By Jack Scales: Age and time eventually catching up with us are two inevitabilities we are faced with in this life. However, one man who has continued to evade this fact, is none other than Philadelphia’s treasured son, Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins. For years, critics, fighters and trainers alike, have predicted his fall from the upper echelons of the sport, but as every boxing fan knows he has constantly proven his doubters wrong, whilst simultaneously defying common trends in human biology.
Throughout his 40s, he has systematically broken down a vast number of much younger fighters who were touted to finally put an end to his illustrious career. Despite the best efforts of these young pretenders, at 48, B-Hop remains a major force in the Light Heavyweight division, and on Saturday night he will again challenge for a world title. This time, it will be against the IBF belt holder, Tavoris Cloud. Judging on Bernard’s performance against Chad Dawson, perhaps father time is finally catching up on the slick veteran, but as history has shown us, his opponents should count him out at their own peril.
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