Bernard Hopkins is Still in The Ring

Bernard Hopkins is one of the most persistent boxers, both in and out of the ring. It has been a month and two days since the wave of surprise that was his last fight landed on the boxing public. The camera shot of Jermain Taylor being crowned the new world middleweight champion still plays over and over in my mind.

Click for larger image © Sergio Martinez

The shocking headlines of this new birth, in Taylor eyes and boxing injustice, in Hopkins eyes, has decreased. Some people are telling Hopkins to let it go, others are trying to inspire him and are determined to support the push to gain another rematch as soon as possible. The WBC is in favor of Hopkins’ protest and they are pushing for an immediate rematch with Taylor. The controversial decision that resulted from the Taylor – Hopkins fight could help define one of the greatest middleweight showdowns to take place in a very long time. The first Hopkins – Taylor fight had the potential, but it fell short of high expectations, in regards to age verses youth, new verses veteran and old school style battling new school style.

Hopkins has every right in the boxing world to stand tall with his claims of injustice and media merry-go-round interviews. The man not only owned the middleweight belts, he designed the division to his liking and has always had intentions of placing his middleweight legacy at the top of debates. Hopkins is far from a crybaby or a sore loser. Each time I watch the Taylor – Hopkins fight, I toss my winner around. At one point, Hopkins walked away with the belts and other times, it was Taylor who walked away with the belts. To keep things in perspective, I did have Hopkins winning the bout, on the original fight night, based on his baiting and waiting style and with his approach on placing Taylor into deep fighting waters.

So the problem at hand is one that involves convincing Team Taylor into wanting to fight Hopkins again. Even though his handlers are confident and loud with their support of their young champion, one can only wonder about the animosity and motivations these two boxers will have for one another. The individual promoters that back Hopkins and Taylor have formed a rematch date for December 3rd, 2005. If the fight is in fact rescheduled, it would not let me down, as strangeness is a part of boxing. With Hopkins skipping towards the last bouts of his career, and Taylor wearing the major belts, pushing this fight into 2006 could be a defensive tactic used to push the anticipation of Hopkins into desperation. We all know of Hopkins’ strong will on having an influential say on his fights. Hopefully, he will have an influential say on making this rematch sooner than December 3rd; if not, I am sure Hopkins is going to keep the protesting going on until he has a title shot. Some may think Hopkins is in a rush, but with age, comes patience; admire and respect the old school way.

Contact Shaun Rico LaWhorn at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com