Recently, Bernard Hopkins outclassed Ornelas as many expected him to do with a unanimous decision of 120-109, 119-109, 118-110. His master plan to set up a re-match with the legendary Roy Jones Jr did take a dent however, as Jones Jr was stopped in the first round by little known Australian Danny Green.
It was the argument for and against boxing in your 40s. Hopkins, at 44 years old, lacked any speed or power but still had that world-class boxing mind to counter the gritty Ornelas. This was in sharp contrast to the 40 year old Jones Jr who looked hopeless. This is down to style in my mind. Hopkins has never heavily relied on his physical attributes in the ring, he has used his ability to read a boxer and changed his style brilliantly during fights.
Roy Jones Jr, however, has always relied on his ridiculous speed and short hand power. As the years have gone on, his glass jaw has been exposed more and more as his physical attributes have dwindled. There isn’t a boxing fan out there who will forget what Jones Jr did in the 1990s and to see a much loved great go out like this is sad.
Will the rematch between Hopkins and Jones Jr go ahead? If it does it will be a one-way contest and merely a step up to the heavyweights for Hopkins, as I am certain that if it does happen the fight will take place at a catch weight or even at heavyweight. Hopkins will not get much credit for the victory and worse still he might hurt Jones Jr.
The alternative switch to the heavyweight division for Hopkins is perhaps his only choice, with fighters in his current division not willing to take a risk on an old man. The fight I want to see is Hopkins vs Dawson. Hopkins can take on a more youthful contender as he did with Pavlik and prove his skills in the ring at the highest level. For Dawson it appears that it might just be the only fight the public want to see at the moment. The other outside option is a fight with Antonio Tarver, in what will surely be labelled “Rocky VII”.
Hopkins has set his stall out by saying that he is still chasing that rematch with Jones Jr, perhaps because it is his most saddened defeat in his career. He then intends to step up to the heavyweights and take on Britain’s own David Haye. All these plans look set to see an even older Hopkins take on the heaviest hitters in boxing and there has to be moral implications to this, but if Hopkins can stay as fit then why not? It happened in Rocky VI.
I don’t know what to make of boxing when 44 year old men can still operate at the highest level.
Is boxing a sport where experience gives you attributes that other sports don’t?
Or is the sport just lacking in popularity?
It may reflect a weakness in the division, but as with most sports those who don’t rely solely on their physical attributes can go on late into their career. Ryan Giggs may have relied on his speed early in his career but he has adapted his game.
Yeah but Ryan Giggs is a just a statistic. Out of the many older players there will always be a percentage who stay at the top level.
I guess there seems to be many old boxers.
Well there are others, Inzaghi, Maldini..the whole Milan side. There are older fighters in the MMA arena too, so it may be that brute strength is able to keep. The current world’s strongest man is 34. Fedor Emelianenko, widely considered the best fighter in MMA is 33. So brute strength comes into it. But it is also a commentary on the pecking order of boxing. It takes a while for a boxer to make his way in the sport. We may well see less 40 year old champs if they had 4-5 fights a year instead of the 1 or 2 fights.