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The following is from the Sports Ticker:
Wright issues warning to aging Hopkins
July 20, 2007
By Phil Barnett Special to PA SportsTicker
LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Winky Wright has warned 42-year-old Bernard Hopkins he will shatter his legacy and send him "back to the retirement home" when they square off Saturday night.
The Mandalay Bay hosts a fight between arguably the finest boxing technicians of their generation in a contest disputably branded "Coming to Fight."
In the 1990s, Wright served a six-year apprenticeship, travelling the world to take part in poorly paid, late-notice fights before winning the WBO light-middleweight title in 1996 and beginning his rise to world prominence, which culminated in victories over Shane Mosley (2004) and Felix Trinidad (2005).
Hopkins, who is seven years older than Wright, boasted a record-breaking stint as middleweight world champion before being controversially deposed by rising star Jermain Taylor.
However, Hopkins recovered in emphatic style last year to beat former light-heavyweight world champion Antonio Tarver despite a jump of two weight divisions.
Hopkins will be in for another challenge against Wright, who is not at all fazed by his opponent's physical advantage.
"My job is to go in the ring and dominate my opponent, and that's what I'm going to do to Bernard," Wright said. "He's going to be a lot bigger and a lot stronger, but he's going to stay dominated from round one.
"I'll break him down, and he's going to go back to the retirement home because he should have stayed there. He should have stayed retired. He ended his career with a great fight by beating Antonio Tarver. Now he's going to mess that up by getting beaten by me."
Wright, for so long a 154-pound fighter, is making an even bigger jump to take on Hopkins at a 170-pound catch-weight.
The fight marks the latest in a growing, welcome trend whereby top fighters shun "alphabet" titles and opt to make meaningful fights against top opponents.
Wright admitted his legacy is the priority ahead of Saturday's bout.
"It's definitely important for me to be in the Hall of Fame because I feel that the things that I had to do to get to where I'm at today, a lot of fighters wouldn't have been able to do that," he said. "So I feel I earned my respect, I earned my place in boxing."
For his part, Hopkins has likened himself to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
"I am a competitor, I am the Michael Jordan of boxing and I always have something to prove to myself," Hopkins said. "This is not about money anymore. It is to know that at 42 years old in this world, I can easily rule.
"Unless you are a world-class athlete, you will never understand our competitive nature. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and myself - we are world-class athletes, and competition is what drives us."
Wright issues warning to aging Hopkins
July 20, 2007
By Phil Barnett Special to PA SportsTicker
LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Winky Wright has warned 42-year-old Bernard Hopkins he will shatter his legacy and send him "back to the retirement home" when they square off Saturday night.
The Mandalay Bay hosts a fight between arguably the finest boxing technicians of their generation in a contest disputably branded "Coming to Fight."
In the 1990s, Wright served a six-year apprenticeship, travelling the world to take part in poorly paid, late-notice fights before winning the WBO light-middleweight title in 1996 and beginning his rise to world prominence, which culminated in victories over Shane Mosley (2004) and Felix Trinidad (2005).
Hopkins, who is seven years older than Wright, boasted a record-breaking stint as middleweight world champion before being controversially deposed by rising star Jermain Taylor.
However, Hopkins recovered in emphatic style last year to beat former light-heavyweight world champion Antonio Tarver despite a jump of two weight divisions.
Hopkins will be in for another challenge against Wright, who is not at all fazed by his opponent's physical advantage.
"My job is to go in the ring and dominate my opponent, and that's what I'm going to do to Bernard," Wright said. "He's going to be a lot bigger and a lot stronger, but he's going to stay dominated from round one.
"I'll break him down, and he's going to go back to the retirement home because he should have stayed there. He should have stayed retired. He ended his career with a great fight by beating Antonio Tarver. Now he's going to mess that up by getting beaten by me."
Wright, for so long a 154-pound fighter, is making an even bigger jump to take on Hopkins at a 170-pound catch-weight.
The fight marks the latest in a growing, welcome trend whereby top fighters shun "alphabet" titles and opt to make meaningful fights against top opponents.
Wright admitted his legacy is the priority ahead of Saturday's bout.
"It's definitely important for me to be in the Hall of Fame because I feel that the things that I had to do to get to where I'm at today, a lot of fighters wouldn't have been able to do that," he said. "So I feel I earned my respect, I earned my place in boxing."
For his part, Hopkins has likened himself to Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.
"I am a competitor, I am the Michael Jordan of boxing and I always have something to prove to myself," Hopkins said. "This is not about money anymore. It is to know that at 42 years old in this world, I can easily rule.
"Unless you are a world-class athlete, you will never understand our competitive nature. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and myself - we are world-class athletes, and competition is what drives us."
