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MONTREAL -- Bernard Hopkins had just made history. He had gone 12 tough rounds with Jean Pascal in a rematch of their controversial December draw and won a tight unanimous decision.
Not only did Hopkins win the fight Saturday night in Pascal's hometown but, at age 46, he reclaimed the light heavyweight championship and broke George Foreman's record as the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title -- another tremendous achievement in a Hall of Fame career filled with them.
After the fight, Hopkins came to the postfight press conference in the bowels of Bell Centre and spoke from the heart to the media -- including many of us who have covered Hopkins for a decade or more -- for probably a half-hour about what had just happened. He was reflective, talked about his late mother, Shirley, discussed his other accomplishments and the fact that he might want to fight until he's 50.
As we made our way out of the arena, even though Hopkins was surrounded by security, he would stop to shake hands or receive congratulations from arena workers. When we walked into the garage area, there were two SUVs waiting for him and his crew. I had walked out with the group to say goodnight to Kelly Swanson, my longtime friend who has also been Hopkins' publicist. I also offered Hopkins my congratulations on his historic victory.
With that, Hopkins got into the car and then said, "Come on, get in," as he motioned me to join him. That was unexpected, but I figured this could be interesting. I hopped in, joining Swanson, her assistant Lisa Milner and Leon Tabs, Hopkins' cutman, who had an ice bag at the ready for Hopkins, who pressed it against his face during our ride. It had, after all, been a rough fight.
Many fighters coming off such a huge victory would be looking to party, to drink or to check in with the ladies.
Not Hopkins. He doesn't party. Doesn't drink. And he doesn't chase women. (His wife is due in about a month with their second child.)
Hopkins is kinda boring in that respect. He lives the Spartan life, which is why he has been such a great fighter. No bad habits. Always in great shape. Obviously, that lifestyle has paid off for him. Hopkins was starving, though. It was probably 2 a.m. and all he wanted to do was relax and eat.
The driver said he knew of a good place on Montreal's famed Sainte-Catherine Street that was still open. With some other members of Hopkins' team and security trailing us in the second car, we wound up at a little Italian place called Mike's, seated at a long table for about 16 along a back wall. Trainer Naazim Richardson would arrive a little later, as would members of the Golden Boy Promotions staff, including chief operating officer Dave "The Itsk" Itskowitch, publicist Monica Sears and matchmaker Robert Diaz.
We noticed that Marc Ramsay, Pascal's trainer, was also taking in a late-night meal. When he was finished, he dropped by the table to offer Hopkins congratulations. I thought that was pretty classy.
Despite a long training camp, Hopkins still wanted to eat healthy. The kitchen was happy to accommodate his special order of linguini with garlic, grilled chicken and fresh broccoli. Beverage selection: green tea.
There were several televisions on the walls in the restaurant and they were all tuned to the Montreal equivalent of ESPNEWS. The fight was the main story of the night. We saw highlights of the fight numerous times. Hopkins seemed to relish them each time, especially when they would flash the instant classic highlight of Hopkins dropping to do pushups before the seventh round -- a spur-of-the-moment thing he did to show the much younger Pascal, who was laboring to get off his stool, that his opponent was still filled with energy for the second half of the fight.
I noticed during the highlights of the undercard fight between Chad Dawson and Adrian Diaconu that Hopkins was paying close attention. He is obligated to fight Dawson next, so nothing like getting an early start on scouting, right?
Throughout the meal, people came over to the table to congratulate Hopkins. And these were Montreal folks who had rooted for Pascal. Some told Hopkins of their allegiance but added how much they respected him. The manager also came over at one point. He said the fight had been on at the restaurant and that when Hopkins was announced as the winner, the crowd applauded him out of respect for the record he had broken. The boxing fans in Montreal are terrific. Clearly, Hopkins will be welcome back in Canada for another big fight, perhaps against Dawson or maybe someday against city darling Lucian Bute, a super middleweight titleholder who is even more popular than Pascal.
I was seated diagonally from Hopkins. He wanted to talk about the fight, which we did throughout the meal. It was interesting to hear his perspective about even tiny elements of the fight. When I told Hopkins about the comments Foreman made about him breaking the record, he seemed quite touched. I had them in my BlackBerry, and Hopkins asked me to read them to him, which I did.
Two things Hopkins said during our lengthy conversation caught my ear, including that he would never pull the pushup move again because it would be "corny" to repeat it.
He also expressed irritation that Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC -- one of the alphabet organizations that sanctioned the title bout -- had come to his dressing room after the fight and tried to shake him down for his robe and trunks as a "gift" for his father, WBC president for life Jose Sulaiman, whose 80th birthday is next week.
It's not the first time WBC representatives have tried to pressure a fighter into handing over valuable memorabilia -- in terms of actual monetary value and emotional value to the fighter -- after a fight. They do it often, and it's disgusting.
But Hopkins was not about to part with his history-making gear. I'll keep it clean because we're a family website, but Hopkins told me in quite colorful language exactly what the WBC could do with its request and that it shouldn't hold its breath waiting for his stuff.
Everyone was enjoying themselves, and even though it was now well past 3 a.m., Hopkins wasn't done yet.
He's a man who rarely indulges. But on this night, he did give in to his one vice and ordered up a big slice of caramel cheesecake. Hopkins says he doesn't drink soda, doesn't eat pizza or french fries or any other junk food. But he has a soft spot for cheesecake -- although not during training -- and it gets the better of him from time to time.
So out came the cheesecake, which Hopkins devoured, almost like he has devoured most of his opponents during a storied 23-year career.
