Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have been getting their hand-wrapping in a twist over Bernard Hopkins, at the grand old age of 49, fighting one of boxing?s hardest and most devastating punchers.
Krusher Kovalev is too much of a health risk for the most venerable gentleman of the ring, they cry.
They protested just the same only four months ago, before Hopkins defeated Beibut Shumenov to unify the IBF and WBA world light-heavyweight titles.
Again, Hopkins replies: ?Age is but a number.?
So it is and that number keeps rising in all sports as medical science, high-tech training methods and social sacrifices enable more and more athletes to prolong their careers.
In the case of Hopkins, his dedication to diet, his work-out regime and a Spartan lifestyle are of a devout religious order.
Never mind the birth certificate, examine the physical specimen.
Hopkins has changed his nickname from The Executioner to The Alien and really is an out-of-this-world phenomenon.
By appearance, certainly in the physique, Hopkins looks about the same age as Floyd Mayweather, who is super-fit at 37 and as such the best pound-for-pound fighter on this planet.
Hopkins is a profoundly intelligent boxer and a highly articulate advocate for his sport.
There are no signs of wear and tear from his 65 fights spanning 28 years, the majority of them against other world-class operators in middleweight and light-heavy title fights.
Yet again, he has no hesitation in agreeing to take on the most dangerous of opponents.
Negotiations to face Sergey Kovalev began last Thursday and were finalised on Friday, 24 hours before the Russian sealed his end of the deal by defending his WBO title with a three knock-down, second round flattening of previously undefeated challenger Blake Caparello.
Hopkins and Kovalev will come to blows this November, either in Atlantic City or at the state-of-the-art Barclays Centre in New York.
And while the commentators are voicing fears for the well-being of Hopkins, many good judges in the boxing fraternity are declining to write him off.
Lou diBella, promoter of Caparello, observed after watching his man crushed: ?Kovalev has dynamite in his fists but Hopkins is such a clever and cagey boxer that he definitely has a chance.?
