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Most people thought Bernard Hopkins was lining up to face Adonis Stevenson in the near future, as Stevenson repeatedly threw out Hopkins name for his wish list. It now looks like those plans have changed in the interim as Bernard Hopkins is looking to unify titles by taking on the WBO light-heavyweight monster, Sergey Kovalev, in November.
For this to happen, Kovalev will first have to get past his Aug. 2 opponent, Blake Caparello, whom he'll be facing at Revel Resort, in Atlantic City. N.J., though most people will tell you that's simply a formality at this point.
Hopkins talks about the potential fight between the two:
"How many fighters have been undisputed world champions in a 15-year span?" said Hopkins, who will turn 50 on Jan. 15, 2015. "Until the judges say something or I'm lying on my back, I'll never give up. I hear about the age thing and to me that doesn't matter. This is not a done deal yet, but Kathy is talking to Golden Boy, and Oscar [De La Hoya, Golden Boy's President] is interested in this fight, too. I'm still promoted by Golden Boy, they're my promoter and we would like to see this fight happen."
A fight with either Kovalev or Stevenson is a mighty tall order for a nearly 50-year-old man, but Bernard is an 'Alien' and has proved naysayers wrong time and time again. To further up the anty, he doesn't just want to knock-off one of those titleholders, he wants both!
"It's nothing new," Hopkins said. "That's followed me throughout my career, from the time I beat Trinidad, a fight no one thought I could win, to when I beat Kelly Pavlik, another fight no one thought I could win. Right now, Kovalev-Hopkins is a fight I think a lot of fans would like to see. The best fight out there at light heavyweight is Kovalev-Hopkins. The goal is to beat Kovalev and then go after Stevenson after I turn 50. So I want to make more history."
That's a uniquely ambitious, and dangerous, prospect for Hopkins. However, I will say that if any 50-year-old could do it, its Bernard "I'm Not Human" Hopkins. I would also say that for him to pull off this feat against two of the biggest punchers in the sport he'll have to fight in a style that won't exactly thrill the casual fan. Don't expect him to stand there and scrap it up like he did with Karo Murat. He'll have to move laterally, pick his spots to ambush, and clinch. And Bernard certainly has that style down to a science.
What do you think of these fights for Bernard? Is it a bridge too far? Where would these two wins place him in the all-time category?