Who Should Hopkins fight next?

By Harlan Davies: After conquering Kelly Pavlik last November in a display of mastery of the Sweet Science, B-Hop has been on the hunt to pit himself against another worthwhile opponent. There seems to be a drought of credible opponents orbiting around 175 pounds for the old veteran but being at the age of 44, the sand in the hourglass is starting to run thin for him with the inevitable father-time creeping up on him.

He expressed interest in a bout with the winner of Chad Dawson/Glen Johnson and that does seem to be one of the most likely bouts that could happen so the question arises if Hopkins can beat either of these two elite light-heavyweights.

Firstly, the rock at 175 pounds appears to be the talented yet limited Chad Dawson (28 wins 17 early) who is scheduled to do battle with Glen Johnson in his home town on November 5th. Bad Chad is undoubtedly a gifted fighter who has racked up wins against the best in his division but his all-round appeal seems to be in obscurity with the fans. For a fighter of his calibre he widely lacks recognition which could be a result of a number of factors including is safe style and the short supply of charisma.

He does not possess an enormous dig in his offensive arsenal but his technical ability allows him to edge his opponents, which mixed with his natural speed and southpaw style creates a difficult fight for most fighters. His last two unanimous victories over Antonio Tarver did little to prop up his credibility as a fighter but it nevertheless reinforced his position as the divisions Kingpin.

His unanimous victory other Glen Johnson last year in April helped demonstrate his heart and determination over the tough and dangerous Veteran. Dawson was hurt at moments in the fight but managed to persevere against the awkward Road Warrior and they are now set to lock horns again with the winner likely to face Hopkins, the winner likely being Chad Dawson.

A fight with Hopkins would be a high-risk move for Chad. Hopkins is a very shrewd fighter who can outbox, clinch and spoil his way to a victory very easily which has worked against many of his opponents. B-Hop will certainly be the best fighter Chad had faced and remains an awkward task for the younger fighter.

Many counted Hopkins out against Kelly Pavlik last October expecting the pure youth and power to shine through against the 44 year old Veteran, many expected the Ghost to be the first man to stop B-Hop but on the night Hopkins managed to pull off a display of boxing mastery, out boxing and schooling the 26 year old. Hopkins’ experience could be the vital ingredient that could be Chad’s downfall if that materialises. I can see Hopkins constructing a clever game plan against Dawson’s and taking him to a comfortable decision.

On the other hand, there is Glen Johnson (49 wins 12 losses 2 draws) who out of the two would be the easier task for Hopkins. Glen Johnson is a good, solid, honest fighter who has the ability to rough up and outmuscle his opponents. He has a superb chin and durability with him only losing 11 decisions out of 12 losses throughout his career. His only stoppage ironically came against Bernard Hopkins in 1997 when Hopkins ruled the middleweight kingdom. When they fought Hopkins was by far the superior fighter managing to connect with Johnson at ease before forcing Glen’s corner to pull him out in the penultimate round. 12 years on and the outcome has a small hope of changing, Hopkins is still a top pound for pound fighter while Glen remains a hazardous challenge for fighters around 175. The rematch would probably resemble the fight of 1997 but Hopkins winning by decision this time.

Overall the winner of Dawson/Johnson provides Hopkins with the best possible match-ups. These are fights that Hopkins could comfortably win but this is all assuming that father-time does not catch up with Hopkins by January next year, it could happen, after all, it happened to Roy Jones 5 years ago with Tarver.

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