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OBSERVE AND FIGHT: BERNARD HOPKINS PROVING THAT AGE IS A QUESTION OF MIND OVER MATTER

By David Kassel | April 21, 2014
OBSERVE AND FIGHT: BERNARD HOPKINS PROVING THAT AGE IS A QUESTION OF MIND OVER MATTER

It's Monday. Welcome back for another edition of Observe and Fight, The Boxing Observer's compilation of observations and random thoughts from the week that was in boxing. Get caught up on some of the most recent events you may have missed out on, including the ageless wonder, Bernard Hopkins, continuing to rewrite the history books, the premiere of All Access: Mayweather vs. Maidana, Shawn Porter taking his game to the next level, a preview of this weekend's fights, and much more. Without further ado, check out the latest observations from the Boxing Observer, David Kassel.

Bernard Hopkins is proving that age is a question of mind over matter. I thought Beibut Shumenov was going to give Hopkins more of a fight on Saturday. Shumenov's relentless style convinced me that Hopkins was going to have to work hard all 3 minutes of all 12 rounds. While Hopkins did work hard, Shumenov fell victim, like most Hopkins opponents do, by playing right into Hopkins' pace. Shumenov may have been his own worst enemy in this fight. I keep thinking that Hopkins is eventually going to get old, and while he will, it doesn't seem that anything is going to slow him down. Should Adonis Stevenson get past Andrzej Fonfara on May 24th, it will be interesting to see how he handles the wisdom of Bernard Hopkins. Stevenson is a rising star, but I'm not so sure, even now, that Stevenson can beat Hopkins.

Beibut Shumenov still has a long career ahead of him if he chooses to continue fighting. I am by no means suggesting that Shumenov is going to retire, but he is only 30 years old and has the attributes of lasting a long time. He is a tall fighter with a long reach. His stamina is outstanding. Yes, he was dropped by Hopkins, but the experience was the difference in the fight. People have to remember that Shumenov has only had 16 professional fights. He took a huge step up in competition Saturday night and needs a bit more seasoning, but Shumenov is certainly not going away anytime soon. One thing Shumenov does need is a trainer. I don't think I remember a fighter not having a trainer in his corner, but from a technical standpoint, Shumenov could benefit from the tactical work a world-class trainer could teach him.

Don't even get me started on Gustavo Padilla's scorecard in favor of Shumenov.

Marcos Maidana is going to be very dangerous heading into the Floyd Mayweather fight. There are some guys putting on a show, and there are some guys who are genuine to their beliefs. Mayweather is about "Money" and making lots of it. He has created a persona which has made him one of the richest athletes in the world. Maidana, on the other hand, doesn't like the spotlight and would rather spend time with family than spend time under the bright lights. A few years ago, after he lost to Devon Alexander, Maidana had thoughts about retirement. Since then, he has gone on to win 4 in a row; 3 by knockout. The birth of his daughter seems to have put Maidana more at ease with his life situation. Maidana seems more relaxed than ever before. I'm still predicting a Mayweather victory (obviously that's the easy thing to do), but Maidana's calm before the storm attitude could make this fight a bit more interesting than I initially imagined it would be.

Shawn Porter...WOW! Everyone knew Porter would have a clear-cut advantage in size and power against Paulie Malignaggi Saturday night, but nobody has ever dominated "The Magic Man" like that before. Malignaggi had only been stopped twice before in his career; both times came via 11th round TKO (against Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan). Porter is proving he is going to be a difficult outing at welterweight. He may be short, but he packs a wallop of a punch and has the speed to neutralize a lot of fighters. If Keith Thurman can get past Julio Diaz this Saturday night, can you imagine the war that would be Porter vs. Thurman? That would make one hell of a co-feature fight on Floyd Mayweather's next pay-per-view in September.

