LEGENDARY FUTURE HALL OF FAMER BERNARD HOPKINS TO FACE UNDEFEATED IBF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION TAVORIS CLOUD MARCH 9 AT BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN LIVE ON HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® HOPKINS TO ATTEMPT TO BREAK HIS OWN RECORD AS THE OLDEST FIGHTER IN HISTORY TO WIN A WORLD TITLE
BROOKLYN (January 15, 2013) – Future Hall of Famer Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins was born 48 years ago today, and in celebration he will continue his record-setting career on Saturday, March 9 by facing undefeated IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Tavoris “Thunder” Cloud at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a bout which will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing.
“Today is my 48th birthday and I feel half my age, so Cloud had better be ready” said Hopkins, who will be participating in his 29th world championship fight and if he is victorious will break his own record as the oldest fighter in history to win a world title. “People can say what they want. I have broken records, quieted doubters and solidified my legacy. Now, I am going to do all of that again, but this time at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn in front of a large crowd of people that understand and appreciate the sport.”
“This will be the last supper for Bernard Hopkins,” said Cloud, the 30-year old pugilist who will be making the fifth defense of his IBF Light Heavyweight Title which he has held since in 2009. “I will retain my IBF Light Heavyweight World Title.”
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Bernard Hopkins continues to amaze me and I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s going to do next at Barclays Center in March,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Tavoris Cloud is a tough test and a proud champion and with his aggressive style and power, he’s going to push Bernard like never before.”
“This is a history-making fight,” said Don King, President of Don King Productions. “I made history with a guy from Brooklyn by the name of Mike Tyson. Now I have a mini-Mike Tyson in undefeated IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Tavoris Cloud who will fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on March 9. It will be an exciting evening.”
“Bernard Hopkins is one of the most legendary boxers in the sport and we are delighted to have him fight at Barclays Center against a powerful champion such as Tavoris Cloud,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said. “We’re excited to bring this great bout to Brooklyn to headline our third boxing event at Barclays Center. There’s no doubt that major championship boxing has returned to the borough in a big way.”
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
