On October 15th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, legendary Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (52-5-2 with 32 KOs) will defend the world light heavyweight championship against “Bad” Chad Dawson (30-1 with 17 KOs). Hopkins will attempt to make history yet again by becoming the oldest boxer with a confirmed birthdate to defend a world title. (there is a dispute about Archie Moore’s true birthdate: he defended the world light heavyweight title in 1959 against Yvon Durelle, and some sources list his birthdate as 1916, while others say 1913). Hopkins regained the world light heavyweight crown in an uncharacteristically exciting rematch with Jean Pascal. Dawson, himself an ex-champ, is now being trained by the legendary Emanuel Steward, but Dawson is coming off a less-than-spectacular, workman-like performance against Canadian Adrian Diaconu. It’s no coincidence that Hopkins has now elected to face Dawson, whom he shied away from fighting a couple years ago when Chad was ruling the division with an iron fist. It’s also no coincidence that Hopkins is now more comfortable facing Dawson after witnessing him lose Pascal.
Hopkins is a master of timing both in and out of the ring. Sure, styles make fights and it’s very possible that Dawson losing to a guy that Hopkins beat won’t result in Dason losing to Hopkins, but Hopkins is almost surely salivating at the chance to roll the dice. Back in the mid to late 90’s when they were both ruling their respective divisions, Hopkins had an opportunity to rematch Roy Jones Jr. and avenge a clear 1993 loss to Jones. At the time, Hopkins killed the rematch by asking for too much money, doing so because he was smart enough to know that Jones posed a stylistic nightmare due to his immense speed, quickness, and athleticism. Instead, Hopkins waited until 2010 to finally rematch Jones. Even though Jones is younger than Hopkins, by 2010 the much more shopworn Jones had been knocked out three times(twice brutally). This lead to Jones characterizing Hopkins as a “bottomfeeder”. It’s hard to argue with Jones on this one.
Hopkins is a true legend in the sport, and his post-40 years old accomplishments are truly amazing. He is arguably the greatest over-40 boxer in history, with the debate growing smaller each time Hopkins fights. I am willing to bestow that title upon Hopkins right now due to the fact that he will be just three months shy of 47 when he faces Dawson, and will enter the ring on almost everyone’s pound-for-pound top ten list. Hopkins is far more than just a belt holder, even at this advanced age.
One advantage a boxer has when he elects to fight deep into the twilight of his career is that, except for physical damage, he places himself in a no-lose situation. If he beats an elite fighter, he gets enormous credit, and if he loses to one, but puts up a good fight he gets credit for being competitive. Hopkins has been in a no-lose situation for the past decade. Hopkins’ ring IQ is off the charts, and he knows that Dawson’s confidence right now is not what it was a couple years ago. He also believes that as great a trainer as Manny Steward is, it will take him at least 3 or 4 fights to get Dawson fighting at or above the level that he was fighting at in the past just as it took that long for him to accomplish that with Wladamir Klitschko after he lost his title.
