Even if Kovalev wins (and there's no guarantee that he will), and no matter good or bad Stevenson looks against Bika, I'm almost positive Stevenson-Hopkins will be made in late 2015.
Hopkins is too old to fight Stevenson. There's a reason why he chose Kovalev. Although Kovalev is great he doesn't have the hand speed and athleticism that Stevenson has. And stylisticly Kovalev was the obvious choice.
I'm not much of a fan of Stevenson but let's just say for name sake you're right after the beating Hopkins took it wouldn't be smart to be so quick for him to scrap with an elite at this moment.
What I'm thinking of is the 'cash-out' route for Stevenson, and Hopkins taking any meaningful fight presented to him. Hopkins is not getting Froch, nor Chavez Jr., so it seems obvious that Haymon will look to get Stevenson a payday against Hopkins - the fight they were originally looking for in 2014.
Unless someone throws a curveball and makes Ward-Hopkins at 168.
I'm not much of a fan of Stevenson but let's just say for name sake you're right after the beating Hopkins took it wouldn't be smart to be so quick for him to scrap with an elite at this moment.