Pretty interesting interview with The Executioner about his preparations for the fight, Roy Jones, Kelly Pavlik, Jermain Taylor, and Manny Pacquiao.
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Rumble/entry/view/43792/bernard_hopkins_talks_to_the_rumble
------------
Here's just an excerpt:
Interviewer: I think that's a difference between you and a guy like Pacquiao, who had to fight your way up, had some early losses, and now aren't afraid to take risks, guys like Mayweather, and Jones, for most of their career, seem scared to lose their zero.
Hopkins: Yeah, I think that when you fear losing you don't challenge everybody. When you fear losing you challenge some, but you don't challenge everybody. I understand that there's a chance to win, there's a chance you can lose. But you gotta get that chance to win first. If you don't want to take the chance you won't be respected. That's why Roy Jones will be recognized, yes, a great fighter, a hall of famer, but a lot of fights that he fought like the mailman and the policeman, those names will haunt him no matter what he does. No matter what he does in boxing. I mean you talk about it to this day, I talk about it. I mean, yes, he's the first middle weight to win the heavyweight championship, but come on now. He had the opportunity to fight not only me, but the German guy. (Dariusz Michalczewski)
that mailman was a top super middleweight and gave james toney fits
That mailman was a journeyman who lost to Collins, Eubank and Dewitt, the fact that he gave Toney fits says a lot about how good Toney really is. Homeboy needed a gift to beat the legendary Dave Tiberi:rofl:
Beat Bernard Hopkins at Middleweight.
How green was he? Green enough that he didnt lose for another 12 years after Roy beat him.
MOVED UP IN WEIGHT then... to fight the BIGGER 44-0 #3 p4p fighter in the world and best fighter IN THE DIVISION at SMW in James Toney.
MOVED UP AGAIN... to yet again fight BIGGER fighters.
Ring Rankings at Light Heavyweight in 1998 before he unified all 3 belts.
1. Roy Jones Jr.
2. Dariusz Michalczewski
3. Reggie Johnson
4. Graciano Rocchigiani
5. Lou Del Valle
6. Eric Harding
7. Montell Griffin
8. Michael Nunn
9. Antonio Tarver
10. David Telesco
Ring Rankings at Light Heavyweight in 2003 his last year as Champion.
Roy Jones Jr., Champion
1. Antonio Tarver
2. Julio Cesar Gonzalez
3. Dariusz Michalczewski
4. Glen Johnson
5. Eric Harding
6. Clinton Woods
7. Silvio Branco
8. Montell Griffin
9. Richard Hall
10. Mehdi Sahnoune
Both lists are practically Roy's resume.
Moved up to Cruiserweight to beat a Heavyweight, He MOVED UP 20 pounds and was still outweighed by 30lbs.
Then after Heavyweight, moved back down to LHW, and beat the #1 LHW champion.
Don't talk shit Bernard.
don't mind B.Hop....you right, he JUST talkin' shit!! :cool2:
bump...in response to this recent thread :D
Roy Jones: "Hopkins has ONLY beat small fighters"--DO YOU AGREE?
http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363574
LMAO, i like B-Hop but RJJ's resume is OK. I think fighting Ruiz, Toney, Tarver and Hopkins are OK to me. B-Hop had also fights against guys like Hakkar or former WW in DLH. Trinidad was really the best middleweight in the world when they fought.
...but he summed up Roy's decline in a very insightful manner, saying that Roy's amazing natural ability meant he could take shortcuts on the basics that everyone else had to drill into themselves, once Roy's reactions started to go, he couldn't fall back on the solid foundations like Bernard
Absolutely right. Once your natural ability starts to erode, it's only a matter of time before lesser mortals catch up to you. Since a guy like Roy spent a career relying on natural ability, he risked being left with sub-par fundamentals in his later years. He's so much more human now...and beatable.
What can you truly expect of a 40 year old man against a prime Roy Jones? The fight should have never had happened to be honest. Coming off a majority decision over the journeyman Tyler Hughes, it's difficult to imagine how Richard Frazier was ever considered as an opponent for the number 1 p4p ranked Roy Jones Jr.
Atleast Frazier got to get himself a nice payday and a (brief) moment on the big stage.
No argument from me there.
