BH:  I just gave Greg Leon an inspirational for about an hour.  An inspirational free of charge, pro bono, about the struggle.  About life, the ins and outs. We gonna have some good stuff for ya'll. In a few minutes, we gonna start.  We're getting ready to start in five seconds.  Once Greg Leon get in his mind what he wants to say on BoxingTalk.  You all are the greatest website, and the greatest radio sation, if you have a radio hook-up. You can probably go to the radio, because Greg Leon is moving so big. If not I just gave him an idea, so I want a percentage of it.  But anyway, let's start it boxingtalk. The countdown not only to Oscar and Floyd, because you want my opinion, I'm pretty sure. Saturday, Marquez and Barrera, maybe you want to talk about my naphew Demetrius and Stevie Forbes.  Then of course Bernard Hopkins is fighting the turtle.  I'm gonna give you the reason why I'said the turtle it has nothing to do with him being slow. Let's start.

GL:  We gonna start it off now, baby, BoxingTalk, in the executive suite. We're in some special suite up in The Hotel with the light heavyweight king, Bernard Hopkins.  We not going to talk about Marquez and Barrera or Hopkins and Forbes, because I plan on posting this interview after that fight, we gonna let that fight get some attention.  This is going up on Monday BoxingTalkers.  We're going to talk about turtle hunting right off the rip.  The last time we had you on BoxingTalk you said you were going turtle hunting.  The day after that I spoke with Winky.  He basically said, "It sounds good. Tell the Executioner, he could get ready to be executed."  I've never seen the Executioner executed, and we've never seen Winky Wright get hit a whole lot.  Which you said you were going to hit him more in this fight than in any other fight.  Sounds like we've got a whole lot of things that we ain't never seen before that's popping off on July 21st.  Tell us about that.

BH:  First of all we're going to have some Turtle Soup for everybody at the press conference after the fight.  After the fight, when we have what we call a let's rewind what  happened a few hours ago.  We're going to have Turtle Soup for everbody in the press, I want them to know that.  Let me tell you Winky Wright is a respectable fighter when it comes to talent.  I respect his talent.   Others might look at his talent and not respect it. I will not fall into that trap. The trap of not giving a guy his due who paid his dues, in and out of the ring.  That's what keeps Hopkins, myself, focused to be able to be the Executioner.    I hadn't worn that name, the Executioner, for nothing.  I have not been disrespected for nothing using that name.  My record speaks for itself.  My deeds of boxing have spoken for themselves. The Turtle that I mentioned earier today, is going to be a situation where if you know the mentality of a turtle, like I  know the mentality of Winky Wright. A turtle only sticks his legs in and his head in, when he feel danger, he sense danger, trying to avoid danger.  And when he feels there's no danger he sticks his head out to see if it's safe or not.  Well, Winky Wrights defense has been credited as being one of the best defenses or my era, I agree.  Just remember I used that name Turtle, that animal, that creature.  The Turtle, and know the turtle's mentality.  How they operate , how their instincts kick in.  How do you make the turtle do what he doesn't want to do?  You convince, and trick, and give him a false imression that he's safe.  And when the turtle stcks his head out of his shell, it's only because he believes he's safe, and he can walk on, or crawl on to wherever his next destination is.   Then, that Turtle becomes Turle Soup.  So, July 21st, I'm giving it to Winky I'm giving it to the world, so they won't say that I made it up after I said it.  Greg Leon and the fans remember the Tarver fight.   If they go all the way back to the other fights that I fought.  I mentioned, I premeditated what was going to happen.  What I was going to do and say, and then did it.  So, I believe that on that comment, that note, he can't rule out that I will deliver and come through.  So, it's going to be an exciting fight.  It's going to be a fight that people are going to want to watch, when it gets close to the fight.  No matter what the critics, no matter what anybody says.  Whether it's Greg Leon, or anybody's opinion, you must look at the styles, the history, and where we are in our careers.   To be aggressive, to take chances.  Someone in this fight whether it's me, or it's Winky, has to be the dog.  And if Winky is thinking like Bernard Hopkins, it's going to be a hell of  fight.  It has the potential to be a fight, that I think is going to be like Saturday Barrera-Marquez.  Seriuosly, it could be that type of fight.  I don't think we're going to throw all those punches, because them guys threw a million punches around.  I'm telling you, I'm making a statement that I'm fighting at 42, and that it's the new 32.   There's a lot of statements that I'm making come July 21st.  It's that at this stage in my life, at this advancing age, that Bernard Hopkins can still do his thing like he's 32.  Some will question whether I'm even that, after July 21st.  That's the statement, and now beyond, statement's become evidence.  Evidence to me, in boxing is called action.  Three chain combination, so I'm giving ya'll a heads-up.  I'm going to let Greg Leon get to the juicy questions.

