He?s always been there, for the last 24 years, harassing and (mainly) baffling opponents with a museum?s worth of knowhow?
In what many consider Bernard Hopkins? magnum opus, The Executioner punched out a masterpiece. His ring IQ did more than win the day, it told a story, masterfully paced over the set distance. Initially gliding around his opponent the middleweight champion eased himself in. There was no shoe-shining when the punches began to flow but while combinations lengthened never were they indulged. It was brilliant. Boxing and fighting had merged into one. In the twelfth a hard right caused a fall and a sympathetic corner to act. Hopkins (unmarked) visited Larry Merchant.
?What do you do if your opponent has a gun??
It was a question aimed at himself.
?You grab it.?
Thirteen years have passed since Bernard disarmed Felix Trinidad. Now boxing?s oldest ever champion at 49, it?s amazing to think how fresh those 36 years were?thirteen years ago.
It?s not the same fighter today. That musculature has faded alongside his work rate. Reactions, while good, are not at optimum. The punches don?t snap like they used to. The beard is frosty. If that hand is to be raised for the 56th time Bernard will need to call upon his ring IQ like never before.
Russia?s Sergey ?Krusher? Kovalev, undefeated and officially scary, boasts a maturity which renders him so. There?s zero arrogance going into this bout which will ensure he gets the most out of his destructive fists. The inevitable question which floats above a guy who has made Borscht out of so-so competition is ?How good?? This is where opinion varies.
Getting pummeled in four rounds probably leaves you with no option, but Nathan Cleverly is positive about the Russian being a ?different breed.? National ties with Gennady Golovkin has urged some to put him in the same class as the Kazakh destroyer, though this a smaller percentage that I?m not a part of. The opposite stance says Bernard won as soon as he agreed to the bout.
Redemption against Kelly Pavlik leads the case.
My friend will retrieve an ugly track record whenever I feel bold enough to predict, but a rare triumph fell on the night when Hopkins embarrassed Pavlik. The fact that Kelly had again beat Jermain Taylor over twelve rounds (a distance Kovalev hasn?t done) had my friend confident, for a couple of rounds. I proceeded to watch with a growing smile as Hopkins turned an interesting clash into an exhibition.
Detractors claim Pavlik was a one-dimensional accident waiting to happen. Perhaps. It?s eye-opening to note this bout took place a good six years ago ? a time span which has traced an undisputable decline in Floyd Mayweather. Hopkins has blurted out that he is now in the ?Garcia era,? two generations removed from previous contemporaries. How far removed from his prime that makes him may be harder to grasp than it is for him to give one word answers.
The hazard lights are on because of two cold facts; Kovalev does not have to be sensational to win, and he appears to have quite a bit more going for him than Kelly Pavlik.
It might not take a herculean effort to squash a tomato can, but one can?t hide how they do so, i.e., how well drilled they are. Case in point, Deontay Wilder is ragged. Kovalev is solid. He may even be dynamic.
Different to Pavlik he?s much lighter on his feet and a wider stance helps him dictate range. It also allows him to propel his weight from the canvas; finishing with a straight left is a nice trait and he?s decked a couple of opponents with this power jab. A clubbing right is thrown in singles, down the pipe, round the side, to the body. There?s a good deal of analysis going as he works. Sergey will give himself that bit of space when faced with a cagey opponent. Sound fundamentals guide the aggressive streak. Plenty of patience was displayed against Cedric Agnew and he didn?t care much for the cut caused by a clash of heads (always a possibility with Hopkins).
This guy doesn?t fall under the bracket of ?robotic European,? at least, not to us.
Hopkins must have spied faulty gears.
Knowing what you bring to a fight is the first stage in Bernard?s plan to frustrate. Skating around the ring can make one unsure about how to press. For a whole minute you might not have him, and then he?s in your face, clubbing the side of your head before the ref breaks it up. Repeat. It doesn?t matter if you know that right lead followed by a dip is coming. Everyone does. It?s the timing and superb understanding of body language that ensures it gets there. The big question is if Hopkins can find his irritating groove, can he maintain it? What Kovalev can?t destroy he?ll try to melt with pace.
Aside from the passage of time, a big difference with this bout and the Trinidad one is that Kovalev isn?t a bloated middleweight, and rather than merely threatening with a left hook he is firing high-caliber from both barrels. Some say he can deck you with a jab to the body. They?re not lying.
The outcome feels as if it?s got to be definitive, like certain variables are hanging on a thread. Either one man is too clever, or the other is too powerful. The Russian will make an irreparable dent, or his efforts will further enmesh him in Hopkin?s web.
The bulk of opinion has Hopkins failing to last the distance for the first time in a long career. It?s a strange thing to imagine. During his last five loses, from Roy Jones to Chad Dawson, never was Philadelphia?s wizard completely lost. He?s always been there, for the last 24 years, harassing and (mainly) baffling opponents with a museum?s worth of knowhow.
Logic is the best medicine for heartbreak. We could be moments away from an eyesore, though morbid curiosity was never the reason boxing first got my attention. The stage is set, once again, to be astounded. Sleep can wait till dawn.
I want to see a 49-year-old tear up another script, look past his doubters and stare a hole in Farther Time.
I want to see that mask twitch.
