Hopkins.

If ever there was "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma," as Churchill said in referring to those unpredictable Soviets, the same can be said of Hopkins (49-5-1, 32 KOs), the 44-year-old North Philadelphian who prolongs his remarkable boxing life when he takes on Enrique Ornelas (29-5-0, 19 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round light-heavyweight bout on Dec. 2 at the Liacouras Center.

To some - like former Hopkins promoters Butch Lewis, Dan Goossen and Lou DiBella - he is a scoundrel.

To others - like Wanda Little and Michael Negler - he is an angel of mercy whose sometimes brusque manner masks a heart of gold.

The good Hopkins was on display at a news conference last week to announce his homecoming scrap with Ornelas. It was revealed that $3 from each ticket sold would go to charitable causes: $1 to the Hero Thrill Show, which benefits the widows and families of Philadelphia police officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty; $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundations of Philadelphia and the Susquehanna Valley, which fulfills the dreams of terminally ill children and adolescents; and $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, in memory of Hopkins' mother, Shirley.

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins, said the company would match all ticket monies allocated to those charities.

Michael Negler, whose 18-year-old son, Shaun, a huge Hopkins fan, became acquainted with his idol through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and died of brain cancer 5 days after seeing him upset Kelly Pavlik on Oct. 18, 2008, was at the press conference along with wife Renee and children Mike Jr. and Brittany.

"Bernard never ceases to amaze us," Negler said. "Shaun is smiling down from heaven right now."

Wanda Little, the wife of the late WBA super middleweight titlist Steve Little, wasn't there, but if she had been she might have mentioned the $100,000 Hopkins donated to her and her six children following his Feb. 2, 2002, middleweight title defense against Carl Daniels in Reading. Steve, who used to spar with Hopkins, died of colon cancer on Jan. 30, 2000, leaving the family in dire financial straits.

The other Hopkins, the one with a penchant for outrageous statements, had this to say about mixed martial arts in an interview with Gavin Glicksman of The Sun, a British newspaper.

"I'm from the 'hood; we don't play that," Hopkins said. "I'm not buying a ticket to watch two grown men wrestling with panties on, sweating, with [testicles] in their face. To compare that to boxing is ludicrous. It's an entertainment porno.

"I think most of those people have chains and masks in their closets."

End for Taylor

Now, following his 12th-round starching by Arthur Abraham (31-0, 25 KOs) Saturday in Berlin, in the opening bout of Showtime's "Super Six" tournament for elite 168-pounders, I'm inclined to believe Taylor (28-4-1, 17 KOs), at 31, is finished as a big-time fighter. It marked his fourth loss in his last five bouts, three by knockout.

Warning signals went up for me in Taylor's first scrap with Bernard Hopkins on July 16, 2005, when the then-26-year-old native of Little Rock, Ark., faded badly down the stretch. Although Taylor got the split decision to end Hopkins' division-record run of 20 successful middleweight defenses, B-Hop finished stronger and would have retained his title had not myopic judge Duane Ford given the 12th round to the challenger.

Taylor's fast-emptying gas tank and porcelain chin have marked his descent from the cusp of superstardom, but what bothers me more is his refusal to give opponents credit or to acknowledge his own shortcomings.

Before Abraham knocked him colder than a Siberian winter with an overhand right, Taylor had insisted "I beat myself in every fight" he ever lost, and that "There's nothing special about [Abraham]."

Well, guess what, Jermain? There apparently is not so much special about you anymore, either.

Mtagwa deserves rematch

Mtagwa has some pop, but my thinking was that he was too short on talent to seriously pester the gifted Puerto Rican. Guess I must have forgotten the late Arturo Gatti, who proved how far a fighter can go with a sprinkling of skill added to a bottomless well of want-to.

Mtagwa lost a unanimous decision, but he rallied and had Lopez in deep trouble at the final bell in what figures to be a candidate for fight of the year.

Here's hoping Lopez and Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, do what Apollo Creed did in "Rocky II" and give another unexpectedly deserving longshot a second shot. *

Send e-mail to fernanb@phillynews.com