Didn't Hopkins duck a lot of top competition during his reign as middle-weight?

wow, talk about driking the koolaid, why don't you mention how many people thought he lost that fight, even more amazing considering it was in Mercado hometown. I love Hopkins and he is maybe the greatest fighter of my generation, but trying to defend his mismandatories title reign without putting some of the blame on him is dishonest, claiming that he fought no big names because he cared about his legacy and didn't want to move up in weight or sign with Don King is downrigh outrageous

 

I must be wrong, but I thought King stated that he thought Hopkins won the first Mercado fight in the post-fight interview. This makes no sense...

 

Hopkins brought Tito-Nation to a halt, and by stoppage. Who else has boxed the ears off Tito then stopped him?

He has beaten everyone that he was expected to beat, and even some he wasn't.

 

Thats true and like I said it worked out for him but I would have liked to see him move up and look for challenges instead of chillin at middleweight for all those years until Trinadad came..

 

Sabotage?

Buddy, he went to Ecuador to fight freaking Segundo Mercado, for God's sake. Segundo Mercado!

He wasn't fighting Steve Collins in Belfast or Julian Jackson in the Virgin Islands or Nigel Benn in London. Segundo Mercado never beat a top 10 contender in his life.

King gave Bernard a second VACANT title shot AND a third VACANT middleweight title shot against a guy who had no business even competing for a belt -- especially when you consider all the other middleweights around at the time.

And you're complaining about Hopkins' hotel room? If Mike Tyson was forced to fight Peter McNeeley in Boston, and was given a room at Motel 6, I think he still would've won inside a round.

Hopkins came of age in the early to mid 90s during one of the best middleweight/super middleweight periods in the sport's long history, and he somehow managed to "not fight" everyone but Roy Jones ... who easily beat him.

 

1. Bernard was the mandatory. He wasn't given shit. Actually he was given shit, it just happened to be on the floor of the gym they told him to train in when he got to Quito.

2. Why would he give up his mandatory status to fight Steve Collins or Julian Jackson? Less money for not being the mandatory? A chance to get blackballed by an organization for not fighting for the belt he was made the mandatory for?

3. King didn't give him shit. The first fight was a draw in Mercado's hometown. That tells you how much Hopkins was "given". He was "given" so much that he had to go fight in the other guy's hometown because King won the purse bid. Remember that also gave Mercado an advantage because he had lived at that elevation all his life (elevation 9,350 ft above sea level). Where was Hopkins used to fighting (Philadelphia---elevation at the highest point---445 ft above sea level). If you don't think that gave Mercado a very significant advantage, you're wrong. King didn't give Hopkins shit.

And your comparison about Tyson and Hopkins doesn't pan out either. Mercado would have beaten McNeeley even though McNeeley outweighed him by 60-plus lbs. Plus, Tyson was King's cash cow; Hopkins was just the opponent that Mercado had to face because Hopkins was the mandatory.

Again, why would Hopkins give up what little bargaining power he had (the mandatory shot)? It doesn't make sense. He didn't have anything else in terms of drawing power or promotion. He was smart not to turn out like other King middle champs like McClellan and Norris.

 

Rich in his 20's?

 

::

I'm guessing he meant space cadets

 

He signed when the money was right, but be honest---that middleweight tournament wasn't about crowning Bernard. I said he did the best with what he had, and that meant not being in servitude to King. Bernard didn't have Roy's gifts, but he had skills and a work ethic. He did NOT want to sign with King until King wanted him, and that got Bernard a big payday.

True or false: Bernard didn't want to sign with King when he was being handled by Butch Lewis.

 

Really? So King would have made him rich when he was holding the USBA title or losing to Roy? Do you even know what you're talking about? Or are you trying to say that King made Hopkins rich for the two Mercado fights?

 

I meant treated like shit. Norris sued King for millions and McClellan was treated like one of his own pitbulls by King. McClellan was in the hospital and King was saying that he had quit like a dog.

Yeah, that Don...he went out of his way for people who weren't his cash cows. That's why so many of them sued him, and even with all his cash, a few won like Witherspoon and Norris.

Keep in mind that this is the same guy who bragged he entered with the champ (Frazier), and left with the champ (Foreman) ---although he had to literally step over Frazier's body to get to Foreman.

 

King also pulled the same thing with Gerrie Coetzee and Michael Dokes. Dokes was King's fighter...but King couldn't get over to Coetzee fast enough after Dokes was KOed.