It sure was a well-deserved treat on a very special night.
Not only did Hopkins win the fight Saturday night in Pascal's hometown but, at age 46, he reclaimed the light heavyweight championship and broke George Foreman's record as the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a world title -- another tremendous achievement in a Hall of Fame career filled with them.
After the fight, Hopkins came to the postfight press conference in the bowels of Bell Centre and spoke from the heart to the media -- including many of us who have covered Hopkins for a decade or more -- for probably a half-hour about what had just happened. He was reflective, talked about his late mother, Shirley, discussed his other accomplishments and the fact that he might want to fight until he's 50.
As we made our way out of the arena, even though Hopkins was surrounded by security, he would stop to shake hands or receive congratulations from arena workers. When we walked into the garage area, there were two SUVs waiting for him and his crew. I had walked out with the group to say goodnight to Kelly Swanson, my longtime friend who has also been Hopkins' publicist. I also offered Hopkins my congratulations on his historic victory.
With that, Hopkins got into the car and then said, "Come on, get in," as he motioned me to join him. That was unexpected, but I figured this could be interesting. I hopped in, joining Swanson, her assistant Lisa Milner and Leon Tabs, Hopkins' cutman, who had an ice bag at the ready for Hopkins, who pressed it against his face during our ride. It had, after all, been a rough fight.
Many fighters coming off such a huge victory would be looking to party, to drink or to check in with the ladies.
Not Hopkins. He doesn't party. Doesn't drink. And he doesn't chase women. (His wife is due in about a month with their second child.)
Hopkins is kinda boring in that respect. He lives the Spartan life, which is why he has been such a great fighter. No bad habits. Always in great shape. Obviously, that lifestyle has paid off for him. Hopkins was starving, though. It was probably 2 a.m. and all he wanted to do was relax and eat.
The driver said he knew of a good place on Montreal's famed Sainte-Catherine Street that was still open. With some other members of Hopkins' team and security trailing us in the second car, we wound up at a little Italian place called Mike's, seated at a long table for about 16 along a back wall. Trainer Naazim Richardson would arrive a little later, as would members of the Golden Boy Promotions staff, including chief operating officer Dave "The Itsk" Itskowitch, publicist Monica Sears and matchmaker Robert Diaz.
We noticed that Marc Ramsay, Pascal's trainer, was also taking in a late-night meal. When he was finished, he dropped by the table to offer Hopkins congratulations. I thought that was pretty classy.
Despite a long training camp, Hopkins still wanted to eat healthy. The kitchen was happy to accommodate his special order of linguini with garlic, grilled chicken and fresh broccoli. Beverage selection: green tea.
There were several televisions on the walls in the restaurant and they were all tuned to the Montreal equivalent of ESPNEWS. The fight was the main story of the night. We saw highlights of the fight numerous times. Hopkins seemed to relish them each time, especially when they would flash the instant classic highlight of Hopkins dropping to do pushups before the seventh round -- a spur-of-the-moment thing he did to show the much younger Pascal, who was laboring to get off his stool, that his opponent was still filled with energy for the second half of the fight.
I noticed during the highlights of the undercard fight between Chad Dawson and Adrian Diaconu that Hopkins was paying close attention. He is obligated to fight Dawson next, so nothing like getting an early start on scouting, right?
Throughout the meal, people came over to the table to congratulate Hopkins. And these were Montreal folks who had rooted for Pascal. Some told Hopkins of their allegiance but added how much they respected him. The manager also came over at one point. He said the fight had been on at the restaurant and that when Hopkins was announced as the winner, the crowd applauded him out of respect for the record he had broken. The boxing fans in Montreal are terrific. Clearly, Hopkins will be welcome back in Canada for another big fight, perhaps against Dawson or maybe someday against city darling Lucian Bute, a super middleweight titleholder who is even more popular than Pascal.
I was seated diagonally from Hopkins. He wanted to talk about the fight, which we did throughout the meal. It was interesting to hear his perspective about even tiny elements of the fight. When I told Hopkins about the comments Foreman made about him breaking the record, he seemed quite touched. I had them in my BlackBerry, and Hopkins asked me to read them to him, which I did.
Two things Hopkins said during our lengthy conversation caught my ear, including that he would never pull the pushup move again because it would be "corny" to repeat it.
He also expressed irritation that Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC -- one of the alphabet organizations that sanctioned the title bout -- had come to his dressing room after the fight and tried to shake him down for his robe and trunks as a "gift" for his father, WBC president for life Jose Sulaiman, whose 80th birthday is next week.
It's not the first time WBC representatives have tried to pressure a fighter into handing over valuable memorabilia -- in terms of actual monetary value and emotional value to the fighter -- after a fight. They do it often, and it's disgusting.
But Hopkins was not about to part with his history-making gear. I'll keep it clean because we're a family website, but Hopkins told me in quite colorful language exactly what the WBC could do with its request and that it shouldn't hold its breath waiting for his stuff.
Everyone was enjoying themselves, and even though it was now well past 3 a.m., Hopkins wasn't done yet.
He's a man who rarely indulges. But on this night, he did give in to his one vice and ordered up a big slice of caramel cheesecake. Hopkins says he doesn't drink soda, doesn't eat pizza or french fries or any other junk food. But he has a soft spot for cheesecake -- although not during training -- and it gets the better of him from time to time.
So out came the cheesecake, which Hopkins devoured, almost like he has devoured most of his opponents during a storied 23-year career.
It sure was a well-deserved treat on a very special night.
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