[bigben]

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few months shy of his 41st birthday, some say he’s too old. Others say that he’s lost a step or two in the ring. And even more simply believe been around too long, and it is time for a change.

Yet, all must refer to Bernard Hopkins as the undisputed World Middleweight Champion, at least until he either vacates his title or someone comes along and snatches it from his vice-like grip.

On Saturday night, Jermain Taylor, the universally regarded heir apparent to Hopkins’ 10-plus-year throne, will attempt to do just that in a battle of experience versus youth, brains versus brawn, old school versus new school, or whatever other trite phrase one wants to toss at the mouth-watering matchup.

We’ve seen it all too often in the past – fresh young lion comes up to oust the aging incumbent. Larry Holmes did it to Muhammad Ali. Michael Spinks returned the favor to Holmes. Ezzard Charles took care of Joe Louis. Terry Norris reminded Sugar Ray Leonard that age catches up with all of us. And most recently, Ricky Hatton sent Kostya Tszyu off into retirement.

But Hopkins isn’t buying it. According to the champ, he isn’t ready to hold his AARP card while resting in rocking chair just yet.

“I'm preparing to execute on my experience and abilities that I've been doing for over a decade,” Hopkins said. “And as far as I'm concerned, come July 16th, the only difference will be that I will not look like others, at least referring to old versus young or whatever words they might use. I'm going to show the world that 40 is not a death sentence and I'm looking forward to going at it (with Jermain Taylor).”

Interestingly enough, Hopkins is among those who label Taylor as the future of the division. He recognizes that the Arkansas native is the best young fighter, if not the top contender, that the division has to offer.



Hopkins just isn't hearing any of the old talk


There’s just one problem, though. Hopkins feels that he is the best fighter in the world, bar none. And he wants use Taylor as an example to illustrate that point.

“I think he's ready (to be champion),” he said. “I think it's just the person he's fighting. I mean, I think he can beat (anyone else in the division), but I have a lot riding on this fight as far as the timing of it and what's going on. Bernard Hopkins right now knows that I have to do what I have to do to secure my legacy. And there's a lot riding on this fight for me personally. You've heard from me so many times that you know I think it's just the wrong fighter who has all the belts right now.”

Honestly, I beg to differ with the champ on the point of his legacy. Bernard Hopkins’ legacy is already secure, set in stone, if you will. He will go down in history as a top five middleweight of all time, along with Carlos Monzon, Ray Robinson, Harry Greb and Marvin Hagler (Roy Jones Jr. isn’t in that category because he was only at middleweight briefly), regardless of the outcome of the fight. To suggest otherwise is to suggest that Ali’s career was somehow damaged by losing to Spinks or Holmes, or Jones’ career was damaged losing to Tarver or Johnson. That’s ludicrous – to use Mike Tyson’s favorite word.

Of course, if Hopkins prevails against Taylor and then moves up in weight to successfully challenge Antonio for the 175-lb crown, he will accomplish something that the greatest of all-time, Robinson, couldn’t do, thereby, creating an argument that Hopkins is, in fact, the greatest middleweight in history.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

He’s still got to get past Taylor on Saturday night. And just how does he plan to accomplish that goal?

“(I’m going t)o outwork Jermain Taylor, to out-jab Jermain Taylor, and to take everything that he does well and use it against him,” Hopkins said without hesitation.



When Hopkins stopped Oscar de la Hoya, many thought he showed signs of
getting old, is that the case?


In other words, he plans on giving his young foe a clinic on the finer points of the sweet science. He wants to break Taylor’s will not only for the audacity of thinking he can unseat the incumbent, but also to exact revenge against Lou DiBella, Taylor’s promoter, for their acrimonious past relationship, as DiBella used to advise Hopkins before winning $600,000 in a slander lawsuit against the champ.

Hopkins, therefore, has spent exhaustive hours breaking down tape of Taylor, learning his every move, finding even the smallest flaws, and then devising a strategy on how to exploit them.

However, watches more than just Taylor’s fights during film study in order to get properly inspired for what he needs to do. For that, he turns to a man he respects tremendously, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and his fight against John “The Beast” Mugabi.

