Hopkins Questions Whether Golovkin Could Be the Best Middleweight Ever

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    NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: Bernard Hopkins looks on during the weigh in for the upcoming welterweight fight between Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi at Barclays Center on December 6, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
    NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: Bernard Hopkins looks on during the weigh in for the upcoming welterweight fight between Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi at Barclays Center on December 6, 2013 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
    (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Golden Boy/Golden Boy via Getty Images)

    If there’s anyone who knows about the history of the middleweight division, it is the man himself who is actually part of that history, and he is none other than Bernard Hopkins. As most fans already know, Hopkins holds the record for most consecutive middleweight title defenses at 20, and he is the last man to unify all of the middleweight titles, so his opinion holds plenty of weight.

    “This is a great time for the fans. This is a great time for boxing. This is a great time for the middleweight division,” Hopkins explained when discussing the current state of the division he once dominated.

    One fighter who is poised to be mentioned one day along side of Hopkins as one of the great middleweights in history is current unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. Hopkins was asked to give his thoughts on a statement made by Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez claiming that his fighter could be the best middleweight ever and he replied, “Do you know what could be means? You tell me what could be means,” Hopkins asked the reporter who posed the question to him. The reporter replied, “Maybe.” Hopkins then fired back, “So he is not sure?” The reporter answered,” Yes.”  “I know I am, but he said could be,” Hopkins proclaimed. The reporter then followed up asking Hopkins why the question bothered him and Hopkins responded, “The question bothers me because there’s a lot of people walking around in this society thinking they’re smart but they’re not. I’m just correcting ignorance.”

    The topic then shifted towards what makes a fighter a star and Hopkins gave his thoughts stating, “I got a different opinion on what credentials you need to be a star. One is how many butts you put in the seats. Two is are you a PPV blockbuster and have you ever been on PPV? And then of course it has to start off on some foundation and that is can you fight and where you are in your career right now?” Hopkins went on to say, “At the end of the day I think we should focus on things we do know and not try and find out what I know and don’t know.”

    The discussion concluded with Hopkins being asked to give his opinion on Golovkin and he has this to say, “Great fighter but we have to see him now fight the more qualified bonafide guys who are not afraid, intimidated, or scared.”