Hopkins: My experience will beat Cloud

By Boxing News - 02/07/2013 - Comments

hop0By Allan Fox: 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KO’s) is going into his March 9th fight against IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-0, 19 KO’s) having not won any fights in two years when they meet up for this HBO televised fight from the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Hopkins feels that he’s going to win this fight based on his experience.

Hopkins said to thaboxingvoice.com I have the exposure and I have the experience. I have three bullets and he has one. What’s going to win this fight is Bernard’s experience and his inexperience.”

There’s no question that Hopkins has a huge advantage in the experience department compared to the 31-year-old Cloud. However, when you’re as old as Hopkins, his advanced age could negate any advantages that might have in the experience department. His money obviously knows what he has to do in order to win the fight, but what’s unclear is whether his body will follow those commands in order for him to win this fight.

If Hopkins fights like he did in his last two bouts with Chad Dawson, and the way he did in his loss to Joe Calzaghe in 2008, then this could be a bad fight to watch because Hopkins won’t be able to match Cloud’s high work rate.

The only thing possible for him to do is to slow the action down by clinching, and flopping from questionable fouls. Hopefully, Hopkins doesn’t fight like this because the referee likely won’t take points away from Cloud if Hopkins starts falling down on the canvas when he’s hit with shots on the beltline.

Hopkins will have to a lot more than he did in his two fights with Dawson if he’s going to beat Cloud because those performances were poor. Dawson doesn’t throw nearly as many punches as Cloud does, so it could be much tougher for Hopkins to try and win this fight if he doesn’t let his hands go.

On the undercard of the fight will be unbeaten junior middleweight Keith Thurman dropping down to welterweight to face former IBF welterweight champion Jan Zaveck. Thurman is a huge welterweight, and he’s kind of like the welterweight divisions version of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. It’s going to be tough for Zaveck if Thurman rehydrates to the upper 160s.



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