48-year-old Bernard Hopkins is going to be facing off against the IBF Light Heavyweight Champion, Tavoris Cloud in a 12 round bout on March 9th. He is the oldest fighter in the history of boxing to continue to compete at his age. Even though he's coming off of a 12 round decision loss to Chad Dawson last April, B-Hop is extremely focused and ready to go to war once again in the ring.
When asked about his age and why he keeps fighting, he compared himself to Jay-Z, for Jay is in his 40's and still rapping and lyrically competing against the younger generation. He also said that some motivation he has for this fight is to best Don King's fighter Cloud, for Bernard wants to "retire" the longtime promoter Don King.
"Don King. I want to retire him. He's got one. He thinks he's riding Smarty Jones on March 9. He is Tavoris Cloud's promoter. King is making Cloud out to be the second coming of Mike Tyson. Cloud is coming into this fight to rip my head off and show other fighters what he can do. He said that out of his mouth.
My motivation is the same. I say to myself, why does Jay-Z still rap? Isn't he 40 something years old? What do the old rappers think about Hov still rapping and getting money? He doesn't need it. I don't count anyone's money and I don't listen to media gossip but I know Hov isn't hurting for money. He's still got the passion and energy for it. The love and that's why I'm still here. I don't have to do it to keep the lights on. My daughter is in private school. I'm different. I'm not repeating 2Chainz, but being different is frowned upon. I'm not worried about my legacy. No one is saying to me what they said to Roy Jones Jr. No one had a problem with Roy fighting the older he got. I've got a better chance of getting shot in Philly, driving my car than being hurt in the ring. The great people in life take risks. I like people that look at my age as a reason for me to stop fighting. I hope they ask, "How is he doing this at his age? Why doesn't he have a brand backing him?" when I win on Saturday. Let's introduce corporate America to B-Hop. We know how Lance Armstrong did it, but how the hell am I doing it? There's no one saying I'm going to get blown out. No one is saying I don't have a chance. My style is still unmatched.
"I need to stay focused because he has a plan and I respect his plan but I need to beat him mentally not by just talking, because he expects that I'll downplay his success with smack talk. I have to physically and mentally show him something that he's never seen before. He has no experience of losing. I have to show him what that feels like. I've got to show him early. Everyone including his mom and siblings are asking him if he's going to let an old guy beat him. I've got to show him that he's been lied to. The earlier I do it, the better. Once I show him these things, he's going to have to adjust but by then it's going to be too late.
"On March 9, I want to break my previous record and any other history that needs to be made. Maybe I'll go down a pound or two and fight in a new weight class. Or I'll just be a full-time promoter and find talent for Golden Boy Promotions, get a fat stomach to look retired, but that's going to take some time. I'm running out of history to make."
Source: vibe.com
