Bernard Hopkins

Future Hall of Famer and current IBF light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins will be a guest commentator on this Saturday’s live Showtime Championship Boxing telecast headlined by the Paul Malignaggi-Adrien Broner welterweight fight (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The IBF ordered its light heavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins to make his next title defense against the sanctioning organization’s No. 1 contender, Sergey Kovalev, according to a Monday press release from the Russian puncher’s promoter, Main Events.

The July 13 Showtime Championship Boxing card headlined by IBF light heavyweight beltholder Bernard Hopkins’ title defense against Karo Murat at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., has been cancelled due to the Germany based challenger’s visa denial and subsequent inability to enter the United States.

Coming off a TKO loss to Andre Ward in his last bout, Chad Dawson – who has been an uneven performer in the ring – knows that he can’t afford a lackluster fight against Adonis Stevenson on HBO on Saturday.

Read on for fan feedback on Carl Froch’s stirring rematch victory over Mikkel Kessler, along with thoughts and questions on what's next for both super middleweights, other subjects (and, of course, mythical matchups), in this week’s Monday mailbag. Enjoy! 

Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler weighed 167.9 and 166.7, respectively, in advance of Saturday's HBO-televised super middleweight clash.

Unbeaten three-division titlewinner Abner Mares on a potential matchup with prospect Gary Russell Jr.: "Whenever this fight with Gary Russell were to happen, we'll find out then if I'm tailor-made for him."

Unbeaten welterweight contender Keith Thurman on the other top fighters in the 147-pound division: "There's no elite fighter out there that intimidates me. I'm not intimidated by no fighter, by no man."

Less than two years away from being 50, Bernard Hopkins has accomplished all there is to do in boxing, yet the light heavyweight titleholder – who defends his IBF belt against Karo Murat on July 13 – is still as motivated as ever and in the hunt for one more “mega fight.”

Unbeaten featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. says he wants to challenge the unbeaten elite likes of Abner Mares or Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Bernard Hopkins spoke to RingTV's Bill Emes after Lucas Matthysse's third-round KO of Lamont Peterson. Of a potential showdown between Matthysse and RING 140-pound champ Danny Garcia, Hopkins said Garcia has to be "perfect; he's gotta pitch a no-hitter."

"I keep saying 'I'm different' because it is true and I'm going to prove it once again on July 13," said 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins, referring to his upcoming fight with Karo Murat, who is 19 years younger.

Andre Ward said Bernard Hopkins "took a young fighter to school" in Tavoris Cloud, that Guillermo Rigondeaux "boxed beautifully" against Nonito Donaire, and that Floyd Mayweather Jr. "re-invented himself" against Robert Guerrero.

IBF super middleweight titleholder Carl Froch insists he would be willing to face Bernard Hopkins – but has told the American legend to forget about a light heavyweight showdown.

Former super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute will fight ex-light heavyweight beltholder Jean Pascal on either Dec. 7 or Jan. 25, according to Pascal's promoter, Yvon Michel.

Olympic gold medalist and former featherweight beltholder Yuriorkis Gamboa will meet Colombia's Darley Perez in an HBO-televised lightweight match on June 8 in Montreal.

Fans give their two cents on the Lucas Matthysse-Lamont Peterson fight, Ricky Burns' unexpected struggle with Jose Gonzalez, Carl Froch and Miguel Cotto's legacies, and much more in this week's Monday mailbag. Enjoy!

Danny Green is the most popular boxer in Australia and boxing writer Anson Wainwright found out why during a recent interview with the former light heavyweight titleholder. A rugged brute in the ring, Green is down-to-earth outside of it. The veteran made for an honest, thoughtful, funny Q&A.

Hardcore fans and critics of Floyd Mayweather give Dougie their two cents about the pound-for-pound king and future hall of famer, while other readers focus on upcoming bouts and present mythical matchups, in this week's Friday mailbag. Enjoy!

Manny Pacquiao is requesting random drug testing in advance of his Nov. 23 clash with Brandon Rios.

Former super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute had "several bone fragments" removed from his injured left hand during surgery on Thursday, according to his promoter, InterBox.

The hand injury that forced Lucian Bute to postpone his May 25 showdown with Jean Pascal has also resulted in the entire Montreal card to be cancelled. It is not known if the Canadian broadcast of Kessler-Froch II will air without Bute-Pascal. 

Undefeated junior middleweight Jermell Charlo will take on Demetrius Hopkins as part of the Marcos Maidana-Josesito Lopez card on June 8.

Former IBF super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute suffered an injury to his left hand that will force the postponement of his May 25 clash with fellow Canadian and former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal.

