Demetrius Hopkins: When I get him in the ring, Malignaggi will finally shut up

By G. Leon

03/09/2007

Demetrius Hopkins: When I get him in the ring, Malignaggi will finally shut up

GL:  IBF champion Paul Maligagi has been on BoxingTalk, and basically had some harsh things to say about you.  Amoungst other things, he called you a disgrace to all Philladelphia fighters.  Can you give us some thoughts on Malignagi's response to our initial interview? "I'm not really worried about what he's saying, his words for me.  My record speaks for itself, I have a better record.  I'm just ready to fight, I'm not really a talker.  Let's just do what we have to do, and that's that.  That's the end of it.  For one, I had a rough life coming up, and I know for a fact, he hasn't had that.  He probably had a gold spoon in his mouth.  I'm a hungry fighter, and I know that my life is on the line in the ring, and his life is one the line too.  I came to fight the best of the best, and he's one the guys that's in my way.  I have to destroy him, demolish him, and get him out of there, and move on to the best of the best.  I look at him, and he's not the best of the best.  The best are Ricky Hatton, Floyd, the millionaire fighters.  He was given the belt by an old African legend.  I'm just going to prove my point, I want to prove to the world, and the welterweight division, that I'm one of the best at 140 in the division."

GL:  When can we expect you back in the ring?

DH:  November 10th is the date, for whoever wats to step up to the plate.  Look at the Steve Forbes fight, I'm not the same fighter from that night.  I know I won the fight, but I made an easy fight tough.  People look at the Steve Forbes fight, they can't look at that.  I'm coming different now.

GL:  Different how?

DH:  I'm getting stronger, I'm a man, before I was a boy when I was nineteen and twenty.  Paulie Malignaggi knows, he remembers when we were in training camp together.  I actually had ten professional fights, and he was an amateur fighter.  He had just won the Golden Gloves, I believe he wasn't signed to Lou DiBella at the time.  I'm not Cotto, I'm not N'Dou, I'm not any of those guys.  I'm a boxer, I have terrific, fast hands, I'm like a young Ray Leonard, Ray Robinson and Ray Leonard mixed together.  Another thing is I used to street fight a while back, and I know Paulie never did that.  He's never been in a real fight like that, and I came up fighting like that.  That's what got me into boxing because I used to fight in the street.  I've always been in school, I'm book smart, people can't say I didn't graduate, I did graduate.  I went to college.  The environment that you're around, you set traps for yourself, as you get older you're like, this ain't for me.  I know for a fact, that he's never been through that. 

GL:  Since November 10th is right around the corner, when do you plan on having an opponent?

DH:  Probably next week sometime, I don't know who it's going to be, but I'll let you know.  I'm going to keep on stalking, stalking, stalking Paulie Malignagi until I get that belt.  I don't care if I have to go to his gym, I'm going to stalk him until I get that belt around my waist.

GL: Is there anything you'd like to say in closing?

DH:  I promise that I will put on my best performance November 10th, and I will have the IBF title from Paulie.  I'm ready to fight the best of the best. 

M

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