- 7 weeks ago
Bernard Hopkins defends his IBF Middleweight Title against Syd Vanderpool on HBO Boxing
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00:00:00The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
00:00:11Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya, and Felix Trinidad were finalists for
00:00:17Fighter of the Decade. But when the trophy was presented in New York City two weeks ago,
00:00:22Roy Jones walked away with the award. Jones' accomplishments in the 90s included a 35-1
00:00:29record, 29 wins by knockout, and world titles in three different weight classes. As the decade began,
00:00:37Jones steamrolled his way up the ranks toward the middleweight crown, employing his superior
00:00:41athletic talents and lethal power. Straight left hand was spectacular. What a show that won.
00:00:52In 1994, Jones vacated his 160-pound title to challenge 168-pound champion James Toney.
00:00:59In the biggest fight of his career, Roy gave his highly regarded opponent a thorough lesson
00:01:04in audacity.
00:01:08Having moved into boxing spotlight, Jones rarely disappointed his sold-out crowns. Combining
00:01:14punching power with blinding hand speed, he continued to dispose of his opposition.
00:01:18The only blemish in Jones' otherwise perfect decade, a ninth round is qualification against Montel Griffin
00:01:33for hitting Griffin after he was down.
00:01:36But four months later, he quickly regained his 175-pound title.
00:01:48Jones gets his vindication via a first-round knockout.
00:01:54In his last fight of 1999 against Reggie Johnson, Jones unified the light heavyweight championship.
00:02:06And tonight, in his first bout since being crowned fighter of the decade, Jones looks to continue
00:02:12his dominance for years to come.
00:02:42Tonight, from the Conceco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, HBO Sports presents World Championship Boxing.
00:03:00Our evening begins with middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins taking on Sid Vanderpool.
00:03:05Then, in our main event, boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter, Roy Jones Jr., defends his light heavyweight titles
00:03:12against Richard Hall.
00:03:15It is without any question the sports capital of the Midwest.
00:03:19Home to the Great American Race, largest single-day sports event in the world, and to the Final Four this year,
00:03:25and various other national and international championships over the years.
00:03:29But with the Pacers having been involved in a game far away from here in Philadelphia today,
00:03:34and with the Great Race still somewhere down the road, tonight, the best fighter in boxing brings his show
00:03:40to the best new arena in the United States, Roy Jones Jr., in a showcase in Indianapolis.
00:03:49Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lafley.
00:03:51We welcome you to this special edition of HBO's World Championship Boxing,
00:03:54which could conceivably set up a big fight down the road.
00:03:58If Bernard Hopkins successfully defends his middleweight title against Sid Vanderpool,
00:04:03if Roy Jones does as expected and cleans up challenger Richard Hall and keeps his light heavyweight titles,
00:04:10then perhaps Jones and Hopkins could be matched against each other somewhere down the road
00:04:15in a rematch of their 1993 middleweight championship fight, which was won by Jones.
00:04:20Let's see what happens tonight.
00:04:22And working with me, as always, two-time heavyweight champion of the world,
00:04:25world championship boxing expert George Foreman.
00:04:28George, Roy Jones fights his fights at 175 pounds.
00:04:31Two weeks ago, Lennox Lewis weighed in for his fight against Michael Grant at 246, 71 pounds north of there.
00:04:38But early this week, Jones was again talking about fighting heavyweights,
00:04:43and this time specifically talking about fighting Lennox Lewis.
00:04:46Is it just frustration at the absence of name opponents in his weight class that Roy is dealing with here,
00:04:52or what's it all about?
00:04:53I think it's typical of light heavyweight champions.
00:04:56They've all had, in the past, the great ones, had their complimentary chance to fight for the title,
00:05:01and everyone deserving so.
00:05:02Marciana was knocked down by Archie Moore,
00:05:05and Evander Holyfield has even moved up and become heavyweight champion of the world,
00:05:09so he should have this chance, and he's looking for it now, and I think he deserves it.
00:05:12Could Jones conceivably have a chance against Lewis, even giving up 40, 50, 60 pounds as he might in a fight like that?
00:05:20No doubt about it.
00:05:21He can have a chance.
00:05:22A chance.
00:05:23A slim chance.
00:05:24Well, slim.
00:05:25He'll be slimmer than Lewis, that's for sure, if it ever takes place.
00:05:29Well, we've got a good fight to start out with,
00:05:31and working with us as always, HBO Boxing Analyst Larry Merchant.
00:05:34Larry, Bernard Hopkins prepares now to defend his middleweight title for the 11th time in his career.
00:05:41He's way up on the record list in that particular category.
00:05:44It's a former glamour division of the sport.
00:05:47He's a guy with an entertaining, crowd-pleasing style,
00:05:50and yet, to this moment, big money and big-name opponents have generally eluded Bernard Hopkins.
00:05:56Why?
00:05:58Primarily the system.
00:05:59A system that has beaten Hopkins up, but hasn't been able to beat him down.
00:06:06Promoters who have ripped him off.
00:06:09The once-mighty middleweight division fragmented into so many fake belts, fake jewels, fake meaning,
00:06:17so that he has been unable to get big, defining fights.
00:06:22His big, defining fights have been in the courts, where he has rid himself of promoters,
00:06:28and with the media, from whom he has won, grudging respect.
00:06:33But those battles somehow, Jim, seem to have made him stronger.
00:06:39At 35, he is a feared champion.
00:06:43And indeed, one of the most intelligent and outspoken men in the sport,
00:06:47a constant advocate for better conditions for himself and all of his fellow fighters,
00:06:51Bernard Hopkins has made a mark, win or lose.
00:06:54Tale of the tape now for Bernard Hopkins against Sid Vanderpool.
00:06:57Hopkins, at 35, says that he'd prefer we say he's 36.
00:07:03He thinks the older he is, the better chance he'll have of getting matches against good fighters.
00:07:07He gives up eight years to Vanderpool.
00:07:09He's two inches taller.
00:07:10He gives up two inches in reach.
00:07:12They both weighed in under the 160-pound limit.
00:07:14Amazingly, Vanderpool, who spent the better part of his career fighting at 168,
00:07:19gained only a half-pound between this morning's weigh-in and entering the ring tonight.
00:07:24Hopkins, as you see, has gained seven and a half pounds on our unofficial tonight weigh-in scale.
00:07:30Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer, Harold Letterman.
00:07:34The Bernard Hopkins-Sid Vanderpool fight is scheduled for 12 rounds using the unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
00:07:42There is no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.
00:07:46Only the referee can stop the fight, and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round, including the 12th and final round.
00:07:53All right, Harold, and now let's take our first look ever at Sid Vanderpool.
00:08:00Smiling, engaging young man.
00:08:0223 straight wins, as you can see there.
00:08:05All-around athlete who thinks enough of his athletic ability that he actually tried out on a one-day basis for a Canadian football league team
00:08:12not too long ago when he finished in the middle on the sprints.
00:08:15He decided the contact drills probably weren't for him.
00:08:19And he has a pretty good pedigree as a fighter, Jim.
00:08:22Two brothers who were fighters, and he went to the same high school in Kitchener, Ontario, as Lennox Lewis.
00:08:30Says, in fact, that Lennox still owes his mother five or six dollars from the quarters and half dollars she used to dole out to him.
00:08:39Memo to Lennox. Send a check.
00:08:42He can afford it.
00:08:43And the record for Vanderpool, once again, I emphasize, he's been fighting as a 168-pounder for the better part of five years.
00:08:5328 wins, one loss, 18 KOs.
00:08:55It was an unusual experience for him to have to make 160 for this fight, made even more significant by the fact that under a governing body mandate,
00:09:04they weighed in at 6 o'clock this morning.
00:09:08Now, Larry Merchant, there are rankings now every week in USA Today, and the writer who's doing them makes a splash by ranking Bernard Hopkins,
00:09:16ahead of such bigger-name fighters as Felix Trinidad, Fernando Vargas, and others in what he calls the middleweight division.
00:09:23What's up?
00:09:24Well, this is a way to show what the middleweight division could look like if it wasn't fragmented into so many fake belts and so many divisions,
00:09:34a combination of the middleweight division and the junior middleweight division.
00:09:37Just imagine all the potential matchups here, Hopkins against Trinidad, Vargas in the mix, Quartey in the mix, Reed, Joppy, who owns one of those fake belts, et cetera.
00:09:49This could be the middleweight division of old if we were in the times of old.
00:09:54The middleweight division of Sugar Ray Robinson and so many other great fighters of the past.
00:10:00Now, here comes Bernard, the executioner, Hopkins, and you can see where his 10 middleweight title defenses rank him on the all-time list right behind Monzon and Hagler.
00:10:13He claims that he's the executioner only in the sense that he executes his game plans and his punches the way he says Reggie Miller executes his jump shots.
00:10:27But I think he has something else in mind here, Jeff.
00:10:30Well, they said he loved the movie The Green Mile and bought the DVD because he felt it was the perfect entertainment compliment to his identity as the executioner.
00:10:41Anybody who's seen it knows why.
00:10:45And the record for Bernard Hopkins, originally from Philadelphia, now living in a suburb in Delaware across the river,
00:10:53lost his first professional fight, lost to Roy Jones in 1993, otherwise virtually untouchable.
00:11:0127 KOs among his victories.
