Come on...you knew it would come to this, right? Although Bernard Hopkins might be considered by most to be beyond his pugilistic expiration date, the fact of the matter is that Hopkins is not a normal forty-three year old man, and he still feels as though he has something to prove to boxing fans, as well as himself. However, what makes this bout so intriguing is that Kelly Pavlik is not your normal world champion either, if there even is such a thing. A bout between the middleweight division's past and it's future now looms on the horizon, and I'm sure fight fans from every corner of the globe must have been asking the same question I asked myself upon hearing the news of this upcoming fight, "what is Hopkins thinking?!"
Since his professional career began on October 11th, 1988, Bernard Hopkins has been on a mission to prove that he belongs among boxing's elite. Although Hopkins lost his first professional bout, his perseverance was never weakened, and on April 29th, 1995, Hopkins knocked out Segundo Mercado in the seventh round to win the 160-pound championship. From then on, Hopkins tore through the middleweight division with a no-thrills, defensive-minded style that might not have been overly exciting, but put fear and doubt into many of Hopkins opponents. However, Hopkins true rise to elite status cultivated on September 29th, 2001. That night, over twelve grueling rounds, Hopkins picked apart Puerto Rican superstar Felix Trinidad on his way to becoming a household name. Although Hopkins was creeping towards his fortieth birthday, he continued to defend his title until he hit a brick wall by the name of young middleweight contender Jermaine Taylor. Although Hopkins lost two fights to Taylor by decision, the Executioner's twenty title defenses cemented him among the best of this generation. Now in the twilight of his career, and coming off a close split decision to Wales Joe Calzaghe, many wonder if Hopkins has enough left in the tank to defeat the new, hard hitting middleweight world champion.
There is little if anything to dislike about Kelly Pavlik. the unassuming, hard hitting, blue-collar Pavlik's rise to the middleweight title has been nothing short of spectacular, and now it appears as though Pavlik is ready to take the next step towards stardom. Career defining victories over Edison Miranda and Jermaine Taylor (twice) have thrust Pavlik into boxing's pound for pound spotlight, and has invoked memories of perhaps the middleweight divisions best champion ever, Marvin Hagler. While Hopkins has never been one to please the fans at the risk of thwarting his strategy, Pavlik has been willing and able to go to war with his opponents in order to obtain his victories by knockout. In other words, Pavlik is pretty much everything Hopkins is not. Although many might consider a fight with Hopkins a somewhat easy alternative to a fight with Arthur Abraham, Pavlik knows better than that. Hopkins' crafty style has given both Antonio Tarver and Calzaghe trouble in recent bouts, and Pavlik knows that a powerful right hook is needed in order to list Hopkins among his growing list of victms.
When looking at this fight on paper, one cannot help but notice the "young lion vs. old lion" mentality of this bout. A fight such as this brings to mind images of a young Oscar De La Hoya battering a bloody Julio Cesar Chavez into submission or an old George Foreman rising up from side show status to knockout a Teddy Atlas fueled Michael Moorer. Although at first glance this fight just looks like another notch on Pavlik's belt, one has to wonder if Hopkins can outsmart "The Ghost" and reclaim his elite status one more time.
If Kelly Pavlik is going to win this fight, he must learn from the mistakes of Antonio Tarver and yes, even Joe Calzaghe. Tarver made the mistake of deciding that Hollywood was more important to him than his boxing career, and he paid the price when he came into the ring in less than fighting shape when he lost to Hopkins in June of 2006. As for Calzaghe, he figured Hopkins was nothing more then a washed up old man. However, after his backside hit the canvas, Calzaghe fought back and was able to just barely squeeze out a split decision victory. In order for Kelly Pavlik to successfully defeat Hopkins, he must be mentally and physically prepared to deal with the Executioner, and stay away from any thought he may have regarding Hopkins' expiration date.
This brings me back to my initial thoughts when I first learned of the fight. Even as I blurted out "what is Hopkins thinking?!", I had to ask the same question of myself. Hopkins has proven many of his doubters wrong in the past , and I'd love to see him do it again. However, Pavlik is going to swarm Hopkins with punches that resemble the sledge hammer he swings around in training camp, and will most likely go on to win a unanimous decision against Hopkins, who will most likely be back to fight another day after another bogus retirement.
Scott Tonelli is the Senior Editor at FightJudge.com, and a lifelong boxing fan. Send questions or comments to scott@fightjudge.com
