It's Time, Bernard

On Sept. 29, 2001, I had the priveledge of sitting next to former NFL defensive back Johnny Sample in the auxillery press area at Madison Square Garden while at the Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad middleweight unification championship fight.

Sample, a Philadelphian who played seasons with the Colts, Steelers, Redskins and Jets, was there to support Hopkins. When Hopkins entered the ring to Ray Charles' America the Beautiful, Sample said so all around him could hear, "Sing it, Ray."

About his connection to Hopkins: "I used to watch that boy fight at the Blue Horizon gym back when he was just getting started.

When midway through the fight it became apparent that Hopkins was going to take Trinidad to school, Sample directed to Trinidad, "You're in with a man tonight."

It was entertaining. And so when Sample died in 2005, I remembered that night in the Garden quite fondly. He was both a gentleman, a Philly fan and a boxing fan.

He was also correct about Hopkins that night. That was, without a doubt, the pinnacle of Hopkins' career, as he dominated the previously unbeaten Trinidad and knocked him out in the 12th before an arena filled with Tito's Puerto Rican fans and New York feeling very patriotic in the aftermath of the horor of the 9/11 attacks two weeks earlier. It was quite a night.

Hopkins was 36 then, and if you would have told me that he'd still be making top dollar near the top of boxing when he was 43, I wouldn't have believed you. But he has, racking up wins over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Tarver, and Winky Wright, cementing his place as a sure Hall of Famer, one of the greatest middleweights of all time, and in my opinion the greatest Philadelphia fighter in the history of the proud pugilistic city.

Even his two losses to Jermain Taylor were highly debatable, and he squashed talk that those were the beginning of the end of his career when he went up to light heavyweight and embarrassed Tarver.

Saturday night in Las Vegas, Hopkins lost a split decision to unbeaten super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe in a regular HBO fight. I had Hopkins ahead 5-1 and in complete control after six rounds, but he seemed to fade over the second half of the fight, with Calzaghe sweeping the last six to take a slim victory on the scorecards. Two of the three judges agreed.

Sure, Hopkins complained after the fight. He's arrogant enough to believe that he did enough to win, because that arrogance and confidence in his abilities has had a lot to do with his success through the years. And it was certainly a close fight. But realistically, I think it would be difficult to find more than one round over the last six that was even close to being a Hopkins round. Calzaghe was much busier, and Hopkins seemed slower and tired down the stretch.

It was the first thing close to a clear-cut loss for Hopkins since his defeat to Roy Jones back in 1993, and it should be a sign that it's time for "The Executioner" to hang up his gloves for good.

Not because he's a shot item, like so many once great fighters who go on way past their primes. Hopkins is still good enough to beat most of the guys he'll get in the ring with, almost all of whom are younger than he is, but there are going to be nights when he just doesn't have 12 good rounds in him anymore.

Nor do I think he's in danger of getting hurt in the ring. Unlike Roy Jones, who has taken more punches in the last three or four years than he did in his entire career prior, Hopkins' defense is still very difficult to penetrate. I don't think I've ever seen him even buzzed in the ring, except maybe back in his first fight with Segundo Mercado back in '94, but that was a long time ago. This isn't a Muhammad Ali situation.

I just think now is right time for Hopkins to say, "My legacy is secure, I have enough money in the bank, I have things set up for life after boxing, I have nothing left to prove."

It's been an amazing career. An amazing life for the numbers runner from North Philly who ended up in Graterford Prison in his early 20s, doing hard time and facing a life that in all likelyhood was going to turn out badly. But he cleaned up his life, thanks to a very loyal family and his boxing career, and he didn't even do that the easy way, challenging the boxing establishment every step of the way.

While it was maddening to see Hopkins walk away from fights with the likes of Jones or Calzaghe in the past because of some injustice that he felt wasn't right and we felt was just what boxing is all about these days. He didn't accept the status-quo in a sport riddled with corruption and dishonesty. He spit it back at the powerbrokers.

Which doesn't mean he was always right. His feud with former advisor Lou DiBella was ugly and brought out the worst in Hopkins. As much as stompping on the Puerto Rican flag was used to enrage Trinidad prior to their fight and draw up interest in the pay-per-view, it did nothing to help boxing's image.

I thought after he beat De La Hoya was the right time, and echoed that after his landmark win over Tarver.

But now, Hopkins' decision on whether to keep on fighting or retire for good, is as clear as the decision in Saturday night's fight.