Hopkins Will Guide the Next King.

The definition of the middleweight division will happen tomorrow and the outcome could be shocking and surprising, as all conflict of who is the ruler of this division will finally settle. Bernard Hopkins versus Jermain Taylor is more than a middleweight showdown of experience versus youth. It is a match-up that will signal the making or breaking of a division that has a core of talent but has little impact on the overall mass appeal of the boxing world. The middleweight division is a relaxing division for boxers. Usually, a boxer will come up to the middleweights, pause, fight a few times and move on up to a higher, and at times, a more profitable weight class. Hopkins’ demonstration of being the deadlock to one weight class is a model of commitment unseen in many divisions. A boxer may have numerous aspirations to push him into wanting to test the other weight class waters, from profit gain to the winning of many belts aspect, yet one has to contemplate the satisfaction and bliss a boxer must condone in order to fix his mind and body on one weight class.

SaddoBoxing is live on the scene in Las Vegas for the Hopkins-Taylor event so enjoy this preview article and do not miss our exclusive coverage coming up throughout this big fight weekend.

I can clearly recall a Hopkins interview when he declared his roadblock in the center of the middleweight division and with elation, he shared with the sports world, that no boxer could skip past him and cruise into other divisions. This was after the Felix “Tito” Trinidad fight and despite his bold invite towards other boxers; the challengers did not rush to the ring steps. This division is host to so many promising boxers: Kingsley Ikeke, a boxer who is dangerous in every area, Ronald “Winky” Wright, a boxer who is willing and able to dip in and out of weight classes with ease and his style of adapting to his opposition is a feature not to overlook. A brave warrior still resides inside of Howard Eastman. Kassim Ouma released to the world his intentions and capabilities of making a jump into the middleweight division, but his loss to Roman Karmazin could place Ouma back into the gym. Advancing up to a bigger and stronger division could be the last option on his mind.

IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy is an important name to mention in his division. His plate is full with trying to capture all three super middleweight belts into his possession, but the opportunity of fighting the winner of the Hopkins vs. Taylor fight is on his fighting radar and I am sure he will be paying close attention to the outcome of this fight. Fernando Vargas could be a middleweight and if he continues his comeback in the fashion of improvement with each fight, he could enter the middleweight castle with free-range. Felix Sturm is a boxer that is in the foreign market of boxing circles, and his loss to Oscar de la Hoya was more of a stepping-stone than a setback. There is also William Joppy, Ike Quartey, Sam Soliman, and the chance of Ricardo Mayorga replanting himself in the division to Robert Allen; the division has the mix and matches to make some lead way into the boxing world.

Could it be Hopkins’ iron fist control of a division that allows all average and above average boxers no chance of making a name for themselves and with this situation, a lot of boxers find the division a waste of time to enter? I can remember when the middleweight division had three champions: Hopkins, Joppy and Keith Holmes. Who would have thought that Hopkins’ divide and conquer plan would work so successfully and here he is entering into a fight that could push him into the same shadows as Holmes and Joppy.

Another situation to play into mind is the motive of Hopkins to push Taylor, his so-called next in line king for his belts into second-class boxing land. You know, the place where boxers wander in the space of the boxing world, earning fights here andthere, until their star power fades and we go from rarely hearing about them, to never seeing them. Perhaps, Hopkins is planning an opening for Kingsley Ikeke, with no pun intended on his name. The first four letters in his name spell out king, a fighter who is under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.

Maybe Hopkins has the foresight to pave the way for the next one in line. It could be Taylor, or it could be Ikeke, either way, Hopkins will have a hand on the next king. The roadblock statement Hopkins made some years ago about boxers having no option of skipping over him and cruising into another division may be a truism, and this weekend, we will see if the middleweight division is going up, down or staying put in the middle.

Shaun Rico LaWhorn can be reached at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com