"It's what I thought it was going to be, two old guys that just don't have anything left. It was kind of a sad fight. The thing is I've been a Bernard Hopkins fan over the years knowing that his record and his claim to fame was basically beating Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya, two natural welterweights that moved up to middleweight. And then you start looking at his record and yeah, he had 20 title defenses, but then you start looking at some of the guys he's fought and you go, 'Maybe James Toney has a point. Maybe some of those guys were cab drivers.' It could be a little bit of the Julio Cesar Chavez early career type of deal. He fought a lot of guys early, but none of them were very good. So it kind of exposed him a little bitÂ… you definitely can't market him. It's time to go. He's done a lot; he's going to be a Hall of Famer and he's won titles at middleweight and light heavyweight. Call it a dayÂ… Yeah, Bernard can win a few more fights, but why would you pay this guy millions of dollars," stated world-class boxing and MMA trainer Ron Frazier as he shared his thoughts on last Saturday's long-overdue and uneventful fight, if you can call it that, between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. Check out what else he had to say about Hopkins, Jones, Andre Dirrell, Joan Guzman and much more.
PC: I know you were against the Jones-Hopkins fight from the time that it was signed. We got to see it last Saturday. What did you think?
RF: I'm glad I saw it on a streaming video on my computer and didn't pay $50 for that. It's what I thought it was going to be, two old guys that just don't have anything left. It was kind of a sad fight. The thing is I've been a Bernard Hopkins fan over the years knowing that his record and his claim to fame was basically beating Felix Trinidad and Oscar De La Hoya, two natural welterweights that moved up to middleweight. And then you start looking at his record and yeah, he had 20 title defenses, but then you start looking at some of the guys he's fought and you go, "Maybe James Toney has a point. Maybe some of those guys were cab drivers." It could be a little bit of the Julio Cesar Chavez early career type of deal. He fought a lot of guys early, but none of them were very good. So it kind of exposed him a little bit. Everyone gives Bernard credit for being this throwback fighter that will do anything to winÂ…and look, I wasn't the one in the ring Saturday night and I didn't get hit behind the head, but they didn't look like they were very hard shots. He does it and no one says anything, but he gets hit and you thought the fight was almost over and it's like, "Man where did that come from?"
PC: Yeah, I agree. I can't remember any old school fighter acting like that and before the Trinidad fight, Bernard even said, "If Trinidad hits me low, I won't look for the ref to fix things. I will." Now, that Hopkins is gone and his style has changed with the hitting and the holding he uses now.
RF: I think the hitting and holding came late in his career. He wasn't always that guy, but obviously at 45 years old, his last 6 or 7 years, you don't expect him to be a high output guy anymore. That was the style he kind of used to win and he has to do what he has to do, but you definitely can't market him. It's time to go. He's done a lot; he's going to be a Hall of Famer and he's won titles at middleweight and light heavyweight. Call it a day. You promised your mom that you weren't going to fight past your 41st birthday. You did that and won them all, but, you know, who can you fight that anybody wants to see? You can't beat Chad Dawson or David Haye. He can beat one-dimensional fighters like Kelly Pavlik. Kelly is a nice kid and he has great pop and I actually like watching him fight, but if you give him lateral movement, he has problems.
PC: Well, the thing I have a problem with if Golden Boy tries to put on a Hopkins-Haye card is if Hopkins is fighting Roy Jones this cautiously, I can't see him taking any major risk at heavyweight.
RF: Absolutely. And Roy has nothing left and that has shown in the last few years. It's time for him to call it a day. I can't even be mad at him for how the fight went. He just wasn't given the opportunity to display if he had anything left anyway, although I don't think he does. It's just the way Bernard fights and the way he bores in and throws his combinations, bores in with his head and then grabs you and tries to push you against the ropes. Tony Weeks probably got more work than either Bernard or Roy did Saturday night. I just don't think there was anything Roy could do about it unless he kind of fought out of his character. It's just that style that you get with Bernard. You got it in the Winky Wright fight and all of his fights lately. Yeah, Bernard can win a few more fights, but why would you pay this guy millions of dollars for this?
PC: You don't believe it was two guys showing up to get a check as much as they just don't have anything left to offer?
RF: Yeah, nothing left. They have been fighting for a long time, both of these guys have, and they have a lot of mileage. They turned pro in the late 80's and it's now 2010. At some point, as an athlete, you have to call it a day and it's time for them to call it a day. You got about 6,000 fans the other night and probably about 8 pay-per-view buys. And out of the 6,700 people, a lot of that was giveaways. They basically couldn't draw flies and that's unfortunate because they are both Hall of Famers, but I think everybody kind of knew. I said it in the beginning. Neither one of these guys have nothing left and the only way it would have been interesting is if they both said they were going to retire afterwards.
PC: Switching gears to the Super Six tournament, Andre Dirrell was putting on a great performance against Arthur Abraham. He started to slow down the stretch and was eventually hit with a punch while down and Abraham got disqualified. What did you think of that fight?
RF: I was impressed with Dirrell. I thought he boxed well and stuck to his gameplan. He fought a great fight. I think he got a little bit tired, but I also thought he got hit with an elbow when he was down and that might have caused a little bit of a delayed reaction. At first, I thought maybe he was acting, but then when they interviewed him, he really seemed out of sorts and didn't know what was going on. It is what it is in that case. I thought he fought a great fight. I thought Arthur AbrahamÂ…I mean, come on. You gotta know the guy is down and you can't hit him in those circumstances. And then for them to keep going on about he's a great actor just showed up poor on their part.
PC: A shot like that can change a fighter though. He got the win, but will he be the same fighter?
RF: Absolutely. Once you get your trigger pulled, it's easier for it to happen again. When you take a shot like that, you just don't know how they are going to react. Hopefully he will recover and there will be no psychological or physical damage done and he will be able to go on and have a strong career. You would hate for his career to be shortchanged because of that.
PC: I thought on that same night it was a travesty for Joan Guzman to not only come in over the weight limit again, but he celebrated that victory as if he had walked away with the title. Is it possible to come in 9 pounds over if you're trying to make the weight?
RF: That is absolutely ridiculous. You can not come in 9 pounds overweight. That means 1) you didn't try to cut weight or 2) that's 2 weight classes below where you should be fighting. When you signed that contract, you should have known that you couldn't get down to that contracted weight and to be 9 pounds overweight is ridiculous. If you were bone dry at 9 pounds overweight, then you should have known you cannot get there. And leading up to the fight, maybe 10 days prior to the fight, you should have known that you couldn't get there. That's just bad all the way around. The other guy sacrificed to cut weight for his camp. You gotta make weight. I don't think that fight should have happened. I believe if a guy doesn't make weight, forget just fining him. If it's a half pound or maybe a pound, I would say let them fight, but 9 pounds is crazy. You're giving a guy a huge advantage. You got one guy who dehydrated himself and cut his weight. Even when he rehydrates, he's probably only going to gain 10 pounds. But if the other guy cut some weight and he's 9 pounds overweight, when he rehydrates, he's going to gain 15 more pounds as well, so now you have a guy fighting at almost super middleweight in that ring and that's just not right. It was very unprofessional on Guzman's part and to me, it sounds like he didn't even try to make weight. Those guys actually came into our gym at Xtreme Couture to do a press conference. I wasn't there that day, but they are all likable guys, but you have to be a professional. It's your job to make weight and you have to make weight. I think if you come in 9 pounds overweight, forget a 20% fine, where 10% goes to the commission and 10% goes to your opponent. I don't think you should fight and you lose your entire purse.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]