Photo by Dave Londres - Hoganphotos / GBP
On Tuesday afternoon, Bernard Hopkins held a media workout in Philadelphia to discuss his October 15 light heavyweight title defense against Chad Dawson.
“I chose to continue to fight and defend what I worked so hard to get.So why not get all of the benefits of what I’ve been doing for 20-something years and then walk away when it’s time? asked Hopkins after his workout.  I think that it’ll come down to who is the better fighter. The better fighter, the better person, the better strategist and who wants it the most.
Hopkins (52-5-2, 35 KOs) is making the first defense of his light heavyweight championship, having become the oldest fighter to win a world title at age 46 with a unanimous decision win over Jean Pascal on May 21.
Dawson (30-1, 17 KOs), who lost the 175-pound championship to Pascal in August 2010, was guaranteed a fight against the winner of that fight, having agreed to step aside to let the rematch take place. Â It’s a fight that Dawson has been after for the past couple of years but has been unable to attain. Â Hopkins however, says Dawson isn’t going to be happy with how the fight turns out, stating he’s going to hit him repeatedly; much more so than Dawson will.
“Well, Chad Dawson said something that made sense. He’s going to be throwing a lot of punches, but I’m going to be connecting a lot of punches. He’s going to throw all the punches he wants, but I’m going to be connecting more than he is throwing. I’m coming in there with an aggressive game, but a smart game. If people think that the last two fights of my career were the old Bernard Hopkins from the Blue Horizon to Atlantic City days in the early 90’s, then I’m saying that they should watch this fight,” added Hopkins.
“The bottom line is they are going to see a better, a more aggressive, smart fighter in me when I beat Chad Dawson.”
The two meet at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles a week from this Saturday on HBO.
