Tag Archives: Bernard Hopkins

Bernard Hopkins Gave Cloud and Father Time a Boxing Lesson

11 Mar
Bernard Hopkins (left) has a few words fog some reporters at ringside after his stunning win over Tavoris Cloud for the IBF Light Heavyweight crown. Photo by Chris Murray.

Bernard Hopkins (left) has a few words for some reporters at ringside after his stunning win over Tavoris Cloud for the IBF Light Heavyweight crown at the Barclay’s Center  in Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Chris Murray.

By Chris Murray

For the Chris Murray Report and the Philadelphia Sunday Sun

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—Whenever Father Time catches up with Bernard Hopkins, he’s going to have a few cuts and bruises along the way.

Neither Father Time nor the 31-year-old Tavoris Cloud could figure out a way to beat the ageless Hopkins who broke his own record last weekend as the oldest fighter to win a world boxing title.

With a roaring crowd of 12,291 fans at the Barclay’s Center chanting, “B-Hop, B-hop,” the 48-year-old Hopkins won a 12-round unanimous decision over a confused Cloud to win the International Boxing Federation World Light-Heavyweight title.

Judge John Stewart scored it 116-112, Judge Tom Schreck had it 117-111, and Judge John Poturaj also scored it 116-112. The Chris Murray Report scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Hopkins.

Hopkins used his defense and counter-punching to take Tavoris Cloud's IBF light heavyweight title. Photo by Chris Murray.

Hopkins used his defense and counter-punching to take Tavoris Cloud’s IBF light heavyweight title. Photo by Chris Murray.

Hopkins didn’t stagger or seriously hurt Cloud, but he thoroughly outclassed his opponent by using his defensive skills and effective counter-punching. CompuBox statistics leaned heavily in favor of Hopkins.  He had a higher connect percentage (41 percent to 21 percent for Cloud) and landed more power shots.

This was a fight where the older fighter simply took the up and coming youngster to school.

“He told Tavoris Cloud to come into the classroom, sit down, get your notebook out and he taught him a lesson,” said WBC/ WBA super middleweight champion Andre Ward, who was doing the color commentary for HBO.

Hopkins, unlike his last fight against Chad Dawson, took advantage of Cloud’s aggressiveness by throwing combinations, solid counter-punching when he was backed up on the ropes and lateral movement to the younger fighter’s right to keep him off –balance and missing shots he would normally make.

“I was working on my speed and reflexes, I wanted to show at 48 that I can display that,” Hopkins said. “We were working on combination punching and trying to throw multiple punches. In other fights, I’d only throw one shot. We knew that if we threw multiple punches, he couldn’t adjust to that. By the fourth or fifth, I found my rhythm and things became easy.”

A Hopkins right cut Cloud’s left eye in the seventh round. Oddly enough, Hopkins looked quicker than the 31-year-old Cloud, who often missed Hopkins when he tried to land a big punch.

“Bernard Hopkins has mastered the sport from the bottom up,” Ward said. “He knows how to move, when to move, when to rush into move, but Cloud wants you to stand still and do what we call heavy bag, but Hopkins wasn’t there.

“When he thought Hopkins was going to move, he was in his (face). He was forced to think   faster than he ever had to do before, He couldn’t process what was going on and when you look   up, it’s the 12th round.”

While a lot of fight fans like the spectacle of boxers bloodying and knocking each out other cold, the fans at the Barclay’s Center were solidly behind the methodical, albeit less glamorous, skills of the 48-year-old Hopkins.

“I told Andre Ward, along with ( HBO’s)  Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman and I said you’re going to learn something on Saturday, pay attention,”  Hopkins said during the post-fight press conference.  “We knew that a 30-year-old guy wasn’t going to run from a 48-year-old guy … Most of the time, I kept my right hand and my chin down and I used my arms for blocking and countering at the same time. You have to have the reflexes to make him pay once you make him miss.”

Of course, the inevitable question for Hopkins is what’s next? What more does he have to prove? He has proven that not only can he beat up younger guys in the ring, he has given Father Time a few black eyes as well.

Some of the fighters of note in the light heavyweight division are World Boxing Organization champion Nathan Cleverly (24-0, 12 KOs) of Wales. There’s a pair of boxers from Canada Lucien Bute (31-1, 24 KOs) and Jean Pascal (27-2-1,16 KOs) whom Hopkins beat in 2010.

