Kovalev's Trainer: Kind of Sick, Hit Hopkins in the Heart!

By Edward Chaykovsky

Trainer John David Jackson says the key to beating Bernard Hopkins is simple. - treat him like an old man. The 49-year-old veteran will aim to retain his WBA/IBF light heavyweight titles on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, and at the same time capture the WBO title from Jackson's fighter, undefeated puncher Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23KOs) of Russia.

Jackson wants Kovalev to hit every possible part of Hopkins' body, including his heart.

"It is what it is, Bernard is old, it’s just that nobody is treating him like an old fighter. No one hits him everywhere — hit him in his arm, in his biceps, in his shoulders and his chest. It sounds kind of sick when I say it but hit him in his heart, make that heart skip a beat. He’s an old man, treat him like an old man," Jackson told On The Ropes Boxing Radio .

Even at his old age, Jackson still sees Hopkins as a very dangerous opponent. Jackson trained Kovalev to avoid Hopkins' big right hand.

"Bernard can still punch, you can’t just sell him lightly, he has a good right hand. Bernard is older, he doesn’t like to say he is but he knows what his body can do and what it can’t do. If he trains super hard for this fight, he’ll leave it all in the gym and if he doesn’t train hard enough, he may not have enough reserve left in his tank if he makes it past the first six rounds," Jackson said.