Bernard Hopkins: One, Two, Three Fights and You’re out?

Checkout the full article at Rope A Dope Radio.com Take me out of the Fight game, Take me away from the crowd; Give me some money and the title back, I don’t care if I ever get back. Let me throw some jabs, hooks and uppercuts, If I don’t win, it’s a shame. For its one, two, three fights, I’m out, of the old fight game. Like anything that surrounds Bernard Hopkins, its all part of the plan. The fight game is a brutal and spiritual one-way journey for most, but for Bernard it’s just a constant cross-road. I can’t recall a fighter who’s been at a cross-roads for this long. If anyone deserves to tell us why, when, and how he’s going to put an end to his Boxing run, it’s the Executioner. What else can we ask for? Twenty title defenses at middleweight, moving up to rule Light-Heavyweight, to almost becoming the oldest World Champion in boxing history. He did it his way throughout his career and that is not about to change on how he wants to end it. Everyone wants a Cinderella ending, they rarely happen but Bernard Hopkins doesn’t want it given to him. He has a record at Middleweight that will probably never be broken, defied the odds multiple times, he’s guaranteed first-ballad hall of famer, has made millions in prize fighting and has the respect of those who know the sport. We ask, “What’s really left Bernard?” Bernard Hopkins is a proud warrior. A crafty veteran who has never been beat up before. Sure, he’s gotten the short end of the stick in some close, some controversial, decisions throughout his illustrious career. The native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has not been a victim of a beating throughout his entire career. While there is no guarantee that he’ll retire if he actually pulls off the following, it would surely be an amazing exit strategy to one of the greatest runs in boxing history. Pascal, Dawson and Bute are officially on Bernard Hopkins’ hit list. Just looking at Bernard Hopkins’ age this shouldn’t be possible. That’s two top Light-Heavyweights and in the opinion of some the top Super Middleweight in the world. An even bigger opponent, father time, lurks. The great father time is undefeated, it’s not a matter of if but when it gets the best of Bernard Hopkins. At 46 years of age he’s got no time to spare. Maybe that’s why the negotiations didn’t seem to take too long. Looking at each opponent, each fighter is different in style and brings something different to the table. The most astonishing thing they all have in common is that they’re all in their prime. You can’t fight fighters everybody knows you can easily beat and expect to be great. Being great is about audacity. Yes, audacity. To have the audacity of defying the ultimate odds and have no fear of failure. It’s hard to tell whether he can beat all these three guys and then retire. But we can sure say he went down swinging. Or maybe in Bernard’s case, went down on the controversial scorecard.