Interview with Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins

[RossTheBoss]

Mike Cassell:
What is going on with those pictures of Oscar De La Hoya on the internet. The media is really grabbing onto it. Are those pictures real?

Bernard Hopkins:
My opinion is, It’s the price of fame. It’s the price of being in the spotlight. You know, a lot of things come along. If you do not have thick skin in this business, you will not make it. What if They come out next week with Bernard Hopkins in a wig and a dress. That comes along with the territory. I’m not asking for it, but you have to pick and choose your battles. I talked to Oscar, and he told me that, absolutely, 100%, those pictures were Photoshop, and the people involve wanted money.

continue: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

[BITCH ASS]

Good interview.

I agree with almost everything he says, although I would slightly favor Pavlik against Kessler.

But then again, what the fuck do I know.

[Jose FM]

Pavlik stops Bhop.

[TheGreatest-915]

Haha

"One Word, Gun Shy."

[sandwichsurgeon]

Haha

"One Word, Gun Shy."

:lol:

He's right though, Taylor will never be the same now.

[Pimp C]

Pavlik stops Bhop.
Please he could beat Hopkins but stopping him is not happening.:deal

[thewoo]

I like that he didn't harp so much on his fights with Taylor. he did mention them but didn't bitch so much about what he clearly feels was a bad decision and focused more on the fights with Winky, Spinks and Ouma.

I disagree with the opinion that he ruined Taylor though, I think that Taylor has looked worse since fighting him because the cometition has been tougher, I mean he reallyl hadn't fought anyone worth mentioning before Bernard.

[Jose FM]

Please he could beat Hopkins but stopping him is not happening.:deal
Maybe earlier in Hopkins career he doesnt, but now Pavlik outworks him by throwing all dem punches and the cumulative damage will lead to stoppage, Bhops is old, hes still very solid but this is boxing, he wont be able to hold up.

[klion22]

The more i watch the Hopkins/Taylor fights, the more i have to side with Hopkins. There's no denying that the rounds Hopkins lost, he lost simply due to inactivity. And you have to fault him for that. But there is no denying that Hopkins landed the much more cleaner shots in both fights.

[MrStayman]

Wow, he watched the Pavlik-Taylor fight 9 times? He must of really liked to see Taylor get starched.

[compukiller]

Mike Cassell
Kelly Pavlik. The kid filled boardwalk Hall, and destroyed Jermain Taylor. Is this the real deal?

Bernard Hopkins
Its hype, because he was in there with a guy who was made, or created.Dont get me wrong, Pavlik is good, but he was in there with a guy (Taylor) that was made by the industry, with talent, but still a creation. In the end, Pavlik was good enough to go in there and expose Taylor, and take him out. And it goes to show you, if Pavlik didn’t knock him out, the judges had Taylor ahead, and he was on his way to another bogus victory. I watched that fight 8 or 9 times since Saturday. I couldn’t believe they had Taylor ahead.

Mike Cassell
So Taylor is an industry created guy that got a lot of breaks?

Bernard Hopkins
Absolutely, I believe he got a huge break in the Winky Wright ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) fight. He fought to what they said was a draw. He didn’t lose his belts. The fact is that, if you didn’t knock Jermain Taylor out, you weren’t going to win. The worst thing that would happen is a draw. A draw is a win for him. A draw in our first fight would have been a win for me. I could have kept my titles. They kept those belts around him, milingk that status until he can move up in weight and fight Joe Calzaghe. Now that’s out the window.

Mike Cassell
Bernard, it seemed as if after Taylor went 24 rounds with you, he was not the same fighter. He was tearing everybody up, and then seemed to stall in his last few fights.

Bernard Hopkins
One word, gun shy... Watching him, it reminded me of a basketball player ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) tearing through a guard, and he just backs up out of the way, and not just this fight, but the fight before it. Cory Spinks, a smaller guy, had him backing up, and so did Kassim Ouma. Twenty four rounds with me, took a lot of confidence out of him, and changed him physically. An athlete, a true athlete may say and do what they say and do in front of the media. But when we are alone, we know in our heart the truth. It bothers us, you know? He knows that his fights with me, the Winky fight, and his fights with Ouma and Spinks, were not good fights, and deep in his heart, he knows he lost a few. He cant run from that, and he carried that into the ring with him. Had had that doubt.


Could not have said any better myself. :deal

The whole interview is on the main page.

[compukiller]

Maybe earlier in Hopkins career he doesnt, but now Pavlik outworks him by throwing all dem punches and the cumulative damage will lead to stoppage, Bhops is old, hes still very solid but this is boxing, he wont be able to hold up.

THe question is can Pavlik take clean punches from BHOP at 175?? Taylor had him nearly out at 160, when Taylor could not hurt Spinks ot LittleOuma.

[Andre]

Wow, he watched the Pavlik-Taylor fight 9 times? He must of really liked to see Taylor get starched.

:yep :rofl

[Jose FM]

THe question is can Pavlik take clean punches from BHOP at 175?? Taylor had him nearly out at 160, when Taylor could not hurt Spinks ot LittleOuma.
Yeah but that was because Taylor is faster and throw quick combinations, Hopkins is not faster than Taylor, and Hopkins doesnt hit harder than Miranda. Pavlik at this point looks like he would get beat by someone that outworks him and thats something that is very difficult to do.

[KhanB]

Yeah but that was because Taylor is faster and throw quick combinations, Hopkins is not faster than Taylor, and Hopkins doesnt hit harder than Miranda. Pavlik at this point looks like he would get beat by someone that outworks him and thats something that is very difficult to do.

Even at 42, BHops is still faster than Pavlik, bigger now too. I didnt hear Hops call Pavlik out though.

