Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. Interview 4/7/01

One of the classic rivalries in a classic interview. Enjoy.

[@Bangbangbigelow]

I love Roy, he’s the one who sparked my interest in boxing. But I respect Hopkins’ accomplishments and his career. His longevity made him legendary.

[@cupocity303]

That prime Roy swagga was something else.

[@vityazsix]

@Diomedes22 no he didnt. get the fuck outta here

[@j-rox8551]

cupocity303" Roy pronounce pound4pound like . Tha numba 1 POU FO POUN 😂 but it's okay cause it's Roy and we love him

[@joeblow3294]

uh ok

[@JCMthebrand]

That's timeless man......can't watch this Enough.

[@stephenking7182]

Word!!

[@rockedthecrapout]

"I think I should be number one" "well damn it we gonna fight!" God damn Roy and Hop talking fight with out any animosity true pros.

[@GenoPacino707]

Facts I wish the rematch would have happened when they were in their prime. Hate that it happened so late in their careers

[@ThePasterio]

As talented and gifted as Roy is, I'm more of a fan of Bernard Hopkins. Coming thru Philly and prison, to become an All Time great makes me mire proud of him. Also Hopkins turned out to be a wonderful big bro and a role model. I hope and or at both greats live long and give back. They both have so much to give, in so many facets of life.

[@incognitobrown7782]

Two of the greatest! Brilliant fighters in their own styles. RJ was great to watch while BHop’s style, discipline and determination was simply admirable. BHop winning the second fight again proves the old adage the hard-work and discipline will outlast talent.

[@jaydab]

Indeed‼️

[@enybrooklyn5482]

Don’t prove anything they where both in there mid 40s and out they prime

[@PlayaflyJoe27]

Man I wish I had a time machine. I miss these days

[@soleprobe]

I remember watching this live... just as funny now as it was then

[@myk2]

Absolutely love this. Two of the greatest just having fun. You can see the respect they have for each other, irrespective of the rivalry. simply brilliant.

[@ironmike-putsallkindavideo7840]

ROY in his prime was unbeatable

[@REPUBLICANSAREBEYONDSTUPID]

Number 2 pound for pound on my list.

[@maze201]

holy shit what a GREAT UPLOAD!!!! these cats are my two most fav fighters of all TIME!!!....thanks for share man.

[@grpere1]

Man I remember this like it was yesterday. Where the hell does the time go.

[@kpagan1970]

Roy Jones JR in his prime was unstoppable. They should've fought each other more than what they did, their egos just didn't make that happen.

[@carlitoboxing7isback]

i agree. nobody beats prime roy. But hopkins is a hell of a fighter, one of the greatest ever

[@Psyke6Pack]

Great interview. Fantastic fighters and thorough professionals

[@georgiasonofliberty1917]

Awesome Interview!! From two Hall of Famers!!

[@ahgoodm]

The good days...

[@inoketuita4876]

Much respect to both fighters. Roy’s instincts is beyond this world. A prime Roy Jones Jr was a highlight reel. Bernard’s style is what kept him fighting at this high level till his late 40s. This is amazing. And the respect they both have for one another. Very awesome to see. Like they both said. “Too many friends in boxing”.

[@GFNY0328]

OMG Roy Jones is soooo funny Lmao

[@soldierviejo8224]

Lol, I have never seen this until now. I love the ending between these two🤤😂🤣

[@DerekRezo212]

Roy jones jr from 1992 to 2003 was the best boxer and would’ve beat anybody below heavyweight including the great hopkins

[@anthonyanderson9303]

People forget Roy was calling out Holyfield for a fight at heavyweight as early as 1997!

[@ismaildad9727]

2 legends 👊🏽

[@30over3]

Roy Jones #1. Bernard Hopkins #2. ALWAYS.

[@strkx1]

Them 2 had great chemistry! hahaha

[@juggernaut44]

this is classic. thanks for posting

[@w900L]

Was that Joe Calzaghe at 5:11 standing up and looking around right behind Roy and Bernard?

[@PrimeAliProductions]

Calzaghe is a fraud

[@DragonsAndTitties]

lol

[@The_Ex_Boxing_Nerd]

Itailian? He's Welsh

[@guiltyuntilproveninnocent.]

