By Mark Vester
There is no typo in the headline. Former middleweight, light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins told boxing scribe Tim Smith, that he wants to replicate the feat which rival Roy Jones, Jr. completed several years ago, by moving up to the heavyweight division and winning a title.
Hopkins, now 41-years-old and coming off a one-sided beating of Antonio Tarver in June, was said to be hanging up the gloves for good, but you can't keep a good man down. Hopkins wants to meet Maskaev in the main event of a June HBO pay-per-view. Hopkins is said to be 185 pounds at the moment, and would fall around 200 pounds for the bout. Of course the money must be right for Hopkins to fight.
For the fight to actually happen, Maskaev must still be the WBC champion by June, he is scheduled for a voluntary defense of against Peter Okhill on Dec. 23 in Moscow, and must then face mandatory challenger Samuel Peter.
"The state of the heavyweight division in America is dead,'' Hopkins told Smith. "Bernard Hopkins is the only boxer who can bring the title back. I was watching that fight (Maekaev-Rahman) and it when it was over, it hit me. Rahman was supposed to be the last line of defense for the America heavyweights. He couldn't do it. But I was inspired to comeback and do it. It's not something that is unheard of. Michael Spinks did it. Roy Jones did it. I can do it.''
Hopkins does know that fans will give him a hard time about returning to the sport after he said that he would never fight again.
"I know people are going to give me a hard time about coming back,'' Hopkins said.
