April 20, 2014 – On Saturday, a 30-year-old went up against a 49-year-old in a boxing match. Under ordinary circumstances, the promoters would face criticism or even censure for allowing such a contest to take place. In this case, though, the 49-year-old was IBF light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. And there is nothing at all ordinary about the man who is known as ?The Executioner? to older fans, and ?B-Hop? to the hip-hop set.
The 30-year-old was Beibut Shumenov, who held the WBA and IBO versions of the 175 lb title going into the fight. Shumenov also had a 14-1 record. There is no way in the world that a 15-fight novice like Shumenov is going to stand a chance to defeat the ageless professor of pugilism. Not unless he had Father Time in his corner.
Father Time had other plans on Saturday, and Hopkins battered and bedazzled yet another outclassed opponent. He even floored Shumenov in the 11th frame. It?s been a long time since Hopkins has put anyone on the canvas. The boxing lesson lasted the distance, and two of the judges had Hopkins winning by scores of 116-111. Inexplicably, Inexplicably, the third judge, Gustavo Padilla, scored it 114-113 in favor of Shumenov! This is the weirdest tally since CJ Ross viewed Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s whitewash of Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez as a draw.
I?m not going to say that judges like Ross and Padilla are blind. But it does seem that they are wearing glasses with lenses that distort reality like a funhouse mirror.
Hopkins has now unified two of the four major light-heavyweight titles (The IBO version is ?major? only in the minds of the IBO). Adonis Stevenson is the WBC beltholder, and Sergei Kovalev wears the WBO?s crown. Both men are dangerous punchers, and they?d provide formidable challenges for Hopkins. But the ultra-skilled Hopkins would, in turn, pose a puzzle that knockout artists like Kovalev and Stevenson might not be able to solve.
That?s not to say Hopkins is unbeatable. Not so long ago, Chad Dawson did such a number on B-Hop that it seemed as though the older fighter might have been on the brink of retirement. Before then, Joe Calzaghe won a decisive point victory over Hopkins.
Yet Calzaghe is the one who is retired, and will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June. And Dawson hasn?t fought since suffering back-to-back knockout defeats at the hands of Andre Ward and Adonis Stevenson.
Almost a decade ago, Hopkins was outpointed twice by Jermain Taylor, who turned out to be far from a future hall-of-famer. It could be that Taylor had a style that was somehow problematic for Hopkins, just as Ken Norton?s style gave Muhammad Ali nightmares in the ring.
So, who has the tools to school the Professor? There?s only one fighter today who stands a reasonable chance to unravel the enigma that is Bernard Hopkins. That fighter is super-middleweight champion Andre Ward.
Ward has had only 27 bouts, less than half of Hopkins?s total of 65. Yet he displays the skill set of the old-school boxers ? a skill set reminiscent of Hopkins?s. If Ward ever fought Hopkins, he would not need Father Time in his corner. Even the Hopkins of 10 or 15 years ago would have had difficulty with the ultra-talented Ward.
If he steers clear of Ward, by this time next year, Hopkins will be celebrated as the first 50-year-old world champion. Maybe he?ll call it a day then. But as long as his remarkable body remains able to follow the instructions of his sagacious mind, he might as well keep on fighting for as long as he wants.
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, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. 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. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
