I'm not going to talk about the final day of the Barclays Premiership or the conclusion of the T20 Indian Premier League. Roland Garros? Nope, not that either.
I'm going to talk about one man who, last night, become the oldest man in the history of the sport of boxing to become a world champion.
When he lost (/was robbed) against Joe Calzaghe, many thought it was time for "B-Hop" to hang up his gloves. What did he go and do instead? Outclass the fan favourite Kelly Pavlik in a boxing masterpiece. Then came his UGLY rematch against Roy Jones Jr. which, despite Hopkins winning, led to a public outcry for both fighters to retire in order to save their credibility and, more importantly, any further brain cells from getting knock out. But no, what did Bernard go and do instead? Challenge the WBO and IBO Light Heavyweight Champion, Canadian Jean Pascal (26-1). In Canada. Now for those of you who are thinking, oh it's only Canada. Think again. Canada is a combat sports HOTBED especially with recent records being shattered for MMA attendance (UFC 129). To fight a Canadian in Canada is similar to venturing into a bar in Tijuana and spitting into the face of a gangbanger's mother. Stupid. But Hopkins went there, he spat into the gangbanger's mother's face and came out with a decision that cause an uproar in his favour. Many that night, thought B-Hop had outclassed Pascal in Canada but two judges scored the fight a draw and one in Bernard's favour. Alas, not enough to take Pascal's belt. The referee's performance didn't help Hopkins' cause either.
Result: Rematch. Again, in Canada.
And so in the 20,000 capacity Bell Centre in Montreal, Hopkins engaged with Pascal once again. The Canadian starting strong in the 2nd round after a pathetically boring first round. But then Hopkins woke up and, as Pascal began to fade, he began to pick apart the Canadian. A Hopkins fight wouldn't be a Hopkins fight without something to remember and this fight was no exception as Hopkins dropped to the floor before the start of the 5th round to do some push-ups. Pascal watched on and from then on, knew this wasn't going to be his night. Hopkins outclassed, outpunched, outboxed Pascal to take a decision win that was somewhat closer on the judges scorecards then in reality but the 20,000 screaming Canadians probably had something to do with that.
Record shattered and legacy embedded.
And so, with Bernard's hand raised after the fight and the title in his hands, a stand out record was broken. Hopkins became the oldest fighter to win a world title at the age of 46, surpassing the great George Foreman. And much like Foreman, Hopkins has had highs and lows in his career. Hopkins commented in his post-fight interview that he wanted to "fight until 50" but many think (and hope) he was kidding. A former undisputed king of the Middleweight and Super Middleweight divisions and with relative success at Light Heavyweight, Hopkins now has another world title that will cement his legacy without a doubt as he begins to prepare for his title defence against the tough Chad Dawson (30-1-0-1).
Bernard's record of 52-5-2 is a testimony to his character. His years in prison, where he won "titles" and his coversion to Islam helped him focus his career. He told the prison warden he wasn't coming back to prison ever again. That was the first critic he proved wrong. Boxing critics thought Taylor ended him. They were wrong. Others thought Calzaghe had ended him, they were also wrong. Critics begged him to retire after the Jones fight. They were, yet again, wrong. Hopkins, if anything, will go down as possibly the greatest underdog to ever exist without actually being considered "an underdog". Can he ever be counted out of a boxing contest? Simple answer: NO. It's the way he was programmed, born and raised. Never give up, never stop. Feed of the fuel of the critic's words and show them. Show them that he could and would and just might...fight to 50.
Dawson must be hoping that the critics don't pick him as the favourite.
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