Is this the end for Bernard Hopkins?

By Boxing News - 10/17/2011 - Comments

Image: Is this the end for Bernard Hopkins?By Jason Kim: Starting on Monday, Golden Boy Promotions will start the wheel churning to try and get Bernard Hopkins’ WBC light heavyweight title back Chad Dawson by appealing to the WBC and the California Athletic Commission.

However, Hopkins has got other problems that are much more significant than a worthless title. He badly injured his left shoulder in the loss to Dawson when Hopkins fell to the canvas after briefly riding the back of a bent over Dawson. When Dawson straightened up, Hopkins fell off and hurt his shoulder.

The injury is serious one, especially for a fighter as old as the 46-year-old Hopkins is. When you’re dealing with dislocations like the one Hopkins suffered, it can take a really long time for the shoulder to heal properly and there’s a strong possibility that the shoulder can be re-injured.

There can be setbacks during the rehabilitation period for someone as old as Hopkins. An even when it does heal, the shoulder may not be as strong as it once was. I mean it’s good that is’ his left shoulder and not his right, but it’s still not good because Hopkins is two-fisted fighter who uses both hands equally. He doesn’t just rely on his right.

Since Hopkins only wants to face the best guys, and he doesn’t have the time to fight tune-ups, it means he’s likely going to go straight from a serious injury straight into a fight against a quality young contender or champion and it could be a really tough time for Hopkins. When you get to his age, your body ages overnight.

Hopkins looked great in his two fights against Jean Pascal, but we may not be seeing that Hopkins again. He’s continued to age and with the injury, it’s going to make it really difficult for Hopkins to come back from the shoulder problem. This could be the end of Hopkins or at least the beginning of the end.



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