Dawson is one of the top light heavyweights around, he has been for a number of years now, and has just one blemish on his record. Despite being the champion and coming off a win over Juan Pascal in his own hometown to become the oldest fighter to ever win a world championship, B-Hop is once again the underdog. He heads into the fight looking to outrace Father Time like he has done so many times in his career.

Bernard Hopkins joined ESPN 980 in Washington D.C. with Nick Ashooh to talk about what he makes of Chad Dawson’s trash-talk heading into the fight, what Hopkins thinks he can exploit in Dawson, and how he has been able to stay in shape despite being 46-years-old.

On what he makes of Chad Dawson’s trash-talking heading into the fight:

“First of all it was music to my ears that the man has a personality and finally he woke up and understands that we have to at least sell the fight to the public that it’s a fight that they should see. So to see him talk that language that I never heard before is like somehow a spirit that came across him and he’s showing something that a lot of people don’t give him credit for doing and that’s having a live personality which hopefully will transform into what we have to do in the ring or at least he, Chad Dawson that is, that it would make a great fight because the best of Chad Dawson will bring the extremely best out of Bernard Hopkins. Listen it takes two to dance and tango. That’s why they have Dancing With the Stars and I’m not promoting it. I’m just using it. It takes two fighters to make a great fight. Not one, it becomes a boring one side beat down, but if it’s two guys giving and taking and using the art of boxing, the fans love it, TV loves it, ratings love it, and at the end who wins wins and who loses loses. I hope he comes with that and it just ain’t talk because I know where I’m coming from. I know I got this title the hard way. Went to a man’s hometown. I believe I won the first fight and secured it the second fight. I’m not willing to give this title up just because he wants it. It’s gonna be straight war and that’s not just promotional talk. Chad Dawson will get schooled, his career might be in jeopardy like those that came before him, and he risks that chance when he steps into the ring with the Executioner.”

What he believes he can exploit in Chad Dawson’s fighting style:

“Everything. Everything. He has a lot of things that makes a great fighter once he realizes that he can put those things together and becomes experience as time goes on, but he bit off something really big before he got there and that is the Executioner Bernard Hopkins. See he will never get a chance to blossom because he was picked off the tree too quick. If the sun and rain would’ve gotten to him a little more, it’s timing, he would’ve been okay, but he ran into the same fate of greed and politics and rushed to get into the light heavyweight championship around your waste and you accomplish it and say ‘okay I’m there’ and you don’t keep it. It’s one thing winning the title, which he did. The second thing is keeping it. In the middleweight division I kept it over a decade. That should tell everyone something. I defended it 21 times. Just because you win a title in today’s world of boxing doesn’t mean that you’re gonna keep it for a long time. As he won a title and defended it three or four times, he fell to what most fighters fall to. They don’t keep it. I’m not gonna fall into the same trap even though this is my third go around and my second as the light heavyweight champion and king in the lightweight division. I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy, I’m saying people should buy and people should watch and I’m saying I’m gonna bring the best out of Chad Dawson. Why? It’s because Chad Dawson don’t want to look in the mirror Sunday morning and gotta be told when he gets home that a 46-year-old grandpa beat his butt on national TV. That’s embarrassing. If I was 29-years-old and a 46-yerar-old guy beat me and I don’t give a damn if it was Bernard Hopkins or Michael Jordan, that’s not a good look among my peers. Most of these guys fathers are my age. If they aren’t my age, they’re older. They gotta live with a lot of questions and answers, some embarrassing. That’s the risk of fighting the ageless warrior.”

How he has been able to stay in such great shape despite being 46-years-old:

“I haven’t deviated from what I’ve done for the last 10, 15, 20 years. It’s lifestyle man. It comes down to, and I know it sounds corny to people it’s a thing where and you’ve heard this many times having this conversation, I realize what got me here, not just my talent. My talent played a percentage, not even fifty, but my work habits and my lifestyle gave me longevity, gave me confidence. If I didn’t do these things it’s like a domino effect. One encouraged the other. One thing that I do, lifestyle encouraged hard work, hard work encouraged longevity, longevity encouraged talent, and that takes me as far as I can go. These are the domino effects of why Bernard Hopkins is where I’m at today. I’m no fool to say oh I’m just that good. You have people that will say that to you but I know I can’t say that, but I know I have what I have. I know if I didn’t do the things that would buy me some time in this sport that surpassed even George Foreman then that was great investment in the bank that I made for myself, my family, and for my legacy.”

