Bernard Hopkins has always made it a goal to inspire older folks to do things they wouldn?t think possible. Well, in the case of Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer (who?s more middle-aged than ancient), that?s exactly what happened.
After initially expressing little confidence in a possible fight between Hopkins and pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., Schaefer reversed course on Saturday, saying he?s not only convinced a fight is possible, but it has the potential to become the most lucrative matchup of all time.
Though promoters frequently traffic in hyperbole, it was a stark turnaround from Schaefer?s stance on Wednesday, when he expressed little belief the fight would happen. But after watching Hopkins (53-6-2) dismantle Karo Murat at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City Saturday to retain his light-heavyweight belt, becoming again the oldest fighter to hold a title, a newly inspired Schaefer was bubbling with ideas.
Here?s what he suggested: Hopkins is 14 months shy of turning 50; Mayweather is five victories away from running his record to 50-0. If Mayweather gets to 49-0 by the time Hopkins is age 50, why not overlap the two milestones?
?One thing that?s out there is that No. 50,? Schaefer said. ?Bernard approaching 50 and Floyd Mayweather approaching 50-0 ? we all know that Rocky Marciano retired at 49-0 and so Floyd is approaching the 50 number and Bernard is approaching a 50 number and that sort of makes my promotional juices going.?
Of course, for the fight to happen, a couple of roadblocks would have to be circumvented. Mayweather would have to go against his own expressed desire to retire following his six-fight, 30-month deal with Showtime, which, should he win them all, would make him 49-0. And Hopkins would have to keep fighting at a high level for another year until he turns 50 on Jan. 15, 2015. Moreover, Hopkins would have to drop 15 pounds to middleweight and Mayweather ? who will turn 38 on Feb. 24, 2015 ? rise to 160.
Still, Schaefer is intrigued by the idea, so much so that he dubbed it possibly the highest grossing fight of all time, topping the numbers generated from Mayweather?s bout with Saul Alvarez last month.
?Being the promoter I am, I always want to break records,? Schaefer said following the press conference. ?That?s what gets me going and we broke the record for (Oscar) De La Hoya-Mayweather ? nobody thought we would and we did. And now I want to break that damn record again.?
Schaefer admitted he was just thinking out loud and no formal discussions have commenced.
?I can?t say if I have to sell Floyd on it because I haven?t discussed it with him,? Schaefer said. ?I don’t really know, but is it certainly an idea that is worthwhile pursuing and thinking about it? Absolutely, and I do think that angle of a potentially 50-0 and 50-year-old would be a fascinating story that would produce a gigantic pay-per-view event because this is not a boxing story. This is not a sports story.?
