With attendance just slightly higher than 6,200—one of the best attended fights at Boardwalk Hall in sometime, Golden Boy has helped to make a point that I have been making for the past year. All sports are local, and we want to see our local fighters. Hopkins and Rosado both hail from Philadelphia. It was clear that both had brought a large contingency of fans. This could be seen in the parking garage when looking at all of the cars with Pennsylvania license plates. It could be heard in the boos of the fans when the Quillin, Rosado fight was called due to the cut over Rosado’s eye. But don’t discount Quillin. He brought his share of fans from Brooklyn.

I will be the first to admit that I am not much of a Bernard Hopkins fan. In fact, I find the whole “alien” thing to be quite annoying, too much like something I would expect to find in professional wrestling. And like so many boxers, he likes to run his mouth way too much. But can I really criticize that? If any fighter has earned the right to speak their mind, Bernard Hopkins has. Just look at his record. He has beat the best in his weight class, and he is still fighting at 48. How many of the fighters out there today do you expect to see in the ring when they are 48. No, I may not be much of a fan, but I do respect him for what he has accomplished.

Does that mean I want to see him fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr., as he suggested after the fight last night? Not at all.

Hopkins keeps saying that he is giving the fans more of what they want in his recent fights. The media seems to be buying into this line. But maybe he is giving the fans more of what they want because he is not the young man that he once was. Maybe he is finally starting to show his age.

Early in this fight with Murat, it was amazing to see how Hopkins could bob and weave and over and over avoid the punches thrown by Murat. In the second round, Hopkins made Murat look like an amateur for much of the round. It was a case of the seasoned boxer taking the lesser opponent to school. However, Hopkins could not keep this up for the entire fight.

Hopkins strategy for much of the fight seemed to be to simply frustrate Murat. Even as early as the second round, Hopkins seemed to be using his bag of tricks, using psychological tricks and even landing a shot to the back of Murat when he was turned. Murat never got any sympathy from referee Steve Smoger. If Murat thought that meant he could break the rules, he was sadly mistaken. Now I am not suggesting that the refereeing had anything to do with the outcome of the fight; I am simply suggesting that when Murat was hitting Hopkins on the ground it was due to his frustration.

How does this relate to Bernard Hopkins’ desire to fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr.?

The answer is simple. Murat is not half the fighter that Mayweather is. He does not possess the skills of Mayweather. He does not even possess the skills of Chad Dawson. And yet, Murat was able to press Hopkins to the ropes over and over throughout the fight. Moreover, Hopkins’ shots did little to discourage Murat from coming in time and time again.

Hopkins, you are amazing. You have lasted longer and done better than any other fighter. But there must come a time when even you must stop and reflect on a great career and say enough is enough. That time might not be today, but there is no sense in rushing that time either. So no, I do not want to see that fight with Mayweather.
 

While Hopkins continues to amaze, Gabriel Rosado can’t seem to get a break. He has had several high profile fights now, Angulo, Golovkin, and J’Leon Love. None has gone his way. Quillin is just one more to add to the list. While Quillin clearly looked in control for the first couple of rounds, putting Rosado down on the canvas in the second, Rosado started to make a comeback in the fourth.

Like Murat, Rosado was an opponent who just kept coming, not letting anything deter him. He kept the pressure up on Quillin and produced a lot of exciting and close rounds. Maybe that is what made it such a dramatic moment when the fight was stopped due to the cut over Rosado’s left eye. He wanted to continue to fight. While I understand the safety concern, it truly was one of those heartbreaking moments in the sport. Rosado was yelling over the ropes to press row, “That’s bullshit.” Rosado was not the only one disappointed with the end of the fight. The majority of the people in Boardwalk Hall were booing the decision to stop the fight.

Now if you think that I am going to suggest that Rosado get the chance to fight Mayweather, you must be crazy. But I would like to see Rosado get a rematch, or at the very least, another title shot.

So thank you Golden Boy for treating Atlantic City to a couple fights that they actually cared about.