By Jim Dower: 45-year-old Bernard Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KO’s) sees his December 18th fight against WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (26-1, 16 KO’s) as a new beginning for him and an opportunity for Hopkins to once again re-establish his greatness. However, Hopkins has really picked a tough opponent for him to beat in this fight, because unlike Kelly Pavlik who Hopkins defeated two years ago to impress fans, Pascal has blazing hand speed and excellent boxing skills. He’s not a limited fighter that can be easily picked off and beaten by the simple grabbing and wrestling technique that Hopkins has fallen into in recent years.

This is a big gamble for Hopkins, because if he wins, he looks great because of his advanced age. It’s a wonder that he’s still fighting at this age. However, the chances are slim that Hopkins will win this fight, and there’s a greater chance that Hopkins is going to lose and look like an old man in the process of getting beaten. Pascal has looked good in beating Chad Dawson and Adrian Diacanu recently, and it would be asking a lot for Hopkins to beat those guys at this point in his career.

Beating a limited Pascal may have given Hopkins a false sense of his own ability, because Diaconu, Dawson and Pascal are clearly a level above Pavlik right now and Hopkins’s diminishing ability would be tested in fights against those guys. This is why Pascal is going to be a huge hurdle for Hopkins to try and get over on December 18th, and he’s likely going to fail.