Listen to Bernard Hopkins on ESPN 980 in Washington D.C. here

Tyson joined The Gridlock on ESPN Las Vegas to talk about how he would compare the two Hangover movies, what Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis are like as guys, all sorts of questions relating to his mental state, how he’s more happy than he’s ever been living a less crazy life, his take on all the pop culture news of the moment, the respective careers of Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins, how he wouldn’t mind being able to fight again but would never consider doing so because of the effect it would have on his family, being inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame, and being a boxing ambassador to the country of China.

On how he would compare the two Hangover movies:

“I don’t know, they’re both great. One of them is more graphic than the other, but other than that, they’re both great. Man, I like No. 2. I like No. 2.”

On what Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis are like as guys:

“They’re just young guys that are working hard trying to accomplish being the best in their field. Just regular guys, awesome guys, funny guys, down to earth pretty much real guys, in my presence at least.”

After answering a question about one of his daughters, Tyson was asked if he’d ever been in a happier place:

“Well nobody knows what happiness truly is. It’s just a word we express when we feel some exultation in our life. But other than that, this is just something I look forward to doing — cultivating a relationship with my kids. There’s seven or eight of them, all of them have different personalities, so some are more sensitive than others. So you have to get reacquainted with them.”

He’s enjoying this new life style right?

“Yeah, I love anything that’s not life-threatening or jail-threatening. Other than that, I’m cool.”

On Kris Humphries giving Kim Kardashian a $2 million dollar engagement ring:

“Yeah, everything’s beautiful in the joy of giving I guess, right? He gets a lot out of giving it to her. Imagine what he gets out of giving it to her that we can’t even pay with money. God is he a smut or what? I’m a smut too; I’m in the smut club.”

Whether the spark was there with his previous marriage after several years:

“Oh man, I should have been arrested back then for having a right to be married, you know? I don’t know, I was just never meant to be married at that stage of my life. I was just young and too stupid.  Nothing in my life was a mistake, everything is supposed to happen to transcend you to the level which you’re supposed to be. I don’t know.”

On Kyle Busch going over 125 miles per hour in North Carolina recently, and how fast he once went when he was most reckless:

“I don’t know about that, but I know I was doing like 130 on my bike and I was still in last place.”

On what it’s like to be riding a motorcycle at 130-plus miles per hour:

“Oh man, it’s an interesting moment in your life….I can’t even express that feeling. It’s a feeling that you can’t even express what you’re trying to prove. If someone asks what are you trying to prove, you make up some kind of concoction that makes me feel free or something, but it’s really inconceivable. You really can’t explain it.”

But he wouldn’t ever do that now, correct?

“No, I have too much to lose now. I actually had more to lose then, but I’m focused on what I have to lose now.”

On Roy Jones Jr. continuing to try to fight when he seems to have a nice gig that he’s good at commentating for HBO:

“I don’t know if HBO is paying the bills, I don’t know what kind of contract he receives at HBO. I don’t know, it’s just ugly. It’s bad enough when you see a great fighter die, but what’s even worse is when you see the skills die before he does. It doesn’t look good for him right now. He’s been knocked out cold on a consistent basis. Cold, not just boom, count to 10. I mean really knocked unconscious.”

What about Hopkins overtaking George Foreman as the oldest heavyweight champion:

“That’s awesome. I wish I could still fight. I’m envious.”

On what made him great back when he’s more apt to take on the physical and mental rigors of training:

“I don’t know. Just 100 percent dedication, relentless, refuse to lose mentality. I don’t really know. I just had that desire. It just burned; I wanted to be the best in the world. That whole megalomania identity of you’re a God and how dare they challenge you. That’s sick stuff. I’m struggling to pay my bills with my kids, and I’m talking about how dare they….how’d I even get the audacity to think that? My family, they come from slaves and peasants, and it’s who is this guy, how’d they even make they believe that? I just went into this world of boxing believing that crap.”

If he realized how dominant and intimidating he was back in his prime:

“No, but even if that wasn’t the fact, I still would have believed because I was so full of myself, I didn’t have time to think of any of that. I was just so oblivious to that stuff.”

But was he having fun at that time?

“Yeah, yeah, it was a lot of fun. But it was almost like masturbating, you know? I was having a lot of fun but you’re not producing anything, you know?”

