Remember on Nov. 5, 1994, when a 45-year-old George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer in 10 rounds to win the IBF and WBA world heavyweight boxing titles?
Remember how popular Foreman, who started a comeback in 1987 and always talked about having fighting either Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield for the championship, became?
On Saturday, Bernard Hopkins, 49, will face unbeaten Sergey Kovalev in a light heavyweight title unification bout at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
Unlike 20 years ago, when promoters were willing to line up Foreman against Holyfield (in 1991) or Tommy Morrison (in 1993), only to see him lose in a 12-round decision to each, this fight is generating very little buzz.
And that's because of race, according to Hopkins.
Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 knockouts) who is the oldest boxer to win and defend titles and set a middleweight record with 20 title defenses in 1996-2005, told ESPN.com, "It's because I'm black. What do you think if my name was Augustine, Herzenstein, Stern? Cappello? Marciano? Don't you understand the conflict of interest?
"If I was any of those names of any other background, I'd be on every billboard and every milk carton and every place to be. If we're talking 'American Dream,' here's a guy who almost threw his life away and he took this country's great attributes and used it -- do for self, work hard and be a law-abiding citizen. I've done that for 26 years."
Hopkins was released from jail in 1988 after serving nearly five years for armed robbery. However, many sports fans over the years have always taken a forgive-and-forget attitude to athletes who ran afoul of the law.
Maybe it's the fact this fight is taking place right in the middle of football season or that boxing's popularity has slipped in the past decades that are the big reasons this fight isn't generating any buzz.
Big talk
When you take over a team that hasn't won a World Series since 1908 or been to a World Series since 1945, it's brave to be talking playoffs.
But that's what new Chicago Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said during his introductory news conference Monday, and with good reasons. Maddon took the Tampa Bay Rays to four playoff appearances with two division titles and the 2008 American League pennant.
"I'm going to be talking playoffs next year," Maddon told reporters at The Cubby Bear, a bar across the street from Wrigley Field. "I'll tell you that right now. I can't go to spring training and say anything else. You have to set your goals high, because if you don't set them high enough, you might hit your mark and that's not a good thing. We're going to talk World Series this year and I'm gonna believe it. It's in our future."
Chicago is coming off five consecutive losing seasons, including a 73-89 mark this year. That's familiar territory for Maddon. When he arrived in Tampa Bay in 2006, the Rays had never won more than 69 games in a season. Three years later, he led them to the World Series.
Headlines
From the web site Fark.com:
• "If you can't beat 'em, sue 'em. Washington Redskins suing 5 Naive Americans who filed trademark petition against the team. Next logical step: use lawyers on the field to improve team's awful record."
• "NBA Commissioner says there will be no work stoppage in 2017. Apparently the season now goes so long it's impossible to tell when the 2016 season will end and 2018 begins.
Sports quiz
Who did Bernard Hopkins beat for his first championship?
Answer: On May 22, 1993, he defeated Roy Jones Jr. by decision for the IBF middleweight title.
Sports on 11/04/2014