Don't quote me on this, it could be totally BS scuttlebutt, but I remember hearing that Rick made something on the order of $100,000 for that affair. Not bad for six minutes worth of cardio and one semi-flush left hook....
by the looks of your post he was an alright boxer, but spent too much of his time in the amatuers
Yeah, back then, Ricky could probably have walked into almost any boxing gym in the world and at least held his own in a sparring session with 99% of the fighters there. But in a fight against Roy? Well, there's the video....
In those days, RJJ felt the need to resort to novelty fights of this sort. Kind of like "Apollo Creed" in "Rocky," giving an unknown a shot at the title. Jones apparently justified this by asserting that there was no legitimate contender left to fight him.
I think this is just classic Bernard, showing he has skills as a promoter as well as a fighter, he's already getting things going for the Jones fight because the next time they fight he is likely to be the favorite.
I respect Bernard, but he isn't one of my favorite fighters to watch, but he summed up Roy's decline in a very insightful manner, saying that Roy's amazing natural ability meant he could take shortcuts on the basics that everyone else had to drill into themselves, once Roy's reactions started to go, he couldn't fall back on the solid foundations like Bernard
Rick Frazier worked out sometimes at a boxing gym I used to train at. (He is a very nice guy.) Although when I knew him he was already about 42 years old, he still looked pretty good sparring with some of the more experienced fighters in the gym. Rick was visibly fearful of Jones in that fight. He was also probably intimidated by the magnitude of the event. RJJ could have beaten Rick Frazier in his sleep any day of the week. But, it just amazes me, knowing what I know about Ricky, how bad an ATG like Roy can make someone look.
(The following is from Boxrec.com.)
Richard Frazier (Tricky Ricky) New York City's most talented boxing police officer. He was a cop by day and boxer by night. He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Frazier won both the 1985 165lb Novice Championship and five years later in 1990 Frazier won the 178lb Open Championship. In 1985 Frazier defeated Keith Providence of Gleason's Gym in the finals to win the Championship and in 1990 Frazier defeated future Light heavyweight contender Lou Del Valle of the Morris Park Boys Club in the finals to win the Championship. Amature record was 124-5 As a Pro, he fisrt beat Anthony Hembrick in Atlantic City then 6 months later scored a 6 round knock out in the rematch at Madison Square Garden. On Jan 9,1999 he fought for the IBF and WBC 175lb title against Roy Jones Jr. and was stopped in the 2nd round at the age of 40.
What can you truly expect of a 40 year old man against a prime Roy Jones? The fight should have never had happened to be honest. Coming off a majority decision over the journeyman Tyler Hughes, it's difficult to imagine how Richard Frazier was ever considered as an opponent for the number 1 p4p ranked Roy Jones Jr.
Atleast Frazier got to get himself a nice payday and a (brief) moment on the big stage.
Pretty interesting interview with The Executioner about his preparations for the fight, Roy Jones, Kelly Pavlik, Jermain Taylor, and Manny Pacquiao.
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/The_Rumble/entry/view/43792/bernard_hopkins_talks_to_the_rumble
------------
Here's just an excerpt:
Interviewer: I think that's a difference between you and a guy like Pacquiao, who had to fight your way up, had some early losses, and now aren't afraid to take risks, guys like Mayweather, and Jones, for most of their career, seem scared to lose their zero.
Hopkins: Yeah, I think that when you fear losing you don't challenge everybody. When you fear losing you challenge some, but you don't challenge everybody. I understand that there's a chance to win, there's a chance you can lose. But you gotta get that chance to win first. If you don't want to take the chance you won't be respected. That's why Roy Jones will be recognized, yes, a great fighter, a hall of famer, but a lot of fights that he fought like the mailman and the policeman, those names will haunt him no matter what he does. No matter what he does in boxing. I mean you talk about it to this day, I talk about it. I mean, yes, he's the first middle weight to win the heavyweight championship, but come on now. He had the opportunity to fight not only me, but the German guy. (Dariusz Michalczewski)
this coming from the man who once fought bo james, a newark, nj firefighter, and a host of two divisions smaller fighters over a long, often boring career...
It was also Hopkins fault that the RJ rematch didnt happened. RJ was #1 P4P by everyone, one of the biggest stars in the game, and already beat Hopkins. 60/40 was so easy to do and Hopkins wouldnt take that. He's a fool
Rick Frazier worked out sometimes at a boxing gym I used to train at. (He is a very nice guy.) Although when I knew him he was already about 42 years old, he still looked pretty good sparring with some of the more experienced fighters in the gym. Rick was visibly fearful of Jones in that fight. He was also probably intimidated by the magnitude of the event. RJJ could have beaten Rick Frazier in his sleep any day of the week. But, it just amazes me, knowing what I know about Ricky, how bad an ATG like Roy can make someone look.
