My Sportsman Choice: Bernard Hopkins

By Richard Hoffer

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Bernard Hopkins has fired trainers, managers, promoters and, in a memorable instance earlier this year, you might say he even fired himself. It's this kind of independence that has both fascinated and frustrated the boxing world. Surely Hopkins would have been a big-money fighter before the age of 39, had he kept with everybody else's program. But then, he would hardly have been Bernard, would he?

Whether his win over Oscar De La Hoya in September can pay off for him is anybody's guess. Hopkins had what seemed like a breakthrough fight in 2001 when he toppled Tito Trinidad to unify the middleweight title. But, after firing his trainer and suing his promoter, he quickly became virtually unemployable, fighting for fractions thereafter.

Then, when De La Hoya decided to rescue him from oblivion for a middleweight tournament of their own, Hopkins nearly sabotaged that opportunity by bolting the prelim part of the promotion, a double-header that was supposed to whet everyone's appetites for their championship bout several months later. Two days before that fight, Hopkins decided he didn't like the ref and he left for the airport. It was a typically contrary move, tinged with the usual Hopkins-like ridiculousness; had he left Las Vegas that day, his plane would have passed the incoming vessel carrying his wife and relatives from Philadelphia. He was later assuaged and the entire incident was once again marked up, "That's Bernard."

The De La Hoya fight was preserved and Hopkins crumpled the Golden Boy with a paralyzing shot to the liver, earning $10 million in the process. As Hopkins has both Sam's Club and Costco cards -- he is the most notable 39-year-old tightwad since Jack Benny -- the money can be expected to go a long way and he will not likely be forced back into the ring under any terms but his own. We just can't wait to see what those terms are going to be.

Sports Illustrated will announce the 2004 Sportsman of the Year winner on FOX on November 28. Check back every weekday until then to read more Sportsman picks from SI writers.