Champion Hopkins’ warning for young pretender Taylor

BERNARD HOPKINS has no intention of relinquishing his position as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world in Las Vegas tonight.

The 40-year-old world middleweight champion has big plans for the final year of a career which he maintains he will bring to a close before his next birthday.

Hopkins puts his undisputed title on the line at the MGM Grand tonight against the division's coming force, unbeaten Arkansas 26-year-old Jermain Taylor.

Some great fighters inexplicably grow old overnight, but Hopkins insists he retains the desire and prowess to resist Taylor's threat to turn the fight into a changing of the guard.

Hopkins said: "I am not underestimating Jermain Taylor but I am already mapping out my future and it will not be retirement yet.

"I am preparing to execute the abilities that I have been doing for over a decade. It will not be old versus young tomorrow I am going to show the world that 40 is not a death sentence.

"I want no excuses when I make Jermain Taylor look amateurish. Everybody must understand that I am not going to be around for ever so you had better enjoy me now."

Hopkins has earned his status as one of the all-time middleweight greats by remaining unbeaten through world title defences spanning over a decade.

Last time out in February he had far too many skills for England's Howard Eastman while Taylor bludgeoned Haitian Daniel Edouard on the undercard.

Taylor has risen to the top of the pile with fast, powerful hands and an unrelenting style which threaten to cause the champion a number of problems.

Taylor said: "I've wanted this moment all my life and now it is my turn. Hopkins is a great fighter but he is getting older and starting to pick his punches a lot more."

Taylor is a better bet than Eastman to seriously threaten Hopkins' dream of moving on up to light-heavyweight for a defining clash with either Antonio Tarver or former champion Roy Jones.

And the challenger's camp would not have taken the fight if they did not sincerely believe they were catching Hopkins at just the right time.

But Hopkins' unerring accuracy and brilliance off the back foot ought to pick off Taylor for a hard-fought and entertaining points success.