00:11:06You know, as you're watching this telecast this evening, we remind you that you can log on to our website,
00:11:13www.hbo.com slash boxing, to chat and score each round of Hopkins Vanderpool and Jones Hall.
00:11:19Following tonight's main event, there's a live chat with boxing journalist Steve Farhood.
00:11:24And how about the website question?
00:11:26In our opening, we showed you Roy Jones being named by the Boxing Writers Association as the fighter of the decade.
00:11:31Here's our question to you tonight.
00:11:33Was Roy Jones the fighter of the 90s?
00:11:35Or should another fighter have received this honor?
00:11:37Should it have been perhaps Oscar De La Hoya or Evander Holyfield or Roy Jones Jr.?
00:11:42Or should it have been Felix Trinidad?
00:11:43Or should it have been Lennox Lewis?
00:11:45Write in anybody you believe deserve the honor.
00:11:47We'll provide the results later in the telecast.
00:11:50Now let's go to ring announcer Michael Buffer for the official introductions.
00:11:54Ladies and gentlemen from the Conseco Fieldhouse right here in Indianapolis, Indiana.
00:12:02M&M Sports, Yorad Mohamed, a promoter in association with Square Ring.
00:12:08Caesars, Indiana, Jordan Brandt, and Pacers Sports and Entertainment present HBO World Championship Boxing.
00:12:16All the bouts tonight are sanctioned by the Indiana Boxing Commission Chairman William Kelsey.
00:12:21For this first bout, the three judges assigned at ringside scoring on the 10-point must system will be Harry Davis, George Hill, and Fred Jones.
00:12:32And when the bell rings, your referee in charge of the action, Bill Page.
00:12:36And now, ladies and gentlemen, 12 rounds of boxing for the IBF Middleweight Championship of the World.
00:12:49Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing white and weighing in at 159 and one-half pounds.
00:12:56His professional record, 29 bouts, 28 victories, including 18 knockouts, with only one loss.
00:13:05Ladies and gentlemen, from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, here is the IBF number three ranked middleweight challenger in the world,
00:13:15Sid the Jewel Thunderpoole.
00:13:19And across the ring, in the red corner, wearing black, trimmed with gold, and weighing 158 and one-half pounds.
00:13:32As a professional, he has an outstanding record of 36 victories, including 27 knockouts, with only two losses and one draw.
00:13:41From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, making his 11th title defense, ladies and gentlemen, presenting the reigning and defending IBF middleweight champion of the world,
00:13:56Bernard, the executioner, Hawkins!
00:14:11Come on out when you're ready, Bernard.
00:14:25Sid, come on out when you're ready.
00:14:29All right, listen to me when I say a break.
00:14:32Both of you quit punching, take one step backwards.
00:14:35Any questions?
00:14:36Touch gloves and good luck, guys.
00:14:38Need to take the belts.
00:14:44Need to take the belts.
00:14:47All right.
00:14:50Where'd he go?
00:14:52Listen, May.
00:14:55Gentlemen, start your fists.
00:14:58You ready?
00:15:00You ready?
00:15:00Well, as one who spent several years going to the big race, I can tell you, and you've both seen in the last couple days, there's a liveliness about Indianapolis in May that is energizing and exciting, and there's a left hand by Sid Vanderpool to start the fight, which is exciting for him.
00:15:23Hopkins' goal here is to steal the show from Roy Jones, and he might get a chance to do it with a knockout if he can go straight up the middle inside against Vanderpool's wide offerings.
00:15:36But Vanderpool landing the right hand twice, and a couple of straight left hands there is the aggressor early in the fight.
00:15:42Well, you want enthusiasm.
00:15:43That's what Vanderpool is doing.
00:15:47It's a bit of a surprise because he has a reputation as being a kind of a cutie, left-handed boxer.
00:15:57But he comes out to bang here in the early going, doesn't he, George?
00:15:59Yeah, and that's what I said.
00:16:00You want enthusiasm to overcome an experienced veteran like this.
00:16:04Don't play around this boxing cute game.
00:16:06Overtake it.
00:16:07Overtake it.
00:16:08It doesn't matter what foot is in front.
00:16:09Just go for it.
00:16:11I'm reminded of what Winky Wright did against Vargas.
00:16:15He had a reputation as a boxer, and he came out charging and almost pulled off an upset.
00:16:22You don't want a reputation when you're trying to be champ of the world.
00:16:25You just overtake.
00:16:26Well, and part of Vanderpool's motivation here may be, unlike Winky Wright against Vargas,
00:16:30you're going against a guy who's 35 years old and has a lot of ring work on him.
00:16:37You never know when a fighter like Hopkins might slip a little bit, and early aggression
00:16:42can be just the medicine to take Hopkins out of the fight if he doesn't have his full game
00:16:48with him tonight.
00:16:49They don't really slip.
00:16:50You just make them slip.
00:16:51You jump on them.
00:16:52Don't sit back and wait for your chance.
00:16:54Do you have an opportunity to fight for the title?
00:16:56The odds are against you.
00:16:58Take it.
00:16:58Just get out there and take it.
00:17:00Vanderpool took the fight on only three weeks' notice but looks ready
00:17:03and has banged Hopkins into the ropes twice earlier here in the fight.
00:17:13Well, you see the veteran put a move on him now.
00:17:15It's getting slick.
00:17:17Take his heart away from him.
00:17:18That's what you don't want.
00:17:19Vanderpool's corner should tell him to just attack like this for 12 rounds.
00:17:28Doesn't matter how many punches you land.
00:17:30Just attack.
00:17:30Attack.
00:17:34Well, the veteran fighter like Hopkins, he's not going to invest in an attack.
00:17:38He's going to save all his energy for the last two or three rounds.
00:17:41You can see that Hopkins is the ranger fighter, but he hasn't gotten his jab going early.
00:17:47Hopkins on the defensive because Vanderpool has come out swinging.
00:17:52All right, break it, guys.
00:17:53Break it.
00:17:57That's one thing you don't want a young fighter to get their heads down.
00:18:00The veterans know how to put their elbows on the back of the neck,
00:18:03and that will sap all the energy.
00:18:06You've got to tell him to keep his head up.
00:18:11All right.
00:18:19Round one feels quick.
00:18:22Everything's good.
00:18:22Hopkins goes back to listen to Bowie Fisher.
00:18:24We're going to wait for him to charge.
00:18:25Let him see the left hand move.
00:18:27I want to see something.
00:18:28Open your mouth.
00:18:30I want to see your hands move.
00:18:31I want to see the jab move.
00:18:33Let him see that jab.
00:18:34All right?
00:18:35Let him try to counter.
00:18:38Keep your hands up high.
00:18:40I don't finish tall, okay?
00:18:42Let down the pike.
00:18:43When you get him on the rope, sit down on the 3-4.
00:18:46Sit down on the 3-4.
00:18:47You understand me?
00:18:48All right?
00:18:49He's lit.
00:18:50Looking good, baby.
00:18:51Looking good, baby.
00:18:52No throwing the floor, man.
00:18:53You're not going to torture better than that.
00:18:56Come on, man.
00:18:56All right, listen.
00:18:58Shoot that jab straight, okay?
00:19:00Shoot that left hand straight off of it.
00:19:02All right.
00:19:02Street.
00:19:03Straight as an arrow, all right?
00:19:04He bats into the rope.
00:19:05Sit down.
00:19:05Drop the 3-4 on him.
00:19:07Drop it on him.
00:19:07Check it down.
00:19:08Sit Vanderpool smiling over at us and attempting to get George's attention.
00:19:20Like so many fighters appearing for the first time on HBO's World Championship Boxing,
00:19:25Vanderpool wants George to acknowledge that he's here.
00:19:27But Vanderpool is doing a good job.
00:19:31That's right.
00:19:32Make the veteran fight.
00:19:33That's what the veteran can do.
00:19:34Throw all his punches away.
00:19:36Hopkins with a chopping right hand, landed to the back of Vanderpool's ear.
00:19:40Got in a body shot, too, as Vanderpool was coming off the ropes.
00:19:44You want to start the fight to make the veteran use some of that energy he's kind of be conservative
00:19:49with, but don't stop and start thinking.
00:19:52CompuBox numbers in round number one favored Vanderpool, who threw 60 punches to only 23
00:19:58for Bernard Hopkins, landed 11 to only 5 for the executioner.
00:20:02So Bernard Hopkins all but took the first round off, getting a sense of what Sid Vanderpool
00:20:08might want to do in this fight.
00:20:09This is when you want to go back to your corner and have your corner tell you to keep
00:20:15doing what you've been doing.
00:20:17You've got to be in shape, but you can do it.
00:20:21Hopkins with a little grin on his face now as he tries to go to work here in the second
00:20:25round.
00:20:29Right-hand lead.
00:20:32Classic tactic against a southpaw stance.
00:20:39Vanderpool has an excellent chance to overtake Hopkins.
00:20:42Whenever he moves away, drops his defense, doesn't have anything, he's not in position
00:20:47to do anything, so you've got to charge him.
00:20:49Just charge him.
00:20:49It doesn't matter if you hit him good.
00:20:51Break it.
00:20:51Don't punch.
00:20:52Don't punch him.
00:20:52I'm great.
00:20:52Let it go.
00:20:53Let it go.
00:20:54Vanderpool seems off balance after throwing many of his punches.
