There are exceptions to every rule, and there?s no greater exception, and no greater rule-breaker, than Bernard Hopkins?
One fight can change everything.
Sometimes a fighter with a perfect record can lose a fight he was supposed to win and the second-guessing begins. Monday morning quarterbacks conclude, often begrudgingly, that the formerly invincible man of steel was nothing but flesh and blood all along.
By the same token, a perennial loser sometimes defies the odds, wins a fight he was supposed to lose?and he?s suddenly someone to be reckoned with, a real-life Rocky, until he returns to form and he loses another time.
But there are exceptions to every rule, and there?s no greater exception, and no greater rule-breaker, than Bernard Hopkins.
He has managed to win by losing.
Some cognoscenti admired Hopkins? skill, his ability to confound men young enough to be his children, but the vast majority of fight fans weren?t interested in Bernard Hopkins, as evidenced by the pay-per-view ban on his fights. Despite (or because of) his age, despite his accomplishments, despite his re-christening as The Alien, no one ever mistook Hopkins as a fan favorite.
All that changed over the weekend. That he agreed to fight Sergey Kovalev was more admirable than what he actually did in the ring. But he did withstand Krusher?s bombs, he didn?t fold, he didn?t fake an injury or fall to the canvas grimacing in pain, as he had done in the best.
No, Hopkins sucked it up. He took his beating like a man. For that reason and that reason alone, he is being praised to the high heavens, even though he barely fought back.
Hopkins absorbed more heavy shots than any 49-year-old man ought to endure. He can bow out gracefully, having earned the respect of many (but not all), ride off into the sunset, and throw his considerable energy into Golden Boy Promotions.
Perhaps that?s what he should do. Instead, Hopkins is going to fight ?one more time.?
?Who will I fight? I don?t know. But it will be somebody I will be an underdog against because I want to be the underdog. If this is the last time I?m going into the ring?the word is ?if??I will not cheat myself. It will not be a freak show. It isn?t going to be a cheap, cheesy one. I will never shortchange myself and my dignity. It will be somebody that?s a champion. It will be from a division beneath me but where they?re comfortable and I?m comfortable. It will be someone that?s dominating today.
?People respect you for fighting fights that others run away from. I want to fight the best no matter how it pans out. You just have to man up.?
