PC: What did you think of Antonio Tarver pre-Hopkins fight?

NR: So many people shoot themselves in the foot and call fighters bums and things like that. For me to say Antonio Tarver cant fight is a ridiculous statement. However, I think he pulled the wool over the publics eyes as to how good of a fighter he was. I wasn’t sold on that.

PC: What do you think of the people that criticized Buddy Mcgirt for the advice he gave Tarver in between rounds?

NR: I have the utmost respect for Buddy Mcgirt. When people asked me what was Tarver’s biggest asset, I told them “Buddy Mcgirt.”

PC: Did you think at some point in the fight Bernard could have stopped Tarver?

NR: Well, its hard to say because Tarver began to fight not to get knocked out.

PC: This is a 2 part question. First do you think Bernard Hopkins is retired?

NR: Yes and hopefully Oscar will make the same announcement soon. Can you imagine that. Two promoters of Golden Boy, 1 on the East and 1 on the West, retire as champions. Oscar and Bernard are showing these young kids how to finish the game.

PC: Well, the second part was, do you think Bernard should retire?

NR: Yes. Go out on top like Jim Brown did. This sport needs to start embracing retirement. Every fighter don’t have to finish on his back or beat up. They need to start applauding these guys for walking away instead of begging them to come back. You don’t hear about Ricardo Lopez. We gotta make sure from a media standpoint we don’t forget these guys.

NR: Please put this out there Percy.

PC: No doubt!

NR: The greatest career in boxing from start to finish is Michael Spinks!

PC: Really?

NR: Really and I’ll tell you why. The goal of any amateur fighter is to win a gold medal. He did that. Every young pro wants to win a title while being undefeated. He done that. Then he became undisputed at light heavyweight. He went on to make history by becoming the first light heavyweight to become world champion. He made good money to fight Tyson. Lost without taking much punishment. 1 punch. Retired with 1 loss.

PC: You make great points.

NR: Unfortunately his brother had one of the worst careers.

PC: Is there anything you want to say in closing?

NR: Boxing is a tough sport. Boxers are real warriors. You could look at records if you want and tell me Emmanuel Augustus ain’t a real warrior. I remember a kid named Freddie Pendleton. It’s all about the preparation and the warrior.

PC: Thanks for the interview Brother Nasseem!

NR: Thank you. Anytime.

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