By Edward Chaykovsky
As the weeks go by, more people are selecting WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev (25-0-1, 23KOs) to take out IBF/WBA champion Bernard Hopkins (55-6-2, 32KOs), which in turn would likely cause the retirement of the 49-year-old veteran.
Hopkins is used to being the underdog. He was underdog to Felix Trinidad, Antonio Tarver, Kelly Pavlik and some even had him as the betting loser to Winky Wright.
Their fight is scheduled for November 8th from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
"That's not new to me. A lot of guys have been the favorite over Bernard Hopkins. The people who make the odds are not boxing people. They are people that set the odds so you can bet. And if you think it's 4:1, 3:1, 2.5:1, I don't know what the odds are, but the odds have never been for Bernard Hopkins. I made the odds for me by putting my work in and beating fighters that I shouldn't have beaten, they say, and I did it in grand fashion," Hopkins said.
"It's the opinions of what they feel and they're normally right, but not with me. I've proven them wrong more than they've proven me wrong. So when you look at the odds and you look at favorites, take heed of that but also understand when it comes to Bernard Hopkins, you've got to look at the history of the underdog and how I made a career out of being not the favorite. In a lot of big fights out there I haven't been the favorite, even in the De La Hoya fight, my partner, I was the underdog. This is something that I embrace."
