Countless times, fight fans have asked the following question: will this be the fight in which the sun finally sets on Bernard Hopkins?
From Jermain Taylor (who narrowly decisioned Hopkins twice nearly ten years ago), to Kelly Pavlik (who B-Hop embarassed over 12, one-sided 
rounds), to Jean Pascal (who escaped with a draw and lost a clear-cut decision to the Executioner), to Chad Dawson (who decisioned the Alien while also engaging in a no contest bout), shouldn’t the torch have already been passed?
And the answer would be yes, 99% of the time. Athletes, let alone boxers, do not get better with age. Unless, the fighter is Bernard Hopkins.
But here’s the rub this go-round: Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KO), Hopkins’ opponent on November 8, is not your average upstart or potential “heir to the throne.” He’s in his physical prime (31 years of age) and is recognized by many as the hardest-punching boxer in the sport. That is something that none of the aforementioned boxers I listed could say, and it presents a new, daunting challenge to the venerable Hopkins.
So who is going to win this fight?
It’s all about history, but it depends on how you view the term here. If you go by boxing history, it is very rare that a man approaching 50 years of age would pose a major challenge to a younger, stronger and undefeated champion. So based on that logic, Hopkins should lose.
But if you go by the school of thought that Hopkins has continuously baffled other elite knockout artists (Felix Trinidad and Kelly Pavlik come to mind) throughout his career as well as control for the fact that he’s shown no major signs of slippage in recent years, then Hopkins should win.
Where do I stand?
I stand somewhere in between both sets of logic. I think Hopkins will be able to nullify Kovalev’s power via a variety of tactics (both legal and illegal). But the threat of Kovalev’s power will make this a very close fight, even if he never lands that knockout blow.
If I had to bet on the fight, I’d lean, ever-so-slightly, to old man Hopkins via razor-thin decision. And if he does win, I will really began to wonder if he is truly an alien, as he is so keen to remind us.
