Prison boxer wins ESPY Arthur Ashe Award,update training with bhop,fight on undercard

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Bernard Hopkins is training alongside wrongfully imprisoned former boxer Dewey Bozella as part of his preparation for the first defense of his WBC lightheavyweight crown against Chad Dawson on Oct. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Hopkins revealed to RingTV.com on Friday.

"I'm with this guy who is 50-something years old who served more than 20-something years in prison after being falsely accused of something that he didn't do, and he's inspired by what I overcame after being in prison for a short time," said Hopkins, a former convict who began serving five years in Pennsylvania's Graterford Prison for multiple offenses at the age of 17.

"Even though we're training hard, and he's sore, and I'm sore, you know, it's just a blast. We're really having a blast. With him being around me, and me being around him, it's sort of me telling him that life is not over."

A former amateur boxer who was born in 1959, Bozella was falsely convicted and imprisoned in 1983 for a murder he did not commit against an elderly woman. Bozella served 26 years before having his conviction overturned in 2009.

On July 13, 2011, Bozella's life was chronicled in ESPN's annual ESPY Award show in the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, where he was honored as the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

Hopkins said that he is inspired by Bozella's story and honored to serve as his mentor and surrogate boxing trainer.

"I mean, he reached out to me and I didn't even know the guy. He's been put up at a hotel here next to my condo in Philadelphia," said Hopkins, who is 52-5-2 with 32 knockouts.

"ESPN has been here for three days now filming us, but this is far from being a distraction to me from what I've got to do. I mean, I'm just so glad to be a part of this man's life."

As the 46-year-old Hopkins trains to defend his belt against Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs), he said that working with Bozella has invigorated him to an even higher level.

"This is something that I'm motivated by heading into my fight on Oct. 15," said Hopkins, who dethroned Jean Pascal (26-2, 1, 16 KOs) as WBC beltholder in May to become oldest man in boxing to win a significant world title in January.

"I did my crime, and I'm not bragging about it. I mean, every day and every second that I was in prison, I deserved to be in there. But with this guy, the DNA didn't match, I mean, he was literally the wrong guy," said Hopkins.

"So when you know that you didn't do something, and it's like someone comes into your house, and into your office, and they say, 'Look, you did something to somebody,' and you know that you didn't, and you didn't even speak to the person, that's a problem."

Bozella left prison with the goal of having at least one professional fight a free man. And just as Bozella has a second shot at life, Hopkins would like to see him receive perhaps a shot at ring glory with a professional career.

"I'm not saying that this guy has 10 years in him, and I'm not saying that he's got three years in him, but trust me, he trains hard and we run and he has skills," said Hopkins.

"And if they were to match him right, I'm telling you, just from his story alone, they should let him fulfill at least some of what has been taken away from him in his life. I think that he's very deserving of that."

 

When former amateur boxer Dewey Bozella was released from prison after being wrongfully accused of murder and serving 26 years, among the first things that he desired was to have a professional fight as a free man.

It appears that Bozella could get that chance on Oct. 15, if Golden Boy Promotions' CEO Richard Schaefer and the company's match maker Eric Gomez get their way.

The 52-year-old Bozella could land on the under card of an HBO Pay Per View televised main event featuring 46-year-old RING and WBC lightheavyweight titleholder Bernard Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs) making his first defense oposite Chad Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"What we're trying to do is to get him his professional debut on the Hopkins under card. That's what we're working on," said Gomez. "We just have to get him tested. The California State Athletic Commission wants to test him."

Bozella is being housed in Philadelphia, where he is training alongside Hopkins, according to Gomez.

Hopkins is impressed with Bozella's skills, he told RingTV.com.

"I'm not saying that this guy has 10 years in him, and I'm not saying that he's got three years in him, but trust me, he trains hard and we run and he has skills," said Hopkins.

"Even though we're training hard, and he's sore, and I'm sore, you know, it's just a blast. We're really having a blast. With him being around me, and me being around him, it's sort of me telling him that life is not over."

Bozella will be tested by the California Commission on Sept. 29, said Gomez.

"They want to re-test him, because he already tested one time, and they didn't pass him. But he wasn't in shape, and he wasn't getting ready for a fight," said Gomez. "Now, he's in camp with Bernard Hopkins, and he's getting ready for a fight. We're going to test him properly."

A former amateur boxer who was born in 1959, Bozella was falsely convicted and imprisoned in 1983 for a murder he did not commit against an elderly woman.

Before his conviction was overturned in 2009, Bozella became the prison's lightheavyweight champion.

So talented was Bozella, that he was set up with a special fight against southpaw former WBA lightheavyweight titleholder and cruiserweight contender Lou Del Valle (3-6-2, 22 KOs), who once floored Roy Jones in a bout.

"It was one of those fights. It was a war," said Del Valle, in an ESPN video that chronicled Bozella's life. "He was one of those guys who just kept on ticking."

Although Bozella held his own, he eventually lost the fight on cuts.

