mean plenty to B-Hop to go out by winning a world championship in a third weight class and to do it against a very capable opponent who is 21 years, 19 days younger than himself – the widest age differential ever for Hopkins, who has burnished his reputation by knocking off several men young enough to be his son.
Then again, DeGale figures to also be keen on the historic aspects of the proposed fight. He is the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing (in Beijing, China, in 2008) and also win a professional world title. That is something 16 previous gold medalists from across the pond failed to accomplish. And, while Hopkins seeks to defeat the tag team of DeGale and the calendar, the younger man no doubt would relish the notoriety of being the fighter to usher boxing’s most elder statesman off the sideline for keeps and on a losing note.
Strangely enough – or maybe not so strangely – Kovalev’s promoter, Kathy Duva, thinks Hopkins can and will rebound from his wide points loss to her fighter should the DeGale bout be made.
“Bernard is like a freak of nature,” Duva said. “I can’t explain it. I think he’d be very competitive with DeGale. Honestly, I’d pick him to win.
“If it was anybody other than Bernard Hopkins, I’d say a fight like this was crazy. But Bernard is amazing. Even though he lost to Sergey, he didn’t take a real beating. One thing’s for sure. It would be a huge fight in England. In Europe, when they bring these legendary American fighters over, regardless of their age, they’re warmly received. It’s a big, big deal. So I understand why they’re talking. I know HBO’s deal with Hopkins for the Sergey fight was for him to have the option of fighting one more time, if he so chose.”
Hopkins has history against him – wouldn’t that be a change? – should a pairing with DeGale be arranged. Even though he insists he can make 168 pounds without putting an undue strain on a body that should be preserved for scientific research, fighters who have to come down in weight seem to fare less well than those who go up. Three cases in point: After easily outboxing WBA heavyweight champ John Ruiz to claim that title, Roy Jones Jr., who had bulked up from light heavyweight, depleted himself in taking off the extra pounds of muscle he had added for his brief and successful foray; he lost three of his next four bouts, two by knockout. Two-time former heavyweight titlist Chris Byrd also tried to drop two weight classes and was clearly drained in being stopped in nine rounds by Shaun George, and heavyweight contender “Fast” Eddie Chambers appeared to lose the advantage in quickness he previously held against larger foes when he was easily outpointed by cruiserweight Thabiso Mchunu.
“I want to energize the 50-and-up club around the world that ain’t boxing or playing football or basketball,” pronounced Hopkins, ever the optimist. “You don’t have to curl up and die once you reach a certain age.
“I’m getting ready to invade and take over the 168-pound division, and do it by taking out one of the top guys (DeGale) in that division.”
Longtime HBO blow-by-blow announcer Jim Lampley understands the hunger that fuels Hopkins’ desire to do things that no boxer has ever done and, in fact, no late-40s athlete has achieved with the possible exception of baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and hockey legend Gordie Howe.
“In spending time with him, I know that he wakes up with a curious mind every day,” Lampley said. “He’s energized by his own natural drive. Among the things he’s curious about is, `Could I do this? Could I do that? Could I beat James DeGale?’ That’s not easily going to go way in him. He’s not finished learning about the horizons that Bernard Hopkins can conquer. It’s just that we’re getting to the point where those horizons no longer will be carved out in the ring, but at ringside (as a new addition to the HBO broadcast team as a color commentator).”
So, what does Lampley – who isn’t inclined to blow smoke up anyone’s backside, even those belonging to the fighter/analysts working alongside him – think of a possible Hopkins-DeGale bout?
“I think it would add something to Bernard’s legacy, in terms of the statistical anomaly of winning a title bout past his 50th birthday,” Lampley said. “That’s probably the main reason why he’s considering it. He wants to put that on his resume.
“DeGale is a real talent, with a legitimate pedigree as an Olympic gold medalist. He scored a terrific win (over Dirrell). It’s be youth against antiquity. There’s a lot of appeal there.”
And if the fight doesn’t happen?
“I don’t think the world tilts on its axis one way or another,” Lampley said with his trademark honesty.
