By Tom Donelson
 
After Hopkins stopped De La Hoya with a wicked body shot to the liver, the Middleweight division was considered Hopkins and whoever.  After the most recent Winky Wright-Tito Trinidad fight, the Middleweight division is a division laden with potential great match-ups.  Suddenly as the Hopkins marches into history, the division is alive with new talents, waiting to make their mark on boxing history.

In his last three fights, Wright defeated two Hall of Fame caliber fighters in Shane Mosley and Tito Trinidad. Wright didn’t just beat these fighters but for the most part, he dominated both fighters.  Before Mosley, Wright was just another good fighter looking for recognition in a division dominated by more glamorous names like Mosley and De La Hoya.  Now, Wright is accepted as one of the best pound for pound fighters and he has the skills to challenge the winner of Hopkins-Taylor. Winky Wright may just add the Middleweight title to his Junior Middleweight crown.

For Hopkins, the hourglass is shifting fast and at the age of 40, he is attempting to cement his legacy as one of boxing’s great Middleweights.  Jermaine Taylor has the skills and talent to beat Hopkins but does he have the experience to beat Hopkins? With Hopkins, a fight is just as much a mind game as it is a fight.

This fight is not an easy battle for Hopkins and Hopkins pushed for this fight to happene because he knows that time is against him. The longer wait only benefits the younger Taylor and Taylor's most recent shellacking of William Joppy showed that he just might be ready for prime time. Over the past few years, Hopkins has won fights as much through his smarts as his skills. In his victory over Eastman, he set the pace by boxing in the early rounds while conserving his energy. In the later rounds, he fought just hard enough to win but not putting himself at risk. Averaging just 30 punches per round, his accuracy carried the day. If Taylor pushes the action early, he could tire the older Hopkins out and Hopkins has not been involved in a pitched battle in a long time. The younger Taylor may just force that pitched battle.  And the winner must face Winky Wright. The Middleweight division is undergoing a changing of the guard.

Underneath these elite fighters are younger and hungry fighters along with some still dangerous grizzly veterans. Younger pugilists like German Middleweight Felix Sturm, Nigerian Kingsley Ikeke, and the undefeated Armenian Arthur Abraham are now waiting for their turn.  Felix Sturm showed his mettle when he lost a close decision to Oscar De La Hoya last summer in a fight that he easily could have been declared the winner and Kingsley Ikeke out boxed and stopped veteran Antwun Echols in ten rounds in his last outing.

Abraham is presently the WBA Intercontinental championship and obtained that title by defeating another young contender, Ian Gardner. In that particular fight, he had Gardner down three times to win the decision and in his first defense of that title, he stopped veteran Hector Javier Velazco in five rounds.

There are other young fighters such as Peter Manfredo, Jr. who along with another prospect, Ishe Smith, have been spending the last few months filming the reality show “The Contender.”  “The Contender” introduced these young talents that could spark interest in one of boxing's premier divisions.

In addition to these youngsters, there are those grizzly veterans like Howard Eastman, Fernando Vargas, Ike Quartey and Robert Allen still looking for another shot at the title. A year ago, it appeared that Bernard Hopkins had cleaned out the Middleweight division. Now, the Middleweight division has awakened from it's slumber to take its historical place as one of boxing's premier division.