In BET.com final chat leading up to his fight on Saturday against Kelly Pavlik, Bernard Hopkins responds to trainer Freddie Roach’s comments and gives his prediction for the fight. Bernard Hopkins takes on Kelly Pavlik this Saturday live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9pm ET/6PM PT.

On his thoughts leading up to the fight:

I will win. Kelly Pavlik will learn a lot from this fight in the future. When it’s all said and done, the experience and the greatness of Bernard Hopkins is really going to be an eye-opener to people. Especially to the ones that written themselves off for whatever reason because they are 35 or 40. Even though rapping and R&B is different from physical sports, Jay-Z said it best. 35 is the new 25 and 40 is the new 30. That’s just the way it is. Even older guys don’t dress the same way as when your mom and pop were growing up.

On how he keeps going strong at 43:

I want people to not take away the uniqueness of my age and where I’m at in my career. I don’t want to downplay it. Every now and then, I will tell people in everything in life, things are totally different from the ‘70s and ‘80s. Athletes are bigger and stronger. You can’t look at the average 40-year-old guy and say he’s 40 unless he abuses himself in his 20’s and 30’s. I took that penitentiary mentality and I don’t use drugs, I don’t drink champagne, I don’t drink wine. I don’t do the stuff occasionally or socially. I don’t do it all. When you have that on top of what I do and how my lifestyle has been as far as eating and taking care of my body and the proper rest, I’m in better shape than probably most young people you know.

On Freddie Roach’s comments on the HBO special:

I think he was overreacting with a little bit of sincerity in it. I don’t knock him for feeling the way he’s feeling, but I thought it was kind of strange. Nobody else but him can remember me going into the wrong corner four times. I remember them spinning me around one time, but it wasn’t a situation where no other fighter has done that in years. I think it was a low blow and out of proportion but it makes for good television.

On the one song he listens to before getting in the ring:

Struggle by Curtis Mayfield.

Access Granted: Bernard Hopkins, Part II

Access Granted: Bernard Hopkins, Part I

TAGS: Access Granted, Bernard Hopkins, HBO

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