Hopkins planning 45th birthday fight

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Bernard Hopkins hasn’t fought since stunning the formerly unbeaten, younger middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik last October. That memorable display at age 43 by the longtime ex-middleweight champ might’ve been a perfect way to walk away.

Hopkins, however, has another plan. At a recent dinner meeting, he told his business partner, Golden Boy Promotions Chief Executive Richard Schaefer, that he was intrigued by the idea of a 45th birthday fight in January against either newly crowned super-middleweight champion Carl Froch or a big move up in weight (to 200 pounds) to take on world cruiserweight champ Tomasz Adamek. Hopkins would intend the fight to be his last professional bout.

‘Some people have a nice birthday party when they turn 45 and dance,’ Schaefer told The Times on Wednesday. ‘Bernard wants to dance in the ring.’

Schaefer said he had already broached the idea with HBO executives, who were intrigued by the prospect of another Hopkins bout.

‘It’d be a great fight either way: him taking on another new champion [Froch], who just beat Jermain Taylor [who beat Hopkins twice], or this move up toward 200 pounds to take on Adamek,’ Schaefer said. ‘How interesting.’

Hopkins was not immediately available for comment, but Schaefer said he was preparing to launch negotiations while he also continues pushing to get Pomona’s Shane Mosley a shot at boxing’s pound-for-pound king, Manny Pacquiao.

-- Lance Pugmire