Bernard Hopkins returns to the well again...

Ben Pierce

27.11 - It has been over a year now since Bernard Hopkins defeated Felix Trinidad and became the undisputed Middleweight champion of the world. Hopkins was at the peak of his career, something he had fought and struggled for so many years, had finally been achieved. Hopkins was atop the boxing world. But what has happened since that career-defining win over Trinidad will most likely define the career of Bernard Hopkins.

Hopkins 41-2-1(30) challenged everybody within two weight classes of the Middleweight division, after his win over Trinidad. He of course preferred the smaller guys, a career trend for Hopkins who began his boxing career at Light Heavyweight. He wanted De la Hoya, Vargas, Forrest, Mosley, even promising a rematch with Trinidad…are you seeing a trend here? One name visibly absent was from his list was Roy Jones Jr. He seemed disinterested in a fight with his longtime nemesis that had once defeated him years ago.

Hopkins has since fought no one of any consequence and alienated those who would have presented any real level of competition for him. He fought one mandatory defense against a clearly overmatched Carl Daniels and has tentatively scheduled another mandatory title defense against an unknown Morrade Hakker, for early next year. Definitely not the competition Hopkins said he wanted, not the boxers he called out and not the level of competition he had cried about for so many years, claiming that no one would fight him.

Hopkins suffers from now and has always suffered from what I call "the poor pitiful me" syndrome. He cried and moaned for years about how he was overlooked, avoided, mistreated and generally wronged by the boxing establishment. Yet when he obtained control over his career and is in the proverbial "drivers seat" he longed to be in for so many years, what does he do? He refuses a rematch with Felix Trinidad for multiple millions of dollars more than he has ever made in his career. He turns down a fight with Roy Jones Jr. for a reported ten million dollars and axes a fight with Joe Calzaghe that would have paid him what was said to be six million dollars. All this while signing with a promoter, Don King that he had disparaged for years, and alienating both television networks that feature boxing as a staple of their programming. He has turned down multi-fight offers from both Showtime and HBO.

Now once again Hopkins returns to the well that he once so stubbornly left behind. His promoter Don King is said to be in negotiations for a fight with Joe Calzagne. Hopkins returns to this well, as he has so many others, now basically begging for a fight with the only viable opponent left out there for him in the immediate future. But Hopkins knows this scenario well…after refusing a rematch with Trinidad, we found him in Tito's homeland begging him for a fight. After he stymied negotiations with Roy Jones, we found Hopkins invading the dressing room of a fighter preparing for a world championship bout, to confront Jones and try to provoke him into a rematch. Yes, Hopkins has returned to the well many times after initially refusing to drink from it.

But Hopkins will once again, in a fashion that he has served him well for so many years, blame everyone but himself for his problems. A reality check coupled with some introspection and self-evaluation might serve the champion well. He needs to forget his pride and ego and take an honest look at what he has done over the last year…the mistakes he has made and the opportunities he has wasted.

Since his victory over Trinidad he has refused fights with Jones, Calzaghe and a rematch with Trinidad. He has alienated two television networks and fired his advisor and his longtime trainer. He recently lost a lawsuit to former advisor Lou Dibella for $610,000 and faces another lawsuit from former trainer, Bouie Fisher. I find it difficult to believe that all these people are wrong and Hopkins is right, as he wants us to believe. We have three boxers, two television networks and two business associates all asking what is wrong with this man. Hopkins has indeed done it his way as he told us he would… but has that been the right way? It would seem apparent that it is not and as I told you months ago, the executioners song may well turn out to be a swan song if Hopkins does not change his tune very soon.

Hopkins has traveled from the peaks to the valley of boxing in a few short months and he has no one to blame but himself. Even most of his hardcore fans have become disillusioned and disappointed in the Middleweight champion. Hopkins at almost thirty-eight years old has only a limited time left in the sport of boxing. He had better hope his return to the well with Joe Calzaghe does not come up dry as others have or he will be thirsting for the career that could have been, but never was.

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