The shocking facts of where Bernard Hopkins grew up

[ИATAS]

No he said THIS: "So, when it gets to the sixth round, or the eighth, or the ninth, when you have to dig deep into your soul, if you've never been required to do it like I have, you can't"

Now that is plain nonsense.... he is saying that everybody who digs deep into their soul for the first time fails....thats nonsense.

again, he's just sayin that his background helps him dig deep. I'm sure if you compare it to some rich kid who never struggled, the first time they struggle in life at age 25-30 or whatever it's going to be tough for them, whereas someone who struggled its nothing.

Now if this is what bhop tells HIMSELF or to anyone that listens that this gives him an edge over Calzaghe, so be it. Does it really matter? Probably not, but this is bhops way of telling himself he has the edge. Whatever works

[C'MONMANG']

FROM TODAY : "Ninety-nine per cent of boxers, and that includes Joe Calzaghe, have not had to overcome what I have," Hopkins says. "So, when it gets to the sixth round, or the eighth, or the ninth, when you have to dig deep into your soul, if you've never been required to do it like I have, you can't. Joe may have achieved what he's achieved but he won't be prepared for someone like me. That's not talk. That's a fact."

That all sounds great ...but...the FACT is that when he got to the 10, 11 and 12th against RJ and Taylor it did NOTHING for him. It is HYPE and nothing else. What he has been through will mean nothing if the guy he is fighting doesnt give him a chance to land solid shots and if the guy outpunches him. This isnt a street fight , its a technical game, strategic..I mean,when haveu ever seen Bernard in a fight that required the type of will that, say, Gatti, Ward, Holyfield, Pazienza, Lamotta, Ali, etc etc were forced to dig up on more than a few occassions? Bernard has been in some tough fights, definitely , but hes never been in a Hagler-Hearns war yet either.

are you kidding me? he was killing JT in later rounds..lol..

bitter

[IwatchBoxing]

i forgot hopkins was a world champion. hes mean. point blank.

[xfiles]

FROM TODAY : "Ninety-nine per cent of boxers, and that includes Joe Calzaghe, have not had to overcome what I have," Hopkins says. "So, when it gets to the sixth round, or the eighth, or the ninth, when you have to dig deep into your soul, if you've never been required to do it like I have, you can't. Joe may have achieved what he's achieved but he won't be prepared for someone like me. That's not talk. That's a fact."

That all sounds great ...but...the FACT is that when he got to the 10, 11 and 12th against RJ and Taylor it did NOTHING for him. It is HYPE and nothing else. What he has been through will mean nothing if the guy he is fighting doesnt give him a chance to land solid shots and if the guy outpunches him. This isnt a street fight , its a technical game, strategic..I mean,when haveu ever seen Bernard in a fight that required the type of will that, say, Gatti, Ward, Holyfield, Pazienza, Lamotta, Ali, etc etc were forced to dig up on more than a few occassions? Bernard has been in some tough fights, definitely , but hes never been in a Hagler-Hearns war yet either.

Hopkins was tooling on Taylor and Jones in the last 3 rounds.

[xfiles]

No he said THIS: "So, when it gets to the sixth round, or the eighth, or the ninth, when you have to dig deep into your soul, if you've never been required to do it like I have, you can't"

Now that is plain nonsense.... he is saying that everybody who digs deep into their soul for the first time fails....thats nonsense.

No, He's saying whoever has to dig down against him fails.

[ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY]

No, He's saying whoever has to dig down against him fails.

Uh...no. he's not. He's not saying that at all. And Hops was all over RJ in the last three rounds?????? Did you even see that fight???

[tyson]

Hops background won't count for **** come fight night.

I believe far more in the essence of spirit than in the hood scenario.

Calzaghe have digged deep before, otherwise he wouldn't be were he's at today.

I agree with Iceman

[ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY]

are you kidding me? he was killing JT in later rounds..lol..

OK, and that helped him how? He lost the fights , my man. He dug down...yes...just like he said...BUT HE CAME UP SHORT!! Now if he would have taken Jermain down like Weaver did Tate then I would say WOW...but he didnt. His digging down saw him still lose the world title. Jeez, you guys... its like you are buying into this fantasy of the fighters, like when everybody said Hops would REALLY get a whupping after he threw the flag down in Puerto Rico, because Puerto Ricans have such great pride in their flag and Tito would do it for all the Puerto Rican people etc. Guys in my gym were saying the next day how, "Oh, Bernard messed up bad last night! Thats it for him. Tito is going to kill him now." And I told them the reality of it. It meant NOTHING. Like, Tito was going to win but NOW he is REALLY going to beat Hops bad...like EXTRA bad because of the flag incident? It's ****** and it was proven so by Hops. Same thing with the upbringing, life experiences, etc. Who has had a tougher time in life than Kassim Ouma??? HIS experiences severely overshadow Hops' in terms of toughness, etc etc. But what it came down to it he was defeated by guys who grew up in much less intense areas of the world. You can be the most vicious guy on earth, you can have the most vicious and intense intentions etc...but when the tough moment comes you better have superior wind, you better have your feet in the right position, your strategy better be on point, your muscles better be loose, your timing needs to be on point, etc etc etc. Anyone who thinks a guy just goes in and does anything he wants becausehe is tough and motivated and focused and mean is kidding themselves, the circumstnces of the day and themoment have to be right, too because if they are not for Hopkins then the sheltered Joe Calzaghe may very well punch him three times to his one and walk away with a very wide unanimous decision. Or maybe Hops will catch him clean in round 1 and, BAM, fights over. You just never know anything other than, for sue, that if Hops wins this fight it wont be because he was stabbed and thrown in jail when he was 17 and it wont be because he saw some guy get ****d inside, either. Life experience can certainly help motivate certain people to dig downand stay the course...but it doesnt help IN ANY WAY shape or form with skills, timing, fluidity, etc etc etc.

[kayjay]

Jeez, you guys... its like you are buying into this fantasy of the fighters, like when everybody said Hops would REALLY get a whupping after he threw the flag down in Puerto Rico, because Puerto Ricans have such great pride in their flag and Tito would do it for all the Puerto Rican people etc. . . . . . You just never know anything other than, for sue, that if Hops wins this fight it wont be because he was stabbed and thrown in jail when he was 17 and it wont be because he saw some guy get ****d inside, either. Life experience can certainly help motivate certain people to dig downand stay the course...but it doesnt help IN ANY WAY shape or form with skills, timing, fluidity, etc etc etc.

what he said ...................

[Orange Sneakers]

You do need something to fuel your fire, because otherwise it won't burn and things won't happen.

Joe Calzaghe has a lot to fuel his fire - he used to starve himself to near-death as a child just for a trophy, was bullied at school and had his dad kick his ass out of the house to go run mountains as a kid. If it wasn't for that, Joe Calzaghe wouldn't be anywhere right now... it would have been a major chore for him to train as a world champion boxer and bite down on his mouthpiece in the ring. But he had his past fueling his fire.

But I agree, specific life experiences don't equate to outcomes of specific boxing matches