Cloud-Hopkins & Dawson-Pascal could be paired on HBO on March 9th

By Boxing News - 12/19/2012 - Comments

By Allan Fox: The Bernard Hopkins vs. Tavoris Cloud and the Jean Pascal vs. Chad Dawson fights could both be paired on HBO in a split site double-header on March 9th, according to Steve Kim. The Hopkins-Cloud fight isn’t definite for HBO, but the word is that there’s a good possibility that it ends up being televised.

Hopkins, 47, will be looking to become the oldest fighter to ever capture a world title in his fight against IBF light heavyweight champion Cloud at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Hopkins turns 48 on January 15th, and that would make him the oldest fighter to win a world title if he can somehow swing it against the 30-year-old Cloud.

In looking at Hopkins’ last two performances I’d say that his chances of beating Cloud aren’t that good. Hopkins has lost a couple of steps since his win over Pascal last year in May.

It’s hard to believe that a fighter can lose so much in just a year and a half, but that’s the way it is when a fighter gets up there in age like Hopkins. You can be fighting well and then all of a sudden the fighter no longer has it again.

Dawson, the WBC light heavyweight champion, will be looking to avenge his earlier defeat at the hands of Pascal from two years ago in August 2010. That was the fight where a badly hurt Pascal, collided heads with Dawson in the 11th round, causing a bad cut over the right eye of Dawson.

The fight was then stopped and Pascal was given a 11 round technical decision based on the lead he had. It’s kind of unfortunate for Dawson because he had Pascal badly hurt and he a minute to go in the 11th round to try and finish him off plus three minutes in the 12th. Who knows what would have happened had the fight gone on a little while longer.