I have to constantly work on my reflexes and hand-eye coordination. I do a lot of puzzles. I play chess.
— Bernard Hopkins
I am a great champion.
There is nothing more important than staying alert, reading your opponent, that counts for both inside and outside the ring.
I want to be the spokesman for the 40-and-older crowd, inspiring people to believe that no matter their age, they can be healthy and save their lives.
That materialistic life, that's not my god.
I love fighting big guys because I'm fast. I'm not a big, light heavyweight. I can move. I can get inside on them. I'm inside, I'm wrestling with them, and they're just wrestling, but all the time, I'm chopping; I'm slapping.
Most of my fights are intelligent.
Any UFC fighter, and any fighter going into the boxing ring and can do what they do in the UFC, nine out of 10 won't be victorious and vice-versa, with a boxer coming from - even myself - coming over to that field will be a fish trying to be in a jungle and survive. It's not going to happen.
If I can create an atmosphere to make my job easier and your confidence less, why not?
No one's kicking down the door to fight Bernard Hopkins.
I say the sweet science is to understand not only how to fight coming forward, how to be a big puncher, but also understand, if you run into a guy who can take your punch for the first time, how to react.
I looked up to Marvin Hagler, Ali.
It's two sides to everybody. I'm a manager - I'm a promoter - and I'm a fighter, so it is two sides to me. That's a balance there.
Always have to think like a guy with no food in his refrigerator.
When you grow up hard, when you grow up surviving, unfortunately, it helps.
I'm tired of proving myself.
I'm not downplaying my age - because humankind is such that people run away from their age. Especially women. Guys pretend not to care, but they do. Age is not a good thing to most human beings. But, being an alien, I embrace it.
One thing I want people to know before I leave this game is I gave it my all.
I'm special, in a way that is good. I don't have to explain 'special.' There is no definition for special. Special speaks for itself.
I do much less sparring and always with the purpose of working on something in particular.
I am a proud man and never takes things for granted in my life.
I'm the guy still driving a Nissan.
You do a deal - business deal, real estate deal, stock deal - protect yourself at all times. I got that from boxing. That's from A to Z: that covers everything in life. And it started when I heard it in the ring. They don't say that in basketball or football or any other sport that I know of but boxing.
My whole career, I got a lot of credit for not taking punches.
I don't react and think off emotions - that gets you in a bad situation.
Boxing is a small world where the same thing that goes on, goes on in corporate America.
Age is not a problem. It becomes a problem when people try and make us think old.
I say the sweet science is to hit and not get hit.
I would love to play with the Flyers. I got the two front teeth missing, so I can look the part. I'm ready cosmetically. I could fit right in.
Some people might think they're invincible, but I don't.
I'm amongst you all, but I'm not one of you all.
I learned a lot from being in hell. I learned discipline. I learned that I choose what to put in my body.
You cannot go into combat without putting the work in.
I have already bent time to my will.
Money is great, but history is something that you can never get rid of and act like it didn't happen.
I think being 50 and being me is different than any other fighter in any era.
I am not going to eat something that I have been told is not good for my system, and I do what I can to eat energy food, such as lean meats, whole grains, and lots of fruit and vegetables. Without this daily habit, my body would have given up a long time ago. There is no magic pill, no magic drink, no magic food.
Age is not an enemy to me.
They had to debate whether Joe Frazier should be in the Boxing Hall of Fame or not. I'm making sure that it would be a felony to sit down and debate whether or not Bernard Hopkins deserves to be in the hall of fame.
Protect yourself at all times. It's what I talk to school kids and college kids about when I do my seminars. I'm not just talking about in the ring. Protect yourself at all times.
I've shown, for twenty-plus years, with a legacy that will be talked about way after I'm gone, that I am different.
Ninety-nine percent of getting over a problem is mental.
I've had a hard life. I smell and sense fear. I didn't get that from Catholic school; I know what fear is.
Boxing is the sweet science. You hit and not get hit. There's no reward for you to hit me more than I hit you other than on the scorecards.
Yes, we have to look at our opponents and study our opponents. But you have to look at you first and know you can do it.
If I was a bad guy, I probably would be incarcerated.
I don't drink occasionally. I don't drink on the holidays. I don't drink alcohol, period. Not wine, not nothing.
The young is always there to replace what we call the old. That's the process, even in nature.
Ninety percent of the media picked Pavlik, and I always appreciate naysayers. That's what motivates me.
We want to give you the roses when you're dead. That's how human beings think. I try not to think like a human.
