Hopkins Head in the Clouds this Weekend

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

48-year-old boxing legend Bernard Hopkins moves on in his illustrious career to take on International Boxing Federation light heavyweight world champion Tavoris Cloud this weekend. Hopkins has held titles in two different weight classes.

Hopkins says that pictures of promoter Don King posted around his gym still motivate him as he prepares to face Cloud. Hopkins said 80 percent of his title defenses were against fighters promoted by King, Hopkins’ longtime foil.And Cloud, Hopkins said, is King’s last horse in the stable. “Whoever thought that Bernard Hopkins, out of anybody, would be the one that would shut [King] down?” Hopkins said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters.

Also on the conference call, Hopkins was asked what motivates him to keep fighting. He stated, “What drives me is that, A) I’m not satisfied, even though I know I’ve done a lot to be grateful for, and I am. Trust me, I am. God knows I am… and I know there’s a lot of other things to accomplish, maybe not in the ring, because it must stop soon, it will, everybody has to recognize that, and then you’ve got the young fighters under Golden Boy Promotion that need our help…” Hopkins’ 12-round bout with Cloud will take place on March 9th at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York.

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