00:20:59And he doesn't want to get on balance with a fighter like this.
00:21:01You want to just throw punches from awkward positions?
00:21:03The veteran can't deal with that.
00:21:05Well, I don't know that anybody can, George, but if he keeps just throwing them awkwardly
00:21:10and falling off balance, he's going to walk into a big punch sooner or later.
00:21:14I don't think so.
00:21:14That veteran is too conservative.
00:21:16He's going to get back and try to get in position.
00:21:18He's not going to try to counter.
00:21:22He's just hurting his hands a little bit with those awkward shots.
00:21:26You see that veteran?
00:21:27Every time he hit Hopkins, Hopkins cover up and hold.
00:21:30If I'm in Vanderpool's corner, I tell him, attack.
00:21:40It doesn't matter if you hit him.
00:21:41Just keep swinging.
00:21:42The wilder, the better.
00:21:44Because the early issue here for Hopkins is his energy level.
00:21:48When is he going to begin trying to impose his will on the fight
00:21:52instead of responding to what Vanderpool does?
00:21:54That's right.
00:21:55He's wrestling and trying to get some energy up, and he doesn't have it.
00:21:58He's wrestling and trying to get a fight.
00:22:08The clock is ticking on Bernard Hopkins' desire to make an imprint on the sport.
00:22:19Tonight could be a very significant night for him
00:22:22because waiting in the dressing room and ready to fight in the main event
00:22:26is the number one pound-for-pound fighter in boxing,
00:22:28Roy Jones Jr.
00:22:30And Jones has had a fabulous time
00:22:32in the build-up to this fight,
00:22:34which he chose to stage here in Indianapolis.
00:22:37On March 29, when they announced
00:22:39that the bout would be here,
00:22:40Roy was carried through the streets on a throne
00:22:43like royalty on his way to the news conference,
00:22:45which announced the date here in the Conceico Arena.
00:22:49And then a few days ago,
00:22:51a sampling from Roy's upcoming rap album
00:22:54to be released in August.
00:22:56Bring somebody else on to fight.
00:22:57I'm nice, I'm like heavyweight champion.
00:22:59Who wanna get knocked out?
00:23:01Who wanna fight Roy Jones?
00:23:02Who wanna be next?
00:23:03I'm knocking your lights out.
00:23:04I'm taking you right out.
00:23:05I'm winning this fight.
00:23:06I'm putting my belt on.
00:23:07I'm taking my belt on.
00:23:08Bring somebody else on to fight.
00:23:10I'm nice, I'm like...
00:23:12I guess that explains, Jim,
00:23:14why fighters who make their living rapping each other
00:23:18are so enamored of rap music.
00:23:23Now Vanderpool starts to jab a little bit.
00:23:25You can order the album early, Larry,
00:23:27by going to your local record dealer
00:23:29and making the point
00:23:30that you want the Jones album
00:23:32the moment it's released.
00:23:33In round two, by CompuBox numbers,
00:23:36Hopkins again threw only 23 punches.
00:23:39So Vanderpool is getting an opportunity
00:23:41to put his imprint on the fight here early
00:23:43as Hopkins watches
00:23:45and waits to see what the challenger does.
00:23:47And that's what you want the veteran to do.
00:23:49Make him wait, wait, wait for 12 rounds
00:23:51to get in a good shot.
00:23:53Vanderpool doesn't want to make the mistake
00:23:55or start thinking
00:23:56because he's not the better thinker in this fight.
00:23:59Now anytime a southpaw fights
00:24:01against a conventional fighter,
00:24:03you watch to see if the conventional fighter,
00:24:05in this case Hopkins,
00:24:06is working to...
00:24:07Right in by Hopkins.
00:24:07First time.
00:24:08Yep.
00:24:09Is working to keep his lead foot
00:24:11outside of Vanderpool's lead foot,
00:24:13the right foot.
00:24:13So far, Vanderpool is the one
00:24:15with his foot on the outside.
00:24:17If there's a tactical battle there,
00:24:19he's winning it for the moment.
00:24:21Now Hopkins is able to deliver
00:24:22his straight right hands now.
00:24:24That may change things.
00:24:26Get down the pool to stop and think for a second.
00:24:28He's out of the fight.
00:24:30Hopkins got in a little left hook
00:24:32to the body there
00:24:33as he advanced toward the ropes.
00:24:40Once you start with your energy,
00:24:41you got to keep it up.
00:24:42You just can't wait.
00:24:44Start breathing.
00:24:44Right hand lead again.
00:24:51The jab always sends him to the rope.
00:24:53Vanderpool.
00:24:55Right hand to the body by Hopkins,
00:24:57right in the middle of Vanderpool's chest.
00:24:59And that may be an important shot right there.
00:25:02You can change things with those body punches,
00:25:04especially around the chest.
00:25:06Hopkins is very wise.
00:25:10If you see Vanderpool begin to short arm
00:25:12his punches a little bit,
00:25:13you'll know that Hopkins' work on the upper body
00:25:15has had an effect.
00:25:20Now he has Vanderpool stopping and waiting and thinking.
00:25:23That's what he wanted him to do.
00:25:26Good body punch will make you stop.
00:25:28Hard left hand to the body by Vanderpool.
00:25:31Hard left hand to the body by Vanderpool.
00:25:32And they go down in a clinch.
00:25:37It'll definitely be ruled a slip.
00:25:40Vanderpool appeared to be trying to
00:25:42let the referee know that he had gotten
00:25:44hidden below the belt.
00:25:45Exactly.
00:25:46He was pointing to a spot below his belt.
00:25:48When you're fighting for a title,
00:25:55it doesn't matter what happened,
00:25:56you can't complain.
00:25:57If you're a contender,
00:25:58you've got to fight for it.
00:25:59Turn this, turn this, turn this.
00:26:01This has all the makings
00:26:02of a pretty ugly fight
00:26:05because Vanderpool hits,
00:26:07runs, holds,
00:26:09stays away,
00:26:11leaps in.
00:26:11In fact,
00:26:14a headbutt
00:26:15would not be out of the question here.
00:26:23I want to see that left hand move.
00:26:25Doesn't have to land
00:26:27if you want to see it move.
00:26:29Close your eyes a little bit, son.
00:26:30Close your eyes.
00:26:31I want to see that hand move.
00:26:33Watch it out right there.
00:26:37Don't worry about it.
00:26:39You see?
00:26:40You see?
00:26:41He's getting shook up now, okay?
00:26:43But I want that straight left hand.
00:26:45Boom, boom, boom.
00:26:46Right down the pike on it.
00:26:47Right down the pike.
00:26:49He's getting shook up.
00:26:50Okay?
00:26:50Okay?
00:26:51He's getting shook up, son.
00:26:55Okay?
00:26:56Here's where they fling themselves
00:26:58into each other.
00:26:59I'm not sure what
00:27:00Vanderpool is complaining about.
00:27:01Yeah, he got hit below the belt.
00:27:03That's what.
00:27:03He got tapped there, George.
00:27:04No, there's no such thing
00:27:05as taps down there.
00:27:08There's a little spot there
00:27:10right below the little cup.
00:27:11If you get touched there,
00:27:12you're going to cry.
00:27:14You don't have to hit it hard.
00:27:18So be it.
00:27:19Harold Lutterman,
00:27:20how do you have it through three?
00:27:21Okay, Jim,
00:27:22I got a two to one,
00:27:2329-28,
00:27:24Bernard Hopkins.
00:27:25You know, Jim,
00:27:25in the first round,
00:27:26Sid Van Der Poel definitely won.
00:27:28But to tell you the honest and the truth,
00:27:29in the two wrestling rounds,
00:27:31two and three,
00:27:32I thought if anybody landed clean punches,
00:27:34it was Bernard Hopkins
00:27:35with that right hand.
00:27:35But the only thing is
00:27:36to get outside of his right foot
00:27:38like you called him,
00:27:39he must circle to his left.
00:27:41And Bernard Hopkins
00:27:42is circling the wrong way,
00:27:43trying to square up
00:27:44in front of Sid Van Der Poel.
00:27:45This is the direction
00:27:48in which Oscar De La Hoya
00:27:50circled for 12 rounds
00:27:51against Brunel Whitaker,
00:27:53and he took his left hook
00:27:54out of the fight by doing so.
00:27:56If Hopkins wants to make
00:27:57his left hook a factor,
00:27:58and it's a good punch for him,
00:27:59he needs to move
00:28:00in the opposite direction.
00:28:01Yeah, that's one way
00:28:02of looking at it,
00:28:02but if you're a good fighter,
00:28:03you don't change anything
00:28:04for any fighter.
00:28:06That's the one thing about it.
00:28:07Forget about tactics.
00:28:08If you're a good fighter,
00:28:09you believe in yourself
00:28:09and make the other fighter change.
00:28:13And Hopkins is beginning
00:28:14to pick his shots
00:28:15more effectively now
00:28:16as Vander Poel slows down
00:28:19through the middle
00:28:19of round four.
00:28:20And he's throwing
00:28:21left hooks to the body.
00:28:22He's out of this
00:28:22conventional style.
00:28:24You don't want to start
00:28:25moving around looking
00:28:26for the right positions
00:28:26when you're a good fighter.
00:28:28Make the other guy
00:28:29start that stuff.
