Hopkins praises Pascal but says he's going to make history
"When you have to kill a man," Winston Churchill once wrote, "it costs nothing to be polite."
It looks like boxing legend Bernard Hopkins has taken that lesson to heart.
Coming off a redeeming victory over Roy Jones Jr. in April, legendary boxing technician Hopkins is ready to reclaim his place on the boxing throne. To do that, he’ll have to oust current light heavyweight WBC/IBO/Ring Magazine champion, Jean Pascal. “The Executioner” caught up with Boxingtalk’s G. Leon to offer some strategy and expectations for their 18 December fight.
Hopkins likened a Pascal fight to one with history, in which he, along with George Foreman before him, has the opportunity to win the title past the age of 40. Hopkins said that he didn’t remember anyone else in recent memory who’d accomplished as much in the ring. He concluded that as far as history and breaking records goes, he is “not done yet.”
Hopkins was very complimentary of Pascal's last performance, against then undefeated light heavyweight and top ranked Chad Dawson. Dawson was widely considered the best in the world and led the way as an American prospect. But even considering these merits, Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs), was able to capitalize on a shaky Dawson and hand him his first defeat. On the fight, Hopkins said that Pascal gave an “excellent performance.”
“Dawson had spots where he could have turned it around, but his immaturity as a professionally schooled fighter, he didn't have that ability to go to the next hurdle. [...] From the fifth round, I heard Eddie Mustafa telling him. To my knowledge, he was giving him the right directions, but Dawson couldn't do it. [...] After the fight was over with, we heard a lot of things that went on it Chad's life. Maybe that was the situation, maybe it wasn't. I'm a guy that doesn't look for any excuses,” Hopkins said.
Not making any excuses, Hopkins said that he wasn’t surprised when Pascal called him out following the fight, and that on the contrary he respected the much young Pascal for wanting to fight him. Hopkins said that Pascal seems to be choosing who to fight based on who he believes is the credible opponent as opposed to who his promoters have engineered for him, and that in boxing today that is always a reputable quality. Pascal has to be separated from most boxers today because he is not one of those “who are told not to fight a person because of the business people's agenda.”
Hopkins added: “He [Pascal] did what he felt he needed to do as a fighter. I've got a lot of respect for him, because a lot of known fighters were told many things many times, and they listened. [...] I'm not suggesting not to listen to your people, but don't listen to the ones who had their agenda first. [...] Pascal wants to be a guy who beat his idol, I can't not respect that,” Hopkins said.
In terms of in the ring strategy with Pascal, Hopkins said he is going to fight his opponent as if he himself is 25 years old. At the same time, he is going to be sure to use all of the veteran tricks he can to get his derail Pascal’s confidence. All in all, Hopkins said the gravity of the fight is such for him that he can’t afford to lose it, even given Pascal’s energy and the fact that it’s “not going to be a walk through the park.”
The ever-entertaining Hopkins closed by reassessing the Pascal-Dawson bout, saying: “Look. Pascal fought a perfect fight, Dawson couldn't get his gun out of the holster. Chad Dawson looked, to me, like a deer in headlights. He thought about doing things before he did them, and when you do that, it's like a baseball pitcher, if you think about a changeup while you throw it, you're going to be off.”
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