By Keith Idec
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — We here at Boxingscene.com hate to inject logic and/or facts into whatever Bernard Hopkins attempted to accomplish the other day, but we felt it was absolutely necessary based on the erroneous, irresponsible nature of Hopkins’ take on Manny Pacquiao.
Hopkins, presumably because he had nothing better to say that day, intimated to Boxingscene.com’s Lem Satterfield for a balanced, meticulously reported story posted Thursday on Fanhouse.com that Pacquiao hasn’t faced a top black boxer because the “slick” styles of those fighters would be too problematic for Pacquiao (52-2-3, 38 KOs).
In fairness to Hopkins, here is exactly what he said:
“Maybe I’m biased because I’m black, but I think that this is what is said at people’s homes and around the dinner table among black boxing fans and fighters,” Hopkins said. “Most of them won’t say it [in public] because they’re not being real and they don’t have the balls to say it.”
No one can question Hopkins’ nerve, particularly when it comes to making controversial comments. But here’s what’s real:
1. Pacquiao has been trying to face the best black boxer in the world for the better part of the last year. While it is at least arguable that Pacquiao was partially at fault for a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. not occurring March 13, Mayweather is, without question, completely culpable for the what could become the most lucrative event in boxing history not coming to fruition last Saturday night or tonight. Mayweather made a farce of their second round of negotiations by claiming he had no knowledge of talks between his own adviser, Al Haymon, and HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg.
Not surprisingly, the ever-mysterious Haymon has remained silent about being embarrassed by his own enigmatic “client,” but Greenburg has publicly acknowledged that there were indeed negotiations during the late spring and early summer to stage the fight Nov. 13 or tonight. Hopkins conveniently avoided this seemingly important bit of information in questioning Pacquiao’s readiness or willingness to face a boxer Hopkins thinks fits his description of a black boxer.
2. Hopkins continued in the Fanhouse.com article to make what he believes is an important distinction between African-American boxers and black boxers from other countries. In other words, Joshua Clottey, an elite welterweight Pacquiao dominated eight months ago, doesn’t count because, Hopkins claims, “Clottey is ‘black,’ but not a ‘black boxer’ from the States with a slick style.
So you can’t really say that Clottey is an African-American fighter in that sense. No, I’m talking about an inner-city, American-born fighter who has the style of maybe a Floyd Mayweather or a Zab Judah or a Shane Mosley.” While we can agree that Clottey, a native of Ghana, isn’t necessarily slick, he is an intelligent boxer with tremendous defensive skills. And, um, he beat Zab Judah by technical decision in an IBF welterweight title fight in August 2008 in Las Vegas.
Yes, styles make fights and Clottey clearly didn’t strengthen his legacy by “attacking” Pacquiao the way that he did, but he did defeat Judah (40-6, 27 KOs, 2 NC) in a closely contested fight. So no matter how he did it, Clottey (35-4, 20 KOs, 1 NC) has repeatedly proven he is capable of competing at the elite level. He also has lived in the Bronx for the last decade, which is certainly more “inner-city” than the Las Vegas gated community Mayweather calls home.
3. If you read between the lines, this all could amount to Hopkins politicking for his close friend, Shane Mosley, to oppose Pacquiao if Mayweather’s legal trouble or something else again prevents him from accepting a fight against Pacquiao in April or May. Regardless, Mosley is at least toward the top of the list to fight Pacquiao if Bob Arum must go to plan ‘B’ yet again. Frankly, there aren’t any more viable junior middleweights, welterweights or junior welterweights on Arum’s Top Rank roster he could use as fodder for the company’s flagship fighter.
Pacquiao’s possible opponents, discounting the resumption of the Top Rank-Golden Boy Promotions cold war, are: Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs), Juan Manuel Marquez (51-5-1, 37 KOs), Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs, 1 NC), Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) and the winner between Devon Alexander (21-0, 13 KOs) and Timothy Bradley (26-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC). Other than Mayweather, Marquez makes the most sense from historical and competitive standpoints, but don’t expect Arum and Richard Schaefer/Oscar De La Hoya to hug it out anytime soon. Furthermore, the winner of tonight’s Paul Williams-Sergio Martinez rematch probably won’t earn a ticket to the Pacquiao sweepstakes because Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), who stands nearly five inches taller than Pacquiao, can’t get beneath 154 pounds, and Williams (39-1, 27 KOs), who is roughly seven inches taller than Pacquiao, is simply too big for Pacquiao’s people to seriously consider.
Pacquiao’s critics will condemn him for not fighting Williams if Williams overcomes Martinez again, but the Filipino southpaw stands just 5-foot-6 ½, can’t even weigh in as a welterweight without adding speed-reducing pounds and simply should start facing men his own size before those risks catch up with him. No other boxer in the sport is “required” to oppose people who’ll be two or three weight classes above him by the time they square off, so why should Pacquiao?
4. Hopkins’ hypocrisy is worth noting here, too. He avoided fighting Chad Dawson, a slick African-American southpaw from New Haven, Conn., for much of Dawson’s reign as an unbeaten light heavyweight. The instant Dawson (29-1, 17 KOs, 1 NC) lost to an opponent with a less-difficult style, Hopkins pounced on the opportunity to fight Jean Pascal (26-1, 16 KOs), a black, non-American fighter.
Hopkins has to comprehend, deep down, much of what’s written above. That’s what makes his public perspective perplexing.
While the Philadelphia native’s most recent rant wasn’t as irresponsible or downright racist as his assessment of Joe Calzaghe nearly three years ago, it wasn’t brave behavior, it wasn’t necessary and it wasn’t what we should expect from one of the most accomplished champions in the history of the sport.
In fact, it is sort of the misguided, silly equivalent of another fighter saying Hopkins was avoiding facing white boxers after he fought Wales’ Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KOs) and Kelly Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) in back-to-back bouts two years ago. Worse yet, what if someone said Hopkins (51-5-1, 32 KOs, 1 NC) could only beat a slower, more stationary white fighter after he defeated Pavlik, of Youngstown, Ohio, yet lost a close fight to the faster, more athletic Calzaghe?
That would’ve been a ridiculous thing to say or write. The same principles apply here.
Hopkins obviously is entitled to his opinion, but it’s more than overdue for real boxing fans, the people who’ve helped make Hopkins a wealthy man despite by, ironically enough, employing a boring-but-effective style, to expect him and other legends in this sport to conduct themselves in the professional, mature manner demonstrated by most professional athletes in other sports. It’s their responsibility, really, to help reshape the damaged image of a sport that has helped make them wealthy, famous men.
Sure, the frankness and rawness of boxers makes watching boxing and covering this sport uniquely interesting, but Hopkins’ focus in late November should be on the remarkable possibility of becoming the oldest recognized world champion in the sport’s history Dec. 18 in Quebec City, Quebec, where he’ll challenge the Haitian-born Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title. And if he is so concerned about Pacquiao facing an elite African-American boxer in his prime, maybe he can find Floyd Mayweather Jr. and convince him to face the man who has becoming boxing’s most popular, influential fighter.
Unlike his comments to Fanhouse.com, that would amount to Hopkins making constructive use of his influence.
Keith Idec covers boxing for the Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, NJ., and BoxingScene.com.
