One of the most significant sporting events of the year will take place on November 8th, and most people in India probably haven’t heard about it yet. A man just three months shy of his 50th birthday will take on the most dangerous boxer of his generation for the unification of boxing’s light-heavyweight championship. Along the way, he’ll endeavour to answer an age-old question – Can skill and experience truly compensate for sheer power and speed? And just how far is the adage ‘Age is just a number’ true?
Bernard Hopkins is known as ‘The Alien’ – a testament to his otherworldly ability to remain a champion at the age of 49. Keep in mind this is boxing we’re talking about here – it isn’t golf, where even Tiger Woods struggles at the age of 38. It’s not chess, where Magnus Carlsen is proving that youth is best equipped to keep pace with an evolving sport. This is boxing – a sport where two men attempt to knock each other out, and Hopkins’ opponent – Sergey Kovalev has achieved a young Tyson-esque 90% KO rate.
The most intriguing aspect of this bout is that Hopkins doesn’t really need to take this fight. He’s already a first ballot Hall of Famer, so his legacy is secure. He’s made tens of millions of dollars, and has invested them well – so this isn’t yet another boxing bankruptcy story. And boxing’s current structure allows him to pick and choose his opponents, so he doesn’t really need to take on a Russian powerhouse nicknamed ‘The Krusher’. But he chooses to, because that’s just what champions are made of. He can’t help pick the toughest challenge out there, for no other reason than it is indeed the toughest challenge.
To reiterate – the man is about to turn 50. To provide some context here – he’s older than Mike Tyson, and Tyson was washed-up almost a decade and a half ago.
That said, boxing loyalists have always believed in the purity of ‘The sweet science’ – The belief that a combination of brains, skill and technique can overcome speed and power. Indeed, it is the cornerstone of most martial arts, most famously demonstrated by Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Royce Gracie running through a field of bigger, tougher opponents at the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, as awareness of jiu-jitsu grew, opponents figured Gracie out, and eventually, he too lost. Hopkins however, endures.
So will Hopkins pull off another miracle win? The general consensus is that this is a ‘pick ’em fight’ – too close to call. If Kovalev does indeed win, it’ll probably be via knock-out, and it won’t be pretty. Hopkins though, is favoured if the match goes beyond 10 rounds – where he’ll be expected to ‘out-box’ the Krusher. The winner is expected to face WBC champion Adnonis Stevenson, providing boxing with its first undisputed Light Heavyweight champion in decades.
What is certain however, is that a Hopkins win could be one of the most inspirational sporting stories of the decade. It’s no coincidence that boxing lends itself to some of the best sporting cinema out there – it features men that overcome impossible odds to achieve high-profile success, often literally shedding blood, sweat and tears in the process. Both Hopkins and Kovalev have had incredible rags-to-riches stories, and their experiences make great reading. Personally though, I’ll be rooting for Hopkins, come November 8th. Should be fascinating.
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Chinmay Bhogle 