|
 Hopkins, who failed to win a round on any of the three judges'
scorecards in the light-heavyweight title unification bout, ended
speculation of his retirement by saying he will fight "one more
time."
"Who will I fight? I don't know," Hopkins said during a telephone
interview from his Delaware home. "But it will be somebody I will be
an underdog against because I want to be the underdog.
"If this is the last time I'm going into the ring, I will not cheat
myself. It will not be a freak show. I will never shortchange myself
and my dignity."
Hopkins, who defended the middleweight title a record 20 times from
1995 to 2005 and has never been knocked out, was floored Saturday in
the first round by Kovalev, a fighter 18 years his junior.
But the fighter known as The Executioner was back in the gym on
Monday.
 "Physically, if you see me today, you'd think I didn't have a fight
(on Saturday)," he said. "But inside, trust me, my arms and the back
of my head and the top of my head, oh yeah, I was in a fight. I've
been in the hot tub for the last 48 hours."
Kovalev, who now lives in Los Angeles, retained his World Boxing
Organization championship and captured Hopkins' International Boxing
Federation and World Boxing Association belts. He boosted his record
to 26-0-1 with 23 knockouts.
"I had the most underrated chin in boxing but I think that changed
Saturday," said Hopkins. "I've never been in this business to prove
I can take a punch. That's why I've been around so long.
[to top of second column] |
"People said I was crazy to fight him. Whether it's in boxing, sport
or even in life, you just have to man up. And you know what I've
been hearing? People who started off rooting for the young guy ended
up rooting for the old guy."
Hopkins, who turns 50 in January and has a 55-7-2 record with 32
knockouts over his 26-year pro career, insisted he won't "cherry
pick" his final opponent.
"It will be somebody that's a champion," he said. "It will be from a
division beneath me but where they're comfortable and I'm
comfortable. It will be someone that's dominating today.
"I'm going to do it the way I've done it my whole career. People
respect you for fighting fights that others run away from. I want to
fight the best no matter how it pans out."
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Frank Pingue)
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