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September, 16th 2004
 Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins held their final press conference Wednesday at the MGM Grand to promote their historic Saturday showdown that will ultimately net the winner all four-world titles in the middleweight division.
Hopkins was the first of the two fighters to speak and quickly pointed out that he has been focused on getting Oscar De La Hoya in the ring since he defeated Felix “Tito” Trinidad three years ago. “I said I wanted to fight Oscar De La Hoya three years ago, this is nothing new for me.”
Hopkins recognized that although he has had his sights set on Oscar for sometime now, in the end he would need De La Hoya to agree to challenge him for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world. “I want to thank the Golden Boy for having the heart to step up and fight me, the baddest middleweight since Marvin Hagler, since Robert Duran and lets not forget Mike McCallum.”
Hopkins understands that although his bout with De La Hoya is truly a mega fight there is much more at stake then just beating Oscar De La Hoya. “This has been a dream for me for twenty plus years. This is my nineteenth defense that I am making against De La Hoya. I am not playing, I repeat…. I am not playing De La Hoya cheap!”
Hopkins insists that the seed for his becoming one of the best middleweights in the world was planted back in his youth while serving time in a penitentiary. “This is not a 1992 Olympic dream from here on, this goes much further then that.”
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“I am telling you right now, his father is going to stop this fight!” -- Bernard Hopkins
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As proof of how long he has been focused on the task at hand Hopkins held up an old photo for the media in attendance of a nineteen-year-old Bernard Hopkins with an old boxing teacher within the penitentiary system, named Smoky Wilson. The photo had an inscription on the back that read, “You will become the middleweight champion one day”. The photo was dated 1985!
Hopkins feels that his life long struggles are what set him apart from the Golden Boy. “If you give me a rich fighter and a hungry fighter, I am going with the hungry fighter, I don’t care what his talent is. If his talent is like mine… DEAD MAN WALKING!
Hopkins then made a prediction that on September 18th, Oscar’s father Joel would stop the fight, a prediction that brought back many memories for most of the media in attendance. “I said it with Tito Trinidad and I am going out on a limb. I said he is not going to quit, he’s not a quitter, and he’s a warrior. I take my hat off to him, I’ve seen this guy get hit with a body shot from Shane Mosley that almost bent him over, he didn’t quit, and he fought back. That’s my game, that’s what I like.”
Many within the sport speculate that Oscar will try and box Hopkins for twelve rounds, but Hopkins insists that he is more than prepared. “He can run or he can stay there, I trained for all styles, I’m a chameleon, I do it all!
A this point in his speech Hopkins was fired up and put the final touches on his already brilliant display of words. “You guys have heard of a make-over, the before and after pictures. I guarantee you that the day after September 18th you won’t know the difference between Floyd Mayweather Sr. and De La Hoya. Oscar will look like Floyds twin!”
Hopkins also found the time to throw up to Oscar the previous quote where he stated that he was a bully. “Oscar says that I am a bully, I need him to stand up to the bully. Nobody likes a bully, so be a superhero, put your cape on.”
The undisputed middleweight champion wanted to make it crystal clear to De La Hoya just what was in store for him on Saturday. “I was bred and born for this fight a long time ago Oscar, It has nothing to do with your legacy, it is great. It has nothing to do with your struggles or motivation, tr
source: Boxing News
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