Hopkins vs. Golovkin Fight Floated

That Bernard Hopkins doesn’t miss a trick. OK, OK, maybe I shouldn’t use that term for Hopkins floating the idea of fighting middleweight ace Gennady Golovkin, the topmost bomber in the sport, ahead even of the man Hopkins is set to face tomorrow night in AC, at Boardwalk Hall.

Sure, maybe Hopkins is really aiming to take out the Russian bomber, defuse him, and then follow that with another even more majestic feat, arguably, meeting and defeating the Kazakh kid, Golovkin.

The thought of it, this concept first floated to Bill Emes in August, and to Kevin Iole today, made executives and fight fans smile and chatter all afternoon. What about the trainer for Golovkin, Honest Abel Sanchez (photo shows Sanchez, GGG, Loeffler, left to right). What does he think about a Hopkins-Triple G face-off?

“I think Hopkins should be worrying about Kovalev, he has a good, young, hungry lion to contend with first. But I would love to be the coach that retires Hopkins,” Sanchez told me. “Golovkin’s management team and promoter Tom Loeffler will have some work ahead of them to try and make it happen, but first, Hopkins must win…and also, we have a formidable task ahead of us on Feb. 21, 2015 in Monte Carlo (against Martin Murray).”

I was thinking out loud, and told Sanchez that if I were Hopkins, I’d request Golovkin fight him at a catchweight of 170 pounds, make the smaller fella come up another notch, and also minimize a bit more any potential draining effects of going from 175 to 168. “I think the fair thing would be if Triple G went up one division, and Hopkins came down one division,” Sanchez answered equitably. “That way they would both give up something of an advantage.”

I could foresee a purse battle sending this concept clash off the rails….”I’m happy about getting Triple G ready to destroy The Alien, and I’m sure that Loeffler and the management team will do their best to make the best possible deal for us,” Sanchez responded.

I checked in with Loeffler, who told me, “It would be a huge fight next year if Hopkins beats Kovalev and Triple G beats Murray. Bernard is a warrior and has proven he will fight anyone. If he beats Kovalev at 175, I don’t think he’ll shy away from fighting Golovkin at 168. But the fighters would meet in the middle to make a huge fight.”

Smart move by Hopkins, gaining a bit of extra buzz drafting off the hottest hitter in the sport today, Golovkin. Nobody but nobody has ever declared the Alien is lacking in brain matter and craftiness galore. Now, what would happen in Hopkins vs. Golovkin, contested at 168 or less?

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