{"id":10453,"date":"2011-05-12T10:46:17","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T14:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=10453"},"modified":"2011-05-12T10:46:17","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T14:46:17","slug":"george-foreman-calls-out-bernard-hopkins-break-my-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=10453","title":{"rendered":"George Foreman Calls Out Bernard Hopkins: Break My Record"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Former heavyweight champion \u201cBig\u201d George Foreman has advised 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins to do something he hasn\u2019t done since 2004 if B-Hop is going to break his record as the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a significant world title. \u201cYou must get a knockout, stated Foremen. \u201cThis fight and the record will not be broken on a unanimous decision. There must be a knockout!\u201d Hopkins has been been involved in ten consecutive twelve-round decisions since his last knockout, ironically against his business partner Oscar de la Hoya.<\/p>\n

[Foreman on his own record and career] \u201cI thought such a record would last a lot longer than it has lasted because 45 is phenomenal and just think, Bernard Hopkins is 46. He\u2019s probably the only one who could break such a record because not only does he possess this big punch to get a knockout, but he\u2019s also a good boxer and at times, a counter-puncher. He can pull it off, no doubt about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think if Bernard has any idea of how great an opportunity this is not only for boxing, but for all sports. Once I became champion again, it pushed other athletes in other sports to even drive and do things at a later age. If Bernard is able to win this thing and do it decisively, it\u2019s going to help boxing. I don\u2019t think guys should be looking at their career as over just because they\u2019re 35. You need time to pursue other things, like get a college education, be a movie star, and then come back, lick your fingers and be a champion again.<\/p>\n

[On the similarities between Foreman and Hopkins] \u201cIt\u2019s all about pride. That\u2019s about it. It\u2019s not limited to just pride in yourself, but also your community, your family, and boxing. Those are the similarities we have. He looks in the mirror and he still sees a young kid. Bernard Hopkins\u2014he still thinks he\u2019s a kid, you know? I did the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou step into the ring at 46, you just got to understand that you are just a kid like the other guy across the ring. You can\u2019t look at yourself as a 46\u2014and that\u2019s a challenge, too. It is a challenge because you walk in the ring. Everybody you know\u2014all your buddies and friends got gray hair. You\u2019re going to have to just get over there and say, \u2018I\u2019m not one of those guys!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I lost the title to Muhammad Ali and then [lost to] Jimmy Young, I had so much time off. If I had made up my mind to continue, I think that I could have been champion, regained the title and the reign would have lasted all the way into \u201994. Time helped me, but not as much as if I\u2019d been active, I could\u2019ve done it a lot easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarry Holmes once told me when I made up my mind to get back into boxing, he said, \u2018George, you can do it.\u2019 He said, \u2018If I had your punch, there wouldn\u2019t be any question about it.\u2019 He encouraged me more than anyone. Muhammad Ali was always, \u2018Keep punching. You can do it.\u2019 Joe Frazier\u2014he had a little faith in me. So, from the days back, the previous guys did encourage me in their own way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so hard to come back after 10 years. I was out there relaxing and enjoying\u2014eating and sleeping when I wanted to. Desserts were on the menu, something I didn\u2019t do previously. To stop all of that and then pursue boxing, go to bed early when babies are crying around the house. I didn\u2019t have that originally. It was rough. It became a job.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first time around, I had this dynamite program with reflexes. I could stop punches before they\u2019d get there, catch them in the air, just before you hit me, I\u2019d hit you; I had this dynamic program of reflexes. Coming back in the gym, I found out, that\u2019s not going to work. So, I had to change my style, set my defense exactly where a guy is going to hit me and not move them around too much. I would have to go longer distance because I knew people would try to extend me because of my age. So, from three and a half miles, I had to add 10 miles to my program of running.<\/p>\n

[Staying in shape past 40] \u201cA great obstacle that a lot of people don\u2019t understand is that as you get older, you start looking at young people as if to say, \u201cOh, that kid.\u201d You can\u2019t do that. That\u2019s the obstacle. Make certain that you look and see\u2014every guy that you see is not a kid. Though he\u2019s 21, 22, or 23, it\u2019s an obstacle to not look at them as competitors equal to you when that bell rings. It\u2019s great.<\/p>\n

[On being 45 and setting the age record] \u201cYou find yourself at open houses with your children. Then, all of a sudden, you realize you have a grandchild. I had a grandchild. I was having grandkids. Then, you think, \u2018Is that possible? I\u2019m the heavyweight champion of the world, a grandfather?\u2019 It did start to sink in. I wondered, \u2018I don\u2019t think anyone would ever do this.\u2019 That\u2019s why it\u2019s very important. I\u2019ll be watching anxiously to see how this will turn out because grandpas are competing now.<\/p>\n

[On Pascal] \u201cHe\u2019s a great fighter. He\u2019s from a great country that has great boxers. He understands that this fight is not only going up to defend his title, but at the same time, he\u2019s got pride in what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

