Bernard Hopkins

Bernard Hopkins Jr, known as the Executioner (born January 15, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American boxer. He is a former Undisputed World Middleweight Champion, and the first fighter to retain all 4 world titles of each major boxing sanctioning body, plus the Ring Magazine belt, in the same fight. Having defended a world middleweight title for a record 20 times, he is considered one of the greatest middleweights of all time. The current Ring Magazine, World Boxing Council, and International Boxing Organization Light Heavyweight Champion, he is the oldest boxer ever to win a world title.
Back ground
Born to Bernard Hopkins, Sr. and his wife Sue, Bernard grew up in the Raymond Rosen projects with his family. Hopkins turned to crime early in his life. By the age of thirteen he was mugging people and had been stabbed three times. At seventeen, Hopkins was sentenced to 18 years in Graterford Prison for nine felonies. While in prison he witnessed rapes and the murder of another inmate in an argument over a pack of cigarettes, but also discovered his passion for boxing. After serving almost five years, Hopkins was released from prison in 1988, decided to use boxing as an escape from his previous life, and converted to Islam. While leaving the prison for the final time, the warden told Hopkins he'd "see [Hopkins] again when you wind up back here," to which Hopkins replied "I ain't ever coming back here

Professional career

He immediately joined the professional boxing ranks as a light heavyweight, losing his debut on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Clinton Mitchell. After a sixteen-month layoff, he resumed his career as a middleweight, winning a unanimous decision over Greg Paige at the Blue Horizon on February 22, 1990.

Between February 1990 and September 1992, Hopkins scored 20 wins without a loss. He won 15 of those fights by knockout, 11 coming in the first round.

Winning the IBF middleweight championship

The IBF came again knocking at Hopkins's door on December 17 of that year, matching him with Segundo Mercado in Mercado's hometown of Quito, Ecuador. Mercado knocked Hopkins down twice before Hopkins rallied late and earned a draw. This was the first and only knock down of Hopkins's career until he fought Jean Pascal in 2010. It has been argued that Hopkins was also not properly acclimated to the altitude of nearly 10,000 feet.

The IBF called for an immediate rematch, and on April 29, 1995, Hopkins became a world champion with a seventh-round technical knockout victory in Landover, Maryland.

In his first title defense he defeated Steve Frank, whom he stopped in twenty-four seconds. By the end of 2000, he had defended the IBF title 12 times without a loss, while beating such standouts as John David Jackson, Glen Johnson (undefeated at the time and later went on to knock out an aging Roy Jones Jr), Simon Brown, and Antwun Echols.

reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Hopkins

Arum: Marquez signs Top Rank offer for 3rd fight with Pacquiao

Juan Manuel Marquez is truly aching to have a third shot against Manny Pacquiao.

The 37-year-old Mexican decided to sign the offer given him by Top Rank Promotions in the hope of finally settling an old, old score with his Filipino nemesis.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Tuesday that Marquez already accepted the terms of the deal that will give him a guaranteed purse of $5 million.

It also detailed that he'll be fighting the world's top pound-for-pound fighter at a catch-weight of 144 pounds.

"It's the fight I've been waiting for and I want to fight him," said Marquez, who will be 38-years-old by the time he meets Pacquiao in the ring again six months from now.

Now the fulfillment of the match is in the hands of Golden Boy Promotions.

Golden Boy, Marquez's promoter to which he has yet to renew a contract, needs to match the offer made by Top Rank or else the the fight might push through on November 12 in Las Vegas.

"Golden Boy needs to match the offer by next week," said Arum from his Las Vegas office.

Marquez is taking a wait-and-see attitude on the matter.

"Let's see what they (Golden Boy) offer. They must match the offer and also the weight."

While Marquez and Arum appeared convinced Golden Boy won't match the offer, Richard Schaefer, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Oscar De La Hoya-owned boxing outift, hinted the company may just have something up in its sleeves.

Schaefer hinted Golden Boy has plans of matching the offer, even mentioning that it has a reserved date for a September 17 fight at the MGM Grand, a fight date it can use to headline a possible Marquez slugfest with newly-crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Victor Ortiz.

Ortiz, who dethroned Andre Berto to win the 147-pound strap, can go down to 144 as
he also previously campaigned at 140lbs.

Schaefer also mentioned HBO as a possible Golden Boy partner in order to come up with
the $5 million fight purse of Marquez.

If and when a third Pacquiao-Marquez meeting is consummated, Arum believes it would
be a more competitive one than the Mosley fight, which the world's top pound-for-pound king won in a lopsided manner.

"We're hoping this fight will be better than Mosley," said the 79-year-old Arum.

A Pacquiao-Marquez match had always been action packed as proven in their previous
two encounters.

Their first meeting in 2004 ended up in a controversial draw, while their rematch four years later saw Pacquiao escaping with a split decision, an outcome which Marquez said robbed him of an obvious victory. - JVP, GMA News

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/220307/sports/arum-marquez-signs-top-rank-offer-for-3rd-fight-with-pacquiao

Arum: Marquez signs Top Rank offer for 3rd fight with Pacquiao

Juan Manuel Marquez is truly aching to have a third shot against Manny Pacquiao.

The 37-year-old Mexican decided to sign the offer given him by Top Rank Promotions in the hope of finally settling an old, old score with his Filipino nemesis.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Tuesday that Marquez already accepted the terms of the deal that will give him a guaranteed purse of $5 million.

