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With Adonis Stevenson’s win last
Saturday night against game, Chicago tough guy Andrzej Fonfara, 25-3 (15), on
Showtime, talk immediately turned to his next match-up. And the guy facing him
could be legendary, ageless wonder Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins, 55-6-2 (32). While
Stevenson scored a unanimous decision and appeared to land the much heavier punches
throughout the fight, International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association
(WBA) champion Hopkins must have liked what he saw at certain junctures throughout
the bout. The sight of Fonfara dropping Stevenson, 24-1 (20), as well as
Stevenson showing fatigue on several occasions as the fight progressed, will
all be stored in the “B-Hop” hard drive as he hatches a plan to come to Montreal
and upset the hometown hero. There is nothing Hopkins likes more than to
silence critics.
While Stevenson does have
concussive power, if he can land the right shots, finding the bullseye against
Hopkins and finding it against Fonfara might be two totally different tasks.
Hopkins is the master of finding spots to lay back and conserve energy and
knowing when to pounce and land fast, awkward shots. He will then get out or
tie his opponent up before there is any dangerous return fire. Hopkins knows
how to frustrate opponents and steal rounds. While it hasn’t always translated
into the most exciting fighting style, nobody can deny its effectiveness as he
continues to beat men half his age in his third decade in the ring. It isn’t
hard to imagine Stevenson’s power being a concern for anyone he faces. However,
one has to assume that with Hopkins’ near 26 years in the bank as a professional,
there is little if anything anyone can bring to the table that he hasn’t seen
and dealt with.
Fonfara deserves a lot of
credit for his toughness and no-quit resolve he brought to work on Saturday
night. Having said that, it would be hard to describe him as slick or cagey.
Bernard is both of those things. Fonfara virtually put his hands up and marched
forward, walking the champion Stevenson down all night. And his aggression and
pressure gave Stevenson more than a few problems at times, so you know “The
Alien” will be a serious headache for Adonis. Where Stevenson shines is when he’s
against a fighter who is there to be hit and he can look to line up the hard
left from his southpaw stance. Even against a tight defense, Stevenson can usually
break through with his power but a fighter like Hopkins won’t be there to be
hit and he will be elusive all night long.
As far as conditioning goes,
something that appeared to catch up with Stevenson at times in the Fonfara fight,
that will not be a factor for the always well-conditioned Hopkins. And if
Stevenson starts to gas out against “B-Hop,” he could find himself doing so
under a rain of punches from Hopkins, who knows how and when to attack. It
appears Hopkins, 49, who years ago said he wouldn’t fight past the age of 40,
is looking to fight at age 50. His intense training regimen and disciplined
lifestyle have allowed him to compete at boxing’s elite level for literally
decades.
The ability to turn a fight
around with one punch will always make Stevenson a fight fan’s favorite. But nobody
can break down an opponent and capitalize on vulnerable areas in the fight game
like a guy with Hopkins’ years of experience in the bank. Don’t be surprised to
see Philly’s light heavyweight legend travelling to “La belle province” to defy
the odds one more time.
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