By Mark Vester

Speaking with The Daily Star, Bernard Hopkins vowed to destroy the career of Joe Calzaghe when the two fighters collide on Saturday in Las Vegas. Like many other fighters in the past, Hopkins plans to take Calzaghe out of his rhythm and force the Welsh champion into a slugfest. 

According to Hopkins, he destoryed the careers of Tarver, Trinidad and Wright, and now it's Calzaghe's turn to take the bullet.

“This week is a cultural war, country against country. I take promoting to a new level. Have you all forgotten Tito Trinidad and me? I made his country put pressure on him to fight me. I took him out of his game mentally, knocked him out and ruined his career. There’s no embarrassment to lose to Bernard Hopkins," Hopkins said.

“Some of the great Hall of Famers lost to me. Count them! You got to make a decision in there. Joe’s father is emotional about it and no father wants to see his son get executed. I beat guys up. It’s dangerous in there. I’m not a one-punch knockout (artist). I destroy careers. Tarver – done. Winky Wright – done. I have studied Joe, I’m a fight fan of boxing.  Joe is going to be too tough for his own damn good. That’s the type of style I like. Come forward baby, come punch! With Winky I had to crack the safe, with Joe it’ll be straight down the middle – BAM!”

Of course, the paper touched on the comment Hopkins made to Calzaghe last December, where the Philadelphia fighter proclaimed that he would "never lose to a white boy." Hopkins has caused a lot of controversy because of the racial tone attached to the statement. At the same time, his words added more hype to the fight.

“I’m just letting you know about where I come from and what goes on in the gym. The reason I fight is because I wasn’t accepted anywhere else. I had to be tested. Go to Brooklyn or Philadelphia and 90% of them are African-American. You fight to get the stamp of approval," Hopkins said. “You can’t define what I said. It ain’t a shame to lose to a white man, but it ain’t supposed to happen from where I come from.  What we are taught is that no matter who beat you, you got beat by a guy who you shouldn’t have.

“Other people have no clue about that. Welcome to the real world. Stop acting like you’re in a box or in a closet, you are not naive. You’re all comfortable saying it at home when the door is closed.  People say a lot of things which are not politically correct in private because they don’t want to lose their jobs or their status.

“We dominate boxing, Africans, Hispanics, people of colour, we dominate this sport. That’s why it’s so important when a white guy comes along they call him the Great White Hope and make a movie about him.  I didn’t take that as racist. I took that as them wanting to represent themselves as a culture in the struggle of who’s better than whom. I invite any kind of competition and I don’t care if they are blue, green, white or pink.

“What I did is what most people won’t do because they are afraid it will be a controversial statement. That’s what makes Bernard Hopkins, Bernard Hopkins. What I said to Joe is, if you want to make me a liar, then beat me. Show me and show the world I’m wrong. Let’s see if they ask him the question when I win."

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