By Jody Kohn
Bernard Hopkins wears his age as a badge of honor, doing his best to show that anything is possible. When he first expressed interest in a potential clash with Floyd Mayweather, it was Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, however, that was his biggest skeptic. Things have changed recently.
At first, he was not confident at all a fight could be made between Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather. On Saturday he had changed his tune, stating that not only is he convinced the fight is a possibility, but that it also could be the most lucrative fight in the history of boxing.
That may sound like crazy talk from a promoter, especially one who just this past Wednesday had said he had little faith that matchup would ever be made. But after Hopkins took out Karo Murat Saturday night in Atlantic City to retain his light-heavyweight title, it got Schaefer wondering aloud about the possibility of just such a fight.
His idea? Hopkins is nearing 50. Floyd Mayweather needs five more victories to get to 50-0. Why not have a 50-year-old Hopkins take on a 49-0 Mayweather looking for his 50th win?
“One thing that’s out there is that No. 50,” Schaefer said. “Bernard approaching 50 and Floyd Mayweather approaching 50-0 — we all know that Rocky Marciano retired at 49-0 and so Floyd is approaching the 50 number and Bernard is approaching a 50 number and that sort of makes my promotional juices going.”
There are, of course, a couple of potential stumbling points in that scenario. Mayweather has already expressed his desire to retire after his deal with Showtime expires. The six-fight deal would take him to 49 fights. For Hopkins, he would have to continue to compete at a high level, which, given his age, is not something that can be assured. Finally, there is an issue of weight. Hopkins would need to drop 15 pounds, while Mayweather would have to move up to 160.
Despite the potential issues involved, Schaefer still seems intrigued. He even has gone as far as to say that perhaps it could beat the numbers reached by Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul Alvarez in September.
“Being the promoter I am, I always want to break records,” Schaefer said following the press conference. “That’s what gets me going and we broke the record for (Oscar) De La Hoya-Mayweather — nobody thought we would and we did. And now I want to break that damn record again.”
Despite his discussing the potential contest, he went on to say that no discussions had begun.
“I can’t say if I have to sell Floyd on it because I haven’t discussed it with him,” Schaefer said. “I don’t really know, but is it certainly an idea that is worthwhile pursuing and thinking about it? Absolutely, and I do think that angle of a potentially 50-0 and 50-year-old would be a fascinating story that would produce a gigantic pay-per-view event because this is not a boxing story. This is not a sports story.”
