In a practical and historical sense there’s no tomorrow for the champion. Jermain Taylor must fight like a champion, the younger man, the guy in his prime and dispose of the forty-year-old lion Bernard Hopkins. If he allows Hopkins inside his head or to establish the same kind of situational fight as last time, even with variations, then it will be Hopkins proving his own greatness, win or lose. So the onus is on Taylor to do what he’s seemingly been fated to do; such are the slings and arrows of his outrageous fortune. For this fight, in this time, he’s got to make a definitive statement of dominating quality. He’ll never have this nexus-like fight again; there will likely be others, but this is unique. Great fighters make authoritative statements in these kinds of fights, as Hopkins did in his epic outing against Trinidad in 2001. I believe Taylor has the tools, the character and now the fitness to see it through. Taylor’s upper end fitness is vital for it’s his only problematic area – the key issue being how much water weight he carries post-weigh-in –and Hopkins knows it, is banking on it. Team Taylor will have to hit their target number on the money, literally. I can see Taylor winning inside the distance this time but…Taylor UD12 Hopkins.

Patrick Kehoe writes for The Sweet Science. To read more of his work