IBF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION
BERNARD HOPKINS AND NUMBER ONE RATED
IBF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER KARO MURAT
NEW YORK CITY MEDIA ROUNDTABLE QUOTES
New York City (June 6) - IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins held an intimate media roundtable in Midtown Manhattan today to discuss
his July 13 title defense against number one rated IBF Light
Heavyweight contender Karo Murat, who joined the
roundtable via Skype from his training camp in Germany. Below please
find quotes from Hopkins, Murat, COO of Golden Boy Promotions David Itskowitch, CEO of Barclays Center Brett Yormark and Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports Stephen Espinoza who were also on hand to discuss the highly anticipated fight taking place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. and which will be televised live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®.
Click HERE to download photos from the event
Photo Credit: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME®
BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion
"I just found out a
month ago, the doctor will be here before the [fight week] press
conference hopefully to explain this, but I must confess that I am not
human. I am an alien. No, seriously. I realize that Pluto is no
longer a planet now, so I'm from Mars. I've definitely retired the
'Executioner.' You will not hear me mention the Executioner.
"Now, I'm in this world but I'm not of this world. There is no aging process for me.
"The breaking news is that I am an alien.
"I reflect a little bit in my mind about not only defending my title, but also defending my historic career.
"I'm a Philly guy. I
get a lot of love in Philly, but, to be able to be a part of Brooklyn
and to be fighting in a new facility that in 15 or 20 years from now,
people will be talking about the great events that happened there and I
will be mentioned for what I did on March 9.
"When Murat's name
came up and it was agreed upon, I was like 'let's do this.' I see
bigger things in my future believe it or not and he's in the way of
that.
"I feel like I'm in my mid to early 30's instead of my 40's.
"If you don't know Karo Murat, then you'll know him after July 13.
"I think you should pay attention, because I know when I was a number one contender, I was hungry for a title.
"There's a reason why
a fight between Cloud and Murat didn't happen. I got the opportunity
to fight with Cloud, and here we are.
"I look at it as
'look what's on my plate.' The burden is on me, not Karo Murat. The
burden is on me to be who I am and to show the world that when it comes
to age, you know don't count Bernard Hopkins out.
"This guy [Murat] and anybody I fight is a danger at this stage of my career.
"I have to look past
him to the future. That means I'm motivated to make a profound
statement and outdo the last fight. That's one of my whole objectives
is to outdo what people thought was a historic moment March 9. To me,
other than the push-ups, I outdid myself in both Jean Pascal fights.
This is my motivation. I want a super fight before I retire. If I want
that super fight, I have to get past this. This is more of a political,
do or die fight for me. I'm good under pressure.
"Karo Murat, to me,
is that super fight for now as far as on paper, because there's no
reason to talk about anything else if July 13 becomes a disaster for my
plans. It's counterproductive to talk about anyone else past July 13.
"Karo
Murat has been thirsty, he's been waiting and he has a mentality of,
'I'm in a win win situation because there are a lot of other people who
have lost to me. So that's not an embarrassment to him. It's almost
like a badge of honor. Can you imagine getting a black eye from someone
you loved and watched growing up? This guy was 10 years old when I had
a title. That's a shiner that you don't want to heal.
"I'm in a unique
situation being 48 and being a guy that you don't want to take a risk
with your fighters because I have a history of ruining a lot of young
fighters' careers.
"This
isn't an off day for me. I'm not taking him lightly because I know
what's on the table for my future. This year there is a possible chance
that you will see a 48-year-old athlete fighting at a top level three
times. Who does that?"
KARO MURAT, Number One Rated IBF Light Heavyweight Contender
"I respect what
Bernard's achieved so far in his career, but at the end of the day, I'm
traveling to America for the fight of my life. I'm prepared for a
battle and I'm going to show you a real battle once we get into the
ring.
"Of course I'm taking
Bernard seriously. Who wouldn't? Like I said, I've been following his
career since I was 10, so I pretty much know all of his moves;
everything he does, I know already.
"The deciding factor
will be who is mentally stronger and I believe that's me because I don't
have the same pressure that Bernard does, so that gives me an
advantage.
"I
believe there's a big Armenian community in New York, so ever since I
found out that I was coming to New York, I've been hoping all of the
Armenians will come out and support me.
"I'm happy that he accepted the fight. It's by far the biggest fight of my career.
"It's
a joy listening to Bernard. He's a smart guy and it's been quite fun
listening to him. In my opinion, the roles have reversed from his fight
against Cloud. A lot of people were writing him off because he's
old. He was the dark horse in that fight, and I think the roles are
switched now. I think right now I'm the underdog. I'm the dark horse.
I'm caught in the crosshairs and I'll turn up in the best shape
possible. I'll turn up with the right mind set and Bernard Hopkins is
going to feel that on July 13."
DAVID ITSKOWITCH, COO of Golden Boy Promotions
"This is the
opportunity of a lifetime for Karo Murat. It's his first time fighting
in the United States. He's fighting a living legend and a win over
Bernard certainly puts him on the boxing map.
"Bernard is a guy that doesn't need much of an introduction, but I feel his accolades are worth mentioning.
"He's the oldest
fighter ever to win a world title and one of the greatest moments in
sports history was when Jean Pascal was slow getting off of his stool
between rounds, Bernard decided to do pushups in the middle of the ring.
"He
continued to make history with his record-setting unanimous decision
win over previously unbeaten Tavoris Cloud in March at Barclays Center
and that showed he's far from finished. I think we're going to be doing
these press conferences for a few years to come."
BRETT YORMARK, CEO of Barclays Center
"We're
thrilled to be hosting Bernard Hopkins and Karo Murat on July 13. On
March 9, it was so dramatic at Barclays Center when we witnessed an
incredible moment when Bernard won the title.
"He said to me after
the fight that he wanted to make Barclays Center his home away from
home, and here we go...he returns in July.
"We
had a vision three years ago. Our goal was to bring dramatic moments
to Barclays Center. To have a big time return of boxing back to a
borough like Brooklyn where there is so much history and I think it's
unfolded just the way we've wanted it to.
"We're building a brand and a business in Brooklyn. We're very excited about it.
"We're thrilled that Showtime continues to deliver us to a national audience.
"Thank you Bernard for defending your title at Barclays Center."
STEPHEN ESPINOZA, Executive Vice President & General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports
"We're
very happy to be working with Barclays Center again. Brett and his
team have been extremely creative in marketing and producing these
events. Each event has had a larger crowd than the one prior, and
that's a sign of building a very solid business and building a solid
venue in Brooklyn.
"We're
also very proud to be back in business again with Bernard Hopkins. The
words 'living legend' get thrown around quite a bit but he literally is
a living legend, a medical marvel and every time he fights it is truly
an event.
"That's
not to ignore Karo Murat by any means. He's, for those in the U.S.
that might not know him as well, a fighter that has been highly avoided
by many, many different fighters at different skill levels. I'm not
surprised Bernard would take the challenge. It's going to be a very
competitive fight."
# # #
Hopkins vs. Murat,
a 12-round bout for Hopkins' IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship
taking place Saturday, July 13 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, is
presented by Golden Boy Promotions, sponsored by Corona and AT&T and
will be televised live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® beginning at
9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The event can also be
heard in Spanish on secondary audio programming (SAP). Preliminary
fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the
West Coast).
Tickets
priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and
services charges, are on sale now and may be purchased at
www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the American Express Box
Office at Barclays Center, all Ticketmaster locations or by calling
800-745-3000. For group tickets, please call 800-GROUP-BK.
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