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The "Cinderella Man" of the new millennium, WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev, had a golden opportunity to make some big bucks against a fighter who is fully capable of still making the middleweight limit if he tried hard enough.
The dream of moving to the heavyweight division to capture the biggest prize in boxing is not going to happen for recent retiree, Bernard Hopkins. Prior to his twelve-round domination of Antonio Tarver last June, Hopkins announced that regardless of the outcome, he retire upon the completion of the fight.
In a conversation that took place a year ago, Hopkins told me that he was hoping for Jermain Taylor to beat Winky Wright in order to establish himself as star. There was an underlining fear in Hopkins' head that if Taylor lost to Wright, the sport of boxing would never let him retire in peace.
"Oh man, if Winky Wright beats Taylor, that's it! I'm packing my bags and moving to Europe because they will never let me leave," Hopkins said.
The win over Tarver was so convincing that many hardcore boxing fans wanted Hopkins to stay retired in order to leave the sport on a much deserved high note. Hopkins, a career middleweight, moved up two weight divisions to unseat the recognized light heavyweight champion. It was a performance for the ages, and few insiders expected the 41-year-old fighter to make a comeback.
But, the scenario that Hopkins had predicted to me a few months earlier, happened a week after he defeated Tarver. Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright battled to a draw in a bout where many observers felt Wright should have been given the nod. Rather than crowning a new middleweight king, the jury was still out on who was the best fighter at 160-pounds and Taylor had lost some considerable momentum that was gained after he won two consecutive decisions over Hopkins. [details]
The dream of moving to the heavyweight division to capture the biggest prize in boxing is not going to happen for recent retiree, Bernard Hopkins. Prior to his twelve-round domination of Antonio Tarver last June, Hopkins announced that regardless of the outcome, he retire upon the completion of the fight.
In a conversation that took place a year ago, Hopkins told me that he was hoping for Jermain Taylor to beat Winky Wright in order to establish himself as star. There was an underlining fear in Hopkins' head that if Taylor lost to Wright, the sport of boxing would never let him retire in peace.
"Oh man, if Winky Wright beats Taylor, that's it! I'm packing my bags and moving to Europe because they will never let me leave," Hopkins said.
The win over Tarver was so convincing that many hardcore boxing fans wanted Hopkins to stay retired in order to leave the sport on a much deserved high note. Hopkins, a career middleweight, moved up two weight divisions to unseat the recognized light heavyweight champion. It was a performance for the ages, and few insiders expected the 41-year-old fighter to make a comeback.
But, the scenario that Hopkins had predicted to me a few months earlier, happened a week after he defeated Tarver. Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright battled to a draw in a bout where many observers felt Wright should have been given the nod. Rather than crowning a new middleweight king, the jury was still out on who was the best fighter at 160-pounds and Taylor had lost some considerable momentum that was gained after he won two consecutive decisions over Hopkins. [details]