By Dave Lahr: With his 44th birthday about to take place on January 15th, Bernard Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs) has almost unlimited opportunities in front of him for 2009, beginning with a great opportunity, should he be interested, in a fight against WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler some time in 2009. That’s a fight for Hopkins if he wants it, as Kessler has already stated his interest in wanting a fight with Hopkins in 2009, so it’s up to Bernard whether he sees any financial rewards in a fight with the Danish warrior
One couldn’t blame Hopkins for not wanting to face Kessler, because the fight would likely not attract a whole lot of public interest beyond diehard fans who have knowledge of how good Kessler truly is.
Aside from Kessler, there’s unbeaten IBF light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (27-0, 17 KOs), who is thought by many to be the best light heavyweight in the division at this time. Like with Kessler, however, there’s not much of an upside in fighting Dawson, because he’s not well known with casual boxing fans and due to his young age, only 26, he’s still building a name for himself at this stage.
So, it wouldn’t be a fight where Hopkins would get a big payday like his fights with Oscar De La Hoya, Jermain Taylor and Joe Calzaghe. But, the fight would gain him a lot of respect with fans, give him a lot of attention by the cable broadcasters and eventually make him an even popular fighter than he is now.
Still, it remains doubtful Hopkins would want to take on a risky fighter like Dawson, who at 6’3″, has both the height and speed advantage over Hopkins. This wouldn’t be a fight like Hopkins’ recent one against Kelly Pavlik where Hopkins has the physical advantages over Pavlik.
In this case, Hopkins will find himself at more of a deficit than in his two bouts with Taylor in 2005, both of which Hopkins lost by decision. Probably because of that, Hopkins won’t fight Dawson, because he has a good chance of undoing all the good things that Hopkins has done for himself with his recent win over Pavlik.
Jermain Taylor is a fighter that Hopkins has unfinished business with, considering that he’s already beaten Hopkins twice by close decisions. Additionally, Taylor is a popular fighter, although not quite so popular as he once was due to his two losses to Pavlik. However, he’s probably not a big enough money draw for a bout with Hopkins, who like Joe Calzaghe, wants to maximize his earning potential in the short amount of time he has left in the sport.
Besides that, Taylor has already beaten Hopkins and seems to have his number, and fighting him a third time might just very give Hopkins another loss. He actually looked worse in the 2nd fight with Taylor than in the first, which makes me think Hopkins would be soundly beaten in a third fight, so why bother?
Calzaghe, 36, would be an ideal option for Hopkins and one that would not only give Hopkins a good payday, but also give him a chance at avenging his 12-round split decision defeat in April. Hopkins, according to many account in the American press, won the fight but was given a bad decision.
Calzaghe, however, is the sticking point here. He doesn’t want to fight Hopkins again, and instead is looking to be leaning towards retirement. It’s too bad, because it would be a great fight and one that would have given Hopkins his best opportunity for a mega fight in 2009.
Roy Jones Jr., 39, has also beaten Hopkins previously, defeating him by a 12-round unanimous decision in 1993. However, Jones isn’t interested in fighting Hopkins again, and based on how Jones looked in a recent 12-round decision loss to Calzaghe, he looks badly shot.
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