[On Pascal\u2019s chances of winning on points in Montreal] \u201cWell, one thing you got to understand is that hometown thing. It gives you an extra something in your body that you generally don\u2019t have. I mean, it gives you more courage. It gives you more speed. He is able to land shots that Bernard Hopkins is not able to land. Bernard is a decisive, good, crisp puncher. He doesn\u2019t waste time on throwing nothing shots. The champion\u2014he doesn\u2019t mind. Any shot is a point and I think he\u2019s better equipped to win because he\u2019s not looking for a knockout. It\u2019s a point system and he is better equipped to win this fight on the point system [in Montreal].<\/p>\n

[On Hopkins] \u201cThe last time I had a chance to communicate with Bernard, he was at a competitive age. He was just doing what he was supposed to do. Of course, he was a veteran fighter, but at this point, we\u2019ve never had a chance to talk about it. He\u2019s one of those guys who just continuously goes out and does what he\u2019s going to do. Probably recently, he\u2019s starting to say, \u2018I\u2019m a senior here. This is going to have to be undertaken as a feat,\u2019 but I\u2019ve never had such a conversation with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hope is that he\u2019ll go out there and put on a good fight. Understand that these fights generally are not won by decisions. In the latter rounds; he should look for a knockout like I did. There was no way I could have been in the record books without that one-two knockout punch. Bernard Hopkins\u2014he\u2019s got it, but he\u2019s going to have to get it by way of knockout.<\/p>\n

\u201cBernard is a thinking man\u2019s fighter. I didn\u2019t realize that until he fought Trinidad. I had no idea. I always considered him a good, rough-and-tough fighter, but with the Trinidad fight, he took his time. He measured the ring. He measured the fighter, used his jab, and threw his right hand from a distance until the time for the knockout. He is the last, truly, thinking man\u2019s fighter, boxer and puncher. That\u2019s what makes Bernard unique. He thinks in the ring. Most people, even myself, were overtaken with that moment. You get excited. A guy hits you in the eye. You got to get him back. You got to get payback. This man thinks. He doesn\u2019t wait for the corner to tell him what\u2019s going on. He thinks while he\u2019s active in the ring.<\/p>\n

[On Pascal vs. Hopkins I] \u201cI was just sitting there on the edge, hoping that he\u2019d pull it off, but Bernard has to realize, as I did when I fought Michael Moorer, you must get a knockout. This fight and the record will not be broken on a unanimous decision. There must be a knockout.<\/p>\n

[On Pascal vs. Hopkins II] \u201cIt is important to appeal to the youthful pride. Meet in the middle of the ring and say, \u2018Let\u2019s fight. What are you running from? C\u2019mon.\u2019 [If you do that] you appeal to all of the boxers, ex-boxers and all the fans who want boxing back in its proper position.<\/p>\n

\u201cBernard has to understand that this guy, the champion, could land one punch, two punches, three punches that mean nothing to him, but they could be points in the bag. That\u2019s why I expecting Bernard to load up in the latter end of the fight, and go for the knockout, break that record, and break it fair and square where everybody can see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first fight is going to have to be erased. The decision was not of quality. The second time around, Bernard will get a knockout.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be watching HBO. Can you imagine? HBO was there when I knocked out Joe Frazier as the inauguration of their fighting program on television. Now, if they\u2019re able to televise Bernard Hopkins breaking the record of George Foreman\u2014man, what a milestone..<\/p>\n

Foreman Introduces Hopkins:<\/p>\n

\u201cBernard Hopkins\u2014probably the only man that stands a chance to break all records, one that\u2019s going to set and stay there for a long time. Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy the great one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hopkins:<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Big George. I\u2019d like to say to everybody that\u2019s listening before we start, this is a bittersweet opportunity for me because George Foreman has always been a guy that we came up on\u2014I say \u201cwe\u201d\u2014my era with the Ali\u2019s, the Joe Frazier\u2019s, the George Foreman\u2019s. So, I\u2019m going to represent history very well come next Saturday, May 21st. There are not too many fighters able to have this kind of opportunity. So, I will not sneeze at this. I will take this title. I will become the oldest champion. So, thank you, George. Again, I would like to tell everybody it\u2019s a bittersweet opportunity for me because of George\u2019s legacy, but it\u2019s in good hands, George.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foreman:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll records were set to be broken. I\u2019m just hoping someone will come back and do it at 65 so I can come back again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hopkins:<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be right behind you\u2026hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Former heavyweight champion \u201cBig\u201d George Foreman has advised 46-year-old Bernard Hopkins to do something he hasn\u2019t done since 2004 if B-Hop is going to break his record as the oldest fighter in boxing history to win a significant world title. \u201cYou must get a knockout, stated Foremen. \u201cThis fight and the record will not be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[81,153,294,3383],"class_list":["post-10453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-bernard-hopkins","tag-champions","tag-george-foreman","tag-records"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10453"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10453\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}