Before we could get a question in world light heavyweight champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins told Boxingtalk.com, "I'm getting ready to spend the next five or six weeks in L.A. with Freddie Roach as the head trainer. John David Jackson and Brother Nasseem will be there for the last two weeks. They're going to be there for moral and eductional support before the fight and it's going to be great. I'm going to be training hard and this is going to be the potential fight of the year. I'm going to make sure that I put all of the critics to rest with this fight like I did with the Tarver fight.

"I said it then and I'm not going to back up from it, Winky Wright will be knocked out for the first time of his career on July 21. Whether it's a TKO or a KO, either way it's going to happen. My mind is set on on that and I can't do that by not fighting or posturing. That's what I'm going to do Greg, and if I'm wrong the y'all will let me know it, starting with you.

"I will be successful in making history and doing what I feel I need to do. I'm in the middle of training as far as where I'm at and where I should be. I'm ready to go do what I have to do. Now I have to go meet the teacher, I don't call him the trainer, I call him the teacher. There's a lot of trainers out there and they know who they are, but there's very few teachers. Once I get these five six weeks under my belt, they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, well you're going to see something new in Bernard Hopkins on July 21 at the Mandalay Bay.

"I do want to briefly for two seconds comment on that Tarver situation. It needs no comment."

GL: Obviously we know Freddie Roach is going to be working with you. Can you elaborate on some of the things Freddie is going to be teaching you that you don't already know?

Bernard Hopkins: "I think there's a lot of things. His style is similiar to what I've been doing all along. I just think having a guy with a fresh and different outlook, with different strategies to add on to mine, I can't it do nothing but make that house better. I'm not moving from the house, I'm just adding on. I've got the land, I can build up or build across. I look at Freddie Roach as a high powered mechanic, coming in there with another high powered mechanic and that is John David Jackson, Naseem will also play a significant role, so I have three professors who know Bernard Hopkins very well.

"And Freddie Roach knows Bernard Hopkins very well. It's not like we just met. For those new Boxingtalk fans and readers, understand that me and Freddie Roach go back, many years. Not to when he was fighting, but we go back at least 7-10 years. That relationship started with James Toney who happens to be friends with my attorney Arnold Joseph. It's nothing that I haven't seen or heard about him that will shock me. He doesn't have an ego to a point that he won't listen to the fighter also. It's going to be great and I'm looking forward to getting knowledge from someone I've never worked with before.

"There's a lot of trainers out there who would love to work with a Bernard Hopkins because I'm the last of the Mohicans man. I'm the residue of the Jersey Joe Walcott's. By age and by style in some aspects. I'm the residue of the throwbacks. The Ezzard Charles and Ray Robinson's of the world. The writers have spoken about the hard nosed training, always being in shape and that hasn't left me. I took that page out of Marvin Hagler's book going on twenty years of my career. When you have these teachers that are cut from a cloth like the late great Eddie Futch, come on man. You got coached that wish they could have worked with certain players in basketball or football, but you got certain trainers who would love to work with certain fighters. Like Freddie Roach said in his last week, this is a 50-50 feeling and it's an honor to work with him.

"This ain't no being political or kissing ass because there were a lot of trainers calling my phone. Pat Burns was one of them. I didn't not bring him on and he was the second guy I was looking at because we both have a lot of respect for him. He was one of the first guys to call Nasseem when he was hospitalized at Temple University.

"They say God works in mysterious ways, but I don't believe that old tale. I believe God knows just what he's doing. Even if we don't like it and don't understand. Greg, I'm telling you on the record and I would love for you to stay unbiased, because that's what the readers respect. As you always do, if you're wrong you fess up to it. We're all human and I'm telling you right now, Winky's style, whatever that style is and whatever he tries to do or change this late in the game, I'm telling you right now I'm going to beat him up."

"It's going to remind you of Glen Johnson. I'm telling you right now and Glen was 34-0 then so he wasn't a green puppy as he says during his interviews. You're laughing, but name me a green fighter 34-0.

GL: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

BH: "My thing is his style though and this is no shot to Glen Johnson because Glen Johnson deserves to have his shot because he's a trial horse and he's a dangerous guy and that's why people don't want to fight him. I would say that myself and I'm not surprised that people aren't jumping over hurdles to fight him. I'm tied up right now. but the bottom is Greg, a guy like that with that peek a boo style.

"Back then Glen Johnson had one of the most difficult styles to crack and Winky's style is nowhere near that, but I cracked that. It took me eleven rounds but I did it and it took him a while to get his career back together. For Winky it's already to late for that because he's no spring chicken so he's not going to be able to recover from this ass whooping. I'm adament on about this and I'm going to back it up. I'm going to beat him up and then I'm going to stop him. The referee can stop it or I'll stop him, whatever comes first. He's very durable and I'll give him that, Winky can take a good ass whooping. He's a timex watch, he's going to keep ticking. I've got twelve rounds to punish him.

"I'not the promoter right now and I'm not Bernard the family man. Right now I am Bernard Hopkins The Executioner and I'm coming to crack a safe. I'm going to be the person that takes the torch and continues to burn the wedges off the door until the vault opens. Winky loves to counter between his punches and then cover up and he's a great counter puncher, but I'm coming with the torch to burn that safe.

M

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