Will the old man punch out Father Time one more time?

Saturday night when WBA Super World, IBF and IBA light heavyweight champion Bernard ‘The Alien’ (formerly the Exterminator) Hopkins steps between the ropes against WBO champion Sergey ‘Krusher’ Kovalev, he’ll do so just two months shy of his 50th birthday. On top of that he’ll be doing it against a fighter in Kovalev who is in his fighting prime at just 31 and arguably his most dangerous opponent ever. Think about that statement for a second, most dangerous opponent ever.

That is quite a statement considering the resume the future Hall of Famer Hopkins (55-6, 32 KO’s) has already assembled. However, when you look at Kovalev’s record (25-0, 23 KO’s) you can understand why; this crushin’ Russian has not had a fight go to a decision in nearly four years. On paper, taking into consideration Kovalev’s knockout ratio and Hopkins age, this looks like more than a mismatch; but how many times have we said this about Hopkins in the last few years?

21 years ago in '93 when he fought the great Roy Jones, Jr. for the middleweight championship, he was supposed to be no match. Sure he lost the decision, but it was hardly a whitewash. Then after dominating the division as a champion for five years from ’96 – ’01, he was finally going to get stopped by Felix Trinidad in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11. In the end it was Trinidad who was stopped and lost for the first time in his career.

He knocked out the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya with a liver shot and although he lost two close decisions to Jermain Taylor, he bounced back as a light heavyweight at 41 and won the IBO title against the Roy Jones destroyer Antonio Tarver. At 42 he defeated ‘Winky’ Wright and then at 43 he faced a young killer, similar to the one he faces tomorrow, in Kelly Pavlik. At the time Pavlik, like Kovalev, was undefeated and a serious power puncher. Hopkins was finally going to be sent into retirement.

In the end, it was Hopkins who gave Pavlik a boxing lesson and won easily. So what’s so different now? For one is Kovalev’s power is eerily similar to Ivan Drago’s character in ‘Rocky IV’, in that “whatever he hits, he destroys.” I have been lucky enough to witness this power up close as I saw Kovalev fight live three times in my hometown from June 2012 - June 2013. In those three fights he fought a total of less than eight rounds as he ran right through the competition.

Yet, it’s that competition that may be his one downfall in this fight. He has fought no one near the level of Hopkins, while Hopkins has fought a virtual who’s who list of champions and Hall of Fame fighters. Obviously, Hopkins is planning to draw on that experience to offset Kovalev’s freakish power and normally I would say that is enough; but there is always that lingering question. At what point does an athlete get old?

To this point Hopkins has been able to elude the effects of or any signs of old age, but it happens to all the greatest of athletes; at some point they suddenly look their age. As an already nearly two year member of the AARP 50+ club, I am sentimentally pulling for Hopkins to win; but for him to defeat Kovalev, he will have to punch out Father Time one more time.

Trick or Treat? MMA eye candy for Halloween

It’s been eight weeks now since the premiere of ‘the Ultimate Fighter’ season 20, which features an all-female cast of fighters. Six of the first eight rounds of fights have taken place and currently 10 fighters remain alive in the tournament to crown the first ever UFC Strawweight (115lbs.) women’s champion. So on this Halloween Friday the question is, has it been trick or treat for us as fans so far with this fighting MMA eye candy we have been witnessing? 

Personally I have to say that it’s been a surprising treat so far. As a hardcore who has been watching ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ AKA TUF since season one, I think I speak for others when I say the show was getting stale. They have tried to spice things up a bit by trying different things, but to date none of them had worked. Even their attempts at going live with the fights at the end did not spark much interest and the failed experiment of 12 weeks in the house versus six just made things worse, not better. 

Of course we had a precursor of having women on the show, when they brought in Ronda Rousey and Meisha Tate as coaches before their epic second fight, along with having bantamweight (135 lbs.) women fighters share the stage with men. At first I figured it would have been better to have saved Rousey and Tate as coaches for this all-female cast; however I now see that using them as an experiment was actually a good move. Besides I think the all-female cast of fighters seem to have taken to having male coaches.  

As far as the show itself thus far, there are certain people and incidents that definitely have stood out. Carla Esparza, Randa Markos and Jessica Penne have definitely showed their abilities as fighters, while Felice Herrig has stood out for that and then some with her good looks and care free attitude. 

One thing that has taken me aback is the flack that Tecia Torres has received for getting back into the tournament after her first round loss in the first week. I definitely don’t want to sound chauvinistic as I write this, but I can’t help but wonder if men would have reacted in this manner. Now before female readers go blasting me, please note that this is not the first time a fighter who has previously lost in the tournament has been given a second chance. 

