Why Bernard Hopkins will slay the Italian
Dragon.
By Mike Cassell
March 17, 2008
PHILADELPHIA – We all know Bernard “The
Executioner” Hopkins 48 -4 -1 (32 KO’s) the fighter, but to know the man,
you only need to take a stroll through any of the economically depressed
sections of North Philadelphia. It is where he was born, where he learned to
fight and where he was eventually arrested for strong arm robbery when he
was in just 11th grade and sentenced for up to 18 years. At age 17, he was
officially a statistic. While most athletes find out who they are in college
or in amateur competition, Hopkins was discovering the colder, harder side
of life. He was a kid in prison with killers, and he wasn’t fighting for a
belt, he was fighting for his life.
Most people spend a lifetime trying to find out who they are. For Hopkins,
it turned out to be 56 months. He was released in 1988. He was 23 years old.
He had his degree, now he needed a job. For Joe “The Italian Dragon”
Calzaghe 44 – 0 (32 KO’s), life was a bit more forgiving. Born in London,
then growing up in Newbridge Wales, he began his boxing career at just 9
years old. He was somewhat of a golden boy, racking up 121 wins as an
amateur, all the time having a loving father nearby to encourage, then
eventually train him. He had all the gifts that most of us take for granted.
Calzaghe won three ABA titles in a row from 1991 to 1993.
As he was walking the golden mile, Bernard Hopkins fought and lost his first
professional fight in 1988 after leaving prison. Living below the poverty
level, and working at a local Philadelphia hotel, he began to feel the
desperation again, but he wasn’t going back to prison. In 1990 he went back
into the ring and racked up over 20 wins by 1993. He refused to become the
invisible statistic again. For both of these fighters, their lives contrast
as much as their boxing styles. Hopkins went many years without the
adulation that just seemed to fall into the lap of Joe Calzaghe. There is no
doubt that Calzaghe deserved it, but it doesn’t mean that Hopkins can’t use
it to fuel his inner fires. It is what makes him who he is. And even though
he has achieved wealth and status, he can still become that kid that is
lying awake in a cell, yearning for someone to see him for what he really
is, a fighter who will never quit. On April 19th, Hopkins will have an
opportunity to do something spectacular once again. He enjoys getting into
the ring with fighters like Calzaghe. For Hopkins, it is nothing new to
demolish the dreams of the prototypical hero. He has done it time and time
again, to the biggest names in the game.
The only things these guys have in common are the amount of knockouts they
have. For Hopkins, he has the upper hand in the competition he has faced.
Calzaghe may have faced the best that Europe has to offer, but he has not
fought anyone with any proven talent from the United States. It will be a
Herculean task to come to Las Vegas and beat Bernard Hopkins. Even at 43
years old, Hopkins is a dangerous fighter. He will make it a back alley
mugging, and it will absolutely be something Calzaghe has never experienced
before.
If Calzaghe is going to the well with his experiences with Jeff Lacy and
Peter Manfredo Jr., he is in for a very painful lesson, Philly style. The
most important and probably most poignant reason Hopkins will win has
nothing to do with his background or common opponents. Is quite simply has
to do with their styles. Hopkins loves to batter southpaws. The busier the
better. Whether it was Keith Holmes or Antonio Tarver, Hopkins completely
destroys them. He is a classic counter punching stalker, waiting for the
opportunity to finish you.
Calzaghe’s defense is his offense, which may work at super middleweight
against lesser competition. But at Light heavyweight in Las Vegas against a
living legend, it just isn’t going to cut it. Hopkins has proven to all the
boxing fans of the Americas that he is one of the greatest to step in the
ring. On the morning of April 20th 2008, the rest of the world will know it.
This win will not define his Legacy. Choosing inspiration over desperation
defined it long ago.
