Washington, D.C. is known as a city where history is made. On Saturday, April 19, another historic event will take place in the nation’s capital when IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins faces WBA World Champion Beibut Shumenov in an attempt, at 49-years-old, to become the oldest fighter in boxing history to unify world titles. The DC Armory, the site of several championship boxing matches in the last year, will host the return of the future Hall of Famer to the capital for the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.
Boxing’s elder statesman, Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs) continues to achieve remarkable goals in the world of boxing-and has done just that since turning pro in 1988. But he has amazed even more with his exploits over the last few years, as he twice became the oldest man to win a major world championship in the ring. Now 49-years-old, the pride of Philadelphia, Pa., had one of his best years yet in 2013, defeating Tavoris Cloud in March to win the IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship, and then successfully defending his title in October with an exciting win over Karo Murat. On April 19, the future Hall of Famer returns in an attempt to unify the 175-pound title. Additionally, as a partner in Golden Boy Promotions, Hopkins has undertaken out-of-the ring promotional duties that further solidify him as one of the most recognized and revered figures in the sport.
A native of Shymkent, Kazakhstan who now fights out of Las Vegas, 30-year-old Beibut Shumenov(14-1, 9 KOs) made his way to the top of the light heavyweight division with lightning-fast speed, winning his IBA title against Byron Mitchell in 2009, in just his eighth professional fight before adding the WBA title by defeating Gabriel Campillo two fights later in 2010. Since then, Shumenov, a 2004 Olympian for Kazakhstan, has successfully defended his title five times, defeating Vyacheslav Uzelkov, William Joppy, Danny Santiago, Enrique Ornelas and Tamas Kovacs. But this April, Shumenov gets his opportunity to make a name for himself in the history books if he can defeat Bernard Hopkins.
