BERNARD HOPKINS is widely regardly, at the age of 40, as the best boxer in the world, pound for pound, and there is little doubt why, according to James Fisher, his trainer. “He’s a borderline fanatic,” Fisher said of the undisputed world middleweight champion. “He lives his everyday life like he is in training camp. His dedication is incredible. The way he is, he could go on for ever.”
During his career, Hopkins, who defends his titles against Howard Eastman here tomorrow, has never smoked, taken drugs or drunk alcohol — he is even known for going into expensive restaurants and ordering plain pasta, so concerned is he about what might lurk in the sauce. Hopkins admits to being “paranoid”, especially where alcohol is concerned, having seen his father drink himself to an early death.
“I can’t afford at this stage of my career to cut corners, but very few fighters can train in the middle of South Beach [Miami] and be asleep by 8.30,” he said. “When I get up in the morning to run, I’m jumping over drunks on the beach. It’s like running through a ghetto. I’m 40 but I don’t look like I’m 40. And it’s not like I’m a heavyweight and just have to stand there, I need to rely on my reflexes fighting guys ten or 15 years younger than me.”
His obsessive training even extended to his honeymoon. “I went on a cruise and they feed you like crazy, so I would get up early and jog around the ship,” he said. Only one slight concession has been made to his advancing years. “I used to get up at 4.30 or 5 to run, now it’s 6.30.
“When you have done something for so long and your body is used to it, you get a negative reaction when you don’t do it. It’s like an addiction, but you could say it’s a good problem.
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“Not everyone can do it, it’s a strong discipline. A lot of that comes from being in the penitentiary; you have to be disciplined to go through it.”
One promise hangs over Hopkins, one made to his late mother that he would not box beyond the age of 40. That, he believes, will allow him to have two more bouts should he get past Eastman. They could include a rematch with Félix Trinidad, the Puerto Rican legend, and a bout against Glen Johnson, now the world’s No 1 light-heavyweight, who was stopped by Hopkins in 1997.
Fisher believes that Hopkins will stick to his promise. “It will be hard for him, because he will be retired and still be the best middleweight out there,” he said. “But it will be good for boxing. First Ricardo Lopez [the world light-flyweight champion] bowed out at the top, then Lennox Lewis and then it will be Bernard. The smallest guy, the biggest and then the best.”
THE BEST POUND-FOR-POUND BOXERS IN THE WORLD
1 Bernard Hopkins
(US, middleweight)
45-2-1 (32 KO)
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2 Marco Antonio Barrera
(Mex, super-featherweight)
59-4-0 (41 KO)
3 Kostya Tszyu
(Aus, light-welterweight)
31-1-0 (25 KO)
4 Erik Morales
(Mex, super-featherweight)
47-2-0 (34 KO)
5 Ronald “Winky” Wright
(US, light-middleweight)
47-3-0 (25 KO)
6 Glen Johnson
(US, light-heavyweight)
42-9-2 (28 KO)
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7 Vitali Klitschko
(Ukr, heavyweight)
35-2-0 (34 KO)
8 Juan Manuel Márquez
(Mex, featherweight)
43-2-1 (33 KO)
9 Manny Pacquiao
(Phil, featherweight)
39-2-2 (31KO)
10 Floyd Mayweather Jr
(US, light-welterweight)
32-0-0 (21 KO)