“If he dies, he dies” – Ivan Drago, Rocky IV, 1985
With only days until the highly anticipated main event between living legend Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev in Atlantic City, New Jersey, many fight scribes and boxing observers are on the fence when trying to predict the eventual winner.
Although most race and sports books have the Russian native listed as a 2 to 1 betting favorite, many spectators are giving the grand old man of boxing more than just a fighting chance to win this Saturday night’s Light Heavyweight unification bout.
But are most giving the 49 year old future Hall of Famer too much credit leading into the HBO featured contest?
While no one can dispute B-Hop’s physical and mental durability, or his eventual placement in Canastota, should fight fans and boxing insiders be more concerned for the safety of the half century old prizefighter?
In a recent interview with fight scribe Rodney Green, Kovalev’s head trainer, John David Jackson, talked about a potential strategy for his fighter against the Philly fight legend.
“Bernard is old,” insists the former two division world champion. “But lately no fighters have been treating him like an old fighter and have allowed him to dictate the pace of his last several fights. They don’t make him work at a much faster pace than he wants to or touch him wherever they can.” “He’s an old man, and he needs to be treated like an old man in the ring. Hit him in his arms, his biceps, his shoulders, and his chest. I know this might sound bad to some people, but hit him in his heart and make it skip a beat. Remind him that he’s a 49 year old man.”
“When my fighter starts touching him inside the ring, it’s going to make him question whether or not he really wants to be fighting at age 49.”
Even though most fans and writers don’t want to think about a the possibility of a catastrophic scenario playing out on the biggest stage of boxing, should Bernard Hopkins be competing in the most demanding of physical sports at age 49?
Whenever any man steps in the professional ring, it always becomes a life threatening endeavor. That chilling factor presents itself in every prizefight. But at age 49, does the percentage of risk increase?
Couple that aspect with a fighter who has already produced a fatality in the ring, and boxing could be looking at a potentially disastrous occurrence on Saturday night.
In a 2011 fight against Roman Simakov, which took place in Ekaterinburg, Russia, the heavy handed “Krusher” battered his overmatched opponent for six plus rounds until the fight was mercifully stopped midway through the seventh stanza. Tragically, Simakov was taken to a local hospital, where he fell into a coma and consequently died at age 27…three days after the final bell rang.
While no one is placing a defensive master like Bernard Hopkins at the level of a Russian prospect like the late Roman Simakov, is there sufficient reason for concern, and should the New Jersey State Athletic Commission consider cancelling Saturday night’s main event?
Is there a realistic possibility that fight fans could witness a real life “Ivan Drago versus Apollo Creed” calamity in the ring this weekend?
