By Jake Donovan





It takes an amazing amount of patience and discipline when it comes to dealing with legendary two-division world champion Bernard Hopkins in the ring.

The same can be said for the officials assigned to any of his fights.

Hopkins looks to once again defy father time in his light heavyweight title unification bout with unbeaten knockout artist Sergey Kovalev this Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Fresh eyes are offered for the occasion, as the referee and two of the three assigned judges will be working their first fight involving either fighter.

Veteran referee David Fields has been tasked to keep things in order for this weekend’s headliner. The three judges assigned are Larry Layton (New Jersey), Clark Sammartino (Rhode Island) and Carlos Ortiz Jr. (New York).

Of the four officials, Fields comes with the most experience and respect.

Sammartino is the only one of the four to have worked a fight involving either fighter, serving ringside for Hopkins' 12-round win over Antonio Tarver in June '06. His tally of 118-109 in favor of Hopkins was well in line with the general perception of the bout, at the time considered a major upset for Hopkins, coming off of back-to-back middleweight title fight losses and - at age 41 - moving up two weight classes, while Tarver was regarded at the time as the best light heavyweight in the world.

Sammartino’s most significant work has otherwise come overseas, as is the case with Ortiz Jr. Both are generally known as quality judges, though have offered their share of strange scorecards through the years.





The most egregious perhaps was Ortiz Jr. scoring Ricky Burns a winner in his controversial 12-round draw versus Raymundo Beltran. Most viewers had Beltran winning with room to spare, but Ortiz Jr’s card assisted in Burns’ lightweight title reign extending through the evening.





Layton is the least experienced of any of the four assigned ring officials. His last major title fight worked was in Jan. ’12, when Miguel Vazquez outpointed Ammeth Diaz in a 12-round shutout that was academic to score. The last significant fight for which he assigned doesn’t exactly enhance his resume, when Jo Jo Dan defeated Kevin Bizier in a welterweight eliminator last November. Dan edged it out on two of the cards in a perceived close fight, while Layton had Bizier a shockingly wide 117-110 winner.





Hopkins (55-6-2, 32KOs) looks to add to his own records as the oldest fighter to win and defend major titles. Two months shy of his 50th birthday, the fighting pride of Philly brings two belts of his own into the ring as he looks to acquire the one currently around Kovalev’s waist.





His most recent performance – a 12-round whitewash over Beibut Shumenov in April – came more than nine years after the last time he unified two more titles, when Hopkins added Oscar de la Hoya’s middleweight belt to the three already in his arsenal in their Sept. ’04 World middleweight championship.





Hopkins has enjoyed two separate tours as a light heavyweight champion. His lineal title reign began with a 12-round win over Jean Pascal in their May ’11 rematch, coming nearly ten years after his gaining recognition as the World middleweight king in a one-sided 12th round stoppage of Felix Trinidad at Madison Square Garden.





The light heavyweight reign lasted less than a year, as he fought to no-contest with Chad Dawson in Oct. ’11 before dropping a decision the following April. Hopkins came back with a vengeance, outclassing previously unbeaten Tavoris Cloud to pick up a light heavyweight belt last March. The bout kicked off a current three-fight win streak.





Kovalev (25-0-1, 23KOs) entered the title fray with a 4th round stoppage of then-undefeated titlist Nathan Cleverly last August on the road in Wales. Three title defenses have followed – all by knockout. A 2nd round stoppage of Ismayl Sillakh last November in Canada was followed by a pair of stoppages in Atlantic City – breaking down unbeaten fringe contender Cedric Agnew in March, and most recently overcoming a flash knockdown to stop Blake Caparello in two rounds this past August.





Saturday’s bout gives Kovalev a 2014 in-ring campaign fought exclusively in Atlantic City.





The slowly decaying gambling town has also featured the best and worst moments of Hopkins’ incredible career. The improbable historic run actually began with a loss in his pro debut, dropping a four-round decision to Clinton Mitchell in Atlantic City way back in Oct. ’88.





Hopkins has since won 16 of his past 17 bouts along the boardwalk, the lone loss coming in his title fight rematch with Dawson. Included among the wins were career-resurrecting performances versus Tarver in June ’06 and then-unbeaten middleweight king Kelly Pavlik in their Oct. ’08 catchweight bout.





Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox