Oscar De la Hoya roots for Bernard Hopkins in upcoming fight
Oscar De la Hoya is confident that despite his age, his fighter Bernard Hopkins (51-5, 32 KOs) will defeat youngster Jean Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs) when they touch gloves in Quebec City on December 18.
De la Hoya, who was stopped by Hopkins in the ninth round of a bout six years ago, knows “The Executioner” is the kind of fighter one isn't wise to bet against.
On the upcoming fight, De la Hoya said: “I believe Jean Pascal’s style is going to make Bernard shine. He is a very aggressive fighter and he throws punches from all angles. And I believe Bernard is going to pick him apart.”
Hopkins-Pascal will take place at the Pepsi Coliseum. It will mark the first time in his memorable career that the future Hall of Famer Hopkins finds himself in Canada for a professional fight. The trip indicates the growing popularity of professional
boxing in Quebec.
Many have questioned how much steam Hopkins, 45, still has, and whether he'll be able to take Pascal’s WBC/IBO/Ring Magazine titles. Should he be able to do so, he will leave Canada as one of only three or four fighters in the history of boxing to win titles
at his age.
Most agree Hopkins looked average to subpar in his last two outings, against Enrique Ornelas and past-his-prime legend Roy Jones Jr. Hopkins’s last memorable upset was in 2008, when he convincingly taught favourite Kelly Pavlik a boxing lesson and won a
unanimous decision despite being a 4-1 betting underdog.
Pascal is coming off a stunning victory over Chad Dawson in which he was awarded the Ring Magazine title. He too was an underdog for the fight, but managed to quickly establish himself the aggressor and effectively paralyze Dawson’s attack.
Though all agree Pascal’s performance was stunning, he still has a long way to go before securing his self-proclaimed position as the best light heavyweight today. He has one defeat to Carl Froch, from which he says he learned a great amount, and a win
over Hopkins is a great opportunity to prove it.
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