Hopkins wants Froch later this year in the UK if he beats Kessler

By Boxing News - 05/06/2013 - Comments

hopkins2By Scott Gilfoid: IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2, 32 KO’s) says he wants to fight IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) later this year in the UK provided that Froch gets past WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s) in their fight this month on May 25th at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Hopkins said to the Dailymail.co.uk “Froch is on top of my wish list…our styles would make for a great fight. I will happily go over to the UK to make it happen but of course Carl will have to beat Kessler first. I am rooting for him to do it and I think he will win this time.”

I don’t see a Froch-Hopkins fight happening for a number of reasons. First off, Froch really has his hands full with Kessler on May 25th, especially with the primitive manner in which Froch has been fighting recently.

Kessler eats up that kind of style and it would be like a replay of his lopsided 12 round unanimous decision win over Librado Andrade.

I don’t expect the normal run of the mill casual boxing fan to remember that fight, but for the ones that did see the fight they’ll remember seeing Kessler beating the brakes off of the Froch-like Andrade for 12 painfully one-sided rounds. Andrade never looked the same after the fight.

If Froch somehow squeaks by with a decision against Kessler, I still don’t see him taking the fight with Hopkins. I mean, Froch hasn’t been eager to fight WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly due to the size issues between him and Cleverly.

So if Froch doesn’t want any part of fighting the 175 pound Cleverly then why would it be any different for him in facing the equally heavy Hopkins? It’s the same thing, only Hopkins is a lot more skilled and can do many more things than the straight up plodder Cleverly.

Hopkins has a fight of his own he has to win against his mandatory challenger Karo Murat (25-1-1, 15 KO’s) next month on July 13th at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA. If Hopkins loses that fight then he can forget all about the slim chances of him fighting Froch. I don’t expect Hopkins to have any problems with Murat, but I’m just saying.

I see Hopkins as a really bad style match-up for Froch because he can do a lot of the same things that Andre Ward did in beating Froch by a 12 round unanimous decision in December 2011 by staying close and getting the better of Froch on the inside. Hopkins is an excellent inside fighter, and he was the guy that Ward was influenced by in terms of his fighting style.

Froch can’t fight to save his life on the inside, and he just looks helpless and out of his class. I think Froch will realize that immediately and say no to the fight.

It’s a no win fight for Froch because if he loses, he’s pretty much finished as a fighter. Hopkins can add Froch’s name to his list of fighters he’s ruined. But if Froch wins, he won’t get a lot of credit because Hopkins is 48-years-old. How do you get credit for beating someone that old?



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