Bernard Hopkins would qualify if boxing had a seniors tour. Not that he's ready to stop fighting the sports' young pups.
When he enters the ring Saturday, Hopkins will defend his light-heavyweight championship at age 48. Challenger Karo Murat is 30.
Hopkins is at the age most boxers are contemplating their health or selling branded grills or other products. Not preparing for a title bout in Atlantic City, N.J.
"How many people get a chance to prove how special they are over and over and over again?" Hopkins said, via The Miami Herald. "As far as I'm concerned, it's not about how much money you can make when you're fighting that makes you special." http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/21/3701518/old-soul-bernard-hopkins-still.html
Hopkins is 53-6-2 with 32 knockouts. His International Boxing Federation belt came in a March 9 decision over Tavoris Cloud, now 31. The top of the light heavyweight field seems to be populated by elder statesmen.
Maybe most are like Hopkins, who at a younger age fought in the middleweight classification. From 1995 to 2005, in fact, Hopkins was a champion in that group.
Murat is from Germany and is 25-1-1 with 15 knockouts. Saturday will be his first fight in the United States.
Hopkins is a man on a mission.
"I am of a new era with an old soul," he said recently. "I represent the old soul of doing things the right way — thinking the right way, treating my mind, body and soul the right way.
"How many people get a chance to prove how special they are over and over and over again? As far as I’m concerned, it's not about how much money you can make when you're fighting that makes you special."
Here is the schedule for upcoming major boxing events.
Oct. 26
At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J. (SHO), Bernard Hopkins vs. Karo Murat, 12, for Hopkins' IBF light heavyweight title; Peter Quillin vs. Gabriel Rosado, 12, for Quillin's WBO middleweight title; Deontay Wilder vs. Nicolai Firtha, 10, heavyweights.
At Manila, Philippines, John Riel Casimero vs. Felipe Salguero, 12, for Casimero's IBF light flyweight title.
At San Jose, Costa Rica, Bryan Vasquez vs. Rene Gonzalez, 12, for the interim WBA World super featherweight title.
At Tijuana, Mexico, Miguel Vazquez vs. Ammeth Diaz, 12, for Vazquez's IBF lightweight title.
Oct. 28
At the Sports House, Redwood City, Calif. (FS1), Manuel Avila vs. Jose Angel Cota, 10, featherweights; Paul Mendez, vs. Louis Rose, 10, middleweights.
Nov. 2
At Madison Square Garden Theater, New York (HBO), Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens, 12, for Golovkin's WBA World/IBO middleweight titles; Ola Afolabi vs. Lukasz Janik, 12, for the vacant IBO cruiserweight title; Mike Perez vs. Magomed Abdusalamov, 10, heavyweights; Dusty Hernandez Harrison vs. Josh Torres, 10, welterweights.
Nov. 9
At Corpus Christi, Texas (HBO), Roman Martinez vs. Mikey Garcia, 12, for Martinez's WBO junior lightweight title; Nonito Donaire vs. Vic Darchinyan, 10, featherweights; Demetrius Andrade vs. Vanes Martirosyan, 12, for the vacant WBO junior middleweight title; Nicholas Walters vs. Alberto Garza, 12, for Walters' WBA World featherweight title.
Nov. 10
At Tokyo, Shinsuke Yamanaka vs. Alberto Guevara, 12, for Yamanaka's WBC bantamweight title; Richar Abril vs. Jorge Linares, 12, for Abril's WBA World lightweight title; Takahiro Ao vs. Edgar Alejandro Lomeli, 10, lightweights; Roman Gonzalez vs. Oscar Blanquet, 10, flyweights.
Nov. 11
At Cowboys Dancehall, San Antonio (FS1), Fidel Maldonado Jr. vs. Luis Ramos Jr., 10, junior welterweights.
Nov. 15
At Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs. Hirofumi Mukai, 12, for Rungvisai's WBC super flyweight title.
Nov. 16
At Verona, N.Y. (NBC), Tomasz Adamek vs. Vyacheslav Glazkov, 12, IBF heavyweight eliminator.
At Citizens Business Bank Arena, Ontario, Calif. (HBO), Andre Ward vs. Edwin Rodriguez, 12, for Ward's WBA Super World super middleweight title.
Nov. 19
At Jeju, South Korea, Koki Kameda vs. Jung-Oh Son, 12, for Kameda's WBA World bantamweight title.
Nov. 23
At Macau, China (PPV), Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios, 12, for the vacant WBO welterweight title; Evgeny Gradovich vs. Billy Dib, 12, for Gradovich's IBF featherweight title; Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Tor Hamer, 10, for Ruiz's WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
At Bamberg, Germany, Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. Alexander Alekseev, 12, for Hernandez's IBF cruiserweight title.
At Manchester, England, Carl Froch vs. George Groves, 12, for Froch's IBF/WBA Super World super middleweight titles.
Nov. 26
At Sunrise, Fla. (FS1), Antonio Tarver vs. Mike Sheppard, 10, heavyweights.
Nov. 30
At Quebec City (HBO), Adonis Stevenson vs. Tony Bellew, 12, for Stevenson's WBC light heavyweight title; Sergey Kovalev vs. Ismayl Sillakh, 12, for Kovalev's WBO light heavyweight title.
At Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, Chester, W.Va., Johan Perez vs. Paul Spadafora, 12, for the interim WBA World junior welterweight title.
At Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio (SHO), Devon Alexander vs. Shawn Porter, 12, for Alexander's IBF welterweight title; Leo Santa Cruz vs. Cesar Seda, 12, for Santa Cruz's WBC super bantamweight title.
Dec. 6
At Tokyo, Akira Yaegashi vs. Edgar Sosa, 12, for Yaegashi's WBC flyweight title; Naoya Inoue vs. Jerson Mancio, 12, junior flyweights; Hiroki Shiino vs. Ryosuke Iwasa, 12, bantamweights.
At UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk vs. Giacobbe Fragomeni, 12, for Wlodarczyk's WBC cruiserweight title.
Dec. 7
At Stuttgart, Germany, Darren Barker vs. Felix Sturm, 12, for Barker's IBF middleweight title.
At Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. (SHO), Erislandy Lara vs. Austin Trout, 12, for Lara's WBA interim junior middleweight title; Sakio Bika vs. Anthony Dirrell, 12, for Bika's WBC super middleweight title; Paulie Malignaggi vs. Zab Judah, 12, welterweights.
At Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City (HBO), Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Joseph Agbeko, 12, for Rigondeaux's WBA Super World/WBO super bantamweight title; Glen Tapia vs. James Kirkland, 10, middleweights; Matthew Macklin vs. Willie Nelson, 10, middleweights.
Dec. 11
At Sydney, Australia, Martin Murray vs. Garth Wood, 12, for the interim WBA World middleweight title.
Dec. 14
At Neubrandenburg, Germany, Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. Alexander Alekseev, 12, for Hernadez's IBF cruiserweight title; Juergen Braehmer vs. Marcus Oliveira, 12, for the vacant WBA World light heavyweight title.
At the MGM Grand, Las Vegas (PPV), Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Rene Maidana, 12, for Broner's WBA World welterweight title; Keith Thurman vs. Jesus Soto Karass, 12, for Thurman's interim WBA World welterweight title; Beibut Shumenov vs. Tamas Kovacs, 12, for Shumenov's WBA World/IBA light heavyweight titles; Carlols Molina vs. Victor Ortiz, 12, for Molina's IBF light middleweight title; Jorge Melendez vs. Alfredo Angulo, 10, junior middleweights.
Dec. 21
At Elche, Spain, Kiko Martinez vs. Jeffrey Mathebula, 12, for Martinez's IBF junior featherweight title.
Contributing: Associated Press