Bernard Hopkins: Revising a Hardscrabble and Predictable Story

LOS ANGELES — From a rough start through his refined end, Bernard Hopkins spent three decades in boxing making a name for himself: The Executioner, The Alien, The Matrix, B-Hop, ’Nard. Call Hopkins what you will, just know that as far as he’s concerned, he set himself apart a long time ago. “How Bernard Hopkins wants to be remembered is one word,” the retiring legend told Sherdog.com this week. “‘Different.’ The dictionary will tell you the definition of it. When you’re different, in any way, whether you agree or disagree, then you Hopkins.”That seems like a relatively fair position based on the 51 years he knows. “I didn’t think I would live to 20 because I was told that by teachers and neighborhood people,” Hopkins said. “I really believed that because of my behavior I was trying to do all the hell I could do before I was out of here. Either you get killed or go to jail for life, like most of my friends. If you look at the numbers, the numbers never lie. This is all bonuses. I come from a guy taking $10 [to] now paying the government millions of dollars in taxes. The country isn’t as bad as people might think it is, depending on how you look at it.” Before living like a well-paid artist who mastered his craft, Hopkins navigated a childhood in North Philadelphia that often claimed people like him, and, later, prison, which did, too — a hardscrabble and predictable story, written prior to Hopkins revising it. “This man has been counted out by the system,” the lanky 6-foot-1 counterpuncher said of himself. “What he pulled off is amazing, and then to put that exclamation point and become who he became as a public figure, c’mon man. This is Hollywood stuff.” Hopkins’ fairy tale truth is not as uncommon as he makes it out to be — the list of boxers who came from nothing to meet greatness is long and proof enough — but it’s still remarkable. “To make lemonade without lemons takes really a hell of a unique personality,” he said. “It’s a lot of discipline and a not-giving-up attitude and being stubborn in a way of good and sometimes not.” If the all-time great middleweight is true to his word, then The Forum in Inglewood, California, will host the final contest for the two-division champion, whom pundits unanimously agree merits entry into the Boxing Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in five years. The good, the bad and the icing on the cake. Spanning three eras of boxers, there’s not much left to learn about Hopkins except how he’ll close the show. Regardless of what happens against unheralded 27-year-old American puncher Joe Smith Jr. (21-1, 18 KO) in a 12-round light heavyweight bout (HBO, 10 p.m. ET/PT) on Saturday, Hopkins’ personal and professional legacies are secure. Since the announcement came two …

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