By Lyle Fitzsimmons

The last time Bernard Hopkins was in a boxing ring, it looked like it’d be just that.

The last time Bernard Hopkins would be in a boxing ring.

That night in Atlantic City, the 26-year pro was dropped in the first round by Sergey Kovalev, lost each of 11 subsequent rounds and gave the impression that a remarkable age-defying run was complete.

“I took him to school, but I just didn’t have my schoolbooks,” Hopkins said. “We got into school, but damn, he wound up showing me the book when I was supposed to be showing him.”

Kovalev defended his three-belt light heavyweight claim for the second time on Saturday night in Las Vegas, and Hopkins expects the Russian’s reign to ultimately be measured in years, not fights.

“The only person that can beat Sergey is him right now. He’s the only one who can beat himself,” he said. “He has to be on point, mandatory or no mandatory. Every fight is a championship fight because he has the title. If you want these fights that might not ever happen you’ve got to tell yourself that they’re going to happen just to stay motivated. If it starts getting boring to you and you don’t tell yourself that, you’ve got a problem. You have to stay focused, because at the end of the day the guy that nobody expects to win is always the dangerous guy. That’s the most dangerous guy to fight.”

Hopkins’ loss to Kovalev was the most decisive of the former two-division champion’s long career, and all he’s done in eight months since is turn 50. As in AARP-eligible 50. But if you think reaching the golden anniversary of his 1965 birth has sapped the old Philadelphian’s competitive testosterone, think again.

Though he’s not campaigning for a Kovalev return or prepping for another weight-class ladder climb, Hopkins made it clear in a recent chat that he’s not exactly through with unlikely challenges either.

And in this case, that challenge takes the form of one Gennady Golovkin.

“Done deal,” Hopkins said, when asked how he’d respond to a Team Golovkin catch-weight offer between middleweight and light heavyweight. “He don’t have to come to 175. I’m going to make it even sweeter. We can meet at ’68 or ’70. I respect G and I respect his corner. He’s doing a hell of a job. He’s representing the division that I ruled for 12 years with honor and dignity, and I take my hat off to him.

“But I’m asking the middleweight to do the same thing (as I did) if he wants a super fight.”

Hopkins was referencing the bold move he made at age 41, when, after losing his 160-pound crown to Jermain Taylor, he rose two weight classes to challenge consensus light heavyweight kingpin Antonio Tarver. Tarver had beaten Glen Johnson and Roy Jones Jr. in his previous two fights and was coming off a featured role opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa, the sixth movie in the Rocky franchise.

Hopkins took 10 of 12 rounds on all three scorecards and jump-started the second phase of a career that eventually saw him earn four 175-pound belts and become the oldest fighter to win a recognized title.

Golovkin, meanwhile, is 33-0 as a pro, has been a title claimant at 160 pounds since 2011 and has a burgeoning fan base thanks to a KO streak that reached to 20 in a row after his latest fight in May.

He’s built his brand on being the most avoided fighter in the sport, and has claimed he’d go anywhere from 154 to 168 pounds to secure the sorts of high-profile matches he’s been unable to get at 160.

Still, Hopkins, perhaps thanks to his advanced years, remains stubborn.

“People will always ask, in the back of their minds, ‘Can Bernard do it?’ Because I’ve been right more than I’ve been wrong,” he said. “This ain’t no easy fight. But I always see something. There’s no perfect fighter. Everybody has a weak spot. Everybody has a vulnerability that needs to be exposed, it just takes the right person to be able to expose it. It’s not just styles. Every fighter has a weakness.

“Exposing that weakness and executing to get victory from that weakness, that’s the million-dollar or the billion-dollar question. Can he, whoever it is, crack that code?”

* * * * * * * * * *

This week’s title-fight schedule:

SATURDAY

Vacant IBO super bantamweight title – Windhoek, Namibia

Paulus Ambunda (No. 16 contender/No. 13 IWBR) vs. Leandro Esperante (No. 21 contender/No. 74 IWBR)

Ambunda (22-1, 10 KO): Third title fight; Held WBO title at 118 pounds (2013, zero defenses)

Esperante (12-4, 10 KO): First title fight; First fight outside Argentina

Fitzbitz says: Ambunda did his best work at 118 pounds and is seeking a belt in a second division, but he ought to have enough to get past an Argentine with no real resume. Ambunda by decision

SUNDAY

Vacant IBO/WBA bantamweight titles – Winter Park, Fla.

Juan Carlos Payano (WBA champion/No. 4 IWBR) vs. Rau'shee Warren (No. 8 WBA contender/No. 54 IWBR)

Payano (16-0, 8 KO): First WBA title defense; Sixth fight in Florida (5-0, 1 KO)

Warren (13-0, 4 KO): First title fight; First fight against an unbeaten opponent

Fitzbitz says: Warren has a very strong amateur pedigree and a pristine record, but he’s not established himself enough as a pro to expect that he’ll handle an established champion. Payano by decision

Last week's picks: 2-1 (WIN: Sityatha, Kovalev; LOSS: Funeka)

2015 picks record: 50-14 (78.1 percent)

Overall picks record: 689-237 (74.4 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.