[Jose FM]

Even at 42, BHops is still faster than Pavlik, bigger now too. I didnt hear Hops call Pavlik out though.
haha, dont make me laugh.... Man, you should really think with your brain not your heart.

[jsimon]

everyone in here is always trying to find some way to knock certain fighters out the way Hopkins didn't call out Pavilk because he doesn't need him beating 2 pound for pound fighters in Tarver and Wright is bigger than a Pavilk fight now the winner out of Calzaghe and Kessler is bigger for Hopkins. I have a fight for Pavilk fight Dawson both young champions.

[dangerousity]

Hopkins would outbox Pavlik and has the chin to take his punches aswell as the footwork to avoid them. Hopkins UD Pavlik.

[Rollo]

Wow, he watched the Pavlik-Taylor fight 9 times? He must of really liked to see Taylor get starched.


I think not. More probably, he is embarrased by the fact that he couldn´t do what Pavlik did.

[Jose FM]

everyone in here is always trying to find some way to knock certain fighters out the way Hopkins didn't call out Pavilk because he doesn't need him beating 2 pound for pound fighters in Tarver and Wright is bigger than a Pavilk fight now the winner out of Calzaghe and Kessler is bigger for Hopkins. I have a fight for Pavilk fight Dawson both young champions.
Huh?:huh

[Dorfmeister]

Maybe earlier in Hopkins career he doesnt, but now Pavlik outworks him by throwing all dem punches and the cumulative damage will lead to stoppage, Bhops is old, hes still very solid but this is boxing, he wont be able to hold up.

Im sorry Jose but surely you don't expect the Forum to believe that a freshman, a 25 year old kid from Ohio with a punch would OUTWORK a fighter who has been around and under the spotlight since 1992... The whole problem with your statements is that you open a window in the present time, disregard completly who was who and say this is the way it is, Pavlik throwing all dem punches, Bhops is old, therefore bla bla bla bla... No disrespect to you mate but you gat to understand that boxing didn't simply appear in our minds when Pavlik KOed Miranda and Taylor, nobody knows what sort of problems Bernard or Winky would present to Kelly but it is not difficult to suggest there would be more than Kelly would present them...

[Jose FM]

Im sorry Jose but surely you don't expect the Forum to believe that a freshman, a 25 year old kid from Ohio with a punch would OUTWORK a fighter who has been around and under the spotlight since 1992... The whole problem with your statements is that you open a window in the present time, disregard completly who was who and say this is the way it is, Pavlik throwing all dem punches, Bhops is old, therefore bla bla bla bla... No disrespect to you mate but you gat to understand that boxing didn't simply appear in our minds when Pavlik KOed Miranda and Taylor, nobody knows what sort of problems Bernard or Winky would present to Kelly but it is not difficult to suggest there would be more than Kelly would present them...
I understand, and i would say that yeah Pavlik is a freshmen to boxing, but this is boxing, there are no old timers day in this sport. Muhammad Ali was the greatest but we all saw him get murdered by Larry Holmes. If you saw Hopkins last fight, the reason why was still so good is cause hes that great of a fighter, but it wasnt exactly a fast pace fight, and he would only engage winky on very limited and paced moments during the fight. Furthermore, If you look at the Taylor fights, the only reason why Taylor won was cause he outworked BHop in certain moments same would happen with Pavlik. Except Pavlik has the power to stop him, and would if they fought.

[chimba]

Im tired of Hopkins...if he fought just like his interviews hed be great.

And yeah even in the 90's he wasnt mr.exictement..trust me I use to love the guy

[Mankind]

Pavlik stops Bhop.

I dont think so

[Zakman]

I disagree with the opinion that he ruined Taylor though, I think that Taylor has looked worse since fighting him because the cometition has been tougher, I mean he reallyl hadn't fought anyone worth mentioning before Bernard.

The competition has been tougher??:huh Outside of Wright, who should have gotten a win over him, Taylor fought undersized fighters moving up from welterweight and junior middleweight before Pavlik starched him.:yep

[Stinky gloves]

Didn't Hopkins mention when he is going to fight live LHW contender?

[Jose FM]

The competition has been tougher??:huh Outside of Wright, who should have gotten a win over him, Taylor fought undersized fighters moving up from welterweight and junior middleweight before Pavlik starched him.:yep
Kinda like Hopkins, he fought a weight drained Tarver and a overblown jr.middle...Go figure:patsch

[KhanB]

Every decision Hopkins got he earned.

[Brighton bomber]

I'd favour Hopkins over Pavlik even at this advanced stage of his career. Those who are picking Pavlik seem to be basing it on the relative performances of these 2 against Taylor and the fact that Hopkins would get out worked by the younger man. I recently fell in to that trap when assessing Hopkins ability, favouring Tarver and Wright to beat him based on Tarver's workrate against Johnson, in thier second fight and Wrights overall high punch out put.

Hopkins is one of the most tactically astute fighters around and despite a cock up against Taylor, twice when he simply didn't do enough (probably because he was drained at middleweight), he is still capable of beating elite fighters as shown in his recent performance against Wright.

Hopkins knows how to negate workrate. He did it against Wright, Johnson and Tito. Despite being in his forties he is still very agile and would be hard to pin down and when Pavlik does get in position to unload, Hopkins will smother his attack. It wouldn't be pretty, it rarely is with Hopkins but he would find a way to victory. I also think Hopkins would be the physically stronger of the 2, when have you ever seen Hopkins man handled? With the extra weight and overall superior skills and ring smarts Hopkins wins by UD.

[gutto]

I see Kelly giving b hop a hardtime for first 3-4- rounds but hopkins taking over when kelly slows down. I think B hop just knows to much for kelly at this stage and takes him to school but it will never happen b hop will fight winner of jc & mk then its bye bye b hop

[PH|LLA]

Pavlik stops Bhop.
noone stops BHop