By Dr. Peter Edwards

In a few days, former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins goes down memory lane. The final bout of Hopkins' half of fame career is nostalgic for many reasons. The career of Bernard Hopkins began on October 11, 1988, in Atlantic City, at the light heavyweight limit. Bernard would go on to lose that bout by way of 4-round majority decision. After his losing his first pro fight, Bernard did not return to the ring for over 14 months. When he did return, he was slimmed down and fighting as a middleweight, a weight class he occupied for the next 15 years.

The nostalgia surrounding Hopkins' last bout is the fact that the bout is scheduled in Atlantic City, the place of his pro debut, and he returns to the light heavyweight limit, the weight class where it all began. Very few fighters who moved up or down in weight, end their careers in their original weight class.

Some have called Hopkins a freak of nature because even at age 40, he was easily making weight for his middleweight title defenses and kept his body in top physical condition. There was not an ounce of fat to be found. There were even several times when he weighed in a few pounds below the middleweight limit. He did things that were unheard of this era of boxing. Historical accomplishments include 20 successful title defenses of the middleweight crown, being undefeated for over twelve years and being the first fighter in history to hold the all four major world titles (WBA/WBO/IBF/WBC) at the same time.

Some wonder why Hopkins would risk it all on his last fight. We have all heard the comments of Tarver being too big, Bernard being too old, Tarver being strong, etc. So why put himself in harm's way and take this bout? Bernard says "why not?"

"I think the fans deserve to see a future hall of famer, and potential legend when it's all said and done, take on the baddest guy in any weight class that he chooses to challenge, and that happens to be Tarver," said Hopkins.

"I think that standing there and criticizing as some will do and speaking negative about it, is the same thing they did with Jermain Taylor. I gave him an opportunity because I never ducked nobody. I could have fought somebody other than Jermain, who wasn't ready."

"I'll say this, Tarver brings a major threat. More so than any other light heavyweight including the guy he fought twice and I knocked out, Glen Johnson, and in some cases an argument can be made about Roy Jones. I know the risk and I support what people's doubts are to the point where it's their opinion."

Now the talking is done and the fighting is almost here. Some experts that were highly critical of Tarver's size advantage were surprised that when Hopkins and Tarver were standing face to face, the size advantage was for Tarver was barely noticeable. Hopkins was always a tall middleweight.  

At first very few gave Hopkins a chance to win, now many credible voices in just about every corner of the boxing business think the old man is going to pull of the upset and seal his legacy as great fighter. Hopkins is not only one of the greatest fighters of our generation, he is arguably one of the five greatest middleweights of all time.

The story of the fight has basically the same plot outline as every other fight that pits a quick, small fighter against a strong, big fighter. A battle of speed vs. power.

Several questions are buzzing around this fight like flies, and many of them have to do with Tarver – not Hopkins. Tarver, who bulked up to look a decent sized heavyweight for his Hollywood debut in the latest installment of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise, had to work very hard in order to get back down to light heavyweight. A rapid loss of weight could lead to early fatigue in the fight.

Tarver who usually paces himself in bouts and picks his shots, will not be able to fight in such a manner against Hopkins. Hopkins will not stand and trade, which would give Tarver his best chance to win by landing one of his heavy power punches. Hopkins will have to use his legs to move, and so will Tarver.

It’s a mystery of how this fight is going to play out, because I can’t imagine Hopkins, age 41 and Tarver, age 37, fighting at a high pace. Both of these fighters have fought their last couple of fights at a slow pace while picking their punches. Hopkins did it in order to have gas in the tank for the final quarter of his fights and Tarver has fought in a pacing manner for the better part of his career. Tarver did show signs of fatigue in his last bout with Roy Jones, Jr.,  rather odd when you consider that Jones barely did anything to make Antonio work hard. It could have been a bad night or simply age catching up with the self-proclaimed Magic Man.

They both start slow and usually finish strong, which makes the final portion of the bout something to look forward to if it happens to go that long.  One of them will have to step up to the plate and be great. Tarver has a lot more to lose and by the same token, Hopkins has a lot more to gain.

The terms history and legacy ride on this fight, something that Bernard Hopkins takes very serious and is not about to lose without a fight. He wants to end it all with a win, in the same place where it all began with a loss.