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 Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
By Bernard Hopkins (as told to Brian Adams ) (May 25, 2004)
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I flew down to South Beach, Florida this past
weekend on a personal business adventure. I say personal because I was
going to visit a comrade of mine who happens to be the undisputed
middleweight champion of the world. I say business because I was able to
get my homie Bernard Hopkins to wear the Everlast brand (my employers)
from head to toe in his upcoming championship bout on June 5th against
Robert Allen. And I say adventure because that was the feeling I got when
I saw the huge smile come across Bernard's face when I entered his suite.
The love I got from him is hard to explain.
We spoke in length about things only boxers can understand. He also informed me that my columns are well overdue. During our conversation I was able to persuade Bernard (or better yet he insisted) to be my guest for this week's column. So read and enjoy because it is more than an adventure, it's a treat. – Brian Adams
The collision course to history begins Saturday night, June 5th, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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I'm sitting here waiting for my just due and proper respect from the industry, and in time everyone has to come see me. It has been years since my last loss and during that time I have heard them name each potential predecessor after the other - Andrew Council, William Joppy, Antwun Echols, Fernando Vargas, Lonnie Bradley, David Reid, and the great Felix Trinidad were all supposed to put an end to Bernard Hopkins’ reign.
Though I didn't get the opportunity to fight them all, I am still standing tall while some of those guys are no longer heard from. Now I hear them saying Jermain Taylor will beat Bernard Hopkins. Haven't they learned by now that I have fought all comers, ended their careers and I'm still going strong?
Taylor is supposed to be the heir apparent to the middleweight crown, but yet he walks around at about 180-something pounds. All these boxers are now starving themselves because they feel that my time is near. They, along with the powers that be, are sitting around waiting for me to get old overnight before they step a guy like Taylor up against me. They can very easily make moves to put him in the top spot, but they realize what the consequences will be.
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Fernando Vargas destroyed his health by starving to stay at junior middleweight. In the old days there was no junior middleweight division and a lot of the guys today would have never become champion. I take care of myself and I make the middleweight limit naturally. I can't get old overnight like most expect because I preserve myself by not living a wild, bizarre lifestyle, and by staying in the gym. Of course I'll get old quicker than someone 10 years younger than me, but he has to live right, and that's just the way of life.
The one thing that I am keeping in mind is the fact that Robert Allen is a real threat. He has a loss already to me so this time I believe he will come out ready to win and fight. I feel very confident because I love challenges, and over the course of my career I have fought 11 southpaws and none were easy. Take the IBF champion Glencoffe Johnson for instance. He was 34-0 when I fought him and I am the only one who holds a real win over him. I fought all comers but was never given my just due or paid accordingly.
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Now with that in mind let me try to explain something to you all. I read the internet and hear what's said about me behind closed doors, and the main thing I hear is how I'm a bad businessman and an ingrate because of the decisions I have made in my career. Promoters have made a ton of money off me the same way I've made money off them, but because they can't control or string Bernard Hopkins along like a puppet, they call me an ingrate.
I fought William Joppy for $325,000 when the world knew my value was higher than that. But instead of letting that get me down, I used that as fuel for motivation and Joppy was the one who had to pay for it. I always show up for work ready and they call me an ingrate. Why is that? Is it because I refuse to be f**ked or is it because I prefer to be the one f**king?
The powers that be like to capitalize on a boxer’s weakness because most boxers need the money. They need to know that all money isn't good money; it can cause more harm than good. I learned a lot of things that most don't understand from the streets; I survived there and I will survive here. When the Roy Jones fight fell through, people said that I was crazy for turning down that type of money just for my principles. I'm not hurting for money so why should I except short change when I knew that there was more in the pot for me to make? Roy was going to make $15-20 million and they only wanted to pay me $4-6 million. I looked at the situation and thought for a moment. If my baby (who will be five in June) was crying for food, the lights in the house were turned off and I had the wife on my back and said to hell with the money because of my principle, then you can call me a fool or crazy because I would have been. But that wasn't the situation and the numbers didn't add up, so I wasn't going to settle for anything just because they said I should be happy.
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Everyone has their own opinion of what good business is. I may feel that a decision you make may be stupid, but if it benefits you in anyway then so be it, I respect you for it. CEO's and executives make moves that benefit their companies all the time and they're not concerned about how the company will be perceived. People push hard for things at the wrong time, when you all need to understand that timing is everything. I'm in position now where everything I touch and everything I'm affiliated with will be considered history from here on out.
September 18th, Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world. Oscar will be competitive and I don't believe he will fade in the later rounds because he is now fighting at his natural weight. I believe Oscar was a true middleweight 4/5 years ago. Too often when a fighter punishes himself to fight at a certain weight, things eventually hinder them, whether it be their chin, punch or stamina. Oscar will have the energy and he will shock the world by being competitive. When the fight goes into the later rounds, Oscar will now have the energy because there will now be something in the reserve tank. But he should keep in mind that there is no shame to losing to Bernard Hopkins, especially since he will be getting S30+ million to do so. People think Oscar is crazy, but I see a good business decision made by a businessman.
After my last loss in 1993 to Roy Jones Jr., I looked in the mirror and knew I didn't do what I was supposed to do. I wasn't even bruised or lumped up at all. Now my motto is this: they have to carry me out on two stretchers. In the ring there is a chance you can die or become a vegetable, and the reality behind it is I would rather it be him than me. Some will say that it's a horrible thing to say but it's true and only those individuals who have been there will understand what I'm saying. I'm not in there fighting for a diamond watch or a record deal; I'm in there making history. Against Allen and Oscar, I'm not trying to get fight of the year; I want fight of the century. I want immortality. When it gets hot I'm not jumping out of the kitchen, I'll put that fire out and start my own because I have history on my mind.
Let these young guys get caught up in that pound-for-pound argument. I'm not going to argue anyone because everyone has their own opinion. But when a man 40-years-old retires fighters and has been untouchable for the past 11 years, then that should speak for itself. Everything will fall into place and when the dust clears, Bernard Hopkins, like him or not, will go down in the record books as the greatest middleweight of all time. Until that day I'll just keep destroying everything in front of me because I'm focused and on a mission, and because I believe that 'good things come to those who wait.'
Notes: I just want my boy Bernard to know that I do owe him four miles and I will give it to him when I get to Vegas. I just overslept man, and besides, you are the one who has to get into the ring and hunt, not me. My days are done, but I do appreciate the love you gave a brother in South Beach. We have been friends for some time now and we will always be. Also I will take you up on the offer to come hang out with you in a Philly hood if you come with me to Brooklyn.
I want the readers to know that Bernard is not only misunderstood to you all, but he likes it that way. It's what keeps him going when people are unclear on what he will do next. He has been through it all and the young boxers should take notes. He's 40 and living his life like he wants to. I'm even envious of that. – Brian Adams
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E-Mail Brian Adams at litew8adams@yahoo.com
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