00:28:33The Pacers,
00:28:34who lost their playoff game
00:28:36in Philadelphia earlier today,
00:28:38had every intention
00:28:39as a group of coming in here
00:28:41and going to the fight tonight.
00:28:42A couple of the players
00:28:43on the team
00:28:43with Reggie Miller
00:28:44and Mark Jackson,
00:28:46Jalen Rose as well,
00:28:47all very instrumental
00:28:48in helping convince Roy Jones
00:28:50to bring the fight
00:28:51to Indianapolis
00:28:52and they wanted to be here.
00:28:53But we're told
00:28:53that they've got weather problems
00:28:55getting out of Philly,
00:28:56so we may not see
00:28:57the pace of players
00:28:58coming into the arena tonight.
00:29:01They had some weather problems,
00:29:03particularly in the first
00:29:03three quarters
00:29:04against the Sixers today, too.
00:29:06Vander Poel has stopped charging.
00:29:08He's waiting around
00:29:09and that's what you don't want
00:29:10him doing in there
00:29:11with this veteran fighter.
00:29:12You've got to keep
00:29:13the unorthodox throwing your body,
00:29:15throwing your head,
00:29:16turn your body
00:29:16into a bowling ball style.
00:29:20Once you stop that,
00:29:21you've got no fight,
00:29:22you've got no chance at all.
00:29:23You've got no chance at all.
00:29:23waiting around is what Hopkins
00:29:33want him to do.
00:29:34Stop, think, Bob, weave.
00:29:39When the two fighters
00:29:41launch aggression,
00:29:42both tend to lean forward
00:29:44with their heads,
00:29:45as you can see.
00:29:45Hopkins was able to get
00:29:46a good left hook
00:29:47to the body that time.
00:29:48Right hand by Vander Poel
00:29:50upstairs.
00:29:52This Hopkins is a smooth cookie,
00:29:54I'm telling you.
00:29:54Not a lot of mustard on it.
00:29:56Hopkins checked Vander Poel
00:29:58out for the first couple
00:29:59of rounds and is now fighting
00:30:00with considerable confidence
00:30:02as he feels he's found the holes
00:30:04in Vander Poel's game.
00:30:07No fair to say.
00:30:08Quick left hook inside
00:30:14by Hopkins
00:30:14as Vander Poel was coming in.
00:30:19Four rounds in the books.
00:30:21Vander Poel's early aggression
00:30:22beginning to melt away.
00:30:24Join us May 15
00:30:25for the premiere of Real Sports
00:30:26with Bryant Gumbel.
00:30:27One of the stories to be featured,
00:30:29Philadelphia Flyer coach
00:30:30Roger Nielsen,
00:30:32his treatment,
00:30:32and his battle
00:30:33against bone marrow cancer.
00:30:35Real sports
00:30:36where nothing is out of bounds.
00:30:38In the sports world,
00:30:39it's been a bad year
00:30:40for cancer.
00:30:41Lance Armstrong,
00:30:43Andres Galarraga,
00:30:44Roger Nielsen,
00:30:45all fighting back.
00:30:46You understand me?
00:30:47All right?
00:30:48Back him up with this jab.
00:30:49Back him up with the jab.
00:30:50Drop the straight left hand
00:30:51on him in the 3-4.
00:30:53You understand what I'm saying?
00:30:54Now this is what I want, son.
00:30:55Let's get it done.
00:30:56Okay?
00:30:56This is what I want.
00:30:58Don't, just don't finish the
00:30:59stall.
00:30:59You're right.
00:31:00Don't worry.
00:31:023-D, 3-D.
00:31:04Good.
00:31:06Second challenge.
00:31:08Okay, work your set.
00:31:09Work your set.
00:31:10Work your set, son.
00:31:12Hands light.
00:31:16If the face of trainer
00:31:18Bowie Fisher is familiar to you,
00:31:20it's because of the frequent
00:31:21appearances here on HBO
00:31:22over the course of the past
00:31:23few years by lightweight
00:31:25Ivan Robinson.
00:31:27Bowie Fisher,
00:31:28longtime trainer to both
00:31:29Hopkins and Ivan Robinson.
00:31:31You saw Ivan here
00:31:32a few weeks ago
00:31:33losing to Antonio Villas
00:31:36on the undercard
00:31:37of Fernando Vargas
00:31:38versus Ike Korte.
00:31:39Good right hand by Hopkins.
00:31:40Vanderpool staggered
00:31:41into the ropes.
00:31:42Now you see Hopkins
00:31:43is the aggressor.
00:31:45He's not moving back
00:31:46as he was in the first
00:31:47couple rounds.
00:31:48Whenever something happens,
00:31:49he stands his ground.
00:31:50He's in position.
00:31:55That's what you didn't want
00:31:56this veteran doing,
00:31:57getting in position.
00:31:57You wanted to keep him
00:31:58out of position.
00:31:59Hopkins with a hard right hand
00:32:07to the belly.
00:32:08Vanderpool missing twice up top
00:32:10as Bernard was able
00:32:12to duck under his punches.
00:32:17Just from the look
00:32:18on Vanderpool's face,
00:32:20you can see that the confidence
00:32:21with which he fought
00:32:22in the first couple of rounds
00:32:23has begun to ebb away.
00:32:25Well, once your energy is gone,
00:32:26you've got to have something
00:32:27to replace it.
00:32:28He doesn't have the experience.
00:32:30You've just got to keep charging
00:32:31and just get what you can get.
00:32:33Good hard body shots
00:32:34by Hopkins.
00:32:36Right and the left,
00:32:37both just under the ribcage.
00:32:40Now Hopkins steps forward
00:32:42a little bit now.
00:32:42Don't hold him and hit.
00:32:43Don't hold him and hit.
00:32:45Hopkins getting in one shot,
00:32:47holding and hitting,
00:32:48before referee Bill Page
00:32:50warned him off of the second one.
00:32:55You can't allow Hopkins
00:32:56to sit there and think.
00:32:57You've just got to charge him
00:32:58even if you miss him.
00:33:03Once the fight starts,
00:33:04stay in the middle of the ring,
00:33:06the veteran has the advantage.
00:33:13Vanderpool stands back.
00:33:16Once he lands a shot,
00:33:17he jumps back.
00:33:18You can't do it.
00:33:18All of this action benefits Vanderpool because he's taking some of the energy away from the veteran who's saving this stuff for the last few rounds.
00:33:37But at the same time,
00:33:43Hopkins would appear to be headed toward winning the round.
00:33:46Well, Hopkins,
00:33:47yep, he's taking over the fight,
00:33:49no doubt about it.
00:33:49But you just got to keep him
00:33:50burning energy.
00:33:51They wanted Hopkins to keep it up,
00:33:55but the body punches are having an effect.
00:33:58The laranette body punch below the belt
00:34:00was a little different from the other one.
00:34:01That's why it doesn't bother.
00:34:07Hopkins got in a little counter right hand.
00:34:10Vanderpool lands with a left.
00:34:12Hopkins with a bigger left in return.
00:34:14And Bernard likes the way it's going for him now.
00:34:23You're getting close.
00:34:24You're getting close.
00:34:26You're getting close.
00:34:27Just don't get Kelly.
00:34:28Just don't get Kelly.
00:34:29All right?
00:34:30Okay.
00:34:31Give me a little more,
00:34:32a little more force than with the left hand.
00:34:34I want to see a little more force with the left hand.
00:34:36Don't worry about whether it's landing or not.
00:34:38Let him see that hand move.
00:34:39That's what I want to see.
00:34:41All right?
00:34:42Listen to me.
00:34:43Listen to me, okay?
00:34:45He's standing around the bottom.
00:34:47Okay?
00:34:47But you're not going after him.
00:34:49You're off him.
00:34:50You got the hand speed.
00:34:52You got the hand speed.
00:34:53Let's see, you use it.
00:34:54Jam, jam, jam.
00:34:55And drop them shots on him, son.
00:34:57Okay.
00:34:57Come on now, Sid.
00:34:58All right.
00:34:59Come on now.
00:35:00Okay.
00:35:00All right?
00:35:01Me and you, we're going too far together now.
00:35:02Okay?
00:35:03You stand it?
00:35:06Often you see southpaws getting tangled up
00:35:09with their front foot.
00:35:10There you see a classic example of it.
00:35:12Why Vanderpool went to the canvas.
00:35:16All right, box.
00:35:18And you heard Sid Vanderpool's dad, Keith Vanderpool, in the corner.
00:35:22His father is his trainer.
00:35:24Saying, we've come too far together, son.
00:35:26Trying to inspire Sid to go back to the helter-skelter activity
00:35:31that served him so well in the first couple of rounds,
00:35:34urging him to try to get in and go to Hopkins' body.
00:35:37But, of course, it's Bernard Hopkins
00:35:38who's been doing the bulk of the body damage,
00:35:40although Hopkins has to acknowledge
00:35:42a good little left hand in there by Vanderpool.
00:35:45Once you hurt these guys and they shake their heads,
00:35:48you've got to attack.
00:35:49That's an indication that he can't see
00:35:51or something is wrong.
00:35:52There you go!
00:36:00I'll bet you never had much doubt
00:36:01about whether your opponents were hurt, George.
00:36:03A little bit of blood coming from Vanderpool's nose.
00:36:09That's because you're running to the face
00:36:10of those sawpaws like that.
00:36:14Good left hand to the body
00:36:15and a hard right hand to the body by Vanderpool.
