Taking spirits and bogeymen

"I destroy their souls, I destroys their minds, I destroy their careers." - B. Hopkins

I thought it would be a good idea for a thread about fights where one fighter takes something forever from another so he is never the same again or fighters that just had something over the other guy.

I'll start with the obvious one. Hopkins v's Pavlik.

Pavlik was the rising star of American boxing, he was in his mid twenties, packing out arenas and knocking everybody he faced at middleweight out. He was a no frills working class white kid that most of America could relate to and he made it to the top without HBO hyping him up like Jermain Taylor. It was organic, exciting and there was a real sense that he was on his way to becoming a global superstar.
Hopkins however had lost a SD to Joe Calzaghe and by the end of the fight was using any trick he could to stay in it as exhaustion started to take a toll. Frankly he looked old by the end of it. Bob Arum sensing an old respected name was there for the taking sent his young middleweight champion up to Light Heavyweight where it was assumed he would knock the old man out and and set up a mega fight with Joe Calzaghe. Hopkins, a very proud man that performs at his best when he feels the world is against him stepped up to the challenge with glee.
Hopkins knew something that everybody who got caught up in the Kelly Pavlik whirlwind had forgotten, he knew he was faster, bigger and had way more skill than Pavlik. He had already done this before to Felix Trinidad and he would do it again to Pavlik. This wasn't just a boxing match to him, this was the boxing establishments new white knight sent to slay the old dragon once and for all and Hopkins wasn't going to let them get rid of him so easily. This was his personal "**** you" to everybody that had doubted him, to those he felt wanted to get rid of him.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu9AXWp1jYY[/ame]

You can see at the final bell that Pavlik has been emotionally crushed and that he is no longer the future face of the sport. In his supposed showcase to the world, in front of his own fans, Hopkins had taken his spirit from the first bell to the last beating Pavlik to the punch, punishing every misstep, taking nothing back and grinning the whole time. While Pavliks team shout back at Hopkins and Kelly looks back over his shoulder wanting the ground to swallow him up Hopkins stands above the ringside reports staring out each and every one of them so they never make the mistake again of forgetting what he is capable of.


Pavlik is now an alcoholic, trying to salvage something left of his career. He has moved to L.A from Youngstown Ohio to train with Robert Garcia and get away from the life style he led back home, but looks a spent force already still in his twenties. Hopkins is 47 and the Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight Champion.