Legendary 50 year old future Hall of Famer and certified freak of nature, Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32ko), is in talks about a potential 2016 bout with Germany’s WBO super-middleweight champion, Arthur Abraham (43-4, 29ko).
Hopkins has made no secret about wishing to capture a world title at 168 lbs, having previously dominated at 160, as well as claiming world 175 lb honours over the course of his 27 year professional career.
His list of accomplishments as a fighter is long and voluminous, and for many fans, the punishment he sustained last November against “The Krusher” Sergey Kovalev should have been enough for the now 50 year old Bernard Hopkins to say enough is enough – and finally walk away from the ring.
Yet, the future Hall of Famer has insisted to Fox Sports that he still has something left to give;
“Unlike my business partner Oscar De La Hoya, I’ll be confirming that I’m not retired. I’m looking to make one more historical, meaningful fight before I close out my 27 year career.”
He will be remembered by history as one of the greatest middleweight titlist’s of all time and the Hall Of Fame will surely already have a spot reserved for him, yet following his incredibly brave and spirited performance against Sergey Kovalev, in which he sustained a severe and comprehensive beating – many felt that Bernard Hopkins had at last taken one trip back to the well too many and that it was time for the curtain to finally come down on the Philly native’s epic, record breaking career.
Among his extraordinary achievements are; the most middleweight title defences in history, longest ever reign at 160 and being the oldest fighter to ever win a world title – so now, being 50 years of age, one thinks what could honestly be left for the modern great?
When forty nine year old ring legend Bernard Hopkins lost his light heavyweight title to the much younger thirty one year old Sergey Kovalev this past November it begs the question, is it time for Bernard ‘The Executioner’ aka ‘The Alien,’ to finally call it a day and step down and retire from the ring? After all he has been fighting professionally for 26 years and he has been to the top of the mountain several times and he has beaten many fellow world champions along the way including the likes of Roy Jones Junior, Kelly Pavlik, Ronald ‘Winky, Wright,’ Antonio Tarver, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, and, among others, Jean Pascal. The victory over Pascal was incredible enough that he could accomplish such a feat in 2011 at the age of forty six to break George Foreman’s record of having won a world title at the age of forty five let alone for him to still be fighting near the top of his profession as he approaches fifty years old, which he turns this month, because after all he still gave a good account of himself against Kovalev even if he was clearly outpointed.
(Note: In the third installment of a week long breakdown, boxing scribe Vivek “Vito” Wallace analyzes where today’s top fighters stand, and whether or not 2015 could be the year many of them fall. This week long analysis will cover over 30 top fighters from around the world)
TERENCE CRAWFORD
Despite a somewhat uneventful 2014 in the sport, the one golden talent which served as a silver-lining with platinum potential was Omaha, Nebraska’s Terrance Crawford. Coming into the year few knew his name. By the time it ended, few could forget it! The emergence of Terence Crawford onto the scene has been a breath of fresh air. In what was once considered a limited selection of fans, suddenly, the African American base around the world has a talent to root for that does more fighting than flaunting (money), and more taming than talking!
By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones – Photo © (clockwise) Paul “Paparazzi” Jones/ESB; Steve Lopez/ESB; Al Santiago/ImageSantiago; Chris Farina/Top Rank | Illustration – Paul “Paparazzi” Jones
In this two-part review, I chronicle six of the most anticipated bouts of 2014. In Part I, I cover three key fights from the first half of the year. In Part II, I describe three fights from the remainder of the year and list match-ups that deserve honorable mention.
I selected each of these contests based on their ability to produce drama, historical significance, and/or sustained action. In addition, I emphasize tilts with pound-for-pound and title implications.
This past Saturday night, Sergey Kovalev was able to show that his style was indeed something that the older Bernard Hopkins was simply not able to adjust to. Kovalev won every single round, decisively. While he was unable to do any physical damage Hopkins, he did deliver a statement, one advising Hopkins to call it quits.
No matter how you turn it, no matter how you realign it, at this point in time Hopkins would lose to a fighter like Kovalev every time. While Hopkins looked in shape, and showed no lack of stamina or concentration, his savior from hitting the canvas for good was his well chiseled defense. Other than his turtle shell guard, his offense was nowhere to be found.
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev 25-0-1(23KO) managed to bundle up three light heavyweight titles (WBA, IBF, & WBO) with his one-sided win over Bernard Hopkins at the Boardwalk Center, Atlantic City, N.J. The main point of interest, prior to the opening belt, was an expectation that sooner or later the experienced oldster Bernard “Alien” Hopkins 55-7-2 (32KO) would manage to set a trap. When the bait was taken, Hopkins would nail the Russia hard enough to start the ball rolling in his favor. After all, the Krusher, according to Hopkins, was a crude brawler, whose defense was porous, someone ready to be exploited.
The main reason or interest in the fight was Hopkins’ advanced age, and that carried through, even thought the ring action was one-sided. But, unlike other one-sided affairs, there remained the faint hope in the wily old fox. Might he once again shock the boxing world? The odds were against it. The likelihood of an upset grew even fainter when Philly’s own went down from a glancing right hand in the first round. The question of whether Krusher could hurt the veteran was answered.
The pre-fight build up and the suspense had obviously gotten to both Sergey Kovalev and Bernard Hopkins as they showed uncharacteristic body language while waiting for the opening bell on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Kovalev was unusually restless and had an urgent expression while Hopkins’s face was hidden behind his new mask but he looked artificial and stiff walking aimlessly around the ring. Hopkins tried too hard to appear nonchalant and refused to touch gloves with Kovalev who tried to show respect to the veteran but cared little for his mind games.
Round 1- timing is of the essence. Kovalev lost all respect after the bell, he took center ring and stalked Hopkins who openly refused to engage and started trying to buy time while conserving energy. “The Krusher” did not rush forward; he gave Hopkins the courtesy of “feeling him out”, adjusting the range and testing his reflexes. Midway through the round Kovalev’s demeanor changed, he raised his head from behind the guard, his expression softened and he started “walking in the park”, it was his fight already and he knew the reason.
All that Remains is a Win vs. Stevenson to Unify the Light Heavyweight Division
By Justin Jones and Paul “Paparazzi” Jones | Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones – Atlantic City, NJ – Many questioned whether WBO champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (26-0-1, 23 KOs) could defeat future Boxing Hall of Famer and former WBA/IBF champ Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) in a Light Heavyweight unification bout. People pointed to Kovalev’s limited competition, the lack of a signature win, and a sizeable gap in experience between the two.