00:36:18And I think those body punches by Vanderpool
00:36:20may be a good investment also.
00:36:22That's why his dad was asking him to do it.
00:36:25You want to take his energy away
00:36:26like he's trying to do yours.
00:36:28Take your energy.
00:36:29Now he has the veteran moving.
00:36:32Just keep him moving.
00:36:33Don't allow him to stop for one second.
00:36:39You heard Vanderpool's corner.
00:36:41You've got the speed.
00:36:42You've got the hand speed.
00:36:43Go to work on him.
00:36:44Vanderpool fighting with a little bit more confidence
00:36:46in this round.
00:36:48Hopkins need his right foot steady to do anything.
00:36:51If you make him move that right foot,
00:36:52you can just attack him and attack him.
00:36:55He doesn't use his left foot as a pivot at all.
00:36:58So what's the best way to make a fighter
00:36:59you want to move his back foot, George?
00:37:00You just go at him.
00:37:02Just go at him so he has to pick that right foot up,
00:37:04the left foot up, and move it backwards.
00:37:06Make him keep picking it up.
00:37:11As long as he can keep that right foot steady
00:37:13then you're in bad shape.
00:37:14He can...
00:37:15Don't hold him.
00:37:21Don't lock up his arm.
00:37:22Let it go.
00:37:23My brain.
00:37:23Don't finish.
00:37:25Hopkins is doing a little rough necking himself.
00:37:27That's what you want to do.
00:37:28Make a veteran do everything they don't want to do.
00:37:31And Vanderpool pulling his head back to avoid the butt
00:37:34as Hopkins drove him into the ropes like a linebacker
00:37:37driving a running back back into the hole.
00:37:40Picks up his leg.
00:37:41That's what you got to do.
00:37:42Keep him picking that left leg
00:37:43so he can cross it.
00:37:45And go to his body, too.
00:37:47But don't let him get set like he's doing now.
00:37:49You want him out of that position.
00:37:58That was not because of the power of the punch.
00:38:01It was a little bulk that time.
00:38:03That was mostly linebacker stuff.
00:38:05Go!
00:38:05Go!
00:38:05Go!
00:38:06Go!
00:38:06Go!
00:38:07Go!
00:38:07Go!
00:38:08Go!
00:38:08Go!
00:38:09Go!
00:38:10Go!
00:38:10Go!
00:38:11Go!
00:38:12Go!
00:38:13Go!
00:38:14Go!
00:38:15Go!
00:38:16So as we reach the middleweight point
00:38:17of the middleweight championship fight
00:38:19between Bernard Hopkins and Syd Vanderpool.
00:38:22Meanwhile, if there's a fighter here tonight
00:38:25who's less known than Syd Vanderpool it's Richard Hall,
00:38:29one of those politically connected number- one ranked contenders
00:38:33who has risen to the top of a particular governing body's
00:38:37ranking list by beating a string
00:38:39of fighters whose names we don't know.
00:38:42Hall is upset at me for having suggested in a promo
00:38:45couple of weeks ago that i don't think the whole jones fight will be competitive i told him to be
00:38:49a good idea for him to prove me wrong go with the loop and go with the set here we see a clinch
00:38:58that's the punch and a takedown that's it it is again two punches what sport is that australian
00:39:08rules boxing
00:39:19hopkins comes out immediately and takes control of the middle of the ring that's what you want to do
00:39:23take a little bit of the heart out of your corner harold how do you have it halfway through okay
00:39:28jim i got it four to two 58 56 burnout hopkins jim in that round six uh syd vanderpool got inside
00:39:35that banged the body nicely he did some damage around six but other than that those middle
00:39:40rounds between one and six i thought bernard hopkins clearly went with those clean right hands
00:39:46i wouldn't be shocked if a judge gave round two to vanderpool pool i wouldn't be shocked if a judge
00:39:51gave him round three so it's at least conceivable to me that you could find a scorecard here with
00:39:56vanderpool ahead what about larry how do you have it larry larry larry thinks that hopkins is winning
00:40:04the fight hasn't lost a round since the first round
00:40:10but there have been a lot of close hard to score rounds here both fighters landing one punch at a time
00:40:19hopkins doing it more often
00:40:24now hopkins bunches his punches and lands three body blows
00:40:28and he gets out of the way what you want to do is hit and spin your guy get out of the way
00:40:37that's an art that has been lost in boxing
00:40:41and bernard hopkins almost as though he had listened to larry's statement about one punch at a time
00:40:46fired a four punch combination all with the left hand
00:40:53you know indianapolis has uh something of a history as a
00:40:58as a light heavyweight town because of marvin johnson a good light heavyweight champion in the 80s
00:41:05this fight is liable to convince them that they're a light heavyweight
00:41:16you up are you up what's going on
00:41:21no i didn't no i didn't do you hit him low
00:41:24no i didn't do you hit him low
00:41:31and bernard hopkins said he's trying to fake it to the referee because the referee didn't see it
00:41:37hard right hand body shot by hopkins vanderpool swinging wildly
00:41:42that's the way you got to do it vanderpool
00:41:46don't turn this into a boxing match
00:41:51vanderpool apparently angered by hopkins tactics over there against the ropes
00:41:58this fight is beginning to look like prince nasim hamed against cesar soto
00:42:03well this guy's been trying to spin him hopkins has been doing all the spinning
00:42:06he gets under this guy and he just lays his body on him
00:42:12good job
00:42:18round seven is a wild one
00:42:23you only have one minute to rest you got to go to your corner and get some information
00:42:28al vanderpool succeeded in getting the crowd into the fight
00:42:31he should get angry during the round not after the round
00:42:36look get mad now yeah get mad now let's win the round
00:42:41He don't think he's going to try and come after me.
00:42:44Let's go after his ass.
00:42:45Let's go after his ass.
00:42:47You understand me?
00:42:48You go with some quick shots.
00:42:51You're dumbest shots inside.
00:42:53All right?
00:42:54One shot.
00:42:54We're not worried about one shot.
00:42:56Got a couple of more takedowns to show you.
00:43:02Vanderpool holding on for dear life.
00:43:05Hopkins.
00:43:05See that?
00:43:06He hit him below the belt.
00:43:08Not very hard.
00:43:09Not very hard, but he did hit him below.
00:43:11He hit him in that sensitive spot, I'm telling you,
00:43:14is more important than you think.
00:43:15Most people have no idea.
00:43:17And the crafty Hopkins appeared to know
00:43:20that the referee couldn't see it
00:43:21as he took a double shot down there.
00:43:25It does not take a hard shot
00:43:27at certain parts of you below the belt.
00:43:30All you got to do is touch it.
00:43:31Quit jumping up on top of him.
00:43:33Let's go.
00:43:34Hopkins, evidently, is a very wise cat.
00:43:37Yep.
00:43:37He knew what he was doing.
00:43:38There certainly has so appeared.
00:43:39And now Vanderpool in trouble
00:43:41as Hopkins drives him into the ropes.
00:43:44That's what you want him to do.
00:43:45Make Hopkins throw away some of that energy.
00:43:48Make him mix it up.
00:43:49Make him get dirty.
00:43:50Make this fight ugly.
00:43:51Make it ugly.
00:43:53They trade uppercuts.
00:43:55Hopkins does more damage.
00:43:57You don't want to say it that I fought a good, clean,
00:44:04light heavyweight title match.
00:44:06I lost.
00:44:07Middleweight.
00:44:07Make it up.
00:44:08Middleweight.
00:44:09I lost.
00:44:10See, I fought the hardest fight of my life
00:44:12if you lose.
00:44:13Let's go.
00:44:15Let's go.
00:44:16Let's go.
00:44:17Right there, baby.
00:44:18Go!
00:44:19Oh, right-hand uppercut lands between the guard.
00:44:24There it is, I'm going to do it again.
00:44:28Hopkins knows every trick.
00:44:30How to hit on the break.
00:44:32How to sneak in the low blow.
00:44:34How to hold and hit.
00:44:35He's shown every one of those tactics.
00:44:38And in a gentlemanly way, too,
00:44:40in these first eight rounds here.
00:44:43There's a great trainer from Indianapolis
00:44:44by the name of Hiawatha Gray.
00:44:47He taught Archie Moore a lot of his tricks.
00:44:50So in this area,
00:44:51there exists a lot of knowledge of boxing.
00:44:53Well, Hopkins is from Philadelphia
00:44:55and Vanderpool's from Toronto,
00:44:56but they're honoring Hiawatha Gray
00:44:59in their way, aren't they?
00:45:00They sure are.
00:45:01Every little trick in the book,
00:45:03so it's coming alive.
00:45:05Hiawatha would be proud.
00:45:06That's right.
00:45:09Get a pick for a three!
00:45:14Good left hand inside by Vanderpool.
00:45:18Hopkins lands the straight right.
00:45:22And the left hook.
00:45:24And a hard counter right hand by Hopkins.
00:45:27Oh, that hurt.
00:45:28Yep, Vanderpool momentarily staggered.
00:45:30Hopkins taking his time.
00:45:33Vanderpool holding on.
00:45:35That right hand may have been
00:45:38the most damaging blow of the fight.
00:45:40That Vanderpool is really fighting hard,
00:45:42but he's catching a lot of hard shots.
00:45:46The problem is he can hardly fight, George.