On if he expected the royal treatment at that stage of his life when he was traveling:

“Yeah, my whole barometer of thinking is different than it is now. Back then, I expected a fleet of cars and a whole mob of people to meet me and I should be a head of state and I should be a prime minister, because that’s my sick state, that’s how I was. Now, if I just get a cab I’m so grateful to the cab driver. It’s just my whole way of thinking now. It’s like, shit man!”

On his induction into the Hall of Fame:

“I’m always pretty weary of any club or organization that wants me as a member.”

On his other recent successes, namely being a boxing ambassador to China:

“Listen I’m just very grateful for this whole ambassador thing, I don’t have the slightest damn clue of what being an ambassador entails. My idea of an ambassador is a guy that has a plane that’s funded by the government, and has his…what are they called…his concubines that travel with him, this guy with secretaries and stuff. I don’t know about this stuff. I come to China, I hire some people, I eat some food, they make me wait all day. You know, God be it, that’s great.”

Who he would choose to hang out with for a weekend,

“My wife would have me hanging out with nobody for a weekend. I’m not hanging out with nobody for a couple of hours with my situation now. You’ve got these kids sucking off you, it’s just not going to happen.”

Listen here to Tyson with The Gridlock on ESPN Las Vegas (Part 1) ; (Part 2)

Hopkins might be 46-years old, but he is still as dangerous as ever when he gets in the ring. He was already motivated to be the oldest champion in boxing history and now Pascal just gave him even more motivation. The fight will be in Pascal’s hometown of Montreal so he will have the support in his corner, but it’s probably not very wise for Jean Pascal to be putting his hands on a fighter with the nickname “Executioner,” especially when many people believe he beat him in the last fight.

Bernard Hopkins joined WFAN in New York with Boomer and Carton to talk about what happened between him and Pascal at the press conference, why he was willing to take the fight in Montreal, whether or not he has ever used performance enhancing substances, and his hatred for Jean Pascal.

What happened at the press conference in Montreal on Monday:

“Exactly. He ambushed the whole press conference as far as talking about the fight. He was accusing me of my last fight that I shouldn’t have been as good, as fast, as strong, and I competed. Whatever he was thinking he was desperate and he started saying ‘take a test, take a blood test, take this, take that.’ Then he started bringing up that I was a friend of Nazim Richardson, who has been my trainer for years, and Nazim Richardson trains Sugar Shane Mosley and we know Sugar Shane Mosley has been involved in things in the past. That has nothing to do with me. My career has been 23 years and that’s the first time and the only time, that I heard some ridiculous allegations. But guess what? I told the people to stay focused and I told the media to stay focused because when a guy is scared and Pascal didn’t want to fight this fight a second time. He was forced by the sanctioning bodies of the WBC. (Host: Because they weren’t happy with the last time?) They weren’t happy. They reviewed the tape. It was a 30 vote of a 32 people vote, 30 people said that this fight should be a rematch. They made it happen. They mandated or they would strip Jean Pascal. Here we are. It’s not my call. They could’ve said no.”

You were willing to take the fight in Montreal:

“In Montreal. This fight could’ve been in LA. We won the purse bid. Golden Boy won the bid, the rights to do the fight, and we had the opportunity to take this fight anywhere and Richard Schaeffer said ‘Bernard wherever you want to take this fight at we can get more money at the Staples Center’ so I sacrificed two or three hundred thousand dollars by coming to Montreal. (Host: Why did you do that?) Because I want to kick his ass in his own backyard.”

Whether or not he has ever used any performance enhancing substance:

“No I haven’t and anybody that does that they should wind up like that track star. What’s her name? (Host: Marion Jones?) Because the bottom line is, look there are so many fighters, so many trainers, football players, and basketball players that don’t need to do any of that stuff and just go on their talent and what they do. I’ve been a clean living guy and that’s why I’m boxing at 46-years old.

