Hopkins vs Kovalev: Fight for the Future

Everyone agrees: 2014 has not been a great year for boxing. There have been few truly compelling fights and even fewer marquee match-ups. We’ve been so starved for action and drama that the boxing world tried to elevate Golovkin vs Rubio into a major event. We can only hope that 2015 will be much, much better.

Which makes this Saturday’s showdown between Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins and Sergey “The Krusher” Kovalev an absolutely pivotal match. The fact is, the outcome of Hopkins vs Kovalev could decide quite a bit in regards to what happens in boxing next year. This fight is a bit like a cliffhanger in a suspense novel: the plot can go one of two ways. Either youth will be served, or age and experience will triumph.

If it’s the former, then big action clashes involving the heavy punching Kovalev will be in the offing. The inevitable showdown should be Kovalev vs. Adonis Stevenson, a top-drawer match-up between two big punchers. But “The Krusher” has other options should that fight not materialize soon enough. Who wouldn’t love to see say, Kovalev vs Carl Froch, Kovalev vs Gennady Golovkin, or Kovalev vs Andre Ward? (That is, assuming Ward still boxes.)

But should an almost 50-year-old Hopkins prevail, we have a very different plotline to consider, with the story focusing not so much on action and great fights, but instead on greatness itself. Because if Bernard can defeat Sergey, then the question driving the story becomes, “How far can he go?” All eyes will be on the oldest champion in boxing history as Hopkins’ stated ambition of unifying the light-heavyweight title before he finally retires goes from the impossible dream to the attainable miracle.

It’s a match-up with much at stake and there’s every reason to expect something special. So while we hardly need to be further stoked for Saturday night, but just in case you do, we end here by letting GP Boxing work their magic.