Yet, in this instance Torres, who had no say in the matter other than to accept an offer given to her directly from Dana White, UFC President himself, has all but been shunned by the cast; more specifically her team. That said, her team is now actually Team Anthony Pettis when she was formerly with Team Gilbert Melendez; however, she had no say in that matter either, that was once again Dana’s choice. 

When it comes to this type of scenario and cliquish attitude, I am always reminded of former TUF alum George Sotiropoulos when he was in the house. He was chastised by his teammates for not awakening them up one morning when it was time to go train. His response quite simply was, “I’m not here to baby-sit anyone and this is not a team sport.” 

He was absolutely right on both counts, especially the team aspect. When all is said and done, only one woman will become champion in this thing. Besides, with Team Pettis fighters currently sweeping Team Melendez through six fights, it’s inevitable that supposed “teammates” are going to fight each other anyway; so enough with the so called loyalty among teammates. 

On a positive note, the fights have been good, the cast themselves have been interesting in one way or another and I think the UFC will have a great commodity in bringing this division and these women into the UFC for years to come. The only question now is, whether the dominance of Team Pettis is any indication of the fight to come between lightweight (155 lbs.) champion Anthony Pettis and number one contender Gilbert Melendez? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait to see if that fight ends up being a trick or treat?

A touch of class for boxing

Saturday night on a two-fight card televised by HBO, the sport of boxing for all its bravado, machismo and at times unnecessary trash talking, demonstrated a touch of class in every sense of the word. Not, one, two or even three fighters displayed such class and charisma, but actually four featured fighters, three active participants and one interviewee, shed a positive light on a sport that could use one.

The first and probably most prevalent example was shown by featherweight champions Nonito Donaire and Nicholas Walters who fought for the WBA Super World featherweight title. This was an exciting fight, which resulted with the undefeated Walters (25-0, 21 KO’s) knocking out the former multi-division champion Donaire (33-3, 21 KO's). After a rock’em, sock’em back and forth five plus rounds, it was Walters who dropped Donaire in the sixth with a right hand that ultimately forced the referee to call a stop to it.

There was no argument from 'The Filipino Flash’ Donaire, but what came next was even better. First Max Kellerman interviewed new star in the making Walters, whom was not only gracious in victory, but praised Donaire for being a great fighter and champion and thanked him for the opportunity. Then Donaire, when asked by Kellerman what happened, gallantly stood there and openly said, “He kicked my ass.”

Donaire made no excuses, even when Kellerman offered a couple such as age or moving up in weight; as a matter of fact he responded by saying, "I trained extra hard for this fight." He too praised Walters for his skill and effort and afterwards, the two hugged (pictured above) and were overheard heaping praise upon one another. What stood out the most was Walters emphatically telling Donaire that he needs to quell any talk about retirement.

If that positive display was not enough, in between fights, HBO’s Jim Lampley interviewed current WBO World welterweight champion Chris Algieri (20-0, 8 KO’s). Algieri, fresh off his upset victory over former champion Ruslan Provodnikov, is the next opponent for the ever-popular Manny Pacquiao. As Lampley asked the questions, Algieri responded eloquently.

Educated, well spoken and well mannered, he did not bite when Lampley tried to goat him into trash talking Pacquaio. Instead Algieri told Lampley, he genuinely likes Manny Pacquaio. He stated, “This is a sport; a competition. I don’t need to hate my opponent to go out and do my job."

Considering all the sudden notoriety that Algieri has received in the last few months, it’s refreshing to see fame has not polluted him; and after meeting this kid personally and talking to him back in May of this year, I don't think it will.

Finally, in the main event on Saturday, the sport's fastest rising star multi-organization world middleweight champion Gennady 'Triple GGG' Golovkin (31-0, 28 KO's, made quick work of his challenger Marco Antonio Rubio, finishing him within two rounds. Afterwards Kellerman interviewed the native of Kazakhstan in the ring.

Golovkin, not only displayed elegance while using his new found language of English during the post fight interview, but he acknowledged the large Mexican crowd in attendance in Carson, CA by speaking to them in Spanish; quickly endearing himself as a fan favorite among Hispanic boxing fans. Even his call out of Puerto Rican star WBC champion Miguel Cotto was done with the utmost respect.

So much for the foolish antics of a knucklehead like Adrien Broner or even the promotional nonsense at times by boxing's biggest star Floyd 'Money' Mayweather. Boxing definitely put its best foot forward in and out of the ring on Saturday night; best of all, it was done so by some of it's brightest young stars displaying a touch of class for a change.

