By Carlos Boogs
Bernard Hopkins, a partner in Golden Boy Promotions, wants no excuses in the aftermath of the upcoming unification between WBA, IBO and WBC Interim middleweight champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs) and IBF beltholder David Lemieux (34-2, 31 KOs), which is set for October 17th at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Lemieux, who Hopkins' company promotes, is listed as a hefty underdog in the HBO Pay-Per-View match.
The punching power of Lemieux makes him a very live dog in the contest. Hopkins is confidently backing his man to hand Golovkin the first defeat of his professional career.
After Lemieux secures victory, the last thing Hopkins wants to hear is excuses coming out to overshadow the outcome.
Hopkins himself was a very big underdog when he met Felix Trinidad in a middleweight unification in 2001, which also took place in Madison Square Garden. Hopkins handed Trinidad his first loss, by knockout.
“You didn’t train right. You overlooked the guy. You hear excuses all the time. Most people that have watched boxing have heard all of the excuses. My dog got hit by a car. Didn’t have a good camp and didn’t want to tell you. I had an injury and I didn’t want to tell anyone," Hopkins said.
“We hope to see you on October 17, but no excuses. You win you win – you lose you lose. We are big boys here. Oh, I forgot, I was an underdog when I fought Tito. I think I was 11:1. Do you remember that?"
