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MMA Boxing

Why You Should Know Bernard Hopkins

By @paul_past

Bernard Hopkins, Boxer, Boxing, Oldest Boxer, Hopkins

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November 8 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City marks what should be one of the most historic sporting events of the modern era, not to mention one of the most significant boxing events of all time. 49-year-old light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins will be two months shy of turning 50 when he steps into the ring for a unification bout against Russian brawler Sergey Kovalev, who is 18 years younger and one of the most feared men in all of boxing.

As a testament to how dangerous an opponent Kovalev is perceived to be, the other light heavyweight titleholder, Adonis Stevenson, avoided a heavily-anticipated matchup against Kovalev by signing a contract with promoter Al Haymon to fight under Showtime, HBO’s rival network. At age 36, even Stevenson is considered old for a sport in which the average career lasts five years. So far, Hopkins’ career has lasted 26 years.

Should he defeat Kovalev, he will break his own record of becoming the oldest boxing champion by unifying three of the four titles from major sanctioning bodies in the light-heavyweight division. Earlier this year, he unified two of the four titles by defeating Beibut Shumenov.

One can only imagine the level of superstardom Hopkins would reach if he had achieved equivalent feats on a basketball court or football field. His nearly 30-year career has taken fans and sports historians into uncharted territory. No other professional athlete has become a champion in his or her sport at age 49, senior circuits aside. As a point of reference, Mike Tyson, whose last title fight ended in a knockout loss to then-heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in 2002, is now 46 years old. Lewis himself just turned 49 and has been retired for 10 years.

Among his many boxing accolades, Hopkins holds the record for most consecutive middleweight title defenses (20), and the length of his reign as middleweight champion (10 years and 82 days) ranks third all time, just two spots behind heavyweight icon Joe Louis. He holds wins over some of boxing’s biggest names of the modern era: Roy Jones Jr., Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad, to name a few.

Oh, and Hopkins has never been knocked out.

Enter Kovalev. Nicknamed the “Krusher” for his devastating punching power, Kovalev has knocked out 23 of the 25 opponents he’s faced, and is undefeated as a professional. Tragically, nine fights ago, his punching power resulted in Roman Simakov falling into a coma and then dying three days later. This last fact has been kept fairly quiet by most boxing media experts, many of whom don’t believe an old Hopkins will be able to withstand the constant pressure typically applied by the physically stronger Kovalev.

Their disbelief, however, is nothing new to Hopkins: At age 36, he was a 3-1 underdog when he fought against Felix Trinidad for the undisputed middleweight championship. At age 41, he was a 3-1 underdog when he fought against Antonio Tarver for the light heavyweight championship. And at age 43, he was a 4-1 underdog when he fought against then-unbeaten Kelly Pavlik. Hopkins defeated each of these fighters, all of whom are close to half his age and now retired, in dominant fashion.

Despite his unparalleled success, one would still think that a 49-year-old Hopkins, who has a net worth of approximately $40 million and whose future as a first-ballot Hall of Famer has been secure for more than 10 years, would have no interest in facing such a lethal fighter. Over the years, Hopkins has given many answers as to why he continues to fight, most often saying he wants to secure his legacy by continuing to prove his doubters wrong.

One has to wonder what his critics will say if Hopkins defeats Kovalev, who has never been past the eighth round and has never fought anyone with the kind of ring intelligence that Hopkins possesses. Oddsmakers listed Hopkins as a 2-1 underdog when the fight was officially announced, but don’t be surprised if Kovalev appears frustrated after the second round, or if his punch output drops significantly and he becomes lost, uncertain and hesitant to throw a punch.

Don’t be surprised if Hopkins gives Kovalev a boxing lesson, or if after the fight Hopkins says, “I told you so.”

Paul Pastorini is a Boxing Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @paul_past, find him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

 

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