By Johnny Ortiz
On Saturday, July 16th Philadelphia’s most celebrated junk yard dog, Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins will be poised and ready to turn back the challenge of young Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor. Twenty have tried to take Bernard’s title…twenty have failed.
Bernard, being the current undisputed middleweight champion, will be putting up all four middleweight belts (IBF/WBC/WBA/WBO). The Executioner has been a middleweight champion for over ten years; he sports an incredible record of 20 wins, 1 draw and 1 no-contest in championship fights.
Only two other champions, Joe "The Brown Bomber" Louis and old-timer Johnny Kilbane have had longer title reigns. Joe was ten days short of twelve years in defending his heavyweight crown; Kilbane comes in at a close second with eleven years and 103 days to his credit. After losing a twelve round decision to the great Roy Jones Jr. on May 22, 1993, Bernard has not lost a fight in over twelve years. He has never looked back. Prior to his loss to Roy, Bernard had chalked up 22 straight wins. Going into the Taylor fight, his career record reads, 42 wins, 2 L, 1 no-contest w/ 32 KO’s. Besides Roy Jones, his only other loss came in his very first fight, a four round pro debut to someone by the name of Clinton Mitchell on October 11, 1988.
On Sunday, I watched a great boxing documentary on FSN titled "Beyond the Glory," its subject was Bernard Hopkins. I only wish every boxing fan could have seen it, it chronicled Bernard’s troublesome youth, prison days and his long journey of seeking financial boxing opportunities…up until the day he finally did.
He fought tough fights for ridiculous money, but he never quit trying, giving credence to his strong, determined ways. Bernard did it his way until he finally hit pay dirt, it came when he fought and demolished Tito Trinidad, it was only then that the boxing public saw what I had seen from his beginning, that not only was "B-Hop" a truly remarkable fighter, but a great one.
No fighter ever deserved the recognition he now enjoys more. Bernard’s approach to boxing is a study of sheer will power and determination, if ever a cliché ever fit a fighter such as Bernard Hopkins, it is the following: "Whatever the mind can conceive…the heart can achieve."
Saturday night he faces a very worthy adversary in young, big, strong Jermain Taylor, to my why of thinking, Bernard will be facing a younger version of himself. Jermain, with an impressive, undefeated record of 23 wins, no losses w/17 KO’s, will have to bring his A game if he is to defeat Bernard. With a great, potent jab, good mobility and very good power, he will have to put it all together to withstand the massive experience, the overall great boxing ability, but mostly, he will have to overcome the strong, huge will to win of Bernard Hopkins.
If you have read my articles in the past, you will know that I am a strong proponent of the old adage, "Youth must be served." At forty years of age, Bernard will be giving away 14 years to the Bronze medallist from the 2000 Olympics. If it were any other champion, I would be inclined to think the age disparity would be too much, but in this case, Bernard Hopkins is no ordinary forty year-old fighter. I believe that Bernard, along with Evander Holyfield, are two of the best-conditioned, dedicated fighters in modern boxing.
Even so, The Executioner is also going to have to bring his A game if he is to up-end the determined young gun. I have been very impressed with Jermain Taylor, like Bernard, I was drawn to him ever since he turned pro. He has all the attributes needed to succeed as a middleweight champion. He sets everything up with his killer jab; he doesn’t waste punches and definitely knows how to close a show. This is all well and good with the fighters he has been in with, but Saturday night he will climb the Mt. Everest of middleweight champions…Bernard Hopkins.
If I were Jermain’s trainer, I would tell him that he has to make Bernard work every minute of every round, he has to try and tire his 40 year old legs by applying constant pressure, he cannot afford to let Bernard dictate the fight, if he does, Bernard could very well take him to school. He cannot let himself be tricked into believing that Bernard may be tiring, that would be a monumental mistake, Bernard knows every trick in the book, letting Jermain think he may be ready for the taking could be Bernard’s way of leading him into a hornet’s nest. One thing I know, Bernard doesn’t breathe hard after twelve rounds, Jermain must be ready for anything, Bernard is capable of baiting the young kid from Little Rock, AR. into one of his many traps. The older a fighter gets, the more he has to rely on his experience, Bernard has become a grand master at the game.
In Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor will be facing arguably the smartest fighter in boxing today, not to mention one of the greatest middleweight champions of all time. I believe that Jermain is a much better fighter than most people give him credit for, for a young man of 26, he possesses a lot of ring savvy for someone with only 23 fights behind him. It is going to be a terrific fight, throw out the Eastman fight, Bernard rises to the occasion whenever he is facing someone he respects, especially someone who has to remind him of himself when he was the hungry, young gun going up against much more experienced fighters.