GL:  Yes, where is this fight going Mandalay or MGM?

BH:  Well, I hope it goes somewhere where they pay the most money.

GL:  Is it the Mandaly or the MGM? 

BH:  Wherever.

GL:  Is it happening in Vegas?  I know you want to go to Atlantic City.

BH:  Mandalay and MGM are the same family.  I would say that right now, Atlantic City, who I have a great relationship with,  Larry Mellons and everybody at the Borgata, they stepped up big time for the Tarver fight, are very, very interested.   The only thing is, that we might,  I think we have a problem. Because out of my respect for him, and his for me, is that Arturo Gatti, is fighting the 14th of July, which was my original date.  He's on HBO, potentially the last fight.   What would I go up against a guy that still consider one of the greatest warriors of my time?  I could go so far as saying he's a legend in his own time.  He needs to have his light and his shine, and we need to have ours.  We've earned that.  I did.  He did, Winky did.  It can be the Mandalay, or it could be, who knows any other hotel who is going to step up  against the Mandalay or the MGM. I don't wanna hold my breath on that.  I'm saying that everbody wants a good historical fight. Everyone wants a competitive match up, where they can say, "Hey, Bernard Hopkins,we know him.  Or winky, we heard of him or, we know him."  They know Bernard Hopkins in boxing.  You're not a fight fan if you dont know Bernard Hopkins.  B-Hop most call me, Executuioner, or just plain old Bernard Hopkins.  So, just on that note, and if June 10th last year, has anything to do with Bernard Hopkins' star power, and the PPV numbers are justfied, that people do turn on their TV's, when I fight, seats at the convention center prove that there were over 14,000 people there, one of them was Michael Jordan, and others, it's going to be that star studded thing.  Where do stars go?   Las Vegas.   They live around the corner in L.A.  I'm looking for all the stars to be somewhere in Vegas.  Whether it's at the Mandalay, which I'd prefer, or the MGM, which I prefer too.  They're all the same family and I'm willing to share the remainder of my greatest fights.  It's one-by-one I don't have any future to look forward to  until I destroy Winky Wright. 

GL:  Destroy Winky Wright, hit Winky more than he's ever been hit before, we're hearing some comments from you that make for some interesting questions.  You said about the Executioner, and solving the puzzle, we all know you like to solve the puzxle within thirty-six minutes or less.   But sometimes when you do that, you do that with a thinking man's mentality, and you calculate your counterpunches, you take advantage of your opportunities to do damage.  You're talking about being the dog in the fight.  Can we expect to see a 42 year old Bernard Hopkins throw more punches than we've seen you throw at 32, 28, 29?

BH:  I don't waste my punches.  I don't throw punches just to throw punches, to get a good high input on how many punches I throw.  I think, I'm more concerned about how many punches I land.  For instance, take the first fight with Jermaine Taylor.  They put the sheet up there of who threw the most punches, and who landed the most punches.   It was me who landed the most ounches, it was Jermaine who threw the most punches.  I'm more about quality over quantity.   I'd rather throw punches and make them land, than throw punches just to throw them.  I was taught to make everything count.  Don't waste your bullets, if you're not going to hit anything.   Look for Bernard Hopkins to be a guy that's going to punch, and he's going to hit something.  Wherever he hits, he's going to hit flesh, and that's all that Bernard Hopkins, at 42 years old, has been trained to do.  And I'm not going to change my stripes now at 42 years old.

GL:  The Vegas judges didn't respect the quality over the quantity against Jermaine Taylor.  Has that caused a change in your philosophy?  And will that cause you to fight more aggressively?  If it comes to Vegas.

BH:  First of all, if it comes to Vegas.  My fight was a situation where it was totally not about who won and who lost.  That was about a guy retiring,  by the name of Bernard Hopkins, at 41 years old, and they need to have a successor,  and not have the belts spread around the world. 

GL:  They wanted to have the torch passed, in other words.

BH:  They wanted to have to torch passed by any means nessary, as Malcolm X said.  They accomplished that, at the end, as Ghandi said in one of his famous speeches, we win.  We win.  I'm looking for judges to be more aware of who wins and who loses, and you have open scoring now, whether that helps or not.  It seems always to be controversial, and it seems we don't agree, or agree to disagree.  There are so many things that came into those fights with Jermaine Taylor, where it was just a buisness, power, passing of the torch, by any means nesesssary as long as he stands up.   If you take any evidence of where I'm at in my career, where Jermaine Taylor's at in his career, then tell me who fell off, and who continued to stay on top.  Popularity wise. 

GL:  I'll let the fans tell you.  I'm not going to tell you who, I get advertising dollars from the both of you.

BH:  The fans tell me.  I read the internet. I read the internet often.  I continue to be aware of buisness and what's going on because I'm a promoter.

M

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