In that fight, the penultimate of Hagler’s Hall of Fame career, the all-time great was in the midst of a 10-year undefeated streak and a seven-year championship run. He was looked as a dominant champion who was nearing the end of a legendary career. After 65 professional prizefights, some outwardly wondered if he had enough to beat his younger, fresher foe.

For Mugabi, it was the first championship fight of his 25-fight career and a monumental step up in class from his previous opponents. He was thought to be stronger and faster, even though he was moving up in weight, than the champion.

The fight itself was a brutal dogfight that lasted 11 of the 12 rounds before Mugabi finally succumbed to the brutality at 1:29 into the round.

“He put up a gallant performance right?” Hopkins asked about Mugabi’s performance in that fight. He got wore down, he got beat up and he never was the same right?”

Yes, Mugabi dropped back to 154 pounds, lost his next fight, and really never achieved the greatness that most predicted for him prior to the Hagler fight. Many, including this fighter, think that the Hagler fight ruined Mugabi as a fighter.

“Next question,” the champion said implying that Taylor will suffer the same fate on Saturday night.



Can Taylor succeed where Mugabi failed?

Hopkins, however, is never content to just make a point with innuendo, so he decided to elaborate on his point.

“This (fight) is perfect (comparison) for that one because again, he's bigger, he's strong, he's not scared, he's come forward,” Hopkins explained. “Isn't that the same type of blueprint to Hagler and Mugabi - dangerous, Hagler's going to get tested? Oh let's not forget, Hagler's slowing down, Hagler's old. It's a perfect fight (for comparison purposes).”

The big difference, though, is that while similarities exist between Mugabi and Taylor in terms of professional experience (25 fights versus 23, respectively) and age (both 26 years old for their first title challenge), the same cannot be said for Hagler and Hopkins.

For one, Hagler was still in the prime of his game. At 32-years-old, he was enjoying his physical peak – well, maybe was a bit past his prime in terms of the 1986 standards. But Hopkins is almost a full decade older than Hagler was in 1986. And that is a significant difference.

Again, Hopkins just isn’t buying it.

“This is what I feel and I'm not making claims on what people think about my age or think about whether I can do this do that, that's fine,” he said. “I mean, that's good. That's speculation. That's curiosity. Hopefully, these people buy tickets. Hopefully, these people have got pay-per-view. That's good. But I know what's in me to not lose. Not only this fight, but this particular year, to go out undefeated is so important to me. It's just as important to me as beating Pretty Tito Trinidad, beating Oscar De La Hoya and the other accomplishment (during my) 20 defenses.”

He believes that Taylor will be his Mugabi. Or, better yet, his Tommy Hearns, who got stopped by Hagler in what many refer to as the greatest eight minutes in boxing history, if Taylor decides to come out and get after the champion from Jump Street.

Whether Hopkins wins in a long, drawn-out slugfest, like Hagler-Mugabi, a short, breathtaking explosion, like Hagler-Hearns, or a crafty veteran decision win like Leonard over Hagler, is immaterial. He’ll take it as long as the end result is him retaining his titles.

Whatever the result, Hopkins insists he will not go out like Mike Tyson and Kostya Tszyu did in the preceding months, ending their respective careers by quitting on their stool. Now, there is no shame in that, particularly in light of the physical dangers associated with boxing and the recent deaths linked thereto.



Whatever the outcome, Hopkins insists he won't go out like Tyson

Regardless, Hopkins insists that is the one result that the fans will not see. After all he’s gone through in life, from the tough streets of Philadelphia to his time spent at a maximum security correctional facility; he’s never quit at anything. And that won’t change on Saturday night.

“(Q)uitting is not even in my, is not in my DNA. It’s not even in my genetics,” he said.

All he can envision is defeating Jermain Taylor and once again proving everyone wrong who claims that the former US Olympian is the rightful heir to Hopkins’ throne.

“(W)hen Jermain Taylor gets his jab taken away from him, let's see if he’s the great potential or heir apparent that we all think he is,” Hopkins concluded.

We’ll see.

[naught33]

great information here...should be a great fight..i personally have not seen a lot of jermain taylor live, except for his fight against joppy, hopkins is one of, if not the smartest fighter around, but taylor could give him some trouble...remember hopkins notoriously starts out slowly and if taylor can dictate early it could give him a lot of confidence