By Bill "Two Scoops" Emes
IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins was a happy man after defeating Tavoris Cloud at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday night. Hopkins was happy not because he broke his own record by winning a title at 48-years-old. He was happy because Cloud was the last major fighter in the stable of promoter Don King. Hopkins believes the victory has finally closed the final chapter on the Hall of Fame career of King.
"I said it everybody, I don't like Don King. And I made it clear I don't like Don King. It was part of my motivation. It's not a black-white thing, it's a people thing. He don't treat people right. Who would ever think, that after all these years - that a mosquito bite couldn't get rid of him, that Bob Arum couldn't get rid of him - that Bernard Hopkins would stay around long enough to put Don King and the last fighter under his banner out of business," Hopkins said.
"I said it at the Barclays Center - 'Don King it's been ten years since we reunited, I made a living off your fighters. I beat all of them. I made 20 defenses off 90% of the fighters you threw at me. I get the chance to put a nail in your coffin and get rid of your last horse in your stable.' - Who would ever think in your wildest dreams did I think Bernard Hopkins would be the one to put Don King out of business. I did Richard [Schaefer] a favor, I did HBO a favor, I even did Bob Arum a favor. I did everybody a favor because Don King as you know him, like him or hate him, is no more."
