[QUOTE=Master;1272986]What can Bernard Hopkins do to psychologically get to Kovalev?[/

I see the following factors possibly affecting Kov mentally:

1) Hops "thug" aura: I have been told on more than one occasion that many Europeans, because of movies/tv...etc., have the perspective that American ex-cons are killers. Kov seems like a thug himself, but Bernard carries himself in a way that intimidates many fighters (think Pavilik and Tarver), even though he isn't a knockout artist at this point. This isn't always the case, as was proven by Calzaghe, although I do feel that Joe was hesitant and scared the first few rounds.
2) Too much respect for a legend: in reading some of Kovs comments, he has already stated that if he loses the fight, it won't be all bad as he will learn so much during the fight. It doesn't usually turn out well for the guy who isn't sure if he can win or lose.
3) The magnitude of the fight: This will be a HUGE event, by far Kovs biggest and most important. I think that will weigh heavily on his mind and it will be interesting to see how it turns out for him.