LV Hilton lands pair of title fights

By Dean Juipe

The wayward Roberto Duran vs. William Joppy WBA middleweight title fight has found a home in Las Vegas, as has the Floyd Mayweather vs. Genaro Hernandez WBC junior lightweight title fight.

The Las Vegas Hilton will host both fights, with Duran vs. Joppy slated for Aug. 29 and Mayweather vs. Hernandez set for Oct. 3.

The companion bout on the Duran-Joppy card will offer IBF middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins vs. mandatory challenger Robert Allen. The Showtime cable network will televise.

Ticket information was not available Monday and there were no betting lines posted for the fights at the Hilton.

Duran, 47, is a three-time former world champion although he last held a legitimate world title in 1989. He's 102-13 with 69 knockouts.

He'll take on Joppy, the WBA champ with a 25-1-1 and 19 KOs, in a bout that was originally scheduled for June 6 in New York City as part of the Evander Holyfield vs. Henry Akinwande card. That entire card was cancelled when Akinwande failed his physical.

Hopkins, 34-2-1 with 26 knockouts, and Allen, 22-2 with 17 KOs, will vie for Hopkins' belt in another bout that has been on the drawing board for some time. The fight went to purse bid and was won by Don King Productions, which later relinquished the bout to America Presents.

Mayweather, of Las Vegas, is 17-0 with 13 KOs. Hernandez, 38-1-1 with 17 knockouts, has lost only to Oscar De La Hoya.

HBO will televise.

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