This Saturday, April 19th, at the DC Armory in Washington DC, forty nine year old Bernard Hopkins will return to the ring to defend his IBF Light Heavyweight title against Beibut Shumenov. Right now at the books, Hopkins is sitting at a favorite at about (-175), with the return on Shumenov coming in at around (+150). For Hopkins, whose goal is to still be boxing at 50, it is a match against an opponent who is 30 years old, that is, 19 years younger, but on paper does not have the tools to threaten Hopkins.
Shumenov’s record is 14-1 overall, but he has kept a high level of competition over that short span. The resume includes 4 former holders of a world title, and he has displayed some power in those fights. He has an extensive anmateur career and was in the 2004 Olympics as a representative of Kazakhstan. Against Tamas Kovacs in his last pro outing, he dropped the German with one punch left hook, and that is not his power hand. But he is methodical, and is in general a tough, hard nosed guy who is not afraid to take a shot.
Hopkins is going to have to come out and box. A solid bet probably is that this match will go the distance. Hopkins has not displayed the power he has at times promised, so he is going to be forced to fight a full twelve rounds. He is going to have a stalking, methodical (at times maybe mechanical) opponent who he is going to be able hit. He must avoid letting Shumanov hit him, because the Kazak is strong with both hands and he will be looking to take Hopkins out. Shumanov seems to be a smart, alert fighter in the ring and he must be aware that letting this fight go to the judges is not what he wants.
Shumanov is a guy who has goals in boxing, and though Hopkins is a great name and their is a lot of honor and respect there, it does not apepar that Shumanov is starstruck by Hopkins or anything like that. Hopkins cannot make a mistake against this guy, and at 49 years old, are you still willing to bet on ‘The Alien’?
