Im not sure, i guess it will depend on how the winner looks. No matter what fans from both side will be arguing about why their guy lost. Hopkins being near 50 and Kovalevs lack of big fight experience will leave question marks to why either should be considered top 10 p4p, but we'll see.
I can already hear people saying, "Kovalev only won because Hopkins is old", or "Kovalev got exposed".
There is no doubt both of those will be thrown around often. Sad thing is there will be a little bit of credence to either. What cant be taken away though is whoever wins will still have beaten another top fighter. No matter who you root for respect should be given for that in my opinion. Both guys have question marks, but they're still two of the best.
I think it depends on two factors. How they look in the fight and if they go on to fight Stevenson. The lineal champ and Ring champ is Stevenson, otherwise the real champ is still in dispute. Looking at the top 10 right now I could see someone sneaking in above Canelo, but not any higher.
I think we got an old Hopkins who should really be where he is at and a green Kovalev, thus why I think they still need to go on to beat Stevenson.