It also detailed that he'll be fighting the world's top pound-for-pound fighter at a catch-weight of 144 pounds.

"It's the fight I've been waiting for and I want to fight him," said Marquez, who will be 38-years-old by the time he meets Pacquiao in the ring again six months from now.

Now the fulfillment of the match is in the hands of Golden Boy Promotions.

Golden Boy, Marquez's promoter to which he has yet to renew a contract, needs to match the offer made by Top Rank or else the the fight might push through on November 12 in Las Vegas.

"Golden Boy needs to match the offer by next week," said Arum from his Las Vegas office.

Marquez is taking a wait-and-see attitude on the matter.

"Let's see what they (Golden Boy) offer. They must match the offer and also the weight."

While Marquez and Arum appeared convinced Golden Boy won't match the offer, Richard Schaefer, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Oscar De La Hoya-owned boxing outift, hinted the company may just have something up in its sleeves.

Schaefer hinted Golden Boy has plans of matching the offer, even mentioning that it has a reserved date for a September 17 fight at the MGM Grand, a fight date it can use to headline a possible Marquez slugfest with newly-crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Victor Ortiz.

Ortiz, who dethroned Andre Berto to win the 147-pound strap, can go down to 144 as
he also previously campaigned at 140lbs.

Schaefer also mentioned HBO as a possible Golden Boy partner in order to come up with
the $5 million fight purse of Marquez.

If and when a third Pacquiao-Marquez meeting is consummated, Arum believes it would
be a more competitive one than the Mosley fight, which the world's top pound-for-pound king won in a lopsided manner.

"We're hoping this fight will be better than Mosley," said the 79-year-old Arum.

A Pacquiao-Marquez match had always been action packed as proven in their previous
two encounters.

Their first meeting in 2004 ended up in a controversial draw, while their rematch four years later saw Pacquiao escaping with a split decision, an outcome which Marquez said robbed him of an obvious victory. - JVP, GMA News

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/220307/sports/arum-marquez-signs-top-rank-offer-for-3rd-fight-with-pacquiao

Manny Pacquiao beats Shane Mosley to retain WBO belt

Las Vegas (CNN) -- Manny Pacquiao continued his conquest of the boxing world Saturday night when he defeated "Sugar" Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.

The Filipino fighter retained his World Boxing Organization welterweight title at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Pacquiao defeated Mosley by a unanimous decision, 119-108, 120-108, 120-107.

Mosley came into the fight as a former three-time world champion.

But the 39-year-old American was a clear underdog, in part from his having won only two of his past five fights. He endured grueling defeats to Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Miguel Cotto and a draw with Sergio Mora.

The main reason Pacquiao, 32, was the heavy favorite was his own dominance of late. He is the first boxer ever to capture 10 world titles in eight weight divisions -- from flyweight (for boxers between 108 and 112 pounds) up to super welterweight (148 to 154 pounds).

The Ring magazine, among other publications, ranks Pacquiao as the world's best pound-for-pound boxer. Entering Saturday night, he'd won 14 straight fights and compiled a professional record of 52 wins, three losses and two draws -- with 38 of those winning decisions coming by knockout.

His exemplary record, obvious skill and international appeal -- especially in southeast Asia -- have helped make Pacquiao one of the world's most recognizable and admired boxers.

But the native of General Santos city in the Philippines has proven he's more than just a fighter.

Last year, he was elected as a federal congressman in the Philippines.

Pacquiao has also dabbled in American politics, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid crediting the Filipino's appearance at a last-minute rally in 2010 for helping seal his own election victory.

He is also an aspiring singer, having appeared on U.S. shows such as "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and released albums in Tagalog and English.

Given the diversity and time-consuming nature of Pacquiao's interests, trainer Freddie Roach has been among those questioning how much longer the fighter known as "Pacman" will continue to fight in the ring.

One of the biggest lingering questions involving Pacquiao is whether a much-touted showdown with Mayweather ever comes to fruition.

Negotiations last year broke down amid accusations (including Mayweather's unverified claim Pacquiao used performance-enhancing drugs), recriminations and legal threats. Negotiations remain in limbo after Mayweather's arrests on suspicion of battery and larceny.

source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/05/08/nevada.pacquiao.mosley/?hpt=T2

Pacquiao in minor car accident, not injured

LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao was involved in a minor vehicle accident on Saturday but his management team said he was not injured and set for his WBO welterweight title defense against Shane Mosley later in the day.

"Manny is ready to go," the Filipino southpaw's trainer Freddie Roach told reporters at the MGM Grand where the scheduled 12-round bout will be held on Saturday evening.

According to Pacquiao's publicist, Fred Sternburg, the boxer was returning from mass when the sport utility vehicle he was in was hit from behind at low speed by one of his security vehicles.

Sternburg said the 10-times world champion was "a little shaken up" but not injured in the accident which took place on the hotel property. No police report was filed.

The 32-year-old Pacquiao, already acknowledged as one of the best offensive fighters of all time, is an 8-1 favourite to beat Mosley at the MGM Garden Arena.

Although Mosley is a former three-division world champion and holds a height and weight advantage over the Filipino, at the age of 39 the American is in the twilight of his impressive career.

Mosley, 46-6-1 (39 knockouts), has not competed in the ring since his draw with Sergio Mora in September.

Pacquiao, 52-3-2 (38 KOs), is fighting for the first time since he recorded a ruthless points victory over Mexican Antonio Margarito in November for his eighth world title in an unprecedented eight weight class. - Reuters