Hopkins Jabs: Dawson Hired Stinky Winky, I Retired Him!

By Mitch Abramson
 
If talking were the deciding factor in a fight, then Bernard Hopkins would be undefeated. Hopkins showcased his verbal repertoire on Wednesday. Hopkins' upcoming opponent, Chad Dawson, replaced trainer Emanuel Steward with a corner combination of John Scully and former champion Winky Wright.

During a recent interview, Dawson described Wright as being a fighter who knows "all of Hopkins' dirty tricks." Hopkins won a twelve round unanimous decision over Wright in 2007.

As expected, Hopkins discussed Dawson’s decision to jettison Emanuel Steward from his training camp, describing it as only Hopkins can in the run-up to their fight on Oct. 15. Hopkins called it a tactical error for Dawson to get rid of Steward. He called Steward “one of the last brilliant minds left” in the sport.” Hopkins also derided Dawson’s decision to bring in Wright to his camp.

“He didn’t hire Emanuel Steward and he hires Winky Wright?” Hopkins asked, incredulously. “You tell me. He hires stinky Winky who I sent into retirement? That’s like getting a guy to teach me how to pass the driver’s test and he can’t even drive yet. It’s a situation of confusion and Emanuel is probably rejoicing because nobody wants to be attached to a loser.”

Mitch Abramson covers boxing for the New York Daily News and BoxingScene.com