(The following is from Boxrec.com.)
Richard Frazier (Tricky Ricky) New York City's most talented boxing police officer. He was a cop by day and boxer by night. He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Frazier won both the 1985 165lb Novice Championship and five years later in 1990 Frazier won the 178lb Open Championship. In 1985 Frazier defeated Keith Providence of Gleason's Gym in the finals to win the Championship and in 1990 Frazier defeated future Light heavyweight contender Lou Del Valle of the Morris Park Boys Club in the finals to win the Championship. Amature record was 124-5 As a Pro, he fisrt beat Anthony Hembrick in Atlantic City then 6 months later scored a 6 round knock out in the rematch at Madison Square Garden. On Jan 9,1999 he fought for the IBF and WBC 175lb title against Roy Jones Jr. and was stopped in the 2nd round at the age of 40.
by the looks of your post he was an alright boxer, but spent too much of his time in the amatuers
To be fair the Punching Postman Tony Thornton wasn't too bad.
Former police officer Richard Frazier on the other hand...
Rick Frazier worked out sometimes at a boxing gym I used to train at. (He is a very nice guy.) Although when I knew him he was already about 42 years old, he still looked pretty good sparring with some of the more experienced fighters in the gym. Rick was visibly fearful of Jones in that fight. He was also probably intimidated by the magnitude of the event. RJJ could have beaten Rick Frazier in his sleep any day of the week. But, it just amazes me, knowing what I know about Ricky, how bad an ATG like Roy can make someone look.
(The following is from Boxrec.com.)
Richard Frazier (Tricky Ricky) New York City's most talented boxing police officer. He was a cop by day and boxer by night. He won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Frazier won both the 1985 165lb Novice Championship and five years later in 1990 Frazier won the 178lb Open Championship. In 1985 Frazier defeated Keith Providence of Gleason's Gym in the finals to win the Championship and in 1990 Frazier defeated future Light heavyweight contender Lou Del Valle of the Morris Park Boys Club in the finals to win the Championship. Amature record was 124-5 As a Pro, he fisrt beat Anthony Hembrick in Atlantic City then 6 months later scored a 6 round knock out in the rematch at Madison Square Garden. On Jan 9,1999 he fought for the IBF and WBC 175lb title against Roy Jones Jr. and was stopped in the 2nd round at the age of 40.
Hopkins I feel thinks he wont be placed as high as roy unless he beats a heavyweight champ of sorts! Why does hopkins always feel he has to try win the fight by talkin so much shit before hand? Reminds me of Mayweather
im not a big fan of b-hop and i think some of his best wins have been when he has exploited certain things to work in his favour (i.e forcing WW and pavlik to 170), i think some of his fans overrates his skills, his resume and i think his level of beaten comp is weak.
however he does talk sense when it comes to boxing, i do think that RJJ deserves to be in the top 15 ATG lists - but he could have added some very good names to his resume while he was still at SMW and LHW (calzaghe, benn, dariusz michalzweski) and i think he could have done more at HW as well.
i do agree with what Nard says that some fighters after a while get caught up in protecting their '0'.
Um, Bernard? Roy fought and beat you, and is going to fight you again.
Roy Jones Jr. resume>>> Bernard Hopkins resume
if he gets past Green first, if he loses what then?
roy jones always fought the safe fights all his career his was born with a silver spoon in his mouth..enough said
I guess fighting the #1 fighter at MW when he was 21-0 was a safe fight... a guy who didnt lose for 12 more years after that.
I guess moving UP in weight to fight the best fighter in the division and one of the best in the world, risking his 26-0 unbeaten record against 44-0 James Toney was a "safe" fight.
I guess moving up in weight AGAIN, and practically clearing out 175, was ALL safe.
I guess moving up 20 pounds to fight someone that would still outweigh him by 30lbs was, "safe".
I guess losing 15lbs of muscle to go back down to LHW and fight the new recognized LHW champion was, "safe".
I guess after being knocked out by Tarver, coming back only 4 months later to fight Glen Johnson, was "safe".
I guess after being knocked out twice in a row, coming back to fight one of the guys who knocked you out again, was "safe".
You're an idiot.