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Tale of the Tape: Hopkins-Taylor
FRI July 15, CARL RICE - In the history of boxing, the tale of an established champion versus a young lion is probably the most fabled of all matchups, perhaps second only to good versus evil. In recent history, several fights comes to mind: Julio Cesar Chavez v Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker v Oscar De La Hoya, Philip Holiday v Shane Mosley, Genaro Hernandez v Floyd Mayweather, Tim Austin v Raphael Marquez, and most recently etched in the mind of all boxing fans is Kostya Tszyu v Ricky Hatton.
On Saturday night, yet another fight is added to the annals of this classic storyline as Bernard Hopkins, 46-2-1 (32) looks to defend his undisputed middleweight championship against young Olympian Jermain Taylor, 23-0 (17).
A fight is not only taking place in the ring, however; also on the card is Hopkins v DiBella, a fight that has not only been simmering since 2001, it has boiled over and covered the stove with it’s contents. Their relationship is well documented, from DiBella getting Hopkins his career defining fight with Felix Trinidad, to Hopkins dumping DiBella and slandering him, to DiBella suing Hopkins for libel (a suit in which he won), to DiBella signing Taylor to a promotional contract, and finally, DiBella guiding Taylor’s career in such a way that led to this moment. Both men have stated that they are not talking about the other, but then each proceeds to deliver some sometimes subtle below the belt remarks. So there is more at stake than just the middleweight title.
If anything has been proven in this great year of boxing, it’s that anything can happen in this great sport. Diego Corrales came back from two knockdowns to stop Jose Luis Castillo in that same round, Zab Judah got revenge on Cory Spinks by stopping him in St. Louis, Spinks hometown, and annexing the undisputed welterweight title (this feat seemingly impossible after Judah was stopped in two rounds by Tszyu and then throwing a temper tantrum), Mike Tyson retires in his corner against Kevin McBride, and just over a month ago, Hatton surprised all of his skeptics by making Tszyu quit in the corner with only one round left.
Tszyu v Hatton is the fight mostly compared to Saturday’s fight because Hopkins, like Tszyu, goes into the fight undisputed, both are/were a long established champion, is/was considered over the hill in boxing age but still was performing at a high level, and is/was on many people’s list as pound for pound one of the top five fighters in the world. Conversely, both Taylor and Hatton are highly considered contenders, have good skills, are criticized for fighting lower level opponents, are much younger than the champion, and both went into their fight as underdogs. Hence, there are boxing fans who believe that the correlations are too close and that Hopkins will also finally become a victim of father time while in the ring, thus losing the title. Here’s how these two match up.
Ring Walk
Hopkins, out of Philadelphia, has been champion since 1995 after defeating Segundo Mercado after fighting to a draw in their first fight, in which Hopkins was down twice, and hasn’t lost a fight since losing a wide decision to Roy Jones in 1993. His only other loss was in his first fight, a four round majority decision at light heavyweight to Clinton Mitchell, who was also making his pro debut. He never relinquished that title, defending it twelve times before getting involved in Don King’s middleweight tournament. This was not only to unify the titles, but was also meant as a coronation of Trinidad as the best fighter in the world. Hopkins won a unanimous decision over champion Keith Holmes, while Trinidad stopped a game William Joppy, becoming a champion in his own right. Hopkins, then 36, was actually an underdog going into the fight with Trinidad, although some felt that after seeing Tito outboxed by De La Hoya, Hopkins had a blueprint on how to beat him. Hopkins not only had a blueprint, he was the engineer as he took Trinidad apart piece by piece before stopping him in the twelfth round becoming the first undisputed champion in 2001. After making nondescript defenses against Carl Daniels (KO10) and Morrade Hakkar (KO 8), he destroyed William Joppy en route to a lopsided decision, beat up on Robert Allen, stopped De La Hoya with a left hook to the body (KO 9), and in February he slowly dismantled Howard Eastman in his last fight, winning by unanimous decision and making a record 20 title defenses..
Taylor, hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas, first got his distinction as a good fighter by winning the bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics, losing to eventual gold medal winner Yermakhan Ibraimov from Kazakhstan. As he began his pro career in January 2001, it was obvious that he needed some polishing, and he proved to be a quick study, showing improvement in every fight. In only his 11th contest, he fought his first ten rounder, a unanimous decision over Sam Hill. In his 17th fight, he scored a total shutout on his way to a decision over Alfredo Cuevas and taking the WBC Continental Americas Middleweight title in 2002. Since then, he’s won every fight by knockout with the exception of William Joppy, who also failed to win a single round on the scorecards. In his last fight, he stopped former sparring partner Daniel Edouard in the third round showing devastating power along the way.
