How many people in the world know more about boxing than Bernard Hopkins? The answer is not many, so when you get a chance to speak to the former undisputed middleweight champion about the April 20 matchup between WBC super lightweight titleholder Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia, you tap in on that knowledge.
Hopkins, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020, made 20 defenses of the middleweight championship before moving on to light heavyweight. The Philly master captured multiple belts at 175 pounds and broke his own record to become the oldest world champion in boxing history when he outpointed Tavoris Cloud at 48. At 49 years of age, Hopkins unified the light heavyweight title at the expense of Beibut Shumenov.
Despite being a co-promoter now alongside Oscar De La Hoya at Golden Boy Promotions, Hopkins remains the same straight shooter he was during his fighting prime. If you ask a question, you’ll get an honest answer, which is not something you’re guaranteed from his contemporaries.
While Golden Boy promotes Garcia, I was eager to ask Hopkins what he thought of his opponent.
WATCH: Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia, live on DAZN
“I’ve seen [Haney] make adjustments in fights. I’ve seen him fight backing up. I’ve seen him fight right to left and left to right. I’ve also seen him be aggressive,” offered Hopkins.
“What he doesn’t have, if you want to talk about the negatives, is power. And we all know in boxing that over twelve three-minute rounds, to have no power will be noticed by your opponent. The only way to stop Ryan Garcia from being Ryan Garcia is with a punch.”
Having been a professional for 28 years, there isn’t much that Hopkins hasn’t seen. The former champion knows how decisive hitting power can be and went back to his very first world title fight in 1993 for evidence.
“I was a victim of it when I fought Roy Jones Jr. in our first fight,” recalled Hopkins, who lost a 12-round decision. “He threw something, and it connected… and yeah, I stood up. That shows my bravery and my determination. But it made me think for the rest of that fight, don’t get hit like that again.
“That’s the difference with Ryan Garcia. Will he come in there with the mindset that Devin Haney is a hard puncher? No, that’s not the case. And I’m not saying he can run in there and keep his chin up high and all this nonsense. I’m saying, look for Ryan Garcia to take more chances and be more aggressive.”
The last time Garcia was aggressive against an elite fighter, he suffered the first loss of his professional career. In April 2023, pound-for-pound star Gervonta “Tank” Davis decked “KingRy” with a huge left in round two and closed the show with a body shot knockout in the seventh.
While Haney doesn’t carry "Tank’s" state-of-the-art weaponry, he is a super-skilled boxing savant. His performance against Regis Prograis in December was masterful and solidified his standing as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today. But regardless of the champion’s qualities, Hopkins remains resolute that this is a must-win fight for Garcia.
“If Ryan Garcia falls short in this second [superfight], it could be career-changing,” said Hopkins following a moment’s deliberation. “It would be something that wouldn’t sit well with Ryan and his fans. You must win the big ones to be big. That would be two strikes – you’d have Tank and Devin Haney.
“You can’t gamble and think you can work your way back up to the biggest stage in boxing. Trust me, this is heavy on everybody’s mind that’s on Garcia’s side. He has to be on point, and he has to win this fight. There’s more pressure on Ryan Garcia than Devin Haney. You didn’t ask me that, but I’m telling you.”
MORE: All you need to know about Haney vs. Garcia
The odds are heavily in Haney’s favor, but the great Hopkins views this battle of former amateur rivals as “even,” which replicates their history. In the unpaid ranks, Haney and Garcia reportedly split six fights.
“No one is expecting Ryan Garcia to have an easy night, but no one is saying he doesn’t have a chance,” said Hopkins. “One week I might say 60-40 Devin, the next week I might say 60-40 Garcia. But it’ll never be 80-20 on either guy’s side. They know each other physically. What might make the difference is when one guy does something that the other guy doesn’t expect.”
What everyone is expecting is a great fight.