By Chris Robinson
This weekend Bernard Hopkins will attempt to once again defy the odds as he looks to snatch the WBC light heavyweight crown from Jean Pascal in Quebec, Canada. The 46-year old Hopkins is the notable underdog heading into the contest as Pascal’s youth, speed and incredible athleticism figure to give the old fox some troubles, at least in the mind of several insiders.
Wanting to get a few quotes on the matchup, I reached out to former champion and world class trainer John David Jackson, now plying his trade in the South Florida area. If ever there was a man in the sport who knows the danger of Hopkins it could be Jackson, as the Seattle native lost via 7th round TKO to the Philadelphia fighter in April of 1997 in Shreveport, Louisiana while also working his corner as a chief strategist in recent years.
Jackson seems to realize how much momentum Pascal has heading into the contest and feels that everything lies in the 28-year old champion’s hands.
"Honestly his chances really depend on what Pascal does,” Jackson started off. “He has to make Bernard use those legs. Bernard is going to hold and then he's going to punch. He's not the puncher he used to be as far as his activity. Pascal can't stand there and let Bernard choose his shots. He has to beat that body and put in work for the later rounds. It's really up to what he does."
Jackson won’t be present in Hopkins’ corner this weekend but insists there was no ill feelings from either side in regards to their separation, calling it strictly ‘business’. Asked what it was like to work with Bernard over the years, Jackson points towards two key victories that he will always be fond to him.
"It was a joy to work with Bernard,” says the straightforward Jackson. “I truly enjoyed it. With [Kelly] Pavlik and [Antonio] Tarver, those were the fights that he allowed me to devise a fight plan and get him ready for the fight. The plans I came up with he allowed me to execute to perfection. He looked a lot better than in his fights with Jermain Taylor."
Interestingly enough, when Jackson and Hopkins first discussed the possibility of working with one another it was in early 2006 at a presser for the first Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas bout, as Jackson was serving as the Pomona fighter’s chief trainer heading into that bout.
Mosley now appears to be the leading candidate to land a May 7th clash with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand, although the Filipino star is reportedly in no rush to decide who he will exactly face next, with the names of Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto also in the mix. If Mosley does push through as Pacquiao’s next dance partner, Jackson doesn’t see it as a prosperous situation for him.
"With Pacquiao, what people need to realize is what is the catch weight?” Jackson asked. “Anything below 147 is going to kill [Mosley]. This is seems to be a money fight for Shane. Anything less than 154 is going to be in Pacquiao's favor. The second thing is, at this point in his career can he pull the trigger anymore? Right now it's more of a money fight for him than a winnable fight."
Speaking further of Mosley’s abilities Jackson notes that while his January 2009 whitewashing of Antonio Margarito was lethal stuff, the Tijuana fighter had a style that was tailor made for him. Jackson anticipated Mosley falling to Floyd Mayweather earlier this year simply because of the boxing ability of the Grand Rapids native.
Pacquiao is coming off of a thorough beating over Margarito himself and Jackson feels that Mosley needs to be wary of the potent southpaw attack from the General Santos City fighter.
"There are certain things he can probably do to make it more competitive,” Jackson said, trying to remain optimistic of Mosley’s chances. “Certain things he could do early to offset what Pacquiao is going to bring to the table. It's a tough fight for Shane and he needs to bring in a guy who is very knowledgeable in boxing, a guy who has been in the ring with a southpaw. A guy who has been in those situations that will alllow him to take him to the next level so he will be able to survive in deep waters.”
Jackson says that as he trained Mosley for the first Vargas fight that the two men worked intently on timing a single left hook, an idea that would later come to fruition in Mosley’s rematch with the Oxnard fighter as he floored him with that punch before stopping him in the sixth. Jackson speaks with great reverence of Shane, noting that he always gives 110% while in training and that if he finds a way to muster up something meaningful he could be very lively.
“If there’s still something left in him he can do some damage.”
One of Jackson’s crowning moments came when he lead Nate ‘The Galaxxy Warrior’ Campbell to a title-winning victory of then-lightweight champion Juan Diaz almost three years ago in Cancun, Mexico. Campbell was last seen losing an uneventful decision to journeyman Walter Estrada on November 27th on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Michael Katsids undercard and has since announced his retirement from the sport.
While it’s bittersweet to see Campbell walk away, Jackson feels it was the right move.
“From a fighter’s point of view it’s sad to see another fighter walk away," he continued. "Nate was a true warrior in boxing but at this point in his career it’s the best thing for him to do. We talked about it and he admitted the things I already knew. He wasn’t training the way he used to. The fire wasn’t there.”
Campbell has always been a hard-headed individual and it wouldn’t be surprising if he does ever make his way back into the ring professionally, as many fighters often do. Jackson realizes the situation but hopes it doesn’t come to that.
“I’ve been hearing rumblings that he may consider coming back but his run in boxing is over,” a very blunt Jackson said. “I love Nate but you can’t beat father time. If he decides to come back that is on him. You just don’t want to have a lot of losses on your record to meaningless guys. He was able to become champion of the world and nobody can take that from him.”
Last weekend Jackson was in Antwerpen, Belgium as his fighter, welterweight contender Randall Bailey, challenged Said Ouali in an IBF title eliminator. In that contest Bailey stormed out of the gates, flooring the Moroccan fighter twice in the first two rounds before seeing the fight unfold into a no-contest after Ouali went crashing over the ropes following a scuffle between the two men.
The ending was shocking and Jackson still doesn’t seem to be over what transpired.
“I’m going to give it to you the best way I can,” he continued. “Randall dropped him twice. The first knockdown was a long count. After the second knockdown he rushed Randall, Randall lifted him up and he was on the way of bringing the kid down. Said didn’t look and he missed the top rope and tumbled over. Maybe Randall shouldn’t have picked him up but that was just instinct.”
Jackson went on to take some more shots at Ouali, noting that he used to work with him in Fort Lauderdale area and that his #9 ranking was undeserving of a title shot. Ouali now trains in the Vegas area and is handled by Mayweather Promotions.
One fight Jackson had a keen interest on was last month’s Super Six super middleweight bout between Glen Johnson and Allan Green. Johnson took command of the fight with his aggression and activity, eventually stopping Green with a right hand in the 8th round. Jackson claims that he saw the writing on the wall well ahead of time and noted that Johnson, a former light heavyweight champion, always comes into the ring in pristine condition.
Prior to that fight, Jackson had served as Green’s trainer for the past four years and admits that it was humbling to see the Tulsa, Oklahoma fighter lose to both Johnson and Andre Ward, who blanked him over twelve rounds in June.
“I give my heart and soul to my fighters. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to Allan. I’m happy for anybody that can win the championship because it’s a hard thing to win. Nowadays it’s not as hard because you have about 100 titles out there. Am I disappointed? Just for the first fight because there are things that could have been done differently and we talked about that. I think Allan’s best move would be to go to 175 and eventually even Cruiserweight because it’s hard on him to make 168 pounds.”
