04.05.05 – By Barry Thompson: This is the one we’ve been waiting for… “Out with the old and in with the … but wait… Hopkins may not be done yet! He was written off by the media at the age of 36 with Tito Trinidad rising, with Don King producing a Trophy with the name pre-printed. He’s been written off before by damn near an entire population, which only served to piss him off and force him to make predictions… (That this would be an easy fight, that Tito’s father would have to save him, that Tito was a one dimensional fighter, and that his age will not be a factor in that fight) that he backed up!
Hopkins seems to fight up to or down to the level of competition before him, which can make for a very exciting or very boring, but strategic battle of wits. And at the age of 40, he can still incite fear and respect from anyone else in the 160lb division.
Taylor, on the other hand, is a lot more cautious about what he has to say about this fight. He brings youth, strength, energy, a damn good jab, and a body more suited for super middleweight than for middleweight. He seems to be taking in consideration what he may be up against with Hopkins. Jermain Taylor may be good, but William Joppy, Daniel Edouard, Alex Bunema, Alex Rios, won’t prepare anyone for a Bernard Hopkins.
Adding the media hype and the “Heir Apparent” title that everyone seems to quote when Taylor’s name comes up must be unnerving to a young fighter facing the “T-Rex” of the middleweight division. Add on the secondary motivation that Bernard has found, putting Lou Dibella out of business. That’s the stuff that Hopkins lives for… This may not even be about Taylor to Hopkins, it may be about Lou.
Taylor has awesome footwork, decent boxing skills that seem pretty standard with each of his fights( did I mention a damn good jab?). On the other hand, I have never really seen Hopkins fight the same way twice. He does something different with each fighter he encounters, which makes him damn near unpredictable. So the question is: Does Taylor have a plan B if Hopkins kills his “A” game? We know Hopkins has plan B, C, D, E, etc.
I still can’t make a prediction for a fight like this. But I do remember Kermit Citron and Antonio Margarito… and the look on Kermit’s face when he realized that he wasn’t fighting boys anymore.
Either way, this has the potential to be a masterful performance by both parties and is definitely worth watching. I actually hate to see either one lose, but if Hopkins wins, the good news is that Taylor can still be the Champ if he loses… he will just have to wait a few months for T-Rex to leave…