Hopkins did it!! The master tamed a much younger lion and did so by hunting down the lion opposed to having the lion come to him. At 46 years old, Hopkins last night became the oldest champion to win a major title as he outlasted Jean Pascal in Montreal in front of a sold out crowd.
So does Hopkins have it in him to school and tame a few more younger lions before he hangs up the gloves? Absolutely, of course he can. The real question is however, Is it in Hopkins? best interest to stick around and find out if he truly does have a few more masterpieces left in him?
In my opinion, I feel that Hopkins should take a step back and take a deep look into what he just accomplished last night and view it as his final masterpiece. Hopkins needs to accept it as his last final masterpiece. The reason why I say this, is because during the fight, I saw Hopkins badly hurt on two seperate occasions. It was a position that I had never seen Hopkins in. I was then quickly reminded that just earlier, Roy Jones Jr. had just been knocked out cold by Denis Lebedev.
Roy Jones Jr., like Hopkins is a living legend that sees paint brushes and a large canvas before him so he is in search of that final masterpiece. Jones however, hung on too long so now as he approaches the canvas with brushes in hand, he steps up and draws a blank. I strongly believe that a fighter should retire from the sport, opposed to the sport retiring the fighter. I hope that Bernard Hopkins believes the same.
Last night as Hopkins was walking into the ring, Hopkins came out to his very own version of ?My way?, a classic by Frankie blue eyes, Frank Sinatra. In the song, Sinatra sings
And now the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend I?ll say it clear I?ll state my case of which I?m certain
So Mr. Hopkins, like Roy Jones Jr., you have thrilled us for many years. You have proved us all wrong time and time again. You two have had great Hall of Fame careers, but my friend, the end is no longer near, the end is here, and the final curtain has just fallen.
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