Originally published January 29, 2007
Hopkins wants to know who has the better legacy, read the interview and cast your vote

Not surprisingly Boxingtalk received a call from light heavyweight king Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins early Saturday morning. In this must read exclusive interview Hopkins responds to our recent exclusive interview with Roy Jones Jr and much more. "First of all it was a great article. He was disrespectful to De La Hoya, but first I would like to say that I'm looking forward to Demetrius fighting on the undercard of Barrera and marching towards the championship level this year. I'm also expecting 2007 to be a breakout year for Rock Allen and Ishe Smith has a tough fight coming up that he's excited about also. Kassim Ouma will be coming back this year and we're working on things for him coming up. Shane Mosley, Barrera and the Super Bowl with De La Hoya and Mayweather. I'm going to see you at a lot of fights so that's going to be great, but now that I've got that out of the way we can go ahead and respond to the article that was brought to my attention. Roy Jones Jr: Bernard Hopkins uses De La Hoya as the front man to f**k you. He's cute, but I don't do dudes. I read this Greg about ten times, the headline and I'm looking at this and I'm saying."

"Wait a minute what does De La Hoya have to do with me and Roy's negotiation other than being a promoter and giving me advice when he feels that I need it. I don't want the fans not to be interested in this fight, but I've been hearing it for a while and I'm starting to get a bit concerned for Roy. I'm wondering where his head is at. All of a sudden Roy becomes this guy using all of these curse words and that's never been Roy. I don't know if he's desperate and I know if he's lashing out because of what's happened to him during the last year or two but you win or lose in the ring. I don't understand what he's saying with that he's cute but he don't do dudes. I understand that there's been some animosity and envy with Roy pointing out that Oscar was getting all of the attention all the time. To be honest with you negotiations are negotiations Greg. Whether people agree with me or people agree with Roy, more will tell you why is Bernard wasting his time on Roy? And then you have to get into whether that's going to put a black eye on the fight or not. I've been in the gym because that's my lifestyle. Roy said he hasn't been in the gym yet, but that's not Roy. Roy works out and Roy's been in the gym. Everybody that's a veteran knows that you say things like that. Roy likes to be in shape so he's always in the gym, whether he's playing basketball or whatever he's keeping himself in shape.

GL: I think the reason he started cursing like that is...

Bernard Hopkins: (cutting in) This thing with he's cute, but he don't do dudes. I used my code and I went into the article and what I heard was explicit language. Listen to what I'm saying. His career has been just as long as mine professionally. We've basically started off our career at the same time and I've never heard, but that tells you a lot, for people that know, not for people who read it and get hyped over words, but the people who know personalities over the years like Greg Leon knows Bernard Hopkins, not too many reporters can say they know. But everyone has a style and I know you're style and this ain't Roy's style. When you get a guy like a Roy, who has always been on his own way of doing things whether we like it or not. He's proud of being a country boy from Pensacola, he fights his chickens and he's played basketball game before a fight and whether he got criticism for what he did. He did it because he could at that particular time and he knew he wasn't going to make a fool of himself when he did it. But this stuff with this is crazy this guy is talking like he's homophobic or allegeding that someone is gay or something.

GL: At the end of the day Bernard the issue people want to know about...

BH: (cutting in again) "Don't hold your breath Roy if you think Oscar is going to respond to this. I'm responding on my behalf not to what he said but because I feel a little concerned. I've been a lot of places and I've seen a lot of things and this is not his style. I'm not calling to diss Roy, I'm just saying this is not him. This is not him. Maybe it's him now, but this is not the Roy, forget the skills and all that, but this is not the Roy from the personality side of it. I have my things, I can speak on Bernard's part of what it is and I have my opinion of what it is, I think it's a combination of Bernard Hopkins and De La Hoya being together as something that might bother Roy. Two guys like us, who when we came together people laughed at us and they threw stones at us now we are the premier promoters in this new era. Whoever got the fighters got the juice and the fighters believe they can be treated fairly and with respect under the banner of Golden Boy Promotions. There could be some envy and a little jealousy and there's probably a lot of other fighters who feel the same way. We're going to have lawsuits that aren't worthy because this is America. We're going to have backbiting, we're going to have jealousy. You have to have thick skin in this business, tough skin like leather. I just wanted to call you at 12:30 east coast time because my phone was rining to go on the internet.

"I'm not going to get into no dog fight with Roy. I know sometimes it could be good journalism. Everyone knows what's out there. We've been on every internet and every TV show and this is the undisputed at Boxingtalk.com. Whether Roy speaks, whether I speak, whether Richard Schaefer speaks, whether Lou DiBella, who I felt and believed was great to be on with Roy. I know that when Lou was with HBO Roy and Lou had differences over who Roy should have been fighting. I thought Lou was going to make this thing happen, I know we had our problems and things like that. He don't forget and I don't forget, but we're businessmen and I can honestly say we've put the hatchet to the ground. But then I get a call to see what Roy said on Boxingtalk and I'm really concerned. I can honestly say that the fans...

GL: So you think the offer you made was fair?

