The Neutral Corner

The respect and admiration Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik and Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins have for each other came to the forefront at their press conference at B.B Kings Blues Bar and Grill on Tuesday.

"I’m a boxing fan and I am a fan of Kelly Pavlik. I am a fan of Pavlik because he became a champion the right way," Hopkins said. "Not because of politics, but because he came up through the ranks and beat them all."

Of course Hopkins later added "I've never been afraid of a ghost".

Gone are the days when boxers used to threaten and taunt each other during press conferences. Sure, some press conferences have a little more juice than others, but for the most part, the classic press conference that features a fighter coming up with several hilarious one-liners demeaning his opponent are a thing of the past.

"I want to fight the best," Pavlik said of Hopkins. "People talk and ask about why I am fighting Bernard Hopkins. You’ve got a legend right here."

It seemed as if Pavlik had more to say about Joe Calzaghe than he did about Hopkins.

"I don’t know about Calzaghe – I guess I would have to shoot him in the foot to get him to stop running from me," he said. "All I can tell you is that I will train as hard as I can to get in the best shape that I can be in – for Bernard Hopkins."

There you have it folks. That's about as heated as things got between Pavlik and Hopkins at B.B Kings. Rest assured the fight will be (or at least I hope) more entertaining than the press conference.

- MARCUS HENRY