Peter Quillin continues to fly under the radar, but eventually someone is going to have to let him fly high. Lukas Konecny was no pushover. 3 of his 4 previous losses had come to former world champions. Quillin came in and dominated the fight from start to finish. Is Quillin on the level of Sergio Martinez and Gennady Golovkin? I don't know. We have to consider that Quillin hasn't been fighting for that long though. Since Quillin fights on Showtime, the Martinez and Golovkin fights are seemingly out of the question right now. Daniel Jacobs, who did an excellent job filling in for Paulie Malignaggi as the color commentator Saturday night, seems to be the next man up. That could be a great fight as both men are quick, powerful, and willing to throw combinations. Barclays Center would be the perfect destination for both Brooklyn natives as well. The other fight I wouldn't mind seeing Quillin in is him facing the winner of the IBF middleweight title bout between Felix Sturm and Sam Soliman.

It looks like Bob Arum has pissed off another future star in the making. On April 8th, undefeated champion and potential future Top-5 pound-for-pound fighter Mikey Garcia sued Top Rank, alleging violations of the Muhammad Ali Act. According to the lawsuit, Garcia's contract "improperly provides Top Rank the ability to extend the agreement indefinitely, essentially rendering the contracting fighter an indentured servant of Top Rank." The lawsuit also claims that Top Rank has failed to make "required disclosures to Garcia" about the amount of money his fights make.

Did Jim Lampley confuse the two fighters named Carlos Molina? On Saturday's edition of The Fight Game, Lampley claimed that on the undercard of Mayweather vs. Maidana, Adrien Broner would be facing Carlos Molina, who "has spent the bulk of the past few months in jail." I hope I'm not making a mistake here, but the IBF junior middleweight champion Carlos Molina has spent over a month in immigration jail (ICE). The Carlos Molina whom Adrien Broner is fighting has not fought since losing a technical decision to Amir Khan in December, 2012. I searched the internet for awhile on Sunday to see if the Carlos Molina fighting Adrien Broner has spent any time in jail recently and I came up with nothing. I could be incorrect, and the Carlos Molina fighting on May 3rd could very well have spent time in jail recently, but if that's not the case, Lampley and his research team should feel fortunate that nobody is making a bigger deal about this suspect reporting. There are two well-known, active fighters named Carlos Molina, and the two men should not be confused, especially in that sort of way.

Could Danny Garcia vs. Adrien Broner be next for the junior welterweight title? The two fighters gave an entertaining interview prior to the Porter/Malignaggi fight, and it's not out of the question that Garcia's final fight at 140lbs could be against Broner. Both are managed by Al Haymon and if Broner can defeat Carlos Molina, it would be a match-up that could make a ton of money for both guys.

I would love to see Scott Quigg vs. Leo Santa Cruz in a 122lb. unification fight. I believe Santa Cruz is a step above Quigg, but it would be an all-action fight from beginning to end. If Santa Cruz is willing to travel across the pond to England, it could be a career payday. It's something Al Haymon should consider for his fighter, Santa Cruz. Quigg's promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants the fight and Golden Boy Promotions should seriously consider it.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has a new executive director. Robert Bennett has been selected to replace Keith Kizer, who resigned in January, to take over what is widely considered the most important commission in the world. Bennett will jump right in as the biggest fight in 2014 takes place in 12 days in Las Vegas. Mayweather vs. Maidana will give Bennett immediate on-the-job training to staging and handling huge events.

The Boxcino Middleweight semifinals was very entertaining. I'm excited about the finals in both the lightweight and middleweight divisions as all 4 fighters have earned their place at the top of the tournament. I've said it before and I'll say it again: any tournament in sports is a good thing because it causes a one and done competition. Nothing brings out the best like a "winner moves on, loser goes home" scenario.

I really like the new show "Knockout" on Nuvo TV! I had heard about Tim Coleman's blowup a few months ago, but it was worse than I thought after seeing it on TV. Once these fighters get going in the ring, it will be interesting to see how these younger fighters will deal with the veterans of this bunch. One thing I did notice is that a lot of the fighters seemed relieved not to be picked by trainer Ruben Guerrero.