BH: "I just beat the guy that some people think beat him three times and definiely beat him twice. The only thing I could do is move on. Right now we've got a couple of opponents on the table. Richard and I are all on the same page. They don't even come to me with nothing that deals with maybe this or maybe that. This is a team decision. We know what I want, we put it in there and we believe it's fair. Matter fact, I know it's fair. Nobody is going to be calling Bernard Hopkins up saying what about this or what about that because I'm in the position to be fair when Roy wasn't over the years. Anybody with any business sense, even fans who don't know the in's and out's unless the bits and pieces you give them and they get 90% of it accurate coming from this website. I'm going to keep moving and I don't think Roy is pressed, but I'd rather leave out the game June 10, 2006 upsetting the world who thought that Tarver was going to steam roll me going down as one of the greatest middleweights of all time and one of the greatest light heavyweights of all times, up there with Bob Foster, Michael Spinks. To go out the way Bernard Hopkins did, maybe it's God saying you don't need it. Let Roy be Roy. If this is the worst case scenario I would rather leave out on June 10, 2006 which nobody will forget in boxing history and Roy Jones can go out fighting Badi who has been my sparring partner for a couple of years.

"To put that legacy on the table with Roy, let the Boxingtalk fans around the world in the United States, Germany, Europe, all over the world they're getting it. Everyone who has a computer. Let's do a vote and put my legacy and my record down and his legacy and record down, click A if you think Roy's is better than Hopkins' right now or click B if you think Hopkins legacy is better than Roy's and watch the votes. Hey, I might lose but I think that's good food for thought for the fans and maybe then Roy will see and understand the fans and maybe do what they want. At the end of the day we drive around in nice pretty cars and have big houses because of the fans who don't really have the money but somehow give up $50 to buy PPV. If you shit on them they shit on you and that's why they love me. Every fan in every city I go in they show me love and most importantly respect me. You know what? People look at this and say what do you expect? I waited over ten years, I've been got over that. This man ain't even in the top five and I wanted to fight the heavyweight champion of the world. But he'd rather get knocked out by Klitschko than embarrassed by a middleweight, that's good management and that's good promotion. Dennis Rappaport is very smart and he's been around for a long time. Our deal is on the table and it's an extremely fair deal when you look at the situations we're in. That's not to say that he doesn't have the ability but this is a fight that can catapult him back to the top. I have everything to lose. I ressurect his career if he beats me. He doesn't resurrect my career. If I beat Roy what they going to say? I don't know if this is going to kill the fight if you write it, but I'm being real. The fans have the opportunity to speak on it when you do the mailbags, but I have to be fair to see what the fans are talking about."

GL: Let's say the fight with Roy doesn't happen, one of the names I've been hearing is Winky Wright is there any chance that could happen at 168?

BH: "From 175-190 I'm dominating those divisions. The last time there's been a star at 190 is when Holyfield was there and that was a long time ago. I'm where I'm at and I'm going to stay where I'm at and as long as HBO and Mark Taffet look at me as the new 32 even though I'm 42. I'm interested in big fights. There's nothing down there at 168 or 160 and I can't make that. I was uncomfortable with it for thirteen years but I was smart enough and disciplined enough to do it without getting beat up during those year and I made history in those years. I don't need Roy to signify or justify where my career is at. Maybe the fans will respond back and tell me I'm not accurate, but I put my record and legacy on the line with my twenty defenses and all of them weren't world beaters, and let Roy put his and let people go through that and ask the fans who has the best legacy? I'm saying this to tell you, you don't have to kiss my ass or Roy's ass. I want the fans to choose A or B. It will help generate a frenzy of attention to the site. Put it on the site and let's see what happens. Fighting Roy Jones Jr right now I have everything to lose and he has nothing to lose. Roy has nothing to lose, outside of what can happen in the ring to both us of course. I have nothing to gain, oh, to win the second fight which they would say doesn't reverse the first one okay I'll give them that I have something to gain. 14 years ago I lost my first title fight to Roy and it was a boring fight but it is what it is and it was what it was. We move on, that's all I've got to say. I wanted to come on record and wanted the fans to hear my rebuttal. This isn't Roy, the Roy that goes in there saying I'm your huckleberry, that's the dangerous Roy. But now he's homophobic talking about he doesn't do dudes. Come on dawg, that's not you. Roy can't nothing about the streets, matter fact nobody can if they haven't walked that road. I can't mention names, but a lot of important people in TV land are saying that this dude isn't the same. He would never respond, might say a few things or laugh at you, but now this joker got a garbage mouth."

GL: Perhaps he was cursing because your offer pissed him off.

BH: "Over the years a lot of people have pissed him off, but he's a veteran and he should know how to control that. Right now he's being delusional. It took Michael Jordan going to Washington to realize that these young boys is slamming on him and Allen Iverson almost broke his ankles doing a crossover, and you see that hasn't happened to me yet. But if I stay around long enough it will. Sometimes you think you can do it, you feel you can do it but when you get in there you're body is asking you if you're out of your mind.

LET  HOPKINS KNOW. CLICK HERE TO CAST YOUR VOTE...

M

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