Yet again, Bernard Hopkins confounds conventional wisdom. Going into Saturday night?s showdown against WBC light-heavyweight champion Jean Pascal, there were two schools of thought regarding the probable outcome. Either Pascal?s youthful energy and enthusiasm would, with an assist from Father Time, overwhelm the 45-year-old ex-champion, or old dog B-Hop would teach the 28-year-old pup enough sly veteran tricks to finesse his way to victory.
No one expected the fight to end in a draw. Yet that?s what happened. So, Pascal managed to keep his title ? but he didn?t win. And Hopkins failed to become the oldest fighter to win a major title ? but he didn?t lose.
Unlike many of the cagey Hopkins? recent bouts, this one was a corker. Hopkins was floored twice in the early rounds, then came back aggressively to dampen Pascal?s competitive fire. The last round was a mini-war, giving the crowd at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, in the Canadian province of Quebec, their fill of thrills.
The attendees weren?t too thrilled with the result, though, with one judge giving Hopkins the edge and the other two calling it even. The consensus among observers is that Hopkins did enough to overcome his two trips to the deck. As it is, he held both Pascal and Father Time to a saw-off.
This scrap is reminiscent of another youth vs. age light-heavyweight war that occurred in Montreal, Quebec, more than 50 years ago. On December 10, 1958, 44-year-old champion Archie Moore met the challenge of 29-year-old Yvon Durelle. Durelle dropped Moore three times in the first round and once in the fifth. Then Moore rallied, and decked Durelle in the seventh and tenth frames before knocking ?The Fighting Fisherman? cold in the eleventh.
In terms of sheer drama, Pascal-Hopkins was no Moore-Durelle. Then again, few bouts outside a ?Rocky? movie could have matched Moore-Durelle?s level of roller-coaster excitement.
Hopkins has proven that even though he?ll be 46 next month, he is still one of the best light-heavyweights of his time. How, then, does B-Hop stack up against Moore and other all-time light-heavyweight greats?
Moore, who was nicknamed ?The Mongoose,? had nearly four times more bouts in his career than Hopkins. Given Hopkins? talent and work ethic, though, he would have eagerly absorbed the lessons Moore?s era would have imparted had he fought back then. Both men knew every trick in the book. But Moore was the harder hitter, and that would have been too much of an advantage for Hopkins to overcome in a battle of the aged.
Power would also have proven to be B-Hop?s downfall against Bob Foster and Michael Spinks. Both Spinks and Foster were tall, rangy types who could box well and punch like hell. Hopkins has never been knocked out, but either of these bombers could very well have flattened him for the 10-count.
Hopkins would have had better luck with swarming brawlers like Matthew Saad Muhammad, Victor Galindez, and Dwight Muhammad Qawi. Even at his advanced age, B-Hop would have dissected these diehard warriors and either stopped them late or prevailed by lop-sided decision.
Slick boxers such as Billy Conn, Maxie Rosenbloom, Tommy Loughran, and Harold Johnson would have given Hopkins trouble style-wise, and they might have been able to beat him at his own cerebral game. Conn and Loughran had enough pizzazz to make their fights interesting, even though their punching power wasn?t all that impressive. Johnson and Rosenbloom, however, would have stunk out the joint with Hopkins ? win, lose or draw.
Given that he campaigned as a middleweight during the most productive part of his career, Hopkins most likely rates just outside the Top 10 all-time light-heavies, but definitely within the Top 20. His place in boxing?s Hall of Fame is secure. And, as the Pascal fight amply demonstrated, he?s not done yet.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers.
