Hopkins: "I always ran to the fire" *fakes an injury when things get hard*

6:23 mark onwards

[YT]cNH5Zo5Qyog[/YT]

Poor victim B-Hop. If 'The Man' was really so out to get him they could just hire a referee who actually knows how to do their job properly. lol

 

I wonder what fight B-Hop is trying to sell here? Lucian Bute ''claims he's the Great White Hope''? Really? Where the fcuk did he pluck that from?

And I wonder what B-Hop means by the ''European''? lol

JENNA: Okay well Bernard, you mentioned before in previous interviews that we had with you that you wanted to fight Lucian Bute. Beating Jean Pascal wasn’t enough for you, you wanted to get the other Canadian fighter. It appears at 175 those big names aren’t really out there for you. The biggest names are at 168. Do you see yourself having to go down in weight to meet those fighters, or do you think they should go up and meet you?

HOPKINS: No. I’m not going down in weight to fight anybody for the light heavyweight championship. A couple of times I have done that. I’ve done that with Kelly Pavlik, an undefeated fighter. I met him at 170. I’ve done that with Winky Wright if you remember at 170. Why should I have to lose? You have to remember I’m an old man. I’m three years from being 50. Why would I have to do that? So my thing is that these guys at 68 are walking around at 190 anyway. Bute will tell you. You think Bute walks around at 168? Are you kidding me? So 68 pounders has only been in existence for about 15 years. The 68 pounders is nothing but really light heavyweights who sweat down to be 68. That’s a division like a junior middleweight. I think these junior divisions need to be wiped out of boxing period, but it is what it is, junior this and junior that. 168! Either your middleweight or you’re a light heavyweight. You know, I mean I’m old school. That’s the way I think. You can’t be in between. You can be in between because of the politics of what we live in, but let’s keep it real. You know what I mean?

Either you or a light heavyweight or you are a middleweight, and Bute with his height, his weight, the way he walks around when the fight is over with four months or three months later, he easily walks around at 180-something-plus. So let’s not play games about sweating down. He’s fighting at 68 because that’s where the competition of his comfort level, and that’s where the money’s at, and that’s where he has an advantage that he thinks over certain people that he fights. You understand? So at the end of the day, you put on five pounds! That’s all! If he puts on five, six, seven pounds, then he’s got all of the advantage in the world. You got an old man in the ring who’s still got some credibility to not be laughed at if he beats me, especially if he knocks me out or smacks me around and embarrasses me like Terry Norris did to Sugar Ray Leonard. Yeah, I remember that. So at the end of the day, I shouldn’t have to lose a quarter pound for anyone who wants to fight me from 68 or middleweight. At the end of the day I ain’t a gatekeeper. That’s a different title. I’m not that. But I am the guy that, if you want to be a superstar overnight then whop my ass and you will be a superstar overnight!

''CIANI: Bernard we were talking about 168 before. A guy that you’ve been big on in the past on our show is Andre Ward. I wanted to get your assessment on his victor in the Super Six Final against Carl Froch?

HOPKINS: I’m glad you mentioned Andre Ward, because first as I watched the fight at ringside with Jay Prince, who I highly respect and is a good friend of mine. I said to him and a couple of people right beside me, the styles! Froch’s style, the European, there is only a couple of things that he can actually do and always do, and he’s not going to do anything different. That’s the European. I said as far as Ward, he’s all around—all around Philadelphia gym, California gym, Vegas gym, Houston, Louisiana. You see any of those gyms where you see that all around athlete, it’s things that a European can never do because the genetics is not there. When one tries to copy and come close, they build him up like he’s special, and he is because it’s not normal. But Andre Ward whopped that ass and made it look so easy, that they were frustrated that it looked so easy, and they is on Froch’s side, his people. Was I surprised? No. Can anything happen in boxing? Yes. But I wasn’t surprised.''

I remember Andre Ward rocking high at a young age in the Olympics with Nazim Richardson and all of them. So I’m not surprised of his ability. As a matter of fact he reminds me of somebody. (laughs) I ain’t going to say the name, but he reminds me of somebody. I said oh you’ve been studying, I told him in the dressing room when he was hugging with his kids and stuff. I said man I see you have been studying. He said yep, and we just looked at each other and that was it. I said enjoy yourself man and I left out of there. Take care of your eye, take care of your hand, and take care of your face. That’s why I last so long, because instead of going on the party floor after the fights, instead of going hoo-ha, hoo-ha, hoo-ha, take care of your body. Soak your hand. Soak your eyes. He’ll tell you what I said to him. Let everybody else celebrate. Sit back and look around and worry about your face, because your eye will stay like that if you don’t put the ice on there and you’ll look like Iran Barkley. No disrespect to Iran Barkley! That’s my man, but it is what it is. You got to use examples to make a clear point.

So when you look at Andre Ward and you look at that 68 division, if Bute don’t fight Bernard Hopkins after Andre dusts off Kessler, he should go ahead and fight Andre Ward. How can a guy that claims he is “the great white hope”, even though he’s in Canada, and you fight a Froch who got his ass whopped royally, viciously! I mean is this what boxing has come down to ya’ll? Is that what boxing has come to where the losers get the best fights at 168 pounds? (laughs) Hey man! I can’t knock the hustle, though. But you’re all going to buy that?! Every media in boxing, including ya’ll, East Side Boxing should be slaying that fight! Are you kidding me?! ''