Two legends

[@realbws94]

damn B HOP reminds me of THE GAME

[@kaliduncanel3356]

How respectful was Roy and Bernard to each other

[@n00bs4ib0t133]

prime roy beats every body. b hop is a freak of nature to fight as long as he is at such a high level. but he is not better than roy jones jr. he just out lasted him. roy jumped up and down too many times and it wore his body out. hes still the p4p great. he just needs to learn when to hang em up. and that was nearly a decade ago...

[@Yami-Diablo]

8 years later and this still comment is still true.

[@joeblow3294]

LOL NO

[@TheRaveMusicArchive]

Good old days.

[@proavocado1806]

I love this

[@J-Do-It-Big]

Roy Jones Jr: “D***** I want my title back" Hahaha 😂 the great days.

[@84bennett]

Funny how Trinidad was knocking out all these guys bigger than him, then he fights hopkins and people say Bernard was too big for him. Bullshit! He just ran into a bonafide champion.

[@greganderson1445]

They waited too late for the rematch. It would've been huge. They were both past their primes when it happened.

[@brianthenamless]

and a decade later b-hop is still a champ

[@Ryang403]

Think its only fair to Bernard that we acknowkedge his dedication n consistency as talent 2. Hes a truly incredible professional athlete, a unique 1 off n fueled by extraordinary drive. He'l definately deserve his high ranking wen alls one.1 thing is he didnt hav the gr8 fighters in his weight class, so may nt b rated as high as sugar ray/ monzon but hes done it at super middle n lighth heavyweight. Pure athletically gifted wise,Roy was the most astonishing boxer ive seen. Just on a dif planet.

[@MoneyOverFame]

Centrist b hop was a great fighter.

[@TheToddmatsuoka]

Fricken James Brown, stirring the pot. Some classic stuff

[@MrVante247]

"I don't want to be 2nd" lol that's good shit!

[@karsu]

Roy comin' with that ultra alpha omega country boy accent.

[@jerichobeach2967]

Roy keep looking at the camera subtle, funny. Him and Bernard two different men but both have their own personality in and out of the ring. Boxing should always have a little something like that with the styles make fights thing always has always will. That’s what really fills the seats.

[@JB-cm8zd]

Well damn it we gown fight i love it the days where fighters weren't scared of fighting each other

[@thegoat531]

True respect 👏

[@pasifikbwoy7278]

why couldn't they fight around this time?

[@milinddixit6583]

Probably lots of reasons - promoters not agreeing,, who gets the higher purse, alphabet boxing authorities (WBC, WBA etc) insisting they fight their contenders first etc. Unfortunately...

[@Schock82]

Class act gentlemen!

[@stusmithmmm]

Hopkins is so easy to listen to. Very intelligent

[@mcalann]

Got damn..the comparison between this Barnard and the present Bernard in interviews is night and day 😔

[@sveles30]

Interesting comments... Both are Hall of Famers But...If you look who is better of them...Then Roy Jones is better! Roy was defenetly one of the best ever.

[@latinoheat2647]

Roy is just better talent but Hopkins has done more in history then Roy has .

[@dnzwill]

@@latinoheat2647 facts!

[@Blackjesus3]

this is so cool when did they go wrong?

[@datruth1547]

Classic!

[@carlitoboxing7isback]

the best!

[@Hyper_Driven]

The good old days when superstars really entertained in and out of the ring and left legacies. These guys fighting nowadays aren’t even mega stars or crossover household names, but want to act like they can demand things before they have any real signature fights. The only thing they can do is entertain in the ring and they’re not even doing that. Long live the real Kings of boxing like Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins!!!

[@jonathan2538]

Who’s here because they said they might fight again?

[@Antrizzle2009]

He offered Bernard $6 million to fight in 2002 which was at time a career high pay day for Benard and he turned it down. Not Roy's fault. After that the only think left for Roy to do was go up to heavyweight.

[@brianticas7671]

No Roy was trying to low-ball Hopkins. That's bullshit. Roy wanted to get paid more in the rematch. Hopkins beat the gate though because he had not been getting kod like Roy did.

[@TheKiid810]

@@brianticas7671 roy deserved more money at the time. Hopkins was ducking

[@dnzwill]

Hopkins knew his worth and eventually got it and more.

[@kforcer]

If only a fight between a prime Hopkins and Jones jr. had been as easy to make as it seemed here.

