Bernard Hopkins scored an unanimous decision over Karo Murat Saturday night in Atlantic City.
‘The Alien’ wants Mayweather next
His older sister Bernadette cringed ever so slightly as the words left his unbruised lips. Bernard Hopkins wants to fight Floyd Mayweather. His management team at Golden Boy Promotions wants him to fight Floyd Mayweather.
That fact became perfectly clear in the moments following The Alien’s — yes, The Executioner is retired, as evidenced by Hopkins’ neon green alien mask — backyard-style brawl win over top contender Karo Murat Saturday night at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.
Hopkins, who scored the unanimous decision, dominated from start to finish but the young German battled hard for all 12 rounds. In the seventh round, Hopkins lobbied Murat’s corner to stop the fight.
“I was trying to negotiate with them to stop the damn fight. This guy was cut, was bleeding, and he took a lot of punishment,” Hopkins said. “This guy was all cut up and I was going to keep beating him, and it’s going to get ugly, so that’s what I did. Well, they didn’t listen and you got to see a couple more rounds. I really wanted the knockout, but he was tough.”
Maybe Hopkins didn’t get the knockout in the ring — although he came very close to ending his 13-year knockout drought — but he definitely got one in the post-fight press conference when the topic turned to Mayweather.
“Listen, let me tell you something, I am willing to have all-access, [cameras] follow me for 13 months,” Hopkins said. “If there’s an opportunity, we cannot ignore a fight. If we do, they’ll look somewhere else. I’m available. You give me until May 2014 to make 160 [pounds] … oh, that fight is on. That’s Hagler and Hearns.”
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer wouldn’t divulge too many details, saying that would be a bad negotiating tactic. However, he made it sound like the two sides have at least talked about the possibility of a Hopkins-Mayweather fight. The bout would center on the “50-50” aspect, with Mayweather approaching his 50th career victory and Hopkins set to turn 50 years old in 14 months.
“That gets my promotional juices going, but we’ll see. But Bernard is right, nobody can be made to get into the ring,” Schaefer said.
There are many hurdles to jump, and many mouths to feed — and an ongoing feud between HBO and Showtime, specifically Golden Boy Promotions, probably wouldn’t allow it.
“There’s a Cold War going on and that war is that HBO doesn’t want to do business with my family,” Hopkins said, “and my family is Golden Boy Promotions, and I ride and die with people that ride and die with me.”
The chances of a Mayweather-Hopkins bout are slim, especially since Mayweather’s camp hasn’t said much publicly about it. There is also a lot of chatter about Mayweather stepping into the ring with a different Philadelphia boxer, Danny Garcia.
And while Hopkins’ comments after the Murat bout reeked of a self-organized promotional stunt, they certainly raised eyebrows and increased hope for boxing fans everywhere. If we’ve learned anything after all these years, don’t count the 48-year-old light heavyweight champion out.
“I don’t think too many reporters would count me out because they have counted me out way too many times before,” Hopkins said. “You know, this won’t be an easy task if it be and if it’s not, it’s not. There’s nothing I’m chasing. Truthfully, to be honest with you, I’d rather unify the title.”
