BERNARD HOPKINS, IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion
“Everyone the age of 40 and over had better be on my side on October 26, or I’ll kick their ass.
“I’m happy to be here, but that’s where the alien comes in. You won’t hear the Executioner. You won’t see me with my hands crossed. The Executioner is retired. I’m an alien because I am of this world, but I’m not from this world.
“I’m now in another era because I’ve outlasted so many others. I outlasted the James Toney era, the Kelly Pavlik era and now I’m in the Adrien Broner and Danny Garcia era.
“There is a negative attributed to being different than everyone else, a negative attributed with being blessed and being able to do what I’m doing. You have to be able to walk the walk and talk the talk or you have haters.
“I am of a new era with an old soul…I represent the old soul of doing things the right way. Living the right way. Thinking the right way. Treating my mind, body and soul the right way.
“I know you all have questions to ask me, but there isn’t really that much you can ask me. Let me do the talking. What can you ask me that you haven’t heard for the last three decades? What are you going to ask me? Are you going to win? Are you ready? If I’m not, I’m going to show up anyway.
“I have been doing this for this long and going through the motions. After a while going through the motions becomes an instinct.
“Yes I’m ready. Yes I’m hyped, but I’m in control.
“I get to show in action how special I am. How many people get a chance to prove how special they are over and over and over again? As far as I’m concerned, it’s not about how much money you make when you’re fighting that makes you special.
“I believe that 10 years from now I am still going to be respected. I don’t like to think about this guy being a star or that guy a star. Look back 15 years from now and we will see then.
“I never put all of my eggs in one basket. I never come into the ring with one style. How do you train to beat Bernard Hopkins?
“Karo Murat says he is coming in with youth.
“Karo Murat is smart enough, but dumb enough to say that he has half of my experience. We’ve heard that before. He has half of the experience. He’s coming with two theories.
“He is coming to fight the guy that is 48. Just because the car is a 1965, doesn’t mean it’s old. Check the mileage, check the engine and then check the wear and tear. The year is old, but if you check the engine is like new.
“I call what I do in the gym, is ‘the car wash.’ I go all over this gym to keep my mind fresh. Some guys do that with women, I don’t. At this age, you want to keep your mind stimulated and not get bored with one thing.
“My weight is good. I’m fine. I have to eat to stay on weight.
“Philly has an old history that isn’t coming alive, but is alive. Danny Garcia, Gabriel Rosado, etc. But Philadelphia right now is in a good position regarding boxing. Better than the last three or four years when you have a city that had the riches of some of the greats. The load on my back that I carried for many years is being lifted with guys like Danny Garcia.
“Boxing in this city has a few people they can root for. One of them is Gabe [Rosado] who is fighting ‘Kid Chocolate’ [on October 26].
If you can’t make it and you have a TV and you pay your cable bill, you can watch it on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.”