Friday night produced more than one candidate for Knockout of the Year! The opening bout on ESPN Friday Night Fights provided a heavyweight punch not seen for a long time. Undefeated Nate Heaven threw a thunderous right hand to the head of Donovan Dennis, sending Dennis to the canvas. While Dennis made it to his feet, he had no idea who, or where, he was. The sound of the blow was reminiscent to the sound that Sergio Martinez's overhand left made when it connected with Paul Williams's chin in their 2nd fight. What a punch! The opening bout on Fox Fight Night produced another 1st round, spectacular KO as undefeated Travell Manzion landed a massive left hook, sending Antonio Sanchez into minor convulsions on the canvas and prompting the referee to wave off the fight immediately.

We've got another big weekend of fight's this week! In the middle of the week, we've got a world title doubleheader as the WBC bantamweight title is on the line in the main event. Shinsuke Yamanaka defends against Stephane Jamoye. The co-feature attraction has IBF junior featherweight champion Kiko Martinez defending against Hozumi Hasegawa. On Thursday, Josesito Lopez makes his return to the ring, on a special Thursday edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights, to face Aron Martinez. The co-feature sees the return of light heavyweight prospect Thomas Williams Jr. facing the formidable Enrique Ornelas. Friday, in Moscow, Denis Lebedev puts his WBA cruiserweight title on the line in a rematch of his 2013 Fight of the Year candidate against Guillermo Jones. The first fight was marred with controversy after Jones, who won the first fight via 11th round KO, failed a post-fight drug test which returned the belt to Lebedev. The co-feature shines on WBA lightweight champion Richar Abril defending against Eduard Troyanovsky. On Saturday, Wladimir Klitschko puts his heavyweight titles on the line against Alex Leapai in a fight that will be carried on ESPN in the United States. In Mexico, Juan Francisco Estrada puts his flyweight belts on the line against Richie Mepranum, with Hernan "Tyson" Marquez serving as the co-featured attraction. Finally, on Showtime, from Carson, California, Keith Thurman makes his return to the ring to take on Julio Diaz. In the co-feature, Lucas Matthysse returns to take on hard-hitting John Molina in what could be a Fight of the Year candidate. In the opening bout, WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa makes his return, after his Fight of the Year candidate in 2013 against Nihito Arakawa, to defend against Jerry Belmontes. It's going to be a fantastic weekend.

RIP goes out to Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. Anyone who has seen the movie "Hurricane", starring Denzel Washington, knows the entire story already. Carter lost about 25% of his life in prison after being wrongfully convicted of triple murder in 1966. His story is inspirational and gives hope to anyone who is wrongfully convicted to never give up. Carter will always have his place in boxing history and will always be remembered. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Each week, I feature an email from a fan on Observe and Fight. This week's email comes to us from Levar M. regarding my comments about Roy Jones Jr. last week...

"Hey David, I...wanted to see what you were talking about when you mentioned RJ not knowing the difference between passion and compassion. I watched the Pacman vs. Bradley fight but i streamed it on boxnation so the commentary was not the hbo one. I was just curious as to what he said and how he didnt understand. I almost feel bad for him but take it easy on him you know he has been knocked out multiple times. He is still a good commentator though."

I know what you mean, but they were talking about Bradley saying Pacquiao was showing "compassion" for his fighters, and Roy started getting mad saying how people are crazy for saying Pacquiao has no "passion" and desire anymore. I thought it was an honest mistake and he confused the two, but when Lampley and Kellerman said "compassion", not "passion", Roy was asking what the difference was. That's an issue to me. I love Roy and he is a great guy, but it's embarrassing, to be honest.

That's all I've got for this week. Email any questions or comments to dkassel@fighthype.com and I will answer them throughout the week. Your email may be featured in the next "Observe and Fight." Follow me on Twitter @BoxingObserver, and be sure to "Like" The Boxing Observer on Facebook.



[ Follow David Kassel on Twitter @BoxingObserver ]

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