Hopkins said he would keep his options open, but he would not fight super middleweight champion Andre Ward , a man he describes as his protégé. He also said would not be in the ring fighting when he turns 50.

“I’m here to stay, but until I’m 50,” Hopkins said. “I will not be in there at 50-years-old. But I do see some opportunities out there to show the brand that ‘I’m different.’ I’m going to parlay that until I can’t do it no more.”

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Still Fighting at 48, Bernard Hopkins Refuses to Go Gently into That Good Night

22 Feb

Hopkins will take on Tavoris Cloud for the IBF Light Heavweight Title

By Chris Murray

Bernard Hopkins (left) gets his hand taped by his trainer Nazim Richardson during a workout session at Joe Hand's Gym in North Philadelphia. Hopkins will take on Tavoris Cloud for the IBF Light Heavyweight crown on March 9 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Photo by Chris Murray.

Bernard Hopkins (left) gets his hand taped by his trainer Nazim Richardson during a workout session at Joe Hand’s Gym in North Philadelphia. Hopkins will take on Tavoris Cloud for the IBF Light Heavyweight crown on March 9 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Photo by Chris Murray.

For the Chris Murray Report and the Sunday Sun

PHILADELPHIA—If 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 knockouts) were to actually retire today, he would do so with a long list of accomplishments as a boxer and a promoter.

Without question, Hopkins is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Unlike most boxers who blow their millions on foolish things, Hopkins is a very frugal man who is set for life financially and not wanting for money like some of his younger colleagues in the boxing world.

Knowing all of this, we always have to ask the question why. Of course, Hopkins will definitely tell you why in his own enigmatic way. It’s his goal to break his own record of being the oldest man to win a world championship in boxing.

“My legacy is on the line and my record is on the line,” Hopkins told reporters during a training session at Joe Hand’s Gym in North Philadelphia. “This falls into the category of can Bernard Hopkins out do himself and break his own record?”

With Father Time seemingly stalking him on a constant basis, Hopkins will be back in the ring on March 9 against a younger, unbeaten International Boxing Federation light-heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-0, 19 KO’s) at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. The fight will be televised live on HBO.

In his last fight against Chad Dawson in April 2012, Hopkins was a step behind the younger fighter and wound up losing a majority decision. The late Emmanuel Steward said at the time that Hopkins couldn’t put his punches together and was off-balance when he did throw his punches.

“(Hopkins) gets one shot and his balance is gone,” said Steward, who passed away on Oct. 25, 2012. “I can’t see him beating all of those guys out there. It’s amazing he’s never been cut up, never been beaten up. It’s amazing what he’s accomplished, but he should quit.”

But Hopkins doesn’t quite know the meaning of the word quit. On one level, Hopkins does not have the body of somebody in their late 40s. The man has a training regimen that would make Spartans blush.  Hopkins is still arguably one of the best defensive fighters in the game.

Hopkins trainer, Nazim Richardson said he knows when guys don’t have it anymore both in and out of the ring.  He said he’s going to prepare Hopkins for this fight by sparring him against younger, faster fighters to get a good gauge of how much his fighter has left in the tank.

“Every fighter has a certain number of fights in him, none of us know the number. None of us can predict the number,” said Richardson. “I put them young boys on (Hopkins). I tell them young boys, he’s a legend, you can’t be a legend. He’s a champion, you can’t be a champion right now. “But I tell them you’re 23, (Hopkins) can’t be 23.  Be 23 on his ass, every minute of every round and (Hopkins) answers the call.”

Richardson said he advised Hopkins to retire after he defeated Antonio Tarver in 2006 only because he beat everybody he could beat to that point. But it’s Hopkins discipline during training that gives his camp the confidence that he can do well in the ring.

“That focus of his is ridiculous, it’s at another level, it’s exceptional,” Richardson. “That’s the reason why he’s here, he’s the exception. We’ve got out of trying to dictate when the end is, we’re trying to be the best we can be while we’re still here.”

Hopkins said the 31-year-old Cloud is tailor-made for him because he’s young, aggressive and likes to come forward like Kelly Pavlik, whom he beat  for the light heavyweight crown back in 2008.

“I believe that his aggressiveness will make it a great fight and will make it an action-packed fight,” Hopkins said.

“I think that when you have a guy that will approach me with no respect for what will happen because he’s thinking of himself first.  There’s nothing wrong with that until you run into a guy like Bernard Hopkins where your biggest strength come March 9 will work against you.”

Throughout his career, Hopkins has thrived on proving the experts and his naysayers wrong. If there’s no actual motivation for him to fight, he will invent one.

