"Jovin Mercado was scheduled to fight tonight... Bernard Hopkins wasn't."
I'm tired of hearing about how former middleweight king Bernard is boring, unentertaining, and only concerned with defense. It's also saddening to hear the great Larry Merchant, who gave him all kudos in 2001, let his personal biases dictate revisionist history in this regard.
So without further ado, here's Hopkins, 25, in his fifth pro fight, resembling an amped-up Felix Trinidad no less, fight with conviction, aggression, accurate left hooks and straight rights, and stalking like nobody's business. Taken on short notice, in the other dude's hometown, this is a true badass, possibly as the underdog.
This Bernard would smoke Taylor in four.
Tags: boxing bernard hopkins al bernstein middleweight badass
