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He’s too old. The man has only half of his former boxing skills; his boxing style is far from comely. These are all statements, the middleweight ring king Bernard Hopkins had to endure and listen to since his by the book destruction of the powerful Felix “Tito” Trinidad. The admiration we have for youth can clearly |
replace our common sense on understanding experience. Hopkins is a physically in-shape forty-year-old man and I am a twenty-seven-year-old man, and I consider Hopkins to be forty-years young. It is logical to realize as time evolves, we lose our speed, our eagerness, and our appreciation for simple things in life. For Hopkins, he is trying to change the hands on a clock called boxing and he has a fighting chance to make it happen.
In the sport of boxing, a boxer will train only in preparation for a fight, and during their off time, they will gain their natural weight. As for Hopkins, he trains all year long; talk about understanding the commitment of a warrior. He dedicates numerous hours to watching old fight footage, and like the old grain in the fight footage he watches, he also understands that his legacy is coming down to its last paragraph.
When Hopkins made it official that he had aspirations on fighting Jermain Taylor, people, both in and out of the boxing world all tossed out statements such as, “What is on this forty-year-old man’s mind?” I remember before the Hopkins vs. De La Hoya fight, Hopkins made statements about Taylor in the press. A wise man will only share half of his plan and save the other half for persistence, when it is time to make things happen. Hopkins played the media. He played Taylor’s team into accepting his demands and he is planning a high-class boxing educational display for the youthful Taylor.
We can say Hopkins is slow, Hopkins will say he is taking his time. We can say Hopkins doesn’t box the full three minutes, Hopkins will say he is studying his opponent’s movements and timing for two minutes. This fight is pressure for Hopkins; yet again, it is a sign of freedom for the man. Hopkins went from a prison middleweight champion, to a world middleweight champion, so you have to understand the balance of greatness and with that balance come a security system of relentless courage and a growing garden of self-respect.
Hopkins is in the same mental locker room as George Foreman and Roberto Duran; he is actually going to fight the man designed to take over after his retirement. How much more inspiration and a boost of eagerness do you need. Hopkins is in the same position as he was when he was released from prison, and the cards of him returning were ready to be dealt. He has not returned as an inmate and he is on a path to close his career with fighting the best.
What does he see in Taylor that so excites him and has him so relaxed before this fight? I see no flaws in Taylor’s boxing style, but also I see no indications why Taylor is the heir to Hopkins’ throne. Perhaps he is the heir to Hopkins’ HBO contract when Hopkins retires. Not to subtract fans from Taylor, but you have several middleweight battlers who are in the castle of the middleweight division.
Taylor has a designed jab that can make you feel the pain when he throws it, even though it is not hitting you. Yet, if I can see this jab, along with the world, doesn’t it make sufficient sense that Hopkins can see it? What will Taylor do if Hopkins proves it ineffective? Will he enter into a shadow of Trinidad and walk the line of giving up and calling it a night?
Many questions center on the outcome of this fight, driving the interest into it even more profound. Youth is spectacular, but growing into your age is always impressive, and the same high-water mark that the legendary Marvin Hagler walked away with, is the same insurance Bernard Hopkins is using to keep his boxing days going.
Championship intentions never grow old.
Shaun Rico LaWhorn can be reached at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com