More so than other elite fighters who are obliged by time or circumstances to take their leave from the arena, often the worse for wear, Hopkins has been transitioning himself for the next phase of a career that figures to keep him close to the action. He scored high marks for his commentating during HBO’s telecast of the Kovalev-Jean Pascal fight on March 14 in Montreal, and he spent the entire week leading up to Mayweather-Pacquiao offering insight into that super-hyped matchup for ESPN.
“I’m still at a relatively young age in the business of boxing, maybe not in a physical sense,” said Hopkins, who remains an executive with Golden Boy Promotions. “The physical part ends for everybody, at some point. But the business side can continue, as long as you keep your health and keep your mind sharp. You can make that transition from athlete to the next phase of your life, as Michael Strahan (the former New York Giants defense end-turned-“Live! With Kelly and Michael” co-host) has. Michael is a good friend of mine. We talk or get together nearly every month.
“Really, it’s not that big a change. You got to smile and have fun, and I’ve been doing that.”
Lampley, for one, wasn’t certain Hopkins, as boxing-savvy as he is, could pare down the 10-minute, stream-of-consciousness soliloquys he delivered upon being asked even the simplest of questions into the easily digestible 10-second sound bites required in his new role.
“He has extraordinary expertise and understanding of how to fight,” Lampley said. “I had been concerned, based on past experience, that there might be a problem in his editing himself as to how long it takes to make a point for TV. But, bottom line, he was more disciplined (during the Kovalev-Pascal fight) than he needed to be in terms of keeping his comments short and concise.
“Really, the sky’s the limit for him. Very much like Roy (Jones Jr.), he sees the fight in his uniquely knowledgable way. And very much like Roy, he’s not political and not fearful of offending another fighter. He’s secure enough to say what he thinks, and that’s what you’re looking for in a commentator.”
If there is anything that’s absolutely certain, it’s that Hopkins the color analyst won’t eat his way out of the tailored wardrobe that showcases that sculpted physique that has less body fat than skim milk. Don’t expect him to show up any time soon doing commercials for NutriSystem.
“That whole week (leading up to Mayweather-Pacquiao) I had people coming up to me and saying, `You dress so well. Who dresses you?’” said Hopkins, as proud of his 30-inch waistline as he is of some of his signature victories inside the ropes. “I’d tell them `GQ’ magazine and a men’s fashion app that I have on my smartphone. Man, technology is beautiful.”
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Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
There’s not much happening on the boxing front this month. That’s consistent with the historical pattern.
Fight promoters of yesteryear tended to pull back after the Christmas and New Year holidays on the assumption that fight fans had less discretionary income at their disposal. Weather was a contributing factor. In olden days, more boxing cards were staged outdoors and the most attractive match-ups tended to be summertime events.
There were exceptions, of course. On Jan. 17, 1941, an SRO crowd of 23,180 filled Madison Square Garden to the rafters to witness the welterweight title fight between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. (This was the third Madison Square Garden, situated at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue, roughly 17 blocks north of the current Garden which sits atop Pennsylvania Station. The first two arenas to take this name were situated farther south adjacent to Madison Square Park).
This was a rematch. They had fought here in October of the previous year. In a shocker, Zivic won a 15-round decision. The fight was close on the scorecards. Referee Arthur Donovan and one of the judges had it even after 14 rounds, but Zivic had won his rounds more decisively and he punctuated his well-earned triumph by knocking Armstrong face-first to the canvas as the final bell sounded.
This was a huge upset.
Armstrong had a rocky beginning to his pro career, but he came on like gangbusters after trainer/manager Eddie Mead acquired his contract with backing from Broadway and Hollywood star Al Jolson. Heading into his first match with Zivic – the nineteenth defense of the title he won from Barney Ross – Hammerin’ Henry had suffered only one defeat in his previous 60 fights, that coming in his second meeting with Lou Ambers, a controversial decision.
