The Winner and Why
Photo by Tom Casino
If I’m betting on a fight, I put my money on boxing IQ and experience, and Bernard Hopkins has more of it. When making predictions we tend to say, “every fighter has a chance,” because it’s technically true and anything can happen is boxing. But the disclaimer is more like giving out a participation medal than first place.
Fighting smart almost always prevails. Hopkins has undeniably evolved in his training and fighting, and his latest performances back up his claims and confidence. Sergey Kovalev is equally confident, but it is fairly obvious he is going into the fight completely dependent on his power. He said himself, “Who is strong should be who win. I want that this fight should be fair. I try to be polite, I try to be nice but, if my opponent don’t respect me, then I don’t respect him.”
The Alien is not for the polite or faint of heart. If Kovalev thinks that the fight with Hopkins is going to be “clean and fair” he is mentally, if not physically, in for a rude awakening. He would probably know that if he had studied Hopkins, but Kovalev being the Walter Jr. of boxing, thought breakfast was more important.
