PRESS RELEASE: Bernard Hopkins has already won a fight this week, capturing the ESPY Award for Best Boxer.  The fighter—who is in Las Vegas just days away from his Saturday HBO Pay-Per-View bout with Jermain Taylor at the MGM Grand Garden Arena—learned late Wednesday night that he won the award.  The winners were announced during the 13th annual ESPY Awards held in Los Angeles.   Hopkins, who won over fellow pugilists Diego Corrales, Zab Judah and Winky Wright, received the most votes from fans who participated in the voting process through espn.com.  “I want to thank the fans around the world for honoring me with best boxer,” said the elated Hopkins.  “This clearly shows they think of me as the pound for pound champ.”  

 

The ESPY Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, July 17 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

 

Tickets for NeXt in Line, priced at $75, $150, $250, $450, and $650, are available at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office outlet. Tickets also are sold at all Las Vegas TicketMaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith's Food and Drug Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call TicketMaster at (702) 474-4000. Tickets also will be available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

 

The Hopkins vs. Taylor pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9pm ET/6pm PT on July 16, has a suggested retail price of $49.95 and will be distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View and will be available to over 50 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD.  HBO Pay-Per-View is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For more event information log onto www.HBOPPV.com