Going head up in Connecticut

It wasn't necessarily the pro wrestling Monday night war days of the '90's between the then WWF and WCW, but it had a similar feel to it. In a surprise move by the Ultimate Fighting Championship, they held a rare UFC Fight Night card on a Friday; yes the same night that Bellator Fighting Championships has held down for mixed martial arts for a couple of years now.

If that wasn't bad enough, they did it on the night of the premiere event for Bellator's new season and also the first event under new President Scott Coker. Finally, to really try and rain on Bellator's parade the UFC held their event in Connecticut; yes the same state Bellator was in. Bellator was at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, while the UFC was at Foxwoods in Ledyard on the Manshantucket Pequot Indian Reservation; not necessarily the fight capital of the world I know.

Personally I thought it was a power play, but bitch move by the UFC. They rarely come to the East Coast, let alone Connecticut, and they hardly ever fight on Friday night. Nonetheless, as fans we were treated to our fair share and choices of free fights on TV; and considering the number of commercials and down time that is associated with these free TV fights, you were able to go back and forth without missing much action.

As for the main events, I'd have to say it was Bellator's one shining moment over the UFC. The featherweight (145 lbs.) championship bout they had between former champion Pat Curran (20-6, 5 KO's 7 subs) and now new champ Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire (22-2, 9 KO's 7 subs) was almost an exact replica of a their previous championship fight. Five rounds of back and forth action, only this time Freire left no doubt in the judges minds, previously losing via split decision. Pitbull clearly won three, if not four, of the five rounds dropping Curran with punches three times throughout and earned a unanimous decision.

That's not to say the UFC main event was a bad one between ranked middleweight (185 lbs.) contenders #3 Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza (21-3, 2 KO's 15 subs) and #7 Gegard 'The Dreamcatcher' Mousasi (35-5, 18 KO's 12 subs). It's just that this was a one-sided affair with Souza continuously taking down Mousasi and maintaining control on the ground till he eventually finished him with a late third round guillotine choke. Still undefeated in the UFC with four straight wins, Jacare looks like a serious contender to challenge champion Chris Weidman who was in attendance.

While Bellator may have won the main event battle, the under card was clearly dominated by the UFC who had two first round heavyweight knockouts and a second round finish due to a cut, but was the most exciting fight of the night between lightweights (155 lbs.) Joe Lauzon (24-9, 5 KO's 18 subs) and Michael Chiesa (11-2, 8 subs). Non-stop action both standing and on the ground, started UFC's main card off on the right foot and inevitably it was a vicious knee from Lauzon to Chiesa above his right eye that ended it.

Bombs away was the menu for heavyweight winners 'Big' Ben Rothwell (34-9, 20 KO's 11 subs) and Matt 'Meathead' Mitrione (8-3, 7 KO's) as they bombarded Alistair 'The Reem' Overeem (37-14, 15 KO's 19 subs) and Derrick 'The Black Beast' (11-3, 10 KO's 1 sub) respectively. Both Rothwell and Mitrione came into the fights as underdogs, but timely right hands ended up ramming The Reem and taming The Black Beast. I would expect a fight between the winners may not be a bad way to go.

Bellator's under card was not bad, as they too had finishes in all their bouts. However, considering there were knockouts and submissions, for some reason I was not very impressed in the way light-heavyweight (205 lbs.) Muhammad 'King Mo' Lawal and heavyweight Bobby Lashley finished their, what I considered, sub par opponents. I can't say the same for former UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo (22-9, 12 KO's 4 subs) though.

Just when you think you've seen it all in this sport, Kongo defeated another former UFC vet in Lavar 'Big' Johnson (18-10, 16 KO's, 2 subs) in the first round, but not as you think. You'd figure these two massive strikers would crack one another into oblivion, and heavy leather was being thrown, but it was Kongo winning via a rear naked choke submission. I guess going head up in Connecticut wasn't a bad thing after all.

All it takes is one punch

Being a fan of combat sports comes with a double-edged sword. We love the excitement a one punch knockout can bring at any moment; but at the same time we cringe at the thought afterwards of what could really happen. Whether it's in a cage with mixed martial arts or in a ring with boxing, the reality that all it takes is one punch to change, win and end a fight is a scary one.

Fighters enter the combat zone knowing full well the consequences, or do they? Sure they understand that the possibility they could get put to sleep is always there; but do they understand it can have a lingering effect? I'm not talking long term, because I'm not a physician, but history has shown us that once a fighter gets stretched out unconscious, more often than not it continues to happen over and over.

