Hopkins vs. Dawson

By David A. Avila

Few prizefighters have earned the distinction of master boxer like Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins let alone become the oldest to ever win a world championship at age 46.

Just how long can the epic Hopkins legacy continue?

Philadelphia’s Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs) defends the WBC and IBO light heavyweight world titles against former champion “Bad” Chad Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 15, at the Staples Center. The Golden Boy Promotions fight card called “Believe It Or Not” will also be shown on HBO pay-per-view.

It’s literally a tall order for Hopkins when he faces a taller, quicker and younger boxer in Dawson who’s only tasted defeat once in his career. No matter, Hopkins delights in toppling the youngsters.

“I want to embarrass another young so-called gun of the world, of the boxing world, and prove that Bernard Hopkins is not better, but just different,” said Hopkins during a conference call. “And that's the page of a history book that I'm establishing-or I established since beating (Felix) “Tito” Trinidad in 2001. That's when my legacy started, and we're well into 2011 right now.”

Back in 2001, when Hopkins fought Trinidad at Madison Square Garden, it was just weeks following the 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. At the time Hopkins was 36 and experts doubted him due to age. That night he whipped the Puerto Rican knockout artist before a stunned crowd. It’s a scene I’ll never forget.

Ten years later Hopkins still reigns as one of the greatest prizefighters in the ring and has not achieved it by fighting lesser talent. It’s been quite the opposite with back-to-back fights against Canada’s ultra talented Jean Pascal (who beat Dawson), Roy Jones Jr., Kelly Pavlik, Joe Calzaghe, Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright.

Ironically, Dawson is now trained by Wright and John Scully which brings a chuckle to Hopkins.

“That's just like getting a guy that's teaching me how to take my driver's test and he doesn't even have a license because he couldn't pass the test,” scoffed Hopkins.

Dawson has tried since 2006 to fight Hopkins but at the time the Connecticut prizefighter was a relatively unknown commodity. Few outside of hardcore boxing fans knew the lean boxer and it wasn’t worth Hopkin’s time to meet Dawson in the ring.

Now is the time.

“I'm excited about the fight. As you all know, the fight (discussions) went for years, and then we finally got it,” said Dawson who along with Vitali Klitschko are the only fighters to defeat heavyweight Tomasz Adamek.

Speed, movement and extremely long arms are Dawson’s primary assets. The former light heavyweight champion realizes it takes more than physical tools to beat Hopkins, it also takes brains and skill.

“Back in the day with me and Scully, he used to always tell me that, ‘you got to be a master boxer.’ And on October 15^th, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be a master boxer. I'm going to perform,” Dawson said.

Hopkins has shown throughout his career that physical strength, speed or knockout power alone is not sufficient to defeat him. Out-thinking Hopkins is tantamount to defeating a world class chess master.

Since 1988, Hopkins has been fighting professionally and it’s difficult to fathom a boxing world without him. Fans should take advantage of watching the boxing wizard at work before he finally retires.

“I think everybody should just enjoy me while I'm here, because nothing lasts forever and

I think we all know that,” Hopkins said.

Other bouts

Mexico’s Antonio DeMarco (25-2-1, 18 KOs) and Venezuela’s Jorge Linares (31-1, 20 KOs) fight for the vacant WBC lightweight world title. New York’s Paul Malignaggi (29-4) battles Mexican slugger Orlando Lora (28-1-1, 19 KOs). Luis Collazo (31-4) fights Freddy Hernandez (29-2, 20 KOs), and undefeated Danny Garcia (21-0, 14 KOs) clashes with dangerous Kendall Holt (27-4).

In the preliminaries Coachella’s Randy Caballero (12-0, 7 KOs) is scheduled to fight an eight-round affair. Several other bouts are planned. Tickets start at $25.

Fights on television

Fri. Telemundo, 11:30 p.m., Michael Franco (19-0) vs. Orlando Cruz (16-2-1)

Sat. HBO pay-per-view, 6 p.m., Bernard Hopkins (52-5-2) vs. Chad Dawson (30-1); Paul Malignaggi (29-4) vs. Orlando Lora (28-1-1); Antonio DeMarco (25-2-1) vs. Jorge Linares (31-1); Danny Garcia (21-0) vs. Kendall Holt (27-4).