ATLANTIC CITY — Saturday’s light heavyweight unification bout at Boardwalk Hall between Bernard Hopkins and Sergey Kovalev could come down to a test between Prime vs. Time.
Kovalev, the hard-punching Russian whose knockout power is impressive and intimidating, looks to be in the prime of his career.
He’s 31 years old, strong as wet rope and punches like a wrecking ball. He has won 23 of his 25 fights by knockout and will be making the fourth defense of the WBO 175-pound title.
Kovalev will test his skills against Hopkins, the 49-year-old freak of nature who will look to use his experience, ring skills and psychological warfare to elude Father Time and win yet another fight that many wonder why he is even taking.
“We’re coming to see if the guy who punches like Hercules can beat the old man,” said Naazim Richardson, Hopkins’ longtime trainer. HBO will televise.
The pick here is Kovalev by stoppage because that’s what common sense suggests. Kovalev has been a destructive force, crippling the opposition with his power.
“I respect Kovalev,” Richardson said. “I watched him knock a guy out with a jab to the body. Not down — out. That’s not impressive. That’s incredible.”
Yet, we’ve seen Hopkins dismantle punchers before. Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver, Kelly Pavlik and Tavoris Cloud all figured to be strong enough to take out Hopkins. But his skill at mind games mixed with a mastery of the sweet science and his Philadelphia heart has made it impossible to count him out of any fight.
Most punchers come into the ring with only a Plan A. Hopkins has Plan A, B and C. The blueprint won’t be written until Kovalev lands his first big blow.
“Kovalev’s skill set can’t be assessed outside the ring,” Richardson said. “It don’t matter what I see or what you see. The intangibles are inside the ring. This isn’t something that can be done on a computer. You have to be in there. You have to feel how Kovalev punches to know if we’re dealing with a freak of nature. Maybe he’s the hardest punching man in the history of boxing. But maybe it’s something that we’ve faced before. I don’t take nothing away from that kid until it’s time to take something away from that kid and that’s that belt.”
Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) has seemed immune to the mind games Hopkins likes to play with his extended oratories that exalt his accomplishments while denigrating his opponents.
“I only understand about 10 percent of what Hopkins says,” Kovalev said. “He speaks in American English and slang. It’s probably a good thing because it doesn’t bother me. After he fights me, he can leave boxing and become a one-man show in the theater or comedy. He is a great talker.”
To win, Kovalev must apply intelligent pressure. If it goes to a decision, Hopkins will win because it means he has dictated the bout. Kovalev can’t wait long for a clear opening to land a big punch because the longer the fight goes, the more time Hopkins has to find a strategy that works.
“An opponent can be fast, slick or a puncher,” Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs) said. “But you have to face all of these intangibles that I bring to the ring. I don’t mind putting my wits up against anyone’s wits today. I’m so calm and relaxed. I still have that hunger to prove myself.”
The winner will be the IBF, WBA and WBO light heavyweight champion.
“This is a huge fight in my career and in my life,” Kovalev said. “Bernard Hopkins is a legend. He is a professor of professional boxing. This fight is dangerous for me but this fight is also dangerous for him because of me.”
In the other featured bout, Brooklyn’s Sadam Ali (20-0, 12 KOs) takes on Luis Carlos Abregu (36-1, 29 KOs) of Argentina in a welterweight matchup scheduled for 10 rounds. Abregu’s only loss came against Timothy Bradley in 2010.