Read on for all the fan feedback on Floyd Mayweather's masterful domination of Robert Guerrero, as well as questions and speculation about what might be next for the Pound-for-Pound king, that one Monday mailbag can hold (don't worry, there will be more in Friday's mailbag). Enjoy!

Mark E. Ortega gathered news, notes and quotes from Antonio Tarver and James Kirkland, among others, during the Fox Sports Net boxing card that took place the night before the Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero event in Las Vegas.

Angel Garcia, the father and trainer of Danny Garcia, called Zab Judah "a sissy" who is going to get his "ass whupped" for spoiling his son's promotional signing event at a Brooklyn sports outlet on Tuesday.

Floyd Mayweather calls Robert Guerrero "a religious guy" who is also a "big-time hypocrite" in Showtime's latest episode of All Access: Mayweather vs. Guerrero. 

From The Telegraph: Nathan Cleverly could face ring legend Bernard Hopkins by the end of 2013 if promoter Frank Warren’s plans for the unbeaten WBO light heavyweight champion come to fruition.

Saturday's RING junior middleweight championship clash of unbeatens Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Austin Trout is another bout that is too close to call during what is shaping up as a year of upsets.

Nathan Cleverly wants to unify his WBO light heavyweight title with THE RING, WBC and IBF titles held by Chad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins, but the unbeaten Welshman isn’t overlooking mandatory challenger Robin Krasniqi, who he fights Saturday in London.

Middleweight contender Matthew Macklin claims that he will handle unbeaten WBA titleholder Gennady Golovkin in similar fashion to how Bernard Hopkins knocked out then-undefeated Felix Trinindad in the 12th round.

If he gets beyond a mandatory title defense against Karo Murat in July, IBF light heavyweight beltholder Bernard Hopkins would like to face Carl Froch or Lucian Bute. (This story also contains a video of Hopkins accepting Gennady Golovkin's challenge.)

IBF beltholder Bernard Hopkins could make the first defense of his belt against Karo Murat.

Richard Schaefer on Golden Boy Promotion's new deal with Fox Sports: "For Golden Boy, it is one of the most significant, if not, the most significant television deals we have ever put together."

A new deal between Golden Boy and Fox Sports will result in a new Monday boxing series and allow fans to rewatch classic bouts from the promoter's fight library featuring Floyd Mayweather, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and Bernard Hopkins, among others.

Unbeaten American heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder says of his next opponent, Audley Harrison: "When I hit Audley Harrison the right way, that may be the punch that ends up ending his career."

Unbeaten welterweight Keith Thurman says he would like to face Paulie Malignaggi, Tim Bradley and Floyd Mayweather, in order.

Florida welterweight standouts Andre Berto and Keith Thurman are schedueld to fight in separate bouts on a Showtime-televised card in July. Berto will face veteran gatekeeper Jesus Soto-Karass; Thurman will fight fellow unbeaten puncher Diego Chaves.

Mike Alvarado's unanimous-decision win in his rematch with Brandon Rios drew 1.2 million viewers on HBO, according to the network.

After enduring the January death of his father, and the first loss of his career in February, 30-year-old Baltimore-based attorney, Venroy July, promoted a boxing event on Saturday that he said "couldn't have gone any better."

Austin Trout: "Team Fight to Walk is very important to me. The statistics about number of everyday people and US troops impacted by Spinal Cord Injuries are scary."

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum would like to "mix-and-match" Brandon Rios, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley over the course of the next few months.

Bob Arum: "If the Nevada Commission has one standard of punishment for Americans, and one standard of punishment for Mexicans, then they should say that."

Former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal has signed to face former IBF super middleweight titleholder Lucian Bute in an all-Canadian clash on May 25.

Bernard Hopkins has seemingly done it all at middleweight and light heayvweight. Is a challenge to Alexander Povetkin the best way to close out his legendary career? Andre Ward, Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer and Povetkin's promoter don't rule it out.

Unbeaten featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. claims he has been pursued by promoter Curtis Jackson, who is also known as the rapper 50 Cent. Russell is managed by Al Haymon and has a working relationship with Golden Boy Promotions.

In becoming the oldest man to win a major boxing title in addition to becoming a 175-pound beltholder for the third time in his career, Bernard Hopkins says he is the antithesis to athletes like Lance Armstrong.

Paulie Malignaggi tells Keith Thurman to "get the (bleep)" out of Brooklyn.

Former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal talks about Bernard Hopkins' record-breaking victory over Tavoris Cloud (with a playful interruption by B-hop) and about his next fight, a May 25 showdown against either RING champ Chad Dawson or Lucian Bute.