I look at this fight as if it were a chess match, Jermain has to anticipate Bernard’s uncanny, clever moves, Bernard has to work on nullifying Jermain’s jab by getting inside of it, he has to be ready for the fast combinations Jermain throws behind it. It’s kind of like a young Bernard Hopkins facing the older Bernard Hopkins. It can only make for an exceptional fight. Any fight involving The Executioner is a boxing history fight, he has said that after he defeats Taylor, he will have one more fight, a challenge to light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver. Facing Tarver is another story, Bernard first has to get by the young Jermain, knowing Bernard, I really do not think he is looking ahead to Tarver, it just may be his way of letting Jermain think he will enter the ring overconfident, Bernard doesn’t make mistakes going into a fight. Everything is calculated.
I read somewhere that even though Jermain Taylor is a big middleweight, he may come into the bout with a 10-15 pound weight advantage, if so, Bernard will know how to make it work in his favor. Bernard does not like to add any more weight than he has to, he usually comes in around five or six pounds more than he weighed in. His mobility and knowing every inch of the geography of the ring are a few things he does better than anyone.
Bernard Hopkins is not only my good friend; he also has had my utmost respect as a fighter ever since the very first time I ever saw him fight. If he is to lose one day, it will be that his time as a fighter has arrived; only time can beat this magnificent fighting machine. As I have done throughout his career, I am picking mi amigo Bernard to win Saturday night.
I have been with him from the beginning; I will be with him at the end.
The greatest fighter I ever saw or will ever see, even though I saw the majority of his greatest fights on film, not counting the fights he lost when he was well past his prime, was the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson.
I met him as a young boy and developed a grand friendship with him when I co-owned the Main St. Gym where he maintained a room at the grand old shrine for 33 years.
He was truly the epitome of the great champion.
Bernard Hopkins will one day stand along side of Sugar Ray whenever the great middleweight champions are mentioned.
Sugar and Executioner, sweet and deadly…they go hand in hand.
The Golden Boy Promotions fight card can be seen on HBO PPV, direct from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The rest of the card is an impressive one, it includes: Oscar "Chololo" Larios defending his WBC Super Bantamweight title against Wayne "Pocket Rocket" McCullough. This is a rematch of a tough fight won by Larios via a unanimous twelve round decision on October 2, 2005. The return go should be as exciting as the first go around. Wayne, once a WBC Bantamweight champion, has seen better days…Larios to repeat.
WBO Super Flyweight Champion Fernando "Cochulito" Montiel will put his crown on the block against late substitute Evert Briceno. The little warrior from Nicaragua is a worthy opponent, he will bring an impressive record of 21-2 w/17 KO’s into the title bout. I’ve never seen Briceno fight, but I believe Montiel should keep his crown.
Last but not least is the return to the ring wars by another one of ‘our’ guys, Vernon "The Viper" Forrest. Before his long layoff due to injuries and surgeries, Vernon co-hosted my radio show besides coming on with us whenever we called. I am personally happy to see this gifted warrior making an appearance this Saturday night. Vernon, who I thought won the second Mayorga fight, has been missed. His return to the Jr. Middleweight division should make for a lot of interesting future fights.
Not only is Vernon a great fighter, he is a wonderful young man who has made it his life to help unfortunate, mentally challenged young kids to experience a better life. God has blessed this young man for his unselfish ways; I look for Vernon to pick up right where he left off. He will win Saturday night, paving the way to an eventual title fight.
Welcome back Vernon…boxing has missed your wonderful talent.
THOMPSON BOXING PROMOTIONS… "PATH TO GLORY!"
Kenneth Thompson, former president of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and now president and promoter of Thompson Boxing Promotions, has another great fight card coming up on Thursday, July 21, 2005. The main event is going to be a terrific confrontation, the Jr. Welterweight bout is billed simply: "Bradley vs. Rocha!" These two kids are local favorites who have been on a collision course for quite some time now. Five other bouts round out the great evening.
The event will be held at the historic Los Angeles Athletic Club, it’s located at 435 W. 7th St. in downtown Los Angeles. It is worth the price of admission just to see inside the legendary club, it is home to one of the greatest men who ever set foot inside a ring or anywhere else…Richard "Duke" Llewellyn!
Kenneth Thompson is the busiest boxing promoter in Los Angeles and all of Southern California; his fight card on the 21st is the fifth of ten promotions in the year 2005. He and his friend, fellow fight promoter Ed Holmes, who promotes boxing shows at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, California, are keeping local boxing alive in Southern California. It is important as fight fans to support their shows.
To order tickets for this great event, please call (213) 630-5255 or (714) 935-0900. Be sure to get your tickets early, Promoter Thompson’s shows are always standing room only!
The address:
Los Angeles Athletic Club
435 W. 7th St. Los Angeles, Calif.UNTIL THE NEXT ROUND…PEACE AND GOD BLESS!
Johnny Ortiz is a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame Board of Directors and a former co-owner of the famous, legendary Main St. Gym