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Bernard Hopkins has an obsession with numbers. He’ll talk to anyone who will listen about being a middleweight champion at the age of 40, and will gladly tell you that his purse for his last fight with Oscar De La Hoya was $10 million (euro7.7 million). The number Hopkins is most proud of, though, is 20. That’s how many title defenses he will have made when he climbs into the ring Saturday night against Howard Eastman.
“This is very important to me to be in position for 20 defenses in one weight division,” Hopkins said. “Very important to me.”
Hopkins’ 20th title defense puts him in rare company among some boxing greats. He’ll match Larry Holmes, who defended the heavyweight title 20 times, and draw closer to the great Joe Louis, who had 25 defenses.
The fight with Eastman isn’t drawing the attention his last fight with De La Hoya did, but Hopkins remains focused even as the middleweight champion becomes middle-aged.
“I approach fights like it’s my last fight and I have to make a statement,” Hopkins said. “It’s just maintaining my body, maintaining my mental state. That’s what is important.”
Hopkins (45-2 with one draw and 32 knockouts) is a 6-1 favorite to retain his undisputed 72.5-kilogram (160-pound) titles when he meets Eastman in a scheduled 12-round bout at Staples Center. In an ironic twist, the fight is being promoted by De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, which signed Hopkins after he beat De La Hoya.
Also on the card is a fight between unbeaten middleweights Jermain Taylor and Daniel Edouard. Taylor, a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic boxing team, is being touted as a possible opponent for Hopkins in the near future.
The fight is the first for Hopkins since stopping De La Hoya in the ninth round Sept. 18, and his first since turning 40 on Jan. 15.
While most fighters have long since retired by that age, Hopkins stays in shape, stays focused and remains confident that he still can’t be beaten.
“The talent speaks for itself, the longevity speaks for itself,” Hopkins said. “Enjoy me while I’m here because I don’t think there have been too many fighters my age that have been on top like this for so long.”
Like Hopkins, Eastman has a favorite number of his own to bring into the fight. He believes he will knock out Hopkins in the fifth round.
“The number five is in my head and I don’t know how it got there,” Eastman said. “Well, actually I do. I got the word from God himself. That’s why the number five is just in my head.”
The 34-year-old Eastman was born in Guyana and moved with his family to England as a child. He’s 40-0 in fights in the United Kingdom, and 0-1 in his only venture to the United States – to fight Joppy.
Eastman’s best chance may be that Hopkins finally shows his age in the ring, though fighters have been waiting a few years for that and it hasn’t happened yet.
“The only question could be when I fight between now and when the end comes is when is Bernard Hopkins going to start looking 40,” Hopkins said. “I want to sell that. I want to promote that.”
