In just a matter of hours Bernard Hopkins will set foot in the ring for a long-desired grudge match with his rival Roy Jones Jr. Hopkins lost a competitive but clear decision to Jones in 1993 and tonight at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada the 45-year old veteran will look for redemption against the one fighter to ever beat him convincingly.
Hopkins? past ten-plus years in the sport have been well publicized, as the outspoken Philadelphian continued to defy odds as the years passed by. From shocking the world with a thorough trouncing of Felix Trinidad in September of 2001 to rejuvenating his career with whitewash victories against Antonio Tarver and Kelly Pavlik, Hopkins has shown that he is someone you can never count out. One man who has been with Bernard for much of the ride while getting to know him at his core is his head trainer Naazim Richardson.
Growing up in North Philadelphia, fighting didn?t seem to be a choice for Richardson nearly as much as it was something he simply born into. While Richardson will be the first to tell you that he had a rough background, he is hesitant to dive into his childhood days and how he got introduced to boxing, because in his own words ?That isn?t going to help with the hooks and the right hands?.
Richardson played every sport as a youth but insists that fighting and boxing alike were both more of a way of life. Richardson says he later got caught up in the juvenile institution and that?s where he learned the ins and outs of the amateur system while also getting a taste of what it took to guide a fighter from the corner.
?To me it was about common sense,? Richardson said earlier this week. ?People always get into who is a good trainer and who is not a good trainer. A lot of it was just about common sense from me being around the sport and watching and working with different guys. It just kind of came natural to me.?
Boxing is a tight-knit community and Richardson and Hopkins crossed paths well before either man ever had a taste of the spotlight that comes with being on a championship team on the highest of stages. Richardson points out that Hopkins? Spartan work ethic set him apart instantly.
?I?ve known Bernard from his younger years,? Richardson noted. ?When he was in jail he used to spar one of my cousins. When he came back home I got to know him even better. The thing about Bernard that is very unique is that everybody would stop and watch when he trained, even other fighters. It was because of his intensity. My connection was really through Bouie Fisher. Me and Bouie Fisher really struck up a relationship and Bouie called me in and wanted me to help him with Bernard.?
Richardson remembers first working with Bernard before the champion?s defense against Andrew Council in November of 1997, and being in his corner for the first time during his brutal stoppage over Simon Brown two months later. Over time Richardson would get an intimate look into Hopkins? world and everything that it encompassed. In doing so he came to find a fighter who was always on a mission and a man who was deadest on never returning to his dark roots.
?It?s just his focus,? Richardson said when reflecting on Bernard?s persona. ?His focus is rare. Very seldom do you get fighters who have this hunger that is lacking in some younger fighters. Very few fighters when they become champion still have that focus and discipline once they became champion. A lot of them when they were trying to get there had that discipline but then they seem to lose a little something. Bernard almost seemed to increase. We used to say that once you let him taste steak, you couldn?t send him back to Ramen noodles. That?s what was rare about him.?
Eventually Richardson would step in as Hopkins? chief trainer but insists that their relationship was primarily the same. Still, Richardson remembers that even as a chief assistant that Hopkins was always open to learning something new in order to better himself as a fighter.
?Bernard kind of believed in a lot of my philosophies and ways of doing things, even when Bouie was still there,? Richardson stated. ?I remember that specifically when we worked on the strategy for the Trinidad fight. He was asking what strategy could be applied against Trinidad. I remember it was funny because I kept watching the William Joppy fight. He walked in on me watching it and he said ?What, are you trying to intimidate me??. Because everybody said that Oscar had the way to beat Trinidad but I disagreed. I didn?t think Oscar showed you how to beat Trinidad because Oscar used his legs and unless you are a fighter who can use your legs like that for twelve rounds, that isn?t a blueprint for every fighter.
?It did work for Oscar because I thought he won but the Trinidad fight with Joppy, I saw that he hurt Joppy early. Trinidad was one of the best finishers in the business but how come he didn?t finish him early? I looked at the fight and Joppy got rounds in by using his jab against Trinidad. I saw that was the way to beat Trinidad, by using your jab. Because Joppy was hurt, a duck in the water waiting to be executed, and his jab game him another three or four rounds. I told Bernard that if he came in bigger, stronger, and fresher with a better jab he would be able to dominate the fight with the jab. I think that?s the way to beat Trinidad and we came to find out that was the way to beat him.?
When looking at his charge?s fight tonight against his long-time foil in Jones, Richardson seems pleased that the moment has finally arrived. While the trainer insists that Hopkins will attack with the same calculated tenacity that has defined his career, he also feels that some deep emotions will also come into play.
?It?s the kind of fight that I am confident because I think it brings back some of the old mentality of Bernard Hopkins,? Richardson said slightly grinning. ?Not so much the seek and destroy but it?s going to be a controlled aggression. He wants this fight and this is personal. It?s not so much about the loss, it?s personal because after they fought Roy was in the position to make the fight happen again when he had control of boxing. It?s almost like he did what he could to shut Bernard out. Bernard stayed disciplined and broke through anyways. In doing that he felt that it will be punishment back to Roy for not opening the door. He felt that Roy was real selfish when he was on top and he kept it for himself. But Bernard has that mentality that he rised anyways. If you had tickets to get in the party but you kept them all for yourself and then you look up and I got in the party anyways, I?m here now. I think you are going to see that kind of persona in Bernard.?
Whatever happens tonight at the Mandalay Bay, Hopkins? legacy is already secure. Hopkins? could have easily fallen prey to his harsh surroundings as a youth but he found a way to turn his life around and his aspirations as still striking to this day. More than anything Richardson can respect how Bernard has always stood for what he has felt is right in his life.
?What I really appreciate about Bernard is that he is willing to take a stand for what he believes, regardless of the consequences. The feathers may ruffle and people may be uncomfortable with it but whatever he believes to be right is what he is going to take that stance and hold form to it. He?s not going to shake and waver for it and I think it works for him.?