Introductions
Hopkins has been an enigma throughout his career because of what he has experienced in his life. He was sent to prison for armed robbery in 1982, taking up the sport of boxing while being locked up and turning pro upon being released in 1988. After his stint in prison he had a prospective of life and boxing that most people simply do not have. He has gained a reputation outside of the ring as being paranoid, unshakable, and stubborn and in the ring, he’s been called technical, consistent, clinical, brutal, and even dirty. Nonetheless, “The Executioner” is simply this generation’s Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Although he has stayed under the radar as a champion in obscurity for so many years, he has kept himself in shape and shows up in top condition for every fight, never losing focus, and taking on all contenders in the division. Another similarity is that it took a former welterweight to finally gain acceptance to the public. Just as Hagler’s spectacular 3 round slugfest with Thomas Hearns finally turned the spotlight on Hagler, Hopkins’ dissection of Trinidad put him in the pantheon of great fighters of his era.
Taylor is nowhere as experienced as Hopkins, and coming from Little Rock is looked upon as a negative. But every city in the country has tough guys, and Taylor is certainly one of them. As stated earlier, however, Taylor’s level of competition has been criticized. Early on, most fighters take on average to poor competition to build a record. But after Taylor’s first 12 rounder, all of his opponents have been extremely overmatched or coming up in weight. But to his credit, he did what he was supposed to do, which is live up to his moniker of “Bad Intentions” and got his opponent out in an effective and efficient manner. He has also dominated the dangerous, true middleweights he’s faced. Joppy was coming off a brutal beating by Bernard Hopkins and was in semi-retirement and the other was Edouard. In those fights, he showed more growth, good power, and his bread and butter, his superlative jab.
Skill-wise, Hopkins is a very versatile fighter. One fight he’ll box, the next he’ll slug, then he’ll brawl, and he can also play outside the rules; there’s not much he can’t do in the ring as he has shown to have an answer for anything a fighter brings. Taylor has shown that it is possible to win a lot fights with a good left jab. He also has a powerful left hook, an educated right hand, and good speed. But outside of that, he’s never been pushed to the point where he had to go outside of his comfort zone, so he’s never shown what he’s fully capable of.
Referee Instructions
Hopkins has pretty much seen it all in the ring. He’s faced fast fighters (Roy Jones, De La Hoya), bug punchers (Trinidad, Antwun Echols), boxers/punchers (Eastman), strong fighters (Robert Allen), undefeated fighters (Glencoffe Johnson)…whatever it was, Hopkins has faced it. There is no definitive way to beat Hopkins; a fighter must do a number of things to beat him, the most important of skills being speed. Jones beat Hopkins because he was able to outbox Hopkins with his hand speed and footwork, and the only other fighter that came close to taking rounds from him (as opposed to giving them away, as he did against Eastman) was De La Hoya, another fast fighter. But Hopkins himself is fast when he needs to be, selecting his shots and usually allowed to fight at his own pace.
Taylor had an opportunity to fight some of these same fighters, but was well matched with solid opponents, albeit not the best available. But what Taylor lack in experience he makes up for with advantages in youth and power. His left hook has taken out many of his opponents, setting them up behind the jab. He also throws nice two and three punch combinations, which are also set up with his jab. There is no doubt that Taylor will be able to land punches as Hopkins has slowed down just a little bit at the age of 40.
Moreover, this is the biggest fight in the young career of Taylor. It’s not only a pay-per-view fight, but it’s not only against the best, most experienced fighter that he’s faced, but the best fighter in the world today. That’s got to make Taylor feel a little pressure.
And there is no fighter more intimidating than Hopkins. He’s from the hard Philly streets, he’s been to prison, he has missing teeth, he’s been champion for over 10 years, and he’s put on some brutal performances. Taylor probably isn’t scared of Hopkins, but after his fight with Edouard, he didn’t seem sure that he was ready for Hopkins. And who can forget when Hopkins, on Friday Night Fights, basically informed Taylor on his biggest weakness, pulling his jab back and leaving himself open to right hand counters? It takes some onions to tell a prospective opponent what his weaknesses are. Taylor states that he has corrected this, but it’s tough to do so after doing it his whole career.
