Hopkins vs. Dawson: The Executioner Will Take out His Younger Opponent

Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins literally has the best nickname in all of sports, and he will use his expertise, experience and executioner-like dominance to beat Chad Dawson.

Seriously though, let's park on this for a moment. Is there a better nickname than "The Executioner"?

LeBron James is "The King," Allen Iverson was "The Answer", Wayne Gretzky was "The Great One" and Reggie White was the "Minister of Defense," but those aren't really menacing in any way.

Even the more intense sports nicknames have a hard time stacking up with that of Hopkins, featured in the affixed video.

"Iron" Mike Tyson, "Hammerin" Hank Aaron, and even Thomas "Hitman" Hearns have a hard time competing with the intimidation factor of "The Executioner."

It's a perfect nickname for a boxer, and his record just about backs it up. Hopkins has a record of 52-5-2 and has knocked out 32 of his 59 opponents.

For those that don't have a calculator handy, that's well over half of his opponents.

Some would argue that Hopkins is actually the underdog against Dawson, though, considering that Dawson is a lefty and is much younger and more athletic, at 29 years old, compared to Hopkins—who is 47 years young.

Others would point to their first go-around—which saw Dawson shove his older opponent to the ground in Round 2, causing a shoulder injury and subsequent no-contest—and say that Dawson is clearly the better fighter and athlete in this matchup.

While that may be the case, let me point out that you don't get the nickname "The Executioner" for nothing.

It's the best nickname in sports, but it's also one that Hopkins earned.

This bout is going to be a long and grueling one, and I expect both men to get in their fair shares of shots, but in the end I'll favor the veteran.

He's been in his fair share of rodeos, and his record speaks for itself.

Hopkins will keep his belt and add one more to his total of knockouts.