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Hopkins: "Im chasing a ghost"
www.fightnews.com
June 5, 2006
By Scott Foster
Photo: Ed Mulholland
For Bernard Hopkins, the finish line was clearly in sight. Monzon's daunting record of 14 consecutive middleweight defenses had been eclipsed by waging war through a tournament of champions, culminating with a battered, humbled Felix Trinidad laid out as the centerpiece at his feet. Some might have called it the crowing achievement, an ideal precipice from which to step down. Hopkins, however, viewed it simply as another vehicle he would utilize to to ensnare one last foe -- the elusive Golden Boy -- an opponent he was convinced would serve only to illuminate his own glory. The trifecta, it now appeared, was complete. Monzon, Trinidad, De La Hoya -- his rightful place alongside the greats in Canastota was assured.
Enter Antonio Tarver, a self described "legend killer," fresh off a career defining rubber-match with the pound-for-pound king of the 90's, Roy Jones Jr. As conqueror of his long time nemesis, Tarver was initially eager to face a myriad of current world champions, but opted instead to bulk his way up to heavyweight in search of another storied moniker -- boxer/movie star. Shortly after the filming of Rocky 6, the cagy Hopkins, keenly aware of the historic implications behind a middleweight vaulting into the light-heavyweight championship, made his motivation clear to Tarver's camp as their opponents began to fall by the wayside. Unable to lure Tyson out of retirement or Joe Calzaghe up from one division south, Antonio Tarver (24-3 w/18ko) eventually accepted the bout with Hopkins, intent on adding the feather of another "legend" to his light-heavyweight crown.
Hopkins, it seemed, would be taking a short detour on the road to Canastota.
"I chose to fight Tarver." Bernard insisted. "Tarver didn't choose to fight Hopkins. Yes -- he agreed to it -- but I chose to fight Tarver as my last fight. Calzaghe could have been on the table, or a going away fight with a respectable middleweight. Nobody would have criticized Bernard Hopkins. But that's not my style, so I choose the baddest man in the jungle to establish history and my legacy. I think it is a bold move, a shrewd move. It caught everybody off guard."
The lure for Hopkins (46-4-1, 32 KOs), it appears, is not just one of history, but rather a personal homage paid to a fighter who continues to inspire the blue-collar ex-champion. The lessons learned from Ray Robinson, of both style and substance, continue to fuel Hopkins in a way few can appreciate. Robinson's painful decline, stretched out over a decade for all to see, left an indelible image in the mindset of Bernard, aiding his present decision to walk away on his own terms, free from the burden forcing past champions back into the ring."
"Tarver says he is the 'legend killer.' Well, that's the only thing he's fighting for. I'm fighting for history." -- Bernard Hopkins
"What I did in the middleweight division," Hopkins admitted, "the motivation of fighting past all of that is only to make history. It now becomes, 'What are you chasing.' Well, I'm chasing a ghost. There's nothing else to chase after that. I'm not a cruiserweight -- I can't go there. I'm definitely not a heavyweight and I'm never going back to 160lbs. Most fighters that get back into the ring are not doing it for the right reasons. You get back into the ring because you were broke, you get back into the ring because you missed the crowd, or you get back in the ring because you are greedy. I can check every one of those off my list. I promise I will retire after this fight."
Hopkins only knows to dream big, and if he were to accomplish this task, one would be hard pressed to find another fighter within the sport more deserving of the mythical pound-for-pound ranking. A 157lb Sugar Ray Robinson boxed his way to an early lead on all scorecards before succumbing on his stool in the 13th round, both to Maxim's pressure as well the pea-soup humidity brought about by a freakish, New York heat-wave. No other fighter ever came so close, and so it has been for the better half of a century.
"To make the transition from middleweight to light-heavy," Hopkins explained, "it is a challenge that only one man came close to, Sugar Ray Robinson. To be mentioned with Robinson, Hagler, Monzon -- and then to go a step further and accomplish something that not even Ray Robinson could do? As far as I'm concerned -- in my era -- that will set me apart. That can only be matched -- and it will always be second. Even though it hasn't been done yet, I get chills. History is something that comes along only every now and then. This is the right time, the right opponent -- the right space in my life to attempt this."
Beyond the inherent physical difficulties of a middleweight facing a light-heavyweight champion, Tarver's style brings with it several intangibles which might pose problems for Hopkins, the most obvious being his southpaw stance, typically troublesome to most orthodox fighters. With many fighters finding their jab ineffective against lefties, Hopkins has in the past dismissed with the jab and led with powerful straight right hands, controlling the distance with sharp, accurate punching. Southpaws, Hopkins argues, are tailor-made for the Philly born fighter.
"Southpaws try to line you up in front of them for their left hand, but it's the opposite, it's like looking in the mirror. You look in the mirror when you shadow box, and it's like you're fighting a southpaw. Well, I'm 10-0 against southpaws. They are the easiest style for me to fight. Keith Holmes in the tournament, the undefeated Joe Lipsey that I retired, Syd Vanderpool and all of the Allen fights -- I'd rather fight southpaws than orthodox fighters. I have always liked to throw my right hand, and the southpaw gives me -- body to head -- everything I want. And with a bigger target, 9 out 10 times I don't miss."
At 6'2'', Tarver looms as a large southpaw who exacerbates his height by fighting off his back foot, always looking to counter-punch opponents as they attempt to bridge the distance. This adds to his defensive package, allowing Antonio to stand directly in front of his opponent while remaining "dressed down" in defense. Timing, however, remains the key to distance. Bernard insists that even at this late stage in his career, his ability to gauge and then execute will separate the two fighters early in the bout. The cream, he promises, will rise to the top.
"I think my talent, my footwork and my overall skills are going to take Tarver out of his character, make him do things he hasn't done in the past," Hopkins surmised. "I've noticed things about Tarver's style since the amateurs, like how he fights off his back foot. To fight off your back foot, there is a second or two that you lose to get off that back foot and throw a good punch. That timing can be offset by a good fighter -- Trinidad had to be set to punch. To get off the back foot you have to be quick. When Tarver gets off his back foot, I'm not going to be there. And I won't be running -- I'll be to the left or to the right -- I'll force him to reset because I'll know the back foot is his guide. Tarver is going to find out that he is not in with a 'little' middleweight Bernard Hopkins, and when it comes down to it, he is going to look for a way to get out of the fight, one way or another."
Hopkins hints that Tarver's pre-fight bravado, going so far as to wager $250,000 that he will obtain a knockout before the end of the 5th, speaks more to Antonio's fears than it does his confidence. It is a bold prediction from Tarver, and one that he has rarely made in the past. Hopkins insists Tarver will stray from his normally defensive style, doubting his conditioning and strength at light-heavyweight after having to drop an estimated 30-40 pounds in their Vero Beach training camp. These issues harken back to Jones' struggle to make weight in the first stanza with Tarver, a bout in which Roy appeared lethargic and winded throughout the middle rounds, finding himself forced to sweep the championship frames to secure his title.
"Tarver is having a identity crisis," Hopkins proclaimed. "Tarver wants to be respected -- but he already is. The reason he wants you to think he's being disrespected is because it is a form of self motivation, he needs to create some sort of animosity with his opponent or the media because his 'picture is not on the right side of the TV.' Tarver has let everyone know what his game-plan is. If a man coming off bankruptcy puts up $250,000 saying he is going to knock me out inside of 5 rounds, I'm telling you right now he doesn't want to see the deep water."
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Originally Posted by miles
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