IBF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION BERNARD HOPKINS TO FACE MANDATORY CHALLENGER KARO MURAT ON SATURDAY, JULY 13 AT BARCLAYS CENTER IN BROOKLYN, N.Y.

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Continuing to break his own records, IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins will become the oldest fighter in history to make his initial title defense when he faces number one rated IBF light heavyweight contender Karo Murat on Saturday, July 13 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  The bout will mark Hopkins' second time fighting in Brooklyn's new arena following his stellar win over Tavoris Cloud at Barclays Center in March.

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 and sponsored by Corona and AT&T.

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Johnny Bos Tribute Tuesday at

 Ring 8 meeting in New York 

Ring 8 will pay tribute to the late, great matchmaker Johnny Bos tomorrow night (Tuesday, May 21 starting at 7:00 p.m. ET) at historic Waterfront Crabhouse, in Long Island City, New York.

Many of Bos' friends, family and associates have been invited to attend tomorrows Ring 8 monthly meeting in an effort to raise funds to help defray the costs of Bos' funeral.  One-hundred percent of all proceeds raised tomorrow from new Ring 8 membership fees ($30.00 per year entitles each member to a buffet dinner at Ring 8 monthly meetings), as well as any group or individual donations, will go directly towards Bos' funeral expenses.
"We just became aware of this situation (funeral expense needs) over the weekend and Ring 8 wanted to help," Ring 8 president Bob Duffy said. "All monies raised will go directly to Johnny's family towards his funeral expenses. Ring 8 member and Johnny's close friend, Don Majeski, was the driving force in this effort.
"Anybody from New York who has been involved in boxing for the past 25 years or more, if asked to identify one person in New York boxing, would say Johnny Bos. He was a boxing icon who everybody knew and respected. He was a tough guy to make matches with, though, because he always knew what he was doing. Johnny Bos was a great guy and Ring 8 is privileged to pay tribute to him."

I have been through some time of reflection. Our lives today are so different than in my years of youth. It is not easy to adapt. I traveled to Cancún for the WBC convention absolutely convinced to step down from the presidency of the WBC after such a long 37-year period - a lifetime. I was not allowed. It made me pause for a mental attitude renewal and my great gratitude and love for all those that trust me.

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On Saturday night, WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas "The Machine" Matthysse entered the ring at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and went to work. In just three short rounds, Matthysse sent IBF Junior Welterweight World Champion Lamont Peterson to the canvas three times before the referee stopped the fight. Fans in attendance went wild and the press has proclaimed him to be the scariest man in boxing today. Don't miss the replay, tomorrow Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.

Minutes after Lucas Matthysse’s third-round knockout of District boxer Lamont Peterson on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer was barely able to contain his excitement when revealing preliminary plans for a blockbuster fight card in the nation’s capital featuring both principals.
With Verizon Center as the venue and Sept. 7 the target date, Schaefer and his team are in the early stages of assembling a main event matching Matthysse against Danny Garcia in a unification bout in the light welterweight division. The co-headliner would be Peterson against Zab Judah, formerly the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.

The officials announced for the much anticipated rematch between super middleweight champions Mikkel Kessler and Carl Froch will be referee Pete Podgorski (USA) and judges Adalaide Byrd (USA), Carlos Sucre (Venezuela) and Jean-Francois Toupin (France). Organization supervisors are Lindsey Tucker (IBF) and Mariana Borissova (WBA). The match-up is being held next Saturday at the 02 Arena (Millenium Dome) in London.

Greg Cohen Promotions is proud to announce the signing of Afghani-Canadian super featherweight contender Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10 KOs) to a promotional contract.

The 31-year-old Usmanee, rated #14 by the IBF, has already won the NABA and WBC Continental Americas Championships as a professional. As an amateur he was a five-time National Canadian Champion.

Usmanee's only career defeat was a highly controversial 12-round decision to fellow contender Rances "Kid Blast" Barthelemy on January 4 of this year. Fighting in Barthelemy's adopted home of Miami, Florida, and live on ESPN Friday Night Fights, Usmanee appeared to take the fight over at the midway point and grew more dominant as the rounds wore on. However, the judges saw it another way.

Cohen will serve as promoter with Paul Keefe as manager and former world champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad as trainer.

WBC super lightweight interim champion Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs) impressively annihilated IBF jr welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (31-2-1, 16 KOs) with a devastating third round KO on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Matthysse floored Peterson once in round two and twice in round three. Referee Steve Smoger waved it off at 2:14. The bout was a non-title match because Matthysse didn’t want to give up his WBC interim belt. Peterson remains IBF welter champ.
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IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander (25-1, 13 KOs) scored a dominant seven round TKO Over Lee Purdy (20-4-1, 13 KOs). Alexander stayed right in front Purdy, loading up with high volumes of big shots. Purdy was outgunned but willing to trade. The fight was finally stopped by Purdy’s corner after round seven. The bout was switched to a non-title affair after Purdy failed to make weight.

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Former world champion Sugar Shane Mosley (47-8-1, 39 KOs) won a close twelve round unanimous decision over Pablo Cesar Cano (26-3-1, 20 KOs) on Saturday night in a welterweight bout at the Grand Oasis Hotel in Cancun, Mexico. Cano did more early, but the 41-year-old Mosley started coming hard in round six. After round eight, the WBC’s open scoring Mosley was up on two cards and Cano was ahead on one. Good two-way action in round nine with Cano having the edge. Mosley responded with a strong round ten. In the end, scores were 115-113 for Mosley on all cards. The future Hall of Famer claimed the vacant WBC International welterweight title.

The Champion Class promotion, produced by All-In Entertainment, could have been billed as a night of knockouts as four of the five bouts featured explosive KOs highlighted by a dominating performance and victory from Washington welterweight sensation Dusty Hernandez-Harrison.

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Unbeaten heavyweight Krzysztof Zimnoch (15-0-1, 11 KOs) outworked former WBC heavyweight champion Oliver McCall (56-13, 37 KOs) to take an eight round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Arena Hall in Legionowo, Poland. The 48-year-old McCall had no answer for the hand speed of Zimnoch, who is 18 years younger.