Shirley Povich, the nationally-known sports columnist for the Washington Post, conducted an informal survey of boxing insiders and found only person who gave Zivic a chance. The dissident was Chris Dundee (then far more well-known than his younger brother Angelo). “Zivic knows all the tricks,” said Dundee. “He’ll butt Armstrong with his head, gouge him with his thumbs and hit him just as low as Armstrong [who had five points deducted for low blows in his bout with Ambers].”
Indeed, Pittsburgh’s Ferdinand “Fritzie” Zivic, the youngest and best of five fighting sons of a Croatian immigrant steelworker (Fritzie’s two oldest brothers represented the U.S. at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics) would attract a cult following because of his facility for bending the rules. It would be said that no one was more adept at using his thumbs to blind an opponent or using the laces of his gloves as an anti-coagulant, undoing the work of a fighter’s cut man.
Although it was generally understood that at age 28 his best days were behind him, Henry Armstrong was chalked the favorite in the rematch (albeit a very short favorite) a tribute to his body of work. Although he had mastered Armstrong in their first encounter, most boxing insiders considered Fritzie little more than a high-class journeyman and he hadn’t looked sharp in his most recent fight, a 10-round non-title affair with lightweight champion Lew Jenkins who had the best of it in the eyes of most observers although the match was declared a draw.
The Jan. 17 rematch was a one-sided affair. Veteran New York Times scribe James P. Dawson gave Armstrong only two rounds before referee Donovan pulled the plug at the 52-second mark of the twelfth round. Armstrong, boxing’s great perpetual motion machine, a world title-holder in three weight classes, repaired to his dressing room bleeding from his nose and his mouth and with both eyes swollen nearly shut. But his effort could not have been more courageous.
At the conclusion of the 10th frame, Donovan went to Armstrong’s corner and said something to the effect, “you will have to show me something, Henry, or I will have to stop it.” What followed was Armstrong’s best round.
“[Armstrong] pulled the crowd to its feet in as glorious a rally as this observer has seen in twenty-five years of attendance at these ring battles,” wrote Dawson. But Armstrong, who had been stopped only once previously, that coming in his pro debut, had punched himself out and had nothing left.
Armstrong retired after this fight, siting his worsening eyesight, but he returned in the summer of the following year, soldiering on for 46 more fights, winning 37 to finish 149-21-10. During this run, he was reacquainted with Fritzie Zivic. Their third encounter was fought in San Francisco before a near-capacity crowd of 8,000 at the Civic Auditorium and Armstrong got his revenge, setting the pace and working the body effectively to win a 10-round decision. By then the welterweight title had passed into the hands of Freddie Cochran.
Hammerin’ Henry (aka Homicide Hank) Armstrong was named to the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990. Fritzie Zivic followed him into the Hall three years later.
Active from 1931 to 1949, Zivic lost 65 of his 231 fights – the most of anyone in the Hall of Fame, a dubious distinction – but there was yet little controversy when he was named to the Canastota shrine because one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who had fought a tougher schedule. Aside from Armstrong and Jenkins, he had four fights with Jake LaMotta, four with Kid Azteca, three with Charley Burley, two with Sugar Ray Robinson, two with Beau Jack, and singles with the likes of Billy Conn, Lou Ambers, and Bob Montgomery. Of the aforementioned, only Azteca, in their final meeting in Mexico City, and Sugar Ray, in their second encounter, were able to win inside the distance.
By the way, it has been written that no event of any kind at any of the four Madison Square Gardens ever drew a larger crowd than the crowd that turned out on Jan. 17, 1941, to see the rematch between Fritzie Zivic and Henry Armstrong. Needless to say, prizefighting was big in those days.
A recognized authority on the history of prizefighting and the history of American sports gambling, TSS editor-in-chief Arne K. Lang is the author of five books including “Prizefighting: An American History,” released by McFarland in 2008 and re-released in a paperback edition in 2020.
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Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
In his fifth title defense, lineal cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (27-0, 21 KOs) successfully defended his belt with a brutal fourth-round stoppage of former sparring partner David Nyika. The bout was contested in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia where Opetaia won the IBF title in 2022 with a hard-earned decision over Maris Briedis with Nyika on the undercard. Both fighters reside in the general area although Nyika, a former Olympic bronze medalist, hails from New Zealand.
