LOS ANGELES – In an era when most pro athletes can become sensitive to questions regarding their age (see Randy Johnson), Bernard Hopkins revels in them. Hear him talk about turning 40 on Jan. 15 and it seems as meaningful as making the 20th straight defense of his middleweight title tonight against Howard Eastman at the Staples Center (HBO, 9:45).
“It’s not like a heavyweight where you can be 50 and you don’t have to move around or have good reflexes,” Hopkins said of turning an age when boxers are normally long past their prime if not retired. “I want people to pay attention to that. I want them paying attention to the fact that this guy is fighting guys that are 15 or 20 years younger than him.”
These days Hopkins doesn’t get up until 6 or 6:30 in the morning to run instead of 4:30 or 5, which he did when he was younger, but that might be his only concession to age. He has been at his best over the last four years, knocking out Felix “Tito” Trinidad to unify the titles in 2001 and stopping Oscar De La Hoya in the ninth-round last September.
He faces Eastman (40-1, 34 KOs), who lives in England and predicted he’ll knock out Hopkins within five rounds.
“I want to see how he acts after I’m still around after five rounds or he’s out within five,” Hopkins (45-2-1, 32 KOs) said. “For a guy to make a statement like that, it’s just the hype talking.”
The Philadelphia native credits his longevity to a clean lifestyle he adapted after serving 56 months in Graterford State Penitentiary for robbery. He’s always in peak condition. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke and is devoted to his profession and family.
“If I would have taken care of myself like Hopkins I could fight until I’m 40,” said De La Hoya, 32 and Hopkins’ promoter for this fight. “It’s incredible. The guy lives, breathes and eats boxing.”
Hopkins calls himself the “Jerry Rice of boxing,” but says he really doesn’t think about his age because to dwell on it might be harmful.
“I don’t fear waiting for Father Time to say, ‘Here I am,’ ” Hopkins said. “But if you think about it, you become it. If I listen to everybody saying what I should be looking like, then your mind starts playing tricks on you.”
His longevity has brought him to a 20th defense of some version of a middleweight title, a milestone reached by a precious few including heavyweights Joe Louis and Larry Holmes, and Mexican light flyweight Ricardo Lopes. It’s the first of what Hopkins hopes will be three fights in 2005 to close out his career. He promised his late mother he wouldn’t box beyond age 40 and plans to keep that promise.
“I’ve been blessed in my career because angels are on my shoulders and one of them is my mom,” Hopkins said.
