"Bernard is as sharp as a razor man. The work and dedication that he has is second to none manÂ… His work ethic, his discipline and, like you said, he doesn't get very far away from where he is fighting at. He came into camp at about 185. I told him most fighters show up to the venue at 85 and lose those 10 pounds the week of. He showed up to camp at 185. His genetics play a big role in everything as well. The guy has freakish genetics," stated world-class trainer Brother Naazim Richardson as he talked about two-division world champion Bernard Hopkins and his upcoming clash this Wednesday with Enrique Ornelas. Check out what else he had to say about Hopkins, Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and much more.
PC: How have you been Brother Naaz?
NR: Holding on with both hands Perc. You know how it is.
PC: How is the old man looking in preparation for his fight Wednesday against Ornelas?
NR: Man, Bernard is as sharp as a razor man. The work and dedication that he has is second to none man.
PC: Do you think it is a combination of his work ethic and the fact that he stays close to his fighting weight?
NR: It's a combination of everything. His work ethic, his discipline and, like you said, he doesn't get very far away from where he is fighting at. He came into camp at about 185. I told him most fighters show up to the venue at 85 and lose those 10 pounds the week of. He showed up to camp at 185. His genetics play a big role in everything as well. The guy has freakish genetics.
PC: You work with 2 guys that are a little older in age by fighter standards in Hopkins and Mosley, but both fighters stay in pretty good shape. It has to aggravate you to see these younger guys walk around 30 pounds heavier then they fight at?
NR: Well, it's a discipline thing. You have to cut that much weight, you are not only fighting your opponent come fight night, you are fighting your body as well and it's not going to perform for you during a certain round or period in the fight.
PC: How does fighting on Wednesday affect the camp, if any, and does a Tuesday weigh-in change anything for you guys?
NR: Well, Philadelphia is one of the only states that has same day weigh-in. Now, they may treat this like a title fight and have us weigh in on Tuesday, but Philly is one of the only places that has adopted the same day weigh-in system.
PC: What time would the weigh-in take place if it's same day as the fight and are you a fan of the same day weigh-ins?
NR: It's usually like a 10:00 AM weigh-in, but hell nah, I'm not a fan of that shit. I think it benefits Philly fighters though. If I am a Philly fighter and I am a champion, I would do everything in my power to get the fight in Philly; especially if I am fighting a guy like Cotto. Shit, I would make someone like Cotto weigh in on the same day and come fight time, like I said earlier, he would be fighting his opponent and his body.
PC: So Hopkins is as sharp as ever you say. Not to overlook Ornelas, but if both Hopkins and Jones are successful, we finally get that rematch, right?
NR: I say maybe we get that rematch. I tell people all of the time I'm not going to believe that fight will happen until I have spent $2 from the check. I'm not talking about having the check in my hand or none of that. I have to at least spend $2 out of the check to make me believe they will fight. Jones may go get fucked up by Green and if not, afterwards, Jones is going to say his back hurt, his hand hurt, his toenail or something. If he beats Green, something is going to be hurting on that motherfucker for him to not fight X.
PC: So you have completed this camp for Hopkins and I'm assuming you have to go right into a Mosley camp after the fight on Wednesday, correct?
NR: Yeah man. I will go out to Mosley's camp the day after the Hopkins fight and then back to Hopkins to possibly get ready for a fight with Jones. And I may even have Steve Cunningham going in February.
PC: You have been a very busy trainer and I recently had a conversation with my partner and we were saying maybe you are the guy that can resurrect Jermain Taylor's career. Ever give that a thought and are you to the point where you are turning fighters down?
NR: (Laughing) Man, after that shit Jermain got hit with in his last fight, he may want to retire. I honestly don't know if he comes back from that. I recently turned down Joan Guzman for his fight against Ali Funeka and I also was offered to train Sam Peter, but I turned that down. I just don't think Sam would be a good match with me.
PC: Why not?
NR: Well, Sam relies on his punching power a lot and I don't know if he would be ready to put in the work that I would ask of him because we see that relying on his power alone is not going to get it. He would have to be a Mike Tyson like fighter and I don't know if he would put in that kind of work. I say Mike Tyson like because he is a smaller heavyweight height-wise. I told Sam he would probably get rid of me on the first day.
PC: I have to ask, were you surprised at the outcome of Pacquiao-Cotto?
NR: I picked Pacquiao to winÂ…here is the thing. Cotto was doing well early, but he caught Pacquiao with some shit and thought he was going to walk the smaller man down. Pacquiao is not the smaller man. I see everybody say Mayweather's picking on the smaller man and all of that crazy shit. Pacquiao is a welterweight, no ifs, ands or buts about it. If Shane was to ever fight Pacquiao, if anybody in our camp told Shane he was the bigger man, I would put them out of our camp. First time I hear, "Shane, you are bigger than him," bye! They gotta go.
PC: I have thought the same, but I don't think you would let Shane come in at 145 if it's a welterweight title match.
NR: Man, that shit is crazy. See, these fighters have to have their money right so they can turn that shit down. See, when Mayweather came in against Marquez and wouldn't lose those extra 2 pounds, I would have called that shit off, but the money looks good to these fighters and they go on with it. Maybe if it was like [the clause] Pacquiao had against De La Hoya, a million dollars for every pound over. Pacquiao should be treated as a full-fledged welterweight. Don't meet him at shit; 147 (laughing)! That's just like Paulie Malignaggi did all of that bitching before he went to Texas to fight Juan Diaz. "Oh they gonna rob me and this and that." If you think that, don't take your ass over there to fight. But these guys have to get their money in order to be able to do that. Stay out of Jacob the Jeweler and all of that shit and have your money together.
PC: Someone told me to ask you where is Rock Allen and when can we expect to see him again?
NR: We're trying to get Rock on the Mosley undercard or at the latest, the potential Hopkins-Jones undercard. We have "Dynamite" going on the Berto-Mosley undercard though.
PC: What do you think of the Super Six tournament so far?
NR: I was proud of my young bull Andre Ward. Sometimes you meet a kid man and you can tell right away that they are special. I remember meeting Andre when he was 16 and I knew he was going to be a world champion. He's a great kid. This thing is far from over. The only thing I don't like is I heard they are thinking about putting Allan Green in the tournament and I don't think that's right. They should put Bute in the tournament, not someone who just had a fairly easy fight in there. All of those guys have already had tough fights, so I don't think that would be fair.
PC: I know you are super busy my man, so it's good talking to you. Good luck with X on Wednesday.
NR: Any time soldier. I will talk to you soon.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]