Bernard Hopkins is old school. Clark Gable is the male who personifies Hollywood handsome to him. He calls his singing idol “Frankie” Sinatra. His idea of a pop anthem is Sinatra’s “My Way.”
In Hopkins’ pursuit of a boxing profession, “I did it my way” has meant fighting perceived enemies among promoters he has faced in negotiations as well as the fighters he has faced in the ring.
But when he defends his middleweight title Saturday night against Oscar De La Hoya in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the 39-year-old middleweight champion and 2-1 favorite will realize a $10 million payday. That is the kind of payday his maverick independence has denied him over the years.
With such haute cuisine on his plate, how does Hopkins keep the hunger and “have-not” attitude that has driven him since his early years on the mean streets of Philadelphia and meaner confines of prison? How does he maintain the edge that earned him a record 18 consecutive middleweight title defenses with a zeal befitting his nickname, “The Executioner”?
During a rambling monologue and subsequent interviews this week, Hopkins wanted to be certain that everyone saw a photograph that keeps him humble and hungry.
Dated April 18, 1985, it was taken at Pennsylvania’s Graterford Prison. In the picture, the 20-year-old Hopkins, serving 5 1/2 years on a strong-arm robbery conviction, is standing next to Smokey Wilson, serving a life sentence on a murder conviction. Inside the prison walls, Wilson became Hopkins’ first boxing trainer . . . and the first friend to believe in him. On the back of the photo, Wilson wrote, “You will be the middleweight champion one day.”
That day came, and Hopkins does not want the sun to set on it Saturday night.
“I’m willing to leave my soul, body and life in there if that’s what it takes,” he said.
It may not have resonated as literal, but at least it said he would not relinquish his crown without a heroic rumble.
De La Hoya responded, “I’ve been in this situation, this type of event, many times before. The only experience I’ve never faced is being the underdog. It burns me inside.”
But because De La Hoya stands to make three times Hopkins’ $10 million, win or lose, Hopkins still can enter Saturday’s showdown feeling like an underdog. Because he is perceived as the stronger man, a veteran 160-pound middleweight facing an opponent who began fighting as a 130-pound junior lightweight a dozen years ago, Hopkins arguably has more to lose than De La Hoya.
Hopkins (44-2-1 with 31 knockouts) officially weighed in Friday at 156 pounds, and De La Hoya (37-3 with 29 KOs) at 155. A compromise limit of 158 was stipulated in the contract.
Las Vegas oddsmakers have wrestled with this matchup. Robert Walker, director of sports book operations for MGM-Mirage, said opening odds that barely favored Hopkins may have been a mistake because a torrent of professional bettors put money on the favorite, pushing the odds up to 2-1.