[@mogwai250]

it was hopkins to. at 1st he wanted a 70/30 spilt (and thena 60/40). don;t forget this was before jone had been up to hw so he was still primed

[@sixstringchef]

Jones would have OWNED him then.........he beat him 8-4 the first fight with 1 hand, would have been a similar type fight........before Jones had chin problems...........too bad Hopkins wouldn't agree to the weight and the split. Guarantee he regretted it after it was too late when Jones lost to Tarver and Hopkins to Taylor........but I'm sure Tarver was a nice consolation prize...........but not the $$ they could have made at 168......too bad.

[@Dannys_Dimensions]

Tyler Perkins Idk Bernard wasn’t as polished as he became after the first fight it would be a great match I say 7-5 Roy or easily could be 6-6

[@ReservoirPunk]

"before Jones had chin problems" lmao he's always had a weak chin, he just had a great defence, very fast and slipped punches so it was never truly exposed until Tarver came along.

[@nationalblackaccord494]

Muhammad I'm 'ard Bruce Lee I was just about to say that, you don’t develop chin problems, that’s always there, But once he went up to heavyweight and came back down his legs weren’t the same, and that’s his defense, other than that he just braces for punches, his offense was his defense too, Roy is still Top 10 to me ever, he owned boxing for a decade

[@wutang5503]

@@ReservoirPunk he got hit clean plenty in his prime. he got hit clean by james toney and toney could punch. thats what you call a weak chin? lol fucking idiot

[@stephenking7182]

LEGENDS!! 4EVA!!

[@Firstblk]

@Ryang43 Roy never took steroids. James Toney took steroids after the Evander Holyfield fight.

[@joaoii1082]

Firstblk roy actually did take steroids before

[@DopeBoysofatlanta]

TRAP SOUL where the proof?

[@Ryang403]

Roys the more talented but hopkins will be rated higher in history tho.

[@vityazsix]

there is no greater rating than p4p #1 of all time and thats roy

[@ZBOXINGTALK]

Tbf in their 1st fight, Roy won the first fight by 8 rounds and he won that with one hand.

[@bigcartoonyIIV]

Young Roy was a monster. and no one could beat him. His ego got the best of him, and caused his demise. If he would not have given in to tarver mind games, and let his body recover after that first tarver fight, he would have never went down so bad. He should have took tune up matches unill his body redeveloped

[@johnconnolly4790]

For sure. And when he went up to heavyweight he should have fought tyson instead of ruiz because he would have beaten that version of Mike easily

[@anthonyanderson9303]

@@johnconnolly4790 They tried to make that fight but Tyson wasn't interested. Then he tried making a Holyfield fight but the split wasn't right there either. That's when he settled for a Tarver fight and Holyfield fought Toney.

[@joenicedj]

Competitive without being adversarial nor disrespectful. Other athletes should take note.

[@NorthPhilly-zr7xc]

Thought they were beefing

[@anthonyanderson9303]

@@NorthPhilly-zr7xc It was just about the sport, no real beef.

[@LibraLee88]

Crazy we were coming out the 2nd Greatest HW Era With Tyson Lewis Holyfield Bowe Foreman and The smaller guys was Became Cash Cows Roy Hop Trinadad DeLaHoya Mosley and Floyd

[@Teabonesteak]

Real gentleman shit!

[@slidecounter]

Lol love this

[@REPUBLICANSAREBEYONDSTUPID]

You can tell they’re actually good friends.

[@NorthPhilly-zr7xc]

Thought they were beefing

[@REPUBLICANSAREBEYONDSTUPID]

Gunnel Gainey they were only beefing when it came time to discuss their second fight.

[@NorthPhilly-zr7xc]

@@REPUBLICANSAREBEYONDSTUPID oh this was before that,remember when they were arguing love on hbo

[@NYorksElcapitan]

Class

[@yacinemerabti7892]

Roy ♥

[@onlythetruth97]

it's really cool to see them like that, they respect each other !!! but i had to hoose a winner at this time, for sure, i'd go with roy jones even if i like bernard too !!!!