The top photo shows MMA fighter Charlie Brenneman getting dropped by a vicious punch from UFC lightweight Danny Castillo. Throughout his career, Brenneman has shown a pretty durable chin, especially when he was fighting as an undersized welterweight. However of the seven losses in his career, four have been due to KO's and three of those were of the brutal one-punch/kick variety. 

It remains to be seen if these KO's will or do have a lingering effect on Brenneman's career, as will be the case for boxing great Manny Pacquiao (bottom photo) who was out cold face down on the canvas for a few minutes in this fight again Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao has had two fights since this scary knockout loss, which he won both by decision, but it wasn't necessarily against the biggest guys and heaviest punchers in his division. Brandon Rios was a blown up super lightweight fighting at welterweight and Timothy Bradley has 12 KO's in 31 wins. 

Pacquiao's next opponent Chris Algieri has but eight knockouts in 20 victories. As long as Pacman continues to fight light punchers we may never know how that one punch from Marquez has affected him, if it did at all. However, there is no question it has already begun to happen to UFC lightweight Gray Maynard.

Maynard, once a title challenger and top contender in the UFC, has lost three fights in a row and four of his last five, all by vicious knockouts. Those are the only four losses on his record and yet they've all happened in his last five fights. The last three in row have taken place over the course of 14 months. Questions have been circling Maynard about his health and whether he should retire; but according to Maynard pending the results of tests being conducted on his brain he plans to continue his fight career. 

It can happen to anybody even the greatest of the greats as can be witnessed through the rapid decline of boxing champion Roy Jones, Jr. Once considered the best pound for pound boxer in the world, Jones career took a sudden turn after he was put to sleep with one left hook from nemesis Antonio Tarver. That one punch turned Jones from an undefeated marvel, to just another fighter who once was.

Before that punch Jones had lost only once, via controversial disqualification, in 51 fights. Since that punch he's lost seven times in 15 fights, three more by knockout. As previously stated, I'm not a physician so this is merely going on what I've seen. It's also not an exact science as can be witnessed by the comeback of UFC heavyweight Andre Arlovski.

Arlovski, a former UFC champion, was all but considered done after four losses in a row; three of which were due to first round knockouts. Everyone including myself said Arlovski was finished and his chin more fragile than paper mache. Yet, Arlovski has gone (7-1-1) in his last nine fights since and has worked his way back to the UFC where he garnered a win in his last bout. For now, it appears all is good for 'The Pitbull', but in three weeks he's scheduled to fight Antonio 'Big Foot Silva'. All it takes is one punch from that giant and the great Arlovski comeback story could be over just that fast. 

Fight night is full of fisticuffs and fireworks

On a beautiful summer evening from the Sands Casino Event Center in Bethlehem, PA, amidst the shadows of the old Bethlehem Steel mill with the sound of harmonies from the annual 'Musikfest' outdoor music festival blaring literally yards away, fisticuffs and fireworks were going off indoors. That's because the latest installment of NBC Sports 'Fight Night' series featured a triple-header of "Big Boy" boxing; as there were two heavyweight and one light-heavyweight bout headlining the card.

In the main event, it was a showdown between world #2 ranked Vyacheslav 'Czar' Glaskov (18-0-1, 11 KO's) from the Ukraine and upset minded veteran Derric Rossy (29-9, 14 KO's). Glaskov nay have been the headline attraction, but someone forgot to tell Rossy as the big man from Medford, NY nicknamed 'El Leon' (The Lion), displayed the heart of one early on and throughout.

Not your typical slow and methodical heavyweights, both Glaskov (218.5 lbs.) and Rossy (232.5 lbs.) moved around the ring displaying impressive boxing skills, including effective jabs and multiple combinations. Surprisingly though, it was Rossy who was getting the better of the exchanges in the beginning as he was catching Glaskov with some clean shots. In the second round an uppercut that caught the Ukrainian flush on the chin, drew oohs and aahs from crowd, but Glaskov was able to walk right through it.

Glaskov, who was coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory over former two-division champion Tomasz Adamek, was expected to have an easy time of it with the journeyman; however Rossy was more than game as he gave 'The Czar' all he could handle and then some. After an entertaining back and forth ten rounds it was Glaskov who barely got out with a majority decision win as one judge had it even at 95-95; many on press row, including myself had Rossy winning 96-94.

In his post fight interview, Glaskov stated he injured his right hand early. He also stated that his first fight with new trainer John David Jackson might have contributed to his lackluster performance. Personally, I think he underestimated his opponent who surprised everyone, especially Glaskov with his will to win.

