IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins refuses to go away quietly. At 49 years-old, Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KO) is the oldest major titleholder in the history of the sport. You might think someone of Hopkins’ advanced age might take things easy for his final years of his career. Hopkins could fight a few tomato cans, cross over into his fifth decade on Earth as a champion, sign his movie rights away and walk off into the sunset. But Hopkins will have none of it. Besides, when has he ever done anything the easy way?
This weekend, Hopkins will face WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Beibut Shumenov in a unification bout on Showtime Championship Boxing. At 30 years-old, the hard-hitting Shumenov (14-1-0, 9 KO) is 19 years younger than his elderly opponent. He’s eager for his shot at the grizzled vet and undoubtedly wants to use Hopkins’ name and credibility to establish himself and legitimize his title. Unfortunately for Shumenov, that’s unlikely to happen.
Shumenov’s plodding style is tailor-made for Hopkins’ defensive brillance. The Kazakhstani fighter tends to load up on his power shots and throw them one or two at a time. While Hopkins isn’t traditionally the most active fighter on the block, he has an innate ability to limit his opponent’s punch output through distance, effective counter-punching and by tying up on the inside.
Hopkins is also a master of mind games and may have riled up Shumeov by picking up his title at a press conference. If Shumenov wants to have a shot at winning, he must keep his composure and outwork the old fella on both the outside and inside.
Prediction: Shumenov will start fast and have some early success. Eventually Hopkins will frustrate him and Hopkins straighter, crisper punches and sneaky inside game will wear Shumenov down and make him gun shy late in the fight. Hopkins by unanimous decision
Porter defends against “The Magic Man”
Also on the card is an interesting bout between IBF Welterweight Champion Shawn Porter and Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi. Porter (23-0-1, 14 KO) won his title by defeating St. Louis’ Devon Alexander via unanimous decision in December. Porter is a rough, active fighter with tons of energy and a strong will to win. Malignaggi (33-5-0, 7 KO) is a highly-skilled boxer with zero power but plenty of pure boxing skills.
Porter will try to pressure Malignaggi and get him out of his comfort zone, especially since Malignaggi can’t hurt him. However, expect The Magic Man’s movement to frustrate Porter throughout the fight. Porter will certainly land some cleans shots over the fight. But Paulie has proven to have a solid chin and a lot of heart.
Prediction: Paulie Malignaggi by KO7….Just kidding. Malignaggi via unanimous decision