00:45:49Yeah, but that's the way you win fights,
00:45:51not hardly being able to fight.
00:45:52Just fight.
00:45:53Win boxing matches, I mean.
00:45:54Fight!
00:46:01Oh, there's some mean swelling
00:46:03on Vanderpool's head.
00:46:06Yeah, there's a welt above his right eye.
00:46:09Right on the forehead.
00:46:12Left hand lands for Vanderpool.
00:46:15Hopkins with a right to the body.
00:46:19Round eight seemed to belong to the champion
00:46:21who landed one large counter right.
00:46:28I'm kidding.
00:46:32Self-taught.
00:46:35Let me get near you.
00:46:36Focus.
00:46:43Last two rounds.
00:46:44Okay, listen.
00:46:45You're blowing the fight.
00:46:47You're blowing the fight.
00:46:48You hear me?
00:46:48All right.
00:46:49Okay?
00:46:49If you don't give me this last couple rounds,
00:46:51you'll be losing.
00:46:52All right.
00:46:52Look at the lump on Vanderpool's forehead.
00:46:54You've dreamed this your whole life.
00:46:55Could that have come from a punch,
00:46:57or must that necessarily have been
00:46:58from a collision of heads?
00:47:00I think it was a collision of heads.
00:47:01They were bumping heads and running in.
00:47:02Early in the round,
00:47:07clean right inside.
00:47:09Vanderpool took it well.
00:47:11That was a punch
00:47:12that could have done some damage.
00:47:19Round nine begins.
00:47:21Check it.
00:47:21Round eight, I should say.
00:47:22Well, Vanderpool has gotten the version of,
00:47:24you're blowing it, son.
00:47:25You're blowing it.
00:47:26Let's see if he can do anything about it.
00:47:29If Vanderpool can just hurt Hopkins this round,
00:47:32he can take his heart from it.
00:47:34He's got to get in there and hurt him.
00:47:35This graphic's wrong.
00:47:36This is the ninth round.
00:47:38You're watching here, ladies and gentlemen.
00:47:39Not the eighth.
00:47:40This is the ninth.
00:47:41Do it again.
00:47:47I want to do enough when he's done it.
00:47:53That's what you want to do.
00:47:55You want to hurt the veterans
00:47:56in the latter rounds
00:47:57because that's when they think
00:47:58they can take over.
00:48:02Hopkins has some swelling
00:48:03around his eyes as well,
00:48:06but nothing to compare
00:48:07with the huge lump
00:48:08that's on Vanderpool's forehead
00:48:11above his right eye.
00:48:13Nice right jab there by Vanderpool.
00:48:17Vanderpool with a chopping left hand.
00:48:20Hopkins comes back with a combination.
00:48:22Vanderpool's hurt.
00:48:23Hopkins landed a counter.
00:48:25Vanderpool was playing possum.
00:48:27Got Hopkins back.
00:48:28Ah, Vanderpool's got a trick or two
00:48:30up his sleeve.
00:48:31Absolutely.
00:48:34A 360.
00:48:37Ha, ha, ha, ha.
00:48:39That's called,
00:48:40that's the old Boog Powell theory
00:48:42of hitting.
00:48:43Swing hard just in case you hit something.
00:48:46Ha, ha, ha.
00:48:46Even a blind squirrel finds some nuts occasionally.
00:48:56Hopkins is a little dazed,
00:48:58and this guy...
00:48:59Vanderpool has no idea.
00:49:02He's letting him get back into the game,
00:49:04letting him clear his head.
00:49:05He's letting him get back into the game.
00:49:07He's letting him get back into the game.
00:49:08Hopkins was probably dazzled
00:49:09by the 360.
00:49:14Put your hand back!
00:49:16Let his hand go!
00:49:16That's where the heads are starting to buckle.
00:49:18Right there!
00:49:18Wait up!
00:49:19Wait up!
00:49:20Hold on, God!
00:49:23All right, my brain, my brain.
00:49:24Come on now.
00:49:25My brain, come on.
00:49:26There aren't a lot of members of the Pacers
00:49:27who could have produced a 360 windmill dunk.
00:49:30Maybe youngster Al Harrington
00:49:32or Jonathan Bender,
00:49:33but certainly not the Rick Smitses of the world.
00:49:37But Vanderpool gave the crowd a thrill.
00:49:43Gave me a thrill.
00:49:44Hard right hand by Hopkins.
00:49:46Gave me a thrill, Jim.
00:49:48I don't think I've ever seen a complete 360.
00:49:52Hopkins getting his chances now
00:49:54here in round nine,
00:49:55landing a couple of big shots.
00:49:57He had him hurt.
00:49:58Gotta go for the finish.
00:49:59Now Vanderpool lands a counter right hand,
00:50:02and Hopkins plays a little possum of his own.
00:50:06Got a possum hunt here.
00:50:07They're matching trick for trick.
00:50:16Stop!
00:50:19Hopkins seems amused by it all
00:50:21as he smiles back to his corner.
00:50:23Quite close, baby.
00:50:25Quite close.
00:50:25Don't hurt that round.
00:50:26All right, so no partners.
00:50:28I'm not looking for one or two big shots, Bernard.
00:50:31I'm looking for combinations of punches in there.
00:50:33You need these rounds?
00:50:34You need the rounds.
00:50:35You need to close strong here.
00:50:37You're giving this guy a chance.
00:50:38You're fiddle fucking around here, son.
00:50:40You're fiddle fucking around.
00:50:42Get your goddamn hands moving.
00:50:43Be quiet, Keith.
00:50:44Get your goddamn hands moving.
00:50:46You understand?
00:50:46I'm getting a little tired of this now.
00:50:48I can't get in here and do it for you.
00:50:50Not that I would any goddamn way.
00:50:52But listen, let's get it done.
00:50:54All right.
00:50:55I mean, what's he got?
00:50:57Nothing.
00:50:57He ain't got nothing that you haven't seen.
00:50:58Well, we seem to need a gymnastics judge here, more than a fight judge, for some of the lunges
00:51:06that Vanderpool has taken.
00:51:09And here's the 360 if you want to see that one again.
00:51:11I give him a 9.8 on that, but not as a punch.
00:51:20Hard right hand by Vanderpool as Hopkins charges in.
00:51:24You heard Bowie Fisher saying to Bernard Hopkins that he thinks the fight is close.
00:51:28And saying, Bernard, I don't want one or two big shots.
00:51:31I want you to fire combinations.
00:51:33Harold Lederman, how do you see it through nine?
00:51:35No, Jim, I don't agree.
00:51:36I got it 7-2.
00:51:3888-83, Bernard Hopkins.
00:51:40If anybody is scoring clean punches, it's Hopkins.
00:51:43Set Vanderpool misses a darn many punches, Jim, and that's all there is to it.
00:51:48What he does is he's flashy, but he does too much covering up, not enough punching.
00:51:52Bernard lands the clean shots.
00:51:54Hopkins deserves to win his fight.
00:51:567-2, 88-83, Hopkins.
00:51:59Hopkins also landed some of the dirtiest punches, too.
00:52:02He's holding, spinning, and hitting behind the back.
00:52:08The referee seems to let him do it.
00:52:10The referee seems to let him do it.
00:52:12The referee seems to let him do it.
00:52:13Vanderpool has a lot of knockouts on his record, but only one of them passed the seventh round.
00:52:19So if he's looking to pull something out here, the odds would seem to be against him.
00:52:26But you never know.
00:52:29Hopkins complained about those braids or those...
00:52:32One judge from Canada, one from Pennsylvania, one from Indiana.
00:52:37They are not judges with whom we're familiar from our previous HBO boxing experiences.
00:52:43So you never know.
00:52:46See?
00:52:47Look, it gets behind him.
00:52:49Spins out.
00:52:50Good.
00:52:51Straight.
00:52:52Left hand.
00:52:53To the body.
00:52:55By Vanderpool.
00:52:56Yeah, you can see why Vanderpool has been beating the kind of opposition he's faced.
00:53:00He's got hard.
00:53:01He's willing to fight.
00:53:03And he has a good punch.
00:53:04He's a resolute puncher.
00:53:05That's exactly right.
00:53:06Technically, he's not in Hopkins' league.
00:53:10Oh, he's switched on him.
00:53:11Straight right hand by Hopkins.
00:53:18Doubling up to the body.
00:53:20All right, break it, break it.
00:53:21Don't fetch.
00:53:21Don't fetch my break.
00:53:22Come on out.
00:53:23Come on out.
00:53:23Let me clap.
00:53:24Hopkins, from what he said to Bowie Fisher between rounds the last time, obviously thinks
00:53:28he's got a shot at a late KO here of Vanderpool.
00:53:33He's gotten closer and closer to Vanderpool to land the big shots.
00:53:37He's in punching disc range right now, getting a good, clean knockout if he has enough energy
00:53:43left.
00:53:47Vanderpool switches again out of the softball.
00:53:50How'd you get out of there, guys?
00:53:51Come on.
00:53:51How'd you get out?
00:53:55Hands up.
00:53:58Let's go.
00:53:59What do you mean?
00:54:01Let's go.
00:54:02Let's go.
00:54:02Let's go.
00:54:02Let's go.
00:54:02Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:03Let's go.
00:54:04Let's go.
00:54:07A scrappy fight.