On his hatred for Jean Pascal:

“I don’t like him. I think he is very young and disrespectful. He doesn’t respect his elders on the block. (Host: He disrespected you?) Yeah and he tried to put his arms around me and that’s when the scuffle started. Don’t say things and then I let you put your arm around me. I had to let him know that if you say something fine but I’m not going to let you put your arm around me when you have the microphone and disrespect me. Because then that becomes something else. Because I haven’t forgotten the street mentality when things were said and things were done. I just don’t use it in my life now and know how to separate the two, but he tried to con me, talk about me, and also want me to be in this huddle with him as he tries to grab my shoulder. That’s when I knew I had to let him know you don’t put your arm around me. We’re not friends. Keep it real. When you say things like that. ‘Okay, I’m gonna beat your butt, I’m gonna beat your ass, and I’m gonna do this and that.’ I can take that, but when you start talking about that I’ve done something that wasn’t right because I performed the way I did. What have you been looking at? What have you been watching the last ten years of my career? I didn’t just start performing the way I have been doing. I have done great things over the years and I never heard any fighter say that. You know what it is? He is shocked that at this stage of the game that I’m this good.”

Listen to Bernard Hopkins on WFAN in New York here

Flash forward to the present day and Jones is a has-been and shell of his formerly great self. In his last 10 fights, he has a mediocre record of 5-5, and his wins have come against elite talents such as Anthony Hanshaw, Omar Sheika and another over the hill and completely out of shape former great in Felix Trinidad.

Bernard on the other hand has seemingly gotten better with age. Yes he lost a split decision to Joe Calzaghe in 2008, but Calzaghe has cemented himself as one of the greatest middleweights of our time. Hopkins proved age is just a number by destroying Kelly Pavlik later in 2008, this after beating Winky Wright decisively a year earlier.

Hopkins relies heavily on his defense, which doesn’t require the hand speed and quick reflexes that Jones built his now diminished career around. The defensive, grind it out style fighters always age better, and Bernard is living proof of that. It might be foolish to count Jones out, but with so many of his fights ending prematurely lately, the smart money is on the referee doing just that before the 12th and final bell sounds.

Bernard Hopkins joined Mayhem in the AM on 790 the Zone in Atlanta to throw a few verbal jabs before he steps into the ring with Jones this weekend.

On if he thought he was going to have to wait 17 years for a rematch with Jones:

“No, I couldn’t have bet anything that it would have lasted this long and that’s how long it’s been. I’m excited but I’m controlled, waiting through the days and the hours that tick down to the fight in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. It’s been a rival for 17 years. He went on and did his career being the heavyweight champion of the world, as a middleweight and I went on and defended mine 27 times as you know, most times in the history. Now we end up back in the same radar of each other. This is going to be good. I don’t have time to see if I can fight him for the third time.”

Bernard was asked why people would want to see this fight knowing that both fighters are aging:

“Yeah I’ve been past my prime over 10 years ago and I’m still beating guys like Kelly Pavlik, who you know about, and Jermain Taylor. Those are two fights that people still talk about that deservingly went my way and I’m in everybody’s top four. Not top 20. Top four pound-for-pound at 45 years old. If there’s a Brett Favre of boxing, that’s me. You’ve got 80-plus years of experience, and I know for a fact that when I was in Dallas a few months ago to watch the All-Star game, to see Magic Johnson and to see Michael Jordan just messing around I thought ‘woah what if these guys took it that they were going to play one-on-one to 21?’ We’re that in boxing.”

On who he was when he was a teenager:

“I wasn’t Bernard Hopkins obviously. I came up in the streets of Philadelphia. I did five years in the penitentiary. I came home at 24, 25, walked off 9 years parole without a parking ticket. Became not only a businessman, promoter and manager of 80-percent of my whole career. Philadelphia magazine has me as not only one of the smartest investors in boxing but in this market of corporate America where people have lost a lot of whatever in this last three years, I have gained. I’m not bigger than boxing, but I’m bigger than just being a champion. At the end of the day with almost 60 fights under my belt, I haven’t stuttered once, and to be able to articulate and come across and still do this game at 45 years old and still be in demand and have millions of dollars, it’s a testimony to good health, good speed, and a lot of friends.”

Listen to the audio here.

After two average performances and two losses against Jermain Taylor, B-Hop jumps up two weight classes and demolishes Antonio Tarver.  Hopkins looked old, and justifiably so, against Joe Calzaghe, clutching, grabbing, and throwing very few punches in what looked to be his last fight.

Yes, I know boxers never truly retire, but the sport retires them.  Then at age 43, Hopkins puts on his best performance since his destruction of Felix Trinidad in 2001.  And Pavlik is no bum.  He hits like a mule.

Bernard Hopkins joined The Tony Bruno Show on Monday after his huge win.

Listen to B-Hop Interview

Hopkins is aging like a fine wine.