The shocking facts of where Bernard Hopkins grew up

[Orange Sneakers]

Hardship builds character... they say. And you do need strength of character in the boxing ring.

If Hopkins hadn't gone to prison, he would never have been a boxer because there would have been nothing fueling his fire to train and fight.

[ICEMAN JOHN SCULLY]

If Hopkins hadn't gone to prison, he would never have been a boxer because there would have been nothing fueling his fire to train and fight.

I am saying, though, that you never know what a guy would or could do....plenty of guys, MOST GUYS, have never been in jail etc, never been through that type of craziness, etc and they have excelled as a FIGHTER. Hops was boxing in the junior olympics before he eever went to jail. He wasnt exposed to boxing in jail, he was a boxer BEFORE he went to jail.

[BrendanWoodside]

I am saying, though, that you never know what a guy would or could do....plenty of guys, MOST GUYS, have never been in jail etc, never been through that type of craziness, etc and they have excelled as a FIGHTER. Hops was boxing in the junior olympics before he eever went to jail. He wasnt exposed to boxing in jail, he was a boxer BEFORE he went to jail.

I gotta agree with ice. tyson didn't excel after prison but that is a whole nother story. There are more ways to acquire drive and resiliency than just going to jail.

[Orange Sneakers]

If there's nothing fueling the fire though, you'd need to be a robot to train and fight as a world-class boxer.

Most guys dream of being world champion, and due to the dream train hard and make sacrifices (not drink and party etc) and this is what fuels the fire for most. Hopkins needed his fuel from prison to train, dedicate and improve. But objectively I think most boxers are willing to die in the ring, in pursuit of victory, so Bernard's specifics won't really matter in the ring against Calzaghe this month. Calzaghe's willing to die too, I would think (as a boxer, how could you not be? You're brain is rattling around inside your skull as a line of work).

All world champions have had, and still have (to remain champion), fire being fuelled, because otherwise it's a non-starter, and most should be willing to die.

[Orange Sneakers]

I gotta agree with ice. tyson didn't excel after prison but that is a whole nother story. There are more ways to acquire drive and resiliency than just going to jail.

Tyson achieved everything in boxing by the age of 21. Lol.

[Orange Sneakers]

And again, there must have been something fuelling Mike's fire. Because from 1980 to 1987, he did everything that was asked of him from Cus D'Amato, Teddy Atlas, Kevin Rooney and Steve Lott. I don't know what was fueling Mike's fire, but I guess most of his childhood friends on drugs, dead or in jail may have been something... or wanting to impress father-figure Cus, because he never had a dad. Who knows. But something was, or he would have just told them to **** off and ran back into the city.

[C'MONMANG']

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.

NO, YOU are buying into ONE interview! or one comment he made!! WE ARENT STOOPID! WE KNOW BEING FROM THE ****** OR JAIL wont make you excel as a boxer.BUT WE UNDERSTAND that HOPS uses those EXPERIENCES TO MOTIVATE him.....


THIS IS GETTING SILLY!!

[C'MONMANG']

I am saying, though, that you never know what a guy would or could do....plenty of guys, MOST GUYS, have never been in jail etc, never been through that type of craziness, etc and they have excelled as a FIGHTER. Hops was boxing in the junior olympics before he eever went to jail. He wasnt exposed to boxing in jail, he was a boxer BEFORE he went to jail.

JUNIOR OLMPICS or golden gloves?

[Orange Sneakers]

Maybe Hopkins is right! Let's see if he proves it and equates it to what he said. When he's talking about digging particularly deep in the sixth round of a fight, though, you can only assume he's going to come out all-guns-blazing, marauding in and throwing bombs like a madman??

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

As a Philly native I didn't need to do any demographic research, but I did it anyway.

Germantown is one of the more peaceful and affluent neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Bill Cosby is from there as well, as was Sun Ra. White collar workers outnumber blue collar workers by about 9/2. The median income is over $40,000/ year.

Crime rates are some of the lowest in the city.

I didn't grow up in the roughest "hood" either, but even I grew up in a tougher Philly neighborhood than Hopkins did, with higher crime rates and lower median income. So I can't help but laugh when he refers to his tough background: he's a middle class kid! Sure he went to prison, but anyone can do that.

He's built a false image on being "street." But it's not him. Sorry if you thought he would be too "street" for Calzaghe or anyone else, but you have the wrong guy.



Click this link for details:

http://homes.point2.com/Neighborhood...ographics.aspx

Prison isn't nothing to joke about or take lightly. Unless you have been there you have no idea what you are talking about. No matter where you are from, spending time in prison aint no ***in joke.

Bernard isn't fake or creating a false image, he walks the toughest neighborhoods in Philly and doesn't need bodyguards. He is repected in the ******'s of Philly and you can tell the man has been through alot.

Bernard is the truth....