Live from the Bell Centre, in Montreal on May 21st, Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal will take two when Pascal’s Ring Magazine, WBC, and IBO light heavyweight titles are on the line against the great Bernard Hopkins. It’s a rematch where Pascal will try to prove to the boxing world that he’s still the legitimate champion of the division, whereas most experts felt that Hopkins won the first fight outright.
The last time these two combatants squared off against each other, Hopkins appeared to dominate the fight with the exception of two controversial knockdowns in rounds one and three. Hopkins was the aggressor in the fight and took Pascal out of his element. Meanwhile, Pascal looked like he usually does: strong for the first three or four rounds and then for the rest of the fight he looks like a car drifting without any gas. Pascal tried to come on late in every round with flurries to try to get the points, but Hopkins was putting in the more consistent work.
Hopkins ended the fight with a little showboating as he coasted to what looked like a signature Executioner victory. With the exception of the first and third rounds, you could make a case that Hopkins won nearly every other round. However, the judges of course did not see it that way. When the verdict came in, one judge scored the fight 114 – 112 for Hopkins, while the other two judges scored the fight 113 – 113 and 114 – 114, resulting in a Majority Draw.
I felt the fight was a highway robbery as the Executioner put on one of the best performances of 2010 by giving Pascal a boxing lesson. Pascal, in my opinion, was just overwhelmed, and surprised, at how much skill and offensive firepower the great Bernard Hopkins still had left in his arsenal.
Now the stage is set for take two of the Executioner’s claim for light heavyweight supremacy. Hopefully there will be a clear cut winner this time, rather than the Philadelphia legend Hopkins having leave Canada once again with a questionable hometown decision that went against him.
Since the bout is being held in the Bell Centre in Montreal, it’s only appropriate then that this fight is Overtime. The first Hopkins vs. Pascal match couldn’t be settled in regulation. Better yet, maybe the rematch will be a thrilling Shootout.
I expect Hopkins to come out and overwhelm Pascal. Pascal will start off strong, but will wither away in the later rounds, looking like a floundering fish trying to gasp for air. Hopkins will once again dictate the pace, and unlike in so many of his other recent performances, he will not get out-worked in the fight. I expect the rematch will be a reflection of the first fight, just without the knockdowns.
Both fighters have a low work rate so you have to pick the fighter with the best skills. At the end of the day, Hopkins will be too much of a dog for Pascal, who did not know how to handle Hopkins’ gully fight style the first time out. On May 21, 2011, Bernard “Executioner” Hopkins will step on Canadian grounds and become the oldest fighter to capture the a championship in boxing history, thus cementing his outstanding legacy as one the best fighters of all-time.