The co-main event featured a title fight in the light-heavyweight division for the PABA and WBO Oriental titles between Robert 'The Butcher' Berridge (24-2-1, 20 KO's) and Vasily 'The Professor' Leplikhin (16-0, 9 KO's). The height of Leplikhin proved the difference in this one, as at 6'4", he was at least 4-5 inches taller than the New Zealander Berridge.

'The Professor' was smart enough to use that length advantage to keep 'The Butcher' on the outside and pick him apart. With Berridge unable to figure out how to get inside of Leplikhin's reach, inevitably he was caught. Once at the end of the second round with a straight right that dropped him and two separate times in the fifth that ultimately finished him. The undefeated Russian Leplikhin looks like a force to be reckoned with at 175 pounds.

The first televised and featured bout of the evening was another heavyweight tilt between Auckland, New Zealand's Joseph Parker (10-0, 9 KO's) and Keith 'Untouchable' Thompson (7-3 4 KO's). Unfortunately for Thompson, he couldn't live up to his nickname as Parker peppered him quickly and often with jabs right from the start. Eventually that led to vicious one-two (left-right) combinations that finished the more often than not "Touchable" Thompson at 2:41 of third round.

On the under card it was a couple of local light-welterweights as Allentown, PA's Jonathan Williams (0-3) took on Bethlehem's own Ismael 'Speedy' Serrano. As expected, these 140-pound pugilists started a lot faster than their heavier counterparts. Slick boxing and punches in bunches was the order over four rounds. In the end it was the hometown boy Serrano who walked away with a split decision victory upping his record to (2-1).

Another Bethlehem product featherweight Luis 'Chiki' Acevedo also won on the under card improving his record to (1-0-1) in arguably the most entertaining fight of the night. It was an exciting high energy four round affair against Francisco Aguilar (0-2-2) of The Bronx, NY, which Acevedo won unanimously.

Don't believe the hype!

The last 24 hours in MMA has gotten real heated. This all because of a shoving match between UFC light-heavyweight (205 lbs.) champion Jon Jones (pictured @ right) and title challenger Daniel Cormier at their face off for promoting their UFC 178 showdown next month in Las Vegas. However while this fight has suddenly sparked some serious excitement among fans, I'm here to say in my best Flava Flav voice, "Don't believe the hype."

That's because while on the surface, the dislike between these two appears to be genuine, we've seen this supposed genuine disdain between opponents before. Jones (20-1, 9 KO's 6 subs) had this type of hype before his fight with former champion Rashad Evans and when it was over, we were treated to a one-sided five round dud won by Jones. Evans is always good for smack talk leading up to a fight, as he did with another former champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson before their bout at UFC 114.

Those two went back and forth many times before that fight as opposing coaches on 'The Ultimate Fighter' TV reality series. They both talked about all the things they were going to do to each other climaxed by Jackson's statement the day before the fight. I remember being there in person live at the weigh-ins @ The MGM Grand when Joe Rogan asked 'Rampage' for his comments; Jackson in an emphatic and furious state said, "He's dead!"

You just knew it was going to be a war. I felt lucky that I was going to see it live and so did all the other thousands in attendance. However, what ended up happening was Evans wrestled him to the ground for the first two rounds and Rampage did the same to Evans in the third; in the end, it ended up being another "alright" unanimous decision.

One year before that it was the "Bad Blood" between former welterweight champions Matt 'The Terror' Serra and Matt Hughes that had everybody clamoring for an epic showdown between two guys that didn't like each other. Their rivalry also built up on 'The Ultimate Fighter' as opposing coaches, you just knew it was going to be ugly. Surprise; you guessed it, a three round ho hum decision win for Hughes.

I could go on and on with examples of fights that were highly anticipated because of the rivalry between the two combatants that ended up being duds, but I won't. Also, that is not to say that these fights never live up to the hype. All I'm saying is hold your horses and don't automatically be thinking your shelling out $50.00+ for the fight of the year.

Cormier (15-0, 6 KO's 4 subs) does present an interesting challenge to Jones. A former heavyweight, now fighting at light heavyweight. A former Olympic wrestler who may finally be able to put Jones on his back and keep him there, which no other opponent has been able to do; and he trains daily with the heavyweight champion of the world Cain Velasquez.

However, he is only 5'11 to Jones's 6'4"; and his arms are really short next to Jones's incredible 84" reach. Add it all up and there is just the possibility that this fight may not end up being the showdown everyone expects. Besides, the last time I saw two fighters go at each other like that at a promotion presser was when Mike Tyson approached Lennox Lewis; yes, the 5'11 Tyson and the 6'4" Lewis. Yet, come fight night after the one-sided affair was over, Tyson was seen wiping the sweat off of Lewis's forehead. All I'm saying is, "Don't believe the hype!"