Hopkins vs Shumenov: Bernard Hopkins anxious to end knockout drought on April 19

Bernard Hopkins hasn't stopped an opponent since his win over Oscar De La Hoya on September 18, 2004, so he's closing in on a decade without a knockout win, and the 49-year-old "Alien" tells Percy Crawford of FightHype.com that he's aiming to end that streak against Beibut Shumenov on April 19.

"I'm on a drought, man. I'm on a serious drought, so I'm looking to have a knockout, man. I need a TKO or anything having o do with a referee or a corner saying, 'Look, enough is enough.' I came close against Murat. ... I don't want to go through the rest of my career and the golden years of my career without stopping one of these dudes."

Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO) is 8-2-1 as a light heavyweight, but it's not really and great suprise that he hasn't been stopping his larger opponents. Hopkins is a natural middleweight, of course, and dominated that weight class for years before moving up. He may have lost his "Executioner" nickname, but he gained a new one, at least.

It wouldn't seem likely that B-Hop will stop Shumenov (13-1, 8 KO), either, but if he starts fighting for knockouts -- and he did seem to be doing so against Murat -- then that adds another wrinkle to his game and another reason to watch this living legend every time out.