"I was the lucky one, because I would have gotten cut, he probably would have won," said Del Valle. "I walked out of that Sing Sing prison and I was like, 'I dodged a bullet.'"

On July 13, 2011, Bozella's life was chronicled in ESPN's annual ESPY Award show in the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, where he was honored as the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

"ESPN has been here for three days now filming us," said Hopkins, "But this is far from being a distraction to me from what I've got to do. I mean, I'm just so glad to be a part of this man's life."

After watching him receive his award at the ESPY's, Schaefer said that one of the owners of the Staples Center, AEG CEO Timothy Leiweke, expressed interest in seeing Bozella's dream become a reality.

"They were hosting the ESPY's, and I got an e-mail from them and they had dinner with the chairman from ESPN, and they made me aware of this man, Dewey Bozella," said Schaefer.

"They said, 'Hey, look, it would be great if you could have Dewey Bozella fight and to help him to accomplish his dream.' Obviously, his dream is to have a professional fight. So, I said, 'Let me see what we can do.'"

Schaefer considered the Oct. 15 show, and, coincidentally, the background of Hopkins, who spent five years in prison for multiple offenses before being released at the age of 22 and embarking on a professional career.

"We thought that the Staples Center would be a perfect spot to do it as part of the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson card on HBO Pay Per View. So we started talking to ESPN, which is very motivated. They believe that it is a major story. So we are trying to see if we can get him licensed in California and to fulfill his dream," said Schaefer.

"If we can help him to do that, I believe that it will be a very emotional moment not only for him, but I think that it will be an emotional moment for those who have followed his story, which is absolutely amazing. If we can fulfill his dream and have him fight -- and I hear that he's in tremendous shape -- I know that the thousands of people that we are expecting to be there will give him a standing ovation as he enters the ring. He deserves this opportunity."

 

RingTV.com: So I hear you have some news?

Dewey Bozella: Yeah, I've got some exciting news for you. They gave me my license. They let me get my license, man. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it's very, very much appreciated.

They're giving me a chance, and that's all that I've asked for. I'm just very blessed and appreciative. I didn't let them down, I didn't let myself down. And now I've got to go out and prove that I'm worthy of receiving this gift.


RingTV.com: How thrilling was it to hear that you were approved and that you has passed your physical?

DB: Well, Oscar and them were here today, celebrating with me, and with Bernard Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions, I'm just appreciating everything that they're doing and everything that they've done. I got a break.

They've let me get my license. So I can now fight on the Bernard Hopkins under card. I feel excellent. I feel good. I'm happy about that. But now, it's time for me to step my game up.

I've got to go back to the Bernard Hopkins' camp and really, really work on a few things. Because I've got to win the fight, man. I've got to win the fight, it's as simple as that right now.


RingTV.com: Well you've certainly worked hard with Hopkins so far, huh?

DB: Well, I'll put it to you like this: I had never been through that type of strenuous training before. So the first couple of days, I went from being 210 pounds all the way down to 195, and that was within four days.

That's how hard they worked me, you know? Right now, I'm between 190 and 195 or 196 at the most, so I'm going to be fighting as a cruiserweight.

I'm already there. They're giving me a few pointers and they're pointing things out, and they're not playing any games.

Bernard, you know, he has really worked with me and he's given me a lot of pointers. But I still have a lot to learn, you know, because the last time I had a fight was back in 1990.

That's been over 20 years, since I was an amateur. Now that they've given me this opportunity, I'm very, very, very, very happy about that. I'm pleased.


RingTV.com: What was your life like when you were arrested?

DB: I was 23 and had just turned 24. I was an amateur fighter at that point. I was training at the Floyd Patterson boxing gym. I was going to school at a Dutchess Community College.

I was leaning toward a major in a science. All of that was just taken from me for one sentence, 20 years to life. So now, to have that being given back, that's the gift. The gift is to never give up.

RingTV.com: How rewarding is this given those years you spent in prison?

DB: People who heard about my story have given me a chance, that's where the gift for me is. People came to understand and they took a risk with me.

They took this on, and they're the people who are giving me the blessings, you know? Everybody from Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya.

These people are taking that risk with me and they're putting me on that undercard. That's the gift. So now, it's time for me to take advantage.

If you do good things, good things comeback tenfold. This is where it comes back at, you know? My thing is not only not to let them down, but not to let myself down.


RingTV.com: Do you realize that you can be an inspiration to a world of people?

DB: Yes, I do. You know, I realize that there's a world looking at me, and not just Dewey Bozella. I realize that I bring a lot of hope to people who have given up.

People who may have just said, "Nah, life ain't no good," or, "I want to commit suicide," or "I want to get high," and do nothing with their lives.

But maybe with me, they'll say, "Hold up, now, this man has been through hell, and he never gave up, so what excuse do I have?"

You know? Being locked up for 26 and a half years of his life for a crime that he didn't commit.


RingTV.com: Should you win on Oct. 15, will you fight again?

DB: Nah. Hell no. I've got to say that with authority, man. Nah. I think that once is enough, man. After that, I'll look into becoming a trainer. I'm trying to get my own gym.