In part three of this four-part interview with Fightnews.com®, ring legend Bernard Hopkins pulls no punches as he prepares to embark on the biggest fight of his career outside the ring.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Bernard Hopkins is confident that the Spence-Crawford fight will take place, which would delay a title shot for Golden Boy’s rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr. Ortiz Jr. has been the WBO mandatory to Crawford’s title for quite some time.

“Let me tell you why that fight is not going to fall through,” Hopkins explained. First, Crawford is not dumb. He’s very, very intelligent and smart out of the ring just as well as in the ring. Second, they are going to ask too much from him to come to the PBC regime, Al Haymon. He doesn’t want to be a part of that, he just wants to fight. So, he doesn’t want to be a part of the PBC. ‘I am who I am. I got a title; I’m just coming with this.’ He doesn’t want to be locked in. I don’t blame him. He just got out of a situation. Why do you think he made that move to do that move?

“The only thing Terence Crawford needs for real, is a good mouthpiece that knows what the hell he’s doing and knows his worth like he knows it. He will save a whole lot of money and some headaches. So, to me and the way I know how they talk about the old bushy hair King, but a lot of them in there and want to be just like Don King in a different way. And they cover up by saying we pay our fighters a lot more than everybody and they keep all the money, that’s just a smoke screen. That’s a jab and then a right hand knocks you out. I know the game. I know the game.”

Hopkins compared the shadiness of boxing to the music business.

“The music business is just as slimy as boxing, it might be even slimier,” Hopkins declared. “I come from a music city called Philadelphia, Philly International. Kenny Gamble and Huff, they my old heads still living and well. Anything I want to know; I can just pick up the phone. It’s going to get nasty, it’s going to get raw, because now I am in my element, exposing people, exposing the bullshit and the fighters got to be paying attention and they got to be looking as they hear me on Fightnews.com and all the other outlets they are going to hear me on, because I ain’t going to stop, I ain’t going to let up. I ain’t going to stop and I ain’t going to let up because I am not trying to force anybody to do anything that they feel they can’t win, can’t do, or can’t accomplish.

“If that’s the case, I respect you even more if you shut up. Stop wasting Fightnews.com®’s time, Dan Rafael’s time, any other reporter’s time and stop lying. Stop lying. The soap opera is over, the fans are frustrated because they know this turned into a cat fight and you’re supposed to be dogs. Wow. It turned into a cat fight; this is kids’ stuff. Let these future champions, Hall of Famers, the next generation going into Canastota, NY, upstate New York, one day hopefully. Let these talents show and fight the best in their division, money and fame are going to come right behind it. We all know that.

“But when they take and use their feelings and mix them with the business, any business, when you put your feelings into business it’s no longer business,” Hopkins said. “We are dealing with your feelings and emotions about yesterday, 10 years ago or 8 years ago. That’s your personal business, that fighter don’t know what he doesn’t know himself. He doesn’t know himself and he’s ignorant to what’s transpiring because he’s afraid that the boogeyman is going to smack him on the behind and he has to keep his mouth shut and only talk to certain reporters, certain outlets that we control.

“I’m not playing with these jokers. I know them. I have been hiding in the back, not saying too much, watching, you know, whatever. But that is over with now man. I’m not frustrated, I’m just doing what the fans need me to do whether I am in Florida where I am residing now. It’s time to start exposing, some will like it, some is going to not like it. I’m ready for that.”

Hopkins went right back on the attack on who he thinks is responsible for the current state of boxing and the biggest fights not happening.

“They have been put on notice softly through interviews, here and there, by me and a few others,” said Hopkins. “But right now, I hope this interview aggravates the hornet’s nest to come out now and try to sting me. Try to sting me now since I have aggravated the hornet’s nest. Now come out of that mother**ker while I let you run right back in there.

“There is a lot of fraud going on amongst those that say they want to fight this person, that person. And if you are really in control of your career instead of your mouth, which they don’t even control that as they are told what to say:

“I would like to thank Al Haymon and I like to thank God. What? I would like to thank Al Haymon and I would like to thank God. Get the pants out of your ass, sit down, and see if we can rumble at the table. This ain’t a cat fight, it’s a dog fight. Don’t bring a cat to a dog fight. I’ll leave it like that, don’t bring a cat to a dog fight.”

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Part 4 of this exclusive interview with Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins will be published tomorrow. If you missed Part 1, click here. If you missed Part 2, click here.