I’m convinced that Bernard Hopkins isn’t human. If any other boxer was fighting at the top of the game at 49 years old there would be massive concern for his well-being. The boxing commission would be running around trying to cover their asses, convening with doctors and licensing boards. Is that the case with Bernard Hopkins? Nope. The question in his case is why the hell do people keep fighting him? All the concern should be for his opponents. The man’s nickname is “The Executioner”, or according to him, “The Alien”, which if he is referring to his otherworldly attributes is equally fitting. Why the hell do people keep fighting him? He’s 54-6-2 and even when he loses he comes back better than ever. He holds every age related record in boxing and he’s won his last two fights. Hopkins’ next victim and step one his grand plan is Beibut Shumenov, a light heavyweight champion with a 14-1 record. According to the bookies, and everybody else on the face of the Earth, Hopkins is the favorite. Is Shumenov a bad fighter? Not at all, but 15 fights? C’mon, Hopkins has probably fought ten times as many rounds in training than this guy has fought in his career. Back to Shumenov being step one in the Alien’s grand plan, this is a unification bout. After this, Hopkins plans to fight once more before the year is out. The next step for Hopkins is to fight the winner of the Adonis Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev fight for all four major belts. As Hopkins told ESPN, “That is my incentive. That is the absolute plan. I want all four titles at age 50.” A comment like this would land any other fighter in a laughing academy but for Hopkins it’s business as usual. What’s funny is that the chances of this exact scenario happening are more than good. In fact, I’d say it’s all but guaranteed. As far as his fight with Shumenov goes, I foresee a knockout in the middle to late rounds for Hopkins. How can a man with 15 fights under his belt, champion or not, hang with Hopkins? It cannot happen, will not happen. Hopkins can pretty much say that step one of his grand plan is in the bag. The fight will take place on April 19th on Showtime.
Article By: Jon DaBove
