All were younger, elite boxers. All were odds-on favorites to win.
All went into the fight convinced of victory and went home in disbelief.
All became students at the school of Bernard Hopkins.
Tarver came into his 2006 fight against Hopkins betting that if he didn?t knock out B-Hop within five rounds he would pay $250,000 to the charity of Hopkins choosing. Pre-fight ?Magic Man? Tarver also adopted the moniker ?Legend Killer?, an ode to his two victories over Roy Jones Jr. and his confidence of a victory over Hopkins.
At a press conference in New York Prior to the fight he presented Hopkins with a gift wrapped rocking chair.
After the fight, it was Tarver who would need it.
Tarver was knocked down in the fifth round and barely made a scratch on the scorecards. Tarver seemed out of touch, out of rhythm, a step behind the older Hopkins all night.
Hopkins has a way of using his ring smarts to neutralize the assets of the other fighter, controlling the energy in the ring, creating and gameplan and controlling the game.
Post-fight Tarver would bring up the possiblity that he was drugged before the fight, an explanation for his lethargic, uninspired performance.
?Something happened,? Tarver recalled to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. ?I do not want to point the finger. I believe that there was a possibility that they got to me, or someone got to me with ordering room service, a drink of water or whatever.?
Tarver, unable to believe that Hopkins, four years his senior, had beaten him so badly, had unwittingly been enrolled in the school of Hopkins.
?I am going to Whoop him,? Ronald ?Winky? Wright said in a press conference at Mandalay Bay Resorts and Casino in Las Vegas prior to his 2007 fight with Hopkins. ??Fans can expect a great fight?Winky Wright to win, no doubt.?
Hopkins made it hard for Wright to use his biggest asset, the jab, and threw Wright off his game and out of the contest. Hopkins had Wright tired and buckled him once in the 12th round on his way to a unanimous decision.
Even though losing by at least four rounds on all three official scorecards, Wright thought that he had won the fight and partly blamed the dirty fighting of Hopkins and the inefficiency of the referee as reasons for the loss.
?There is a reason boxing has rules, and a referee is supposed to enforce them,? Wright told the Tampa Tribune after the fight. ?He didn?t do that and Bernard was allowed to do whatever he wanted to do, whether it was head-butting or hitting me low. I couldn?t get my jab off because he kept rushing in with his head. If I threw it, he still kept running in with his head.?
Kelly Pavlik was coming of back-to-back wins over then Middleweight Champion Jermaine Taylor and a dismantling of middleweight challenger Gary Lockett. Pavlik was undefeated and a powerhouse, having knocked 31 opponents in 34 fights.
?My main thing come fight night is to let my fists do the talking,? Pavlik told Reuters before his fight with Hopkins in 2008. ?There?s no need to change. If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it.?
Pavlik was broken by Hopkins and crushed on the official scorecards.
Post-fight, Pavlik would claim illness and injury as the reason for his loss.
Pavlik, Wright and Tarver all knew Hopkins was a challenge but saw his age and diminished physicality and saw a victory, only to be turned around and away by Hopkins.
Now Jean Pascal, fresh off his victory against ?Bad? Chad Dawson, is looking in the direction of Hopkins.
?I want the best in the world. Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe. Anybody,? Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs) said in his post fight interview. ?I want to prove that I?m one of the best. I?m Jean Pascal, and I?m about to invade America.?
Pascal, at 27-years-old, is young, and with a victory over Dawson, considered an elite light heavyweight.
But Dawson is not Hopkins. Pascal knew where Dawson was and was going to be all night, with Hopkins it will be the opposite.
Many think the 45-year-old Hopkins should have retired after his last victory over Roy Jones Jr. Many said the same after Tarver, Pavlik and Wright.
Many were proven wrong.
Pascal would be wise to confront the ghosts of Hopkins past before stepping into the ring with ?The Executioner?
Pascal would be wise to seek advice before making the decision to enroll in the school of Hopkins.