00:54:13Bernard Hopkins trying to hold on to his middleweight championship against tough Sid
00:54:19Vanderpool of Canada.
00:54:20Still to come tonight, Richard Hall facing this man, Roy Jones, for Jones' unified light
00:54:26heavyweight championship of the world.
00:54:28We're told, incidentally, that in Hall's dressing room, they put Richard's gloves on without a
00:54:34member of Jones' camp being there to watch it.
00:54:36So there could conceivably be a delay if the Jones folks ask for Hall to take the gloves
00:54:41back off and put them on again.
00:54:43Turn it with the hook.
00:54:44Finish it with the hook.
00:54:45Finish it with the hook.
00:54:46He's sitting right there for it, son.
00:54:47You know it's worth checking, too.
00:54:48You know, I...
00:54:49Of course it's worth checking.
00:54:50You know, I...
00:54:51Of course it's worth checking.
00:54:52You got to believe in me.
00:54:53I ain't gonna talk to you, son.
00:54:56You understand me?
00:54:57He's gonna come to you.
00:54:58He's coming, too.
00:54:59Close your eyes.
00:55:00Close your eyes.
00:55:01Close your eyes.
00:55:06You got the clothes, son.
00:55:07You got the clothes.
00:55:08You got the clothes.
00:55:09You got the clothes with calmness of the prices.
00:55:13out on hand in the Conceco Fieldhouse,
00:55:16Indianapolis, Indiana.
00:55:18And what a magnificent facility it is.
00:55:24I knew it had the reputation as we came in
00:55:26of being the best arena in the NBA.
00:55:28This is as good a multipurpose arena
00:55:31as you will find anywhere in sport.
00:55:35CompuBox numbers in round 10.
00:55:37Bernard Hopkins, 21 out of 61.
00:55:39Sid Vanderpool, 6 out of 26.
00:55:41You can see the Hopkins' punch output going up,
00:55:44round by round by round down the stretch of the fight.
00:55:46Vanderpool's punch output, which early in the fight
00:55:49dwarfed that of Hopkins, is going down from round to round.
00:55:55And Vanderpool, to me, looks tired.
00:55:58Yeah, he's in new territory.
00:55:59I don't think he's accustomed to these late rounds.
00:56:02That's what happens when you have a big knockout punch.
00:56:04You don't get a chance to go the distance much.
00:56:07Hopkins pounding Vanderpool right on the left hip, George.
00:56:11That punch hurts, doesn't it?
00:56:12Yeah, Hopkins I've found to be not a clean fighter at all.
00:56:15But sometimes you got to win.
00:56:18I just think he's a rough fighter, George.
00:56:20I don't think he's a dirty fighter.
00:56:23Vanderpool's gone 12 rounds only once in his career.
00:56:26Bernard has done that eight times.
00:56:28He's fighting an awkward guy who is turning his back on him,
00:56:33who's falling off balance constantly.
00:56:37If you're a rough, tough fighter, stuff is going to happen.
00:56:40He's a dirty fighter.
00:56:43All right, George.
00:56:44He's winning.
00:56:45He's doing a good shot.
00:56:46But I'd like to see them do it clean.
00:56:50It was Jack Dempsey who said, don't ever let your guard down
00:56:53in a prize fight ring.
00:56:54You're there to be a man and to fight for your survival.
00:56:58That's the way Hopkins fights.
00:57:00He gives and takes no quarter.
00:57:01Look at the elbow hitting on the side.
00:57:03You know, you don't call that clean.
00:57:04You don't call that dirty stuff.
00:57:07Dempsey used rabbit punches, George.
00:57:08He's one of the most revered fighters in the history of the game.
00:57:12This is a sport where a lot of guys walking around on the heels,
00:57:16punch drop, and a lot of it is because everybody
00:57:19thinking everything goes, not me.
00:57:22I hear you.
00:57:22I understand your point.
00:57:24Hopkins gets in another blow right below the belt.
00:57:30He's a good guy.
00:57:32Hawkins is a tough enough sport without that.
00:57:35Referee Bill Page lecturing Hopkins,
00:57:38but no penalty has been issued through the whole course of the fight.
00:57:42And if you went back and looked at everything that had happened
00:57:46over 12 rounds cumulatively, you might say, why no penalty?
00:57:51Let's go.
00:57:53Let's go.
00:57:55Let's go.
00:57:57Turn it off his head.
00:58:01When the round is over, we'll take you into Richard Hall's dressing room,
00:58:05where we're told, just as you suggested, George,
00:58:09the gloves are being removed so that the Jones people can check it out.
00:58:13I advise that. I would tell any fighter to make them remove it.
00:58:16Hopkins faked the punch, Vanderpool covered up like a guy walking under an avalanche.
00:58:25Now, this could, it could conceivably precipitate a delay.
00:58:28There you see Aaron Snowell, trainer to Richard Hall, pulling off the glove
00:58:35so that a member of Roy Jones' delegation can check the inside of the gloves.
00:58:39There's Mario Francis, I call him sweetness, getting a look for himself.
00:58:44Tell me why it's important, George.
00:58:45Yeah, because a lot of times, why do you want to hide something?
00:58:48Some guys fold a little extra padding in the glove.
00:58:51Sometimes they tear a little of the inside of the opening out
00:58:53so the knuckles can get a little closer to the head.
00:58:56And if anything can be done, some of these guys will do it.
00:58:59Straight one jeans. Straight one jeans.
00:59:01And you saw Carl King, Paul's manager, looking at Mario and saying,
00:59:05come on, you don't really think we try to load the gloves.
00:59:08Come on, it's supposed to give you this round. You got to give it big.
00:59:10I've been in with guys when they made a pace out of the wrapping on their finger.
00:59:19Made pace out of it.
00:59:20Yeah, how about the old plaster of Paris charge?
00:59:22Willard used to claim that Dempsey had plaster of Paris in his gloves July 4, 1919 in Toledo.
00:59:31They trade head shots and right hands at close range.
00:59:35Again in the 11th round, Vanderpool was able only to throw 19 punches compared to 49 from Hopkins, according to CompuBox numbers.
00:59:44So Bernard has stepped up the pace, and Vanderpool has wilted in the late rounds.
00:59:51Bernard Hopkins got a lot more heart than I thought.
00:59:54He is still with heart as much.
00:59:57Step to your left.
01:00:02Break it, right break. Let him out. Let him out. Come on.
01:00:05Let's go.
01:00:06Right back. Come on, right back.
01:00:09Right back. Come on, right back.
01:00:12Good straight right hand by Hopkins. Another straight right hand.
01:00:19Looked like he could just win it with just straight hands. Right hands.
01:00:25Now you talk about all the slick things that Hopkins has been able to do, incidentally.
01:00:29We were talking about the subject of Hall's gloves when Vanderpool tried to win the fight with one big stroke right off the touching of gloves to start this round.
01:00:38Vanderpool is weak. Legs are weak.
01:00:41reminder, you've got to lose.
01:00:51CHAD Iraqi players, I guess I think he's里 figure.
01:00:53Hopkins is taking his time, put in a jab or two."
01:00:54He can get a knock-out, a clean knockcard.
01:00:58Vanderpool has shown courage and stick-to-itiveness.
01:01:00I guess one of the better fighters in the sport, but his game has vanished
01:01:02over the course of the 12 rounds.
01:01:03I'm sure missed, Jim.
01:01:07And not an eager to really mix it up
01:01:11as the fight has gone on,
01:01:12just winging shots from outside.
01:01:14They're the equivalent of Hail Marys.
01:01:17Well, I think he realized that mixing it up
01:01:19against a puncher as accurate as Hopkins
01:01:21probably wasn't a very good idea.
01:01:29Boy, look at the swelling on the right side.
01:01:33Oh, yeah.
01:01:35He's gonna look distorted tonight.
01:01:39Hopkins is a tiger.
01:01:43He's a tiger.
01:01:44But is he an executioner?
01:01:45Oh, he means to destroy this boy.
01:01:49Hey, come on! Come on!
01:01:53He has a lot of tricks up his back sleeves.
01:01:56He's using every one of them.
01:01:59Referee Bill Page has had a tough gig here.
01:02:03He's using every one of them.
01:02:05If ever that was an executioner.
01:02:07Hopkins is their executioner.
01:02:09Ten seconds to go in the round.
01:02:11Page thought that was the bell.
01:02:13Pulled Hopkins off at a moment when Hopkins
01:02:15was trying for a late TKO.
