By John-Paul Wolfe
March 9th, 2013 the newly constructed Barclays Center in Brooklyn N.Y. will host the second boxing event in the building’s short history. The show will mark the return of Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins. This will be his first fight since losing a split decision to southpaw ‘Bad’ Chad Dawson. Bernard, along with his promotion, Golden Boy, have narrowed down his opponent to three options: Nathan Cleverly, Tavoris Cloud and Beibut Shumenov. All three are title holders, and more importantly all three are relatively young, hungry and ranked among the ten best in the world at light heavyweight.
Hopkins already holds the honor of being the oldest champion in history, at 47. Now at the age of 48, he attempts to break his own record. This is more than impressive as Hopkins is less than two years away from his 50th birthday and is preparing to challenge for a legitimate piece of the light heavyweight title. He already has the distinction as the oldest champ in the history books, he isn’t strapped for cash, so why does he continue to get in the ring against high level opposition nearly half his age?
Some questions do not have an easy answer, and this appears to belong in that category. What I would suggest is, forget about his motivations. You and I will never fully understand what drives an already wealthy, intelligent and healthy professional with nothing left to prove to step into the ring against a motivated, dangerous opponent looking to add the name of a legend to their resume. Instead, sit back and enjoy as a master craftsman continues to defy the odds and provide fans with a once in a lifetime look at timeless excellence.