[@phillipguthrie9030]

2 greats having fun and notice how they both agreed to fight like men. None of this diva stuff using every excuse in the book to keep you away from fighting 50/50 fights. They wanted to determine "Who's the best." They don't make'm like this anymore. #GoodOlDays 💯🤝🏿👊🏾💥🥊

[@Flashboogie14]

Your guys can bicker all you want but both guys are concrete legends, roy could lose 10 times from now and that wouldnt damage his rep. hes already spent 10 years being p4p kingpin, and mayweather took the throne right afterwards, hopkins has spent most of his career chasing number 1 which was whom roy jones...but hopkins does get credit for his longevity in the sport...keep in mind that foreman fought in 2 different generations, but that doesnt make his career better than alis

[@chattinwithcharlie1426]

Back when JBs hair was real

[@DjGhost718]

what happen to this in boxing????

[@yacinemerabti7892]

When boxing was great

[@yacinemerabti7892]

By the way they are talking about fighting now in 2019

[@estuardoruiz5373]

They don’t make them like that anymore

[@quantancollins2307]

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA IN THE HOUSE BABY....

[@Bmckinley723]

Classic

[@atifmir7409]

It's sad we didn't see the rematch so much earlier, boxing promoters and politics have ruined boxing and the primes of boxers. We should have seen Roy, Hopkins, Toney, Eubank, Benn, Calzague etc all fighting each other. It's become more open now but the talent isn't quite there. We see Canelo running through the Middle and Super Middles, but if he was around then, i doubt if he could.

[@theomegasondaryeus]

I honestly think they both would because Roy went up to Heavyweight and became champ.

[@REPUBLICANSAREBEYONDSTUPID]

5:27 😆😆😆

[@LibraLee88]

Ali Hagler Hopkins my Inspirations

[@VP-fx3nf]

Man the good ol days compare this to the BS of today. No ducking and diving no BS promoters sticking their nose where it doesnr belong

[@marcelo06]

@ilovefrankandbeans haha completely agree.... two hall of fame fighters there!!!

[@AshleyBD15]

@Flashboogie14 Hopkins for me is a equal to jones in legacy because he beat names but also guys that on paper he should have lost to like: Taylor (I think he won), Pavlik, Tarver, Winky Wright, Calzaghe (I think he won, a draw at worst), Pascal twice. Although at there peak I still go with Jones as a favourite because of he beat Toney and Bhop and made everything else he did look so easy.

[@leesc11]

When Hopkins was normal

[@marcelo06]

haha that was great!!!

[@chalkyblack7582]

Tito Destroyed Joppy👊

[@kevinaraujo4945]

And Hopkins destroyed your boy Trinade. Knocked him out. Go to sleep. His daddy had to save him. I bet you went to bed crying that night. You woke up wetting the bed. Hopkins fought for USA and tito for his small country

[@vityazsix]

@@kevinaraujo4945 wow bro. calm down.

[@kevinaraujo4945]

@@vityazsix the truth hurts baby. Hopkins grabbed his flag and threw it on the ground then got in the ring with tito who was undefeated and knocked him the fuck out.

[@zoop77]

With an illegal plaster in his hand wraps the Hopkins trainer exposed... look it up

[@frozeNPicturesss]

its false respect .. im pretty sure they hate each other b/c hopkings is a cheater cheapshot ass and roy jones is a real champion thats called Professionalism not respect

[@grawakendream8980]

had they fought at this time, roy would have won easily

[@lubui2583]

trinidad beat the living shit out that dude.

[@mab999]

To be fair, it was RJJ's fault the rematch didn't happen. Either way, Hopkins got his revenge.

[@makpak]

wait, what? "same athleticsm"? no, thats not true, roy was far superior. far far superior. everything else i agree on

[@mesube22]

If it wasn't for JB in the way. B-Hop and RJ was about to get undressed and fight. James Brown stick to singing/dancing. ☺

[@AmazonBeauty216]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@mogwai250]

totally agree. both need to retire ( i thought hopkins looked awful his last 2 fights), both HoF's imo

[@inmybloodboxing.1992]

Back before Floyd ruined the Sport and then Canelo

[@seekerbahama]

DON'T DO THIS WITH PACQUIAO HE'LL SUE YOU!!?

[@Blake472]

Lol

[@Pinoy2500]

This just makes me sad they didn't fight each other back then cause they were both at their prime. This is what is gonna happen 2 Pacquiao vs Mayweather if doesn't this year.