Bernard Hopkins has had a long and storied career. At the age of 48, “The Executioner” will step into the ring against Tavoris Cloud to fight for the IBF light heavyweight title on March 9th at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Coming off of a loss in his most recent fight against Chad Dawson, a performance that trainer Nazim Richardson was admittedly not happy with, many feel that Hopkins has something to prove against the younger, undefeated Cloud.
The last time Hopkins fought in New York he was the underdog. He faced Puerto Rican superstar Felix Trinidad, and against all odds knocked “Tito” out in the 12th round. Hopkins is once again the underdog in New York. As usual with a Hopkins fight, the question of if he will show his age looms large. Some say it showed in the Dawson fights, others in the fights before that against Jean Pascal. Others are eternal optimists waiting for “The Executioner” to silence the crowd once again like he did on that September night in 2001 against Tito Trinidad. Hopkins, however, is more that optimistic about this fight, he is confident he will knock Tavoris Cloud out.
“Don has been calling me old since I beat his cash cow Trinidad, and Trinidad hasn’t been right since,” says Hopkins referring to promoter of Cloud, Don King. Hopkins feels they have something in common “If I should have been done, if I’ve done it all and was great and this and that, then how come when Golden Boy Promotions was formed, which I am a part of, why didn’t you close your doors? I am going to retire you, I’m going to beat your last horse in the stable.” While King’s financial and business woes are no secret, Hopkins spoke of them extensively, bringing up his own issues with King from the past. It seems as though in defeating cloud, he would feel as though he were defeating King as well, and it might serve as a bit of motivation for Hopkins.
Hopkins accredits his success at his age to taking care of himself. “Time is an enemy, if I didn’t do these things, invest in myself and my health it would have got the best of me, but the reason I’m sitting up here is because I did. I haven’t stuttered one time, your not talking to a fighter when you’re talking to me. Does it seem like I have had 70 fights in 28 years of boxing? ‘I’m Different’ 2 Chainz said it, ‘I’m Different’”
“I have the exposure and I have the experience. I have three bullets and he has one, I have both that he hasn’t received yet, to me the advantage is in the end, when he sees things and feels things that he hasn’t experienced from an opponent at my level, my IQ level. What’s going to win this fight is Bernard’s experience and his inexperience,” says the Executioner of his pre-fight mentality. While Cloud has only 24 professional fights to Hopkins’ 60, it’s hard to argue his point.
