Pound for Pounding

Is Hopkins still the toughest SOB out there?

by Brian Hickey

Could the ageless Bernard Hopkins finally have met his match? Sure, the city's lone champion (no, neither horses nor Phantoms count) is a prohibitive favorite to floor Jermain Taylor and retain his undisputed middleweight championship in Las Vegas on July 16. We wouldn't dare even suggest that the Executioner could come close to losing to an up-and-comer 14 years his junior. (Hopkins lives nearby, and City Paper's address isn't exactly a secret). But after what happened in Atlantic City on Saturday night, the question has to be raised: Despite his record 20 consecutive title defenses, and the fact that he's just the fourth fighter to ever defend his title after the age of 40, is B-Hop still the world's best pound-for-pound fighter?

"Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. would say no.

Granted, he'd merely be speculating, like those who debate whether the 1985 Bears would beat the 2000 Ravens. This is because the Iverson-sized superlightweight from Michigan would never have to step into the ring to back up such a statement. If he did, he'd get hurt. Badly. Super-skilled and lightning-quick or not, ain't nobody going to give away 20 pounds to Hopkins and be able to discuss it afterwards. But judging by the way Mayweather ran his mouth in the days leading up to his showdown with Jersey hero Arturo "Thunder" Gatti, and how he did everything he said he would in the process, it's no stretch to expect that debate to hover over Hopkins' pay-per-view bout next month. (Read on to hear one Philly pugilism expert's take on the question.)

But first, a little background.

Most local sports fans were busy watching the Red Sox go all Osage Avenue on the Phillies last weekend, but down the end of the Atlantic City Expressway, the Boardwalk was astir with the anticipation that grips a finally-off-the-ropes gambling mecca when the biggest fight in a decade comes to town. You know it's a special event when one of A.C.'s finest says, "Man, I've never seen this many ho's." (Having covered the police beat there for four years, I have to say he wasn't exaggerating.)

Two days earlier, Mayweather strutted into a conference room on the sixth floor of Bally's Atlantic City, a baggy white T-shirt emblazoned with his autograph hanging down over his baggier Sean John denim shorts, diamonds sparkling from his watch. He sat among a circle of reporters and repeated what he'd been saying for weeks — namely, that the world would soon know that he was more than a cocky, big-mouthed boxer from Michigan; that he was, in fact, a confident big-mouthed boxer from Michigan who'd stroll into New Jersey and crush Gatti, who's loved for his ability to take a violent beating, go down, get up and keep on punching.

"I'm here to show the fans that I'm on a different level, because I am," he said, adjusting his black Floyd Mayweather Jr. cap. "I've faced 33 guys, and I've delivered 33 ass-whoopin's."

When I asked if he's gone into every fight with as much confidence as he had going into this one, he said, "Absolutely." Even the first one? "Absolutely."

Mayweather predicted that the crowd would be riled up early, but after Gatti quickly saw he was outclassed, they'd shut up and watch the new kid dismantle the old hero. The fans, he said, would get their money's worth but the fight would not go 12 rounds. Not even close. Then, without any apparent prompting, he lifted up his T-shirt and exposed a set of abs that make T.O. look like Roseanne Barr, circa 1987.

Fast-forward to 11:15 p.m. Saturday.

The Hall was packed to capacity with more than 12,000 people, including Yankees-cap-sporting Denzel Washington and a suited dude who, from a hundred feet, looked suspiciously like P. Diddy (who was in town hosting a Maxim party over at the Borgata that night). Soon, Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" was echoing off the building's high, arched ceiling and from the dressing room emerged Mayweather — sitting on a throne carried by four Roman centurions. Smirking and drumming along to the tune with his gloves, Mayweather dismounted and entered the ring.

Moments later, special-effects thunder filled the room and fire shot up from the stage pro-wrestling-style to mark a scowling Gatti's entrance. The crowd, as Mayweather predicted, went nuts. Having fought epic, bloody battles here, Gatti's already an eternal icon.

Michael Buffer then ensured that everybody was ready to rumble and the fight was on. Well, kind of. From the first bell, Mayweather dictated the pace, sending Gatti to the canvas in the first before he could even get those initial crowd-pleasing shots in. (To be fair, it wasn't a clean knockdown, as the shot was delivered while Gatti was turned away from his foe, complaining to the referee). By the sixth, Mayweather had knocked his foe's head around so relentlessly that Gatti's corner refused to let the modern-day Balboa continue. Fight over, TKO. Mayweather's 34th ass-whoopin' as he's jumped up through three weight classes.

All of which brings us back to Hopkins, who, in a boxing world devoid of great stories (unless, of course, Mike Tyson earns the Nobel Peace Prize for his imminent missionary work in Bosnia), now has a challenger in the pound-for-pound debate. Should he crush Taylor next month, the debate will be a short one. Should he struggle, well, Pretty Boy could trash talk his way to the top of the imaginary pound-for-pound heap.

But as things stand today, former Pennsylvania boxing commissioner George Bochetto says the hometown puncher is still tops.

"You might have to put [Mayweather] in the conversation now, but he doesn't get past Bernard. Bernard's faced much tougher competition and he's done it at the same exact weight for 15 years. That's amazing, like Cal Ripken," Bocchetto says, referencing Major League Baseball's Iron Man. "If Roy Jones Jr. was still in the game and undefeated, well, he'd be awfully tough to overlook, but he just fell off the table, got old overnight, which is another thing to be said for Bernard. Sure, there are some quality guys out there, but none of them can match what Bernard does."

-- Respond to this article in our Forums -- click to jump there