Hopkins plays mind games the way Van Cliburn plays piano. It?s beautiful music to some, the tinkling of ivories to others?
?Sport? Are you kidding? If there was headroom they?d hold these things in sewers.??Requiem for a Heavyweight
After Saturday night, we may not have Bernard Hopkins to kick around anymore. This time the old master from the City of Brother Love may have bitten off more than he can chew. The Alien is clever. He possesses cunning in spades. But he?s going up against one of boxing?s great punchers in Sergey Kovalev, the undefeated slugger from Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Although Hopkins is receiving the lion?s share of attention, including a feature in the Sunday Times Magazine, Kovalev, who like everyone else has less to say than Hopkins, has enough to say to convince those who need convincing that Hopkins? days are numbered.
?I don?t study anybody,? Kovalev said after a recent workout. ?Why I need to spend the time? I always have bullets in my arsenal. My hands are my weapons. It?s my weapon in the ring. Hopkins thinks that I only have two bullets but I will bring some more.?
The gunslinger believes he needs nothing more to leave Hopkins writhing in the dust. Other men with big ambitions have felt the same, only to have their dreams shattered by the unpredictable Mr. Hopkins.
?I wanna get some lesson from the professor of boxing,? said Kovalev sarcastically. ?He is old school boxer. I want to get some experience from this fight that can make me better for another fight. I am not going to finish my career after this fight. There will be other fighters that will also be tough and very talented and very hard like a punch machine. I should be ready for everyone in the ring and in life too. I am trying to be disciplined because this is boxing. This is very intense and dangerous sport. Any punch from your opponent can be last for you.?
Hopkins plays mind games the way Van Cliburn plays piano. It?s beautiful music to some, the tinkling of ivories to others.
?I don?t care what he saying. I don?t understand him. It?s not my language. I am very happy that this fight is in America. I am very excited that I get to participate at this level already. When I came to America, I waited long time to get to this level of fight. I am sure in myself. I believe in me. In my mind I am strong, but this is boxing and I don?t what is going to happen. I hope and I wish that this fight will be very clean and fair. Who is strong should be who win. I want that this fight should be fair. I try to be polite, I try to be nice but, if my opponent don?t respect me, then I don?t respect him. Sometimes a lot of fighters talk about what they will do and then they didn?t do it. In Russia, they do not respect people who just speak but not do. Say and do are two different things. I can do it and afterwards say I did it.?
Hopkins reputation as a dirty fighter precedes him. He may not be Fritzie Zivic or Tony Galento dirty, but he?s dirty enough. Still, if the win at all costs ethos is good enough for Wall Street and DC, you can bet your bottom dollar, you can bet your life, that it?s good enough for boxing.
?He is punching open hands,? said Krusher about Hopkins? bag of tricks. ?Punching from the head like a deer. He fighting like a street fighter. Because he is dangerous. He can cut you from the head, from the elbow, everything, from any part of his body. He is looking like a very dirty fighter. Sometimes he is making like a clown. He is a good actor. If he is feeling like he can?t do something legally, he start playing like an actor and complaining about pain or a low blow or something. Anyway I need to get a victory, dirty fight or clean fight, for me it doesn?t matter. I will fight dirty, if Hopkins will fight dirty. I?m going to fight a clean fight, but who knows what will happen November 8th. If I lose I lose. But I?m not going to lose.?