The six-foot-six Nyika, who was undefeated in 10 pro fights with nine KOs, wasn’t afraid to mix it up with Opetaia although had never fought beyond five rounds and took the fight on three weeks’ notice when obscure German campaigner Huseyin Cinkara suffered an ankle injury in training and had to pull out. He wobbled Opetaia in the second round in a fight that was an entertaining slugfest for as long as it lasted.
In round four, the champion but Nyika on the canvas with his patented right uppercut and then finished matters moments later with a combination climaxed with an explosive left hand. Nyika was unconscious before he hit the mat.
Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants Opetaia to unify the title and then pursue a match with Oleksandr Usyk. Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, a Golden Boy Promotions fighter, holds the WBA and WBO versions of the title and is expected to be Opetaia’s next opponent. The WBC diadem is in the hands of grizzled Badou Jack.
Other Fights of Note
Brisbane heavyweight Justis Huni (12-0, 7 KOs) wacked out overmatched South African import Shaun Potgieter (10-2), ending the contest at the 33-second mark of the second round. The 25-year-old, six-foot-four Huni turned pro in 2020 after losing a 3-round decision to two-time Olympic gold medalist Bakhodir Jalolov. There’s talk of matching him with England’s 20-year-old sensation Moses Itauma which would be a delicious pairing.
Eddie Hearn’s newest signee Teremoana Junior won his match even quicker, needing less than a minute to dismiss Osasu Otobo, a German heavyweight of Nigerian descent.
The six-foot-six Teremoana, who akin to Huni hails from Brisbane and turned pro after losing to the formidable Jalolov, has won all six of his pro fights by knockout while answering the bell for only eight rounds. He has an interesting lineage; his father is from the Cook Islands.
Rising 20-year-old Max “Money” McIntyre, a six-foot-three super middleweight, scored three knockdowns en route to a sixth-round stoppage of Abdulselam Saman, advancing his record to 7-0 (6 KOs). As one can surmise, McIntyre is a big fan of Floyd Mayweather.
The Opetaia-Nyika fight card aired on DAZN pay-per-view (39.99) in the Antipodes and just plain DAZN elsewhere.
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R.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
Paul Bamba, a cruiserweight, passed away at age 35 on Dec. 27 six days after defeating Rogelio Medina before a few hundred fans on a boxing card at a performing arts center in Carteret, New Jersey. No cause of death has been forthcoming, leading to rampant speculation. Was it suicide, or perhaps a brain injury, and if the latter was it triggered by a pre-existing condition?
Fuel for the latter comes in the form of a letter that surfaced after his death. Dated July 25, 2023, it was written by Dr. Alina Sharinn, a board-certified neurologist licensed in New York and Florida.
“Mr. Bamba has suffered a concussion and an episode of traumatic diplopia within the past year and now presents with increasing headaches. His MRI of the brain revealed white matter changes in both frontal lobes,” wrote Bamba’s doctor.
Her recommendation was that he stop boxing temporarily while also avoiding any other activity at which he was at risk of head trauma.
Dr. Sherinn’s letter was written three months after Bamba was defeated by Chris Avila in a 4-round contest in New Orleans. He lost all four rounds on all three scorecards, reducing his record to 5-3.
Bamba took a break from boxing after fighting Avila. Eight months would elapse before he returned to the ring. His next four fights were in Santa Marta, Colombia, against opponents who were collectively 4-23 at the time that he fought them. The most experienced of the quartet, Victor Coronado, was 38 years old.
He won all four inside the distance and ten more knockouts would follow, the last against Medina in a bout sanctioned by the World Boxing Association for the WBA Gold title. As widely reported, the stoppage, his 14th, broke Mike Tyson’s record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year. That would have been a nice feather in his cap if only it were true.
