Five keys for Bernard Hopkins

— -- One year shy of turning 50, light heavyweight titlist Bernard "The Alien" Hopkins returns to action Saturday looking to become the oldest champion to unify world titles in boxing history.

The future Hall of Famer, 49, headlines a tripleheader at Washington's DC Armory (Showtime, 9:30 p.m. ET) when he faces fellow titlist Beibut Shumenov (14-1, 9 KOs) of Kazakhstan, who looks himself to unify titles in the 175-pound division in just his 16th professional fight.

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Hopkins (54-6-2, 32 KOs) will face an opponent with little experience but a whole lot of punch, in a battle in which he should take into account the following keys if he wants to continue making history: