Bernard Hopkins was the in-studio guest on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights and he revealed his intentions for his next fight. Hopkins plans on facing the winner of the Chad Dawson vs. Glen Johnson rematch scheduled for November 7th. Hopkins has not fought since beating Kelly Pavlik in October of 2008. He will turn 45 years old in January.
Hopkins has had trouble finding a fight. He couldn’t lure Joe Calzaghe out of retirement. Cruiserweight Tomasz Adamek became his next target but those plans never materialized.
Hopkins has previously said that he didn’t want to fight Chad Dawson, claiming it would hurt the light heavyweight division. He said it was a no-win situation for him. If he loses, he doesn’t get a fond farewell. If he wins, he leaves the light heavyweight division in trouble because he defeated their #1 guy on his way out the door.
Bernard Hopkins handed Glen Johnson his first career loss in 1997. Johnson has resuscitated his career as being the guy that will fight anyone at any place. Johnson gave Chad Dawson all he could handle in their first fight, a unanimous decision win for Dawson in 2008.
The prospects of a fight between two forty-somethings in Bernard Hopkins and Glen Johnson just doesn’t do it for me. Both men are in phenomenal shape but here is far more appeal in a Hopkins-Dawson bout.