Born in Puerto Rico, Paul Bamba was a former U.S. Marine who spent time in Iraq as an infantry machine gunner. In interviews on social media platforms, he is well-spoken and introspective without a trace of the boastfulness that many prizefighters exhibit when talking to an outsider. Interviewed in a corridor of the arena after stopping Medina, he was almost apologetic, acknowledging that he still had a lot to learn.
His life story is inspirational.
His early years were spent in foster homes. He was homeless for a time after returning to civilian life. Speaking with Boxing Scene’s Lucas Ketelle, Bamba said, “I didn’t have any direction after leaving the Marine corps. I hit rock bottom, couldn’t afford a place to stay…I was renting a mattress that was shoved behind someone’s sofa.”
He turned his life around when he ventured into the Morris Park Boxing Gym in the Bronx where he learned the rudiments of boxing under the tutelage of former WBA welterweight champion Aaron “Superman” Davis. “I love boxing,” he would say. “The confidence it gives you permeates into other aspects of your life.”
Bamba’s newfound confidence allowed him to carve out a successful career as a personal trainer. His most famous client was the Grammy Award winning R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo who signed Bamba to his new sports management company late in the boxer’s Knockout skein. Bamba was with Ne-Yo in Atlanta when he passed away. Ne-Yo broke the news on his Instagram platform.
Paul Bamba had been pursuing a fight with Jake Paul. Winning the WBA Gold belt opened up other potentially lucrative options. In theory, the holder of the belt is one step removed from a world title fight. Next comes an eliminator and, if he wins that one, a true title fight attached to a hefty purse will follow…in theory.
Rogelio “Porky” Medina, who brought a 42-10 record, had competed against some top-shelf guys, e.g., Zurdo Ramirez, Badou Jack, James DeGale, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant; going the distance with DeGale and Plant. However, only two of his 42 wins had come in fights outside Mexico, at age 36 he was over the hill, and his best work had come as a super middleweight.
Thirteen months ago, Medina carried 168 ½ pounds for a match in New Zealand in which he was knocked out in the first round. He came in more than 30 pounds heavier, specifically 202 ¼, for his match with Paul Bamba. In between, he knocked out a 54-year-old man in Guadalajara to infuse his ledger with a little brighter sheen.
Why did the WBA see fit to sanction the Bamba-Medina match as a title fight? That’s a rhetorical question. And for the record, the record for the most consecutive knockouts within a calendar year wasn’t previously held by Mike Tyson. LaMar Clark, a heavyweight from Cedar City, Utah, scored 29 consecutive knockouts in 1958 after opening the year by winning a 6-round decision. (If you are inclined to believe that all or most of those knockouts were legitimate, then perhaps I can interest you in buying the Brooklyn Bridge.)
Clark was being primped for a fight with a good purse which came when he was dispatched to Louisville to fight a fellow who was fairly new to the professional boxing scene, a former U.S. Olympian then known as Cassius Clay who knocked him out in the second round in what proved to be Clark’s final fight.
Paul Bamba was a much better fighter than LaMar Clark, of that I am quite certain. However, if Paul Bamba had gone on to meet one of the world’s elite cruiserweights, a similar outcome would have undoubtedly ensued.
One can summon up the Bamba-Medina fight on the internet although the video isn’t great – it was obviously filmed on a smart phone – and pieces of it are missing. Bamba was winning with his higher workrate when Medina took his unexpected leave, but one doesn’t have to be a boxing savant to see that Paul’s hand and foot speed were slow and that there were big holes in his defense.
This isn’t meant to be a knock on the decedent. Being able to box even four rounds at a fast clip and still be fresh is one of the most underrated achievements in all of human endurance sports. Bamba’s life story is indeed inspirational. When he talked about the importance of “giving back,” he was sincere. In an early interview, he mentioned having helped out at a Harlem food pantry.
Paul Bamba had to die to become well-known within the fight fraternity, let alone in the larger society. One hopes that his death will inspire the sport’s regulators to be more vigilant in assaying a boxer’s medical history and, if somehow his untimely death leads to the dissolution of the fetid World Boxing Association, his legacy would be even greater.
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