After Joe Calzaghe lamented last week that boxing was on its death bed and he was glad that he was nearing the end of his career, Bernard Hopkins had a blunt response.
?Joe needs to shut up!?? Hopkins said.
Calzaghe dumped on the sport in light of his match against Roy Jones, Jr. at Madison Square Garden doing badly at the box office and on HBO Pay Per View. His comments came before the HBO Pay Per View numbers from the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya match were released. That fight did a robust 1.25 million buys for $70 million in revenue.
Hopkins and De La Hoya are partners in Golden Boy Promotions.
?For him to say that boxing is dying or dead is wrong,?? Hopkins said. ?I have to disagree with him. This was one of the best years in the sport in a long time. If he wants to get out, go ahead retire. Boxing will survive without Joe.
“It?s survived when Floyd Mayweather retired and if Oscar De La Hoya decides to leave, it will survive without him, too.??
Calzaghe beat Hopkins last year. And after Hopkins beat Pavlik and Calzaghe beat Jones, Hopkins was angling=2 0for a rematch with Calzaghe. But Calzaghe said he didn?t want to fight Hopkins because of the racists statements that Hopkins made during the first promotion.
?If he says he doesn?t want to fight me because I?m a racist then he really doesn?t know me at all,?? Hopkins said. ?I will say and do things to hype the fight. Sometimes they?re not diplomatic. But that?s me. I?m not going to change that.??
Hopkins said the Pacquiao-De La Hoya match proved that people will pay to watch boxing, even in an economic downturn, if the match is right.
?If Oscar wasn?t involved in that match then you wouldn?t have seen 1.25 million in this economy,?? Hopkins said.
?There were people on both sides, Pacquiao?s side with the Filipinos, and Oscar?s side with the Mexicans, who didn?t buy bread for their kids because they wanted to see the fight. They probably wouldn?t do that for any other boxers.??
The heavyweights aside, Hopkins said boxing will do well because there is an abundance of talent throughout all the lower weight classes.
?The junior welterweights are hot,?? Hopkins said. ?And the little guys are holding boxing together by the seam of its pants. You?ve got the Peterson brothers (Anthony and Lamont), they?re strong boxers. Boxing is alive and well.??
Hopkins said he can?t imagine why Calzaghe said what he said.
?Maybe it was jealousy because he got a reality check with his match against Roy,?? Hopkins said. ?Roy understands the American pocket book and you really haven?t heard anything from him. But you must be from another world if you don?t understand the economic situation that?s going on right now.??
Hopkins believes the economic downturn will have a positive impact on boxing.
?Promoters will have to step up their game because they know they have to in this tough economy,?? he said. ?They?re going to have to take risks with their guys. They can?t just cherry pick opponents to build up a guys record. Those days are over.??
Hopkins said he can see a couple of the Golden Boy top prospects ? Victor Ortiz and Daniel Jacobs ? being moved along a little faster and possibly fighting for a championship late in 2009 or early 2010.
Hopkins foresees better matches on TV because promoters will be scrambling for fewer dates and will have to offer their best matchups to compete.
?They will have to bring their best show because they know their rival will be right behind them with a good show,?? he said.
Though he is still fighting and will soon turn 44, Hopkins said he isn?t the future of the sport.
?This is a young man?s sport,?? he said. ?I?m no fool to think I?m the future of the sport. It?s the young guys coming along who are going to be the key to keeping the sport alive.??
Hopkins said if Calzaghe doesn?t want to be a part of the future of the sport, then it is best that he step aside. But he wishes that he would go quietly and stop trying to take the sport down with him.
?It?s wrong for him to take a stab at boxing in a negative way,?? he said. ?I?m sure that boxing has done something for his life. I know it has done a lot for me and I appreciate that. I would never say anything bad about boxing. If I don?t want to do it anymore, I?d just walk away and be quiet.??
