"Floyd did what Floyd should have done, and like you asked me earlier, I would have done the same thing...Floyd went street on him. That's not in no boxing book. That's strictly what you call a move of opportunity capitalized, you sleeping, you're trying to be my friend, and I'm going to go suckerpunch you...I'm telling you when Ortiz realized that the frustration was in, he did what everybody witnessed. He leaped into Floyd Mayweather. Floyd Mayweather somehow got a busted lip out of the deal; that was a break for Floyd because he could've got his whole eyebrow split open, but instead, you know, the referee did what the referee did and split them apart, and Floyd complained a little bit, but then it went back to action, as the referee said, and Ortiz wants to kiss, literally kiss, and hug and he got clipped. I mean, Jim, come on, man, this is war, man...We in the fight business, which is, as the famous Mike Tyson quote was, the hurt business, and there's no time to verbally have a conversation with a guy," stated WBC and Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, who called into the nationally syndicated Jim Rome Show on Wednesday to give his opinion about what happened during the Mayweather vs. Ortiz welterweight championship fight last Saturday night. Check out what else he had to say.
"Absolutely. I mean, listen, you know, we in a business, man, where, you know, when you out there in the jungle, which I call the ring, you have to, yes, follow by rules, but also, you have to be aware that rules are enforced by a third man and that's the referee, and after the apologize and after the points deduction, it's time to fight; one guy still wants to apologize, hey man, you know, it's like, I guess, if anybody know out there, it's like dealing with a hoe, you gotta protect yourself at all times and if you go in the ring...so sorta like boxing, you gotta protect yourself at all times because you never know what can be expected from the next guy.
"That's something, like any other athlete in any sport, that he hasn't learned. And, you know, some can argue, and I had big discussion yesterday briefly after training, and we was talking, I said, 'Listen man, that's the difference between old school veterans, people that know, pertaining to rookies.' Boxing is the only sport that you don't hear the word rookie. You hear the word inexperience, but you don't hear the word rookie. We have those in boxing too. This is, you know, a sport just like basketball. He will learn, one way or the other, Ortiz will learn that, you know, you have to protect yourself at all times. And, second, you at war in that ring and that ring, yeah, you know, you can say, 'I'm sorry', you can say, 'Hey man, my bad.' You know, hit the gloves, but after that, Floyd did what Floyd should have done, and like you asked me earlier, I would have done the same thing."
"Yes, it was definitely a suckerpunch. I mean, you know, do you know how many people I suckerpunch in the streets of Philadelphia? It was a lot. Yeah, I mean, listen, you don't wait until a man get a chance to load his gun up. I mean, we both know we in the ring, we both know that it was something that you have done, and okay, now we square up, I'm going to let you load your gun and I'm going to say, okay, I'm going to load mine? No, no, no. You don't have that split second; you don't have that situation in the ring, and Floyd went street on him. That's not in no boxing book. That's strictly what you call a move of opportunity capitalized, you sleeping, you're trying to be my friend, and I'm going to go suckerpunch you. Hey listen, you know the Shane Mosley fight, when Shane was apologetic throught the whole fight; he was so apologetic that it became ridiculous."
"Sportmanship comes in when you shake your heads, you go to your corner, you come out and you start fighting. That was a move that [was] out of instincts and out of knowing that this man wants to go ahead and apologize for something he tried to do to me, but he failed, and that was the headbutt. See, I like to go back to the intent, which was so premeditated because he had to think about it before he did it, he had to do it in frustration too, and that's part of Ortiz, listen, Ortiz is with Golden Boy and I'm with Golden Boy, so I'm not taking favoritism here. I'm calling it straight like an experienced person and a fan and I'm giving it straight to you. I'm telling you when Ortiz realized that the frustration was in, he did what everybody witnessed. He leaped into Floyd Mayweather. Floyd Mayweather somehow got a busted lip out of the deal; that was a break for Floyd because he could've got his whole eyebrow split open, but instead, you know, the referee did what the referee did and split them apart, and Floyd complained a little bit, but then it went back to action, as the referee said, and Ortiz wants to kiss, literally kiss, and hug and he got clipped. I mean, Jim, come on, man, this is war, man. Ask any football player, basketball player, especially boxing, man, the real old G's; ask the real old G's, not this new stuff."
"We in the fight business, which is, as the famous Mike Tyson quote was, the hurt business, and there's no time to verbally have a conversation with a guy. We apologize and make up with our hands, but after it's all said and done, when the winner wins and the loser lose, we always come together and hug each other."
"In the game of boxing, man, guys throw elbows, guys throw this, do this, and if you complain about it, it puts you in a light of, you know, why you looking for help? Boxing is a really, really individual sport. We go in there, man, you looking at the referee, you looking at the corner, you seen guys, no names, no blame, look at the corner when things get rough, but the real boxing fans and people, and you know too Jim, this guy is looking for a way out. Or who knows, Ortiz might've started feeling some heat and started saying, 'Wait a minute, man. I can't hit this dude. He's slick, he's rolling, he's doing this, he's doing that; hey man, this how I'ma get out the fight. This is the way I'ma get out the fight. I'm going to leap in like a missile.' So to me, Jim, that's not the veteran or the experienced guy."
Hopkins, who is preparing for his world championship showdown against "Bad" Chad Dawson which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 15 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and is being produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®, also discussed his upcoming fight and what he plans to do to Dawson. Click HERE to download and listen to the full interview.
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