Furthermore, Taylor seems to already to be over his head. Hopkins has been himself, talking about how he’s going to dominate, how Taylor is not ready for this, and how Taylor is going to have a quick beating or slow death.. Taylor has also been talking a little bit, but it seems a little forced. There’s nothing wrong with being a nice guy with a mean streak, but Taylor doesn’t not seem to have that aggressive temperament that he’s displaying. He looks as if Taylor is willing himself into believing he is going to win this fight. Hopkins has even stated that he saw fear in Taylor’s eyes when they first looked eye to eye. Taylor says Hopkins was mistaken but if he was nervous before the Edouard fight then he must have butterflies in his stomach before the biggest fight in his life.
Taylor’s jab will play a part in this battle, but what happens when that jab is taken away? Joppy was able to take Taylor’s jab away for the first few rounds and he was the smaller man. Hopkins Taylor has the reach, but Hopkins uses his height better and Hopkins is just as tall as the challenger. If Taylor decides to box, Hopkins will outbox him, if he attacks Hopkins will counterpunch effectively, if they get in close, Hopkins is one of the best infighters in the sport, and Hopkins’ chin is legendary, so he won’t crumble if he takes a good shot. Taylor’s history has not shown that he can be aggressive enough to swarm Hopkins and make him fight more than he wants to and it just doesn’t seem that Taylor will have answers for everything Hopkins will bring to the ring.
The Fight and the Decision
It probably would have been best for Taylor to wait until Hopkins retired before going after the title, but there weren’t many other fighters that were as much of a challenge to the champion. Plus, Taylor is a true fighter…he wants to test himself against the best middleweight. If he had waited until Hopkins retired, there’s a chance that he would question his own greatness down the road. And the DiBella aspect must have Hopkins’ mouth watering. He can pick up another title defense, defeat a young, strong fighter, and gain an element of revenge against DiBella, not to mention picking up a nice paycheck. Hopkins would rather die in the ring rather than allowing Taylor and DiBella to beat him.
Taylor certainly has the skills to become champion, but there is a great deal of uncertainty that he’s fully prepared for what he’s going to experience against Hopkins. In juxtaposing this fight with Tszyu/Hatton fight, Hatton’s straight forward style overcame Tszyu’s power and boxing, Hatton was the fighter with more pro experience (Hatton had 38 fights compared to 32 for Tszyu), and Tszyu had only had four fights totaling 21 rounds since 2002, whereas Taylor is more of a boxer, has many less that half the number of fights than Hopkins who has been active and has nearly as many title defenses as Taylor has fights. So the similarities of the two fights are not as crystal clear.
This fight can logically go three ways, none of them in favor of Taylor:
1. Hopkins wins a unanimous decision by 4-5 rounds,
2. Hopkins stops Taylor in a close battle,
3. Hopkins takes advantage of Taylor’s inexperience and demolishes him.
The second choice seems most likely. Hopkins is old but he is still Bernard Hopkins. Taylor’s youth will serve him well as he is able to outwork Hopkins early for the first few rounds, but Hopkins will land some hard shots to let Taylor know he’s there. Also, Hopkins will slide to his left in an attempt to take away Taylor’s best punch and will land his own jab and right counters. After 3 rounds of staying away from Taylor, Hopkins will know all he needs to know about Taylor and will start to land more regularly. Taylor’s jab will not be as effective as he will not throw it as much from worrying about Hopkins’ counterpunches. In the middle rounds, Hopkins will be in control and Taylor will not know what to do about the awkward boxing style presented by the champion but will still give maximum effort. In the 10th round, Hopkins will land a devastating right hand, sending Taylor back into the ropes until he is saved by his corner. Hopkins KO 10 Taylor.
Taylor will not go the route of David Reid, who was crushed in the biggest fight of his career against Trinidad and is thought to have been ruined in that fight. It will be a learning experience for Taylor, as there is no shame to losing to the best fighter in the sport. After Hopkins retires or vacates the title, he will take over where Hopkins left off as the dominant fighter at middleweight. Hopkins should be given his due after dominating a young, strong fighter whereas some fans will diminish his effort by saying he did nothing more than beat an inexperienced fighter. In any case, no one will be able to lessen the fact that Hopkins is one of the most dominant fighters in the world.
Please send all questions and comments to crice@talkingboxing.com
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