“Because I know there are certain things in life that I’m not going to be able to do, but I’m not going to submit to that until I try it,” Hopkins said.

“That’s because I’m not going to let reasons for not doing something stop me from opening that door because when I open that door that’s where the money’s at. But if I didn’t open it, I would never realize what was there.”

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At 47, Bernard Hopkins says, “Maybe I’m Just Better”

18 Apr

In their first fight Oct.15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Chad Dawson tackles Bernard Hopkins and hurls into the canvas. The fight end as a TKO for Dawson that was later ruled a no-contest by the California State Athletic Commission.

By Chris Murray

For the Sunday Sun and the Chris Murray Report

Legendary fighter Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins said he has no secrets for his success in recent years against younger, stronger, faster fighters like Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik.

In a career that spans over 24 years and a multitude of title fights against some of the great fighers of all-time, the 47-year-old Hopkins said it has nothing to do with strategy or even his years of experience in the ring.

“Has anybody thought or just think that maybe I’m just better than the generation in the last 12 or 10 years. Maybe I’m just better. Has anybody ever thought that it ain’t the mind games. It ain’t that Bernard Hopkins got the look that he can bully a fighter before a punch is thrown. I disagree with people who say what I do is about a head game,” Hopkins said in a conference call this week with reporters.

“When you take away the person’s ability to do what you want him to do, they say it’s mental like I did something underhanded, under the table or against the rules and you flat out beat a guy because maybe I’m just better.”

Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 KOs) will get another chance to prove his greatness against the younger “Bad” Chad Dawson (30-1-0, 17 KOs) for the WBC Light-Heavyweight title on April 28 at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk.

The last fight between the two fighters had a controversial ending. In the second round of that first fight, which took place Oct. 15 at the Staples Center Los Angeles, Dawson threw Hopkins onto the canvas and separated his shouldder .

The fight ended with a TKO for Dawson that was eventually overturned and ruled a no-contest by the California State Athletic Commission. That ruling allowed Hopkins to keep his World Boxing Council light heavyweight title.

Many boxing observers thought Dawson was in control of the brief fight. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old Dawson, along with his promoter Gary Shaw, contend that Hopkins was faking and didn’t want to go through with the rest of the fight.

“I have every advantage, I’ve got the fire in my eyes and people saw that in the last fight. I really wanted to go out and I really wanted to beat Bernard Hopkins,” Dawson said. “Bernard had other plans. I keep saying this Bernard did not want to be in the ring with me that night. Maybe he undertrained and didn’t expect to see what he saw that night. Maybe he needed more time to get in shape, but I’m here and I’m for real, I’m coming to fight.”

As he usually does Hopkins is relishing the underdog role and another chance to prove Father Time wrong and boxing media pundits wrong. Every time he was supposed to look like a man in his 40s, Hopkins has found enough power to befuddle his younger opponents.

“At the end of the day, whether it’s I’m an underdog because they say I should be an underdog, I’m going to continue to show that you might have an opinion whatever, but that don’t mean you have to be right,” Hopkins said. “It’s my job to prove it come April 28th . I’ve been right more than I’ve been wrong. April 28th is the only thing that I want to say, the only I want to show and you’re going to see it when you come up and shake my hand and tell me how great I am I’m going to say thank you and go back to sleeping in my own bed, something I haven’t done in the last nine weeks.”

With each victory over younger opponents, his dogged determination to not age in the ring and a Spartan-like training regimen, Hopkins has managed to stay relevant in a sport that has few very stars that are known beyond its base of hard core fans.

“Any and every big name that was around his weight class in the last 20 years, he has fought and won against,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “I think that’s what built the status he has which is a legendary status. He did make history because he beat George Foreman’s record to be the oldest champion ever. You add all things together and people are taking notice that this is a very special athlete and that’s what makes Bernard Hopkins so popular.”

But Dawson and Shaw believes it’s time for Hopkins to exit the stage.

“If it goes 12 rounds, I want to win 11`or 12 of those rounds,” Dawson said. “I’m looking to go out and beating Bernard in a great fashion that no one can say, but this or but that. I don’t want a close fight I want to beat him decisively.”

Added Shaw: “I promise you Chad Dawson will walk out of that ring victorious. He’ll have the Ring (Magazine) belt, he will have the WBC belt and I wish Bernard Hopkins a lot of luck on his entry into the (Boxing) Hall of Fame.”

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