01:02:17tko and the referee costs the crowd the last 10 seconds of action in the fight
01:02:24hopkins saying to us as he leans over the ropes i had him didn't i i had him didn't i
01:02:31well you certainly had him going bernard
01:02:41so bill page listening to the signal for the last 10 seconds of the fight
01:02:46mistook it for the bell and deprived hopkins of his final opportunity to try for a late tko but
01:02:53no matter it's impossible at this point to imagine that the scorecards could go against
01:02:58hopkins who so thoroughly dominated the closing rounds and if we look at the fight at the denouement
01:03:05of the fight in real speed you'll hear the slapping against the canvas that indicates 10 seconds to go
01:03:11and there was the bell finally at which point hopkins came to us to say hey i had him didn't i
01:03:31do you think that was a fight yeah good fight real fight yeah it was a fight
01:03:38one-sided down the stretch but uh and even though larry says that vanderpool showed himself
01:03:44to be an amateur i give him i give him maybe a little more credit than that
01:03:48i liked his willingness i certainly liked his energy in the early rounds
01:03:52i like the stick-to-itiveness with which he went the distance
01:03:55he could have caved in three or four rounds ago not only that he did the stuff in the earlier rounds
01:03:59to ensure that he would last for the the distance
01:04:04you get this guy a few few another year or two some more experience and i'm telling you
01:04:09vanderpool can do it all well he's 27 years old let's see if he continues to improve
01:04:15give him the right fights he could do it harold how'd you score the fight okay jim
01:04:21go go 118 110 10 rounds to two burn out hopkins you know jim after round six as far as scoring goes
01:04:29it was all the hopkins right hand that totally dominated the fight
01:04:32sit vanderpool would just fade into the ropes cover up and you know try to throw a leap in
01:04:37but hack is there that all clean punches easy fight to score and jim i want to talk for one moment
01:04:43about the judges you know there's one from canada and syd vanderpool's from canada george hill an old
01:04:49sparring native benny briscoe's from pennsylvania and hopkins is from philadelphia but fred jones from
01:04:54indiana last week worked on ko nation show on hbo and in a fight that everybody said was close
01:05:01fred jones somehow called it eight to two for paul spadafora over cleveland's mike griffith in a fight
01:05:07that was really a close fight in which spadafora only won a majority decision so what can i say some
01:05:13judges lean toward the favorite let's go to ring announcer michael buffer for the official decision
01:05:24118-110 george hill has it 118-109 and harry davis scores it 116-112 all for the winner by unanimous
01:05:33decision and still the reigning and defending middleweight champion of the world bernard the
01:05:42executioner hopkins
01:05:47i love it harold i just got to point out that after your suggestion that fred jones was way
01:05:53off base last week he scored this fight identically to you
01:05:56yes it's true he did okay but you see another word judge not judge you know sometimes you wonder uh
01:06:06everybody seemed to think that it was a very clean fight last week and yet some another the ibf put him
01:06:11back this week that was last week this week he was right on the money exactly all right let's look at
01:06:16final punch stat numbers for hopkins conquest of vanderpool and you're going to see the uh numbers that
01:06:21showed that hopkins landed at a much higher percentage and wound up throwing almost as
01:06:25many punches as vanderpool although through the first four or five rounds vanderpool was doubling
01:06:31hopkins punch output and of course the corresponding difference in power punches where you'll see that
01:06:38hopkins landed 78 more power punches through 157 more power punches and landed at a higher percentage as
01:06:45well and larry stands by with the man who has now defended his middleweight championship through
01:06:5111 consecutive title defenses
01:07:07kid like vanderpool
01:07:10all right bernard what is it like facing an eager strong but somewhat amateurish and wild southpaw like
01:07:19him well first of all i'd like to i'd like to thank god for the victory i'd like to thank hbo and
01:07:25it's been a suboxone very few people keep their word blue de bella kerry davis and seph abraham
01:07:29to answer your question is is that this guy is strong no one wants to really fight this kid and he
01:07:34walks around at 170 he was pretty strong but i had to dig in my bag of tricks and work on the fundamentals
01:07:39i got a little anxious you know because this is a big night this is a night leading up to the roy jones
01:07:42trinidad uh any other marquee fights out there from 54 to 170 and a lot of low pressure was on me
01:07:48but i calmed down later rounds larry and i went back to my old uh jab watching punches and he was
01:07:54strong he was game he brought the best out of me but that wasn't actually the best performance i ever
01:07:58did but i'm i'm satisfied from that a lot of it looked ugly he was lunging you you were bringing
01:08:05each other down you've been involved in fights with southpaws like that before does it does it feel
01:08:10ugly to you yes but you know maybe they get my costume mixed up with wrestling and maybe i should just
01:08:15go ahead and lead x-men home and maybe just you know get rid of the hood and let them know that
01:08:20i'm coming in the box i mean the rough and tough thing you know they seen robert allen do that the
01:08:24first fight and people think they can um i guess bully a bully and i don't consider myself a billy
01:08:29but it's taken out of my game but i you know i got caught up a little bit and i got back to myself
01:08:33and then i execute you did execute tell us what your thoughts are a about the fact you've now had 11
01:08:43successful defenses marvin haggler had 12 munzone had 14. do you have any ambitions does it mean
01:08:52anything to you to keep this going and maybe even to break a record for middleweight defenses yes this
01:08:59is my 12th defense call us my zone is uh in the history books from 14 already passed marvin haggler
01:09:05my biggest goals was larry ever since i was small to be the undisputed middleweight champion of the
01:09:09world like marvin haggler was 11 to 12 years ago that was my goal it still is my goal but if it don't
01:09:14happen bring on roy jones jr who the best superstar for michael jordan in boxing and i like to do it at
01:09:18a catch weight where we both are comfortable all right he beat you at 160 pounds what claim can you
01:09:25make that you'll do better against him as a as a light heavyweight like the sweat on his body i will
01:09:30be so close to roy jones jr where he'll think i'm a part of his boxing gear you can't give roy jones jr any
01:09:36breaks you got to be able to gamble with roy jones jr which i wouldn't really do early in my career
01:09:40and listen larry like michael grant said and i can relate to him when i fought on hpl in 1993 i had to
01:09:45go to bathroom but i couldn't go then and you know i mean this is pressure i've got 12 defenses i've been
01:09:50here before i'm not the same fighter i was seven years ago that i am today trust me when i fight
01:09:55war jones jr war jones jr gonna know he was in a fight what about the option of fighting some of the
01:10:01junior middleweights like trinidad like corte like vargas can you make a catch weight between
01:10:10middleweight and junior middleweight or can you come all the way down to 54 correct i can make 154
01:10:16i don't want them to give me anything i want to earn like i have been in my career for 12 years i will
01:10:21fight vargas at 54 corte at 54 delahoyer at any weight he choose to weigh in i will fight a total
01:10:28guy who's walking around as a middleweight i will fight anybody from 54 to 170 i don't care where
01:10:33it is and i'm willing to take a dollar too short to prove i'm the best pound for pound or one of
01:10:37the great fighters that came around in the last 20 years thank you very much bernard again
01:10:41congratulations to all the mothers including your mother and your wife thank you jim jim all right now
01:10:48that he's called out all the stars in two separate weight divisions let's talk about the roy jones
01:10:53prospect obviously bernard is a proven middleweight champion is he the kind of fighter who could make
01:10:59a difference against roy jones fighting at a catchweight between 160 and 175 say 168 or is roy too
01:11:06strong raw is too strong and too fast also all right so that answers that question this guy made
01:11:13a good statement he would call out anybody in that middleweight division i think he would give them
01:11:17all a good fight well what about the 154 pounders that he just i think he could do it he could whip
01:11:22a lot of those guys and i think they're they're right not to give him a chance he is that good so he's
01:11:26stuck he's mixed in between all right well we told you about the delay which would necessarily follow the
01:11:33removal of richard hall's gloves so that members of roy jones's entourage could go in and look at them
01:11:39because of that we now have a totally unprecedented opportunity we're going to talk live to the light
01:11:45heavyweight champion of the world roy jones jr as he prepares to come into the ring for the fight
01:11:50roy first of all what about the glove thing were you aware of it and were you concerned about sending
01:11:56people from your camp in to look at hall's gloves well i look at it like this yep they have to watch
01:12:01me glove up we should watch them glove up and i knew they were going to see me glove up because they knew
01:12:05i was putting these bombs in these gloves and they thought i was going to put something else in there too
01:12:08so they wanted to be sure that they were here to see it so i want to make sure my people are there to see it too
01:12:12you brought us to an unusual site for a championship boxing match what a fabulous arena i know you've
01:12:18made friends with some members of the pacers basketball team tell us about your decision
01:12:22process in deciding to come defend the title in indy well i like to do things differently i like to do
01:12:27things in places people wouldn't think of me doing them the people here in indianapolis were so nice to
01:12:31me and they opened their arms with a big welcome to bring me here so i had to come do it i guess you
01:12:38are probably aware that the pacers plane has been delayed out of philadelphia and and the guys may
01:12:42not be here to see you fight a little disappointment huh uh not really disappointed you know i understand
01:12:47they have a job at hand just like i do and you can never look over an opponent so you can't really
01:12:51sit back and worry about that type of thing you have to really keep your mind on your opponent make
01:12:55sure you stay focused and keep your mind on the job at hand and this is the job at hand right now to get
01:12:59him out of here hopkins was quoted as saying that one of his big motivations for the evening
01:13:04was to try to steal the show by providing a spectacular performance against vanderpool
01:13:09obviously it didn't happen now that bernard had to struggle 12 rounds against vanderpool
01:13:14are you more motivated than ever to score a quick knockout no i'm not really motivated to
01:13:18score a quick knockout because of that i'm motivated to score a quick knockout because that's just what
01:13:22i came here to do jim all right champ we'll take a look and see what you've got coming up in about
01:13:28three or four minutes in the house baby all right roy jones getting ready to come out and put on a show
01:13:34here defending his title in indianapolis we'll be back to show you that live fight between jones
01:13:40and mandatory number one challenger richard hall again i call him one of those politically connected
01:13:46contenders we'll see if he can prove me wrong we'll have that fight when we come back right now let's
01:13:52look ahead to some upcoming programs on hbo for boxing
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